Dying Lands - Ocean Clan

Nava, Niju (C) Universal Studios

Umbra, Lycon, (C) me

Here my characters:

Lycon - a wolf cub. Light grey in colour.

Umbra - Lycon's mother. She's a dark grey.

For those of you who thought (like me) that the ending of Wolf Quest was slightly rushed.

It had been a long tiring day for old Nava. As soon as Balto was out of sight, he made his way to the den. It seemed so cold, so empty, without the wolf pack. He had to find Niju. But what if Niju tried to kill him again. This time, Aleu would not come back to rescue him.

He heard whimpering in a corner, and saw Niju cowering beneath a ledge of rock.

"Don't come near me Nava," he whispered. "I am of no good. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone ever again. I'm not leaving this land. It is our home. I'm the last wolf of the Ocean Clan."

"Correction," said Nava. "We are the last wolves of the Ocean Clan. We are still brothers, and are not whole without each other."

"What will we do?" asked Niju. "I'm not afraid to starve, but I can't let you die too."

"We will try to scrape a living off what little is left of our food," replied Nava. "We will scavenge, but will not steal. Only the lowest wolves do such a wicked deed."

"Take your cub and get out!"

These words echoed in Umbra's head as she ran through the wood, carrying her son, Lycon. The rest of the Bear Clan howled in the distance, warning her off. And for what? She'd killed a couple of lemmings to feed Lycon, and the rest of her pack had driven her away because she 'was exhausting the food supply.' It was ridiculous. The Bear Clan had plenty of food, unlike the territory of the Ocean Clan, to which she was heading.

"Mother, I'm cold and hungry," cried Lycon. He was very young, only three weeks old. He relied on his mother's milk but he needed meat, or else he'd never survive. Umbra stopped at an abandoned rabbit burrow. She released Lycon.

"Stay here and don't move until I get back," she told him. "We are on the territory belonging to the Ocean Clan. If they find you, they'll kill you. I'll come back with some food."

Lycon did as he was told. He watched his mother walk away. He felt very lonely. He'd never been away from her before, and he was scared. He hid in the burrow, and waited.

Nava hopped over the icefloes. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he had to keep on trying. He halted. Standing before him, was Aniu, the White Wolf. She shone with blinding light, and stared at him with fiery, but gentle eyes.

"The land is dying," she spoke. "The caribou brought life, but now they are gone. Soon, everywhere will be gone. Everything is part of the Grand Design, and without the caribou, it cannot work."

Nava listened with intensity. Aniu always spoke the truth.

"What is the solution?" he asked, half-trembling.

"Your answer lies in the mountains," she went on. "Your help will be Charity, Courage and Curiousity....."

Nava woke up with a start. He looked around him. Niju was gone.

Lycon cried and howled for his mother. He didn't care if it would attract strange wolves; he was just so unbearably lonely. He stopped. A large wolf had seen him. It was not his mother.

Niju couldn't believe his luck. A lone wolf cub, openly telling the world about his presence. It would make a good meal, and Nava would not be able to blame him; it was instinct to kill a strange wolf on your territory. He pounced on the cub and pinned it to the ground, ready to kill it. But he couldn't. The poor thing was just so young and terrified. It would be too cruel. He picked up the cub, and decided to take it to Nava.

The sun rose over the horizon. Umbra arrived back at the den with an Arctic tern dangling from her jaws. She'd eaten half of it and saved the rest for her son. She called for him. He didn't answer. He was gone. And she smelt wolf. Had her baby been killed? She started to sob. Umbra then broke down into a flurry of tears, mourning the loss of the cub she had loved so dearly, and tried so hard to feed and protect. She'd lost him, and she'd never be able to forgive herself.

"What's the matter, lone wolf?" said a voice. Umbra looked up to see an old frail wolf looking down at her.

"Did you kill my son?" she growled. Her growl died down as she saw the kindness in the elderly wolf's eyes.

"If by your son you meant Lycon, then no," he replied. "In fact, he's been having a wonderful time with Niju and I since sunrise.

After devouring his fair share of the Arctic Tern, Lycon introduced his mother to his new friends. Umbra had never been so happy. Her cub was alive and she had found two new allies.

