Post by hazelmoon on Jun 3, 2009 14:56:33 GMT -6
Okay, so I've been writing a story on Word about Hazelmoon's life. I didn't bother to change it into BB Code yet, so some things may look a little wierd on here. The story doesn't include anything about Reikoku-Soul Island, but maybe I could have Hazelmoon grow up in a different place and include it in her history. It would be a long one though, with Hazelmoon having a different name for some of it! Also, I only included the Hazelmoon chapters when there are also bear, eagle, and owl chapters included, so there may be some wierd parts, where Hazelmoon interacts with one of the others in their own chapter, and the book's not finished yet. Amyways, happy reading!
Chapter 1
Wolf
The Delta stood on the rock, staring at the full moon that dappled lights onto the rock, making it shine silver. He longed to howl at it, but his anxiety restrained him. Would his mate be okay? The Delta’s heart was pounding swiftly. I am a wolf, he told himself, and Sparrowfeather is, too. He knew that his mate would be fine, but he wanted to make sure. When would she call him in? Hopefully, soon.
As if Sparrowfeather, the Delta’s mate, had heard his silent wish, she whispered from inside her den, “Flamingfur, come in.” Flamingfur, the Delta Wolf of The Pack of Many Trees, turned around. He walked to the small Pup Den slowly, suddenly hesitant to go inside of it. He took a deep breath, then walked inside Pup Den.
Sparrowfeather was inside; three tiny pups curled up next to her. Their fur was a soft brown, as all newborn pups’ fur was, and their ears were folded up against their tiny faces. Their eyes were all shut tight. Sparrowfeather licked one of her pups. “Aren’t they beautiful?” she asked her mate, Flamingfur.
Flamingfur swallowed. The pups looked hopeless and exposed at the moment, but knowing that their birth had gone by perfectly was beautiful enough for Flamingfur. “They’re wonderful,” he replied. He licked his mate. “I’ll bring you a deer,’ he murmured, and left Pup Den.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The young black pup pounced on her mother, Sparrowfeather. Her brother and sister closely followed. “Got you!” her brother growled. The fae began to gag. The pup’s sister had grabbed their mother’s muzzle. “Let go,” Sparrowfeather wheezed. The black pup’s sister released her grasp, and fell to the floor of Pup Den. Sparrowfeather stood up, shaking the pup and her brother off of her. “Good job,” she praised the pup’s sister, “You’ll make a good Fighter one day, just like me.” The young pup’s sister glared sharply at her mother. “Why not now? I’m ready!” she growled. Sparrowfeather licked her pup’s muzzle. “Not for three more weeks,” she informed her pups.
Sparrowfeather’s three pups had grown considerably, and were now nine weeks old. They wouldn’t begin their training until they became twelve weeks old, a full season, as custom. Her male pup was light gray with darker gray muzzle, ears, tail, right hind leg, and left front leg, and yellow-green eyes. One of her female pups, the black one, was pure black with green eyes, and was considerably small for a nine-week-old wolf pup. Her other female was much bigger, and was white with light gray splotches. She had yellow eyes.
The young black pup was about to protest when she smelled the scent of the Pack’s Healer, Splashingstream. He entered the small Pup Den. The young black pup walked out to greet him. She respected this wolf and his healing abilities. Sparrowfeather looked up. “Yes, Splashingstream?”
“Forgive me, but I would like to speak to one of your pups.” Splashingstream rested his tail on the black pup as he spoke, indicating that he wanted her. The pup’s little heart raced. What could he want with her?
Sparrowfeather nodded. Splashingstream flicked his tail and said, “Come, little pup.” The young pup followed curiously.
Once the two were far away from Pup Den, Splashingstream began to speak. “You see, young pup, I am getting older, and it is time for me to train a new Healer.” He looked at the black pup, locking gazes with her. “I have pondered this for a long time, and I have decided: If you agree, I would like to train you to become my assistant, and the Pack’s Healer after that.”
The pup blinked. “But, why me?” she asked.
Splashingstream blinked back at her. “You have shown much potential. You may not be big and strong, but you seem to me very smart, and you probably have a better memory for memorizing healing antidotes than many wolves.” Splashingstream flicked his ears. “If you would like to learn another skill as well, you could double-train with me and a different wolf.”
The pup thought about the opportunities she had. She had always dreamed of becoming a Huntress, but could she be a Healer as well? Splashingstream had spoken of ‘double-training’, but the pup had never heard of this before. “What in the Packs is double-training?”
“Double-training is when a wolf is trained in two skills
at the same time. A wolf being double-trained usually stays in training for double the time of a normal wolf, sometimes even longer. Not many wolves are double-trained, but your very own Pack Alpha, Oceanfur, and father and Pack Delta Male, Flamingfur, both were double-trained, as well as some wolves in the other two Packs.”
The black pup wagged her tail. She could be trained in two skills, if she wanted to! She couldn’t wait to tell her mother. But then, the other part of Splashingstream’s speech echoed in her head, ‘A wolf being double-trained usually stays in training for double the time of a normal wolf, sometimes even longer.’ The black pup swallowed. But I wanted to have my ceremonies when my brother and sister have theirs, she thought. How would she bear staying on Training Base while her siblings were with their Pack?
The black pup sighed. Even though she would be lonely on Training Base, it was worth knowing two skills in the long run. If she was accepted to two skills in the first place. Wasn’t that what she had always wanted? To be able to help her Pack as best she could? Knowing two skills would definitely be the best way of doing so.
Scraping the hard earth under her sharp pup claws, the pup agreed. “Okay, I would like to be double-trained.” The pup wasn’t certain about this, and she didn’t like making a decision about her entire future in such a small moment. Would she regret her words later? But she didn’t have much time to think.
Splashingstream smiled. “I knew you would,” he replied, “And I would love to train you to be a Healer. If you accept, I’ll tell Oceanfur.”
The black pup knew that normally, your skill would not be decided until the day of your ceremony, but a Healer’s path was different, as there could never be more Healers than just the Lead Healer and their Assistant at a time in one Pack. Splashingstream must’ve had to choose carefully when he decided on whom he should train.
The black pup also knew that if she were going to be double-trained, one of her skills would be a Healer, and hopefully, the other a Hunter. The black pup nodded.
Splashingstream licked the black pup. “There’s my girl,” he mused. “Now, run along, future Healer.” With that, Splashingstream spun around, leaving her alone in the bracken.
The black pup turned around, eager to tell her mother and siblings about her decision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The black pup woke up early a couple mornings later, blinking sleep from her green eyes. Her mother, brother, and sister were each curled up in a tight ball Eager to do something, she got up and crept out of Pup Den.
Outside, little activity was going on. The sun had begun to rise, but many Pack members were still sound asleep. The black pup wanted to get up to some mischief, so she glanced around for things to do.
The pup looked at all the Pack of Many Trees’ Dens. There were a few Pup Dens, where expecting mothers would go to give birth to and raise their pups. There was Training Den, where pups in training lived when they weren’t training at Training Base. The black pup recited the training wolves’ names in her head: Berry was training as a Guard, along with his sisters, Starry and Honey. Cher and Thor were training as Fighters. Hawk was training as a Hunter, while his sister Spot was training as a Guard. Maple was training to be a Hunter, while her sister Raven was training to be a Guard. Thun wanted to become a Guard as well, but his sister Light trained to become a Hunter.
Next to Training Den was Fighter Den, where the Fighters, the Lead Fighter Bloodyclaw, his Assistant Pebblesplash, and the other Fighters, Cloudystorm, Talonear, the pup’s mother, Sparrowfeather, Fireflame, Eaglestripe, Firewing, and Snowfire, dwelled. Next to that was Hunter Den. The Hunters, Lead Hunter Mistypaw, her Assistant Ripplefur, and Rockystream, Owlfur, and Blackmuzzle, lived here. To the left of Hunter Den was Guard Den, where the Lead Guard, Muddypaw, his Assistant, Windyfur, as well as the rest of the Guards, Midnightshadow, Flyingfeather, Jaytalon, Flowerfur, Marigold, and Moonflower, could be found here. The black pup could see the three sisters, Flowerfur, Marigold, and Moonflower, talking to each other outside of the Den. The pup flattened herself to the ground, and tried to catch the conversation.
“I heard that Splashingstream has picked an Assistant.”
“One of Sparrowfeather’s litter, I suppose?”
“Yes. That small, black one.”
“Well then, he made a good choice. That pup is obviously the most well-developed of the litter.”
The black pup smiled at the young Moonflower’s praise. But, where did Flowerfur hear about Splashingstream’s decision? Then she remembered: Splashingstream and Flowerfur had been good friends, even though Splashingstream was much older than she was.
Once the three sisters had gone back into their Den, the black pup crept out to look at the other Dens.
She spotted Healer Den, where Splashingstream kept his herbs and other antidotes. Right next to that was Alpha Den, where the Pack Alpha, Oceanfur, lived. Next to Alpha Den was Beta Den, where the Beta Female, Flyingsky, and Beta Male, Dustycloud were. Next to that Den was Delta Den, where the Pack’s Delta Female, Tundrapelt, and Delta Male, their father, Flamingfur, could be found. The pup spotted Tundrapelt tossing around inside, her white pelt making it obvious where she’d gotten her name. The black pup walked past her, to the area where Epilson Den was. Inside, the only Pack Epilson, Lilypad, could be found. She walked by this as well.
The last Den, Meeting Den, was the biggest Den of all, where all the wolves in the Pack gathered at Oceanfur’s summoning howl, where they discussed Pack issues, ordered Watches of Guards, organized missions, and everything else that needed to be done.
Sparrowfeather emerged, fuming, from the Pup Den. “What have you been doing, worrying me like that?” she scolded and picked the black pup up. “But Mom,” the pup protested. But Sparrowfeather was already entering Pup Den.
Sparrowfeather placed the black pup down next to her brother and sister, and wrapped her tail protectively around the three pups.
“What were you thinking? I have never, in all my years, had a pup of mine leave Pup Den and travel all around the area before anyone was awake! If I have to tell you one more time, I’ll-“
The pup’s brother interrupted the lecture by whispering in the black pup’s ear, “What were you really doing?”
“Oh, exploring.” The black pup replied.
“You could’ve told us!” the pup’s sister whined.
“Not so loud!” the black pup hissed back at her.
Sparrowfeather was concluding her speech, “If one of you ever do something as dumb as that in the remaining time we have left together, you will not get off this easily. Is that clear?”
The black pup twitched her ears. Of course she was clear, it was obvious that Sparrowfeather was testing the pups to see if they had been listening. The young pup rolled her eyes.
“Yes, Mom,” the three young pups chorused obediently.
