[STM] Stormy Days

Sundays were a calm and chill day for Wolf Hallow Preserve as they were closed to the public on Sundays. Though the preserve didn’t see too many guests as it was compared to other zoos and educational centers, they still had enough guests to keep the funds flowing along with grants, donations and the like. The Darkmyr family which owned the preserve and had founded the town of Wolf Hallow also greatly helped with funding and supplies. 

Today though was not a calm and chill day, it had started out dreary and raining, the sun never shining from behind the darkened sky, shrouding the land in fog. A storm was brewing and lightning could be seen striking through the sky in the distant clouds, no thunder had yet to rumble. Ares and his wife Iliana were nestled inside their home on the couch with warm coffee as they watched a movie. Perses was also in his own home, though he was taking advantage of the day off by sleeping in on such a dreary morning.

Out on the Preserve the various packs were all taking shelter for the upcoming storm. One of them being the Grey wolf pack, which was currently consisting of Killian, Faolan and one of their offsprings, Skoll, a male whom had be born with tan pointed dark greyish black fur. He was a little over half a year old now, at eight months. He growing nicely and filling out quite well. 

Killian and Faolan had brought two litters to the preserve now, their first litter of four had all been taken to other facilities to use for their breeding programs or other purposes. Their second litter had consisted of three pups with two of them being sent to other facilities while Wolf Hallow Preserve retained one of the pups. Though in the wild is was customary for males to be sent out from the pack, Ares and Perses hoped Killian would allow Skoll to remain in the pack for awhile as it was only him and Faolan.

Wolf Hallow Preserve was still fairly new and building their population. They were more of a personal research area for the Darkmyr brothers to study wolves in their natural habitat as well as work on the species population by helping increase their numbers. They had plans on sending offspring off to other facilities for their own breeding programs as well as plans to release some into the wild. They had only recently opened their doors to the public in a more educational setting rather than a traditional viewing zoo. They wanted to educate the general public on the various species and hopefully insight them to help preserve the various species as well.

The pack was currently on their way to their man-made rock den after a morning hunt when the light rain had suddenly begun to pour down on them, soaking the wolves rather quickly. The winds picked up as the thunder strikes became more and more frequent now accompanied by thundering booms as the sky darkened even more. The wolves quickened their pace as they headed for their shelter.

By the time the three wolves had entered the den which was grassy inside and had a second level in the back off the ground that currently had straw scattered on it, freshly placed the day before in anticipation of the storm. The three all shook their soaked coats, sending water droplets flying all over the cave walls. It was cold in the den and the wet fur did not help at all, the wolves all quickly set to work licking their coats, attempting to dry it more.

Killian huffed as he gazed out the opening of the den at the raging storm outside, his light brown eyes held an annoyance in them. He hated the rain and the loud booms of thunder. He then returned his attention to licking his light blackish grey coat dry of the wretched rain. Once the male had felt his coat was dry enough for his liking he stood and stretched. He was about 4 years old now and had reached his full height and weight, he was rather average for a Grey Wolf, nothing too remarkable about his size. He was a fine specimen of the species and proved to sire nice offspring, though either him or Faolan must have a hidden gene or two as their second litter threw not one, not two but all three were tan pointed, with one of them also being piebald. It was a true oddity when the humans had seen and they were excited to see what their third litter would bring when it came time.

Killian then moved over to his mate and began to join her in licking her coat clean. Faoloan was smaller than Killian was, she was slimmer and much more lithe and graceful in her movement. Her coat was a lighter color than her mates and though she slightly lacked in size she made up for it in her mothering ability. She was a wonderful mother to her pups, very attentive and never a worry from the female. She gave her mate an affectionate lick before returning to her coat and often giving his coat a couple returning licks. 

Skoll kept to himself, but soon gave up, glancing over to his parents and cocking his head for a moment before heading to the second level and jumping into the straw to lay down.

Soon enough the two had stopped trying to clean their coats and had found their way to the second level of the den, nestling in together with their son in the dry straw while the storm raged outside around them. It was a truly dreadful day and was only just touching noon with no let up from the storm in sight. It would most likely continue on for the rest of the day and into the night. The wolves though hoped it would end soon, a hope which would not come, not until midday the following day when the skies finally cleared and the rain let up.