Deep in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, on one warm spring morning, everything was at peace. Birds were chirping, the breeze was gently grazing the infinite pine needles of the forest, and the sky was a euphoric blue.
Suddenly, a woman's cry rang out from a large cave in the rocky mountainside, and in mere seconds swift, strong paws flew across the dirt, as the woman's cry was met by those of an infant.
18-year old Sebastian Brooks looked up at his father, who was holding him by the scruff of his neck. Sebastian had been about to scare some camping humans as they drove up the road, planning to leap onto their car and snarl at them, when he felt the strong paw grab him.
"What exactly do you think you're doing..." His father growled, letting go of his son's neck, Sebastian stumbling briefly before righting himself.
"Aw, c'mon Dad, I wasn't going to hurt them..."
"And what if your little pranks get those humans killed? What if people come looking for them?"
Sebastian kicked at the dirt, lowering his head. "I don't know..."
His father shook his head, "Look, Sebastian...I know you're bored out here sometimes, but we have to do what we can to keep ourselves hidden. Humans who come out here to see the wilderness may not be dangerous... but if they came out here for blood, it'd be a different story."
With a sigh, Sebastian nodded, and followed as his father began to pad back towards their home cave. Even though Sebastian was about six feet tall in his wolf-like form, his father towered over him, at a massive seven and a half feet. Besides that, Sebastian was thin and lanky, while his father was broad and toned.
He was unable to suppress his adventurous habits, largely due to growing up with only his parents and the wilderness for company. So, whenever tourists or hikers would come up into the mountains, he always had to at least watch them a bit, and occasionally he'd play practical jokes, stealing their bottle of water when their back was turned, leaving claw marks in the dirt, things like that.
When they reached home, Sebastian's parents embraced, while Sebastian himself stood awkwardly at the cave entrance, half-heartedly trying to avoid his mother's hug. Humorously, due to his stature, his mother had to stand on her tip toes to get her arms around his neck and kiss his nose.
As his father shifted into his human form, and began to explain to Sebastian's mother what Sebastian had almost done, the young werewolf tuned his parents out, ready for a second round of scolding...
Late that evening, Sebastian left the cave by himself, heading towards a nearby lake which both his parents insisted was very special to their family. As he stepped out of the treeline onto the lake's shore, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the mixed scents of pine needles and fresh water.
But when his eyes opened, he realized that he wasn't alone. On the other side, he could barely make out a few towels sprawled across the sand, and soon he saw the family playing in the water; a mother and a father, a small boy, and a girl who looked about his age.
Sebastian had never met a girl before -- not including his mother -- and he felt his curiosity tugging at him, despite his father's constant lectures. He treaded along the shore, gradually circling the small lake to get closer to the girl. His dark fur against the trees behind him made him near-invisible, and he was able to get fairly close to the "object" of his attention.
His heart was pounding with excitement, especially as the girl began to swim off a bit away from the rest of the family, exploring a rocky part of the shore very close to him. He couldn't resist the opportunity, and he began to wade into the lake, careful not to make rough splashes. Finally, only his pointed ears, his heterochromatic eyes (his left eye being gold, the right green), and his dark muzzle were above water.