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NATALIE

It was a warm fall morning, the forest trees were completely bare of their leaves, where they went wasn't a mystery at all, red, orange, and yellow leaves covered the grass, a gentle breeze was flowing through the leaf-littered forest, It was very peaceful, not a sound could be heard, after some time some thuds and grunts could be heard, they became louder and louder.

Two black furred wolves were running through the treetops, both we're jumping from branch to branch to branch, the one who was ahead was being chased by the one who was behind, the chaser was a little taller than the prey, a faster one that had a frightened look upon its face while the other was wearing a viscous snarl! The chase seemed like it would go on forever, the fastest one had fur that was a lighter shade of black with small slightly rounded ears, the other wolf had pitch black fur, long pointy ears and a light muscular build.

After some time had passed the taller one at the back lunged at the one in front, tackling her! They both started falling from the trees, nearly hitting some branches on the way down, the fall was pretty high, but not enough to cause severe damage, one of the wolves landed on a huge pile of leaves while the other safely landed on her feet.

The forest became silent, all that could be heard was the rustling of leaves in the wind. The smaller dark wolf that had landed harshly on the ground weakly lifted itself from the leaf pile with a loud groan, she rubbed her aches and bruises before remembering why she was running in the first place.

She slowly turned around, and instantly regretted it; standing twenty feet away was a viscous snarling Dark wolf, it had night black fur, dark red eyes and nail sharp claws, but the scariest part of this wolf was how it's menacing teeth we're showing, each one was strong enough to chew through bark!

Standing still in situations like this was usually a good idea, usually if you stood still wolves wouldn't look at you as a threat, but this wasn't just any wolf, standing just feet away was a dark wolf, a very viscous breed of wolf, angering a dark wolf is the worst possible thing someone could do, because they are rarely forgiving.

Before she had a chance to run the other dark wolf lunged at her, tackling her to the ground, the smaller wolf tried to struggle but it was no use, she just wasn't strong enough, she just turned her head and closed her eyes, ready for what was to come, the taller darker wolf growled viscously as it slowly moved it's maw towards the other wolves face, it stopped just inches away, and then...

"Oh my gosh! You should have seen you're face! You looked so terrified!" The taller wolf named Natalie smiled and started laughing, she had a playful tone in her voice to show that she was joking.

The smaller one named Saarah looked at Natalie nervously "N-Natalie that wasn't funny! I thought you we're gonna eat me!" She shivered nervously. Saarah was the shyest of her clan and usually got scared very easily, which was something Natalie always used to her advantage.

Looking down at her friend Natalie gave her a smirk. "Oh come on, I would never eat you, no matter how tasty you look" she slowly licked her chops teasingly, usually when a canine did this it meant that they we're hungry and ready to eat.

"Natalie s-stop! Y-You're making me nervous!" even though Saarah trusted Natalie completely she became even more frightened and let out a quiet whimper, her body shivered a bit.

"Oh, come on, you know I'm joking." Natalie gave her friend a reassuring smile, Natalie was very playful, but she knew her limits, even as fun as teasing Saarah was Natalie never took things too far.

Saarah just stood there while rubbing her arm nervously, and to try and get rid of the slight pain that was caused by falling from the tree, all she could think about was going back to their clan where they would be safe "Can we just get back to the others...p-please?"

Natalie smiled and patted Saarah on the back "Sure, I think we've done enough training for today" she put her arm around her and held her close, making Saarah feel safe.

But before they could move a couple of feet Natalie had noticed something, a dark figure in one of the nearby trees caught her eye, she stared at the figure for a couple of seconds before realizing who it was, even though most of the wolves in their clan looked very similar Natalie was able to identify each member in the clan, her friends we're the easiest to identify "hey, is that who I think it is?"

In one of the nearby trees a dark wolf could be seen sitting down on one of the branches, the shadowy figure was looking around the forest, keeping an eye out for any intruders that may try to enter their clan's territory, these wolves we're often referred to as scouts or watchers, they we're highly trained and could spend an entire day without falling asleep.

