PrologueA small black ebony raven flew over the treetops, soaring very close over the leaves,stirring up dried foliage with each wing beat. It seemed to just be drifting with the lazy currents of air, not really set on a specific destination. But its eyes would tell you differently. The fear that burned in them would have told that it was flying away from something, or maybe it was just afraid that one of its wings would give out because of the distance it had been flying. But why would it tire itself out with flying so far away> Shouldn't it just know that it needed to land and rest? But maybe it was being chased.
Glancing down, you would notice that underneath the avian ran an eager black she-wolf with pink tribal markings on her legs. The chains on two of her ankles clanked softly with each racing paw step, and a mask covered her right eye, but it didn't cover the right side of her face which was covered in bite marks and scars. Her left eye was sky-blue, as if she was blind, but it flicked around excitedly, tracking the birds direction easily. The white fur around her neck whipped in the wind, occasionally revealing small spikes embedded in her skin, and if you looked carefully enough, you would notice that there were spikes on the backs of her legs as well.
If you happened to be interested and continued to watch, you would notice a slight falter in the raven's wings, and you would notice how it was tiring slowly. You would wonder why it wouldn't just land in the trees, but then you would glance around and realize that the forest was far behind and now the wolf was racing across a long stretch of sandy beach. If the bird was going to land it would have to land on the ground. Right in front of the she-wolf. Suddenly, a large cliff looms up in the distance. It seemed to be filled with power, leaving everything in its shadow.
The raven's eyes would probably light up at the sight of a landing place, but would it make it before its wings gave out? The she-wolf on the other hand didn't seem to tire, only speeding up when the raven began to sink lower and lower. Suddenly, a snap decision was made, and the wolf leaped up, snapping her jaws at the bird, managing to clip a wink with her fangs. It was too much for the raven and it began to descend the final few feet to the ground at an alarming speed.
The she-wolf caught the bird in mid-air, clamping her jaws around its neck with a growl, shaking the final heartbeats out of the poor creature. Figuring that the wolf would now chow on the small avian, you're shocked when you see her drop it to the ground and begin to inspect it, looking over its body back and forth. Strange much? But maybe she's just looking for the right place to bite into? Suddenly, she plucked a feather out form the base of the raven's tail with a grin, and picking up the bird and the feather, she trotted back off into the forest.
You have the curiosity to follow her, see where she takes it, wondering why she choose that feather and what it was for. If you lose interest after a long walk, you would turn around a walk away, missing the opportunity to look into this young wolf's life, but if you continue with her, she would lead you to a camp filled with the overwhelming smell of wolves everywhere.
You would watch from the shadows as she carried the bird and dropped it on a pile of mammals and avians, but she would keep the feather clamped lightly between her teeth, carrying it up to a white male wolf with silver eyes.
You watch as he smiles and barks over to a black female with pink markings similar to those of the young wolf's. The grown version of the raven-killing pup grinned and tied the feather around the wolf's tail with a black string. After it's knotted it blows in the wind, almost seeming to defy gravity as if floats through the air. You step out of the shadows and turn to go back from where you came, shaking your head at the strangeness of it all. Maybe you remember this moment for the rest of your life. Or maybe you force yourself to forget the odd scene you just viewed today. Whatever you choose, you may never come to find out that what you just watched was the pack life of a Trainee in a wolf pack that was believed to be long extinct. The DoM's are back, and they're alive as ever.
Chapter One
"Hey Roja! Congrats on getting your feather band!"
I turned around to look at Erebus, a young Hunter that had just earned his rank a moon ago... And then exceeded to the Head Hunters group with the same moon, a very elite group of Hunters that was hard to get into. When I earned my rank I would be hunting with him for the pack. Just the thought of it made me smile for a moment before I replied to him. "Thanks Eberu. At least you're already a Hunter." A slight jealousy hinted in my voice, and I admit that I wished I was Hunter with him. Being a Trainee and already knowing everything made it soooo boring.
"Yeah, but it won't be long for you now if you managed to take down a raven. I heard that their the most feisty, like you." He smirked and laughed, making his black-violet eyes sparkle slightly.
"Of course you would know Eberu." I grinned at him, showing off my sharp front canines.
He laughed and I turned around in surprise when the familiar flirty voice of Duchess filled my ears. "Well of course Eberu, we can understand why you were made a Head Hunter so early. You're deefffinately one of the best Hunters. I wish I had skills like you."
