Tikia Calling
(started
6/4/07 - )
Summary:
A story of a young she-wolf’s unseen destiny to lead her pack and family to a
place where they can live in peace and harmony.
Rating:
PG for violence, blood, death, and a slightly graphic birthing scene. It’s
nothing we haven’t seen or read about before.
Disclaimer:
This is a tale of pure fiction with all original characters and names that are
created especially for this story by the author. No characters are based on
real people or characters, but is closely based on how wolves actually live. It
may not be exactly accurate, but it is close. Of course, the author added some
fantasy charm into it, so it’s realistic fantasy . . . but with talking
animals.
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=======================================================
Tikia was nothing special, even though she was given the sacred
name of her Clan’s ancestor . . . At birth, she was forgotten, left in the
shadow of her twin brother . . . as a pup, she was scorned and shunned by her
own Clan, receiving the title of Omega . . . and when she had the chance to
prove her worth, she was exiled from her own family . . . from her own home . .
.
One she-wolf will go on the ultimate journey of a
lifetime . . . not only to show her strength, but to also save her family from
the unseen dangers of man and nature. Can Tikia go against all odds to save the
Evergreen Clan and reach her destiny?
=======================================================
Prologue
Have you
ever heard of Destiny? Fate? The events that happen for a certain reason?
I have, and
I am a witness of these things.
What I am
about to tell you is a story that will make you believe in the unknown deity
known as Fate.
This is a
story of my family and the many trials and tribulations that we faced in order
to survive. We witnessed many things that could have changed us for better or
for worse, but our faith allowed us to live on.
My name is
Tikia, and I was named after the ancestral spirit of our Clan. My brother is
Tikio, my twin, who is also named for the spirit. Together with my parents,
older siblings, and other relatives, we lived together in a wild world of lush,
forest and majestic mountains. This was our home, the home of our Clan, the
Evergreen.
It’s been told
that our guardian spirit, Tikia, fell from the heavenly realm of the sacred
spirits onto this barren land . . . this land where the trees of evergreen
kissed the rocky peaks and no creatures seemed to roam. Tikia’s single touch
onto the land caused our kind to sprout from within the Earth’s nurturing soil
and the newly-formed pack was named by Tikia itself after the trees that
bordered the mountain valley.
It is also
said that Tikia led the Evergreen Clan to its survival many, many years ago. The
spirit soon vanished, returning once again to the land of the Auroras – the land
where our ancestors Ever since then, our Clan has flourished on the land of our
birth, hunting the many deer and forest creatures that shared the forest and
mountains with us.
However,
there are many things in nature that cannot be controlled by our Clan . . .
man’s fiery hands of destruction, rumbling thunder and lightning storms that
brew, river overflows, and yes, even the arrival of a leader that is destined
for greatness. All these events can be predicted, but alas, the accuracy of
these things is quite rare.
Hmm, I can
see from your faces that you cannot clearly understand what I mean by this.
In order
for you to understand this, let me tell you my story . . . and maybe then, you
will understand the amazing power that Destiny controls over our lives.
=======================================================
Part ONE – The Deal
In the
Evergreen Clan, my parents are the Betas – the next-in-line for leadership of
the Clan. Actually, at one point, they were the Alphas of the Clan, bearing two
successful litters during their short-lived reign of two years. Now, as the
seconds-in-command, they assist with the Alphas of the Clan by helping to hunt,
babysitting the Alphas’ children, and protecting our territory from any
intruders that would make their way into our land.
In every
community, every creature – whether Alpha or not – has the natural instincts to
reproduce and bear young, not knowing how their arrival into the world would
cause things to change the future.
It’s a
rather strange and mysterious thing, it is. Although I have never understood it
personally, I never thought I was worth anything special.
Ever since
Mother learned that she was to bare another litter, even now that she was a
Beta Female, our Clan Elder sensed great power within her . . . the pulse of a
leader’s heart . . . and that was something more special than anything.
- - - - - -
- -
The tan and
gray Elder approached the male and female that lay inside their den. The
she-wolf was beautiful – her coat was a stunning shade of brown with flickers
of gray-white around her eyes, muzzle and chest. Her belly was beginning to
grow larger and rounder, although she was only a few of weeks within her
pregnancy. She was overshadowed by the figure of her mate, whose dark gray fur
shone almost black; he stood protectively over the she-wolf until he noticed
the presence of the Elder. Immediately, he leaped over her and trotted towards
the older male, greeting him with a quick nuzzle of friendship.
