6   StarShine got up and led Christine around the camp. She stopped and pointed her tail toward the nests in the middle of the clearing. “That’s where we lay in the sun at Warm-Season and Hot-Season. There are four in all, if you did not know. First, Warm-Season. Next, Hot-Season. Then, Cool-Season. Now, it’s Cold-Season.” She looked up at the sky as it stared snowing.
  She took Christine to the stump of dead animals. Christine held her breath. “It stinks!” She gasped.
 StarShine shot her a questioning look, and carried on. “This is our Stump-Of-Food. We, the Prey-Catchers as you can remember, put our catch here.”
 “The best stuff is here.” She leapt into the pond and went right through the waterfall! Christine stared in astonishment.
 StarShine poked her head out. “Coming or not?” She jumped back in and Christine lost sight of her. Christine took a breath, and put her paws into the pond.
 “Cold, cold, cold!” She squealed. She looked down. There were small fish swimming by her feet. That got her running. She crept through the waterfall and shook herself.
  She had her fifth heart-attack right there on the spot. She was inside a large cave.
 She looked around, her eyes popping out. On each of the walls, many large rectangular chunks of rock were missing. Sleeping in the chunks, curled in warm moss, were some of the wolves in the pack.
  StarShine appeared by Christine’s side. “Nature’s gift to us.” She yipped just like DawnLight.
  StarShine pointed towards the top of the cave. Christine followed her gaze. There was a crack in the rock, with a wolf’s nose pointing out of it, barely able to be seen through the moss that hung from it.
  “DarkShadow’s den is there.” Christine looked beside it, and saw ANOTHER den next to DarkShadows and assumed that was the Dominant Female’s den.
 In the middle of the cave, a slope stood above everything else, and below it were nests. StarShine saw the bewildered look on Christine’s face.
“That’s the RockSlope, where we gather to tell news. Our leaders sit on the slope, and we below. Nature really has given us a place to call our own. A place without humans.”
  Christine felt too sorry for the wolves to reply. This wasn’t nature that gave them the places to sleep or the slope. Christine could never tell them that it was humans who made it possible. If she did, they would question her for knowing such things. And she couldn’t risk being chased away, not when she had no place to call her own.
Transformation of
 Nature
Chapter 7   DawnLight sorted Christine’s scent out from the others in the cave. He ran next to her, and was amazed to see bewilderment on her face.
  But then again, she said she was a pet, and probably had never seen a cave before. He still wasn’t sure if he believed that yet. He wasn’t going to press her though, it might scare her away, and then he’d never know the truth.
 “Christine, hello? Anyone home?” He waved his tail in front of her face and she snapped out of her trance. “The sun will be down from the sky soon. I think you should start talking to some Prey-Catchers, or you’ll never hunt.”
  “Yeah, I think you’re right.” Christine still stared around at the cave, but she moved towards the group of females.
  DawnLight turned to see his father stand on the RockSlope and howl. The others were gathering, but DawnLight was suspicious and chose to run ahead and sit in front in case he had to interfere with the gathering.
  “Welcome, my pack.” DarkShadow was barely able to be seen through the darkness in the cave. “I’ve two announcements. As you all know, we have a new wolf in our home today.” DarkShadow quickly explained she was a pet to all of those who did not know, which was probably only the old grey and black Pack-Guard, FogSky.
  DarkShadow turned to Christine, who was bashfully looking away. “As long as Christine is in my pack, she will go by a name that fits her.” He slid off the RockSlope and touched his chin to Christine’s shoulder. “By the power of the pack, I call you by your true name, SnowFall, in honor of your snow-colored fur and the brightness it brings to the pack. She is now our Prey-Catcher. GoldenSun, you will teach her all you know. ” He lifted his head up and nodded in approval.
  DawnLight felt a surge of happiness for his new friend, she’d skipped training that he still was going through!  But he saw a different expression on her face.
  Was that guilt, he saw on SnowFall’s face? What had she done? Maybe she thought she didn’t deserve a name. Heck, DawnLight yawned, all wolves deserve a pack-name! Even I know that.
