Chapter 1: The Valley
A lone wolf stands at the edge of a forest, a cool breeze wafting through the trees, blowing orange and yellow leaves to the ground. It is dusk, and darkness is near on this mid-autumn day. The wolfs head hangs low, as he ventures into the forest alone. Unsure of what lies before him, and unsure of just how he ended up here in the first place. Still wishing he was back with his family, but knowing that is impossible now.
The terrain is new and unfamiliar. This is the first time he has been away from familiar ground. His family had always patrolled their territory, and those forests and foot hills were familiar to him. But out here, he is unsure what is arouind the next corner.
Roady ventured on, going over the last days events in his memory. As darkness falls, he realizes that he has to put that behind him and pay attention. He is hungry and needs to find some food. But he also needs to pay attention. He had heard rumors of another wolf pack in the area. Sniffing for scents or food, Roady continues on along a worn path. The freshly fallen leaves crunching below his paws.
A sweet smell arouses Roadys attention. Following his nose, he finds a grape vine. He begins to excitedly harvest grapes with his teeth, pulling at the grape vines, and breaking clusters of grapes free, as he savors the sweet juices of the fruit. Unaware of just how much noise he is making, he continues to pillage the wild grape vine until he hears some movement from nearby. Freezing in place, grapes hanging from his jaw, Roady quietly looks around.
The darkness and shadows play tricks on him from every direction. Hearing nothing he drops the grapes and turns around, away from the grape vine, to face the sound he had heard. Sniffing the air for animal scents is not working too well, as his nose is overwhelmed with the smell and taste of sweet grapes. He knows he heard something, but can’t see anything.
He begins to prowl around the area, circling out from the grape vine. He hears a twig snap behind him. Growling, he swings around, but again sees nothing. He scratches his head, then proceeds to investigate towards where he had heard the sound. He begins to smell an unfamiliar scent. The scent, bitter-sweet smelling, gets stronger the closer he gets to an old dead log. Roady sniffs at the log, but finds it only smells like damp rotting wood. Confused he looks around.
A shadow moves in the corner of his eye, and Roady growls and decides to pounce into the unknown darkness. Landing in the midst of a thorn bush, he yelps, as the shadow quickly scurries off. He spends the next several minutes picking thorns from his body, as the bitter-sweet smell fades away, leaving him with the smell of rotting wood on one side, and the sweet smell of grapes from the grape vine.
. . .
It has been a rough night for Roady. Slightly paranoid, and jumping at every strange noise, he realizes that it is tough going it alone. Without the safety of his family, he is quite vulnerable.
Having taken a nap at the edge of a meadow, he awakes to the sun rising through the morning fog. Getting up he shakes off the dew which has settled on his fur, and looks around. Dew shines from the blades of grass in the meadow, looking like a million small stars blanketing the field before him. He stretches his legs, and wanders into the meadow.
Rounding the top of a hill, he stops and stands tall, seeing a large glacial valley before him. In the distance, a large baby blue lake captures his attention through the fog. Lowering his head, he knows where he needs to go. With a purpose, he begins to journey towards the lake.
He finds a stream which is flowing downhill towards the lake, and follows on its bank. The fall colors on the trees reflecting in the streams churning water, so as to look like a flowing river of lava. The sun has burnt off most of the fog now, and is shining bright on the leaves of the trees.
The earthy scent of the leaves and moist ground on this damp morning is however interrupted by a musky scent. Roady slows and takes to the brush for cover. Approaching the edge of the lake, He stops as he hears a great deal of snapping. A tree topples over nearby, then comes to rest on the ground. Silence falls yet again. Roady is just about to continue on, when he hears a rustling over by the toppled tree.
From his vantage point all he can see is the fallen tree shake and begin to move across the ground, as if it were alive, and crawling away. The branches of the tree, now mostly void of leaves due to the trauma the tree has just been through, move horizontally towards the water. Curious, Roady adventured forward. Emerging from the brush he sees a brown ball of fur, about a quarter of his size, with a big flat leathery tail. The creature sees the wolf and hurries into the water with a splash.
Curious at this new creature, Roady calls out “Hey there, I am sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
Puzzled, the creature replies “Yeah, but you are a wolf!.”
“Hardly feel like one these days” Roady replies, “I have no pack, and have no idea where I am. By the way, what are you? I have never seen anything like you.”
