The lupian run

Lupians still attached to the old ways of finding a mate for themselves. And because of their tribal lifestyle, they believe that the strongest male must be married to the strongest female. To decide the pecking order of the pups, they have their run every year as their coming-of-age ceremony to decide who is the strongest among them.

Every year there are four runs. Usually, they happen at the same time but not necessarily on the same day. There is one run for the males and one for the females among the Heatwave lupians. The same happens among the Frostbite lupians. The goal is to run up the Fiery Frost Mountain, grab an ice cactus and come back to the starting point as soon as possible. This run is extremely treacherous. The mountain is a dangerous place where ice and lava can change into each other in seconds, below the pups' feet. But the mountain is where the lupian hybrids live. They protect their territory, killing everybody they can come upon. So, the run is not just about who is the strongest but also who is the fastest, more cunning, more intelligent, and last but not least, who is the luckiest.

Because if you could avoid the hybrids and evade all the dangers the mountain threw at you, then you must be fortunate to find an ice cactus when there is ice beneath it and not lava. Ice cacti live in the small lakes of the mountain, and it is nothing but pure luck that you find an ice lake or a lava pit.

When the lucky ones have the ice cactus, it is just a race down the mountain to get back to the relative safety of the tribes and meet your future mate.

During the run, sometimes the pups kill each other. It is not frowned upon by any tribe members, but it is not encouraged either.

My mate was the fastest runner during the run and luckily the most gorgeous too

— Horrortooth, lupian chieftain