by hell_hound » Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:56 am
Prologue
The gently-falling snow from the gray sky above landed softly on the ground of Amethyst Mountain in Yellowstone National Park. All creatures were tucked safely in their nests as they awaited the freezing Winter to subside into spring. Well, not all creatures. A daring few were roaming the hills and scurrying along the underbrush between the tall pines. Squirrels questing for last-minute hiding places, coyotes trying to find somewhere to keep warm, and late hybernating bears blundering through the snow toward their quiet caves. Every now and again, a bird would caw or whistle to greet the fresh wave of Winter frost.
But those creatures weren't the only ones out and about that chilly morning. A beautiful silver wolf with eyes the color of gold topaz marched across a small ivory clearing toward a den made from a fallen log and frozen moss with a determined expression on his face. He had a hare dangling from his jaws, his teeth clamped tight around the bloody and mangled neck. The scent of blood would travel for miles, and if he didn't hurry back to his mate and pups, that might pose as a problem. Ears folded back against the cold wind, he managed to make it to the den and wriggle his way inside.
It was dark, but there was just enough light for him to see by. There she was-- his mate. A beautiful brown and red she-wolf with kind amber eyes. He dropped the rabbit at her front paws, noticing she looked especially exhausted. She was also incredibly sick, and he worried for her. He knew she didn't have long, and he was trying to accept that fact, but it was hard to sit there and see your mate go through such a thing and know that she wasn't going to make it. She'd only managed to produce one little pup with him-- a solid white female that was just beginning to open her crystal-blue eyes to see the world. And his daughter was so tiny that he wasn't sure if she would survive, either. Grief was a heavy burden to carry.
The brute gave his love a quick lick to the cheek before nosing the meal toward her, praying she'd be able to eat and keep it down. She took a few dainty bites with the front of her teeth, but no more. Disappointment washed him through to the very roots of his gray fur, but he was careful not to let it show. He finished the morsel within minutes, ravenous from chasing it down. It took a lot out of a wolf to pursue and catch a hare.
He heard a tiny whimper from his single pup as Lila washed her with a long pink tongue. "What are we going to name her, love?" he asked in a curious way, wondering if she had thought of a name suggestion. His voice was deep and gravelly-- the kind of voice that made a shiver run down someone's spine.
"I was thinking Celeste, or Roma. Perhaps even Leela." Lila's voice was the exact opposite. High, but calm and serene, like the steady flow of a creek over a bed of pebbles. He loved listening to her talk, but knew she had to save her breath for simply the principle of the matter. If she wasted too much air, she'd gasp for it. That was part of her sickness. He didn't know what it was, but he could only hope and pray to the moon that it wasn't hereditary.
And then their little furry angel sat up and tumbled over her own tiny paws. Leela meant "amusement", and it seemed to fit. "Leela," the male decided, giving Lila a glance to make sure that was okay with her. He never did anything she didn't want him to.
Lila's eyes softened with love and that expression only a mother could create, giving their daughter a few caring nudges to help her back into her original position of laying down and blinking as her eyes adjusted. She murmured with all the adoration in the world, "Leela it is, then, Tribe." Tribe stared at his little family, pleased that they'd come to an agreement. Leela. Such a beautiful name for a beautiful little she-wolf.
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A few short months later Leela tumbled from the hollow log in a flurry of white paws and excited yaps. She'd found her voicebox, and, boy, was she using it. She was so full of energy, even after the tragic passing of her mother. She just couldn't help it. Tribe watched from the mouth of the den, his once-bright eyes dulled by age and grief, and it was obvious he was still mourning the death of Lila. But he always put on a happy front for his one and only pup. Whatever made her happy, he would do. No matter what. That's what being a good father was about-- making his children happy while doing what was best for them.
"Daddy, watch me!" Leela exclaimed loudly as she attempted to chase and catch her own tail. After a few moments she ended up on the snow-free ground in a cloud of dust, her tail clamped between her teeth. It tried to wag, but when it moved it made her head boggle with it. A bark of a laugh escaped Tribe.
Just as he opened his mouth to congratulate his child, a howl burst from not too far away. The howl was dark and all things cold. It wasn't friendly in the least. Judging by the voice, Tribe suspected it was a rogue. But the scent on the breeze was all-too familiar. Danger. He leapt to his paws, barking at Leela, "Get back in the den, Leela. Now."