Wading closer to the shore, the creature replies “I am a Beaver!” chuckling, he continues “Name is Fred. You must be from far away if you haven’t seen a Beaver.”
“I came over those big hills.”
“Oh, so you aren’t from the Scajaquada Pack then?”
“Sca-jack-what?”
“Sca-jack-wa-da, they are a big Grey Wolf pack. They sometimes come this far out. They will usually try to kill me, if they see me out of the water.”
“Oh… No, I am from a Brown Wolf pack. We hunted larger game when we could find it. But I ain’t gonna eat ya. Right now I could use a friend a little more then a meal.”
“Well I am not inclined to trust you right away Mr. Wolf, but I am glad you seem friendly.” Says Fred, “If you are looking for a new home however, this valley is a nice place. Maybe you will start your own pack and will respect the other animals, and not just kill for the fun of it like the Scajaquada’s.”
“Thanks, maybe you will see me again, I am going to explore a little more here” Roady says, as he turns to wander back into the brush.
Roady thinks about what the Beaver said about the other wolf pack. Shaking his head he just can’t believe that a pack would kill for fun. The musky scent of the beaver fading as he wanders further away, Roady’s senses return to normal. The earthy smells of a damp mixed forest taking over, as a chilling gust of wind blows through the trees, blowing leaves down all around him. Wiggling his nose, Roady’s nose picks up a scent. Stopping to sniff the air, Roady tracks the scent deeper into the forest. The scent, sweet but earthy, gets stronger, and overpowering as he nears a clearing from which he can clearly see smoke rising. Listening he hears some movement, and the soft crackling of a fire.
Part 2: The Campfire
Approaching carefully, Roady sneaks towards the clearing. A shadowy figure laying by the fire catches Roady’s attention. A large black lump of fur curled up by the fire pit is murring softly as it breathes, barely audible above the crackling fire. Roady sits and watches for a while, as the fire dies down. Roady’s eyes barely visible through the dense underbrush on the edge of the clearing as he watches from between a few broad leaves. The creature is obviously sleeping, but what type of creature is this, Roady wonders.
Eventually the creature stirs, and rises to its feet. Large black feline body, large padded paws, and a thick tail. Roady also noticed that this creature is wearing black leather bracelets around each of its ankles, and a leather collar with metal studs. The fire, mostly just coals, is just smoking enough to mask the cats scent from Roady.
The large cat sniffs at the air, and looks around carefully. Roady, suddenly aware that he has been sitting there for a while, becomes nervous but stays put. Prowling around the clearing, the cat begins to sniff towards the underbrush. Approaching Roady’s spot the cat pauses for a minute and sniffs towards the area where Roady lay hidden. continuing on, it seems like the cat has lost interest, lazily sniffing around the rest of the clearing, before slipping away on the far side of the clearing into the brush.
Relieved, Roady comes out of hiding, and creeps into the clearing to sniff the area where the cat had been sleeping. Interestingly the scent was the same bitter-sweet scent he had encountered the night before. Looking around, Roady decided it was best to leave, although the warmth of the campfire was inviting. Roady walks over to a rock and sniffs it. Strong with the cats scent, Roady decides to test his luck. Lifting his hind leg he sprays it with his own scent, then heads towards the edge of the clearing.
Pausing and turning, Roady senses he is being watched. Sure enough, across the clearing, the cat is prowling out of the underbrush hissing at Roady. Tucking his tail, he lowers his stance, growling. He watches as the cat prowls over to the rock He just marked, and sniffs it. The cat looks up at Roady and hisses again.
“What gives you the right to claim territory within my territory little Wolf?”
“That wasn’t my intent… I am just looking for friends, I am alone.” Roady replies.
“Likely story” the cat replies.
The cat prowls around Roady’s right flank, as Roady begins to prowl around the cats Left side. Circling they seem to be at a standoff, sizing each other up. The sun lowering, making the clearing dark enough that the small campfire casts some flickering shadows of the two animals on the trees.
Roady trips on a root in the ground, and stumbles just enough to distract him for a second. The cat strikes, pouncing towards the wolf with all its strength. Roady isn’t able to move, and is struck by the force of the pounce, knocking him down on his side. Growling Roady snarls and snaps at the cat, but the cat is quick and dodges. The cat pins Roady down with ease. Roady looks down at one of the cats large paws, near his head. The leather bracelet shiny and reflecting the flickering fire in its polish.
The cat sniffs Roady. “You are a young one, aren’t ya?”
