Night Fall

[Deleted]

'Arroooooooo'! The call sounded threw the darkening woods. The forest seemed to hold its breath as if waiting for a reply, a reply that never sounded for the pair of desperate ears. Golden eyes looked up to sky as a breath taking sunset was painting over the tree line. The world seemed to swallow the six month old pup. She was no longer the fuzz ball she used to be by now all her pup fuzz had fallen off and her earth toned coat now revealed, she also had a full set of sharp adult teeth but they were useless if she could not catch food. Her stomach growled proof that she was not faring well on her own. How long had it been two weeks since the large rain fall literally swept her life away.

Her feet were tired and hurt with each step she took on her journey to find her pack that she lost after the rain. She wondered where they were and if they were safe, were her brother and sister with them? Were they alive at all?

“Don’t think like that Sakiki,” a voice suddenly rang out nearly startling her to hear her own voice. It was always so quite even her own voice seemed to cut through the silence of the forest. But soon the silence would be no more as the crickets would one by one start to chirp. Looking again to the sky searching for clouds it looked like it would be a clear night. An easy night for her all she needed was a safe place to sleep. The large tree’s no longer scared her since she was too large to be taken by any large bird that could roost in them. But she was still close to the river….. She paused before turning to walk away from the river, no longer trusting the river she used to live next to all her life. Even with a clear night she gave it no chance to take her away as well.

And finally she found it an old oak tree; its base offered a soft pine needle bed. Walking to the tree she sat down scenting the air. She did not smell predators; she did not smell other wolves. Rabbits, rats, mice, fox… nothing she should be alarmed of, and maybe in the morning she can try to catch maybe even a rabbit! Her stomach growled again making her wince. “I know I know” she said to herself before she turned around three times packing the ground under her and she lay down, wrapping her tail over her nose. Golden eyes closed as the shadow of night blanketed the land.

As the moon danced across the sky a strong wind sturred up, and a mighty gust of wind blew across her sleeping form, ruffling up her fur enough to wake the sleeping pup. Her yellow eyes opened as she looked over her tail seeing her fur waving in the wind. She let out a sigh knowing the wind would move all game scent quickly and any tracking would grow to be hard. Regardless the sun was high in the sky proof she slept too long. As she stood she felt her body complain as muscles were cramped from lying down for too long. A yawn formed as she worked on waking up stretching out her front legs then the back. Hearing the wind howling she wondered if the wind could carry her own howl further. Lifting her muzzle to the sky she let out a howl her song traveling through the wind but for how long? “Where are you?” she called listening for a reply.
As her ears were listening for a reply she did happen to catch a sound a rustle and she quickly turned her head in time to see something that made her stomach suddenly tighten. There was a quail her heart suddenly had a burst of adrenalin as she wanted so badly to take chase but knew she KNEW how quick these birds took flight. She smiled and used the wind for once to her advantage and walked down wind using the wind’s noise to cover her own noise her clumsy paws made. As well as keeping her scent from the bird. She was getting better at hunting the small game but… a bird? She watched as the bird was looking for food and suddenly turned its back to her!

Taking the moment she crept forward trying hard not to let her oversized paws to give her away. Closer… closer. The bird turned and she froze holding her breath she was so close but not close enough. Please don’t fly pleassse don’t fly. She thought silently in her head. The quail looked about and soon was satisfied and went back to what it was doing. She smiled and closed the distance picking up her pace and she charged. Her nails digging into the earth to give her traction and kicking up the dirt she ran the quail knew of her presents by now and with a clattering screech it started to run flapping its wings for flight. “Not today” she could feel it this was it she felt the strength in her legs pushing her faster than she ever had gone before. The world felt as if it was slowing down playing each moment twice as long as it should.

The bird was starting to gain air but it was too late. The wind was making it hard for it to get up and it was too perfect like a gift to her as she felt her teeth sink into the tail of the bird. The scream of the bird echoed threw the forest as she pulled it down pinning it so she could get a better bite. Gripping the bird by a wing she shook her head as hard as she could. The snap of bones the cries of the bird as it was being broken still rang out. Dropping the bird she grabbed the neck and with one more shake… the woods fell silent. There were no sounds beside the winds as she had finally made her first large kill.

Dropping there limp bird to the ground with a thump, she started panting as she tried to catch her breath. She knew that the cries of her prey could draw unwanted attention. It was time to move grabbing her kill she knew she had to move away from the kill site.

