In my house, we used to make a lot of noise regardless of what my other three brothers and my mom and dad always told us to lower our voices or not make so much noise, we hardly ever paid attention when we were little, to be honest. I even found it fun to annoy them occasionally until one day my brothers and I reached the age of 18, even though we are the same age, none of us is alike, not even in skin tone; we became a little more pinkish than others, but it's very easy to tell us apart by our ears.

When we were newborns, our parents decided to cut them all to identify us, for example, my older brother Luke's ears were pointed like those of an elf, my second brother Marti's ears were droopy but very large, mine like the third brother Atta's were slightly cut, they were not different from those of any other piglet, but my younger fourth brother Jerry's ended up being very small.

We were discussing what game we should play now when my father arrived with mom and told us it was time to go find a shelter but not too far from where we were because it was very easy to get lost in the forest. When we heard those words, we all jumped for joy, hahha! Finally, we would go outside! Our parents were always yelling at us, telling us not to do this or that, but this time they finally gave us that freedom.

We started gathering some things that would be useful for our new home, and while we did, our somewhat hesitant parents started telling us that there were more creatures like us outside, and even of other species that have never been mentioned but are very mysterious. The more they told us, the more I imagined myself walking through the whole forest, meeting new animals, and having someone to talk to about common things until dad's expression suddenly turned serious and he started telling us that there are many beasts that could kill us but there is one we should stay away from and run no matter what.

He began to describe it as a kind of dog with sharp teeth, its skin was not visible as it was covered in fur, very fast, and usually not alone, he didn't say it clearly but I could more or less imagine how terrifying they were. As soon as the 4 brothers heard that, my brother Jerry almost fell to the ground in fright, and his desire to leave home vanished. When we saw that, we all smiled; I didn't see my face, but I couldn't be happier than Jerry's. When my father stopped narrating that, he finally said they are known as blood wolves, with a name like that, damn, could it be that our parents are sending us to our deaths?

My mom could only look at us with compassion and began to say that the reason they decided on this was that our father was starting to get old, and the food would no longer be enough for so many mouths. I began to understand my parents' point of view, and I didn't blame them; after all, we were no longer the same children as before, but every time I thought about the blood wolves, my skin kept getting pinker, and the others could notice it. Seeing this, Luke tried to cheer me up by saying that if my skin turned so pink, I would be the first one they would try to hunt. Upon hearing this, I just got tenser, but I understood that I had to calm down; after all, we weren't even outside yet.

Once all our things were ready in our backpacks and we were ready to leave, dad approached each of us and told us to be careful for now, just to go see which areas would be good for us to live in and grow some fruits and vegetables. Now that I saw the fence covering our house, I asked dad if that thing was to prevent someone else from seeing us; I was really curious about that every time I asked dad that question when I was little, he just shook his head, but this time he nodded and said it was to prevent the blood wolves from confirming their prey because they could only smell our trail but it wasn't very perceptible.

I began to understand many things, like why mom asked me to lower my voice when I was little and the real reason why they only tell us about the fence now; they probably didn't want us to live in fear of those things in our childhood until today. I didn't ask any more questions and went out with my brothers; Luke began to lead the way and said that we should not stay away from each other. At first, I was very scared by what my father told us, but after walking for the first few minutes, I began to breathe nature, big trees, small rivers, the singing of various birds, God, everything was incredible, and I took a very deep breath and told myself no matter how, I want to live having great views and enjoying this life!

I don't know when, but Marti, seeing me in that state, splashed me from the small river, soaking all my clothes, and they started laughing. I returned the favor by doing the same, and after laughing a bit, I asked him if he already had a place in mind.

"I like being here; with the river nearby, I can make a small pond and not worry about having to drink. Have you already decided where to stay?"

"Right now, I want to see more places, and I can get some land where it would be difficult for those wolves to pass."

"Are you still thinking about that? Although dad mentioned it somewhat aggressively, I don't think it's that bad. Come on, if we don't hurry, we'll lose sight of Jerry and Luke."

