Magical Wolf Story: My Best Yet!

1      Moon Rising

I furiously propelled myself forwards to catch up with Shadow with huge wingbeats. A Flower Fairy peeked out from behind a daffodil, and I spotted a peregrine falcon climbing high in the sky. Peregrines were as common as Swimmer-pigeons. That was it! I concentrated and… Poof! Poof! Poof-poof! Feathers sprouted here and there, I shrank, and my already alert eyes could see Shadow winging his way forwards, deep in faraway clouds.

“Kak, kak, kak, kak, kak, kak,” I screamed. I climbed high in the sky, then stooped down at breakneck speed. I whooshed past Shadow and shapeshifted back into a Wingedwolf. Shadow and me were Wingedwolves, wolves with wings. There were even different types of Wingedwolves. I was a cross between a Shapeshifter and a Water Breather, and Shadow, my brother, was a cross between a Unseer, an invisible wolf, and a Speedor.

He drooped and pointed his nose at me, then went in a circle to represent shapeshifting he complained in wolf talk. Pang! Clink! Clang! The echoes from the Crafters’ hammers deep underground reached our ears. We exchanged glances. A few minutes later, we were 100 miles underground.

“No, we don’t mind,” the lead Crafter said. “We’ll have it ready in two minutes. Anyways, Crafters craft things for animals,” Pppwhhoosshhh! A fire flared up, and I could see it’s shadow from where I was. I shuddered. Crafters were the only animals that could control fire, except for the Ice-shooters and the Weather-shifters, because they were volunteers to stop aboveground fires. Soon they carried out a round object with a hole in the middle. “Pump this, and a magical mist will come from it. When you breathe it in, you will have all the powers of the Wingedwolves,” Our eyes sparkled and shone, and our tails lifted. All the powers? Awesome!

I pinned my ears to my sides for deference and thanks.

He nodded to show he had heard, because he was already at work on something else. We burst out into the light of day and glided up a thermal to Angel Clouds, the only place magic could be done, unless you trained for years and years, and then passed a final test to get a special pass for magic. An angel did the opening spell for us, and out came the mist! We breathed it in, and I zipped around the clouds, invisible, while Shadow shapeshifted into a seal and dove into the ocean. That wasn’t all! One of the most legendary powers of the Wingedwolves was dying then coming alive again! You could be IMMORTAL! I had a great idea. I shapeshifted into Mrs. Eagle, a grumpy angel-teacher for wolves. Thankfully, we had graduated from wolf-schooling. I flew down to where Shadow was resting on a large rock.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk!” I fussed. “Shouldn’t you be off to class, Mr.?” I demanded. He whirled around, hackles raised.

He snarled, then, the fur lay flat on his shoulders, his tongue lolled out in a wolf grin, and he uttered the short ‘yip-yip’ that meant Sister, Songbird. I changed into me again.

 I dove into the ocean and beckoned for Shadow to follow. Just then, the real Mrs. Eagle came along, glared at us, and opened her mouth to say something.

We dove deep into the depths of the sea. Seashell, a Dolphin-carer, came to greet me.

“Oh my!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never seen Shadow underwater before!”

“Neither have I!” Wave Rider, a Nereid, swam up to us.

We shrugged our shoulders, and we shapeshifted, I into a Nereid, Shadow into a merman in order to talk properly. We explained the whole thing, and I finished with, “See you la-“

“Oh! A seahorse is tickling me!” Wave Rider, said, giggling.

“-ter,” I said, rolling my eyes. We swam out of there, changed back into Wingedwolves, and proceeded. I showed him Pearl Cove, a name given by the local mermaids. The place where they got the name was obvious, because oysters showcasing brilliant pearls flashed here and there. Melody, one of my mermaid friends, swam into the cave. “Hi, Songbird!” she said cheerfully and smiled. I explained to her why Shadow was underwater. I howled the ‘goodbye’ note, bubbles shooting up to the surface. We propelled ourselves upwards with our waterproof wings, and then spread them out to their farthest extent to surf along a wave. I pointed with my paw into the water, and then I shrugged my shoulders.

He put on a wolfish grin, and imitated flying underwater, putting his whole body into the precise angles used for flying.

I speared fish onto my claw, and waved it in his face. He playfully batted my paw, knocking the fish into the water, and then caught them and gulped them down. We caught a whole lot of fish, then returned to the rock and ate. Then, he rotated his ears towards the mainland.

I howled quietly but angrily to myself.

He snarled and interrupted me. His nose twitched. Ever-so-carefully, we crept step by step near a fat doe. We spread out. I whined softly, and he seemed to nod. The doe’s ears pricked and she looked, wild-eyed, around. It was too late. She was surrounded. I struck first, raining blows. A bit later, Shadow’s and my best friend, a tiger named Sultana, passed by.

She moved her body in undulating lines, which meant, ‘congratulations!’ in tiger talk. She didn’t ask to share, because that was against wolf etiquette, tiger etiquette, and many predators’ rules. Unless, of course, you were sharing with a Pack. Shadow and I had made a big decision to live alone- at least for now. Pestering ravens swooped and dove. Shadow and me both returned the compliment- when we swooped and dove, they left us alone. The vultures returned later only to be disappointed. We had stripped the bones clean. We both settled down for a catnap. When we awoke, it was nearly sundown. We winged our way back to our cozy nest in the clouds and slept. In the middle of the night Shadow prodded me awake. He pointed with his muzzle straight up at the Moon. We rode on the shimmering mist scheduled for tonight, and our bodies became translucent, because this night it was time to communicate with StarPack, the wolves that had passed away, and receive prophecies. We howled the first opening note, long and lingering, then waited. The whole clearing was enveloped in silence while the magic which enabled wolves to talk prepared itself.

The clearing was draped in a single beam of light which fell the brightest on…. Me? That was impossible! StarPack must’ve gotten something wrong! I recalled the prophecy from long ago:

Where the moon falls brightest

And the darkness shies away,

The Destined, Blessed and Chosen will stay.

Look for signs in the Moon, Sea, and Sun;

Signs that are better for everyone.

The guards and bars are many around the wolves that lay

Unmercifully beaten, for bills of wrongly accused murder they have to pay.

When the mist is scattered the bright light of Day

Will disperse the darkness that has penetrated deep.

I straightened higher, with a new meaning. The other wolves were too busy receiving prophecies to notice, not even Shadow. His eyes were fixed intently on a single spot in the cloud opening.

“I have heard and I will obey,” he whispered. My eyes were lit by a deep inside fire of a great destiny. The wind moaned and the clouds closed.

Something was burning into my white fur… The sign of the Chosen! A rainbow streamed down my back to the tip of my tail and it saw that it was the trail to a shooting star on my forehead. Rainbows swirled across my body, until my fur was rainbow-colored, always switching colors. Suddenly, a portal of swirling, shimmering colors appeared. It seemed to call me. Suddenly, a deep voice from StarPack echoed,

“You shall be able to talk in that world, because there the wolves can also talk,” “Go, and do your duty.” the voice boomed. I obediently stepped through the portal.

I gasped and braked my wings. Down on broad, smooth lines of smelly rock, there were things that I had heard were called Solid Transportation Mist. There’s no time to lose, I thought. I didn’t know which ones were nice, so I turned invisible and read their minds. One was worrying about really thin, long, broad, swirly pieces of grass. One was thinking about eating. And one… Was daydreaming about wolves like us! I made myself visible to only her. She gasped and then I saw that she was tattered and filthy, and her eyes were dull. She didn’t have any full-grown humans near her. I lured her towards a shady grove.

“Wow!” she whispered. “What are you?” she asked.

“I’m a Wingedwolf,” I answered. “An Unseer, a Speedor, a Mind Reader, Immortalist, A Shapeshifter which can turn other animals into Wingedwolves, a Water Breather, a Communicator, a Teleporter, and a Fire Walker,” I hesitated, then I impulsively asked, “Would you like to be one, too?” Too late to take it back.