[Xaios]

The howling winds of the land whipped through the trees and sent bits and pieces of the assorted vegetation flying through the air. The day had started off fairly nicely for the large black wolf who had traveled quite a ways from his old pack land in the north to this virtual paradise he had managed to find. He had been able to get himself a couple of good meals and overall the land seemed to be more bountiful than where he had come from. It seemed to him that this place would either have a fine pack that he could join or at the very least offer him a fine patch of land to claim as his own.

As he made his way through the thick underbrush towards the sounds of running water, the wind shifted and his nose caught the scent of fresh blood on the air and could mean really only one thing, another predator was in the air. He had made sure to scent the area to see if there was a pack in the area but he had yet to find any markings to confirm there was one. So he made his way in the direction of the smell to see if he couldn't find the source. Much to his dismay the winds shifted several times thanks to the many trees he was walking through and there were a few times that he ended up losing the trail only to pick it back up a few seconds later. He was surprised by the fact that he hadn't heard anything from the death of whatever it was that he was now tracking. But with the winds whipping in all different directions, he figured all the sounds were drowned out. But that didn't matter at this point, all that mattered was that there was something else here and he was going to find out if it was friend or foe. And if it ended up being the latter of the two, they wouldn't live to hunt another day.

[Deleted]

Dragging the bird clear of the kill site and back to the place she slept the night before, she enjoyed the old oak and lay down under its many branches. Still a bit tired from her travels and a successful hunt she was happy tired but happy. “Bet Ace has yet to catch a Quail”. She stated as she licked the ruffled feathers of the bird, before she started to pull them off of the bird to reveal the skin.

Ace was one of Sakiki’s two missing siblings. Ace was a promising male he was always the strong one of the two. Dark as night with only his blue eyes to break his form unlike her sister Tonica who had rather bright colored coat, she would often call her a duckling. Ace always seemed a little too tackle happy in her own opinion and Tonica well she was just a mama’s girl. Ace loved to show off Tonica liked to cuddle. She sighed lowering her ears feeling the pain in her heart, she missed them. “Why could I not be more like them and just stay at the den? I would not be in this mess I’m in.” She whined complaining only to herself and the wind.

But all sadness was soon lost as she dug her fangs into the warm flesh of the bird. It’s life blood literally sending a chill down her spine and causing her to groan at the flavor when it ran down the back of her throat. In a moment her paws rested on the bird holding it down as she tore the flesh from its body finally getting some very needed calories. Not realizing just how far the scent of her kill was drifting on the wind. She did not care she just crunched threw the bones, now completely lost in her meal. Stuffing her nose up into the birds cavity for the heart and tasty liver. Her tail wagged softly as she ate the wind not affecting her too much since the tree blocked most of it. All that could be heard were the snaps of the bones, the protective growls of the pup and the whistle of the wind as it stirred up the dead leaves covering the forest floor.

[Xaios]

The wind continued to carry the smell of blood and as he moved further through the woods, he realized he was nearing where the scent was probably coming from. He slowed himself down and started to stalk a little towards his target, not wanting to give away his position just yet. Before long he could hear the sounds of cracking bones and soft, puppy like growls. This caught him off guard and he grew curious if there was more to this than what he thought. But when he heard it to only be the one pup and nothing more, he tossed that aside and thought about how this must have just been some lone pup. That didn't make sense to him though. When he started to think more about it, why would a pup be all alone? Where was it's pack? Was this it's pack's land that he was intruding on? Nothing was really adding up to him. So little by little he inched closer and closer until he was able to poke through the underbrush just enough to set eyes upon the small pup that was eating away at what appeared to be a fresh kill of quail. He used the dark color of his fur along with the darkness of the forest and continued to lay in wait, curious to see if this pup was indeed alone. The last thing he needed was to approach it and have it call for it's pack. He was a stranger to these lands and he knew he couldn't hope to survive an attack from a full pack of wolves. He was strong, but certainly not that strong. So with the wind taking his scent away from the pup and her kill, he remained vigilant and made sure to scan the area for anything new. If there was a sound or a smell that was new to him, he was ready to catch it and react accordingly.

