Chapitre 2: Ooh, teeth!

I found out that I was a wolf cub.

Wow.

A wolf cub!

It had been three days since I could see and properly think.

I raised my head and counted my new litter mates cuddling together with me. I had five other siblings who shared the womb with me.

I was an only child in my last life and I had always dearly, dearly wished for a little sister or brother to pamper and play with. Suddenly gaining five siblings gave me a lot to think about.

They were slowly beginning to open their eyes. They were trying so hard it made my heart go 'squeee'. It looked like their eyelids were glued together. As I watched them in anticipation, I noticed that they had blue eyes. I was the first amongst them to gain sight.

Ha! I win.

Wait, was this feeling the legendary, sibling rivalry I have always heard about from my classmates? It begins at birth?

I practiced flexing my muscles for a while for the next few days and managed to stand shakily. It was hard because my muscles were never used that way before but experience helped with the process. Now the problem was to walk.

Bipedal animals just needed to alternately put either of their legs forward to walk. The key was balance. Now, the thing that stumped me was that I had two pairs of legs. And I didn't really remember how an animal walked. My memories still weren't clear enough. That, or I just never paid attention to it.

Did quadripedal animals put both the right-side legs forward at once and then the left ones? Or did they use the front paws first and then the back ones next? I do remember seeing a cheetah running that way in a nature documentary.

In the end, I saw an older member of the pack some distance away from the den entrance. The sun blinded me but his silhouette was easy to make out.

He walked with both pairs of limbs working alternately. I tried to copy him. Right forelimb, left hind limb; left forelimb, right hind limb. Good. Got it.

I celebrated my first baby steps with a cheer and a loud squeak and continued to unstably move forwards. It all went well until my short tail tripped me by throwing off my balance. I may have been wagging it too hard in my excitement.

"Huff."

Was that my mother laughing at me?

I felt a gentle force press around my waist and was lifted a few inches off the ground. She put me back with my siblings using her large mouth.

It was time for our meal again. Umma kept licking us with her big, rough tongue. The size of it was enough to place three of us side by side over it. And I still do not know how long it actually is.

She made sure to never hurt us with her claws and fangs; fangs strong enough to snap an adult human male's thighs off easily like a toothpick.

My siblings were already suckling her. I strove to get up and join them. While we had our meal, I realized Umma was using her tongue to massage our stomachs to help us pee. Then she cleaned us up and adjusted us so we were more comfortable.

A few more days passed this way as we lay about nipping and biting at anything that came near our mouths. I think we had begun teething. I could feel my gums itch and hurt so bad that I chewed on my paws, intent on resolving that itch. Running my tiny tongue along my cheek, I felt a little row of bumps protruding out of my gums. Ooh, yeah! Canines.

I couldn't wait to get a full set of nice, sharp, gleaming teeth. I wonder how strong they'll be. Do wolves have dental care?

A few more days passed like this. I could make that out because of a thin strip of light that entered the den through a hole. It was a very tiny hole, no bigger than a coin. I think the walls of this den were made of wood.

Leaving behind my litter mates, I explored the hollow. There were many faint smells. I saw a bug scuttling about and I tried to catch it. It was slow and smelled of metallic earth and pungent pheromones.

The den was very big and echoed. Even the dried leaves I found inside were big. The smallest of them were as big as my paw.

One of my siblings started to learn how to walk. The rest of them just lay about sleeping. Lazy bums they were; only knowing how to squeal and cry.

I had very little sense of how the time passed. I would wake up and sleep irregularly with nary a care for what went on outside.

One day, I found a very special thing. It was a stick. A super special and fantastic stick. Chewing on it gave my itchy gums relief. It was just the right size to hold too. This would be my treasure.

Umma would constantly pick me up and dump me back with my siblings whenever she noticed me away from the leafy nest. Then, as if to keep me occupied, she would lick me more than the others.

"Umma, I know I do move about more but you don't have to be so partial to me. Really. Please do me a favour and go lick that brother of mine who is tottering about over there. Look, he tripped. Go there. Go over there. I really want to go explore! Ugh."

Unfortunately, Umma couldn't listen to my thoughts and she would completely ignore my pleading squeaks.

I resigned myself to fate. I hope she doesn't lick my fur off. I didn't want to be bald at such a young age. I wondered how old was I.

Where was my father? He should be the alpha since I read once that only the alpha couple gives birth to a litter and the rest do not.

My days were spent sleeping, suckling, getting licked, chewing on the stick and rolling my lazy siblings all around the nest. They had such tiny ears and their tails were just- I am short of vocabulary. I cannot describe how stupidly cute they were. I think I'll be their eldest brother.

I did not know who was born in which order and I don't think Umma kept track of it while giving birth. Oh well. I simply proclaimed myself the eldest. In the future all of them lazy bums will have to listen to me!

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