“My son,”
the Elder spoke with a slight sign of his age. He placed one of his forepaws
around the dark wolf’s shoulder, hugging him. “My first-born son, Harrow, it is
an honor to congratulate you. You should be proud to be having another litter
of pups with Flicker.”
“Yes,
indeed I am,” The other male returned the hugging gesture with a modest grin. “It’s
a shame that the Alphas have been unsuccessful at breeding, but I am glad that
they allowed us to mate in their place just this once. I loved it when our
other children were pups, and Flicker took such good care of them as newborns.
They were such vibrant wolves, each filled with life and love for our Clan.”
The Elder
nodded. “Yes, I remember christening them well.” He closed his eyes, reminiscing
about the male’s other children. “Tawny . . . she was the runt of the first
litter . . . such a beautiful huntress she has become . . .” The male nodded in
agreement to the Elder’s words. “Then, your first son, Noble . . .” The Elder
sighed deeply. “Quite noble indeed!” The two males let out a quick chuckle,
then the tan wolf continued. “Glenda and Dapple, the twin daughters . . . oh,
such well-mannered she-wolves they have become.” The dark male followed with a
chuckle, but began to hush himself once noticing the sad gaze and sigh of the
Elder. “Unfortunately, your last son gave his life for the Evergreen during the
Battle against the Fir Clan only a couple moons ago . . . Oh, he had such
promise to become a beta like his father . . .”
The two males
lowered their ears, mourning over the young wolf that was once a part of the
Clan. “Gallant is still deeply missed,” the dark wolf responded. “especially by
his young mate, Mina.” A tear fell from his eye as he struggled to continue his
words. “I . . . I had hoped he . . . he would rise to Alpha rank one day . . .”
“Shh . . .
hush now, my son,” the Elder calmed him. “The Auroras have given him
everlasting rest now. He is under the watchful care of Tikia and the spirits,
so you needn’t worry about him now, Harrow.”
Harrow
nodded and sniffed away a remaining tear from his eye; suddenly, the slight
gasp of Flicker caused the Beta Male to rush to his beloved’s side.
“Oh!”
“Flicker,
what is it?” he asked her. “Is something wrong?”
The brown
and gray-white she-wolf only shook her head with a light smile. “Nothing’s
wrong . . . I just felt him, dear. He’s strong and swift with his movements,
even though there’s only weeks to go before his birth.”
The two
Betas nuzzled happily as the Elder approached them; his eyes were wide as a
sudden gasp was released from his widely-opened jaws.
“The Leader
. . .”
The proud
parents looked in confusion at the Elder Wolf’s actions as he bowed low to the
ground with his head laying between his forelegs.
“I can feel
the next leader’s presence . . .” The tan wolf lifted his head from the ground
and approached the female. “Although he may be only weeks from birth, his aura
is strong within your womb. I can even feel his heart pounding within his
newly-formed chest.” He nodded hopefully at the couple as he began to walk
away, exiting the den. “Your next child will be the one we have hoped to save
us . . . the one chosen by Tikia itself.”
- - - - - -
- -
Mother and
Father were quite shocked by the Elder’s prediction, and the rest of the
Evergreen joined in celebration for the upcoming birth of the Alpha Male.
Our Clan
had been suffering from several hardships ever since my parents were overtaken
by a stronger male and his beautiful mate. The Elder, being a shaman for our
Clan, had always had predictions and fortunes that would either be omens or
good fortunes for us. His latest prophecy of the Destined Alpha growing within
my mother’s womb quickly made its rounds as the talk of the Clan.
As the days
passed and the day of Mother’s delivery came closer and closer, the Clan
prepared for the arrival of the next Alpha. The current Alphas, Riko and his
mate, Sherry, had heard the prediction from the Elder himself and had decided
to make a deal with Mother and Father . . .