Roady nods, shakily “29 moon cycles”.
“Ha!” The cat replies “Just a pup. So where is your pack, young one?”
“I told you I was alone. I have no pack.”
“Oh no! A lone wolf. What shall I do?” the cat says sarcastically.
“How about you? I have never seen a cat so large? What are you?” Roady asks.
“Really? You dare ask me that, when I have you pinned?” The cat says, pushing him harder into the ground. “I ask the questions around here, got it?”
Roady grunts at the extra force, and growls as he looks up at the cat.
“Oh, a tough one eh?” The cat says, before lowering her head to bite Roady hard on his shoulder.
Wincing at the pain, Roady yelps, and kicks his hind legs, knocking the cat a little off balance, but not enough to free himself.
“Nope, you don’t seem too tough to me, little wolf. You have to try harder.” As she bites him again, not breaking skin, but pinching his shoulder quite hard.
Roady lunges at the cats head and bites the side of her neck. Applying a great deal of force the cat loosens its grip on Roadys shoulder. Roady eases off his grip on the cat letting her go, and growls harshly.
“That is what I am talking about…” The cat replies, coughing for air as she lifts one of her paws to rub her neck. Grinning down at him, she continues, “… that was great little wolf! Maybe there is some hope for you yet!”
Curious at this response, Roady gives the cat a curious look. “I thought you’d be a little more upset about that.”
Grinning the cat replies “I bet you did!” Purring a little, “But I liked it, shows you got what it takes to make it around here.”
The cat steps off of Roady and lets him get up on his feet. “Oh, and I am a Panther.”
Roady gets to his feet, his fur all messy as he begins to groom it back into shape. “Ah, I have heard rumors of Panthers.” Roady mumbles.
“I hope their all good,” The Panther replies, “…Or bad. Either way really. So what is your name little wolf?”
“Roady.”
“Interesting. Mine is Angelina, Angel for short” The panther says, circling around Roady, and flicking her tail in his face.
Roady sniffs at the tail as it passes his nose, and then looks over at Angel, who looks away, pretending to be distracted by something in the underbrush.
“Well, I must be off. I’ll see ya around” Angel says.
“See ya” Roady replies, raising an eyebrow curiously, as the Panther trots off into the woods.
Wandering towards the fire, Roady blows on the coals to relight them. Curling up, he lays down to rest. Roady contemplates stalking the Panther, but decides to stay put for the night. He isn’t used to all this distrust. Even his old wolf pack was better then this. But then, that was family.
The night is fairly bright, as the full moon rises through the clouds. The fire flicks its last few tongues of flame out from the coals, and Roady closes his eyes and drifts to sleep. It seems like only seconds later, that Roady is awoken abruptly by the sound of a howl. In the distance, an erie howl rings out, echoing across the valley from the North. Roady’s ears perk up as he pays attention to the howl. Soon, more wolves join in. Roady can hear 7 distinct wolves all together. He wonders if he should chime in, but how would they react to him? he asks himself.
Part 3: The Golden Feather
Unable to resist the temptation Roady stands up, stretches, and howls up at the moon. As he finishes, he awaits a reply. Silence falls for a moment. Then a single howl rings out from towards the hills to the North. He howls back in response, and listens. Nothing. Curiously intrigued, Roady feels completely renewed with hope and energy. He darts off quickly to the North, following a well traveled game trail.
Roady wonders if this is the Scajaquada pack. Will they welcome him? Maybe the rumors of them are false? Hopefully the rumors of them are false!
Roady enters into a small glen in the forest. The game trail widens to a lush grassy patch. Steam rises from a small pond. A big weeping willow hangs over the water, its branches drooping almost as low as the ground. The grass seems lush and smells fresh. Roady discovers a shallow, almost beach like, entrance to the pond. Standing on the wet sand, Roady feels its warmth on his paws. Looking around the pond in the pale moonlight, he notices that the rest of the pond appears to be bordered by a rocky wall for a shore. Bare earth often hanging over the edge with grass and small plants clinging to the edge as if they were afraid of the water. The churning water flows down a small creek away from the pond, towards the lake.
Enjoying his surroundings, Roady marks a small tree nearby, and continues on his primary mission. Determined to return here at a later time.