She broke the silence with, “Oh, I’d love to! But first, let me get my friends!” she soon came back with a large group of children. They admired me.

“Whoa, she’s HUGE!”

“O. M. G!!!”

“Look at her giant claws!”

One by one, I turned them into Wingedwolves. They howled their voices hoarse, turned invisible, sped around, and most of all, flew. I summoned the portal with a Portal Spell. I also summoned swallows, cuckoos, nightingales, and even bald eagles, one for each new Wingedwolf, to explain why they were there and that they needed wolf-schooling right away. Lots of it.

“Thank you!”

“Thanks!”

“Omg, thanks so much!”

They all stepped into the portal. Now, to find those wolves…. I swooped low until I found a sign that read, WOLF KENNELS. I zipped inside and changed into a guard. Thankfully, it was night.

“Oh, no! More guards come to beat us!” one moaned.

“Can’t you tell?” I whispered between gritted teeth. “I’m trying to free you!” Just then, a loud alarm sounded and I summoned the portal and the birds. “Quick, go through!” I urged them. They scrambled into the portal. I fled, just as guards came around the corner where they’d been watching, puzzled.

“Great bucket of gravy,” one whispered. When I got out, police cars were screaming around every corner, and helicopters patrolled the sky. With a sickening feeling, I realized they were hunting me. I fled everywhere from them, but nowhere was safe, with helicopters shooting at me and police cars screeching around every corner. I flew far, far away, just for a little bit, into a sheltering snowstorm and high mountains. Suddenly, there was a pitiful yip. Wolf pups! I followed the sound.

Six wolf pups, floundering in the snow! Only the light gray one with darker ears had noticed me.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m Songbird,” I replied. “Where’s your mother?” I asked.

“Just now, she went to get us food-“ his voice trembled- “then a big flying thingy came and captured her,”

Ok, first things first, I thought. Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! I sat back, satisfied with my work. Six pairs of wolf pup wings with matching colors.  

“Wow! We have wings!” they exclaimed, turning in circles to see them.

“Look! I’m flying!” said the gray one with darker ears. He was soaring with the occasional flap. Then he said, “Oh- right. My name is Fox Ears, the brown-and-white one is Deepseer, the black one is Night, the brown one is Grizzly, the badger-looking one is Badger, and the light gray one with white paws is Snowstorm,”

“Follow me!” I howled.

“Ok,” they replied. One by one, we flew single file towards the flying speck in the distance. I got restless and teleported us to the helicopter.

“Stay away!” I howled. “I’m taking this thing down!” I grabbing a spinning rotor, hard as it was, and wrenched it, hard. It spun in circles down to the ground. I quickly, but temporarily, jammed the doors, all the time, we were invisible. I opened the hatch and eased out their mother, who was tangled in a net. I untangled it, and she said,

“Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome,” I replied, “But hurry!” she ushered her pups into the blinding whiteness. Poof-poof! I gave their mother wings too. “Quick! Go through the portal! On the other side of it, no humans exist!” I howled, and summoned the birds and the portal.

“Ok!” they howled back. I flew back to that smelly Solid Transportation Mist place. I searched the city. Finally, WOLF EXPERIMENT LABS! I flew inside, invisible. Suddenly I thought, Why don’t I just do a spell to bring all the wolves in this city into a clearing in the woods I saw? I turned around and shot to the clearing. Soon, the clearing was crammed with wolves. Nearly all of them were moaning in agony. I did a spell that erased all their wounds. Just then, they realized where they were.

“We’re free!” one howled. Poof-poof! Poof-poof!
I made wings for all of them, explained, summoned the portal and the birds, and sent them through. Something was tugging at me, pulling me towards a cliff spilling over with moonlight. I gazed up at the moon.

A male, jet-black Wingedwolf, not Shadow, spiraled down.

“StarPack ordered me to help. My name is Night Prowler,” he explained in a deep voice. The wind whispered around my ears in an odd way. It was a message from StarPack! I sat stock-still. Your future mate… A new Pack…. Pups are on the way… Oh, great. I never wanted to have a mate! I’ll try to fight it, I vowed. “I’ll start in a city opposite from here,” he planned, shaking me from a moment of thought. He shot into the sky. It was approaching sunset, and I glided up a thermal. I settled down to sleep. It was weird without Shadow’s warm body curled up beside me. I felt restless and howled my heart out to the moon. Why? Why a mate? Why me, of all wolves? Night Prowler suddenly alighted beside me. “I normally sleep with my sister, Petalfall… Do you mind if I sleep near you?”

I was half asleep, but I knew what that felt like. My gaze softened. “Yeah, whatever…” I drifted off to sleep. I was sitting in a moonlit clearing, mist swirling around the trunks of the forest encasing the little clearing. With a sudden jolt, it hit me. StarPack! Indeed, a misty wolf seemed to float into the clearing.

“I am Echomist,” she said. Her voice did seem to echo everywhere. “As a future Alpha, you will need training. Shadow, Petalfall, and Night Prowler are being trained elsewhere.” She said, “We’d better get started!” I dipped my head obediently and didn’t say a word. “First move, rear up, claw that air like it’s a ravaging heron! Tuck your tail between your legs to hide it! Crouch! Don’t move! Suddenly spring up! Keep your balance! Twist! Speed test: Catch that squirrel! Lift your claws….” she barked, and the night wore on and on. In the morning, I woke up, exhausted. Night Prowler was impatiently waiting.

“Bye!” he howled as he zipped off. I flew off. Sometimes I wished I could go back to just playing with Shadow, with no responsibilities. Suddenly, something seemed wrong. I started going into pain. Echomist appeared, and guided me silently to a cloud, where other StarPack wolves were waiting.

“You…. Are having pups,” Echomist explained.

1 The Pups have come!

“That’s impossible! I barely met Night Prowler!” I said, puzzled.

“Unfortunately, Willow Shade here accidentally speeded up the process. It would’ve happened on its own,”

“Ow!” I cried.

I lay still as Flaming Paws, the bravest, appeared,

Then, Icy Paws, the smartest, wriggled after him,

followed by Misty Paws, the best hunter,

                and Dawn Paws, the best navigator.

They squirmed around, whimpering.

“What do I do with them?” I asked worriedly.

“Lay down and let them nurse,” Echomist advised. I did as she said, and soon all four were suckling, fighting for spots. Soon, they opened their eyes and flew. I flew in single file, all of us invisible.

“Mother, can I come?” asked Dawn Paws.

“No.” I replied.

“Mother, can I come?” hopefully asked Misty Paws.

“No.” I replied.

“Can I come?” asked Icy Paws.

“No.” I replied.  

“Can I come? Please?” Flaming Paws inquired.

“NO!” I shouted.

I watched Icy Paws fly off to the nearest rock to sulk on. I flew to the nearest city, just as a truck was rumbling off. I decided to investigate. There was a click and the back of the truck swung open. I saw one, single wolf pup, white as snow, pacing inside a cage.

“Please help me!” she asked worriedly. “My mother abandoned me. I was captured.”

“Of course I’ll help you,” I said. I reached for the key, nearly brushing the driver, and neatly turned it in the lock. The cage opened, and I grabbed her by the scruff and flew off. Poof-poof! I made him a pair of wings, and he clumsily flew after me.

“My mother never gave me a name,” she said.

“I’ll call you Snowy Paws,” I whispered.

I guided her to the cloud that my pups were resting on. Suddenly, Night Prowler came flying towards us.

“I freed 69 wolves-“

He stared at them. I hurriedly explained, and finished with, “Snowy Paws was an abandoned wolf pup I found, in a truck that was about to carry her away,”

I lay down and let them nurse.

I nosed a fawn that I had recently killed towards them.  Flaming Paws lapped at it, and yipped for more. Icy Paws tried it, and she wasn’t sure about it, but she ate. Misty Paws ate about five bites, then turned back for milk. Snowy Paws devoured it, and Dawn Paws took one look at it, and turned back to suckling. I shook the two youngest off. They had to be weaned. They wailed, gave up, and started taking small nibbles. After that, they were all devouring it. Misty Paws leaped up and caught a spiraling feather floating down. Flaming Paws chased a butterfly. Icy Paws and Dawn Paws started play-fighting. In the middle of it all, Snowy Paws was sitting, dignified. She asked,

“I wanna go explore!”