I grimaced and turned around to face the creamy she-wolf that had a habit of trying to seduce every male in the Tribe. "Hello Duchess." Disdain filled my voice, but I made no move to hide it.
Roja + Duchess = Sworn Enemies
"Oh, I had no idea you were there Roja, with your pathetic little size and all. I guess you'll always be smaller than everyone else. With that size I doubt you'll ever succeed as a Hunter. Maybe they'll keep you as a Trainee your whole life until you're stuck with the Elders." With a smug smirk she spun around, trailing the end of her tail across Eberu's cheek before trotting away.
Luckily, she didn't notice when Eberu curled back his lip in disgust, and wiped dramatically at his face with his paws, as if trying to get rid of any traces of Duchess DNA left on him. "God she's such a flirt." He rolled his eyes and smiled at me when he saw that I was pretending to be engrossed in a leaf on the ground just to hide my laughter.
Finally, I glanced up and met his eyes with a serious expression. "I really wish that a Hell Hound would just take her down already. It would be so much easier if she was Fighter."
Eberu shook his head and sighed. "I know what you mean, but we can't wish her to death. She's here for a reason, and though we currently may not know what it is, Yen wouldn't put her here just to be useless."
Yen was the representation of good, or darkness, having a coal black pelt to show that not all that is good is white. She was also referred to sometimes by the humans as Nyx.
For every good side though, there was a bad side, and being her evil twin, Yang took on the representation of evil with an angelic white pelt. They had to balance out one another, so Yen created us and Yang created the Hell Hounds, an evil breed of wolves that come from the depths of Hell, full of evil and content with nothing other than killing through cold blood.
I said nothing for a few moments before nodding and looking up. "I guess you're right. I'm going to look around for Seata. Thanks again." With a try at a smile, I knew I had failed miserably when Eberu laughed and shook his head. Sticking my tongue out at him playfully, I realized my irritation was gone and, with a grin, I took off and ran through the forest, my steps echoing through the treetops, disturbing birds of all colors. The special thing about my Island was that the number of bird species was endless, and you might even discover a new species daily. I guess I didn't understand how they all got along, but some even bred together to create new breeds of birds. When one went extinct, two more took its place.
Finally, the familiar scents of the sea water on the beach filled my nose and distant screeches of seagulls and Osprey filled my ears, causing me to sigh contentedly. I ran on, speeding up a bit, but then slowing down once again, deciding it would be best not to waste my energy just yet. Not with the stair-case coming up.
When Seata's Pyramid loomed up in front of me, I finally changed my pace to a delicate trot, knowing the the climb up the staircase itself would make me feel like I had just gone through three battle training sessions.
I took a few steps up the stone staircase, groaning when I realized, once again, how long the small ledges extended all the way to the top. At least it was better than climbing Guey's Pyramid. When I reached the entrance to the top room, I was panting from all the work I had just gone through, and when I looked inside and saw an empty room, I about growled in irritation. Going through all that not to have him here. Great.
Turning around, I was about to step on the top step, but a voice called behind me, stopping me in my tracks.
"Roja? Is that you?"
I looked into the room once again, but it was still empty. Where was Seata's voice coming from then? I glanced around, and the shrugged, figuring that I had just imagined it. I started down once again but Seata's voice reached my ears, this time tinged in laughter as if he was teasing me.
I couldn't help but giggle when I realized that he was hiding somewhere in the room. I cautiously entered, placing my feet softly in front of one another, preparing myself for him to jump out at me. I searched the whole room, left to right, and still found no traces of him. Not even a fresh scent. I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion, looking around just in case I had somehow missed him.
I was totally unprepared for what happened next.
A weight crashed on top of me, pinning me to the floor and taking the breath straight from my lungs. "Sneak attack!!" Seata's voice proclaimed. I was trained as a Hunter, but I had learned many experienced fighting moves from my sister, and in addition to that, many of us Hunters were expected to know fighting skills in case of a sneak attack, such as this situation.
I laughed and tried to flip over to knock him off, or at least throw him off balance, but I ended up doing neither, just remaining immobile and stuck to the ground. He was larger, so that was an advantage... And a disadvantage. Because I was smaller, I would be faster and lither, while he would be a split second behind, a fatal flaw if going against an enemy.
"Not.... Fair.... Seata..." I managed out between breaths, and attempted to flip again. This time, I felt his grip weaken, and in that opportunity I managed to get my paws underneath me and shove upwards, throwing him completely off balance. Now it was claw to claw combat, and it would get deadly if you had spikes and tail spades, such as the ones on the backs of my legs and the ones hidden beneath my neck fur.
