An Arctic Wolf Story (fiction)

The Arctic Wolf

I was prowling about the territory, searching for something to eat. My eagle eyes spotted a rare lemming through the blinding, white snow. The age of the lemmings and other animals had passed; the age of the wolves and caribou was at its height. I started sneaking towards it, that was the way to hunt small, fast, alert prey with an easy escape route. Sometimes, I was almost mechanical. I had something to do. Something to live for. That was all that mattered. Finally, I leaped. I was in luck! It was dead as soon as I killed it! I proudly carried it back to the den and the pack. I heard a great commotion in camp. When I could clearly hear it, I was thoroughly shocked. “Snowflake should be the Alpha!”

“But Winter is….”

“Winter this, Winter that! You only like her because he made you a Beta so you would be his loyal guard wolf! See, there she is! She has a lemming! A lemming, in this time of only wolves and caribou!” The two wolves that I heard arguing were Iceberg and Icicle. I was pushed into a circle of wolves, with Winter. It was either a Lone Wolf, an Omega, or death. If I refused, I would lose my honor and my rank. If I agreed, he would tare me to pieces! I would refuse and escape in the cover of the night. “I refuse!” My voice rang out, stunning everyone into silence.

 “Coward! Coward! Fight! Fight!” the crowd broke out. Oh, no. I was in big trouble. I had to escape right now. Snowstorm, my sister and littermate, pushed her way through the crowd, clearing a temporary path. The message in her eyes was clear: Follow me! As we plunged through the crowd, dodging blows, I knew that now, there was no going back. We bounded into the shielding snowstorm, the crowd on our tails. I pulled Snowstorm into an indention in the ground, and hurriedly covered up with snow. Right now, snow was my friend. The snow had protected me. Right then, I knew that I was no longer the young Wolf of the Pack. I was a Wolf of the Snow, and a Wolf of the Snow alone. When all the wolves were off searching for us, I slipped out, making sure my tail swept away my paw prints. Thank you, snow, for washing away my scent, I thought. I ventured farther to the mountains in the distance, loping to save up my energy. Icicle was still with me. Imagine what loyalty it took to abandon your own Pack when you could’ve easily stayed! I felt a surge of excitement as we got nearer…. And nearer… And nearer…. Finally, I dragged myself up a steep slope and collapsed, followed by Icicle. I rose my head and looked around. Directly in front of me towered the mountains. I had been told stories about the mountains, that they were a place of abundance and happiness. I arose to go farther, but Snowstorm’s voice stopped me.

“No, Snowflake, you need more rest,” I thankfully sank down again. Suddenly, I remembered the stories about our ancestors, that they dug dens to sleep in, in the earth. Here, it could be possible. My paws whirred as I made a small indent in the ground. It will take too long, I thought impatiently. I abandoned it promptly and marched off. I excitedly made my way farther. Every step got me closer! I found a clear stream tricking off the edge of the cliff we were now on. I lapped up some water, then found the cave where it came from. It was a large cave. Drip, drip, drip, I heard. Intricate, though random patterns were carved into the walls.

“Snowstorm, this is great! We can sleep on that dry rock!”

“Great, yay,” she said distractedly. Thankfully, it had been warmed by the sun. I curled up and slept. I awoke and saw Snowstorm roaming around the cave. “Come on, Snowflake, let’s explore farther down here,” she called me. I walked into a small tunnel. Drip…. Drip…. Drip…. They echoed and re-echoed and re-echoed off the confining walls of the tunnel. It emerged into a cozy, large cave, with the beginning of the stream flowing through a hole in the rock. It looked like a large group of wolves had once lived here. I also picked up a stale wolf scent, scattered sparsely around the cave in nearly imperceptible portions. There were beds of currently rotting grasses and moss. We continued down the tunnel, and soon we saw sunlight ahead. I burst out into sunlight, temporarily blinded. I looked around and saw a hidden valley, sheltered from enemy packs, predators, and the cold by those sheer, gray walls of rock. A hare literally scampered underneath my paws! My paw slammed down onto the hare. The other prey around just looked up curiously and continued their business. I looked up just fast enough to see a suspiciously wolf-like tail whisk around a tree.

“Freeze!” I whispered to Snowstorm. We slunk cautiously to the nearest hiding place. I crouched down, then I froze. A wolf was nearing the gap between the rocks, where we were! He sniffed and we took our chance. Slipping out quietly, the wolf found him confronted by two wolves.

“Hi,” the wolf said cheerfully, leaving us dumbfounded. She walked off. I ran after her.

“Who are you?” I asked her.

“Lilypad. Who are you?”

“I’m Snowflake, and the other wolf is Snowstorm,” I told her.

“I have a few other friends I hunt with,” she said. As she spoke, a he-wolf, another he-wolf, and a she-wolf emerged from the trees. “This grump is Frost,” she said, pointing to one of the he-wolves. “This one is Lake,” she said, pointing to the other he-wolf. “And she is Sunshine,” she finished, pointing at the she-wolf. Frost sullenly eyed me, while Lake and Sunshine seemed friendly. “Lake and Sunshine have puppies!” Lilypad said excitedly.

“We’ll show you them!” Lake, Sunshine and Lilypad said in chorus. Frost loped after us. We arrived at a den made out of two rocks leaned together. I peeked inside and saw three adorable, squirming bundles of fluff.

“This one is Rainbow, this one is Pond, and this one is Sunray,” she said. They let out high-pitched squeaks as they wriggled frantically, trying to find their mother. Sunshine settled down beside them, and their squeaks were cut off as they rooted for milk.