“Oh, fine,” I relented.

“Me too!”

“Me three!”

“Me four!”

“Me FIVE!” they piped.

I led them spiraling down a thermal. Misty Paws headed towards the nearest forest, Icy Paws headed to the nearest marsh and stared over the water, adorned with reeds,

Flaming Paws headed towards the nearest volcano, and Dawn Paws headed to the nearest sunset. I followed Flaming Paws. He was sliding on lava like it was a waterslide. After all, he was a Fire Walker, like me, and that included lava. I used my magic to locate any other wolf pups in trouble. My eyes flew open and I gasped. A dark black wolf pup was surrounded by coyotes! I swooped down and snatched him just as the coyote lunged forwards. He dangled from my paws, weakly squirming. He was barely alive, and he wasn’t even weaned. I furiously flapped to reach the cloud with my furry bundle. Poof-poof! He swung his new wings around as soon as he knew they were his.

“Not another one, Mother! Snowy Paws won’t even play with us!” Flaming Paws complained.

“Flaming Paws, we are taking in every wolf pup that needs help,” I snapped. “I’ll name her… Midnight Paws!” Midnight squirmed over to Snowy Paws. “Wrong wolf, Midnight Paws,” I laughed. At the sound of my voice, she turned around and wiggled back to me. They were growing at an amazing rate, like all young Wingedwolves. That reminded me… “Who wants to hear a story?”

“Me.” Snowy Paws said, her back turned to watch a hawk.

“Me!” enthused Flaming Paws.

“Me!” Icy Paws piped.

“Me!” Misty Paws pleaded.

“ME!” Dawn Paws squealed.

“Okay. The son of Wild Spirit and Free Howl, Roaming Soul, he found a mate. It was a she-leopard named Empress. He was disowned by his parents for mating with a leopard. A flame of justice burned deep inside him. By a miracle willed from God, because there was no StarPack yet, they had a daughter and a son. One day, they were invaded by coyotes.

‘Please help us!’ Wild Spirit and Free Howl begged over and over again, until he finally gave in. He drove the coyotes away, but as they left, the lead coyote struck a killing blow to Wild Spirit and Free Howl. Roaming Soul was deeply distressed, and he did everything he could, but all to no avail. Along with their last breath, they asked him to forgive them. He replied,

‘Of course,’ and they died and founded StarPack. They bestowed magic upon Roaming Spirit and his offspring, to make up for everything they did. That’s why you have leopard in your DNA. The End.”

“Awww, is that it, Mother?” Dawn Paws complained.

“Yes,” I replied in amusement. Oh, no! A wolf pup was being loaded onto an airplane!

“Come on!” I called to them. I would have to go top-speed, but my pups could follow my sky-scent. I snatched the cage right out of the airplane just as it was closing. It was a tiny, silver she-pup, and it could barely twitch its tail. Oh no, I thought worriedly. I wrenched it open and pulled the pitiful bundle when I alighted on the cloud. The pups were sitting there, looking at the tiny furball. “Help me!” I hastily ordered them. We started licking it, and I let it suckle profusely. I curled around it, relived to see that it was stronger. We slept through the night, and I woke up to see she was doing much better. She nursed ravenously.

“I’ll name you Moon Paws,” I decided.

“Mother, my stomach hurts!” whined Dawn Paws.

“I’ll have to go down to earth to get clover, but Night Prowler is busy…”

“I could do it!” Snowy Paws said importantly.

“Well, okay…” I said uneasily.

I flew down and scanned the area for clover. I nipped of as many stalks as I could, then continued to a larger patch. Just then, I saw a tiny, brown pup hiding in the clover!

I gently grasped him by the scruff and hauled him up to the clouds. He had the scent that marked him as abandoned! Poof-poof!

“Not another wolf pup,” Flaming Paws whined. I let him suckle, along with Moon Paws.

“I’ll name him Clover Paws,” I decided. That night, there was a training session. I woke up with aching muscles.

“Explore! Explore! Explore! Explore!” they all chanted.

“Fine, fine,” I relented.

“I’m leading a patrol,” Snowy Paws said proudly. That proved there was still pup in her, but it was vanishing so quickly! They stiffly marched around their ‘territory’ two or three times, then sat down and had a ‘pack meeting’. Normally, Night Prowler was off doing work for two, but when he was here, they had a play-whirlwind. He would play-fight until they were resting in a furry heap, play tug-of-war, and thankfully, the powers that came with the mist were genetically passed down.

I suddenly gasped. Six wolf pups were being surrounded by dogs! I grabbed them in the nick of time. They froze with fear, dangling from my front paws. With furious flaps, I hauled my heavy load onto a cloud. Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! Poof-poof! I gave the six pups wings.

“This is awesome,” one whispered.

“I’m Jade Paws,” said one.

I’m Sapphire Paws,” said another.

“I’m Ruby Paws,” said the third.

“I’m Moon Paws,” the fifth informed me.

“I’m Jeweled Paws,” the sixth said.

“I’m Golden Paws,” a seventh piped. I hadn’t noticed a seventh when I had taken off with the fuzzy heap of fur.

They had the ‘abandoned scent’. It was time to howl to our ancestors. Jade Paws’ howl was the fiercest, Sapphire Paws’ held the most meaning, Ruby Paws’ rang the truest, Moon Paws’ was the most heavenly, Jeweled Paws was the most melodic, and Golden Paws- well, he could only contribute spirited yips.

3 Fly Two Moons

               “Isn’t this new look great?” Jeweled Paws inquired as she rushed from her den.

              

Ever since I gave Night Prowler and the pups all of the Wingedwolf powers, Jeweled Paws was constantly changing her look with magic. “Isn’t it?” she asked her siblings. She then noticed that everyone was staring at her. “What is it?” she queried.

Jade Paws sighed and got up. “It’s not you- It’s just that- well, we don’t know. Something just feels wrong,”

I announced, “We’re moving to new territory,”

“WHAT?!” Jade Paws nearly screamed. She whipped her head around and nearly sputtered out a mouthful of deer. “But we can’t! We just can’t!” she persisted.

“You are welcome to stay here on your own,” I said coldly.

“Fine, fine,” she gave in.

I looked her in the eye. “You know, Night Prowler’s rescued every wolf and captive animal in the cities for miles around. We need to cover more space,” I explained. “You were one of them.”

We were off, flying on air currents, resting on bouncy clouds. Jade Paws stared down at our territory we were leaving forever, amidst a hard, brittle silence. We flew downwards to drink.

Suddenly, a bolt of magic ran through me. Someone was in trouble... But who? The picture’s too fuzzy! I thought in frustration. Suddenly, a vixen fox came lightly dashing up.

“My name is Vixenia, a Mindreader Hawkfox,” she said as she spread out two magnificently feathered wings that I hadn’t noticed at first. The underside of her wings sparkled like stars, her eyes glittered, and  her ears twitched. “I can help you,” she offered. Without waiting for an answer, she suddenly disappeared. I saw a shadow on the ground. She had flown upwards! She dove into the woods. Soon, she arrived with a…. A human girl! With snow leopard kittens! She was fearfully struggling and fighting, her eyes hopeless.

“Help!” she screamed to the sun, the sky and the ground.

“What make you think we’ll harm you?” I snapped. Her eyes grew as round as a full moon.

“Y- y- you- you talked!” she stuttered.

“Of course I did!” I said sharply. I approached her, trailing my wings on the ground. She was tiny compared to me.

“My name is Luna,” she introduced herself.

“My name is Songbird,” I replied.

Suddenly, there was a low growl. Coyotes surrounded us! “Oh no,” Vixenia gasped. “Just what I feared!”