 The rest of the pack, who were supposed to congratulate her like any other Prey-Catcher, moved away. All except for GoldenSun, the pretty golden Prey-Catcher who was StarShine’s only real sister. GoldenSun walked in front of SnowFall, her gray eyes shining, turning silver in the cave-light.
  “Congratulations, SnowFall. I’ll be glad to train her, DarkShadow.” She looked at her father, thanks in her eyes.
  DarkShadow just dipped his head and leapt back on the RockSlope. “On to my other news! It is time for a new Dominant Female to lead the pack,” He paused and looked at his paws, “forever.”
 The rest of the pack jumped and cheered, but DawnLight got on his paws, growling and snarling so loud the pack stopped and turned at him.
  DawnLight looked at his father, rage burning in his amber eyes, making them turn to flame. “What do you mean? BushyTail is coming back, DarkShadow! I thought you cared about her?” He stuck his tail straight up in the air, making him look like he were already the Dominant Male.
  DarkShadow looked up and leapt in front of his son, growling. “Don’t you ever say that again, you hear!?!” By now he pinned DawnLight down, and SnowFall looked horrified.
  DawnLight pushed his father away with his back paws. “Then why are you giving up on her?” He bared his fangs. The rest of the pack looked at their paws, as if they knew something DawnLight didn’t. “What are you all hiding from me? Tell me now!” He gave each and every one of them a hard stare.
 FlowingStream walked over and put a paw on DawnLight’s shoulder. “DawnLight, we found your mother. But she wasn’t alive. Buddy, she was murdered.” Transformation of
 Nature
Chapter 8
 All of it was a blurr, really. Christine was already dizzy from her ceremony, which was totally unexpected.
  The only part she remembered clearly, was when she saw the look of horror on DawnLight’s face. She shuddered, they knew. They knew. They knew. It was all she could think about.
 She remembered DawnLight running from the cave, and running after him. She remembered how extremely cold it was, wet and snow falling. She remembered GoldenSun leading her to the den, and drying her off. They knew. They knew. They knew. And DawnLight was freezing and shocked, in the snow, in the middle of the night, all because she killed his mother.
And now they knew. Transformation of
 Nature
Chapter 9  DawnLight couldn’t believe what he had heard. When he did, he couldn’t control himself. How stupid he had been to run off like that, but he didn’t care. No one cared. He just wanted to die. To die like his mother and be with her and not have to worry about any other thing in the world.
  It had been a long time since he had run away, and he was sure there was some wolf looking for him. He hid into a large cut that opened up the tree trunk of a tree, facing away from the wind. He was bound to be warm in there.
  He curled up, shivering and shaking uncontrollably, and dreamed.   It was warm, and he was cozy. DawnLight opened his eyes. He was a puppy again, sitting in the sun next to…He turned.
  “Mom!” He leaped up and curled next to her. He felt himself shaking. “Mom, where have you been? Why did daddy want to replace you, mom?”
  BushyTail curled her fluffy tail around DawnLight, and they stayed like that for a while. Finally, she pushed away from them and ran.
 DawnLight ran after her, unable to keep up. “Mom, where are you?” He cried desperately and realized he was in a human camp. He gasped as images flashed into his eyes.
  BushyTail, falling to the ground, blood oozing from her injured head.
 A young female human, her blue eyes like oceans that were very familiar.
  And a whole patrol of his pack coming to find him, SnowFall and DarkShadow leading the way.
 DawnLight was being pulled away from his mother, who was running away from him, tail streaming out behind her. “No! Mom, help!” He heard surprised yips and a painful howl, that sounded like his mother’s. “MOM!” He turned to the thing that was pulling him back. It was SnowFall, and her eyes were like oceans.  “No, mom! SnowFall, let me go!” He woke up, SnowFall in his face.
  “DawnLight, are you okay?” He saw StarShine pushing SnowFall away.
 “Son!” DarkShadow leapt forward. “Are you alright?” DawnLight had never seen him so worried.
  “I…” DawnLight dizzily looked around. He was back home, in his father’s den. “I’m not sure.”
  DarkShadow guided him away from the crowd, trying to take him to Darkshadow‘s den. DawnLight got up, and fell back down. Several of the pack gasped, and ran over to help. By the time

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6

Next page