I was curious as to why he had managed to not get speared by the spikes, but I decided to think more on it after the fight when he leaped towards me. I dodged to the side quickly, and while he was turning back around to face me, I leaped at his legs, careful to avoid the his back ones where spikes glistened menacingly, and darted my out to hit the tendon behind each of his front legs, causing them to collapse in on themselves.
He fell to the ground with an "Umph," rolling on his back. AI took that moment to leap on top of him, my claws poised over his neck as if to rip it often, but when he whined softly, I pulled backwards, signaling that the training exercise was over.
Panting, he managed between breaths, "Good... Job." I laughed when he pulled himself to his feet, but fell back again from the still lasting pain in his front legs.
When he regained his breath, he said, "I have to admit, that was one of your best training sessions yet. Your sister is teaching you well." He winked and I was about to burst with pride. Receiving a compliment from my own mentor and Beta was a great accomplishment.
"Tha-thank you so much Seata." I grinned and dipped my head respectfully to him, licking my shoulder with embarrassment at all the praise. I swore I was probably the shade of a Hell Hound's eyes as I blushed fiercely.
He smiled and laughed slightly at my face before turning serious, his laughing eyes fading to a business-like glow. "This session today has proved that you're ready to earn your rank."
I was overwhelmed in shock, though at the same time happiness. "Are you.... Are you serious?" My eyes were wide with excitment as I realized I was going to be joining Eberu as a real hunter. Not a trainee anymore, but actually allowed on hunts to track down prey.
With a grin, he nodded to my question, and I could see that he was happy with my reaction. "Guey and I have already discussed it and we have both agreed that you have showed yourself loyal and worthy of this spot. I trust that you will do well to prove yourself."
I nodded eagerly, but a thought came to my mind and my energetic smile faded. "But my size-"
"Your size doesn;t matter. Because you're small it will help you with speed when you need to chase down prey."
"But Duchess says-"
"Don't listen to Duchess." His voice was stern and filled with a protective power. "Your size will give you the advantage she has never had, and if you want my opinion, she will never be as good of a Hunter as you are. Roja, you have become like a sister to me, maybe even a daughter, and I knew from the moment I began training you that you were special. I would love nothing more than to see you take the last spot in the Head Hunters."
The blush that had faded was now back and I once again had to duck my head down to try to hide it. To think that my mentor believed in me enough to think that I would be a Hunter someday like Eberu made my heart swell with pride.
"Thanks so much Seata!" The compliment that dissed Duchess made me grin and realize that Eberu and I weren't the only ones who thought that Duchess was an over-flirty nut. In my excitement, I raced back off towards the encampment for the Hunters, eager to tell Eberu. Thoughts swam in my head at a shocking pace, but all I could think about was that I was going to become a Hunter! I was going to earn my rank! I wonder if Eberu will be proud of me? Or will he think I'm pathetic because I'm not a Head Hunter? Oh why does it matter? I'm going to be a Hunter!
I was so ecstatic that I almost missed the dead carrion smell of Hell Hounds a few paces north. But when the pungent smell finally absorbed itself into my nose I froze. My eyes widened in fear as I took a few hesitant steps backwards. If I call for help, the Hounds will locate me and probably kill me, but if I run away, there'll be another danger for the Tribe. My mind flipped back and forth between the two options and without a second doubting thought I let out a short clipped howl that lasted less than a second. Although it was short, it would be heard by all the wolves in the Tribe.
A long lasting howl mean a successful hunt, but a clipped howl meant that help was needed right away. It wasn't long before I heard paw steps racing towards me... But they weren't friendly. I took off running back towards Seata's Pyramid, but I swerved to the right at the last second in the direction of the Forbidden Sector. I let out another howl and continued to run, though I was tiring. I was like a cheetah. Fast for a few minutes, but then my stamina died out and I was slow as a turtle.
"Help me! PLEASE HELP ME!" I howled as loud as I could and then made a decision that was either going to save me or kill me. I was coming up on a ledge that dropped 15 feet to the ground, but across from it was another ledge. It was a three foot jump, something that could be pulled off by a puma, but not a wolf. I didn't slow down though, because I was for sure not planning on being Hell Hound buffet. I wasn't going to die like that.
I reached the ledge, wondering if there was another way, something else I could do to get away from them, but their slavering jaws were almost on me, and I could feel their hot breath right on my tail. If there was another option, I had missed my opportunity to do it. It was to late now. No one could help me.
So I jumped.