I roughly shoved the girl onto my back and took off in the wink of a second. “Hang on!” I shouted. She heard that, I guess. Too well, in fact. She was nearly grabbing my fur out! I winced. She peered over the edge and froze, mesmerized. Endless meadows, mountains, and forests spread out beneath us. We alighted on a teetering ledge upon a mountain only accessible by flying. The girl peered at a piece of wide, white grass-stuff with fancy blackberry juice lines.

“Peregrine Peaks, in the Dark Hills,” she whispered. “Just like I always imagined!” she sighed. We settled down to rest. My pups had distantly tailed me the whole time, and they spread out to catch prey, Golden Paws accompanied by Ruby Paws.

What was that? She was growing thick fur and a thick tail! She was turning into…. A snow leopard with wings?!

Soon, she turned into a full winged snow leopard.

She swished her wings back and forth. “How did this happen?” she nearly yelled. She protectively stood in front of her kittens.

“Relax, it’s fine,” I assured her. I swept them to me with my tail and they started suckling. When they were satisfied, I led them down a glowing waterfall. Wait- glowing? I’d better investigate. I thought. With a jolt, it hit me: What if this was the legendary River of Answers that led to the Moonpool by the Magicrock? I swooped down and gazed into the blue, deep, dark water speeding beneath my muzzle. An image was conjured of me, but two pairs of eyes staring back at me. What does that mean? I puzzled. A few feet downriver, Luna was entering the water until it came up to her neck. She looked at the water, transfixed. Then, like in a dream, she walked underwater back to shore in a dazed state. She soon shook it off, and bounded over to nurse her pups.

When they were satisfied, I led them down a glowing waterfall. Wait- glowing?

I’d better investigate. I thought. With a jolt, it hit me: What if this was the legendary River of Answers that led to the Moonpool by the Magicrock? I swooped down and gazed into the blue, deep, dark water speeding beneath my muzzle. An image was conjured of me, but two wolves were staring back at me. What does that mean? I puzzled. A few feet downriver, Luna was entering the water until it came up to her neck. She looked at the water, transfixed. Then, like in a dream, she walked underwater back to shore in a dazed state. She soon shook it off, and bounded over to nurse her pups. I saw a speck falling through the air. It was falling towards us! I shoved them all behind me and gritted my teeth. It got closer…. And closer… I closed my eyes and braced myself. It landed with a thump onto my wing, pinning it to the ground and slightly scraping it. I tested it gingerly. I could still fly! I grabbed the tiny bundle of fuzz. It was silver. It twitched. I jumped back in fright. What- It couldn’t be! But it was. A tiny, winged fox kit, barely alive, took small breaths. Her fur was laced with snow-white markings. She shakily got her breath back. I sniffed her. Vixenia’s scent! She was her kit! “We’ll take good care of her!” I howled upwards. She imperceptibly nodded, and sped off, leaving a clear sky-scent. She suckled hungrily, her whole tiny body trembling. I smiled inside myself.

It’s just the time of year…

It was six moons, or months, since Vixenia had given us Silver Tail, as I named the fox kit. She was frolicking around with the pups, and her mother visited her frequently. They were not pups anymore, in fact. They were old enough for them to join the hunt, to my relief. It was that day when I saw the first peacock feather emerge from my wings. Oh, great. It’s mating time. I sighed. I would have to go, because if I didn’t go willingly, my instinct would force me to go. I said good-bye, reminded them to set territories and/or mate, then winged off.

One, three, eight… I counted the mountain peaks in the males’ territories, in the Wingedwolf world. I dove down to the ‘eight’ territory with abundant forests and meadows.

“I am wolf of Rainbow,” I called. “I am wolf of Moon.” I called again. Finally, there was an answering howl.

“I am wolf of Ocean,” a long howl called. “I am wolf of Sun.” he called once more. I flew towards the howler. I had a grown a giant collection of brilliantly colored feathers by now, and my eyes were bright. I approached a silvery, large wolf, waiting on a cliff. I reluctantly trailed my wings over the grass. He curled his snow leopard tail around my paw, and we took off, whirling and looping in tandem. I twirled like a ballerina in the air, and he made an awe-inspiring swoop to guide me downwards. “I’m Goldenwater,” he said, when we alighted. “What’s your name?”

“Songbird,” I responded. He led me to a den with a stream trickling merrily down the slope, and a bed of fresh moss prepared. I settled down and drifted off to the long, dream-filled sleep that female Wingedwolves use to pass the time, and avoid the pain of birthing. I awoke. Three perfect little pups, covered in soft fuzz, were wriggling around, searching for me. I licked them, and nudged them towards me. They suckled ravenously. I saw Goldenwater at the entrance, proudly gazing at his newborn pups. Not one single runt! We were lucky. One was pure, shining silver, one was strikingly white, and one was white, with silver in a tabby pattern. He brought me a fat elk from a pile of fresh-kill and nudged it towards me. I ravenously ate it. I was hungry from the long sleep, though he had woken me up every two days to give me food.

“You’re Celestian,” I said to the silver she-pup. “You’re Snowstorm,” I dubbed the white he-pup. “And you’re Panthera,” I said to the eldest tabby she-pup. I nodded at Goldenwater. He carefully stepped into the cave, and gingerly licked them.

The next few days, Goldenwater brought fresh-kill to me and grew more comfortable with the mini wolves. They were squabbling over nursing spots forcibly now, and Moon placing a well-aimed paw swipe on Panthera that sent her tumbling to the entrance shook me out of my thoughts. Panthera slunk to an overhanging ledge and waited, her emerald-green eyes dimly glowing in the faint evening light. Her unusually long tail was plastered down on the stone, and she waited until Moon wandered directly beneath her, then silently edged toward the rim. She silently leapt onto Moon, paws first, like some big cat of prey. She dodged Moon’s hefty paw swipes and leaped onto her, and she writhed like a captured pike.

“Ha! Not easy to hold me down, is it?” she squealed triumphantly. She finally wriggled out and battered her with her thorn-sharp claws. Snowstorm, meanwhile, was currently wailing,

“Mother, they won’t let me play!”

A few days later, Moon and Snowstorm were whining about me weaning them, while Panthera willingly ate a rabbit nearby, after some persuasion.

“I. WANT. MILK!” Snowstorm screamed. Moon, however, was subtler than her younger brother.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten enough oony-bod-eese,” she insisted.

“Antibodies,” Goldenwater corrected.

“You have, or else HOW AM I ALIVE?!” I thundered. “Here. Eat.” I forcibly pushed the deer towards them.

“NO!” Snowstorm yelled again.

Goldenwater pushed his way between them. “Sorry to intervene,” he whispered apologetically to me. “Well, if nobody going to eat it, I will,” he said loudly. When my shocked gaze met his, he winked. I peered down. He was only pretending to take bites!

“No fair! I want some deer!” Snowstorm whined.

“I WILL DEFEND MY PREY!” Moon yelled. She dragged as much meat as she could over to a secluded corner, and tussled, rolled, and volleyed it with paw swipes, until finally she devoured it fiercely.

“She’s going to be a great small-game hunter,” I said to myself. “But she underestimates the value of a Pack.” I wasn’t sure about Panthera, though. I remembered my pups. We were a Pack together. 19 wolves in all, including Goldenwater and these pups.

Next morning, I thought, It’s too soon. It’s just too soon! Because it was time to go back to my pups. Goldenwater hesitantly agreed to join my Pack, which I had thought up a name for: The Morninglight Pack. I fluffed my regular angel feathers in preparation for takeoff. With a powerful downward thrust of my wings, I was propelled up, up and up into the endless skies. Goldenwater and I helped the unwieldy pups struggle through the air. After hours of hard flying, we arrived at our camp. Sapphire Paws and Jade Paws were just arriving, while Flaming Paws was a speck in the distance, and Icy Paws, Misty Paws, Dawn Paws, Jeweled Paws, Ruby Paws, Moon Paws, and all the others were already here. All of them had pups and their mate to add to the Pack. That meant… 38 wolves in all, not including all the new pups.

