Chapter 3: New Arrivals

Thunder looked up to the stars.  Below him the rest of the pack slept in the cave he was standing on.  Not just 'the pack'.  It was HIS pack now.  He had declared himself sentry and silenced his family's protests with a glare.  He needed to be alone.

After the gunshot, everything had receded into confusion.  Lightning had just finished the Alpha fight, and Gale's opponent had surrendered once he had caught sight of Smoke's mangled body.  Lightning had noticed the Strangers first, and had leaped at them in an attempt to chase them off.  This spiraled into Lightning’s death. 

His pack had sustained two losses in a single battle.  No, wait.  There had been three losses.  Thunder sighed.  He and Storm had been too late to save Holly.  At least they had gotten the scum who had killed her and Rain. 

After the Strangers had grazed Gale and missed Star, Thunder had ordered a retreat.  Later the Pack had come back to honor the wolves who had died and found that Rain’s body was gone.  The Strangers had taken it.  What would Lightning say if he knew that his favorite son had abandoned his brother’s body to retreat? 

How am I to rule the Forest Pack as wisely as you, dear father?  Thunder looked up and blinked hard, trying to stop the tears.  Lightning had been so great, who was he to think that he, a mere yearling, could take the place where so noble a monarch had stood? 

Suddenly, a scent wafted toward Thunder, one that was now bitter to the Forest Pack.  The owners of the scent were approaching rapidly, but as they were upwind, it was difficult to tell how far away they were.  He let loose an alarm-bark and growled deep in his throat.  The Pack raced out of the cave and took the offensive stance.  When two dogs poked their snouts through the brush, they were confronted by a large Pack of angry, snarling wolves.  The male did a sharp turn around, but the female was paralyzed with fright. 

“This is The Forest Pack’s territory,” Thunder growled.  “Leave.”  The female showed her eye-whites.  Once he realized his companion was not following, the male came back, grabbed the female by the scruff and began to drag her away.  It was a comical sight. 

The female was black with irregular strips of brown and tan freckles on her muzzle.  The male looked like an over large German Shepard with one blue eye and one yellow eye.  They were apparently siblings, and also part wolf.

Gale whispered to Thunder, “Don’t kill them, they’re younger than you.  If they ask to join, don’t chase them off either.  We’re low on wolves.”  Thunder cocked an eye at his Beta, then growled, “Dogs, stop.”  The dogs froze and looked up at the wolf towering over them.   “I am Thunder, Alpha.  State your business in my territory.”  The male gave his sister a reassuring lick and stood facing Thunder, but still holding a submissive position.

“I am Gunner, this is my sister Katie.  We were at the battle yesterday, and when our humans started shooting, we were frightened and ran.  Now we are lost.  I am sorry for intruding on your territory.”  Thunder nodded. It was now obvious that the dogs were at least half wolf.  The yellow in the male’s eye declared his wolf heritage, and even his voice sounded wolf-like.  Katie’s paws were huge, though her brother apparently had gotten more wolf ancestry than her. 

Star had been examining the newcomers carefully, comparing them to the stories she had heard about the once-wolves who served Strangers blindly and stupidly.  Katie stood behind her bolder brother, and Star noticed she had a limp.  Star gasped involuntarily when she saw the gaping wound in Katie’s thigh.  Walking up behind Thunder, Star told him to look at Katie’s hind leg.  Twitching his ears to show he had understood, Thunder softened his tone and asked, “Female, what happened to your leg?” 

“We left the valley just after you,” replied the black hybrid.  “A tan wolf from the other Pack caught my leg before we could escape.  I would have been killed if Gunner had not jumped in.  Gunner decided we needed shelter, and that we should probably separate ourselves from the wolves that attacked us.  We went in the opposite direction of the other Pack.” 