"But, Daddy--"
"Now!" His voice was final. He watched her scurry in fright of her father's temper. When she stuck her little black nose out of the hollow log that she wouldn't call home for very much longer, he ran his tongue across it. She returned the gesture. "Stay here, no matter what, all right? I have to take care of something. Leela, I love you."
Leela nodded, her blue-turning-amber eyes full of fear. They were going to be just like Lila's, he knew. And looking into them brought back both painful and joyful memories for the old brute. "I love you more, Daddy." Her tone trembled as water gathered in her eyes. Wolves couldn't physically cry, but that didn't mean their eyes didn't water from time to time. She didn't want her daddy to go-- he could get hurt. But she had no choice and she would go along with what he said. Mostly.
"But I love you most." And with that, Tribe gave her one final kiss goodbye across the forehead. Taking a deep breath for courage, he jumped to his large gray paws, kicking up a cloud of dirt as he did so. He heard Leela sneeze seconds before he took off in a gallop of sorts. Bounding, was probably the better word for it. Grass whipped his body as he ran toward the trouble that had ruined his morning with his only daughter, but it was nothing compared to the claws that squeezed his heart. A small part of him knew that he wouldn't see Leela again. And that hurt him most of all.
Once her father was well away, the little wolf pup crawled out of her den again. Wanting to make her father proud by her tracking skills, she put her nose to the air, then to the ground, and followed his scent. It was deep and masculine, like a human male's cologne. Distinct, and stricly Tribe's. She passed through unknown and rather scary parts of the woods. Places she'd never been allowed to venture through until now. And even now she was breaking her father's order.
When his scent was at it's strongest, Leela crouched behind a thorn thicket, trying not to yelp when a sharp prick happened on her nose. Blood welled, but she licked it off and lifted her gaze to witness what was going on in front of her. Tribe was standing in a defensive position, tail raised and hackles spiked. His teeth were bared and dripping saliva like raindrops would drip from a wilted leaf. His growl rattled her eardrums, and to her it seemed to shake the very earth itself. She was very shocked when the wolves surrounding her father didn't back down.
An entire pack of at least eight wolves-- all in color ranging from black to brown-- had her father completely cut off. It was a wonder she could see anything at all. And then the crowd parted to reveal a massive gray wolf with splashes of white and red-brown across his muzzle, shoulders, and haunches stride up to Tribe. The two exchanged venom-filled words before a fight broke out.
Leela witnessed Tribe sink his teeth into the multi-colored brute's shoulder, but the nameless male didn't make a single noise-- he just twisted around and tore a hole straight through her father's side, causing the strongest male wolf the pup had ever known to yelp sharply and drop back. The other wolves were barking, snarling, and urging the two fighting males to keep going. Blood was dripping from both their mouths, falling onto the ground and leaving scarlet sprinkles. She'd never felt more frightened than this very moment.
Nameless and Tribe fought for several more minutes, dodging and snarling, biting and bleeding. And that's when Tribe made a fatal mistake. He latched onto Nameless's back leg, twisting it horribly, but that left him open to an attack. Leela gazed on in horror as the male's fangs poised to rip into her father's spine. However, she build up her nerve, so when the attacker was just seconds from killing Tribe, the little she-wolf sprang from her hiding place and barreled into the other wolf's face, knocking him back a few paces. But it was enough.
She lifted her tail in dominance, the fur on her spine sticking up board-straight. Her lips were drawn back from her teeth, and she positioned her paws so that it would be rather difficult to knock her off her balance. "Leave him alone," she snarled aggressively, though she knew down deep she was no match for this monster. He was a giant compared to her.
A sly, sadistic, wolfish smirk spread across Nameless's face. "Well isn't this cute? You had to have your pup come in and fight your battles for you. How pitiful, Tribe. You know, she's awfully pretty. Just like Lila." He stepped forward, but Leela didn't move from her protective place in front of the only parent she had left. He shoved his face in hers, their noses almost touching. "You'll be of age soon. You should give me a howl when the time comes, and you start looking for a wolf to warm your fur." Laughter and barks of agreement came from within his pack.
