Lil'One slowly opened her eyes. She had been hunting around her pool for some days now. This had been a nice stop for her. There were plenty of small game and the water was fresh. The young shewolf yawned deeply as she looked around.
Her eyes focused and her jaws snapped shut.
There in front of her about one hundred yards out was another wolf, politely sitting, waiting for her to see him.
Lil'One sat up, staring hard at the young male, seeing and more so smelling that it was indeed a male.
Once he was sure she had finally seen him, he stood and slowly closed the distance by half. Sitting back down, once again he waited.
Lil'One craned her neck trying to see better without having to get closer. This was a young male she had seen before.
She let out a short warning bark. Proud of herself, she turned and padded off.

That evening the young shewolf lapped water from her pool only to be startled by a reflection, not her own.
The young male sat across the pool, down wind and this time less than twenty yards away.
Lil'One stumbled, stepping on a loose stone as she began to step back and ended up to her chest in the water.
Splashing and growling, she huff indignantly at the male as she backed up onto the dry ground once again.
The young male simply cocked his head from side to side watching the young shewolf try to compose herself.
Another bark followed by a growl from Lil'One was countered by the male licking his paw.
No matter what the young female did, the male seemed almost disinterested.
Finally , exhausted , Lil'One sat across the pool glaring at the male under heavy eye brows.

Most of the morning had gone that way. Lil'One would show aggression and the male would counter with a yawn or at best a look from the corner of his eye.

Stubborn to the bone, the young shewolf refused to leave. Glaring, barking, growling.
The young male seemed to fall asleep across the pool, his paws crossed, his nose buried between them.

The sun directly above them now, the female gave in, wading into the pool to escape the heat. The male continued to sleep and snore no less.
Lil'One's feeling were bruised as she listened to him snore after her best scoldings.

The shadows began to cover the pool and the two wolves.
Lil'One's belly growled, waking the young male.
The young shewolf glared at her belly, embarrassed.
Looking up, she saw the male was gone. She lifted her muzzle up sniffing the breezes. He wasn't far.
She began to look around for frogs or crayfish in the shallows.
Once again she looked up to see the male there in front of her. Startled, she sat in the pool, her jaw dropping.
The young male gently lay a rabbit at the water's edge, then backed away.
Lil'One looked at the rabbit, then at the male. Again her belly growled. She couldn't believe this traitor of a tummy of her's.
Trying to ignore the present, she looked around the stones in the water, nipping bugs and minnows, yet her eyes would continue to wander towards the rabbit.
She could stand it no longer, looking around to see the male had disappeared once again, she stepped up to the rabbit and fed.

The moon full, the young shewolf began to sing to herself quietly.
A second voice joined her drowning her's out. She sang louder. He sang louder.
Their voices began to form a chorus, and for a time she forgot she didn't like him.

The morning had a pink light to it and the mists rolled along the pool as Lil'One woke. She looked for the male, but he was no where to be seen.
"Good," she thought.
Yawning, she stretched and headed off in search for breakfast.

The morning was getting long before the young female returned with mouse breath.
Laying next to the pool, again, was another rabbit.
Lil'One looked around and sniffed the breezes , but there was no sign of the male.
Looking around once more, she sat down to her meal.

Waking from her nap, the young female was once again greeted by the young male across the pool.
She began to look closer at this wolf. She hadn't noticed before that he was somewhat handsome. He had black and silver fur across his back , along his muzzle and under his eyes. He had white legs,chest and belly. His white eye brows furrowed as he watched her study him.
Maybe she would let him stay, she thought.
She lay her head back down on her paws as she watched him.
Seeing her relax, the young male panted a grin and lay down across the pool from her.

Waking, the young male saw Lil'One staring at him. He grin softly, sat up and padded off.
Lil'One looked around, she couldn't believe he just got up and left.
Standing, she sniffed and looked about for a moment, then lope off in the direction he had gone.

Wading through deep grasses, Lil'One saw a black and white tail flash in front of her. She lay down for a moment. Seeing it again, she crawl along on her belly till she was next to the young male. Without even thinking, he nuzzled her.
There in front of them were several deer. She looked at him, then slowly made her way around their left flank. He worked to the right.
The young buck saw the fawn colored fur and stamped his foot. The small herd, alerted, Looked towards Lil'One as she crept along.
Snorting and stamping, the deer watched her move.
The explosion from the rear caught the deer by surprise. Before they could react, the buck was down.
Lil'One ran up to the buck grasping his shoulder as the male held his muzzle.
Though , not the best hunter she had seen, he was still quite good for a young wolf.
Lil'One relaxed as the buck did.
The two wolves looked to each other.
They had made their first hunt together.
The young male looked to her , panting a grin.
She looked to him grinning as well, thinking that maybe she would tolerate this boy, just for now.