It was getting colder. My first winter alone. I had been traveling and traveling for months,barely getting by, surviving off of rotting carcasses and rabbits alone. I was totally alone, not ever meeting any strangers (I suspect they were all safe and warm and dry in their dens, cuddling with their mates and pups) so there was no chance of me being able to catch any elk, because everybody knows that they are much too fast and strong for thin, tired, lone wolf like me. I was getting weaker, too. So, because of all this, it was quite a surprise when I finally found a familiar face.

                  It was the middle of February, and I was beginning to give up all hope of......anything, really. I had not seen another wolf for weeks. No frost had fallen yet, which was rather odd for that time of year. But it was good, because it would have made my time alone even more miserable. My paws ached like crazy, and it didn't help that the ground was hard and frozen...not to mention very cold. So cold it burned to the touch.I was walking through a barren valley, where only a few sparse trees were growing. The grass was dead, so there was no relief for my burning pads. I padded slowly over to a clump of pine trees and lay down. There was a soft bedding of pine needles under their branches, and I could have gone right to sleep if I had wanted to. But I wasn't that tired. I just needed to rest for a little while. Just enough to keep from dying. Although I was so miserable, I didn't know exactly why I kept on living. 

                    I was just starting to get comfortable and doze off when I felt hot air on my frozen face, and smelled the scent of wolf, and felt a paw prodding my side. "Get up, stranger", said a voice. It sounded oddly familiar...a voice from my past, maybe? I opened my eyes to see a stranger wolf, apparently a loner, standing over me. "Are you alright? Where have you come from? And who are you, anyway?" The wolf seemed stern, yet kind. "My...my...my name is....I'll tell you if you tell me." I was still very weary of strangers. "My name is Breeze. I escaped something....terrible. Iv'e been here ever since, in this frozen wasteland, starving, freezing, the usual. Now, who are you?" The wolf was a dirty brownish-gray, although if he was well fed and groomed, he would have been very handsome. Breeze? That name was so familiar. "My name is Midnight", I said cooly. "And I'm near dead. I have been traveling, barely getting by off of rotting meat and the very skinniest of rabbits and hares. Will you please allow me to rest, until my strength is restored? I mean you no harm." Breeze considered. "No", he said at last. "This is my safe place, and I am afraid to trust strangers.I...I am very sorry, but you must leave immediately." He curled his upper lip, showing sharp, white teeth. He growled madly. "Please, I mean you no harm!" I was desperate for a soft place to rest. I thought about telling him I was pregnant, but then, he would ask questions...too many questions.  "No!" He leapt on me, and bit me. Hard. In the leg. I yelped loudly. Breeze was obviously desperate to keep what little territory he had. He was just about to bite me again, when suddenly--"Hey! I know you! I knew I knew your name, but now....I see your star! You're MIDNIGHT!!!" My heart leapt. I couldn't believe it. "Breeze!" Breeze had been my puppyhood bestfriend. We had played and wrestled together in the spring, and kept eachother warm in winter. And one summer, I had even taught Breeze how to swim, and even how to appreciate my everlasting love of water.  I was so pleased and excited to learn that he had survived. "Breeze, let's go." "What?" "Come on! We're together now. And you and I both know that we cannot survive alone. But we can together." What I wasn't telling him was that I lost everything in the...disaster. But now I had hope. And just a sliver of happiness. I loved my father. We did everything together. And the disaster killed him, and my future, and everything else I had. But now..."Breeze, please." He must have sensed the tone of urgency in my voice. "Well, alright. But where will we go?" "A forest. With noone else. Let's...let's start a pack, Breeze. Together. A pack...of our own." I was so excited, the words just tumbled out. But Breeze hesitated. "We can go to the forest...a forest is alright, but I'll wait and see about the pack. It's not a no. It is very close to a yes. Well, if we are to travel, who says we must wait?" With Breeze's answer, my strength seemed miraculously restored. "Alright! And who says we must go slowly? COME ON!!!" And we broke into a run. Well, I did, at least. Breeze hesitated for a moment, and then let out a triumphant yelp. Then he, too, gave chase. We ran together. Chasing the sunrise. It was symbolic, really. The sunrise...a new beginning. I stopped. Took a deep breath. And howled. A long, mournful sound. But I was not mourning. I was rejoicing. Breeze howled, too. When we finally stopped, we started running again. Into the sunrise. And this time, we didn't stop.