[Deleted]

Bite and swallow bite and swallow, was all she did till she felt her stomach grow tight but for another reason…. She was full! She licked her muzzle tasting some of the blood still there. Her skinny form finally had a nice plump and full happy belly. Looking down at what remained of her kill she was surprised she only had bits of bone and feathers left. Not like quail was the largest of the birds but she managed to finish it.

Taking a moment she licked her paws soaked in the birds blood and she groomed herself. But she did not take too long with that the sun was still high in the sky plenty of time to look for her family. For once she did not feel as fatigued thanks to the bird and her spirits lifted. “Maybe I should check the den site again.” She said knowing the river was no longer flooded maybe they came back looking for her. The wind was still blowing hard as she walked behind the tree. Squinting her eyes as the wind blew hard she was going to have to travel agents the wind this time.

Deciding to first go to the river she trotted off not knowing of the eyes that were watching her. She was still careless she was never given a chance to learn how to survive it was by sheer luck alone she was even able to get the bird on this day. The trip to the river was not too long. Now and then she would stop and scent the land looking for her father’s scent that marked their territory she could not smell anything fresh, and all the old marks had seemed to fade as well. Lifting her muzzle again to the sky she howled once again “Where are you?!” She listened for a moment her tail lowered only moving to the harshness of the wind. Her ears turned in all directions straining to hear that reply. Lifting her muzzle again she howled “I’m Here!” again the only answer was the howling of the wind.

She sighed taking a moment to take a drink from the cool water of the river she would wait maybe they heard her but the wind swallowed up their howl and they were coming. She thought giving her some false hope. Pulling her muzzle up from the water the droplets dripping from her chin as the light glittered threw them before they returned to the river. She let out one more howl “I’m HERE!” She tried to call louder trying to let her call carry. She listened once more.

[Xaios]

The set of yellow eyes watched as the young pup wandered away from the spot where she had been feeding. The wind carried the words she had only been speaking to herself to him and it intrigued him. There WAS a den in the area and it seemed she was waiting for them to return to it. From the way she had looked when he first found her, she really hadn't been eating well so it confused him and made him want to follow her to see just where it was that she had been living. So he made sure to keep himself downwind of her so she wouldn't be able to catch his scent while he stalked after her. Before long she stopped at the river's edge and began to howl out for what he assumed to be her pack. It was at this time that his ears also began to swivel to try and see if he could catch a reply. But even after three attempts, there wasn't anything that he could hear. So he decided there wasn't anyone out there to reply to her and slowly began to make his way out of the dense underbrush of the forest and started towards her."Whoever it is that you're trying to call to isn't there. Thus far you've been the only other one around here other than me..." He was easily a few times her size and dwarfed the pup rather easily as he made his way a couple more feet before leaning his head down and taking a drink from the river that she had stopped by. He showed very little interest in her even though that was quite the opposite of how he felt. There were many things about her that he was curious about, but he felt it best to not overload her seeing as he was a stranger to these lands and she was still quite young. But in addition to showing little interest in her, he showed no interest in doing any form of harm to her. He was seemingly only there to get a drink of water and had 'happened' to stumble across her in the process.

[Deleted]

As her howl faded and again there was no reply she let out a sigh flicking her tail. It was at that time as she turned around she heard. "Whoever it is that you're trying to call to isn't there. Thus far you've been the only other one around here other than me..." Nearly jumping out of her skin as she darted off her claws kicked up some leaves and dirt as she bolted a few feet before standing and turning to see who was there. By now her tail was tucked up under her legs and her ears were back as she watched him walking to the water calmly to take a drink.

He was HUGE he even seemed to make her own parents appear to be tiny either that or she just had not seen them that long that she forgot. But she highly doubted that her dad was a big wolf but still this one was just massive. The wind blew as she watched him drink from the river.

She thought about what he said and she tried to think of something to say. If she was her brother Ace he would have gone defensive and challenged the male regardless of his size. Tonica would have ran back to the den with her tail tucked between her legs. What about her what would she do? Her tail was no longer tucked between her legs but rested relaxed in a respectful manner knowing well that there was no point in challenging him with a raised tail. She could not challenge him not even her father’s scent was on the land to show him that she had back up. She honestly was scared and unsure as to what she should do.

“My pack has not abandoned me.” She finally replied knowing she had nothing to back up her statement on that but she believed it to be true. “… Why have you come here?” She asked still keeping her distance he could be big but chances are she may be able to out run him… riiight.