“My pups are Praxina, Cirrus, Iris, and Tigress,” Jade Paws announced.

“My pups are Angelica, Shining River, and Sparkling Snow,” Sapphire Paws informed us.

“My pups are Falcon Talons, Thunder, and Pegasus Wings,” Flaming Paws said proudly. An icy-white she-wolf nearby, with her head on her paws, proudly but exhaustedly was watching him.

“My pups are Shooting Star, Loretta, Lioness, and Rainbow Mist,” Jeweled Paws said excitedly.

“My pups are Panthera, Celestia, and Snowstorm,” I announced. The trio of my pups were staring, transfixed, at the newly made crowd.

“My pups are Autumn, Winter, Summer, and Spring,” Ruby Paws said.

“My pups are Blossom, Pansy, Rose, and Daisy,” Moon Paws said.

“My pups are New Leaf, Hard Bark, and Strong Roots,” Snowy Paws announced.

“My pups are Raven Pelt, Angel Wings, and Silver Spring,” Night Prowler announced.                                                                                                                               .

For some reason, I felt a small speck of jealousy towards his mate.

“My pups are Sparkling Stream……” It went on and on, until every wolf pup was named. The actual wolf pups were scrambling around, getting under wolves’ paws.

They yanked around the wolves’ tails, favoring the fluffiest ones. Nearly all of them snapped at them irritably. Suddenly, I had a vision of Echomist.

“The rest of your duties will be completed by other Chosen wolves,” she informed me.

We decided that there were too many wolves for one Pack. We splintered into three overflowing Packs, one the original Morninglight Pack, which was now the Avalik River Pack, agreeing to Night Prowler saying, “The Avalik River Pack name is much better….”. Also, the other two were the Upper Colville Pack and the Lower Colville Pack, because we had settled near the River of Answers, and there were two other, smaller rivers trickling into it, the major one the Colville River, the other one the Avalik River. On the day that the Avalik River Pack would officially split up, Jade Paws boldly stepped up, fire and iron in her determined gaze.

“I want to be leader of the Upper Colville Pack,” she announced. Everyone stared at her, openmouthed. Jade Paws shifted her paws and swung her tail impatiently. “I said it! I want to be Alpha of the Upper Colville Pack!” she said again. I shook it off first, and I thought deeply.

“Okay,” I hesitantly agreed. It was just that, normally, a male was the Alpha of a Pack. Flaming Paws regally swept up.

“I want to be Alpha of the Lower Colville Pack,” he said sedately. I agreed much quicker than with Jade Paws. She noticed this and snorted. She rounded up her pick of the Avalik River Pack for the Upper Colville Pack: Sapphire Paws, Ruby Paws, Moon Paws, Jeweled Paws, and Golden Paws. Flaming Paws stepped up to her, anger in his gaze, even though Snowy Paws and Midnight Paws weaved to his Pack.

“What wolves do you think I should take for my Pack?” His eyes blazed furiously.

“Find some loners,” she snapped back. I stepped forwards to intervene.

“You two, Flaming Paws has a point,” Jade Paws clawed the earth in rage, while Flaming Paws had a smug expression on. “We should make an equal number of wolves to be in each Pa-“

“There’s always Petalfall and your brother, Shadow,” Night Prowler interrupted.

“Right,” I grudgingly admitted. We both howled to our siblings through the portal at the same moment. Shadow came skidding out of mine, and Petalfall emerged more sedately from the other.

“What’s wrong?” they asked in unison. They stared at each other, taking in information about each other for a second.

“Nothing, we just need more wolves for our new Packs,” I replied.

“Packs?” Shadow’s eyes clouded with hurt.

“Packs?” Petalfall repeated, astounded. She sounded more cheerful and excited, at least. She would be a pleasant addition to the Avalik River Pack. They instinctively walked to me and Night Prowler. Moon Paws and Clover Paws slipped from around a corner, and bounced excitedly around Flaming Paws.

“Pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease can we be in your Pack?” they pleaded. Flaming Paws had always been their playful big brother, and they yipped excitedly. Flaming Paws rolled his eyes.

“Okay,” he relented. They barreled around in joy, but suddenly froze, fear developing in their wide eyes. “What is it?” Flaming Paws prompted. Moon Paws gasped, letting out a shaky breath. “Someone’s coming towards us!” they wailed. As the multitude of cross, wriggling pups were quickly escorted to the middle of the crowd, where they were protected by all the other, older wolves. Sure enough, six pairs of drooping, weary-looking wolf ears poked over a hill. Soon, two gray he-wolves, one brown she-wolf, two silver wolves, one a male and one a female, and a snow-white he-wolf came int8/o sight. They were all mud-streaked and hopelessness clouded their seemingly once-bright eyes. 8+/8++/8Nearly all of them limped, and they had… Wait, what? Wingedwolf wings? Their tails lifted in hope when they saw us, and they submissively and slowly approached. The old, brown she-wolf approached, ancient wisdom seeming to cloud around her. The rest were young adolescents.

“We have accidentally fallen through a portal to this world, and we need a Pack to support us,” she croaked weakly. I glimpsed Silver Tail’s muzzle poking from a tree, followed by her huge, sky-blue eyes, then she whisked it back fearfully. I dipped my head respectfully to this wise elder.

“You are welcome to join the Avalik River Pack, the Lower Colville Pack, or the Upper Colville Pack,” I offered. Murmurs of agreement rippled through the throng, and Jade Paws and Flaming Paws nodded. She walked with a failing step to Jade Paws’ Pack. As for the adolescents, the two gray ones shot to Flaming Paws’ side, one of the mystically silver ones, the female, gracefully seemed to float to my Pack, also the stunningly white wolf pattered over to my Pack, and finally, the other silver one, the male, sped over to Jade Paws. We marched off to our agreed territories.

“My name’s Tundra,” the silver wolf that had agreed to join my Pack murmured shyly.

“I’m Amazon,” the white wolf said friendlily.

“Welcome to the Pack!” I warmly welcomed them. Tundra’s shyness faded a little. Petalfall licked their ears, the traditional welcoming gesture, and Shadow copied her, follow by all my Pack, including me. We milled around to place Avalik scent on the two. They proudly stood taller, and their tails wagged. We bounded off into the heart of our territory, tails wagging and paws thundering on the hard-packed earth.

-

6: Cute Dependers

A few days after the harvesting of a caribou herd southwest-ish in location, Tundra and Shadow had six healthy pups: Sunrise, Sunset, Dusk, Midnight, Daylight, and Morning. Sunrise, Daylight, and Morning were white, while Dusk, and Sunset were black. Midnight was white with blue stripes! Also, Petalfall and Amazon had five, also healthy, pups: Fawna, Flora, Fauna, Wavla, and Panthera. The excessive pups romped around together, happily frolicking over sun-filled meadows and chasing after eye-catching butterflies.

I sniffed. A herd of elk were nearing! I silently beckoned for Amazon and Shadow to join the hunt, while the pups were ushered inside the den, in case a panicking elk rampaged across the den area, flinging about its deadly hooves. They whined and complained, but they were gently herded inside the den, Petalfall and Tundra entering behind them. We bounded towards the smell, then slowed when we came in sight of the herd. They shifted their hooves nervously and snorted. We stopped and listlessly glanced around, in the manner of wolves with full bellies. They continued grazing. We slowly edged closer, closer, and closer. We broke into a full run, separating to carefully carve the herd into sections. I spotted an elderly, slightly limping elk, and sharply whirled around, my tail swishing. I sped towards the vulnerable elk, and called to Amazon and Shadow. They wheeled around and dashed into position to surround the elk. Next, we started striking blows. A few minutes later, it staggered, reeled limply, and died. We somehow dragged it to the camp, and the pups burst out of the nursery.