Natalie and Saarah both climbed up the tree to go visit their friend, They both tried their best to be as stealthy as she could in an effort to not startle the fellow dark wolf, once they we're both on the same branch as their friend Natalie spoke up, hoping that it would scare the wolf.

Natalie pretended to gasp as soon as she was close to her friend "Jessika, I didn't know you we're here!" she tried her best to look surprised, which often made her look cute.

Jessika looked behind her as soon as she heard the familiar voice, she had a surprised look on her face as soon as she saw who it was "Natalie? I thought you were dead!"

Natalie smirked as she saw the look of surprise on her friends face and replied "Surprised?"

"Disappointed actually" Jessika began to laugh as hard as she could, nearly falling off the tree as she did, but she was able to keep her balance, which made Natalie very disappointed.

Natalie growled angrily but with a little bit of playfulness "You kiss your imaginary boyfriend with that mouth?" She stuck her tongue out teasingly.

"They're called mates Nat, but seeing how you don't have one I can understand how you could get that confused."

Natalie opened her mouth to respond but knew doing so would continue their insult battle, that was one of Jessika's special traits, she was very smart and incredible at conversations, winning an argument against her was almost impossible, which is something Natalie knew very well.

both went quiet, It was silent for a moment, but it was soon broken by Natalie "So Jessika..see any unwelcome guests recently?" Natalie questioned her friend with slight curiosity.

Jessika's ears perked up, she turned to Natalie as she spoke "No, a German Shepherd walked by here, but he never entered our territory. He was um...wearing clothing."

They both pretended to gag and shook their heads in disgust, Jessika laughed afterwards "Like seriously, EW! Clothing?! What kind of canine wears clothing? That is so disgusting!"

"Yeah, clothing is so gross...was he cute?" Natalie couldn't help but blush a little bit, which luckily for her was hidden under all that black fur.

Jessika looked at Natalie with a disappointed expression "Natalie!" she barked at her friend angrily.

Natalie looked defensively at her friend defensively, wondering what was so wrong about asking that question "What? I'm just asking, there's no need to get upset over it."

"Two things, one he's a normal, and two he isn't a dark wolf, do you know how upset you're mother would be if she saw you with a normal?!"

Natalie just sat there for a moment, thinking about something mischievous "Hmmm...i wonder how she would feel if i was with a pet?"

"Natalie!" Jessika growled angrily at her

"What, pets are just like us, except for the collar part" she responded defensively, which was something Natalie always did when getting yelled at

Jessika stared at her friend with an angered expression "Pets are nothing like us! You need to stop joking around about that type of stuff!"

Natalie let out a long sigh "Fiiiine, you're no fun you know that?" She crossed her arms and looked out into the distance, not really looking at anything specific.

Jessika groaned in disappointment "Natalie, there's more to life than just joking around, maybe one day you'll learn that, gosh you're like a riddle sometimes!"

Even as close as the two are they often argued quite a bit, it was often because of Natalie's sarcastic attitude, Jessika was often referred to as a worry wolf according to Natalie, she was always worried Natalie would cause trouble or get them into it.

At that moment Natalie got a flashback "Speaking of riddles, what was that old riddle our clan used to say?" she tried her best to remember but the thought wouldn't come to her.

Jessika thought for a moment before remembering it "'I am something you fear and something you dread, but I only appear when you are in bed, what am I?'"

"Oh yeah that weird thing, I have no idea why we used to do that." Natalie tilted her head in confusion, she knew who came up with the riddle but didn't want to even mention their name.

"I think it was something you're father came up with...oh um...sorry" Jessika gave Natalie an apologetic look, she knew that mentioning Natalie's father was very upsetting.