Sparrowfeather nodded, satisfied. “Now, I’m going to fetch myself a moose,” The black pup’s belly growled. Finally, some food! Once Sparrowfeather finished her moose, she could regurgitate some meat for her three hungry pups. Sparrowfeather continued, “And if any of you set one paw outside of this Pup Den, you’ll have Oceanfur to answer to. And trust me, nothing good can come out of that.” Sparrowfeather then left Pup Den, looking for that moose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pup perked up her ears. Pawsteps were approaching. The black pup scraped her claws in the ground impatiently. Was it the Pack Council? The Pack Councils of the nearby three Packs met together once in a while to have a meeting. The black pup wasn’t sure what happened there, but she knew that it was interesting. She wanted to hear all about it, but pups weren’t really whom the Council would seek out first.
Now, the young pup was sure that the intruders were the Pack Council, as she could smell their scents individually now. Before she knew it, the figures of the Pack Council could be seen through the trees. The pup stood up. What bothered her most was the way that the wolves were running frantically. Was something wrong? As the Council entered the clearing, they stopped, panting. The pup waited for them to recover.
The Pack Beta Female, Flyingsky, spoke the dreaded words; “The Pack of the Tallest Rocks has declared war on us. The Pack of the Flowing Stream has become our allies. We met their challenge, and the Third Pack War has begun.”
Chapter 3
Wolf
The black pup sat still next to her brother and sister patiently, but really, she was almost bursting with energy. Her ceremony was getting ready to begin! Her excitement was darkened by the thought of the upcoming war, but she convinced herself that she could help her Pack much more once she began her training. She had requested her other skill to be a Hunter, and that was what she definitely wanted to become alongside a Healer.
The pup had been waiting all day for her ceremony to begin. She was trembling with excitement. She was going to get the first part of her name! She had no idea of what it could be, but she was curious to know a synonym for one thing that defined her.
It seemed like countless years had gone by before the summoning howl was finally dealt. The black pup glanced at her brother and sister. They bore looks of excitement similar to her own on their faces. The black pup got up and followed her siblings into Meeting Den.
It was dark and cave-like inside, but the black pup soon put names to the shadowy wolves by their scents. The black pup sat down next to her brother. Oceanfur’s voice rang out; “Today, we have a sacred ceremony to perform. Three of our pups are old enough to begin their training.” The black pup stood up and wagged her tail. Her ceremony was beginning!
Oceanfur flicked her tail. “Black pup, come forth,” she commanded.
The black pup’s heart began to beat even louder. Oceanfur was talking about her! The black pup nodded and walked up slowly to Oceanfur.
Oceanfur looked down at her, but she spoke to the whole Pack as she yowled, “This pup is old enough to be awarded the first part of her true name. She is now named Haz.”
Haz looked up at her Pack Alpha. What could Haz mean? She knew that normally, the first part of a wolf’s name didn’t make sense, but normally, it was easier to guess what the second part would be.
But Oceanfur continued, “This pup has been asked by Splashingstream to become his Assistant, and she will be double-trained, like myself. Splashingstream will teach her the arts of healing.”
Haz flashed a glance at Splashingstream. He nodded proudly at her. Haz blinked at him.
Oceanfur kept speaking, “Haz has chosen Hunting as her second skill. I believe that this would work out well for her, so I have accepted Haz’s status as both a Huntress in Training, and a Healer in Training. This pup is ready, and will set off for Training Base tomorrow.”
Haz’s tail shot up. She could be both a Huntress and the Healer’s Assistant! Haz watched, wide-eyed, as her brother joined her in front of Oceanfur.
“This pup will be called Cor.” Oceanfur informed her Pack. Cor nodded, accepting his new name. “This pup asked to become a Guard, and I believe he would be a good one, but he would make an even better Fighter.”
Cor was silent. Haz could tell that her brother was thinking carefully. She held her breath.
Cor looked at his paws. “Being a Fighter would be fun…” he admitted to himself.
Oceanfur replied, “If you agree, I would be happy to accept you as a Fighter in Training.”
Cor held his Alpha’s gaze as he answered, “I accept.”
“Then, you may accompany your sister to Training Base.”
Haz licked Cor’s ear to congratulate him. Oceanfur looked at the two siblings for a second, then called out, “White and gray pup, come up.”
Haz’s sister sat on the other side of Haz. “This pup has earned a name as well. She is now Stor.”
Stor twitched excitedly. “This pup wanted to be a Fighter, and I accept her as a Fighter in Training. She will also go to Training Base tomorrow.” Haz could understand why her sister wanted to be a Fighter. She was very strong, and Haz was nervous even to play-fight with her. She would make a good Fighter.
Oceanfur concluded the ceremony; “These three pups will leave for Training Base along with Splashingstream, Tundrapelt, and their mother, Sparrowfeather. The pups will spend the night in Training Den.”
Oceanfur howled to end the meeting. Wolves started coming up to congratulate the three pups. Once the swarm of wolves had cleared away, Haz, Cor, and Stor walked outside, their pelts interlocking.
“I suppose we should explore Training Den,” Cor advised.
“Yes, we should prepare for the journey to Training Base.” Stor added.
Haz just nodded and shot a look at Training Den. It was almost always empty, and she was keen to add some life to it. The sun was slowly setting, and the sky was all a giant rainbow. This was Haz’s favorite time of the day. She almost was glad that Oceanfur had waited so long to begin their ceremony, it seemed as if the sun was officially welcoming her into The Pack of Many Trees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haz stood up. She was standing on her improvised sleeping place inside of Training Den. My Den, she thought proudly. Cor and Stor were next to her. “I can’t wait to go to Training Base!” Stor exclaimed.
Haz nodded. “Me neither,” she agreed
Cor put in, “We’ll get to see all of the other Wolves in Training!” The wolves at Training Base rarely came back to the Pack during their training, so the three pups had never seen the other Wolves in Training, but Haz could remember distantly when Cher, Thor, Hawk, Spot, Thun, and Light were still pups, but she had been very young at the time. Haz couldn’t wait to meet the rest of her Pack.
Stor interrupted her thoughts, “Should we wake up our escorts so that we can leave for Training Base?”
“Let’s explore the area for the last time,” Haz suggested. “After all, when we return, we’ll be much older, with more duties.”
“Good idea. We’ll miss this place when we’re gone.” Cor added.
The two sisters nodded their agreement. They walked around the clearing, saying their good-byes to the other wolves.
“Shall we go?” Tundrapelt’s bark awakened Haz’s mind.
Splashingstream got up. “Sure,” he replied to the Delta.
Sparrowfeather came out last and licked her pups’ cheeks. “I’ll miss you three,” she told them.
Cor borrowed himself into his mother’s fur. “I’ll miss you, too.” He assured her.
Sparrowfeather smiled. “Okay, let’s head out.” The six wolves left the clearing to journey into the dark woods.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haz winced. She had been traveling to Training Base all day, and her paw pads were sore. She longed to lie down in her Pup Den, warmed by her littermates’ pelts brushing against her…
Haz shook her head to clear out the thought out of it. She wasn’t a pup anymore! Her tail was between her legs and her ears were flat against her head. Each step was more painful then the last, and she didn’t know how much farther to Training Base. She knew that the adult wolves were much stronger, and could travel much faster, but she still pitied the Deciders. They would have to make this journey sometimes twice a day, and still make it back to the Pack in time for nightly hunting, a Watch, or strategizing. Haz couldn’t bear to think of it.
Haz’s brother and sister heaved sighs of relief. Haz strained her head, but still couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, for her littermates were both much bigger and taller than she was. “What?” she rasped, which was all that she could manage in her tiredness. She drew in a deep breath, and caught the scents of other wolves. Her heart skipped a beat. “Are we near Training Base?” Her siblings just nodded.
Sparrowfeather picked her up with her mouth. Haz peered on. In front of her was a clearing quite like her Pack’s Den area. She spotted young wolves tossing about, and Haz wished she had that much energy left. Some wolves didn’t smell like her Pack’s wolves, but Haz remembered that all the wolves from the nearby three Packs shared Training Base.
Sparrowfeather put Haz down gently. A female wolf with odd, golden-brown fur approached them. “You must be the pups from Sparrowfeather’s litter,” the strange wolf said, staring at Sparrowfeather. Sparrowfeather licked the wolf’s ear. “Hello, Starry,” she greeted the wolf, “These are my three pups, Haz, Cor, and Stor.” Each pup put a paw forward as Sparrowfeather listed him or her.
Starry nodded. “Welcome to Training Base. I am the Pack’s Lead Guard’s Assistant.” She noticed two tawny-gray wolves behind her. She beckoned them with her tail. “Hawk, Berry, these are out new Pack members.” She glanced at the pups. “We’ll take them from here, you three,” she told Sparrowfeather, Tundrapelt, and Splashingstream.
Tundrapelt nodded. “Okay, Starry.” The three wolves looked back at the pups, then backed up into the forest.
Starry looked at the pups sympathetically. “You three must be tired and hungry.” When the pups nodded gratefully, she grabbed an elk from another wolf. “Thank you, Feat,” Feat, who smelled of The Pack of the Flowing Stream, stalked off.
Starry nudged the elk towards the pups. “At Training Base, you must learn to eat regular meat. You three share it,” she gestured towards the elk, “And I’ll finish up the remains. Then I’ll leave you be to make a sleeping place. Tomorrow, you can meet the other wolves in the Training Base Pack.” She lay down behind the elk to watch them eat in peace.
When Haz had eaten enough, she yawned loudly. She cowered with embarrassment as she noticed that the other wolves were all staring at her. “You seem to be tired,” Starry observed. Haz nodded. “Hey, we are, too!” Cor growled. Starry laughed. “Then I’ll show you to your dens.”
Starry showed them around, but Haz was too tired to pay much attention. She was once again thinking of her nice, warm Pup Den, where she could curl up next to her littermates, and burrow into her mother’s fur…
Haz’s daydreaming was interrupted when Starry mentioned her new name. Her ears strained to pick up the words Starry was saying, but she could pick up the end of a sentence:
“-Sleep in there.” Starry was pointing with her tail at a Den. Haz knew that was where she was supposed to sleep in there. She nodded and padded off.
The den was nice and warm inside. Four wolves were already curled up. Haz chose a corner and created a sleeping place for herself. With one last glance at Training Base, her new home, Haz shut her eyes, and drifted to sleep.
Chapter 5
Wolf
Haz felt a paw jabbing her, interrupting her dream. Quickly, she sprang up, and glanced around for her attacker. She could see six wolf pups sitting around her, amusement gleaming in their eyes. Two of them smelled faintly of The Pack of the Flowing Stream. Haz’s lips curled back in a snarl. I’ll show them! She realized suddenly that she was not in her Pup Den. Her mind raced. Where had these young wolves taken her? Had they moved her in her sleep? Haz was not quite sure of what she should do. Her odds were three to one.
One of the wolves with a familiar voice barked humorously, “Haz, I was just about to take you on a tour of Training Base, remember?”
Haz hung her head with embarrassment. She had forgotten about the journey to Training Base. She realized that the wolf who had spoken had been Starry. The other two wolves must’ve been the other Hunters, and they probably were from The Pack of the Flowing Stream.
Starry just laughed and nudged Haz. “C’mon, let’s go wake your siblings.” Haz followed Starry out of the Den.