“You come back here!” Petalfall and Tundra scolded. They skittered around the camp, successfully evading their parents. I was at the edge of the camp, and as I stepped into view, I gently gripped Dusk by the scruff. Wriggling and protesting, I plopped him in the den.  He lashed his paws out indignantly, and sat down on a rock, sulking. Leaves from outside rustled as I stepped out of the den, and a caribou herd’s tendons snapped alluringly in the distance, but I ignored it. The Avaliks had food. I walked over to the fresh-kill, and I ate and ate until my rumbling belly was satisfied. As I lay down on a sun-warmed rock to rest, I heard Petalfall, Tundra, Amazon, and Shadow worriedly conversing in a huddled group at the edge of the clearing. I bounded over to them.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“We think the pups are old enough to travel with us to the portal,” Petalfall announced. I was shocked by the news, but I did not show it by a twitch of a whisker.

“All right, then,” I agreed. “We leave tomorrow.” The four heeded my announcement, but still nervously shifted around.

Night arrived, and a full moon shone over the den clearing, spilling silvery light into the den. Midnight’s eyes were fixed on the moon, his penetrating eyes boring through the heavenly object. He hesitantly flapped, once or twice, then must have made an internal resolve to fly, because she flapped urgently. Finally, she collapsed onto the ground, panting. I let my single, eerie, non-meaningful howl echo and re-echo through the woods. I half-remembered the poem that my mother would chant to me at night, when I was little, and I quoted it mentally now.

There’s forests with dark secrets hidden out there.

There’s rivers flowing with stories hidden out there.

There’s meadows bursting with life hidden out there.

There’s unlimited skies filled with clouds hidden out there, and you’ll be the one to find them.

I realized I had been singing it out loud, and the pups were staring adoringly at me, transfixed.

“Do it again!” Sunrise squeaked.

“Actually, I think our time’s up,” I laughed. The horizon was tinged with pink, and we all exchanged knowing glances.

“Come on, pups!” Tundra called gaily. “We’re going on an adventure!” she added. At the mention, a stream of unfortunately tiny pups poured out of the den. I half wondered if I could’ve held them back with my paw. We set a slow pace, and the pups lingered behind to sniff a beetle or swat a dangling stem, and then bounded ahead to gallop onwards. At this time of day, warm golden light dappled the ground, and the leaves stirred from a faint breeze. I longingly wished to be back in the Wingedwolf universe, where a wind would’ve heralded the Windrabbits, nimble but tasty rabbits that brought a breeze along with them. A new Windrabbit was born in the same area one was killed, so if you wanted a stronger breeze, all you had to do was kill a Windrabbit!

My thoughts were shaken back to the present as Morning tripped over a pebble. She whimpered and licked her bleeding paw. “No, no, Morning,” Tundra said suddenly. “Lick it too hard, and it will start bleeding more. Lick it gently.” She threw a surprised glance at her mother, but obeyed. Meanwhile, while the Pack halted to drink, she darted to a small, wrinkly green plant growing in a clump. She neatly nipped a leaf off its stem, then painstakingly placed it on her paw. The blood seeped through the leaf, leaving it red, but the bleeding stopped. I glanced at her, and thought, Wow, she knows a lot about herbs, while the others, because we were at the end of the line, were ignorant of the whole thing. Tundra bounded back to her spot as the procession proceeded. We approached a river, with a swiftly flowing current in the middle. We easily flew over it, and landed on the other side. Petalfall padded off to drink from the river we just crossed, and Amazon followed me. They came back a few minutes later, and we went on. I spotted a squirrel scrabbling around at the bottom of a tree, holding an acorn. With one swift pounce, I killed it.

“See that? That’s winter for ya,” I whispered to myself. I started to bury the acorn. When Amazon asked me what I was doing, I replied, “Finishing unfinished business and restocking the forest.”

The next day, underneath a curtain of ivy, my pups were born with Night Prowler. Celestia, Kiara, and Kion were excited about their new little half-siblings. Those pups improved the already close friendship between Night Prowler and Goldenwater. I named the silver she-wolf, a tiny, slender copy of Tundra, Snowfall. I named the black she-wolf, an exact double of Night Prowler, Dawn. Finally, I named the small, white he-wolf version of me, Tornado. We proceeded, this time everyone taking turns carrying the trio of wriggling, protesting pups.

The next day, I spotted a flash of a white-tipped tail in the branch above. I had a flash of understanding. Silver Tail! Of course! “It’s okay, Silver Tail,” I called. “You can come out.” Silver eyes flashed from behind a bush, fearful and wide-open. I sighed and walked towards the bush, emerging into the center of the bush.

“Songbird, who are those guys?” she whispered.

“They’re just new,” I replied. Just then, I heard Amazon and Tundra growling.

“I smell fox!” Tundra screeched. They circled around, trying to lock down on Silver Tail’s scent. I darted around inside the small space, heavily overpowering her scent with mine. Suddenly, Amazon’s nose poked through. Silver Tail whimpered faintly, scrabbling at the edge of the bush and trying to get out. I made myself invisible, but that wouldn’t give us enough cover for long. The only imminent way out of this bush was up.

“Silver Tail, you have to fly out!” I whispered urgently.

“But I’ve never flown before-“

“It’s the only way,” I steadily locked gazes. She nodded nervously, and started flapping, heaving to get off the ground. I pushed her and at the same moment, temporarily infused her with my powers. She sensibly turned invisible and her unwieldy wings carried her up into the sky. I relaxed and my invisibility faded. Just then, Amazon burst into the bush, panting heavily and his eyes brimming with a red haze that faded slowly. 

“Did you find the fox?” he asked worriedly.

“Yes,” I felt slightly uncomfortable lying to my Packmate, but I stuck to keeping Silver Tail safe. “I scared it far, far away.” My big, sky-blue eyes burned into his, and his piercing yellow gaze finally relaxed, as he was convinced he was hearing the truth. I winced at that. Even though, joy pulsed through me. Silver Tail was safe!

A few days later, I fluffed up the fur of the trio of newborn pups, Snowfall, Dawn, and Tornado, preparing them for the colder temperatures outside. I carefully lifted them out by the scruff. The Pack had crowded around the den, waiting for this moment. They let out shocked, then indignant whimpers as they realized they weren’t in the den anymore. The Pack formed a line to greet the pups for the first time, except me and Night Prowler, of course. With wagging tails, their half-siblings, Celestia, Kiara, and Kion, walked up. By the time the line had diminished to a few more wolves, their fur was plastered firmly to their sides by gentle licks. I fluffed their fur up again as the wolves scattered to pick dibs on the best sleeping spots. I retreated into the cozy den, and Snowfall trilled in its warmth.

The next day, they scrabbled around near the entrance to the den, gingerly and half-heartedly searching for a trace of the world they had experienced the other day. Finally, Dawn squirmed to the den opening and her ears pricked and her milky blue eyes blinked in surprise and wonder. They were still getting used to their newly open eyes. Her gaze swept the clearing, located near a cliff with numerous waterfalls plummeting downwards into a wide stretch of forest growing beneath, spanning a misty blue lake, bubbling streams, and plentiful meadows. A ray of sunlight danced across the grass. I nudged her back into the darkness of the den, but she didn’t succumb to my gentle pushing. Instead, she revoltingly dashed out. Startled, I darted after her, allowing her to explore but keeping a close watch on her. Tornado and Snowfall followed her, encouraged by Night Prowler. Celestia, Kiara, and Kion bounded up to me, tails wagging, as usual.

“Pretty please can we play with them?” Celestia begged.

“Tundra won’t take us to explore down there!” Kion added, perplexed, motioning at the forest below. I snorted in amusement.

“Celestia! Kiara! Kion! I’ll take you exploring!” Amazon called gaily from the other side of the clearing, resting on a sun-warmed rock. They scrambled excitedly over, yipping and barely leaving enough time for him to escape into the air before he was knocked down by an attack of pups. The pups struggled a few tail-lengths into the air, panting, then gave up. With the three swarming after him, he led the way into the forest, leaves rustling then quieting down.