"So why are you all alone?" asked Niju. "Why aren't you with your pack?"

Umbra took a deep breath and sighed.

"I'll tell you why," she said.

'I was part of the Bear Clan, and I lived very happily. When Lycon was born, I thought myself very blessed. But then came news that your territory was out of food. My clan became very worried that the same thing would happen to them. They had strict limits on food, and Lycon ended up not getting enough to eat. I went off alone to catch some lemmings for him, and then I was caught. I was banished, along with Lycon. I call it unjust, the Bear Clan have plenty of food, but they acted miserly with it; keeping it but rarely using it.'

"why did you come here?" asked Niju. "There's no food left.

"I don't know why," replied Umbra. "I felt as though I had to; it was like some kind of spiritual force."

As Nava listened, several thoughts flashed through his head. He knew that this she-wolf and her cub needed help. They needed charity, and he and Niju had to give it to them.

He then saw a white wolf, on top of the rocks. He blinked, and then she disappeared.

It had only been a week but already Lycon loved this new place. So many nooks and crannies to explore, so many waves to play and splash in. He decided that this land was beautiful, and that it was his home now. However, he wanted someone to play with. His mother was asleep, a bundle of dark grey fur. Niju was bad-tempered, and told him to go away. Lycon walked along the beach, looking for something to do. The waves weren't as rough today, and there were killer whales in the water. His mother said that killer whales were the wolves of the sea, and they knew it. They would never hurt him. They were brothers to the wolf.

Lycon saw a rock ledge protrude over the water. Sitting at the edge of it, was Nava. Lycon clambered up the rocks and sat beside Nava, watching the playful antics of the killer whales.

Nava looked down at the wolf cub.

"Why are you sitting here all alone?" Lycon asked.

"I was thinking about the past," replied Nava. "And what the future holds for us."

"What happened in your past?" Lycon knew he shouldn't have, but it was too late now. Nava however, was lost in his own thoughts.

"I used to lead the Ocean Clan. It was a huge pack of wolves. But when our food ran out, I knew that we had to leave. But Niju was afraid of change, and he tried to hold a rebellion against me and the few loyal wolves that still followed me. But then a wolfdog and his daughter, Aleu arrived, and they helped us. But then Niju tried to kill me. Aleu came to my rescue and so did Balto, the wolfdog. His daughter ended up leading the pack because I was too old. I went off to find Niju, and well, here we are."

Lycon was shocked.

"How could you befriend someone who wanted to kill you?" he shouted.

"Forgiveness is the answer,"responded Nava. "Niju and I are still brothers, and are not whole without each other."

Lycon looked at his feet, and asked,

"What about our future?"

Nava knew he had to tell the truth. So he told Lycon that the land was dying, the caribou brought life and without them, life cannot go on. Aniu the White Wolf had told him that their hope lies in the mountains.

Even though he was only a cub, Lycon understood Nava's every word. He'd never heard of Aniu, but something lit up inside him. It was creepy.

That night, Lycon told his mother all about his day with Nava. Umbra listened intently as her son talked about Nava, 'hiding inside trees and rocks' and 'talking with the whales.' Umbra believed every word of it; she knew there was something mystical about Nava. Lycon told Umbra about Aniu and how she said the land was dying and the answer lay in the mountains.

Umbra looked up and saw Nava. He nodded and beckoned her to follow.

Niju was having a good sleep, when he was rudely awakened. He opened his eyes and saw that idiotic wolf cub staring at him. He saw Umbra and Nava.

"Come Niju," they said. "Our survival depends on it."

The mountains were dark and foreboding but it didn't stop the wolves. Lycon was carried in his mother's mouth. Niju watched out for danger whilst Nava led the way. He didn't know where to go, only just to keep going. They travelled for a day and then spent the night in a cave. Hunger gnawed at Lycon's belly, so he couldn't sleep.

As sunrise came, Lycon left the cave only to see Nava looking out over a ledge, lost in his dream world.

As soon as he saw the wolf cub, Nava said,

"You are hungry aren't you. You want some fresh meat. I can't give you that, but I know about something else you could eat."

They walked away through the cloud forests. Niju woke up to see them leaving. He decided that he should follow them; they might lead him and Umbra to some food.

Nava dug through the