When Starry woke Cor and Stor up in Fighting Den, their reactions were completely different. Cor recognized Starry at once, while Stor was quick to react, and pounced on Starry.
Haz held her breath as the two young wolves squabbled. After a short struggle, Starry pinned down the untrained pup. Stor grunted and prepared an attack, while Starry snickered and howled, “Stor, it’s just me, Starry!”
Stor just stared for a few moments, then shook her head. “Oops, sorry.” Starry released the pup, and Stor backed away, while the others laughed. Starry stood up and led the pups out of the Den.
“Well,” she began, “I don’t suppose any of you listened to my introduction last night,” The three pups smiled at each other, and Starry kept speaking, “So, I’ll go through the whole introduction again.
“In the middle of the clearing is our Meeting Den. Right next to that is our Alpha Den. You can find our Alpha Female, Cloudy, and Alpha Male, Owl, in there.” Starry pointed towards a big Den, with a smaller Den next to it as she spoke. She pointed to the Dens on the right of that one as she continued, “The Beta Den is next to that. Whisker and Golden live there. And, next to that is Delta Den, where Spot from our Pack and Wing live.
“The three Dens behind those are Hunter Den, Fighter Den, and Guard Den. Come, I’ll show you some of them.” Starry led them first to Hunter Den. “Here’s your Den, Haz,” she told them. Haz nodded as Starry spoke. “Come, let’s go inside.”
Haz realized already how familiar her Den seemed. “Your Lead Hunter is Hawk, and his Assistant is Feat. Light, Maple, and Stream also live in here.” Haz recognized the faces of the wolves that had been with Starry when she had wakened up. Haz bowed her head with embarrassment.
Starry introduced the pups to the older pups. Haz’s heart pounded. She was jubilant when Starry spun around and left Hunter Den. Haz followed right behind.
“The Den next to that is Fighter Den, where you, Cor and Stor, will live. Let’s enter it.” Starry led them inside this new Den.
There were several wolves inside. “Haz, Cor, and Stor, these are some members of our fighting force. Our Lead Fighter, Clover, doesn’t appear to be here right now, but her Assistant, Speckle, is.” A dark gray wolf with brown speckles stepped forward. Starry bowed her muzzle in respect for a moment, then howled, “Stripe, Cher, and Thor are here as well.” The other three wolves walked over to stand beside Speckle.
“But, Raven and Creek aren’t here, either.” Starry spoke. Speckle nodded. “Their Deciders took them out for some battle training, along with Clover. They should be back soon.” Starry nodded back.
“The last Den is Guard Den.” Starry informed them as they left Fighter Den. They approached the last Den, which was the biggest. All of the Packs needed more Guards than anything else, so in result, they trained more Guards than any other position.
As the four entered Guard Den, Haz could hear rustling in the distance, followed by hasty pawsteps. “That’d be the training Fighters returning.” Starry predicted. She began to address the rest of the wolves; “These are our three new recruits, Haz, Cor, and Stor. I’ve taken them to meet you today before they begin their training.” The many wolves inside the Den flicked their ears or nodded.
One male wolf stepped up. “I am Blizzard, the Lead Guard.” Starry stepped up next to him. “As I told you, I’m the Lead Guard’s Assistant,” she barked importantly, “These are the other Guards, Honey, Berry, Thun, and Raven from our Pack,” Each present named wolf dipped their heads, “And Creek, Shar, Mar, Yellow, and Rock from The Pack of the Flowing Stream. The Pack of the Tallest Rocks doesn’t have any more Guard Wolves in Training, as they are almost a Secured Pack, with only a few Fighters in Training holding them back from that.”
Blizzard glared at Starry. Haz couldn’t blame them. It was the job of the Lead to do introductions, not his Assistant! “The Pack of the Flowing Stream is almost a Secure Pack as well, very much unlike your own, Starry,” he pointed out.
Starry flinched. Yes, their Pack was the only completely Unsecured Pack, without even the Secured Alpha named yet. Haz had no idea of what would happen when a Pack became secure, only that it was very rewarding.
A howl of grief broke out across the clearing. All of the wolves whipped around, and bolted out of the Den.
Every present wolf pup at Training Base was gathered around four bloody wolves. Haz wondered if they were still alive. “It’s Mar, Creek, Spot, and Raven, back from the Evening Watch,” Blizzard breathed.
Two wolves pushed through the crowd. Haz assumed that they were the Alpha’s. “What happened, Raven?” the male wolf demanded to one of the least injured of the group.
A black wolf like Haz that only had a splotch of white on her chest replied, “We were attacked by a bear on our Watch! Spot was hurt the most, though,” Raven, the almost pure black wolf, rested her muzzle on a white wolf with one big black spot. She then looked up, and whispered, “She may be dead.”
Shocked yipping broke out, followed by yet another set of howls. Haz didn’t join in, she’d never known the maybe-dead wolf, and the others might think of it as an insult for her to howl as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a long moment of tension, Starry led the three younger pups away from the scene. “What just happened?” Cor whimpered. “Nothing you would understand,” Starry replied in a superior voice. Cor just rolled his eyes.
“What about Healer Den?” Haz asked Starry after a moment.
Starry stepped backward “Healer Den? But, Healers are trained at their Pack’s Den area. They don’t come here.”
Haz lifted her head up high. “Well, I’m training to be a Healer, and I’m here,” she replied.
Starry scoffed. “Are you crazy? You’re training to be a Hunter, not a Healer. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Starry. I’m being double-trained as a Healer as well as a Hunter.”
Starry shrugged. “Well, you can sleep in Hunter Den. I don’t see any reason for you to move. No one has chosen you to be Training Base’s Healer. You just-“
A loud, surprised bark interrupted her. “What did I just hear?”
Starry growled, “It’s not a big deal, Raven.”
Raven just sighed. “Don’t you get it, Starry? If Haz is training to be a Healer, then her trainer, Splashingstream from our Pack, will come to Training Base to train her!”
“Okay… So, what’s so exiting about that?” Starry flashed back.
Raven rolled her eyes. “Oh, Starry, don’t you see? Splashingstream can help Spot!”
Starry yipped with joy. “You’re right! I hope he comes soon. Normally, a trainer comes on the second day after a pup arrives at Training Base, but will Haz’s first one be a Hunter or a Healer?”
Raven shrugged. “Beats me. Oh well, Splashingstream will come soon.” Haz hoped that one day, her packmates would depend on her as much as Raven and Starry depended on Splashingstream.
Starry turned to the three pups. “You’d better get some sleep. Dawn’s beginning.” Haz loved to sleep through the day, as it meant that she’d be awake all night, when she could use her night vision to substitute for her day vision, and the blinding light of the sun wouldn’t flash in her eyes. The moon was much calmer and more peaceful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haz lead her siblings back to their Den area. They were discussing the night’s events. “Starry was so bossy!” Cor complained.
Haz nodded. “I wonder why she’d volunteer to show us around the place. And did you see how she talked to the Lead Guard?”
Stor nodded. “I know! No one would do that back at our packlands.”
Cor added, “Why did she act so much older than us when Spot almost died?”
“She might’ve died,” Haz pointed out. Cor just growled, “I hope not.”
Stor yawned. “Well, Cor, here’s our Den. Goodmorning, Haz.”
“Goodmorning, Stor,” Haz replied, and walked into her Den.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haz began to dream of a vast meadow filled with life. A doe was scampering across the expanse. Haz licked her lips. The deer was about to become prey to a hungry wolf pup.
Suddenly, a silver wolf appeared from the forest beyond the meadow. The doe, seeing her, darted away into the protection of the forest.
Haz whipped around, ready to teach the wolf a lesson. But, she quickly changed her mind and instead cowered when a shadow fell over her, and she saw the wolf up close.
This wolf had bright blue glowing eyes, which Haz had only seen on a young pup’s face before. Her silver fur had a glowing glint to it, and stars seemed to reflect off of her pelt. Haz felt cold when she looked away from this celestial being.
The wolf began to speak, but her voice was no more than a whisper, and it seemed to flow with the wind. “Not to worry, little one. I did not come to harm you. I just want to tell you that you have a great destiny awaiting you. Your paws have been set on a path, but if they stray, there is no turning back.”
Somehow, this wolf made the words ‘path’ and ‘back’ rhyme. Haz sat down, questions throbbing to be released. “Excuse me, mistress, but, what do you mean by a ‘great destiny’? I’m only a pup! And, is this destiny good, or bad? Oh, and what is your name?”
The silver wolf laughed, and the winds began to buffet her fur. “You would surprise yourself, Haz. Every great wolf began as a pup. And, your destiny would look a blessing to one wolf, but a curse to another. You decide what it will be for you. And for my name,” she paused, thinking. “My true name is different, but you can call me The Blue Eyed One.”
A black bundle of fur skirted between the silver wolf’s legs, and over to Haz. Once it had gotten closer, Haz recognized a young black bear. The black bear hid behind Haz.
When Haz turned around, the bear began to shake. “Don’t let her get me,” she whimpered.
Haz looked at the black bear, confused. “Who wants to get you?” she barked calmly.
The black bear cub looked surprised. “Nisougai, the spirit!” she replied.
“She won’t get to you. I don’t see a spirit anywhere around here.”
The cub backed away. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so certain. Nisougai-“ Immediately, a wolf coming from nowhere pounced on the cub. Haz reached to help her, but fell to the ground, winded.
Haz shook awake, and looked at the sky. The sun was setting behind the horizon. No one else was still sleeping in Pup Den. Haz had slept in, late.
Haz felt a soft bundle of fur, and she spun around to investigate. Next to Haz was a creature she remembered very well, the bear cub from her dream, curled up and still asleep.
Haz tugged softly on the cub’s ear. “Wha-“ the cub mumbled as she awoke. Her eyes glanced at Haz, assessing her image.
The black bear stood up, relieved. “Wolf Pup! It’s you! I thought you were Nishougai!” She looked around. “Where are we?”
But, Haz wasn’t in the mood for talking. “You have to get out of here,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry,” the black bear cub reassured her, “I am very quiet and sneaky.”
Haz nodded. “Wait till there are no wolves about, then make a run for it.”
The black bear stepped out of Hunter Den tentatively. Before Haz could blink, she had disappeared, and was running for cover.
Haz walked out of the Den. The cub was right, she was stealthy, and no one had noticed her leave. Once she was safely in the forest, she motioned for Haz to come.
Surprised, Haz walked through the Den area towards the forest. To her relief, no wolf had asked where she was going.
Once she was with the bear cub, Haz hissed, “What?”
The cub looked taken aback. “I-I just wanted your name.”
“I’m Haz. What’s your name?”
The cub looked at Haz. “Hello, Haz. I’m Blackberry.”
Haz nodded, glad to put a name to this bear. “Blackberry, how in the Packs did you get into my Den? Did you try to?”
But Blackberry was already running away from Training Base, and Haz did not want to follow her.
As Haz reentered the clearing, she was greeted by one of the wolves she had seen when she had arrived at Training Base. He looked a lot like Starry, so Haz knew that he was Berry.