“I big pup now,” Snowfall squeaked indignantly.

“I big pup too,” Dawn chimed in.

“I big pup THREE!” Tornado piped. I sternly rebuked them,

“You’re not old enough,” They scattered around, grumbling. I sighed. They didn’t understand! Their fight-or-flee instincts had to be properly installed before they could venture into the woods. If they encountered a mountain lion, they’d probably think it was some big joke and try to play-fight with it. Then what could happen next… I didn’t want to think about it. I excused myself for a quick flight. I crouched, wings poised upwards, then quickly thrust them downwards, hurling myself into the air. I winged off, feathers swishing. I fixed my destination on distant mountain peaks. Because my parent’s Pack lived in the mountains, I was accustomed to the frigid air, which seemed to hang in one place so long the air froze into snowflakes themselves. I lazily swung from side to side, making wide turns around jagged, snowy mountain peaks. I heard an unmeaningful joy-howl echo off the cliffs, and I went to investigate. I only smelled a strong, extraordinary scent for a wolf, not unlike mine, but there wasn’t a single soul in sight, only mist. Suddenly, out of nowhere, out of the now-disappearing mist came a snow-white she-Wingedwolf, fur rippling in the sunlight. That’s weird, I thought, perplexed. The sun should’ve burned up the mist quicker. She sniffed and fixed her eyes right upon the spot where I hovering.

“I know you’re there,” she howled, her voice as clear as water trickling over pebbles, exactly like mine! Her fur was the exact same solid-ice color as mine, with the same silver sheen, and we both shared the same bright, warm blue eyes. I hesitated, but she didn’t sound aggressive. So I descended down, where she could see me clearly.

“You look a lot like… Me. Plus, my name’s Misty,” she said, surprised and mystified. She started as if something had struck her. “Hey, why can’t you turn into mist?” she asked. I froze, shocked.

“You- you must be wrong,” I stammered, searching for words, and not wanting to believe it. No! I thought, as a terrible revelation struck me. What if there were evil Wingedwolves that didn’t want others to know about the power of turning into mist, and she was exiled for knowing the extra power? She must’ve used her Mindreader powers, because she laughed.

“Those aren’t true, and I was just joking,” she gasped and broke into another fit of laughter. She shook herself off. “I’m special,” she continued. “You just try to turn into mist!” she finished. I did try. As I started to dissolve, her eyes widened in wonder. “You’re… You’re one of my triplet sisters, that I lost long ago, to a kidnapping by the Nulu Snow Pack,” she said in wonderment. Memories started to poke at the edge of my brain. Me and Misty playing together…. Me and Misty sleeping together… Me and Misty doing everything together. Those memories included a third white she-wolf!

“Where’s our other triplet?” I demanded. Her eyes clouded with sorrow, and I feared the worst.

“Brook was kidnapped by the Guar Stream Pack, partner to the Nulus,” she murmured. “I’ve never seen her since.”

“Well, we’re going to find her,” I declared. Misty’s eyes widened.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she cried. “I never found the portal again that transported me to this rotten place.”

“Perhaps you weren’t there long enough to learn magic,” I replied.

“What?” she nearly yelled in surprise. I summoned up a portal. “No way,” she breathed. She hesitantly took a step towards it.

“Good-bye, I guess,” I mumbled.

“Are you crazy? I’ve already lost one sister. I go wherever you go.”

“Like back to my Pack?” She stared, unflinching, into my equally intense eyes as I asked her the question.

“Yes,” she answered. “I go wherever you go, remember?” she queried.

“Yeah.”

I led her across the sky. We touched down, and immediately all the Pack members came skidding up, snarling with their hackles raised, the sight of me accompanying her not lessening her anger.

“Shadow!” she howled in delight. She bounded over to him.

“Misty!” he cried happily.

The wolves that were unknown to what was happening milled around in confusion. I explained, and finished with, “Now we have another reason to go through the portal!” The gathered wolves cheered loudly, startling songbirds, my namesake, into silence. We charged through the air at full speed, the pups swinging from our teeth and squealing in delight at how fast we were flying. In a few days, we arrived at the end of our journey: a portal that could transport more wolves than in my Pack all at once. We entered the swirling portal, every single wolf quivering with anticipation. There was a burst of light and….

7: Return To My Homeland

I breathed in fresh air and I opened my eyes to see a paradise, compared to the dirty forests of the Solid Transportation Mist universe. I’m never going there again! I thought rebelliously. Misty was sniffing around a few tail-lengths away. I also lifted my head to see if I could decipher the layered scents tangled in a heap. I carefully stripped off the scent of squirrel, elk, and rabbit to fully scent the wolf. She was exactly my age, currently mutinous, female, and a good swimmer. I carefully followed the billowing thread of scent, weaving around trees, and once, the thread deceived me to go a couple of tail-lengths in the wrong direction, but Misty barked from up ahead to remind me which way it was leading. After hours of carefully stepping through oceans of undergrowth and over millions of crisscrossing, muddy hoofprints, I saw a flash of silvery white up ahead. I followed the glimpses of fur, faster and faster, until I was crashing through the bracken. I ran at my top speed and skidded in front of the silvery-white wolf. Her eyes were as wide as moons.

“Y-you shouldn’t be here,” she breathed, gasping. I had an uneasy feeling the gasps weren’t because she’d just pushed to her speed limit. “They’ll find you!” she wailed in a sudden outburst. Her face turned horribly terrified as there was faint crashing through the branches. “RUN!” she wailed again. We stampeded into the sky, with me bringing up the rear. We flew as hard as we could, Brook’s feathers fluffed up and bristling in fear. There was an angry growl close behind me, and I whirled around, snarling fiercely. “Don’t you dare come one step closer,” I growled, baring my teeth, readiness for battle pulsing through my blood. His eyes glowed. What the… I mentally exclaimed. They brightened, like rising suns. “Songbird!” Brook screamed. My senses dulled, my wings were paralyzed, and I fell down, down, down, away from everything I ever knew.

I woke up. “Ohh…” I groaned. There was a throbbing pain in my left leg. I gingerly moved it. “Grrgh!” I screamed in pain between gritted teeth while a sharp pain shot through my leg. It’s twisted, but I might be able to fix it. I found a thick twig and placed it between my teeth. I reached around with my unharmed back leg and placed it on my wound. I thrust it downwards, my eyes squeezed tight and my body braced. The stick cracked between my teeth, and I wailed with pain. I abruptly stopped. What if a grizzly heard me? I shivered. I didn’t like this feeling of helplessness. I couldn’t put all of my weight on my injured back leg, but I could lean on it a bit, and I readied for flight. I strained upwards, but my injured leg was unable to push that section of my body into the air. I had another idea.

A few minutes later, I was on the edge of a cliff, my belly worming with fear and my body swaying precariously. With a twist of dread in my stomach and a determined thrust of my hind legs, I launched myself into the air. I was twisting, falling, every muscle in my body screaming at me to spread my wings. But I couldn’t. I was frozen. I twitched, and the reaction forced me to open my wings. The air caught on them and I was lifted into the air, just before I smashed onto an army of pointed rocks. I let out a long breath I didn’t know I was holding, and soared towards a faint trace of their sky-scent. I hurriedly sped up, until I was racing through the clouds, bursting out on the other side. I approached my Pack being herded downwards in a fearful group. No. I dived into their midst, filled with fury, lashing out at the enemies with strong blows. I led them upwards, hoping to escape them by aerial maneuvers. I winged higher and higher, followed by my wide-winged Packmates. The six attackers, with their short, muscular wings, were panting down below. Encouraged, I flew higher, flapping urgently and gasping for breath. I saw a rushing current of air. A jet stream! Even though, our attackers were bearing down on us, and I slowly eased my paw in. I was snatched my the current, my ears flattened against my head. The rest of my Packmates slipped into line behind me. Is Brook there? I couldn’t tell. Suddenly, a silvery feather wafted in front of me. She was safe! I wrapped my wings around the current, remembering that this strong of a current could snap my bones easily if I moved a single feather the wrong way. I stood stock-still, waiting for an ocean to arrive halfway across the Earth. At this speed we were traveling, we’d reach it in a few hours. Forests and jungles and grasslands whooshed by, merging into a wide expanse of bare, unappealing plains. Before I knew it, we had arrived onto a wide, blue ocean. I slightly tilted my nose downwards, and I was falling faster than I could fly. My wings flailed helplessly, and in a second, I was staring into deep water. I was plunged into cold, blue water. I opened my eyes and squinted through the flurries of bubbles. I was sinking quickly, surrounded by my Packmates. I strongly kicked upwards. Uh-oh. I still couldn’t use my legs! I helplessly swished my other three legs, flailing helplessly with my wings. I struggled, fighting with all my strength against the water pressure. Help! I thought frantically. Suddenly, I was boosted upwards where I could float freely without being sucked down. I peered downwards.

