"Mooooom! She's doing it again!" Alex's whimper woke up the gray-white she-wolf that lay in the den. The she-wolf, their mother, blinked in confusion after her ears perked up, and then shook her head to try to clear her mind.

"Alex, dear, what is it?" she then said softly, but the question answered itself. The she-wolf's second-born pup, Libby, was pulling her brother's tail roughly.

"Stop it!" Alex demanded.

"You're no fun!" Libby growled between his tail fur. She shook her head roughly, and Alex let out a yelp of pain.

The she-wolf quickly got up and frowned. "Libby, stop that. Stop that right now. You're hurting your brother," she said sternly.

Libby narrowed her eyes and laid her ears flat against her neck, but didn't release the gray wolf pups' tail. At a snarl of her mother, however, she finally did as she was told.

"Finally!" Alex whined. "You might as well have pulled it off!"

"I was just having fun..." Libby said apologetically. "I didn't mean to hurt you but..." her voice grew steadier again as she furrowed her brow in annoyance, "but you're no fun to play with! You don't like tail-chasing, you don't like Prey and Hunter and you don't like racing! What else am I supposed to do? Sit here and be quiet all day while Alex just watches the Hunters, Sentries and Patrollers at the rendezvous?"

"You're supposed to be a properly behaved pup!" her mother said with a severe look in her eyes. "Elder Willow will start complaining if I don't raise you well enough before it's time for your first lessons."

"Elder Willow has a stick up her rear and is never satisfied, might as well have some fun," Libby responded, her ears perked up and her tail held high in defiance.

"LIBBY," the she-wolf snapped. "Who told you such heinous things?"

"Alice did."

"Alice is rude and has no boundaries, you shouldn't follow her example." The she-wolf sounded grumpy. "Make an example of your brother. Alex is patient, calm, and ready to listen to authority at any given moment." The gray wolf pup proudly raised his head and wagged his tail at his mother's praise.

Libby blew a raspberry. "Alex is boring! I want to get out of the den already and explore the plains and forest!"

Alex spoke up. "Even when we're allowed outside the den, we'll only be on the rendezvous site! You can't just go walking into the plains! You'd get taken by an eagle or coyote as soon as you'd set a paw outside of the safety of this place!"

"Very true, Alex," the gray-white she-wolf agreed. "And we are wolves of the Fading Shadows Pack. We are Plain-dwellers. We do not go inside the woods. It is a dark, dangerous place, not one for any of our Pack to visit. Let the forest Packs keep their ominous and murky place, we have the Brightened Plains to live in."

"Bluh." Libby stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes, but didn't engage in any further discussion. Instead, she moved closer to the entrance of the den, from where she could watch the wolves on the Fading Shadows rendezvous. There were quite a few wolves in her Pack, including her own mother, Shebina, and her father, North.

The rendezvous site itself was a sandy open space located within the Brightened Plains. Their den was located between the roots of a single lone tree that stood there. The other wolves simply slept under the sky. Libby thought that sleeping under the stars must be the one of the greatest things there is.

But, alas, she and her brother were only three weeks old. It'd be only one more week until they'd be allowed outside the den, and then, another week later, they'd be going to their first lessons in how a wolf behaves, which was traditionally taught by the Pack's elders.

"I wish I could go outside already," Libby said wistfully under her breath.

"Well, keep on dreaming. Just one week left. You shouldn't be so impatient," Alex said, looking surly over his tail still.

"I'm just excited! I'm tired of being cooped up in here with you and Mom all day with so little to do!" When Libby saw her brother's and mother's annoyed faces, she quickly added, "No offense."

Shebina lay down on the earthy ground again and yawned, her sharp teeth bared for a second. "It'll be okay, Libby. Just be patient, please. Just watch your Packmates with Alex, okay? It's too early for this. I'm going back to sleep." Without any further words the she-wolf lay down on her left flank and closed her eyes.