Berry dipped his muzzle. “Raven and I found Splashingstream. He is ready to train you.”
As he spoke, Raven appeared through the brambles with Splashingstream. They seemed to be talking, Haz angled her ears to pick up the conversation,
“I promise I will check on her as soon as we finish, but I have much to teach Haz. She has much to learn,” Splashingstream was barking. Haz assumed that Raven had asked him to take a look at Spot.
Splashingstream spotted Haz, and padded over to her. “Ah, there you are, Haz!” he exclaimed. “Raven and Berry, your packmates, had to guide me here because… well… I’ve never been here before!” Haz remembered that Healers in Training were supposed to stay with their Pack, and not go to Training Base.
Splashingstream thanked Raven and Berry quickly, then led Haz out into the forest. There was terrain suitable for all three Packs, the forest was thick with trees, there were high rocks leading up to the mountains where The Pack of the Tallest Rocks resided, and, as Haz could see when she and Splashingstream entered a clearing, many small rivers leading up to a big pond for The Pack of the Flowing Stream.
Haz was ready to keep walking and see some more of Training Base, but Splashingstream sat down, and Haz reluctantly copied him.
“Haz, you have chosen to follow the path of the Healer. It is very unlike the way of the Hunter, Fighter, or Guard. For the Pack’s Healer learns his or her skills by repitition. I will make sure that one herb, antidote, or poison is completely inplanted in your mind, never to be forgotten, before advancing on to the next one. If you were to forget one of these, there would be no way for the knowledge of it to be passed on to the wolf you train. And, if this continues, the Secured Healer won’t know quite a few herbs and antidotes. Do you understand this, Haz?”
Haz thought about this long speech for a moment. It seemed as if Splashingstream was already thinking of the time when Haz trained her Assistant. Nevertheless, Haz nodded obediently.
Spashingstream gave a brisk nod, then stood up. “Come, my Haz,” he ordered.
Haz happily stood up and followed Splashingstream into the depths of the forest of Training Base.
Once they had walked for a while, Splashingstream stopped at a small but full-grown plant. “I will teach you how to smell or see an herb, poison, or other remedy, then quickly put a name to it. I will also teach you to instantly identify what parts of the plant you should use, the ailments they will heal, and how you should apply them. For example, this plant-“ Splashingstream indicated the plant they were in front of with his tail- “Is basil. See the lines and shapes of the leaves? I would like you to memorize them now. One of the reasons I chose you to train as my Assistant is your obvious ability to memorize things easily.”
Haz studied the leaves of the basil plant. They had a little too many lines for Haz to do so, especially if she had to do this for every herb. Once she thought she had done enough, she closed her eyes. The basil leaves had become a mental picture in her mind. She looked at her Healer.
Splashingstream glanced back and smiled. “Good. Now, smell this plant, and remember the smell of it.”
Haz once again shut her eyes, and inhaled a strong whiff of the basil. This was much easier then the sight part, and she finished quickly.
“Okay. Now, do you think you could rekcognize this basil if you ever see or scent it again?”
Haz nodded truthfully. This was only her first herb, and she could remember it well.
“I thought you would be able to. Listen carefully, and I will tell you everything you need to know about basil.”
Haz perked her ears to show that she was listening. She wanted to know everything about this herb; she would need to, for her Pack.
“You can basil to heal many minor sicknesses and infections that wolves acquire. It also holds some benefits. For example, basil leaves can help sharpen your memory. In fact, I would love it if you’d eat a few of these before one of our sessions.”
Haz blinked, surprised that part of her training would actually help her with training, but she waited for Splashingstream to go on.
“Basil leaves can also strengthen the stomach, useful in the case of stomach disease. The leaf juices can help a fever, as well as a normal cold. Chewing, but not swallowing the leaves are great for coughs.”
Haz listened attentively, trying to remember everything Splashingstream was mentioning.
“Basil is also very stress-relieving. The leaves can be chewed to calm a wolf down. The roots of the basil plant can help cure insect bites, which can be useful in the case of newborn pups, who are vunerable to these. You can also use these leaves for headaches in pups. Finally, basil can help cure night blindness in eyes, as well as sore eyes. Just squeeze a few drops of basil in the eyes.”
Splashingstream was speaking slowly, so it was easier for Haz to pick this all up. When he was finished, Haz was staring at him. “How-How do you know all that?” she breathed.
Splashingstream laughed. “I learned it all for my packmates. Now, can you list a few of the things basil can help?”
Taking a deep breath, Haz recited, “Headaches and bug bites. Fevers, and minor colds. Night blindness, strengthening the stomach… oh, and memory.” Haz finished happily.
Splashingstream nodded, impressed. “Very good. Now, let’s try to find some marigold. They should probably grow around here.”
Haz and Splashingstream spent the rest of the night learning about several herbs and berries. Haz even learned a very deadly berry, yew. They seemed tasty, but Haz now knew to stay away from them. It only took seven to kill even the strongest wolf.
As they returned to Training Base, Splashingstream quizzed Haz, “Now, what plants did we learn about tonight?”
“Hmm… Basil, and yarrow. Marigold, poppy, dock, sage… and yew.” Haz said the last word bitterly.
Splashingstream licked Haz on the ear. “Well, you definitely learn quickly. Now, I should probably take a look at Spot. You can come, if you like.”
Haz followed Splashingstream into Meeting Den. Many wolves were gathered there next to Spot. As soon as they saw Splashingstream, they stepped back. “Will she be alright?” one wolf asked. Splashingstream replied. “I do not know. Let me look at her.”
Haz could hardly see over all of the other crowding wolves. She could hear Splashingstream muttering, and it didn’t sound very good. After a long slience, Splashingstream looked up. His face was full of sorrow. “I am sorry. Spot isn’t healthy enough to survive. She will have to die.”
These words were met by yowling and whining. Haz had never heard been so close to a dying wolf, but she didn’t want this wolf to die. The air was filled with noises, until Splashingstream spoke, “Best to not let her suffer. I will feed her some yew, and she will die, quickly but peacefully.”
Haz now expected to hear protests and arguers. But instead, the other wolves just nodded and murmured their agreement. Haz was surprised. Surely they wouldn’t just let her die? If Haz had known this wolf better, she would’ve definitely protested. Did these wolves all know something that she did not?
Haz’s paws were itching to do something for Spot, even if it was bringing her closer to death. “Should I fetch the yew?” Haz called out, hoping Splashingstream would hear her.
Even though Haz couldn’t see Splashingstream, she could hear his reply clearly, “No, Haz. You are much too young to oversee something as horrible as death, much less help bring the deathly berry in here. You should go to sleep. And, same with you, Cor. Your sister’s already asleep in her Den.” Cor muttered something Haz didn’t hear. He probably had hoped not to have been sent back with Haz.
But, Haz had another idea. “Can we sleep together? Just for the night, of course. To get used to our first death.”
Splashingstream sighed. “You’ll have to get used to sleeping in separate Dens now. This place isn’t Pup Den. But, you’re right, it would be best to sleep together with a friend for tonight, especially after all this. You two may sleep together.”
Haz nodded, and bounced up. “Let’s go, Cor!” she barked.
Cor followed Haz out of the Den. “Splashingstream’s right. A lot has happened today!” Cor whispered.
Haz nodded. “I just can’t believe that Spot would die like that, on our second full day-night cycle here! Can you-“
But Cor interrupted Haz. “Hey, over there looks like a fine sleeping place.” He pointed at a grassy patch. “We can sleep there!”
“Good idea,” Haz agreed. She curled up next to her brother, and rested her muzzle on his back. “Cor?” she whispered.
Cor glanced at her, only one eye open. “Yeah?”
Haz suddenly felt like telling Cor everything. About her dream the day before, and Blackberry, and everything else that had happened. “Well, last dawn, I had a very realistic dream…” Haz then continued to tell Cor everything about the bear cub, and The Blue Eyed One, and the wolf who appeared out of nowhere…
Once she concluded, Cor licked his sister. “Haz? I-I’m glad you told me this. Whatever separates us, we’ll always be siblings.”
At this moment, Haz felt all love for her brother well up inside of her, then burst out. Now, she realized how much he really meant to her. How much everyone really meant to her.
Keeping this thought in mind, Haz closed her eyes, asleep. Spot was probably asleep, too, but she would never wake up from her long, hopefully painless slumber.
Chapter 7
Wolf
Haz, for once, had peaceful dreams. She was reluctant to wake up when nudged. “Wha-“ she grumbled, looking up.
Owlfur was standing over her. “Wake up, sleepyhead. Time for some Hunter training.”
Haz yawned sleepily. She stood up and stretched, one leg at a time. She blinked, until her eyes could stay open by themselves.
Owlfur walked out of the Den. Haz followed, more sleepily. Did Owlfur have to walk all this way to get to her in the middle of the day? He probably had slept during the night.
The pair left the area quickly. They headed out into the forest section of Training Base land to begin their hunting training.
Haz lagged behind. She was still half asleep. The cool air ruffled her long pelt, also making Haz shiver. She already was thinking about the end of her training day, when she could curl back up in her nice, warm Den.
As soon as they were far enough away from all the commotion, Owlfur began to speak. “This training will be completely different than your Healer training. For hunting uses your body more than your mind. So, don’t assume that this training is somehow connected to your other training, okay?”
Haz nodded. She already knew this, but she still wanted to be polite to this Hunter.
“Okay then. We will practice stalking today, followed by a brief run, and then we’ll wrap up training early so that you can see the beginning of your first Death Ceremony.”
Haz was glad that she would get to see Spot’s body begin the long ritual, but it saddened her to know that a wolf not much older than her had died. She probably had a long life planned out for her.
Owlfur flicked an ear. “Alright. I will show you the simplest crouch for stalking a deer, and you copy it, okay?”
Haz nodded again. Owlfur’s belly fur skimmed the grass as she advanced, not even cracking a twig. Haz was amazed at how quiet the wolf could be, when she pounced on thin air, pretending to land on something, then falling back down.
Haz squeezed her green eyes shut, trying as hard as she could to keep from laughing. Owlfur regained her balance. “Now it’s your turn! Don’t attempt the last part, just the approach.”
Haz, now with eyes opened, concentrated as hard as possible. Her small body fell into the correct position fairly quickly, and she began to walk forward slowly, much slower than Owlfur had.
Even at this slow pace, she stepped on a twig, and a loud crackling sound was heard throughout the forest. Haz stood up, embarrassed.
Owlfur nuzzled her encouragingly. “You’ll get the hang of it soon. Keep trying!”
They practiced for hours. Haz was impressed with her progress, she had become an expert at the crouch over the long period of time.
Once Owlfur was pleased as well, she ended the training session. “We ran out of time for the run, so let’s head back now.”
Haz wondered if the reason she’d run out of time was because it had taken her so long to master the single crouch, but she pushed it out of her mind. She would get better, it was only her first day of training.
She followed Owlfur back to the Den area. Once they were there, Owlfur signaled with her tail to stop and be quiet. Haz obeyed.