When I heard his response, I began to wonder and doubt myself, if I had really been exaggerating about that issue, maybe I could also live near Marti if those beasts weren't so aggressive. When we arrived with Luke and Jerry, as soon as they saw us, Jerry put on a satisfied face and said that this land was perfect for him, a small land with trees very close to each other, then he turned to look at Luke and asked if he had already decided where to stay.

Upon hearing this, Luke said he wanted to walk a little more to decide; it didn't take long for Luke to really choose a place somewhat similar to Marti's with a nearby river, but this one was much larger than the previous one we had seen and with few trees around. It was only me left, and the others started to press me to choose; the sun was starting to set. I quickly chose to stay somewhat close to where Luke would be, only that unlike where he would be, I would have a wall of smooth stones and trees together. When my brothers saw my choice, it seemed a little strange to them, but they didn't say anything.

On the way back, my backpack started to get heavier to the point where I wanted to throw it away, but I saw I wasn't the only one; Luke, Martin, and Jerry were starting to sweat too. I realized that carrying too many things definitely wasn't good for this type of journey. Just when I wanted to tell my brothers this, we heard a howl, and we all started running without looking at where it was coming from; it didn't matter who it was, we all quickly got out of there.

Arriving home, mom asked us what had happened, but we were all too tired to recount the details. After a few minutes, we told them what had happened, and mom sighed in relief that we had gotten away from there. Dad, who was also listening, asked if we had already chosen our homes, and we all forgot about the earlier incident, each starting to explain our preferences to the others. When they heard that I had chosen a place near the stones, they just looked at me with a little surprise because that place, no matter how it looked, was strange; our species always preferred open places.

As soon as I got home, I wrote down everything that happened on the trip and noted what things I needed to improve to avoid making the same mistakes. When I realized it was already night, I went to bed thinking about those beasts and what the howling meant; why did they do that? I never knew at what moment I fell asleep, and the next morning, Jerry threw water on my face while I was sleeping, and I started chasing him to give the brat a beating. As soon as Luke saw us, he said that dad was looking for us, and we should start early to build our houses. I quickly changed and read again the note I had made the night before.

When dad said goodbye to us, he said that if anyone didn't finish their house today, they were free to return home. I grabbed what I needed and went out with my brothers; the first to say goodbye was Marti; apparently, his house would be made of Earth. I didn't see any problem with that, and on the way to our future homes, Luke started saying that now that we wouldn't be together, we should at least visit each other from time to time. I didn't understand the sudden change and told him,

"Don't get sentimental, it's not like we're going to be separated forever."

"I know, I just going to miss scolding you and hitting you haha. Is your skin still turning pink, kid?"

"Kid?? Cut it out, look at this face and body, damn it! I'm so fierce and imposing that if those wolves come near, they'll run away with their tails between their legs."

"Whatever you say, brat."

Soon Jerry said goodbye to us, proudly declaring that he would make his house of straw; even if there were dangers, it would be enough to hide among the straw and not have to run. This guy never stops being lazy; I sighed and moved away. Now Luke seemed more confident; as he began to tell me that he would build his house of wood and the plans he had for the future, I was really surprised by the ideas he had.

And in the end, when I arrived at the stone wall where I wanted to live, I also started to build with some heavy stones and removing some trees from the path. While I was doing it, I took out some vegetables to eat and wondered how my other brothers were doing. I quickly ate and continued; God, it was so tiring to have to move stones and stack them on top of each other, avoiding them from falling and having a strong base.

I looked up and saw that it was starting to get dark. I grabbed my things and quickly left where I was, but on the way, I saw that my brothers' houses were ready, and I started to feel frustrated. Damn it, they had already finished, and I hadn't even done half of mine. When I arrived home, my parents were surprised that only I had returned. At first, they were somewhat scared if something had happened to me. I quickly responded and went to bed; the more I thought about my brothers, the more I began to doubt if I was on the right path. Was what I was doing really right? Should I follow Luke's steps and make one of wood, or maybe make one of straw like Jerry and start harvesting? I really didn't know what to do; there was also Marti, who had said that the wolves weren't a big problem.

