"You said it!" Alice sunk down into a play bow. "Now, how about we go and meet Pike?"

She nodded at somewhere else at the rendezvous site, about ten meters away. A brown female with large ears stepped out of the tall ginger-colored grass. Pike.

Libby swallowed. Was she ready to meet the Pack's Leader so soon already? Alex seemed hesitant, too. Alice saw how uncomfortable they were. "Hey, Pike doesn't bite, you know? She's gentle and calm. I'll introduce you!" Without another word the off-white she-wolf grabbed the rabbit between her jaws again and trotted in the direction of the Leader.

Libby met Alex's eyes for a moment, before carefully following her friend.

***

"So, what do you two know about Pack rankings so far?"

Libby repressed a yawn as she looked into the face of Elder Willow, a white she-wolf with black markings that ran from her far eye corners to her cheeks like lines.

Libby and Alex had finally reached the age where the Pack's Elder would be teaching them, but so far the lesson has been a huge snore-fest. Everything was about protocol, proper wolf manners, among other things.

Alex, though clearly not very fond of the lessons, either, at least tried to play along. "I know about Pack structure," he barked. "There's the Leader, a wolf that is in charge of the Pack.

"Then there's the Second, who acts as a Leader if the current one is gone, and is a close advisor of the Leader as well. Below them are the regular Pack wolves: the Patrollers, who control the borders and fight if necessary to keep them safe; the Hunters, who bring the Pack food; the Sentries, who are found most often at the rendezvous site and are often the strongest, ready to protect the wolves at the site with force if needed.

"There's also the currently nursing parents and Elders, who don't have to leave the rendezvous as often.

"Last but not least, the trainees, young wolves following training in the fields of ambition until they earn their Rank, and the unranked pups. That's us!"

"Very well said, young Alex." Elder Willow closed her eyes as she spoke slowly. "The Pack depends on this structure, and it must be kept this way. We cannot go running amuck like a bunch of savage nomads. Always do as your superiors say and follow Pack protocol. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Elder Willow." Alex's words were loud and clear.

Libby rolled her eyes beneath her eyelids as she blinked. "Yes, Elder Willow." She hated having to address the old she-wolf this way. If they could call their Leader simply by her name, why did it have to be any different for the Pack's Elder?

"Now, remember, pups, that the say of your apprenticing is not far away. You'll be given a mentor, and train with them and others, until you find out what your calling is. Then you'll continue to train under one of the wolves Ranked the same as the Rank you desire. If you succeed in your training, you'll be eventually Ranked as one of them."

"That sounds fair," Alex responded. "I wish to become a Hunter. Or a Sentry."

Libby rolled her eyes. That's so boring! I want to become a great fighter! I'll be a Patroller!

"From then on you'll be fully part of the Pack. You'll partake in the daily tasks, which mostly involve getting prey and keeping the territory and Pack safe. But you'll still also be required to at times do the things your Rank doesn't do.

"Patrollers don't exclusively check out and defend the borders, Hunters don't just hunt all the time and Sentries don't remain at the rendezvous constantly. So don't think you'll be shoved in a Rank and do nothing but that for the rest of your lives."

Alex nodded. "Understood."

Elder Willow narrowed her pale yellow eyes. "Libby, are you listening?"

The brown wolf pup was staring off into the distance, once more checking out the edge of the forest.

"Libby!"

"Oh, sorry!" She quickly directed her attention back to Elder Willow with a guilty expression, her ears held low.

"I expect you to pay attention, young Libby! Don't be disrespectful towards your elders!"

"I'm just thinking!" Libby responded defensively. "Has a wolf of our Pack ever ventured into the woods?"

"That's not what you're here for, pup!" growled Elder Willow, her hackles rising. "You're here for lessons on protocol and proper manners!"

"But I was just thinking--"

Alex gave Libby a small shove. "Drop it, Libby. Elder Willow's right. Stay on topic."