Thunder held a brief conference with Gale, the Pack elders, and his remaining siblings.  Katie caught the words “dogs”, “injured”, and “help” a few times, but besides that she couldn’t make anything out.  Finally, Thunder withdrew from the huddle.  Gale came out grinning and the tan Beta quickly began to organize a hunting Patrol.  Storm and Thunder looked skeptical, but Star just looked concerned for Katie.  She detailed two males to assist Katie to the Cave, with Gunner following.   The Patrol soon returned with a leg from the moose the Pack had killed yesterday.  Katie and Gunner ate hungrily, driven to the meat though they had never seen moose before. Full of meat and gratefulness, the two young hybrids were soon deep in sleep. 

The Pack council stayed up late discussing the future of the dogs.  Gale and Star argued that they were kin, alone, and injured.  Most of the females sided with them, Katie’s youthfulness and injury having aroused their maternal instincts.  They said that Gunner would be a powerful asset to the Pack once he was full-grown.  Hadn’t Katie said that he had saved her from a Stone Pack wolf, renowned as they were for being vicious fighters? Thunder stayed neutral.  Finally, the council decided to see how the dogs dealt with wild life before decided their fate.

Star became the dogs’ enthusiastic guide.  She showed them the best prey spots, the borders, water sources, and her puppy-hood hide-outs.   Gunner was eager to learn hunting tactics, and the wolves were amazed at his natural skill.  He and Katie quickly memorized the territory, though Katie had yet to see some of the places for herself.  Her leg healed slowly, and, confined to the den, she studied wolf-lore.  Dogs had a vague knowledge of Amaroq, passed down through instinct.  Katie’s knowledge expanded and she began memorizing tales of how the Packs of the Fire Mountain began. 

The day Katie was able to lope around the Cave, the council met again.  After the two dogs were fast asleep, Katie exhausted from her run, the council began talking.  No wolf could object to Gunner’s admission.  He had proved himself to be an excellent hunter, a skilled fighter, and a willing learner.  Katie was a bit more debatable, though few wolves were against her.  The issue was finally settled when Thunder said, “She will never be as fierce as her brother, but we are short of wolves.  She will hold her own in a fight well once her leg heals, I think.  She is built to run fast, and will be an asset to a hunting Patrol.”  An alpha’s decision cannot be vetoed or argued.  Thunder’s word was final.  Star brought up the subject of names. 

“No proper wolf should have a name like Gunner.  What is a gunner anyway?” Star asked. 

“Perhaps Katie could be Leaf, or Ivy?”  All heads turned to Storm, the least likely wolf to take an interest in Katie.  He shrugged, embarrassed at the attention, and said, “She told me she loves the smell of ivy.  Her mother told her that her father, a wolf, had been called Branch.  Her brother could be Thorn.”  The council mulled over the names, and as no more suggestions were forthcoming, they made the names official, Ivy for Katie and Thorn for Gunner.

The next morning, Thunder decided that the newly-named Thorn would begin his duties as a Forest Pack member right away.  Ivy still needed time to recover completely before he sent her out with a hunting Patrol though.  Calling Star to his side, he told her to wake the dogs and inform them of their new rank. 

“When will you tell the rest of the pack?” inquired Star.  Thunder thought for a moment, then answered, “Right now.  That way I won’t have to deal with curious stares when I sent Thorn with the hunting Patrol.”

“You’re sending Thorn on a patrol?”

“Why are you surprised?  You know as a member of our pack, he has to learn how to hunt.”

“You’re right.  But you couldn’t send Kat-, I mean, Ivy on a patrol.”

“No, of course not.  What use would she be before her leg heals?”

“Permission to take her for a tour of the north half of the territory, please.”  Thunder smiled.

“Permission granted, Star.  Provided ivy can walk that far.”  Star returned the grin.

“I’m sure she’ll be okay.  Hey, I thought you said you were going to tell the Pack right now.”

“Tell them what—Oh right, about Ivy and thorn.”  Thunder set off to where the Pack was already gathering.  Star went back into the cave to rouse the two dogs.

“Rise and greet the sun!  You’re on hunting patrol, Thorn.”

“Huh? What?  Who’s Thorn?”

“You are.  Pack members are named after things in nature, not some sort of Stranger thingie.”

“Pack members…” Thorn gasped.  “You don’t mean…”

Star winked.