- - - - - -
- -
The two
Alphas had entered the den where Flicker and Harrow lay next to each other,
possibly for the last time before Flicker would abandon him and the rest of the
Clan to give birth in a secret den and raise her pup until about a month later,
when he would be old enough to venture outdoors. When the two Betas recognized
the Alphas’ presence, they quickly lowered their heads in proper respect of
their traditional lupine hierarchy.
“Ah, it’s
good to see you two are doing well,” Riko spoke first, giving his fellow male a
gentle paw-tap on the shoulder and licked him in a show of fellowship. “Sherry
and I are glad to hear the news from the Elder of your unborn pup’s destiny of
being our next heir. Many congratulations to you both.”
“Thank you
very much, Riko,” Flicker bowed. “It is an honor to bear your successor, and I
hope he leads with your same strength and character.”
“Yes,” Riko
slightly grinned. “But back to the reason why we came to speak to you. It’s
because of the fact that my heir is within you that we wish to make a deal with
you and your mate.”
The
pregnant she-wolf and her mate looked at the Alphas, then turned to each other
for a few moments before turning their attention back to their successors. “Go
on, Riko,” Harrow nodded his head, curious to hear what they wanted. “What is
this deal all about?”
“Well, you
know very well that my mate has been unsuccessful at producing a litter for the
past couple of years that we have led the Evergreen Clan after you two passed
the torch to us.” Riko began to explain, but his Alpha Female completed his
thought.
“What he
means to say is, we would love to raise your next offspring once he’s born,”
Sherry completed. She noticed the shocked expression on the Betas’ faces and
chuckled. “It’s only a suggestion, of course. We understand if you wish to raise
them both once they are old enough to wander on their own, but you do have the
Clan’s successor within you.”
“That is
true,” Flicker responded. “It would make sense for an Alpha to care for the
future Alpha of the Evergreen.” She turned her head to her mate. “What do you
think, Harrow dear? It would give us some time for ourselves for once.”
Harrow gave
her a hesitating gaze. Just the thought of giving away one of his own fur and
blood was just unthinkable. “Oh, I don’t know, dear . . . it sounds risky.”
“Oh, come
on, Harrow, old pal!” Riko chuckled a bit, walking closer to his fellow wolf.
“Be a good sport!” He calmed his voice down for a moment and cleared his
throat. “This is the future Alpha we’re talking about!” He moved his gray and
white face towards Harrow’s black ear. “And wouldn’t it be nice to know that
your son would be in the best of care, by Alphas, no less?”
“And I’ve
always wanted to raise a pup too,” Sherry added, sighing lovingly. “It’s a
shame that the almighty spirits made an Alpha Female barren in a Clan.” She
pouted, but quickly looked back at the expected parents. “So . . . what do you
say?”
“Well, . .
. .” Harrow’s voice hesitated with the movement of his eyes. “I suppose if it
would help him grow and develop to be an affective Alpha –”
“Perfect!”
Riko exclaimed, nuzzling his Beta Male with glee, then his own mate, and
finally approaching Flicker with a bow. “Oh my dear, sweet Flicker, I
understand that it may be hard to part with a pup so soon, but you needn’t
worry. Sherry and I will raise him as if he were our own.”
Flicker
only nodded slightly, trying to smile happily . . . but the thought of her
mate’s worries began to affect her as the Alpha couple left the den. The
happiness in Sherry’s voice echoed from the opening of the cavern, followed by
Riko’s gladdening laughter of glee.
Once the
Beta couple was alone, Flicker let out a quick gasp as the fetus inside her
moved, then she began to cry unexpectedly.
“Oh, Harrow
. . .” She sniffed, leaning her head against her mate’s. “What have we done?”
Her sobs intensified as she stained Harrow’s coat darker. “What have we done to
them?”
“Them?”
Harrow’s ears sprung up at the sound of the word. “Whatever do you mean,
darling?”
Flicker’s
face shifted away from Harrow’s neck, streams of tears forming waterfalls down
her beautiful face. “There’s more than one . . .” She sniffled again, her tears
continuing again as she repeated the phrase again. “There’s more than one,
Harrow . . .”
Realizing
that his previous worries were correct, Harrow lowered his ears and head,
joining his mate in weeping. “Oh, what have we done, merciful Tikia?” He cried
out to the guardian spirit of his Clan. “What have we done?”
- - - - - -
- - -