Far from the Pridelands, on the other side of the world, a blanket of white lay over a bowl-shaped valley. Miles wide, this massive land surrounded my un-navigable mountains rested under many feet of snow and ice. Day and night the snow fell. Sunrise and sunset the blizzard winds howled. The valley was home to specific, hearty breed of wolf, among other creatures. To survive in such a harsh land, these wolves matched its ferocity and endurance.
One such wolf lay under a snow-laden bush, just off the path that led out of the valley. Through his pelt covered in frost, only his breath would be visible to anything nearby, and even that quickly became frost in the wind. Kelldan, a Beta of the Iceheart pack, the largest of many packs that hid in the valley, waited in complete stillness. He made no sound, and had scarcely moved for hours since nightfall as he watched the path. Buried under layers of snow and ice, his pelt was mostly dark grey mixed with creamy white on his belly and a bit of his neck. The wolf's bloodline having been in the Howls since the times of Humans, he was perfectly adapted for his task of survival. His pelt the color of stone and snow.
Kelldan flicked his right ear, ever so slightly, at the sound of distant pawsteps. He blinked a set of ice-blue eyes, clearing the bits of snow around the edges as he stared up the path. Any wolf not accustomed to life here would see only the wall of white snow as it came down, mixed with semi-darkness of night. Because the snow was so prevalent, even nights in the Howls were unusual. The moon provided more than enough light to work with, reflecting off the snow on every surface. Even on a night with the snowfall as thick as this one, Kelldan could still make out the stealthy outline of his packmate as he came down the undergrowth of bushes along the side of the path.
As soon as the wolf was near, Kelldan jumped up from his hiding place, greeted the coming wolf with a flick of his tail, and matched the wolf's quick pace as they ran back along the center of the path towards the valley. They moved quickly, phantoms on the snow as their paw-prints were quickly covered by new snowflakes. Neither of them spoke until they passed under the entrance to the valley, through a narrow pass in the massive mountains. The canyon-like entrance had become so frozen over time, that ice hung down from points where the mountains touched above, creating a bridge of thick ice many feet above the wolves' heads. Their run through the pass kept them silent and focused, both wolves flashing quick glances behind them to ensure they were not followed.
As they broke free of the pass and entered the valley, Kelldan finally turned to the wolf beside him, not breaking his pace on their run into the treeline. "How many?"
"Four. Only one was familiar." The other wolf replied immediately, having been waiting for the question.
Kelldan gave a short, low growl. "That's forty-one now. There has to be more." Came his gruff reply. The older wolf paused to jump over a fallen log along the path, kicking the now off the top as he came down on the other side. "We have to tell him.... we need a new plan."
When the other wolf did not reply for a moment, Kelldan looked at him again, intense eyes catching the wolf's gaze. "Pinefoot?"
"Yeah?" Pinefoot growled in reply, focused on avoiding a cluster of stones.
"We have to tell Rajiir. He'll believe us this time. He still thinks it's just a small group. Letting them into the valley could kill us all!" Kelldan declared, turning back to face the path.
Pinefoot was quiet for a bit, the only sound between the wolves being the wind knocking waves of snow off the pine trees high all around them. "You think that's a good idea? Changing the plan hours before it starts?"
"If we don't, and there are more Shadow-Walkers than we can take on, everyone will die. Especially without..." Kelldan started, pausing to shake access snow off his pelt before catching up with Pinefoot.
Pinefoot looked back as Kelldan caught up, slowing to help him get back in line. "Look, I'm on your side with this, but... but the Alpha's word is law. He's already made up his mind. What could you say to change it this close to the time? What would be your plan?"
Kelldan instantly started, speaking the rehearsed lines the had thought about all night. "We close the valley off. Break the ice above the canyon to keep them out and kill most of them in the ice-fall. Then we could try the old pass again, to the South, and hit them from behind. We could pin them up against the new wall of ice and take them one by one. It's either we do that to them, or they push us further into the valley until they end up cornering us. Rajiir wants to stop them before they get to the canyon-pass. He thinks the group is small enough to take on out in the open."
Pinefoot interrupted, tagging on, "And he'd think closing off the valley is a death sentence. You know he'll never use the South Pass again. Not after what happened. He had it blocked off for a reason, Kell, it's not safe. I like your plan, but... closing off the valley... we're not the only pack out here, not to mention the strays. What would they think?"
