An Unexpected Future - Aleu

Part III 

The afternoon sun was starting to fade into the height of the tree-filled landscape, causing the tips of the tops to burn almost with a passionate yellow-orange glow. The further one went underneath the forest canopy, the more one could see the dark, cool growth that flourished from the nourishment of the forest soil. A blurred form of light grayish-brown flew against the greenery of the Alaskan wilderness like a bolt of lightning through a rough and stormy sky. Her golden and blue eyes were filled with tears of many emotions, emotions of just discovering a year’s worth of secrets that had been kept from her knowledge.

How could Papa do that to me? Aleu thought as tears continued to drip from her face as she ran unknowingly towards somewhere that was far away from her father. Keeping such secrets from me like that – the nerve! She let out a inner growl as the last moments of her father flashed in her memory. I feel like never talking to him again, even if he wants me to! She began to slow down to a steady trot, her eyelids and head lowered in worry. But . . . knowing him, he’d be looking for me. She let out a slight huffy breath of frustration. Finally after all this time, he wants to explain himself to me . . . but thanks to that dog Ebony, I learned everything he never had the courage to reveal to me. 

I’ll never forgive him . . . or myself . . . The harsh phrases seemed to pierce her own heart as she said them. My mother . . . Jenna . . . I killed you, and I never even knew you!

Her sadness made her become unaware of her surroundings; she realized this once she lifted her head and began to look around for something familiar. Hey . . . now where am I? She pondered and sniffed around for a trail or something that would jog her memory, but it was no use; because her father would not allow her to roam into the woods alone, nothing around her was recognizable at all. She let out a soft sigh, lowering her head again with disappointment. 

“Oh, what’s the use?” She muttered aloud. “I don’t have a clue where I am . . . but I can’t go back to the place I once lived.” She sighed once more, feeling that there was one thing left for her to do. “I’ve got to find someplace to go, somewhere that I can truly belong . . . where those secrets won’t haunt me anymore.”

Moving one paw after the other, Aleu trotted further into the greenery of the woods, not realizing that she was entering someone else’s territory. As she walked onward, the quarter-wolf didn’t notice the three scents of foreign creatures that lurked in the bushes and shrubs with baring teeth in their jaws. 

“Hmm? A she-wolf?” One male voice muttered to another of its companions, barely speaking loud enough for the quarter-wolf to hear. It let out a couple of sniffs, then a disappointing grunt. “Nah, that’s no wolf there.”

“Smells like half-breed,” A second voice, a female’s, murmured. “That one’s got some wolf in her.” Her voice began to lighten up. “Maybe we should leave this one alone, Juniper.” 

“And have her steal from our land?” The one known as Juniper, another female, spoke up in an anger tone, but still in that almost inaudible voice. “No way! Part-wolf or not, she’s still trespassing on our territory and we must stop her from getting any closer to our base!”

The second voice let out a sigh. “I understand that, Juni, but –” 

“But Juniper is right, Geona,” The first voice replied, interrupting the female. “We are wolves, and we must protect our Clan from any dangers that we may face, . . . even if they look harmless.”

“See? You’ve forgotten it already!” The voice known as Juniper joined in once more. “You must always remember, Geona, that you’re a wolf, and a member of the Runaway Clan. We were the ones that were forgotten, abandoned, even outcast from our own clans and families to live alone, destined to become bird or bear fodder if we couldn’t survive.” 

“We’re alive because the Great Aniu allowed us to be saved by the Runaway Clan, Geona,” the first voice, still unnamed continued the speech. “The Clan gave us life when no one else would, and now that we are grown, we must protect it in return for our current existence.”

Geona let out a sigh. She knew her companions were right, but something inside her told her otherwise. “Well, maybe she’s a exiled orphan or a loner runaway like most of us are . . .” Geona responded, hoping that perhaps this would save the stranger’s life. “If she is someone like the rest of us, perhaps she could become a member of the Runaway Clan . . .”

“Uhh . . . Uh, Juniper?” The first voice asked suddenly, intruding through Geona’s idea. 

“What is it, Hickory?” Juniper responded back with a bit of anger and impatience in her voice.

“Uh, how can we prevent the stranger from getting into our territory when she’s vanished?” 

The male’s words caused all three of them to stick their heads out of the bushes and forest shrubs that they had hidden in. As Hickory had stated, the intruder had gone from the spot where they had planned to attack her, but her scent was still fresh.