A flurry of Amazon’s feathers led down, where a flash of white was just disappearing into the blackness. I frantically swam after the quickly vanishing trail, leaving a thick vine that unraveled so I could pull myself up. I followed, growing more worried every passing second. I found his water-scent. He was wedged between two smashed pieces of wood! I tugged against one, on which Amazon’s barely alive body sagged. His eyes flickered and slowly began to drain of light, painstakingly slowly. No, no, no, no, no! I pulled harder. With a creak, one rolled aside. I roughly grabbed Amazon’s limp body and pulled harder than ever before at the vine. We shot upwards, and I promptly laid him on a cloud. His eyes still were draining of life, and I pushed hard with both paws on his chest. Again and again, and I lost hope. While I was sitting, shocked, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of sticky water. Hope renewed, I pushed harder than I had ever done in my life.

“Watch the claws, will you?” he croaked. Petalfall, Tundra and all of my Pack cheered. He struggled to sit up, but failed, lying down on his paws. “What’s all the fuss?” he rasped.

“You’re alive!” Tundra cheered, licking Amazon’s ears over and over again.

“Huh?” he inquired. I told the whole story, and he bowed his head to me. “I am eternally grateful,” he murmured. He noticed everyone was staring at him. “What, too awkward?” he asked, and everyone burst into laughter.

A bit later, as we lazily floated through the clouds, I fretted how that wouldn’t have happened if I had gifted him with the extra powers. I’ll give them the powers tomorrow, I decided. We alighted on a cloud and I delicately padded over to a marshmallow-soft spot on the large cloud. I curled up, stared into the moonlight, and my eyes drifted shut.

“Songbird,” I stiffly sat up, blearily blinking into the mist. “Songbird.” the voice repeated.

My ears tilted. “Yes, Echomist?” I replied.

She emerged from the mist, a frustrated and faintly angry expression on her face, and her wings fluttering, feathers shedding onto the mist. “What are you going to do next with your powers?” she spat. “Rob us of our destinies?” Her wings buzzed in anger. I backed a few paces backwards, confused. I She’d never been this angry before. She stared at me, her piercing green gaze locked into my deep, blue eyes, which didn’t focus on one spot but saw all. I tore her gaze from mine and squeezed my eyes shut. Wake up, Songbird, wake up! I thought urgently. Echomist hurled herself in front of me, her fangs glinting for a stinging reproach almost as bad as a wound by those, but I woke up to a pink sunrise. I prodded Misty and Brook gently, and they stirred slightly, each mumbling something in their sleep.

“Misty, Brook! Time to wake up!” Brook turned her head towards me, her gaze confused and bleary from sleep.

“But it’s only sunrise,” she complained, her exhausted whispering as faint as the breeze.

“Well, get up anyways!” I answered cheerfully.

“Fine, fine,” she mumbled grumpily, stiffly easing herself up, followed by Misty. I spotted a nutmeg speck far below, and I swooped down at eagle speed. Wingedwolves normally hunted by paw, out of habit and tradition, but this time, I wanted to be deadly accurate, and fast. I grabbed the brown spot, and heaved upwards. Wait… What was it? Aqua feathers? No moose had aqua feathers! They were buzzing right now, and I swung and released it mid-swing onto a cloud in a fright. The mound uncurled itself and glared about, her wings still fluttering in anger. It was a… A Wingedwolf? I shook my head, dazed. Who was she? She seemed to read my mind.

“I’m Dewyleaf!” she snapped. Her eyes glittered with hostility and.. Nervousness? “And what are you doing here?”

“Living,” I snapped back. She snorted and uncurled her coiled body in one swift motion, then swooped gracelessly but lightning-speed back to earth. I bit my tongue to keep myself from howling, ‘Wait!’ and sighed. I then slowly lowered myself down with large, graceful sweeps of my wings, like an angel with a wisp of cloud as my halo. When my paws touched solid earth, I immediately folded my wings and began prowling. I gasped, then bit my tongue. There was a flash of aqua feathers up ahead! I bounded after the flashes of aqua and nutmeg, which seemed to shine dappled golden-and-chestnut on her rippling fur, almost like a fawn’s. She quickened her pace, then sped even quicker. She skidded to a halt, crouched down, and snarled.

“I’ll tell you the truth!” she cried. “Just back off!”

“What?” I whispered to Brook, who had been trailing me and just emerged from the bushes. Still, I did what she requested. Dewyleaf sat down, uneasily shifting her feathers. I copied her, equally nervous. Were dark secrets that were better left hidden about to be unveiled? I fluffed up my feathers, and my wings revealed a hint of aqua. Wait! I shifted my feathers just into that position, and there sat three identical aqua feathers, waving in the breeze. I never saw these! I thought wonderingly. I glanced at Dewyleaf, then the trio of aqua feathers. They were the exact same hue! Dewyleaf flinched at that, for some reason. “Big coincidence, huh?” I asked to nobody in particular. When Dewy Leaf talked again, her voice was as nearly as light as the whispering of the breeze.

“No. I’m your mother, Songbird,”

8: Born From The Stars

I blankly stared at Dewyleaf, shocked, as Dewyleaf continued, agitated. “I was not allowed to have wolf pups. The runt-finder, Snowyfeather, followed me, but I evaded her, always resorting to the sea, because I was a Water-Breather and she was not. I then had you three, perfectly formed wolf pups, and Shadow. I was overjoyed, but I had to give you up. I said I had found you two, also Misty and Shadow, in the woods, and I scolded Snowyfeather for messing after me during a special mission. That plunged her deeper into shame, and me and her have been enemies ever since.” She paused for a moment to let the words sink in, moons of bitterness dripping from every word. “I grew uneasy under her excessive watch, and convinced my secret best friend in the Nulu Snow Pack, Shimmerlake, to take care of you and Shadow. I originally wanted Shimmerlake to also take care of you, Shadow, and Brook, but Tigresse of the Guar Stream Pack was suspected to be barren, and that was a frightening prospect for any wolf, so I let her take Brook. They were staged as kidnappings, and I didn’t know that it would cause such a carefully tended but fragile rift to widen between the Packs. I was so young and naïve then.” She shook her head in anguish. “I would do anything to close it again.” I mindread her, and she was thinking, to my surprise: They can’t know the whole truth.

“So, that was an interesting story,” I growled coldly, “But the WHOLE TRUTH, please!” I roared. Dewyleaf flicked her ears and snorted.

“Well…” she hesitated. “You three were born from the stars!” she blurted out. “I’m not your true mother.” This was more than I could handle, and my legs would not hold me. I fainted, and everything grew dark like setting suns.

I blinked, and blearily sat up. Dewyleaf and Brook were staring at me. “So… I was born from the stars,” I said slowly.

“Yes.”

“And Shadow was too, right?”

“No. He was born from the moon, but you are still linked to him. I- I was born from the sun. In reality, I’m your celestial-sister.” I stared at her in confusion. First she claims to be my mother, the next my sister? I shook my head in faint disbelief. Dewyleaf gazed at me with pleading eyes. “This is the truth.” She begged me with her eyes to understand.