All the wolves were out of their Dens. Most were whimpering and howling sadly. Full grown wolves from Haz’s and Spot’s pack were present as well. Oceanfur, who would be performing the ritual, was approaching the Trianing Base Meeting Den. The Death Ceremony was about to begin.
Chapter 1
Wolf
The Delta stood on the rock, staring at the full moon that dappled lights onto the rock, making it shine silver. He longed to howl at it, but his anxiety restrained him. Would his mate be okay? The Delta’s heart was pounding swiftly. I am a wolf, he told himself, and Sparrowfeather is, too. He knew that his mate would be fine, but he wanted to make sure. When would she call him in? Hopefully, soon.
As if Sparrowfeather, the Delta’s mate, had heard his silent wish, she whispered from inside her den, “Flamingfur, come in.” Flamingfur, the Delta Wolf of The Pack of Many Trees, turned around. He walked to the small Pup Den slowly, suddenly hesitant to go inside of it. He took a deep breath, then walked inside Pup Den.
Sparrowfeather was inside; three tiny pups curled up next to her. Their fur was a soft brown, as all newborn pups’ fur was, and their ears were folded up against their tiny faces. Their eyes were all shut tight. Sparrowfeather licked one of her pups. “Aren’t they beautiful?” she asked her mate, Flamingfur.
Flamingfur swallowed. The pups looked hopeless and exposed at the moment, but knowing that their birth had gone by perfectly was beautiful enough for Flamingfur. “They’re wonderful,” he replied. He licked his mate. “I’ll bring you a deer,’ he murmured, and left Pup Den.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The young black pup pounced on her mother, Sparrowfeather. Her brother and sister closely followed. “Got you!” her brother growled. The fae began to gag. The pup’s sister had grabbed their mother’s muzzle. “Let go,” Sparrowfeather wheezed. The black pup’s sister released her grasp, and fell to the floor of Pup Den. Sparrowfeather stood up, shaking the pup and her brother off of her. “Good job,” she praised the pup’s sister, “You’ll make a good Fighter one day, just like me.” The young pup’s sister glared sharply at her mother. “Why not now? I’m ready!” she growled. Sparrowfeather licked her pup’s muzzle. “Not for three more weeks,” she informed her pups.
Sparrowfeather’s three pups had grown considerably, and were now nine weeks old. They wouldn’t begin their training until they became twelve weeks old, a full season, as custom. Her male pup was light gray with darker gray muzzle, ears, tail, right hind leg, and left front leg, and yellow-green eyes. One of her female pups, the black one, was pure black with green eyes, and was considerably small for a nine-week-old wolf pup. Her other female was much bigger, and was white with light gray splotches. She had yellow eyes.
The young black pup was about to protest when she smelled the scent of the Pack’s Healer, Splashingstream. He entered the small Pup Den. The young black pup walked out to greet him. She respected this wolf and his healing abilities. Sparrowfeather looked up. “Yes, Splashingstream?”
“Forgive me, but I would like to speak to one of your pups.” Splashingstream rested his tail on the black pup as he spoke, indicating that he wanted her. The pup’s little heart raced. What could he want with her?
Sparrowfeather nodded. Splashingstream flicked his tail and said, “Come, little pup.” The young pup followed curiously.
Once the two were far away from Pup Den, Splashingstream began to speak. “You see, young pup, I am getting older, and it is time for me to train a new Healer.” He looked at the black pup, locking gazes with her. “I have pondered this for a long time, and I have decided: If you agree, I would like to train you to become my assistant, and the Pack’s Healer after that.”
The pup blinked. “But, why me?” she asked.
Splashingstream blinked back at her. “You have shown much potential. You may not be big and strong, but you seem to me very smart, and you probably have a better memory for memorizing healing antidotes than many wolves.” Splashingstream flicked his ears. “If you would like to learn another skill as well, you could double-train with me and a different wolf.”
The pup thought about the opportunities she had. She had always dreamed of becoming a Huntress, but could she be a Healer as well? Splashingstream had spoken of ‘double-training’, but the pup had never heard of this before. “What in the Packs is double-training?”
“Double-training is when a wolf is trained in two skills
at the same time. A wolf being double-trained usually stays in training for double the time of a normal wolf, sometimes even longer. Not many wolves are double-trained, but your very own Pack Alpha, Oceanfur, and father and Pack Delta Male, Flamingfur, both were double-trained, as well as some wolves in the other two Packs.”
The black pup wagged her tail. She could be trained in two skills, if she wanted to! She couldn’t wait to tell her mother. But then, the other part of Splashingstream’s speech echoed in her head, ‘A wolf being double-trained usually stays in training for double the time of a normal wolf, sometimes even longer.’ The black pup swallowed. But I wanted to have my ceremonies when my brother and sister have theirs, she thought. How would she bear staying on Training Base while her siblings were with their Pack?
The black pup sighed. Even though she would be lonely on Training Base, it was worth knowing two skills in the long run. If she was accepted to two skills in the first place. Wasn’t that what she had always wanted? To be able to help her Pack as best she could? Knowing two skills would definitely be the best way of doing so.
Scraping the hard earth under her sharp pup claws, the pup agreed. “Okay, I would like to be double-trained.” The pup wasn’t certain about this, and she didn’t like making a decision about her entire future in such a small moment. Would she regret her words later? But she didn’t have much time to think.
Splashingstream smiled. “I knew you would,” he replied, “And I would love to train you to be a Healer. If you accept, I’ll tell Oceanfur.”
The black pup knew that normally, your skill would not be decided until the day of your ceremony, but a Healer’s path was different, as there could never be more Healers than just the Lead Healer and their Assistant at a time in one Pack. Splashingstream must’ve had to choose carefully when he decided on whom he should train.
The black pup also knew that if she were going to be double-trained, one of her skills would be a Healer, and hopefully, the other a Hunter. The black pup nodded.
Splashingstream licked the black pup. “There’s my girl,” he mused. “Now, run along, future Healer.” With that, Splashingstream spun around, leaving her alone in the bracken.
The black pup turned around, eager to tell her mother and siblings about her decision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The black pup woke up early a couple mornings later, blinking sleep from her green eyes. Her mother, brother, and sister were each curled up in a tight ball Eager to do something, she got up and crept out of Pup Den.
Outside, little activity was going on. The sun had begun to rise, but many Pack members were still sound asleep. The black pup wanted to get up to some mischief, so she glanced around for things to do.
The pup looked at all the Pack of Many Trees’ Dens. There were a few Pup Dens, where expecting mothers would go to give birth to and raise their pups. There was Training Den, where pups in training lived when they weren’t training at Training Base. The black pup recited the training wolves’ names in her head: Berry was training as a Guard, along with his sisters, Starry and Honey. Cher and Thor were training as Fighters. Hawk was training as a Hunter, while his sister Spot was training as a Guard. Maple was training to be a Hunter, while her sister Raven was training to be a Guard. Thun wanted to become a Guard as well, but his sister Light trained to become a Hunter.
Next to Training Den was Fighter Den, where the Fighters, the Lead Fighter Bloodyclaw, his Assistant Pebblesplash, and the other Fighters, Cloudystorm, Talonear, the pup’s mother, Sparrowfeather, Fireflame, Eaglestripe, Firewing, and Snowfire, dwelled. Next to that was Hunter Den. The Hunters, Lead Hunter Mistypaw, her Assistant Ripplefur, and Rockystream, Owlfur, and Blackmuzzle, lived here. To the left of Hunter Den was Guard Den, where the Lead Guard, Muddypaw, his Assistant, Windyfur, as well as the rest of the Guards, Midnightshadow, Flyingfeather, Jaytalon, Flowerfur, Marigold, and Moonflower, could be found here. The black pup could see the three sisters, Flowerfur, Marigold, and Moonflower, talking to each other outside of the Den. The pup flattened herself to the ground, and tried to catch the conversation.
“I heard that Splashingstream has picked an Assistant.”
“One of Sparrowfeather’s litter, I suppose?”
“Yes. That small, black one.”
“Well then, he made a good choice. That pup is obviously the most well-developed of the litter.”
The black pup smiled at the young Moonflower’s praise. But, where did Flowerfur hear about Splashingstream’s decision? Then she remembered: Splashingstream and Flowerfur had been good friends, even though Splashingstream was much older than she was.
Once the three sisters had gone back into their Den, the black pup crept out to look at the other Dens.
She spotted Healer Den, where Splashingstream kept his herbs and other antidotes. Right next to that was Alpha Den, where the Pack Alpha, Oceanfur, lived. Next to Alpha Den was Beta Den, where the Beta Female, Flyingsky, and Beta Male, Dustycloud were. Next to that Den was Delta Den, where the Pack’s Delta Female, Tundrapelt, and Delta Male, their father, Flamingfur, could be found. The pup spotted Tundrapelt tossing around inside, her white pelt making it obvious where she’d gotten her name. The black pup walked past her, to the area where Epilson Den was. Inside, the only Pack Epilson, Lilypad, could be found. She walked by this as well.
The last Den, Meeting Den, was the biggest Den of all, where all the wolves in the Pack gathered at Oceanfur’s summoning howl, where they discussed Pack issues, ordered Watches of Guards, organized missions, and everything else that needed to be done.
Sparrowfeather emerged, fuming, from the Pup Den. “What have you been doing, worrying me like that?” she scolded and picked the black pup up. “But Mom,” the pup protested. But Sparrowfeather was already entering Pup Den.
Sparrowfeather placed the black pup down next to her brother and sister, and wrapped her tail protectively around the three pups.
“What were you thinking? I have never, in all my years, had a pup of mine leave Pup Den and travel all around the area before anyone was awake! If I have to tell you one more time, I’ll-“
The pup’s brother interrupted the lecture by whispering in the black pup’s ear, “What were you really doing?”
“Oh, exploring.” The black pup replied.
“You could’ve told us!” the pup’s sister whined.
“Not so loud!” the black pup hissed back at her.
Sparrowfeather was concluding her speech, “If one of you ever do something as dumb as that in the remaining time we have left together, you will not get off this easily. Is that clear?”
The black pup twitched her ears. Of course she was clear, it was obvious that Sparrowfeather was testing the pups to see if they had been listening. The young pup rolled her eyes.
“Yes, Mom,” the three young pups chorused obediently.
Sparrowfeather nodded, satisfied. “Now, I’m going to fetch myself a moose,” The black pup’s belly growled. Finally, some food! Once Sparrowfeather finished her moose, she could regurgitate some meat for her three hungry pups. Sparrowfeather continued, “And if any of you set one paw outside of this Pup Den, you’ll have Oceanfur to answer to. And trust me, nothing good can come out of that.” Sparrowfeather then left Pup Den, looking for that moose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pup perked up her ears. Pawsteps were approaching. The black pup scraped her claws in the ground impatiently. Was it the Pack Council? The Pack Councils of the nearby three Packs met together once in a while to have a meeting. The black pup wasn’t sure what happened there, but she knew that it was interesting. She wanted to hear all about it, but pups weren’t really whom the Council would seek out first.