“She’s close to here,” Geona, a light-gray and brown-marked she-wolf, sniffed out. “She’s deeper into our territory now, but now that we have her scent, we can track her down before she gets closer and ask her to join us!” 

Juniper, the jet-black she-wolf with light-gray markings around her eyes, face and down her underbelly to the tip of her tail, lifted a paw to her female companion and hit her with it. “You fool! If we make her into a member of the Runaways, then she’ll learn everything! That part-breed might be a member of a rivaling Clan – a spy . . . a traitor in the making! If we tell her our secrets, she’ll have dirt on us to tell them once she escapes!”

“Well, maybe we should just take her in as a prisoner then,” the largest of the three, the dark-brown Hickory resolved the situation. “Then she can’t leave our territory without an escort by her side. That may be the safest thing to do.” 

“Yes,” Juniper added. “Then White Feather would have to place final judgment on her instead!”

Geona lowered her head in disappointment, but if that was what needed to be done to spare that part-wolf’s life, it must happen. “Well, I guess we should go get her then!” She barked, quickly and stealthily leading her two companions to the source of the intruding scent of the part-wolf female. 

The sunlight was beginning to dim now, for the evening hour was close at hand. Aleu noticed this, stopping in her tracks as she let out a few soft pants of exhaustion.

“Oh, I’m so thirsty!” She thought aloud. “I wonder if there’s a stream or a river nearby so I could get a drink . . .” Then she realized something that she had just barely forgotten. Wait a second . . . I have wolf blood in me! Maybe I could try to sniff out for some water . . . Lifting her nose into the air, Aleu let out a couple of soft, evenly-spaced sniffs. So many unfamiliar scents filled her nostrils like a large bouquet of flowers that somehow happened to smell like the wilderness around her. Wow, I’ve never been able to smell things like this before at home! This is amazing! After another couple of sniffs, the scents of three wild animals entered her nose. Hmm, that’s strange . . . I’ve never smelt anything like this before . . . Aleu closed her eyes, allowing this new sensation to engulf her soul as she sniffed again. But why does it smell so . . . 

Before she could finish her thought, the three bodies of wolves pounced on her from the nearby bushes, causing Aleu to fall onto the dirt and forest-covered ground with a thud. The darker wolf, Hickory, had his large paws and thick, muscle-lined legs over the quarter-wolf’s slender-built body, all while Juniper and Geona stood by the side of their companion – Juniper with a growl slipping through her teeth and Geona with lowered ears and a forlorn sigh escaping from her lips.

“Hey, part-breed!” The black she-wolf Juniper barked out, causing Aleu to gasp and move her head away from the angered lupine. “Why are you trespassing on our land?” 

“Juni, you’re scaring her!” Geona, the light-gray wolf let out a slight growl, as if she were a mother scolding her pup. Juniper returned the comment with a glare, then Geona continued to speak to the stranger; this time, she talked with a smile and a calm voice so Aleu wouldn’t be too afraid of them. “Sorry about her sudden outburst. She doesn’t take too kindly to strangers.” She let out a slight giggle, then continued to question the part-wolf. “You’re not from this part of the woods, are you?”

“N-n-no, not really,” Aleu replied nervously, let out a sigh and began to apologize. “I’m sorry I traveled into your territory; I had no idea . . . I’m just looking for some water and shelter, that’s all.” 

Hickory’s expression softened at the young hybrid’s response. “Well, we can take you to our cavern where we have enough water and shelter to spare.” He spoke up, much to the shock of the jet-black female.

“What?! We’re taking her as a prisoner, not treating her like a royal!” Juniper snarled. She turned to Aleu, nearly allowing their noses to meet. “You’re not even a full wolf; I can smell the tameness in you!” 

Aleu’s ears turned back, leaning against her mousy-gray neck. “W-w-well, so what?” She gathered her courage to snap back at the midnight lupine, slightly stammering as she did so. “I may be only part wolf, but . . .” She let out an agonizing groan. “Geez, I’m not exactly sure why I’m even arguing with you! Just back off, okay – it’s hasn’t been a good day for me today!” God, she’s just like Ebony, Aleu thought to herself. Her anger and her eyes are the same as hers . . . Thank goodness they’re not related! She breathed a soft sigh of relief as she