The game trail begins to follow the edge of some small cliffs along the side of the lake. Roady stops to notice a small rocky ledge peaking out from the cliff over the water. A cool wind blows some mist up from the waves crashing below, as Roady steps out onto the ledge. Shivering, Roady shakes the cool air off, and regains his posture. Looking up at the moon, he howls again. A long lonely howl “AwooooooooooWoooWooOooo” bellows through the cool night air. Steam rising from Roadys mouth and nostrils. Roady stands there, his ears perked, awaiting any reply.
A little while passes, and Roady sadly lowers his head. He begins to slink back to the game trail, but his ears perk up again as he hears something in the distance. Some rough barking and yipping, along with short yelps. Standing at attention again Roady tries to determine where the sounds are coming from. He figures that most of them seem to be coming from the North West, and begins to head that way quickly.
Following various game trails, he begins to pick up scents of other wolves. He thinks he must be entering the Scajaquada’s territory. Suddenly, he realizes, maybe he is being hunted. What if the other wolf pack is being silent because they do not want any other wolves in the area? Roady decides to play it safe and ducks into the underbrush. Prowling quietly, he scans the area. Shadows play tricks on him as he moves slowly, but he hears nothing to indicate a pack of wolves. The yelping from earlier fell silent long ago.
The scent trails he is picking up become slightly stronger. Carefully reading the scents Roady can distinguish 4 wolves, and one other creature he is unsure of. The scent of this other creature becomes stronger the further North West he travels.
Roady steps on a twig which snaps, and nearby the underbrush shakes as an animal darts away quickly. The scent is strong from this other creature, and Roady decides to follow carefully in order to figure out what it is. Maybe the wolves were hunting this creature earlier? Maybe that was what he was hearing. Obviously they wont howl when they are stalking prey. Roady ponders this as he prowls through the underbrush, stopping short of a small meadow.
Peaking through some bushes Roady observes a small flash of orange fur dart across the tall grass, and disappear. Deciding that he would be too exposed out in the meadow, Roady turns back and travels further into the brush, giving up on the chase of the unknown creature for now.
Carefully making his way back towards the glen he had found earlier, Roady is still deep within the Scajaquada pack’s territory. Having lost his bearing somewhat, he is relying on his relation to the lake to guide him back. But traveling in the rough, avoiding game trails, is not very easy. Roady struggles his way up a hill full of thorny vines. Only to find out that the top of the hill is the edge of a long rocky ravine.
Sniffing the rock at the edge of the ravine, he can tell that this ravine is part of the wolf packs normal route. Hearing some leaves rustling across the ravine, Roady turns to look. A lone female wolf, appears from the brush, and instantly notices Roady. Stunned, Roady double takes the sight of the other wolf, blinking. The other wolf, dark gray with some silver highlights, appears to be as stunned as Roady, and begins to back up, tripping over a branch clumsily. Looking carefully, Roady can see some fresh scars on her side, blood matting her fur near her left hip.
She appears scared, and turns to run.
“Wait!” Roady calls out.
Turning quickly, she replies hesitantly “I can’t… I must go.”
“But…” Roady calls out, as she dives back into the brush, disappearing into the night. Unable to quickly chase her, Roady felt useless. Frustrated, he follows the edge of the ravine towards the lake, hoping to find a crossing nearby.
Crossing on a large fallen tree trunk, Roady hurries back to the place where he had seen the female wolf. Sniffing the ground he memorizes her sweet scent. Following it, he discovers a large eagle feather on the ground. Golden in color, the feather has a small drop of fresh blood on it. Sniffing the feather he is sure that the blood is hers. Roady picks the feather up, and tucks it behind his right ear.
Part 4: Sooleawa
Continuing on, he finds that the scent trail ends at the lake. Standing on the rocky shore, consisting of small pebbles, Roady looks out over the mostly moon lit lake. Clouds roll across the sky blocking much of the moons light, and like curtains falling over the lake, the darkness approaches Roady from across the lake, and eventually envelops Roady. Hanging his head low, he turns and lazily walks back towards the hot spring along the game trail. The cool night air being the only thing that is keeping him somewhat alert. Obsessed with thoughts of the other Wolf, Roady doesn’t even sense that Angelina is sneaking up on him from behind until its too late. She speeds up, and pounces on Roady, just as Roady turns to look behind him. Pinning him to the ground yet again, Angelina looks down playfully.
“Gotcha!”
“Sheez!, Seriously?” Roady replies.
“Nice feather” the panther says, picking it from behind his ear, and examining it. “hmmm, wolf blood? but not yours…”
“Hey, give me that!” Roady lunges at her and grabs the feather back, tucking it behind his ear again.