[Xaios]

He chuckled a little bit when he saw the pup's reaction to him appearing and just shook his head when she realized he wasn't there to chase her. And then to make things even funnier to him, she started to put words into his mouth that he hadn't even honestly thought."Well for one thing whelp, I didn't say your pack 'abandoned' you. I merely said that we are the only one's in this area right now. And secondly it's not fitting for a pup to be asking such questions. If your pack was still here and your alpha was the one asking that kind of question then I would have little problem answering." he leaned back down and took another small drink of the cool, refreshing water and exhaled deeply."But...I guess I really have nothing to hide from a pup like you either. So I'm here because I was cast out of my pack for being bigger than my packmates and getting to be as big as the alpha, possibly even bigger. I guess he felt I was going to take his spot as alpha and he got rid of me when he could actually overpower me. But hey, whatever makes him feel like an alpha." he shrugged his broad shoulders a bit and sat down, looking over across the river."What about you? If your pack isn't here, why are you still lingering around? Shouldn't you be trying to pick up on their trail and find them? his head turned his his piercing yellow eyes focused on her. There was a calm kind of dominant aura about him. He was strong, but he didn't hold that cruel streak that seemed to come with males his size. It was almost like he knew how to control his strength and only use it when it was needed and certainly not for the sake of intimidation.

[Deleted]

She still kept her distance from him still trying to read him wondering what he truly wanted. The wind gusted by her as she watched him her yellow eyes fixed on him, and strangely she was feeling scared but more than that she felt a desire to be with him… A pack she longed for the pack again the family taking care of each other.

“I’m waiting for them… for my family” She stated in reply to his question. To her there was not better reason to ‘linger’ she lowered her ears as she watched him thinking a silently to herself. How would she feel if this male were to leave? She would be alone again, she doubt she could handle being alone again.

“A.. are you staying here or are you still traveling?” She asked deciding to be a bit more curious taking her chances as she took a few steps forward to the big male. She took a chance to test the air scenting him on the wind, and he smelt not like her father did but much like he had. The strength and assurance and she just wanted that again.

She watched him but was unsure how approach him she did not even know him. But if she stayed here… would her family come back? Her ears lowered as she did not know what to do as these instincts seemed to drive her. Her desire to be in a pack again, but could she give up on everything she has known up to this point. Would he even allow her with him? Her ears stayed flat on the back of her head and her tail not tucked but lowered showing she was unsure of herself, she always felt unsure ever since she was alone. She needed direction in her life again. Was this her chance? Was this her last chance? She did not know as she looked back up at him.

[Xaios]

He shook his head a little bit and just stared at her. He shrugged a little and started to move to where he was facing her, still sitting down a bit while the wind ruffled his dark fur."Well I can't say I plan to stay in this area. I mean...if this land has been claimed I don't really want to intrude. I'm not trying to start a fight. I would really like to find a place to call my own." he stared at her a little more then looked off behind him and around a bit before moving his gaze back to her with a nod."But if you're waiting for your pack I won't bother you. The last thing I want is to break up a pack. That's as bad as intruding on the pack's land. So, for now I'm gonna keep looking for a place and kinda see how things work out." slowly he started to stand up, easily dwarfing the little pup as he started to move towards her. He could tell she wanted more by the way she was acting, but didn't say anything about what he felt from her as he started to pass by her."But I wish you luck and hope you get back together with your pack. Or you could do the smart thing and just go ahead and move on." the last comment was a vague attempt to invite her along without coming out and asking. He felt it was something she was searching for with her own question and he wasn't going to make her feel she had to go, nor was he trying to make her feel she had to leave. The choice was her's and he wouldn't push her in either direction. He understood that she felt her pack would one day return to find her, but he knew that from the way the area smelled that her wishes of seeing her family wouldn't ever come true.

[Deleted]

She watched him pass, and she could not move. Her heart felt like it was breaking ripping in two directions as she saw him walking away. She never felt this way before and she turned but she was not following him. “One more night” She said gently “just one more night” a whine sounded showing she did not want to give up on them but if they did not come by this night she would move on. She would have to, just because this part of her life could be over, did not mean that she had to be done as well.