Kelldan sighed through his nose, rolling his eyes slightly at Pinefoot's remarks. It was true, he knew, that Rajiir would never agree to his plan, but he had to try. He had been at the South Pass himself when the Alpha had it sealed off, and even then he knew it was a mistake. There were several new packs taking refuge in the valley now, and none of them knew about the sealed other entrance, and nor did the Shadow-Walkers. Before he could come up with a reply, Kelldan spotted the familiar cluster of trees up ahead that marked the camp's boundaries. Unexpectedly, both wolves spotted another silently waiting just beside the three trees.
As Pinefoot and Kelldan approached, both slowed to a halt in front of the other wolf, ears back and heads down submissively.
"Alpha." Both greeted in unison.
Rajiir flicked his tail in dismissal, letting both wolves rise. He turned and began leading them back to camp, not looking at them while he spoke. "Another patrol? Outside the valley? .... What did you learn."
Pinefoot was the first to speak, ears still partially back even though the Alpha wasn't looking. "There were four Shadow-Walkers this time. Most of them new faces from last week. Kelldan thinks the new total numbers are near forty."
Rajiir flicked his ears in annoyance. "Not likely. I've seen their camp myself. No room for forty wolves."
Kelldan's eyes flickered with frustration for a moment, but his voice was calm when he finally spoke. He looked up to the moon as he opened his muzzle. "What if there are that many? What can we do then? We don't have the numbers to fight forty Shadow-Walkers."
"We will deal with that if and when it happens." came Rajiir's automatic reply. The Alpha scoffed a bit, flicking the snow off his tail as they came close to the cluster of woven tree-branches that marked the camp entrance.
Pinefoot gave Kelldan a look of sympathy, and shook his head slightly when Kelldan started to speak again. "Alpha, with respect, if there are more we could lose everyone in the fighting. If we sealed the valley-"
"Sealed the valley?!" Rajiir froze in place, whirling on the pair of wolves with the start of a growl. Both wolves put their ears down and looked at their paws in respect. "What good would trapping us in our home do in long term? Where would we hunt when the elk migrate? You would really suggest starving us to death instead of facing our enemies."
Kelldan shut his eyes for a moment, working himself up to speak. Every part of him screamed not to say it, but finally he grit his teeth and spoke. "We could use the South Pass to-"
Rajiir snapped his jaws close to Kelldan's ears, a snarl across his lips and a rumble in his throat. "The South Pass is gone! I told you never to speak of it again! Did you forget who we lost there?! Did you forget your mate's sacrifice?"
Kelldan growled lowly in reply, still looking down. "No. I did not forget her, or your son. I will never stop seeing their faces when I sleep."
Rajiir flinched at Kelldan's words, growing silent but pulling back away from the two wolves. "... Be ready to fight at dawn. This discussion is over. And you would do well to never speak those words again."
"... Yes Alpha." Both Kelldan and Pinefoot replied. Rajiir started ahead of them, and dipped his head into camp. Pinefoot followed a moment later, giving Kelldan a painful glance before he went inside. Kelldan waited a moment longer, looking back up to the moon, fear evident in his eyes.
This may be the last moon I see... If we fight tomorrow, and there are more of them... I hope the other packs are ready to carry on after us. Akitas willing, Rajiir will come to his senses and take my advice.
With his thoughts wrapped up, Kelldan followed after the other wolves, sliding into camp a minute after them.
The camp was modest for the size of the pack, four dens constructed from fallen branches and pine needles. A fifth, smaller den was constructed against the side of the rock wall at the back of the camp, and Kelldan caught a glimpse of Rajiir slinking his way inside. Opposite the Alpha's den were the four larger ones where the other wolves slept, one them reserved for mothers and their pups, though at the moment there was only one such tiny family, and they preferred to sleep with the other wolves. In the center of the semi-circle of dens was a burrowed out hole in the snow, blood staining the dirt beneath. It was empty now, being so late at night, but usually was full of gathered prey for the camp. There were a few wolves about, casting short greetings as Kelldan came into camp. He made out the sight of Pinefoot sniffing at the Prey-Burrow, then trotting into one of the dens.
Just as he came in, Kelldan spotted the other Beta stepping out of her den. He locked eyes with Naraa, not needing to speak. His pained look would tell her that Rajiir did not listen.
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This is exactly how it looks and sounds to live in this region 24/7 I play and watch this while I come up with story for Kelldan, so I thought some of you might appreciate hearing it while you read and/or write posts for your own characters. IDK how it will work on a phone, but I suggest if you're on a computer just open another tab of this page to hear the sounds.)
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