“Oooo” The panther swoons, ” did you find another wolfie?”
“I don’t really know. We didn’t really meet for long. She was scared of something.”
The panther nods knowingly, and licks Roadys chin playfully, “I’ve been… ” – stumbling for the proper word – “Paying attention to your travels.” As she grins at him.
“Oh?” Roady replies, surprised, grinning a little at the lick. “You’ve been following me?”
“No… Not quite.” She says, stepping off of him. “I heard your howling.”
“Ah, Okay?” Roady says, still laying there, but shifting onto his side.
“And I was fairly close to the wolf that responded to you. So I followed her. I don’t think the other wolves liked that she responded. She was heading towards your howl, when she was ambushed by her own pack members. I had to get out of there, so I didn’t get dragged into it, but they were not too happy with her.”
Roady stays silent, taking it all in.
“She ran off, and I saw her heading South along the shore, away from her pack territory not too long ago. Then I picked up your scent.”
“Is she nearby?” Roady asks excitedly.
“Maybe.”
Getting to his feet, Roady licks the panthers earlobe playfully. “By the shore you said?”
“Last I saw.” The panther replies, smiling at the lick.
“Thanks Angelina.” As Roady darts off towards the lake.
Angelina waits until Roady is out of sight to continue to stalk him.
Making all sorts of noise, Roady crashes through the brush. Small creatures being woken up, jump and scramble to get away, as he tears through the forest. The shoreline in sight Roady slows, and prowls out onto the rocky shore. Waves lapping at the pebble beach which rounds the West side of the lake. Looking up and down the shoreline, Roady at first sees nothing, then notices movement down the beach to the South. The waves do an excellent job at dampening sound, so Roady doesn’t hesitate to jog quickly along the waters edge towards the other wolf.
Approaching the wolf, Roady slows as the female gray wolf turns finally noticing him.
“Oh, its you again.” The gray wolf turns and continues to walk away.
Roady prowls up beside her, sniffing her politely. As she continues to walk, trying her best to ignore him. “I am sorry.” Roady whispers.
Stopping, the gray wolf pauses, frozen for a second. “For what?” She replies, still not looking at Roady.
“I heard what happened, when you replied to my howl.” Roady replies hesitantly.
“How did you hear that, may I ask?”
“I may be new here, but it seems I already have a friend.” Roady replies, “But it also seems I have a lot more enemies.”
“They don’t like outsiders.” Says the gray wolf, as she turns to look at Roady. “They don’t like anyone really.”
Frowning, Roady says “That is what I was afraid of. I am just looking for friends, I mean no harm.”
“Doesn’t matter to them, they are a very tight group these days. I wonder why I put up with it, but they are kin.”
“They didn’t kick you out, did they?” Roady asks.
“No. They didn’t. I just wanted to get away from them tonight. They will expect me to rejoin them soon enough I imagine, otherwise they will come looking for me.”
“Were you hurt bad? I saw the blood… “ Roady says, remembering the feather and hinting upwards with his eyes towards the feather behind his ear.
“Oh… That is mostly healed now I think.” The gray wolf turns to let Roady see the wound.
Roady hesitantly moves forward, and cleans the wound with his tongue. His eyes looking into her eyes, locked in a knowing gaze. Blushing a little, the female wolf turns towards Roady and thanks him with a lick to the chin.
“Thanks” she says. “So, where is your pack?”
The dreaded question that Roady didn’t want to hear. “I… Am alone.”
“No pack? Then where did you come from?”
“I had a pack. But… don’t anymore.”
“What happened.” She asks.
A tear comes to Roady’s eye, as he lowers his head and turns away, ashamed. Looking back at her after a minute Roady clears his throat, “I was out playing with my kin. We had seen humans hunting in the area, but… that is normal, so we avoided them.” Roady hesitated, “But, today, they were not hunting deer.”
“Oh gosh…”
“When my brother and sister, and I got back to the den. We found blood, but they were gone.” Roady continued, his eyes wet. “My brother and sister were both very mad, and chased after the humans, following their scent trail. I stayed at the den.” He sighs, “Never saw them again either… Eventually I decided to wander off on my own, too many memories there.”
“I’m so sorry… That is terrible.”
“I should of gone with them, maybe they would of been okay… I could of helped.” Roady cries, sitting down, turning his face away from the other wolf, “But no, I was a coward. I let my kin down.”