Natalie sighed and looked at ground, trying her best to stay calm "It's ok, talking about my father doesn't really bother me anymore"

Saarah rubbed her left arm nervously "Yeah...I wonder what happened to him"

"I don't know and i don't care" Natalie crossed her arms and turned her head, not wanting this conversation to continue and hoping it would end soon.

Jessika looked at her friend with a confused expression "But he's you're father" she immediately regretted saying it after seeing the angered look on Natalie's face, she gulped and prepared herself for what was about to happen next, hoping that it wouldn't end harshly.

Natalie growled then angrily shouted her response "He stopped being my father when he abandoned us"

The forest became silent once again as all three of them just stood there, Saarah and Jessika both had a frightened look on their faces, Natalie rarely ever became angry, but when she did it was usually best to back off and try to avoid her.

"Sorry, I just...I don't have the best relationship with my father...not since he left the clan, I just...have mixed feelings towards him right now, I don't know if I should love him or hate him for what he has done....but at least I've got you two" Natalie smiled and hugged her two friends warmly, dark wolves rarely ever hugged, wolves usually used hugging as a way to apologize for their misdeeds, both Saarah and Jessika hugged Natalie back and everything was normal again.

"It's ok Nat, it was my fault for bringing it up, I should have known better then to keep pushing the subject, I'm very sorry" Jessika lowered her ears, making a slight whimper to show how sad upsetting her friend had made her feel.

Natalie quickly objected "no it's not you're fault, it's mine, I should have never snapped at you, you we're just asking a simple question, there was no reason for me to get upset with you, talking about my father does have negative affects on me, I'm trying to control my anger towards him but it's very difficult after everything he has done to me and the clan, I just wish my mind would forget he even existed, then my life would be less stressful"

Jessika placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder "We each have our personal demons, some of which will never go away no matter how hard we try, but you're friends can help you fight off the demons, me and Saarah are always here for you whenever you may need us"

Natalie gave her friends an apologetic smile and for a second time that morning she gave both her friends another hug, the three of them loved hugs, which was not a common feature for dark wolves, since they we're known for being aggressive.

After some time had passed Natalie remembered something important that was happening that day "We should probably be heading back now; we're supposed to do clan training today."

Saarah smiled a bit then giggled shyly "Speaking of which, You've got some fierce competition Natalie, Maxx and Alix have been training all day and night just to try and be better than you."

"It's ok, I like the competition, besides, I've been training ever since I was a pup, I'm pretty sure I've got this."

With a slight giggle Saarah looked at Natalie and asked with a teasing tone in her voice "Isn't Maxx you're mate Natalie?" Saarah blushed nervously as did Natalie.

"H-Heh, no, He's Jessika's mate" Natalie joked and laughed shyly.

"Is not!..I mean...he is cute and all, but i prefer a mate who is more stronger and smarter" Jessika couldn't help but blush at the thought of a very strong and confident wolf.

"Ouch, I'm telling Maxx" Natalie gave her friend a very serious look of disappointment, even though she was joking.

Jessika gave a nervous look and shook her hands defensively "No that's not what i meant, Maxx is smart and strong, but not in the ways that i want"

Natalie just rolled her eyes, trying her best to look disappointed "Wow, way to soften the blow"

"You keep talking and that's not the only blow i'll soften!" Jessika shook her fist angrily, she always tried to act threatening but it rarely ever worked, especially on Natalie.

"HA! as if, the three of us promised we would never hurt each other, so you're threats aren't very good"

"One day Nat i'm going to get my revenge on you"

Natalie laughed sarcastically, dark wolves we're known for always trying to get revenge but Jessika wasn't a wolf who held a grudge "you? Get revenge? Come on Jess, we both know that will never happen"

"Maybe one day i will prove you wrong" Jessika smirked at her friend, in her mind she didn't know if she could ever get revenge on one of her friends, but only time would tell.

The three friends made their way towards their camp, it wasn't a very long walk, it only took a five minute walk to get their, as soon as they entered the camp Natalie's mother saw the and looked at Natalie with disappointment. "Natalie! Late as usual."