"Ruh, fine!" the young she-wolf rumbled.

"Thank you, Alex." Elder Willow seemed to be content again. "Now, as I was saying, you don't have to do the same constantly. And, if you desire so, or prove better at another aspect, you can always switch Ranks. But don't do this lightly. This is supposed to be a rarity, not the standard.

"You can also climb up in the Ranks. Generally, the younger wolves in each Rank will be of a lower position than the older ones. However, if you get picked as Second, for example, you will instantly outrank the Sentries, Hunters and Patrollers. Who knows, maybe you'll even make it to Leader one day!" She chuckled as she watched Alex, but then stopped as she regarded Libby. "Some of us, anyways."

"But there is one more sub-rank you pups must know about. Aside from functioning as regular wolves in the Pack, at least one but preferably multiple ones in our Pack are also Healers. This means that they know of the herbs and plants around us, and how they can be used to heal others. This is incredibly important. When wolves get sick or hurt it is vital that they survive and get through it for the Pack. So that's why we have Healers. Maybe one of you picks it up someday. For becoming a Healer you go to Healing School, which is held in the Carnassials mountain rage up north.”

"I'm definitely gonna be Leader someday!" Libby yipped.

"SHUT IT!" Elder Willow snarled, instantly baring her teeth. "I'm getting tired of your know-it-all attitude, Libby! Do me a favor and stay quiet! Or I'll have Pike punish you and have you stuck in your den again in no time!"

Libby's eyes grew wide, but then a defiant frown formed on her forehead. "You wouldn't dare!" she bayed.

"Try me!" challenged Elder Willow. "Just go ahead, and try me."

Libby met the old she-wolf's cold yellow gaze for a moment and narrowed her own eyes.

"Libby...don't," she heard Alex say carefully through gritted teeth. Ugh, fine! she thought It's not worth it, I love being out here too much.

Finally, Libby averted her gaze from Elder Willow. The white she-wolf seemed content. "Good. That's enough for today, pups. Come back tomorrow for your next lesson. And for the love of the Spirits, stay out of trouble!"

Libby rolled her eyes before instantly trotting off in the direction of Alice, who lay in front of the den, drowsing in the light of the afternoon sun. Alex followed her more slowly.

"Hi Alice!" Libby barked as she sat down in front of the off-white trainee.

"Leave me be..." Alice groaned absent-mindedly. "Let me sleeeeeep."

"Come on, you lazy porcupine! Get up! I'm bored!"

"Didn't you two just finish your lesson with Willow?" Alice replied without opening her eyes.

"Yes we did! But now I'm bored! There's plenty of time to rest!"

Alice finally raised her head and yawned. "I had a tough training session today, you know? I had to walk across half the territory border! In just the morning and early afternoon!"

"That's a lie and you know it!"

"So what if it is? I'm exhausted and want to enjoy the sun while it's here. Usually I'm still out in the Plains by now. It feels good to be able to rest in this warmth every once in a while, you know?"

Libby wagged her tail. "No, I don't know. Me and Alex are stuck at this stupid rendezvous all the time! I need a break from this! I want to go out and explore!" A sudden idea popped into the pup's mind. "What if you were to take me out? Would that work? We wouldn't be alone!"

"Libby, no!" Alex instantly yipped in response, his ears erect in alarm. "We can't go out! We can't leave the rendezvous site yet, even with Alice! We're to stay here, they made that perfectly clear!"

"But there's nothing to do around here other than listen to Willow ramble at us each day," Libby protested.

"And there's a good reason for that! We'd be in terrible danger out there on our own!"

Alice scratched herself behind her ear before sitting straight again with a tired expression. "Listen to your brother, Lib. I can't take you out. It's too much of a risk. And imagine if we got caught...you'd be in trouble, but just think about what they'd do to me! I'd be responsible for you! They'd probably shove me back into the den and place a huge rock in front of it so I'd never get out until I'm Grandma's age!"