I now doubted what to do, and I did the same as the night before; I began to write down what things I did wrong this day and made the decision that no matter what, I would continue with my plan. Even though the harvest is important, there is still someone who will provide it to me, but with the wolves, I wouldn't be very sure about what my brothers did with their houses.

It was morning, and I decided to get up early; when I saw Jerry's bed, I couldn't help but sigh; just a day ago, we were all right here, and now only I remained. I packed my things and said goodbye to my parents; now I would definitely continue with what I wanted.

It had been exactly a month and a half, and I had finally finished. When I finished, I decided to give the news to my family, but as soon as I arrived with Luke, he just mentioned that he was busy and now didn't have time to see me; if he had time to be there, I should use it to do something with my life. That hurt me a lot coming from my own brother, whom I respected a lot, but he wasn't the only one; Martin and even Jerry told me almost the same thing. I walked away and wondered, what had happened? Was it because I didn't visit them, or because they saw me as someone who didn't care about anything?

I arrived at my parents' house and gave them the news that I wouldn't come here anymore and that as soon as I finished the harvest of my home, I would take them with me to stay to live; after all, I was very grateful for what they had given me, and the house I had made was too big, so there was no problem.

I said goodbye, and I had already passed Marti's house, so I was almost home, but as soon as I heard a howl, my skin bristled, and I was stunned. This was strange; I always thought that wolves were creatures that only hunted at night, but as soon as I heard that howl, I started running so much that I even stumbled a bit while doing it.

I remember clearly that I was going to ask Marti for help when suddenly a wolf passed by his house. As soon as I saw this, I stood still and tried to hide, but what kind of creatures were wolves? They were beasts very sensitive to smell and as soon as he located me, he began to call his pack and follow me. It was almost instinctive that my legs started to run and run, I had so much adrenaline at that moment that I never realized how many were following me. When I turned back, I clearly saw 5 large gray shadows following me without stopping and the worst part was that they had stopped making noise, which made me trust that they were no longer following me or that I had lost them. Just as I saw the entrance to my house, about 5 meters away, my mind started to cloud a little and I felt a wrenching pain in my left shoulder that made me shout and fall to the ground.

It was inevitable, even though I considered myself fast, I never thought this would happen to me. I could only endure the pain and crawl towards my house while being bitten. Upon seeing this, the bloodthirsty wolf started to laugh sinisterly. He let me go and I saw how he enjoyed seeing me as his fallen prey. I could only crawl, pretending to be almost dying and my screams even began to sound lower. Just when the other 4 wolves had arrived at the scene and I was one meter away from my house, the wolf that had ripped a piece of skin from my shoulder jumped again and with all my strength, I kicked a regular stone near my house and two large stones started moving towards us, crushing us completely. This change was so sudden that even the remaining 4 wolves could not do anything. Once they saw the two large stones crashing together towards us and with the wolf and me crushed, they began to howl and left quietly from the place.

Everything happened so fast but for me it was like hours or even weeks or months, I had never felt time so long, and when I turned to see my body, it was intact except for the part where I had been bitten, but the wolf in front of me had half of his body crushed by the rock and the other half with an incredulous expression of what had happened. I really thought about things and my fear of wolves was not irrational as I thought, because I just managed to reach the safe part of my house where I knew the stones would not reach. I had taken so long to do some traps for these horrible things and today I finally saw results! Maybe killing a wolf would not be a great achievement for other species, but for me it was a total success! A success that what I had done made sense, no matter how much my family criticized me at the time, today I finally saw results.

I quickly entered the house and my excitement did not stop shaking. I went to my room and wrote down everything I experienced today and what things I could improve when things like this happen to me, from avoiding taking open routes with few trees to avoiding being overconfident thinking that wolves only come out at night. This was really very interesting for me, but when I remembered the bite on my shoulder, I couldn't stop sweating and my skin turned pink again. As soon as I finished writing, I took some water and went to bed. I was really tired and with a wound, it was difficult for me to be active all the time. When I opened my eyes, it was just dawn and I went to look for some seeds and plants to harvest. I started walking and walking and I had enough to plant. Now I was just on my way home when an incredible smell reached my nose and I saw that it was a star-shaped plant with a circle in the center. I decided to pick a few and collect some mud where they were planted. Not before taking a mud bath and having some fun, I came out shortly after all, I didn't want the same thing to happen to me as yesterday.