Circling around beside Roady, the other wolf tucks her nose under Roadys chin and lifts it a little, looking into his eyes. “No… It wasn’t your fault.”
A twig snaps in the underbrush nearby, causing both wolves to look. Seeing nothing, Roady stands up, as the other wolf prowls closer to the treeline. The breeze coming off the lake, making it impossible to try to capture a scent. Roady and the other wolf approach the treeline, sniffing the ground along the brush.
“Ah” Says the other wolf, “it was just that silly Panther.” having caught Angelina’s scent. Roady comes over to confirm, sniffing near the other wolf’s nose, catching a wiff of Angelina’s scent. “Have you met Angelina yet?” She asks Roady.
Nodding, Roady replies, “Yes, I have.”
“What is your name anyhow?” She asks,
“Roady.” He replies, still sniffling.
“I am Sooleawa.” She replies, “Nice feather by the way.” As she blushes a little.
“Oh… Yeah it is!”
“So, what are your plans Roady? Passing through, or staying in the Valley?”
“Well, I do like it over here on the West side of the lake. I get the impression that your pack claims the North end of the lake, and probably much more?” Roady asks.
“We do, and also the mountain, and valley on the other side to the North.” She says, looking to the North, the large silhouette of the mountain barely visible against the partly cloudy night sky. “There is some good hunting up in those hills. But sometimes the boys get a little carried away.” Sooleawa replies.
“I would like to stay” Roady continues, “I have found some nice areas. But then again, it’s likely too close to your pack.”
“Nice areas?” Sooleawa asks, “Like?”
“I found a hotspring, I still need to explore it however. It isn’t too far away.”
“Want to show me?” Sooleawa asks, murring softly.
Roady considers Sooleawas request, “Well, I wouldn’t want you telling the rest of your pack where it is…”
“I won’t, I promise”
Hesitantly, Roady begins leading Sooleawa up a small hill, and then along a game trail. Passing a rocky ledge, which Roady remembers howling from earlier, he knows that they are heading in the right direction. Sooleawa follows quietly. After a while, Roady enters the glen. Turning, he says “Well this is the place.”
She walks around Roady, and sits down by the pond, taking it all in. “I like it.”
Roady smiles, “I thought you might.”
Sooleawa blushes a little, and looks away, pretending to be distracted. “It would be a good spot for a Den. Warm water, and the snow probably melts away around the pond.”
Roady looks around, realizing he hasn’t even thought about shelter in the last week. Approaching a large old tree, he begins to dig under its roots.
“What are you doing?” Sooleawa asks.
“Digging a Den.”
“I am sure that can wait. Come sit with me.”
Roady digs a few more pawfuls, then pauses and walks over to Sooleawa, and sits beside her, next to the water. Grinning slightly, he looks over at her. “I do enjoy it here.”
Sooleawa smiles.
“So what does Sooleawa mean anyhow?” Roady asks,
“Silver” Sooleawa replies, nodding her head down so Roady can see her silver highlights in her fur.
Roady wants to tell her how pretty she looks. But before he can, a crashing is heard behind them in the underbrush.
Roady and Sooleawa both get to their feet and turn to look, just as a large gray wolf comes flying through the air and tackles Roady. Roady tumbles with the gray wolf, and hits his head on a rock. Going limp, Roady lay where he rolls to a stop, strewn about the ground unconscious. The gray wolf gets up and looks at Roady, growling fiercely, but is pounced on by Sooleawa, “Taima, Stop!” she growls, as she lunges at his neck to bring him down. Taima is a younger gray wolf who has many scars, and always seems to be earning new ones. His fur is always matted and slightly off color around his scars giving him an nonuniform appearance. He always seems to have something to prove.
A second gray wolf pounces on Sooleawa, and a third gray wolf stands aside. The second gray wolf, ‘Nodin’ is a handsome but skinny looking wolf. Gray with greyish blue highlights and a bit of a lighter, white underbelly, he is always clean looking and well groomed.
The third gray wolf, older and wiser looking, with many beads in his fur, and several feathers and other traditional decorations adorning his body, growls at all 3 of his pack members. “Enough!” The other 3 stop, and look at the older wolf. Sooleawa speaks up, “I am sorry Kachinahey, I didn’t mean to run off like that… I promise…”
“Silence!” Kachinahey roars. “You have caused enough trouble tonight. Taima, Nodin, return to the packlands. Sooleawa, you walk with me.”