Now, the young pup was sure that the intruders were the Pack Council, as she could smell their scents individually now. Before she knew it, the figures of the Pack Council could be seen through the trees. The pup stood up. What bothered her most was the way that the wolves were running frantically. Was something wrong? As the Council entered the clearing, they stopped, panting. The pup waited for them to recover.
The Pack Beta Female, Flyingsky, spoke the dreaded words; “The Pack of the Tallest Rocks has declared war on us. The Pack of the Flowing Stream has become our allies. We met their challenge, and the Third Pack War has begun.”
Chapter 3
Wolf
The black pup sat still next to her brother and sister patiently, but really, she was almost bursting with energy. Her ceremony was getting ready to begin! Her excitement was darkened by the thought of the upcoming war, but she convinced herself that she could help her Pack much more once she began her training. She had requested her other skill to be a Hunter, and that was what she definitely wanted to become alongside a Healer.
The pup had been waiting all day for her ceremony to begin. She was trembling with excitement. She was going to get the first part of her name! She had no idea of what it could be, but she was curious to know a synonym for one thing that defined her.
It seemed like countless years had gone by before the summoning howl was finally dealt. The black pup glanced at her brother and sister. They bore looks of excitement similar to her own on their faces. The black pup got up and followed her siblings into Meeting Den.
It was dark and cave-like inside, but the black pup soon put names to the shadowy wolves by their scents. The black pup sat down next to her brother. Oceanfur’s voice rang out; “Today, we have a sacred ceremony to perform. Three of our pups are old enough to begin their training.” The black pup stood up and wagged her tail. Her ceremony was beginning!
Oceanfur flicked her tail. “Black pup, come forth,” she commanded.
The black pup’s heart began to beat even louder. Oceanfur was talking about her! The black pup nodded and walked up slowly to Oceanfur.
Oceanfur looked down at her, but she spoke to the whole Pack as she yowled, “This pup is old enough to be awarded the first part of her true name. She is now named Haz.”
Haz looked up at her Pack Alpha. What could Haz mean? She knew that normally, the first part of a wolf’s name didn’t make sense, but normally, it was easier to guess what the second part would be.
But Oceanfur continued, “This pup has been asked by Splashingstream to become his Assistant, and she will be double-trained, like myself. Splashingstream will teach her the arts of healing.”
Haz flashed a glance at Splashingstream. He nodded proudly at her. Haz blinked at him.
Oceanfur kept speaking, “Haz has chosen Hunting as her second skill. I believe that this would work out well for her, so I have accepted Haz’s status as both a Huntress in Training, and a Healer in Training. This pup is ready, and will set off for Training Base tomorrow.”
Haz’s tail shot up. She could be both a Huntress and the Healer’s Assistant! Haz watched, wide-eyed, as her brother joined her in front of Oceanfur.
“This pup will be called Cor.” Oceanfur informed her Pack. Cor nodded, accepting his new name. “This pup asked to become a Guard, and I believe he would be a good one, but he would make an even better Fighter.”
Cor was silent. Haz could tell that her brother was thinking carefully. She held her breath.
Cor looked at his paws. “Being a Fighter would be fun…” he admitted to himself.
Oceanfur replied, “If you agree, I would be happy to accept you as a Fighter in Training.”
Cor held his Alpha’s gaze as he answered, “I accept.”
“Then, you may accompany your sister to Training Base.”
Haz licked Cor’s ear to congratulate him. Oceanfur looked at the two siblings for a second, then called out, “White and gray pup, come up.”
Haz’s sister sat on the other side of Haz. “This pup has earned a name as well. She is now Stor.”
Stor twitched excitedly. “This pup wanted to be a Fighter, and I accept her as a Fighter in Training. She will also go to Training Base tomorrow.” Haz could understand why her sister wanted to be a Fighter. She was very strong, and Haz was nervous even to play-fight with her. She would make a good Fighter.
Oceanfur concluded the ceremony; “These three pups will leave for Training Base along with Splashingstream, Tundrapelt, and their mother, Sparrowfeather. The pups will spend the night in Training Den.”
Oceanfur howled to end the meeting. Wolves started coming up to congratulate the three pups. Once the swarm of wolves had cleared away, Haz, Cor, and Stor walked outside, their pelts interlocking.
“I suppose we should explore Training Den,” Cor advised.
“Yes, we should prepare for the journey to Training Base.” Stor added.
Haz just nodded and shot a look at Training Den. It was almost always empty, and she was keen to add some life to it. The sun was slowly setting, and the sky was all a giant rainbow. This was Haz’s favorite time of the day. She almost was glad that Oceanfur had waited so long to begin their ceremony, it seemed as if the sun was officially welcoming her into The Pack of Many Trees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haz stood up. She was standing on her improvised sleeping place inside of Training Den. My Den, she thought proudly. Cor and Stor were next to her. “I can’t wait to go to Training Base!” Stor exclaimed.
Haz nodded. “Me neither,” she agreed
Cor put in, “We’ll get to see all of the other Wolves in Training!” The wolves at Training Base rarely came back to the Pack during their training, so the three pups had never seen the other Wolves in Training, but Haz could remember distantly when Cher, Thor, Hawk, Spot, Thun, and Light were still pups, but she had been very young at the time. Haz couldn’t wait to meet the rest of her Pack.
Stor interrupted her thoughts, “Should we wake up our escorts so that we can leave for Training Base?”
“Let’s explore the area for the last time,” Haz suggested. “After all, when we return, we’ll be much older, with more duties.”
“Good idea. We’ll miss this place when we’re gone.” Cor added.
The two sisters nodded their agreement. They walked around the clearing, saying their good-byes to the other wolves.
“Shall we go?” Tundrapelt’s bark awakened Haz’s mind.
Splashingstream got up. “Sure,” he replied to the Delta.
Sparrowfeather came out last and licked her pups’ cheeks. “I’ll miss you three,” she told them.
Cor borrowed himself into his mother’s fur. “I’ll miss you, too.” He assured her.
Sparrowfeather smiled. “Okay, let’s head out.” The six wolves left the clearing to journey into the dark woods.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haz winced. She had been traveling to Training Base all day, and her paw pads were sore. She longed to lie down in her Pup Den, warmed by her littermates’ pelts brushing against her…
Haz shook her head to clear out the thought out of it. She wasn’t a pup anymore! Her tail was between her legs and her ears were flat against her head. Each step was more painful then the last, and she didn’t know how much farther to Training Base. She knew that the adult wolves were much stronger, and could travel much faster, but she still pitied the Deciders. They would have to make this journey sometimes twice a day, and still make it back to the Pack in time for nightly hunting, a Watch, or strategizing. Haz couldn’t bear to think of it.
Haz’s brother and sister heaved sighs of relief. Haz strained her head, but still couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, for her littermates were both much bigger and taller than she was. “What?” she rasped, which was all that she could manage in her tiredness. She drew in a deep breath, and caught the scents of other wolves. Her heart skipped a beat. “Are we near Training Base?” Her siblings just nodded.
Sparrowfeather picked her up with her mouth. Haz peered on. In front of her was a clearing quite like her Pack’s Den area. She spotted young wolves tossing about, and Haz wished she had that much energy left. Some wolves didn’t smell like her Pack’s wolves, but Haz remembered that all the wolves from the nearby three Packs shared Training Base.
Sparrowfeather put Haz down gently. A female wolf with odd, golden-brown fur approached them. “You must be the pups from Sparrowfeather’s litter,” the strange wolf said, staring at Sparrowfeather. Sparrowfeather licked the wolf’s ear. “Hello, Starry,” she greeted the wolf, “These are my three pups, Haz, Cor, and Stor.” Each pup put a paw forward as Sparrowfeather listed him or her.
Starry nodded. “Welcome to Training Base. I am the Pack’s Lead Guard’s Assistant.” She noticed two tawny-gray wolves behind her. She beckoned them with her tail. “Hawk, Berry, these are out new Pack members.” She glanced at the pups. “We’ll take them from here, you three,” she told Sparrowfeather, Tundrapelt, and Splashingstream.
Tundrapelt nodded. “Okay, Starry.” The three wolves looked back at the pups, then backed up into the forest.
Starry looked at the pups sympathetically. “You three must be tired and hungry.” When the pups nodded gratefully, she grabbed an elk from another wolf. “Thank you, Feat,” Feat, who smelled of The Pack of the Flowing Stream, stalked off.
Starry nudged the elk towards the pups. “At Training Base, you must learn to eat regular meat. You three share it,” she gestured towards the elk, “And I’ll finish up the remains. Then I’ll leave you be to make a sleeping place. Tomorrow, you can meet the other wolves in the Training Base Pack.” She lay down behind the elk to watch them eat in peace.
When Haz had eaten enough, she yawned loudly. She cowered with embarrassment as she noticed that the other wolves were all staring at her. “You seem to be tired,” Starry observed. Haz nodded. “Hey, we are, too!” Cor growled. Starry laughed. “Then I’ll show you to your dens.”
Starry showed them around, but Haz was too tired to pay much attention. She was once again thinking of her nice, warm Pup Den, where she could curl up next to her littermates, and burrow into her mother’s fur…
Haz’s daydreaming was interrupted when Starry mentioned her new name. Her ears strained to pick up the words Starry was saying, but she could pick up the end of a sentence:
“-Sleep in there.” Starry was pointing with her tail at a Den. Haz knew that was where she was supposed to sleep in there. She nodded and padded off.
The den was nice and warm inside. Four wolves were already curled up. Haz chose a corner and created a sleeping place for herself. With one last glance at Training Base, her new home, Haz shut her eyes, and drifted to sleep.
Chapter 5
Wolf
Haz felt a paw jabbing her, interrupting her dream. Quickly, she sprang up, and glanced around for her attacker. She could see six wolf pups sitting around her, amusement gleaming in their eyes. Two of them smelled faintly of The Pack of the Flowing Stream. Haz’s lips curled back in a snarl. I’ll show them! She realized suddenly that she was not in her Pup Den. Her mind raced. Where had these young wolves taken her? Had they moved her in her sleep? Haz was not quite sure of what she should do. Her odds were three to one.
One of the wolves with a familiar voice barked humorously, “Haz, I was just about to take you on a tour of Training Base, remember?”
Haz hung her head with embarrassment. She had forgotten about the journey to Training Base. She realized that the wolf who had spoken had been Starry. The other two wolves must’ve been the other Hunters, and they probably were from The Pack of the Flowing Stream.
Starry just laughed and nudged Haz. “C’mon, let’s go wake your siblings.” Haz followed Starry out of the Den.
When Starry woke Cor and Stor up in Fighting Den, their reactions were completely different. Cor recognized Starry at once, while Stor was quick to react, and pounced on Starry.
Haz held her breath as the two young wolves squabbled. After a short struggle, Starry pinned down the untrained pup. Stor grunted and prepared an attack, while Starry snickered and howled, “Stor, it’s just me, Starry!”