Natalie just smirked "Come on mom, if I was early you would be suspicious."

Her mother grinned "I will neither confirm or deny that."

"Aren't I just you're favourite daughter?" Natalie questioned her mother, trying her best not to smile, which she eventually did anyway.

"You're my only daughter, I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse."

Natalie just rolled her eyes and continued walking, looking around to see if she could find anyone she knew "Natalie" after hearing her name she looked in the direction of the person who said it, standing 28 feet away was Maxx, a tall normal build wolf with a slight bit of muscle to him, Natalie gave him a gentle smile and made her way over to him.

"Hey Maxx, how are you doing, you ready to lose to the fastest wolf in the clan" Natalie placed her hands on her hips and smirked, she always tried to look confident but it rarely ever worked.

Maxx chuckled and shook his head "more like most stubborn wolf in the clan, maybe you're stubbornness will also be you're greatest weakness"

"You forget, I have no weaknesses, I'm completely invulnerable to everything" she crossed her arms and gave Maxx a playful smirk

Max lowered his ears and gave her a sad look "Even to love" he gave her his best puppy dog eyes and began to quietly whimper

Natalie saw the sad expression on his face, seeing others upset always made her feel bad "I um...i...that's different"

"I'm joking Natalie, gosh you're so easy to tease, just like Saarah" he chuckled teasingly.

"Hey Saarah is mine, go find someone else to tease!" she growled playfully then poked him right on the nose.

"Maybe I've already found someone" he grinned then winked.

Natalie blushed and turned her head to try and hide it "I um...should probably...get going...y-yeah, trainings about to start and I um...s-shouldn't be late for it..or else my mother will be upset...yeah"

Maxx chuckled, he liked to tease Natalie almost as much as Natalie liked to tease Saarah "Good luck Natalie, may the best man win"

Natalie just rolled her eyes "You're not the best man, and you are certainly not going to win"

"We'll see about that, I've been doing lots of training, hopefully it pays off"

They both said their goodbyes, Natalie made her way to Saarah, which was the one person she spent most of her time around.

She noticed Saarah didn't look prepared or excited for anything, which could only mean one thing, she wasn't going to compete in the competition, this made Natalie a bit sad, but it was also understandable since Saarah had a lack of training.

"You're not gonna join us?" Natalie looked at her friend, trying to hide the sadness that she felt.

Saarah sighed quietly, she turned her head shyly but did her best to try and look at her friend "Nat, didn't you see how I was doing when you we're training me earlier, I'm awful at climbing trees, that tree is really tall, besides I...I don't want to get hurt"

To comfort her friend Natalie gently placed a hand on Saarah's shoulder, hoping it would make her feel better "Hey, it's ok, you're good at climbing trees, you just need more practice, I'll train you some more tomorrow, ok?"

"Well um...o-ok" Saarah trembled a bit, she was so nervous, not because of her shyness, but because she was extremely worried about Natalie.

"For now just watch me kick some butt" Natalie tried not to giggle while saying that, which luckily she didn't.

Saarah smiled happily, she had always loved watching Natalie train and do competitions "I would love to"

They both giggled and hugged each other, Saarah loved being hugged, it made her feel safe and protected, it was like nothing bad could ever happen to her, but being hugged by Natalie made her feel invincible.

"I'll cheer you on from down here" Saarah smiled nervously at her friend, trying her best to not look worried "G-Good luck Natalie"

Natalie smiled while hugging her friend "Thanks, but you know me, I don't need luck!" They both laughed quietly even though it was technically true.

After saying her goodbyes Natalie made her way over to the group of wolves who we're competing in the challenge, some of them she knew, but there we're a couple of others she didn't recognize, which was understandable since most of them we're new to the clan.

They all seemed nervous and a little frightened, except Natalie, Jessika and Maxx of course, the three of them had been training and fighting battles their entire lives, so climbing the biggest tree in the forest was going to be a walk in woods, even as scary as it was.