The sun was already on its way down as she walked away. She walked to the den site a few miles away and by now the sky was a screaming orange and the sky just looked happy a feeling she could not share. As she entered the land she was raised in the land was completely different. Trees were completely gone washed away by the river. The den she was born in a pile of sticks the den filled in. She sat down watching the water glitter on its way to the ocean. She let out a sigh as she thought about the land and what she missed, and somehow she knew… she knew this was to be the last night she would spend in these lands.

Lifting her head she let out a howl. The howl would send a chill down any wolf’s spine. It had no words but yet every wolf knew what this howl meant. It was a howl of loss of deep sorrow of death and despair of letting go. A howl not often sang by a voice as young as her own.

[Xaios]

He had wandered a little ways away to get himself a little something to eat. He hadn't really had a good meal in a while and he doubted he would find one here. But he was going to try and find something nonetheless. And seeing as he had every intention of just sticking around the area to see if the pup was going to stick around or not. Normally he wouldn't have cared about the pup of some other pack. But he was alone, she was alone, and between the two of them at least they wouldn't be alone anymore. So it would end up helping both of them in the long run. But as he was stalking after a meal, he heard a howl on the wind. He recognized the one howling and part of him actually felt sorry for her. It seemed that she had come to the realization that her family wasn't returning and was letting out her sorrow. So with a sigh he started to move off towards the source of the howl to see if he could find her before she ended up getting worse. At this point the last thing he needed was her drawing the wrong kind of attention and a howl like what she was letting out would let predators that made little pups like her a meal know she was alone. So he made his way as quickly as he could to where he thought she was at before she ended up getting into trouble. The wind was allowing him to catch her scent a little bit. It was faint, but he could smell she wasn't all that far from him. Along with her scent though he could smell water and rotting wood that seemed to mark that there had most likely been a flood recently and part of him wondered if that was what had left the pup all alone.

[Deleted]

She howled on and off that night along with the wind. Though the wind blew there was not a cloud in the sky. But yet the moon was hidden during the new moon faze all that shone on this dark night were stars. Somehow with the moon gone this night it made her feel lonely. Beside the pack it sometimes felt that the moon was as much company to a wolf as its own family.

She sat down beside the river looking into the water as she saw the stars dancing on the reflective surface of the flowing water. She then lowered herself to laying down her paws barely dipped into the water… water that she no longer trusted but for some reason she felt that it held her family. This was the end of her living with this pack. If they were alive or dead it no longer mattered. What mattered now was that she had to continue to live.

She could not be a pup any more no longer were the care free days were the pack took care of her, it was time for her to grow up. She looked once more at the river before she forced herself to her feet. She felt different a more determined and strong minded being. She wondered if this was her father giving her this strength. It felt good she felt powerful, determined that she would survive and carry on the good blood of her family for as long as she could.

Testing the air she caught the scent of the lone male who came by today. But now she held herself different now she held herself as her father had once. She was a alpha she was not like her brother who would challenge any and all who came to the land, nor was she like her sister who would submit to situations. She knew that she would have to work twice as hard now but she was not willing to submit to defeat as the world expected her to.

[Xaios]

He made his way through the forest and followed the sounds of the howls until he found the small clearing that smelled strongly of the little female. He sniffed around the small spot for a little bit longer before stopping and lifting his gaze to the moon. It had went into hiding once again. He sighed a bit and shook his head before he started to search once again. Without the added help of the moon's light it would be a little harder to find the pup, but he continued to follow her scent knowing she was close. It took him several minutes to make his way through the mess caused by the recent flood and as he found the river, her paused a moment and listened closely. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees around him and the river ran peacefully over the rocks that made up it's bed. It was so hard to believe that something that could be so peaceful could cause such destruction. But he tuned it out and tried his best to hear the pup. She hadn't been howling for a bit and that was one thing he was using to find her quicker since the smells of the rotting wood was making scent tracking much harder for him. It was rather hard to get past the scent of anything rotting and ever so often the smell of a decomposed carcass from one of the many animals that hadn't been able to escape the raging waters of the flood would hit him and further throw him from the trail of the young pup. But after several moments of sitting and gathering his thoughts and trying to push aside the scents he didn't want, he picked up on her trail once more and started down the riverbank towards where she should have been. With any luck she would be more willing to accept what had happened and leave this place before it was too late for her. So he made his way slowly and as silently towards the pup's scent out of habit from having to hunt alone for so long. It wasn't that he was trying to sneak up on her, it just came natural to him now and he couldn't really stop himself.