Brothers
By: Bay, 6th grade
“Ugh, Sukemto! Leave me alone!” A reddish-orange wolf shouted. “Just get away from here, half-breed!” The other black-blue wolf snapped, getting dangerously close to killing the other. The red wolf frowned, and turned. “You think you’re so great! Well, you’re not! You’re so conceited!” He walked off, growling quietly.
“Don’t ever talk to me again, Noitar! If you do, I’ll kill you!” Sukemto snarled back, and walked back into his cave. He settled down on the floor, his claws digging into the hard stone floor.
“That stupid half-breed. He thinks he belongs here when he’s half fox. That moron doesn’t! This is a wolf pack; how could he not understand that!” He grumbled to himself. He turned away from the entrance, and looked to the ceiling. “I’m going to kill that idiot…”
Meanwhile, Noitar was lying in the woods, looking at the sky. The quiet chatter of birds rung in his ears; and a large shadow was being cast upon the ground by the large, old trees. I hate Sukemto. That jerk thinks he’s better at everything. Better at hunting, better at running; everything. He’s not. Everyone in this pack is equal. That wasn’t saying much, because there were only four members. I’m going to teach that stuck-up a lesson! He growled, standing before storming through the dark forest, fuming at the thought of Sukemto.
The next day, Sukemto was eating some elk by himself when he noticed Noitar trying to kill a small rabbit nearby. “Feh,” he scoffed. “That idiot couldn’t kill anything even if it had already died.” He saw the other wolf fail in his attempt to kill the rabbit, and began to sulk. Noitar looked up, and glared at the black wolf nearby. Sukemto returned the evil gaze, causing the half-breed to turn and leave. Sukemto gave a small smile before closing his eyes. He needed a break from that moron. Soon, he was drifting off into sleep…
He opened his eyes. He was in a prairie of sorts. That was funny. Kundiar had no prairies that he knew of; only forests, mountains, and deserts. The sun had just begun to rise, and the sky was a pale grey, almost lavender. He took a few steps forward tentatively. Nothing appeared to be there other than him. The ground was soft, and grassy. The dirt was a rich brown. He surveyed the area. No animals, trees, nothing.
He walked around for a minute before sensing that something, or someone, was behind him. The wolf turned, and saw a golden glow coming from not too far away. He walked towards the dim glow, and looked down. A wolf lay on the ground. It was… Noitar? He had small, golden wings almost floating on his shoulders. His eyes were closed, and he looked slightly different. His tail wasn’t as bushy, and his muzzle was more broad and his ears smaller. He opened his eyes, and they, too, were a brilliant shade of gold. He stood up and smiled. He was now slightly taller and larger than Sukemto. The now smaller wolf began to wonder what happened to him. “Look, Sukemto. I’m a pure wolf now. I can be part of the pack.” His smile was wide, and his tail wagged. Sukemto was very confused.
“What’s wrong, Sukemto? Are you alright?” The ‘wolf’ asked. The other made no response, because he began to feel a tingling feeling in his shoulders. “Hey, you just got your wings!” Noitar said happily. Sukemto then felt something on his shoulders. It felt strange, as if he had a pile of feathers all over him. “C’mon, now that you have your wings we can fly!” Noitar said, and took off at a run across the prairie.
Sukemto was now extremely befuddled. “W-wait!” He said, and began to follow. But, as he ran, he noticed Noitar beginning to glow. Sukemto rushed to his side, keeping in perfect pace with him. Noitar didn’t seem to notice that he was glowing. “Noitar, you…” Sukemto began, but stopped as he saw Noitar’s legs begin to disappear in a flourish of gold sparkles. He gasped as the rest of his body began to float into the thin air. “Noitar!” He shouted, and leaped at the last remaining fragment of the other that was left, but he fell roughly on the dirt. Noitar… was gone.
Sukemto opened his eyes with a start, and jumped up. It was all… a dream. A very strange dream, at that… He looked outside the cave he had fallen asleep in. It was raining hard, and he even saw a flash of lighting in the distance, and the subtle boom of thunder. He stared through the drops, and saw Noitar trotting through the rain, completely soaked. “Noitar, you imbecile! You’re going to freeze to death!” He called, but the half-breed didn’t hear him. He shook his head. Why was he suddenly worried about that moron?
He then noticed Noitar begin to run. “Hey, you idiot!! Slow down!” He called, and rushed out of the cave. With his longer legs, he was able to get in front of the other, stopping him in his tracks. “What are you doing? You’ll freeze!” Noitar was solemn, and his gaze seemed to stare right through Sukemto. “I’m leaving the pack...”
“How could you leave?! Then I would have no-one to hunt with, or anyone to hang out with, or…” He trailed off. What was wrong with him…? He had never cared so much about the half-breed. Noitar pushed him aside, walking on.
“Leave me alone. I’m leaving because you said that a fox couldn’t stay in a wolf pack…” Sukemto snarled, and tackled the orange wolf. “NO! You are going to stay here! It doesn’t matter; we’re still a pack, and pack members look out for each other!” Sukemto barked. Noitar frowned. “Since when do you care? You’ve always said I was a moron and a half-breed since we were young…” Sukemto dug his claws into the stomach of the other in frustration, and then climbed off.
He pinned his ears to his head and looked down. “I never meant it… I just took all my feelings out on you. I was angry that we were alone, that we had no family, so I just yelled at you to get it out of my system. I never cared that you were a half-breed, I just had to let my anger out or I might have exploded…” Sukemto said, the shadow of a smile playing on his slips. Noitar smiled grimly. “Really…? You never meant it?”
Sukemto nodded. “Actually, you’ve been my best friend all along… we’re like brothers, you and I…” He looked into his friend’s eyes. “We’ve never had any family, and we’ve always stuck together. That’s what brothers do, right?” The dark wolf felt embarrassed. He had never talked so seriously before. Noitar smiled, and offered a paw to Sukemto. “Come on, let’s go back to the cave.” Sukemto looked up, and returned the smile.
“Yeah, let’s go… because brothers look out for each other.”