Libby made an annoyed "whuff" sound, but other than that remained quiet, watching her Packmates. She could see the Pack's Leader, Pike, a brown coywolf, sitting near some of her Hunters on the other side of the sandy open space. The Pack Leader was busy discussing something with the other wolves surrounding her.

And there was Alice, Libby's best friend in the pack. Libby longed for Alice to come to the den and talk to her again, but she had recently been apprenticed to one of the Pack's strongest Patrollers, Cleo, so she was off in the plains for now.

"We can go out when we're old enough. Just one more week," Alex reminded her, settling himself beside her, looking out the den entrance.

"I know, I know." Libby shook her brown fur and licked her lips. "I just feel like I'm about to burst with excitement! Didn't you hear the stories Alice told us about how great it is out there?"

"'Course I did. But we all know Alice has a flair for the dramatic. She probably exaggerated half of it."

"Did not!" Libby defended her friend, feeling hurt. Alice wouldn't lie to her, would she?

"Ssssh! Not so loud!" Alex narrowed his eyes and gestured towards their slumbering mother with his tail.

"Right, right." Libby lowered the loudness of her voice. "I just can't wait." She saw the Hunters had left Pike behind, presumably to go on a trip to get food, while the Pack's Second, Zeta, sat down beside the Leader and initiated a conversation. Libby tried to listen if she could hear what he was saying, but the buzz of the other wolves present at the rendezvous site and distance made it impossible.

"Maybe we should just go to sleep," Alex said while lying down and repressing a yawn. "Time seems to go faster when I'm dreaming."

I'd rather watch the Pack, Libby thought, also taking a lying position, and felt a sudden surge of exhaustion come over her. The sun had barely even risen, after all. Reluctantly, the little she-wolf curled up besides her dark gray brother and closed her eyes. The world outside the den would have to wait, anyways. Might as well sleep through it.

***

"Libby, Alex, gather around." Her mother sat up in the den, hunched over so as to not hit the roof of it.

The little pups, who had been playing roughly in front of the den, looked up. Alex instantly did as he'd been told. Libby gave another wistful look at the outside of the den, from which the bright orange-yellow light of the rising sun entered the den, but then sat at her brother's right side in front of her mother. "Yes?" she cocked her head in curiosity.

Their mother shook her fur for a moment and then began. "You are, as of today, four weeks old. You've grown, your ears have perked and your adult coats are starting to come in slowly."

Libby's eyes widened in excitement. Young as she was, she didn't exactly know how to count days, or how long a week exactly was. But now she'd had her mother's confirmation. She was going to leave the den!

"So, as of today, you're allowed to go outside of the den and explore the rendezvous under supervision. Libby, keep that in mind. Supervision. No going out of your own and absolutely no leaving of the rendezvous site! If I catch you even looking at the plains or the forest longingly you'll be cooped up in this den for another few weeks! Am I clear?" Though Shebina’s eyes were serious, Libby could see a little playfulness inside them as well. "The same goes for you, Alex, though I know you'd never be so stupid to go wandering off. Look after your sister, okay?"

The dark gray pup nodded, a serious expression on his face. "Of course, Mom."

"Now go outside and make your father proud!"

Libby didn't have to be told twice. Without a care in the world she turned around and sprinted outside of the den, barking hoarsely with excitement. The wolves present at the rendezvous looked at her, confused and curious, ears perked.

When Libby saw all the gazes settle on her, she felt a little less confident, and her tail dropped slightly. The brown wolf pup didn't pay any attention to Alex, who carefully exited the den behind her, sniffing cautiously. Then, finally, their mother came after them.

"Shebina!" The call came from a rather small brown wolf with dark brown eyes. Libby felt excitement bubble up inside her again as she recognized her father, North. He didn't visit them as often as the young pup'd liked, but it wasn't really up to her to decide. Sometimes wolf fathers were just as much involved in their pup's lives as the mothers, but other times they kept their distance.