"Come on Ali, you're moving too slow." As the female barked at her sister the older wolf frowned in annoyance. This was a normal day for the traveling sisters.
"You shouldn't tell me what to do, I'm older and I demand respect." Ali was quick to stand her ground as Ping smirked under a half-grin. "I'm only teasing," the female added as she shuffled past her older sibling with a sharp smile. The pair had been traveling together for sometime now, the passing of Tajwar left both females feelings half-empty, it was a curse they both longed to be released from, in time they knew this wound would heal, but for now the siblings lived in the raw feeling that was attached to losing their mother.
"You could pretend to be nice you know." Ali frowned as Ping left in front of her, prancing circles around her older siblings.
"Pretend? Please, you are far too sensitive sister." The darker female meant no harm, in fact this was her way of trying to help relax her older sister, Ali was always worrying about something lately and Ping just wanted to see her sister smile.
"Eh, I'm sorry. I just haven't been myself lately. I miss her too, you know? Tajwar chose me to lead the pack when she fell ill and I have let you all down. I mean... look at us, It's just the two of us left now, Ping. What have we become?"
"I think you're being too hard on yourself, sister." It was true, Ali had grown tired from their travels and had fallen into a personal despair, it was hard to reach her when her mood turned so quickly, shifting into an unfamiliar place, a place that Ping could not reach or understand.
"Still, you have me, and I will stay by my alpha's side." As Ping turned to face Ali she could see her older siblings smile return, this was a tiny victory but it was a victory nonetheless. "Thank you sister." Ali's striped tail swayed from side to side as the pair continued to walk onward, toward the wild unknown.
"Besides," Ping added as she pushed her shoulder into Ali's side. "You never know, maybe we will find some of our old pack, maybe our siblings will return to us."
"Perhaps." The older wolf smirked with a nod, nudging back into her younger sibling's side.
"-Even if they never return... I am glad I have you. I do not think I could handle the loss of our mother and all of my siblings, I am not that brave nor am I that strong." It was never an easy thing to admit, being afraid, but here in this moment Ali was truly thankful for her lone sibling.
"I half expected you to leave me months ago." As Ali spoke her eyes wandered off into the distance.
"What?" A look of discontent swept cross Ping's face as she stopped puzzled and perplexed, standing still as her sister contented on for a moment without notice. As soon as Ali was aware of Ping's sudden pause the female wolf turned and frowned.
"What? Does that surprise you, sister?" This was an attempt to harm her younger sibling, in anything Ali as just surprised she still had family at all, so when Ping stopped dead in her tracks the female wolf felt guilt carry her off into her next sentence. "Look, I didn't mean any harm by those words, I simply meant, I mean-"
"No, It's okay, you don't have to say it." Before her older sister could finish her thought Ping interjected with a firm nod. It wasn't hard to see the look of desperation sprawled out across Ali's face, it wasn't like she didn't know how much Ping cared, Ali was just having a hard time, she could understand where the stress was coming from. They were a broken pack, even if they had each other.
"Ali, I will follow you because you are my alpha. Tajwar picked you from our litters, you are my sister, my other half. I will stay beside you through this and we will start a new pack, with or without the help of kin. Alright? You worry far too much."
As Ping spoke the older female sighed deeply, relaxing her shoulders as the pair continued on.
"You never worry enough, so I worry for the both of us." It was a playful remark, not meant to burn at her sibling's good ends.
"True, but if you worry for us both that gives me time to do other things, like enjoy this journey with you." The orange-coated wolf smiled as she ran out in front of Ali, taking the lead once more.
"Besides, without me to keep you grounded you're mind would be lost to your concern." Ping wasn't wrong, Ali was a very cautious wolf by nature, so having her down-to-earth sibling around to help keep her mind centered did change things for her, Ali was incredibility thankful, even if she hardly liked to admit it.
"Hush you," The older wolf barked as she started to sprint toward Ping, nipping at her ear as she passed her.
"Now who's the slow one?" A deep laugh settled between her chest and lungs as she glanced up at the sky. It was going to be alright, so long as the two stuck together like this they would be able to rebuild the pack their mother once lead. It was hard moving forward but it was all they had left, the sisters couldn't live in the past forever.
"Come on dead weight, let's get going." Ali joked as she glanced over her shoulder, eyeing her younger sibling with a smirk.
"Yeah yeah-" Ping chirped as she quickly moved to walk beside her sibling once more, shoulder to shoulder.
"lead the way." As the females set off on their long journey to find a new home and pack they both went into the future with open minds, perhaps they would find kin along the way, maybe even see their father? Who knew, only time would tell.
WC: 1020 words