Stor just stared for a few moments, then shook her head. “Oops, sorry.” Starry released the pup, and Stor backed away, while the others laughed. Starry stood up and led the pups out of the Den.
“Well,” she began, “I don’t suppose any of you listened to my introduction last night,” The three pups smiled at each other, and Starry kept speaking, “So, I’ll go through the whole introduction again.
“In the middle of the clearing is our Meeting Den. Right next to that is our Alpha Den. You can find our Alpha Female, Cloudy, and Alpha Male, Owl, in there.” Starry pointed towards a big Den, with a smaller Den next to it as she spoke. She pointed to the Dens on the right of that one as she continued, “The Beta Den is next to that. Whisker and Golden live there. And, next to that is Delta Den, where Spot from our Pack and Wing live.
“The three Dens behind those are Hunter Den, Fighter Den, and Guard Den. Come, I’ll show you some of them.” Starry led them first to Hunter Den. “Here’s your Den, Haz,” she told them. Haz nodded as Starry spoke. “Come, let’s go inside.”
Haz realized already how familiar her Den seemed. “Your Lead Hunter is Hawk, and his Assistant is Feat. Light, Maple, and Stream also live in here.” Haz recognized the faces of the wolves that had been with Starry when she had wakened up. Haz bowed her head with embarrassment.
Starry introduced the pups to the older pups. Haz’s heart pounded. She was jubilant when Starry spun around and left Hunter Den. Haz followed right behind.
“The Den next to that is Fighter Den, where you, Cor and Stor, will live. Let’s enter it.” Starry led them inside this new Den.
There were several wolves inside. “Haz, Cor, and Stor, these are some members of our fighting force. Our Lead Fighter, Clover, doesn’t appear to be here right now, but her Assistant, Speckle, is.” A dark gray wolf with brown speckles stepped forward. Starry bowed her muzzle in respect for a moment, then howled, “Stripe, Cher, and Thor are here as well.” The other three wolves walked over to stand beside Speckle.
“But, Raven and Creek aren’t here, either.” Starry spoke. Speckle nodded. “Their Deciders took them out for some battle training, along with Clover. They should be back soon.” Starry nodded back.
“The last Den is Guard Den.” Starry informed them as they left Fighter Den. They approached the last Den, which was the biggest. All of the Packs needed more Guards than anything else, so in result, they trained more Guards than any other position.
As the four entered Guard Den, Haz could hear rustling in the distance, followed by hasty pawsteps. “That’d be the training Fighters returning.” Starry predicted. She began to address the rest of the wolves; “These are our three new recruits, Haz, Cor, and Stor. I’ve taken them to meet you today before they begin their training.” The many wolves inside the Den flicked their ears or nodded.
One male wolf stepped up. “I am Blizzard, the Lead Guard.” Starry stepped up next to him. “As I told you, I’m the Lead Guard’s Assistant,” she barked importantly, “These are the other Guards, Honey, Berry, Thun, and Raven from our Pack,” Each present named wolf dipped their heads, “And Creek, Shar, Mar, Yellow, and Rock from The Pack of the Flowing Stream. The Pack of the Tallest Rocks doesn’t have any more Guard Wolves in Training, as they are almost a Secured Pack, with only a few Fighters in Training holding them back from that.”
Blizzard glared at Starry. Haz couldn’t blame them. It was the job of the Lead to do introductions, not his Assistant! “The Pack of the Flowing Stream is almost a Secure Pack as well, very much unlike your own, Starry,” he pointed out.
Starry flinched. Yes, their Pack was the only completely Unsecured Pack, without even the Secured Alpha named yet. Haz had no idea of what would happen when a Pack became secure, only that it was very rewarding.
A howl of grief broke out across the clearing. All of the wolves whipped around, and bolted out of the Den.
Every present wolf pup at Training Base was gathered around four bloody wolves. Haz wondered if they were still alive. “It’s Mar, Creek, Spot, and Raven, back from the Evening Watch,” Blizzard breathed.
Two wolves pushed through the crowd. Haz assumed that they were the Alpha’s. “What happened, Raven?” the male wolf demanded to one of the least injured of the group.
A black wolf like Haz that only had a splotch of white on her chest replied, “We were attacked by a bear on our Watch! Spot was hurt the most, though,” Raven, the almost pure black wolf, rested her muzzle on a white wolf with one big black spot. She then looked up, and whispered, “She may be dead.”
Shocked yipping broke out, followed by yet another set of howls. Haz didn’t join in, she’d never known the maybe-dead wolf, and the others might think of it as an insult for her to howl as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a long moment of tension, Starry led the three younger pups away from the scene. “What just happened?” Cor whimpered. “Nothing you would understand,” Starry replied in a superior voice. Cor just rolled his eyes.
“What about Healer Den?” Haz asked Starry after a moment.
Starry stepped backward “Healer Den? But, Healers are trained at their Pack’s Den area. They don’t come here.”
Haz lifted her head up high. “Well, I’m training to be a Healer, and I’m here,” she replied.
Starry scoffed. “Are you crazy? You’re training to be a Hunter, not a Healer. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Starry. I’m being double-trained as a Healer as well as a Hunter.”
Starry shrugged. “Well, you can sleep in Hunter Den. I don’t see any reason for you to move. No one has chosen you to be Training Base’s Healer. You just-“
A loud, surprised bark interrupted her. “What did I just hear?”
Starry growled, “It’s not a big deal, Raven.”
Raven just sighed. “Don’t you get it, Starry? If Haz is training to be a Healer, then her trainer, Splashingstream from our Pack, will come to Training Base to train her!”
“Okay… So, what’s so exiting about that?” Starry flashed back.
Raven rolled her eyes. “Oh, Starry, don’t you see? Splashingstream can help Spot!”
Starry yipped with joy. “You’re right! I hope he comes soon. Normally, a trainer comes on the second day after a pup arrives at Training Base, but will Haz’s first one be a Hunter or a Healer?”
Raven shrugged. “Beats me. Oh well, Splashingstream will come soon.” Haz hoped that one day, her packmates would depend on her as much as Raven and Starry depended on Splashingstream.
Starry turned to the three pups. “You’d better get some sleep. Dawn’s beginning.” Haz loved to sleep through the day, as it meant that she’d be awake all night, when she could use her night vision to substitute for her day vision, and the blinding light of the sun wouldn’t flash in her eyes. The moon was much calmer and more peaceful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haz lead her siblings back to their Den area. They were discussing the night’s events. “Starry was so bossy!” Cor complained.
Haz nodded. “I wonder why she’d volunteer to show us around the place. And did you see how she talked to the Lead Guard?”
Stor nodded. “I know! No one would do that back at our packlands.”
Cor added, “Why did she act so much older than us when Spot almost died?”
“She might’ve died,” Haz pointed out. Cor just growled, “I hope not.”
Stor yawned. “Well, Cor, here’s our Den. Goodmorning, Haz.”
“Goodmorning, Stor,” Haz replied, and walked into her Den.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haz began to dream of a vast meadow filled with life. A doe was scampering across the expanse. Haz licked her lips. The deer was about to become prey to a hungry wolf pup.
Suddenly, a silver wolf appeared from the forest beyond the meadow. The doe, seeing her, darted away into the protection of the forest.
Haz whipped around, ready to teach the wolf a lesson. But, she quickly changed her mind and instead cowered when a shadow fell over her, and she saw the wolf up close.
This wolf had bright blue glowing eyes, which Haz had only seen on a young pup’s face before. Her silver fur had a glowing glint to it, and stars seemed to reflect off of her pelt. Haz felt cold when she looked away from this celestial being.
The wolf began to speak, but her voice was no more than a whisper, and it seemed to flow with the wind. “Not to worry, little one. I did not come to harm you. I just want to tell you that you have a great destiny awaiting you. Your paws have been set on a path, but if they stray, there is no turning back.”
Somehow, this wolf made the words ‘path’ and ‘back’ rhyme. Haz sat down, questions throbbing to be released. “Excuse me, mistress, but, what do you mean by a ‘great destiny’? I’m only a pup! And, is this destiny good, or bad? Oh, and what is your name?”
The silver wolf laughed, and the winds began to buffet her fur. “You would surprise yourself, Haz. Every great wolf began as a pup. And, your destiny would look a blessing to one wolf, but a curse to another. You decide what it will be for you. And for my name,” she paused, thinking. “My true name is different, but you can call me The Blue Eyed One.”
A black bundle of fur skirted between the silver wolf’s legs, and over to Haz. Once it had gotten closer, Haz recognized a young black bear. The black bear hid behind Haz.
When Haz turned around, the bear began to shake. “Don’t let her get me,” she whimpered.
Haz looked at the black bear, confused. “Who wants to get you?” she barked calmly.
The black bear cub looked surprised. “Nisougai, the spirit!” she replied.
“She won’t get to you. I don’t see a spirit anywhere around here.”
The cub backed away. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so certain. Nisougai-“ Immediately, a wolf coming from nowhere pounced on the cub. Haz reached to help her, but fell to the ground, winded.
Haz shook awake, and looked at the sky. The sun was setting behind the horizon. No one else was still sleeping in Pup Den. Haz had slept in, late.
Haz felt a soft bundle of fur, and she spun around to investigate. Next to Haz was a creature she remembered very well, the bear cub from her dream, curled up and still asleep.
Haz tugged softly on the cub’s ear. “Wha-“ the cub mumbled as she awoke. Her eyes glanced at Haz, assessing her image.
The black bear stood up, relieved. “Wolf Pup! It’s you! I thought you were Nishougai!” She looked around. “Where are we?”
But, Haz wasn’t in the mood for talking. “You have to get out of here,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry,” the black bear cub reassured her, “I am very quiet and sneaky.”
Haz nodded. “Wait till there are no wolves about, then make a run for it.”
The black bear stepped out of Hunter Den tentatively. Before Haz could blink, she had disappeared, and was running for cover.
Haz walked out of the Den. The cub was right, she was stealthy, and no one had noticed her leave. Once she was safely in the forest, she motioned for Haz to come.
Surprised, Haz walked through the Den area towards the forest. To her relief, no wolf had asked where she was going.
Once she was with the bear cub, Haz hissed, “What?”
The cub looked taken aback. “I-I just wanted your name.”
“I’m Haz. What’s your name?”
The cub looked at Haz. “Hello, Haz. I’m Blackberry.”
Haz nodded, glad to put a name to this bear. “Blackberry, how in the Packs did you get into my Den? Did you try to?”
But Blackberry was already running away from Training Base, and Haz did not want to follow her.
As Haz reentered the clearing, she was greeted by one of the wolves she had seen when she had arrived at Training Base. He looked a lot like Starry, so Haz knew that he was Berry.
Berry dipped his muzzle. “Raven and I found Splashingstream. He is ready to train you.”
As he spoke, Raven appeared through the brambles with Splashingstream. They seemed to be talking, Haz angled her ears to pick up the conversation,
“I promise I will check on her as soon as we finish, but I have much to teach Haz. She has much to learn,” Splashingstream was barking. Haz assumed that Raven had asked him to take a look at Spot.