Her temper flaring and her nerve growing, Leela snapped at him, taking a good chunk out of his nose. Blood spurted in her mouth, and she swallowed, unable to do anything else as Nameless raged in front of her, easily knocking her to one side. She whimpered as she was tossed aside like a ragdoll. Her spine hit a rock, and her vision blurred with pain for half a second. When she managed to stagger clumsily to her paws again, she watched in sheer terror as Nameless tore into her father's throat. Blood splashed onto the ground. Howls of victory filled the air.
Going numb from shock and instant grief, Leela watched as the wolves turned toward her father's old territory and proceeded to mark it as theirs. Lifting legs, squating, whatever worked for them. She then met the eyes of a lone male. He was probably only one year of age, with nearly identical silver fur as Tribe-- his being just a few shades darker-- and bright yellow eyes that matched the color of the sun. He was skinny and scrawny, with developing muscles that would take about another year for him to fill-out. But she could tell just by looking at him that he would be extremely formidable when he was of age.
He didn't speak, and he made no move to join her, but there was sympathy in those stunning eyes of his. He felt sorry for her, and that was almost as bad. When he didn't join in on the celebration, Nameless cuffed him across the ear with his teeth, causing the smaller male to cower and slink away. She wondered what his name was.
It wasn't until late evening that the intruders left her with her father's very cold corpse. She waited until the last wolf-- the compassionate male she'd locked eyes with-- had vanished into the undergrowth before bounding to Tribe's side and burying her nose in his fur. She wanted to scream, to snarl, to bite something. Grief and loss shredded her heart into a million fragments. The blackness of it all closed around her throat like a vise, nearly choking her to death. At that moment in time she did want to die. Left alone at such a young age with no mother or father or even other packmates to keep her company was a very lonely thing. And a wolf was all about family.
In a moment of sheer emotional pain, Leela tossed her head back. A powerful, mournful howl tore through her lungs and chest. It was a beautiful sound, but also sad and utterly depressing. It ripped through three octaves, and still it climbed the vocal ladder. And she didn't pause until she was gasping for breath.
Hours later, as the sun was rising above the horizon, she caught the faint scent of a pregnant female wolf. Baring her teeth and preparing for a fight, Leela hunched over her father's body and let a growl rumble through her body. Her ivory fur was caked with dried blood, dirt, and whatever else had been on the ground at the time. She saw a beautiful onyx she-wolf emerge from the bushes a few feet away, and noticed her pause in surprise.
The female was beautiful, she had to admit. Her fur was glossy and shone in the light of early dawn, and her eyes were a deep-set amber. Almost burnt-orange. Her stomach was swollen with unborn pups, and three trailed after her in nervousness. One was probably a few months older than Leela, and male. His pelt was every bit as black as his mother's, but his eyes were blue. An odd combination. Perhaps he was blind. But he wasn't, she knew, because he instantly said, "Why is there a white wolf crouching over a dead body, Mama?"
Leela, insulted by this, snarled a warning. "Back off. Leave, or I'll make you leave myself."
"Hush, Kameron. Speak nice things. This poor child looks all alone." To Leela she asked, "What happened to your parents, little one?" Her voice was soft and sweet, like she remembered her mother's being.
"My mother died of sickness, and my father was murdered."
"Well, dear, I'm Ashta. The black brute is Kameron, the little white and blonde she-wolf is Keta, and-- guys where is Rohamon?" Ashta demanded, glancing around. The other pups gestured with their noses to a nearby raspberry bush. Wolves ate only meat, but a curious pup would sometimes try different things simply for the sake of said curiosity. Keta was younger than Leela, with mixing fur colors of dull yellow and white, with blue eyes, and Rohamon was a bluish-white.
Ashta padded slowly and calmly over to Leela, and the pup relaxed her stance just a bit. "Would you like to come with us? Females don't often adopt other pups, but you look like you could use a good meal and a bath," she observed rather bluntly. Leela sniffed her paw. Yeah, she needed to bathe. And the gurgling of her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in a while.
Thinking it over only took a moment, and suddenly Leela was trotting beside Kameron and Keta, getting to know her new foster brother and sister. Rohamon, or Roha, was the youngest of the little pack, with brown fur. He kept nipping at Leela's tail-- something she found both annoying and rather brotherly. She already felt at home. And as she left her father's old territory, she felt stronger and ready to take on the world. Or at least tackle the long walk back to Ashta's territory, anyway.
c☾A DOG CANNOT MAKE THIS JOURNEY ALONEBUT xxxxxx MAYBExx A WOLFxxx CAN
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