territory.  The mist once again took the form of winged wolves.  Juniper folded his wings and gestured for her to follow him.  Star followed him down, down, down, deep into the Fire Mountain.  Juniper stopped suddenly.

“We have arrived,” he said softly.  His voice echoed around the crater that they had entered.  Star looked down over the edge of the cliff Juniper had stopped at.  A few feet below their paws was a lake of liquid fire, a piece of sun fallen to Earth.

“This is the Lava Pool.  Look closely,” Juniper said, speaking even softer than before.

Star leaned over the edge, squinting from the intense heat.  Juniper tossed a rock into the Lava Pool.  The rock turned red and sank, black steam hissing up from where the rock had hit the lava.  The steam, instead of dissipating, began to swirl around and around.  Juniper tossed another rock in the exact middle of the swirling smoke, chanting in a strange language.  The black smoke turned to a grayish mist, and then, to Star’s amazement, a bird’s eye view of her Pack’s territory.  The view zoomed out above the clouds, and then, it soared across the sky.

It stopped suddenly, and Star saw a strange rectangular building, with gated enclosures near by it, far below.

“That is the reserve that Aurorna spoke of,” Juniper said.  “This is where your brother, Rain, is.”  The view flew down and zoomed in on a group of four wolves, two males and two females.  Star’s tail began to wag with joy at seeing her brother, alive and well, with only a small scar to show what he had suffered.  His dark gold eyes were alight with enthusiasm as he spoke animatedly to the pretty silver female next to him.  Though she could not hear his words, Star guessed he was telling her about his home in the Valley’s of the Fire Mountain by his gestures and the pride that was shining in his eyes.

Star examined the silver female closely.  She seemed as enthusiastic about the topic of conversation as Rain.  One thing different about her was the color of her eyes.  They were the same color as her coat: silver.  The other female was pure snow-white, with dark blue eyes and a nearly healed wound on her leg.  Both females were deep in Rain’s narrative, but the fourth wolf wasn’t paying much attention at all.

The fourth wolf was a dirty black color with yellowish eyes.  He was large but rather round, with far more fat on his bones than any hunting wolf should have.  His face was open and friendly, but very simple.  His eyes kept wondering away from the conversation, only brought back by a nudge from the silver wolf.

“Who are those other three wolves?” Star asked.

“The two females are Aurorna’s daughters, and the male is called Blackie.  He was raised at the reserve and relies too much on his caretakers for food to ever to become part of a Pack in the wild.  The white one is Akelah, the snow-spirit, and the silver is Lunita, little moon.”

As he finished speaking, the view clouded over, and once again, turned to black steam.  Juniper turned and led Star back to where the rest of Amaroq’s Pack was waiting.

The ghost-wolves began to dissolve before Star’s eyes, floating away in banks of mist, until Holly and Aurorna were the only wolves left.  Aurorna stepped forward.

“You remember the prophecy that your mother told you, do you not, Star?” Aurorna said.

Star nodded and recited the lines, “On the night that the stars fall, the white wolf will come and Thunder must beware the kin of the kin of Fire.  The kin of Moon must beware the daughter of Sun.”

“Never forget those words, and do not forget what was shown to you, dear little Star,” Holly whispered as she began to fade.

Aurorna dipped her head.  “Sleep well, young one.”  Holly and Aurorna dissolved into wisps of mist that swirled around Star’s head, filling Star with contentment and weariness.  She curled up, and her bright blue eyes closed.  She stopped tossing and turning in her bed, and slept deeply and contentedly for the rest of the night.

*   *   *   *   *

Star woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than she had in months.  Her dream hit her in a flash: the falling star, the ghostly Pack of winged wolves, the Lava Pool and what she had seen in it, and mostly, her mother’s warning not to forget the prophecy she had hidden in her heart for so long. 

But what should I do? Star thought.  I do not understand the prophecy, though I know now what a falling star is.  Who are Moon, Sun, and Fire?  Who is it that Thunder must beware?  So many questions and so few answers!

“Anything wrong, Star?”  Star jumped at the sound of Thorn’s voice right behind.

“Oh, Thorn, you startled me!” Star gasped.

Thorn allowed a comic look of guilt to pass over his face.  “Sorry, Star.  You looked frustrated.”

“I am!” Star growled before she could stop herself.

“What’s wrong?” Thorn repeated.

“Well,” Star hesitated.  “It’s nothing you should be concerned about,” she finished.

“Oh come on, Star, I—“

“No really, Thorn.  It—well, it’s just a dream I had last night.”

“A dream?  Dreams are just stuff our minds come up with when we’re tired, right?  Pay them no mind, Star.”

“In some cases…”

“What do you mean, Star?”

“Those of Amaroq’s Pack often send messages through dreams, and… This isn’t something the craziest wolf in all the Fire Mountain could come up with, even in a dream.  It all fits the prophecy, and yet—“

“Wait one second, Star.  Did you just say prophecy?”

“Well, yes— Er, maybe I should start from the beginning.”

Thorn raised an eye-brow at her and nodded.  “That would be nice,” he admitted.

“But if I do, you must swear to secrecy!”

“I swear it.”

Star took a breath, and told Thorn all, her mother’s last words, her restless nights, down to every detail of her latest dream.  At the end of her narrative, Thorn sat down hard and panted with amazement.

“Well, Star, that certainly is some story.”

“But you do believe me?”

“Of course.  Like you said, who could come up with all that?  Plus, I think it sounds pretty believable.  I’m guessing you were frustrated that the prophecy wasn’t making sense?”

“Yes!  Who are those wolves it talks about?  When will the falling star come?  I just don’t understand!”

Thorn licked her ears to calm her down.  “Star, the thing about prophecies is that they’re not a prophecy if it makes sense right away.  They’re just vague hints at what the future has to offer, and they don’t make sense until they come true, you know?

Star agreed reluctantly.  “I suppose if mother had simply explained it to me, I wouldn’t have cared as much about the answer.  The moose always tastes better when you play a part in the hunt.”