Splashingstream spotted Haz, and padded over to her. “Ah, there you are, Haz!” he exclaimed. “Raven and Berry, your packmates, had to guide me here because… well… I’ve never been here before!” Haz remembered that Healers in Training were supposed to stay with their Pack, and not go to Training Base.
Splashingstream thanked Raven and Berry quickly, then led Haz out into the forest. There was terrain suitable for all three Packs, the forest was thick with trees, there were high rocks leading up to the mountains where The Pack of the Tallest Rocks resided, and, as Haz could see when she and Splashingstream entered a clearing, many small rivers leading up to a big pond for The Pack of the Flowing Stream.
Haz was ready to keep walking and see some more of Training Base, but Splashingstream sat down, and Haz reluctantly copied him.
“Haz, you have chosen to follow the path of the Healer. It is very unlike the way of the Hunter, Fighter, or Guard. For the Pack’s Healer learns his or her skills by repitition. I will make sure that one herb, antidote, or poison is completely inplanted in your mind, never to be forgotten, before advancing on to the next one. If you were to forget one of these, there would be no way for the knowledge of it to be passed on to the wolf you train. And, if this continues, the Secured Healer won’t know quite a few herbs and antidotes. Do you understand this, Haz?”
Haz thought about this long speech for a moment. It seemed as if Splashingstream was already thinking of the time when Haz trained her Assistant. Nevertheless, Haz nodded obediently.
Spashingstream gave a brisk nod, then stood up. “Come, my Haz,” he ordered.
Haz happily stood up and followed Splashingstream into the depths of the forest of Training Base.
Once they had walked for a while, Splashingstream stopped at a small but full-grown plant. “I will teach you how to smell or see an herb, poison, or other remedy, then quickly put a name to it. I will also teach you to instantly identify what parts of the plant you should use, the ailments they will heal, and how you should apply them. For example, this plant-“ Splashingstream indicated the plant they were in front of with his tail- “Is basil. See the lines and shapes of the leaves? I would like you to memorize them now. One of the reasons I chose you to train as my Assistant is your obvious ability to memorize things easily.”
Haz studied the leaves of the basil plant. They had a little too many lines for Haz to do so, especially if she had to do this for every herb. Once she thought she had done enough, she closed her eyes. The basil leaves had become a mental picture in her mind. She looked at her Healer.
Splashingstream glanced back and smiled. “Good. Now, smell this plant, and remember the smell of it.”
Haz once again shut her eyes, and inhaled a strong whiff of the basil. This was much easier then the sight part, and she finished quickly.
“Okay. Now, do you think you could rekcognize this basil if you ever see or scent it again?”
Haz nodded truthfully. This was only her first herb, and she could remember it well.
“I thought you would be able to. Listen carefully, and I will tell you everything you need to know about basil.”
Haz perked her ears to show that she was listening. She wanted to know everything about this herb; she would need to, for her Pack.
“You can basil to heal many minor sicknesses and infections that wolves acquire. It also holds some benefits. For example, basil leaves can help sharpen your memory. In fact, I would love it if you’d eat a few of these before one of our sessions.”
Haz blinked, surprised that part of her training would actually help her with training, but she waited for Splashingstream to go on.
“Basil leaves can also strengthen the stomach, useful in the case of stomach disease. The leaf juices can help a fever, as well as a normal cold. Chewing, but not swallowing the leaves are great for coughs.”
Haz listened attentively, trying to remember everything Splashingstream was mentioning.
“Basil is also very stress-relieving. The leaves can be chewed to calm a wolf down. The roots of the basil plant can help cure insect bites, which can be useful in the case of newborn pups, who are vunerable to these. You can also use these leaves for headaches in pups. Finally, basil can help cure night blindness in eyes, as well as sore eyes. Just squeeze a few drops of basil in the eyes.”
Splashingstream was speaking slowly, so it was easier for Haz to pick this all up. When he was finished, Haz was staring at him. “How-How do you know all that?” she breathed.
Splashingstream laughed. “I learned it all for my packmates. Now, can you list a few of the things basil can help?”
Taking a deep breath, Haz recited, “Headaches and bug bites. Fevers, and minor colds. Night blindness, strengthening the stomach… oh, and memory.” Haz finished happily.
Splashingstream nodded, impressed. “Very good. Now, let’s try to find some marigold. They should probably grow around here.”
Haz and Splashingstream spent the rest of the night learning about several herbs and berries. Haz even learned a very deadly berry, yew. They seemed tasty, but Haz now knew to stay away from them. It only took seven to kill even the strongest wolf.
As they returned to Training Base, Splashingstream quizzed Haz, “Now, what plants did we learn about tonight?”
“Hmm… Basil, and yarrow. Marigold, poppy, dock, sage… and yew.” Haz said the last word bitterly.
Splashingstream licked Haz on the ear. “Well, you definitely learn quickly. Now, I should probably take a look at Spot. You can come, if you like.”
Haz followed Splashingstream into Meeting Den. Many wolves were gathered there next to Spot. As soon as they saw Splashingstream, they stepped back. “Will she be alright?” one wolf asked. Splashingstream replied. “I do not know. Let me look at her.”
Haz could hardly see over all of the other crowding wolves. She could hear Splashingstream muttering, and it didn’t sound very good. After a long slience, Splashingstream looked up. His face was full of sorrow. “I am sorry. Spot isn’t healthy enough to survive. She will have to die.”
These words were met by yowling and whining. Haz had never heard been so close to a dying wolf, but she didn’t want this wolf to die. The air was filled with noises, until Splashingstream spoke, “Best to not let her suffer. I will feed her some yew, and she will die, quickly but peacefully.”
Haz now expected to hear protests and arguers. But instead, the other wolves just nodded and murmured their agreement. Haz was surprised. Surely they wouldn’t just let her die? If Haz had known this wolf better, she would’ve definitely protested. Did these wolves all know something that she did not?
Haz’s paws were itching to do something for Spot, even if it was bringing her closer to death. “Should I fetch the yew?” Haz called out, hoping Splashingstream would hear her.
Even though Haz couldn’t see Splashingstream, she could hear his reply clearly, “No, Haz. You are much too young to oversee something as horrible as death, much less help bring the deathly berry in here. You should go to sleep. And, same with you, Cor. Your sister’s already asleep in her Den.” Cor muttered something Haz didn’t hear. He probably had hoped not to have been sent back with Haz.
But, Haz had another idea. “Can we sleep together? Just for the night, of course. To get used to our first death.”
Splashingstream sighed. “You’ll have to get used to sleeping in separate Dens now. This place isn’t Pup Den. But, you’re right, it would be best to sleep together with a friend for tonight, especially after all this. You two may sleep together.”
Haz nodded, and bounced up. “Let’s go, Cor!” she barked.
Cor followed Haz out of the Den. “Splashingstream’s right. A lot has happened today!” Cor whispered.
Haz nodded. “I just can’t believe that Spot would die like that, on our second full day-night cycle here! Can you-“
But Cor interrupted Haz. “Hey, over there looks like a fine sleeping place.” He pointed at a grassy patch. “We can sleep there!”
“Good idea,” Haz agreed. She curled up next to her brother, and rested her muzzle on his back. “Cor?” she whispered.
Cor glanced at her, only one eye open. “Yeah?”
Haz suddenly felt like telling Cor everything. About her dream the day before, and Blackberry, and everything else that had happened. “Well, last dawn, I had a very realistic dream…” Haz then continued to tell Cor everything about the bear cub, and The Blue Eyed One, and the wolf who appeared out of nowhere…
Once she concluded, Cor licked his sister. “Haz? I-I’m glad you told me this. Whatever separates us, we’ll always be siblings.”
At this moment, Haz felt all love for her brother well up inside of her, then burst out. Now, she realized how much he really meant to her. How much everyone really meant to her.
Keeping this thought in mind, Haz closed her eyes, asleep. Spot was probably asleep, too, but she would never wake up from her long, hopefully painless slumber.
Chapter 7
Wolf
Haz, for once, had peaceful dreams. She was reluctant to wake up when nudged. “Wha-“ she grumbled, looking up.
Owlfur was standing over her. “Wake up, sleepyhead. Time for some Hunter training.”
Haz yawned sleepily. She stood up and stretched, one leg at a time. She blinked, until her eyes could stay open by themselves.
Owlfur walked out of the Den. Haz followed, more sleepily. Did Owlfur have to walk all this way to get to her in the middle of the day? He probably had slept during the night.
The pair left the area quickly. They headed out into the forest section of Training Base land to begin their hunting training.
Haz lagged behind. She was still half asleep. The cool air ruffled her long pelt, also making Haz shiver. She already was thinking about the end of her training day, when she could curl back up in her nice, warm Den.
As soon as they were far enough away from all the commotion, Owlfur began to speak. “This training will be completely different than your Healer training. For hunting uses your body more than your mind. So, don’t assume that this training is somehow connected to your other training, okay?”
Haz nodded. She already knew this, but she still wanted to be polite to this Hunter.
“Okay then. We will practice stalking today, followed by a brief run, and then we’ll wrap up training early so that you can see the beginning of your first Death Ceremony.”
Haz was glad that she would get to see Spot’s body begin the long ritual, but it saddened her to know that a wolf not much older than her had died. She probably had a long life planned out for her.
Owlfur flicked an ear. “Alright. I will show you the simplest crouch for stalking a deer, and you copy it, okay?”
Haz nodded again. Owlfur’s belly fur skimmed the grass as she advanced, not even cracking a twig. Haz was amazed at how quiet the wolf could be, when she pounced on thin air, pretending to land on something, then falling back down.
Haz squeezed her green eyes shut, trying as hard as she could to keep from laughing. Owlfur regained her balance. “Now it’s your turn! Don’t attempt the last part, just the approach.”
Haz, now with eyes opened, concentrated as hard as possible. Her small body fell into the correct position fairly quickly, and she began to walk forward slowly, much slower than Owlfur had.
Even at this slow pace, she stepped on a twig, and a loud crackling sound was heard throughout the forest. Haz stood up, embarrassed.
Owlfur nuzzled her encouragingly. “You’ll get the hang of it soon. Keep trying!”
They practiced for hours. Haz was impressed with her progress, she had become an expert at the crouch over the long period of time.
Once Owlfur was pleased as well, she ended the training session. “We ran out of time for the run, so let’s head back now.”
Haz wondered if the reason she’d run out of time was because it had taken her so long to master the single crouch, but she pushed it out of her mind. She would get better, it was only her first day of training.
She followed Owlfur back to the Den area. Once they were there, Owlfur signaled with her tail to stop and be quiet. Haz obeyed.
All the wolves were out of their Dens. Most were whimpering and howling sadly. Full grown wolves from Haz’s and Spot’s pack were present as well. Oceanfur, who would be performing the ritual, was approaching the Trianing Base Meeting Den. The Death Ceremony was about to begin.