I arrived home and started planting. Time passed and in about 15 days, everything was ready. I looked at the sky and small snowflakes began to fall. I remember that when I was younger, I used to run through so much snow and fall asleep in it. But now, I only worried if everything was ready to survive. I asked my father if the firewood I had previously cut was enough or if I should go for more. He just gave me a smile of approval and finally, I could relax. Everything I had done made me feel more and more proud.

This was only for me because for my brothers it was the opposite. It turns out that the blood wolves this time started to go in groups of 3 and even though they were few, they had found Marti's refuge as soon as they saw it, they began to destroy his earth house because the rains and the ice did not help, on the contrary, it only made it more difficult to move around inside it. As soon as they saw him, they jumped towards him and he started to run with all his force towards Jerry's house.

When Jerry saw how his brother was, he helped him, but things never got better, on the contrary, his straw house began to collapse and get torn apart, both covered in wounds and blood, only attracted more wolves and they went to Luke's house.

But when they arrived, they saw a horrible scene, their brother Luke was already being chased by 3 packs, north, south, east, and with the river behind him, it was difficult to get out of there. When they saw this, they caught the attention of the wolves and they began to follow them. Now it was not just one pack chasing them, but 4.

They quickly ran with all they had to my house, but the last pack saw a pig coming out of the house, injured and bloody on the wooden boards.

They did not hesitate and took advantage of this opportunity; they could not let something like this go to waste, especially not during the winter season. When Marti and Jerry saw this, they stopped to see that Luke was nowhere to be found, and the last howl was difficult to bear.

The wolves began to hasten their pace, and when they saw that the brothers were not moving, they did not stop wagging their tongues. The first pack tried to jump over Marti and Luke, but a horrible smell reached their noses just as they were about to jump.

Finally, it had come, but when I saw the situation, I knew that something horrible had happened. I had no choice but to take out the plants that I was growing, the ones I had picked from the swamp and I knew they had something special about them, but I did not know what. I decided to call them the death plants because no creature approached them. Marti did not even turn to look, and Jerry, even though he did, his eyes seemed empty.

Now, I finally understood something; Luke was nowhere to be found. It was horrible to express what I felt, but we had grown up together for 18 years, and even though no one told me, we still understood each other very well. I could only grab both of them and throw them aside where they would not get in the way, I did not have much time left, and the wolves were already in front of me, and even though that plant kept them away, it did not mean it made them run away.

The more it snowed, the more the aroma began to fade. I decided to get their attention by throwing myself in front of them before the smell faded away completely. If I waited this time, I could not even save myself. The entire pack of wolves began to chase me, and just as they were about to bite me, I decided to jump and grab onto a tree branch.

The wolves never stopped running to catch me, but just below the ground, I had placed wood in the shape of spikes. It was really only made for six or eight wolves, but among so many creatures, the base of the trap could not hold, and it ended up taking the lives of the majority.

With the few that were left, they began to disperse and run away without anyone to guide them; they were only sending themselves to their death. I headed towards my brothers and took them inside my house, where my parents were already waiting for us.

When they began to narrate everything that had happened, I really did not know what to say; I did not cry, did not feel happy, I just felt an empty space inside me and did not know how to react. All I saw was that my entire family began to cry, curse, and get angry, but not a word came out of my mouth; I was completely immobile. When night came, I could not take it anymore and began to cry silently, avoiding letting my family see the expression I had on my face. I decided to let out everything I felt in a low voice.

My eyes were red the next day from the previous night, and my family noticed it. All I could tell my brothers was to stay. This time we had to do something we could be proud of, something to live for. And so Marti took care of the harvest with dad, and Jerry made clothes with mom. When they finished their tasks at night, the three of us went up to the roof to improve the bases and traps.

From now on, it's just us three brothers in this forest, hoping to see more species that seek refuge, because we were never told the real story of this world since we were young.