The wolves in the crowd we're cheering on the wolves who we're in the race, Natalie heard a couple of wolves cheer her name and she could clearly hear Saarah encouraging her as well.

Everyone went silent as Natalie's mother made her way to the front of the group of wolves and stood eight feet in front of the participants, staring at each and every one of them with a serious look, making sure they we're all ready before making an announcement.

"Alright everyone, listen closely, your training today is all about climbing. The tree you are facing is biggest in the entire forest, getting to the top of it will be a challenge, first person to get to the top will be clan leader for the day, is that understood?"

The wolves standing in the line all replied with "Yes ma'am!" Not all of them we're ready, but they didn't want to quit and ruin their chances on getting one step higher to becoming clan leader.

"Now just remember, this is the tallest tree in this forest, it stands over twenty wolves tall, so make sure you don't fall, because if you do it will be the last thing you ever do, understood?"

Some wolves replied in agreement while others gulped and prayed, most of them didn't have much experience climbing trees, and climbing a tree this big was going to be no easy task.

"Alright, everyone ready, and..." she raised her arm up high, her hand raised high in the air, she looked at the wolves, making sure each and everyone was ready, waiting a few seconds before closing her hand and saying "GO!"

The group of dark wolves ran towards the tree, they all wanted to win, and nothing could stop them from trying to achieve their goal! As soon as they got to the base of the tree, they each used their claws to climb it, digging them into the bark, some of the wolves were fast climbers and others were fast runners, but the one benefit that Natalie had was that she was good at pretty much everything. As a child her father trained her to be ten times better than any other wolf, and luckily for her the training paid off, climbing trees was something Natalie loved to do, so this competition wasn't really a competition to her.

One of the benefits dark wolves had was their claws, they we're so sharp that they could could dig into even the strongest of bark, which made climbing them so much easier, but for the wolves with less experience using their claws, climbing trees was a very difficult task for them.

Some of them lost their grip, sliding a bit down the tree, Maxx was one climber who was really good, even though he didn't have much experience or training at it he was still pretty decent, he hadn't slipped even once, but what was slowing him down was the fact that he was so cautious, but it was understandable giving this trees size.

Jessika on the other hand had practiced with Natalie for years, ever since they we're kids they would train together, but as hard as she tried she never became as skilled as Natalie.

while Natalie was halfway up the tree the others were desperately trying their best to be the first to the top, Natalie never really cared about winning, but she had always loved competing against other, but most of all she just loved the adrenaline rush, her sharp claws dug into the bark as she climbed, nearly at the top Natalie decided to look down, seeing all of the competitors nearly halfway up, a few of them we're struggling while others actually did a decent job, Natalie was actually very impressed, maybe these new members of the clan could actually do a decent job.

She started climbing the rest of the tree until she reached the top, once she was all the way up she looked down at everyone below and smiled, she was the first one to make it to the top, as soon as everyone had finished climbing the tree they all made their way, some of them didn't even make it halfway up the tree, while others made it a little past halfway.

Climbing up was very easy, but the climb down was always the worst, most trees in the forest weren't very frightening, but this one was the biggest in the forest, that is why most wolves we're scared of it and even tried to avoid it the best they could.

Once Natalie was back on the ground some of the wolves cheered and clapped for her, Saarah ran up and gave Natalie a big hug, congratulating her on winning, she smiled at her friend and nodded, Natalie's mother gave her a serious look, but Natalie just smiled and shouted "Well everyone feel free to come say hi to your future clan leader!"

(That's the first chapter of Natalie, thank you all for reading, I really appreciate it, I wasn't going to upload this story until enough people proof read it but i just decided to upload it anyway, to be honest i really love this story, but at the same time i feel like there are some moments in it that are quite repetitive, i didn't really know how to fix certain parts so if you have any ideas on improvements i could make feel free to let me know, I'm always open to criticism, it helps me improve my writing).