“They’re so adorable!” I said. We charged out and settled down.

“Will you join our grou-“

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Frost interrupted, shoving between us. “There’s way more to it than that,” he said.

“No, there’s not,” Lilypad snapped. “AS I WAS STATING EARLIER, would you like to join our group?” I nervously glanced up at the sky. The clouds seemed to be somberly staring down at me.

“I’m really sorry, but I belong up there, with the snow,” I said mournfully. Snowstorm uncomfortably glanced back and forth.

“I’m… I’m coming with you Snowflake,” she declared loyally. I blinked gratefully at her.

“We’ll come see you sometimes,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. Only Lilypad seemed to brighten up. Frost’s expression darkened.

“Let’s go, Snowstorm,” I said briskly. “Bye!” I howled over my shoulder as we went down the tunnel. I flopped down and started howling to my former Packmates. “We have found a land rich in prey, in the mountains in the far south, inside a large valley, which you can access by a cave,” I waited, straining my ears. Finally, a reply faintly rang out.

“Good. Have luck. We will join you soon,” I turned and clambered farther up the mountain. A few hours later, I gave a final heave which sent me sprawling onto the small cliff. I raised my gaze upwards. My hope rekindled as I realized we were almost at the snow. I sprang with renewed energy from ledge to ledge. My pelt prickled with excitement as I placed my first pawstep on the snow. I gazed around and gasped with admiration. There were snowy peaks clawing the sky, with waterfalls cascading down, ending who knows where. An icy stillness was draped across the entire scene. I sat for a moment and just stared at everything. A mist enveloped everything below, and I could see the gently sloping rises and falls of my flat homeland. Then I saw moving specks clustered so close together that it looked like a thin, short line heading towards the mountains, where we were. Those dots are probably my Pack! They said they would they would join me soon! I thought happily. But I turned myself away and jumped from a cliff to another cliff. I peered off of the edge. The ground was so far away, it made my heart freeze. I turned away and ventured farther along the cliff. I saw a ledge that I could jump to.

“I can’t believe we got this far, and we’re still alive!” Snowstorm’s voice broke the silence draped over everything. The echo bounced back and forth between the mountains. I can’t believe…. I can’t believe…. Still alive…. Still alive…. I jumped to the ledge, and edged along it. A howling wind blew across the ledge, which made my next pawstep land on nothingness. I froze with fear and nearly was spilled off the edge, but I regained my balance just in time. I stepped fearfully onto a cliff. A mountain goat was grazing on a scraggly clump of grass. He raised his head curiously, then resumed his grazing. I blocked him on one side, and Snowstorm on the other. When we started striking him, he just stomped his hoof indignantly. He didn’t realize his danger until it was too late. I winced. The meat was tough, but it would have to do. For now. I gulped down water from a nearby stream. My goal was to reach the peak of this mountain, which I had seen before I started up. It was the tallest. I collapsed in exhaustion, and dozed off. I awoke to a rumbling in the ground. As it increased, my fright also heightened. Finally, I sprang up and uneasily ushered Snowstorm to a faraway cliff. As I watched, it gave a mighty shudder and crumbled, falling down, down, and down. I shivered to think what could’ve happened if we had still been on it. I ventured farther and farther. Always upwards….. Upwards….. Upwards…. With one final step, I heaved myself onto the peak. I gasped in fear and admiration. Endless mountains towered all around, silhouetted against the dawn sky. My homeland was barely a white speck in the distance. I suddenly felt lonely, even with Snowstorm.

“Come on, Snowstorm, let’s go visit Lilypad and the others,” I said.

“Ummpphhhh,” she sleepily protested. “Come on, Snowstorm, time to get up,” I pressed. “Fine, I’m coming,” she said sleepily. We traced our steps down and down and down. We had to find a different way around the crumbled cliff. A few ledges and another cliff had fallen while we were gone, so we had to navigate around them, too. I finally dragged myself across the last stretch of land. I collapsed on the rock in the first cave. A line of tired wolves rounded a bend and came into the cave with me.

“Snowflake! Snowstorm! Tell us how you climbed to the tippy top! The tippiest toppy top!” A bouncy puppy pleaded. Those were my Packmates! After greetings were exchanged, I led them to the valley. They ate and then I led them to the place I met Lilypad. Sure enough, there she was.

“Snowstorm! Snowflake! Where have you been?” she asked.

“We climbed all the way up to the top of this mountain!” I declared proudly.

“I see you’ve brought some friends,” she observed. Suddenly Frost bounded up and skidded to a halt right in front of my Pack.

“This is our territory, and we were here first! We’ll defend it if we have to!” he snarled in my Alpha’s face.

“Says who?” he growled.

“Me!” Their hackles were raised, and it was very clear they would get into a fight if I didn’t do something. I pushed my way between them.

“Winter, it’s true they were here first, and it’s true it’s theirs. But Frost, you’re supposed to treat neutral wolves with hospitality, not hostility,” I said.

“Well, here’s what I think of that- that- that birdbrained speech!” Frost’s eyes were blazing. “Absolutely NOTHING!” I stared at them both.

“My point is- well, it won’t work, not when you two are whining like spoiled puppies who don’t get first pick from the fresh-kill pile. Frost, you go over there. Winter, you go over there,” They stared at me in shock, probably because I just issued orders to both of them. Then they marched defiantly to different places. “ANYWAYS,” Lilypad continued, “I’ll get Lake and Sunshine,”