A white wolf with blue eyes like ice, stalked, stomach close to the ground in the shadows of the night. The air was as cold as her stare as she watched the helpless young buck prance over the frozen ground.
The creature bounded out of the dark woods and sprang from the ground, toppling over her prey. Her monstrous fangs dug deep into the flesh of the deer's throat, tearing it apart, limb by limb. She devoured every bit of meat and left the bones there to disintegrate into the soil. A voice rang from behind the wolf as she was moving to go to her den.
"Bravo! Bravo!" came the voice, "Alaska, the great
leader of Starpack makes the catch! What a show."
Alaska turned around and stared, trying to make out the dark
figure's identity in the shadows of the woods.
"Show yourself wolf," she advanced over the howling of the wind. The figure came out from behind an old redwood tree, his golden eyes matching her raging stare. "Storm! What are you doing here?" asked Alaska roughly.
"Looking for you, actually." snorted Storm, "The pack is low on kill. I was thinking we should make our annual hunt sooner. The pack may die without it."
"When did I make you leader?" she asked grimly, "I can make decisions for myself thank you!" Alaska turned to trot home on her last word when she stopped suddenly to the sound of Storm's words.
"So you would rather the pack die out because of your conceited ways? If I were leader-"
"Stop your rambling!" Bellowed Alaska, half-turning around to make her eyes meet his as she spoke. Storm's face spoke of sadness, surprise, and fear once she took the time to see it. Then it was as if her bitter shell had simply melted away when her face softened. "I'm sorry." she said quietly, "You're right; we shouldn't be acting like this. The hunt will begin tomorrow at the peak of sunrise." Storm breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly at Alaska.
"Don't be late," he fooled, as the two of them headed home for the night.
A stream of red sunlight shined brightly through the gap in Alaska's den, awakening her from her dreams. She fluttered her eyes and yawned. Alaska padded out of the entrance of the den which was made like a small gap between a pile of sticks for camouflage.
She stepped warily onto the stump in the middle of the camp and started to howl. Mutters and groans flew up into Alaska's ears as the warriors awoke. "Attention Starpack!" she hollered through the ending dawn. "I have decided that we should make the annual hunt start today as we have no food. I expect all warriors and apprentices of every type to be gathered around the stump once the sun is completely risen. Other than that, you know what to do."
After everyone had prepared for the journey, a few apprentices started to gather around the stump. More and more wolves came and before she knew it, it was time to get on with the trip.
"As most of you know," began Alaska, "The annual hunt is a large journey across the land which involves every member of our pack. We will set off in search of good hunting grounds, and kill anything we can find. We will be carrying massive amounts of kill and continue travelling until we get to the Dorris River. There, we will turn around and find our way back here. We must travel as a pack. All apprentices new to this hunt must be more careful than others for you may have never gone beyond the camp territory. Any questions?"
Once she had explained the hunt to the younger wolves and newcomers, they set off on their great journey. The wolves footed through the woods and into the gorges. Small waterfalls surrounded the pack and eagles soared overhead. The sound of water trickling over the rocks soothed them as they ventured over the stepping stones of the low but powerful water. The air was chilly yet moist, and steam came off of the water that nearly blinded the great creatures of Starpack.
A voice spoke among the mist. Surreal whispers and horrid screams, shouted over the sound of the rushing water. The water stopped and all was quiet. Not a sound was heard until they reached the end of the strange fog, when the whispers became clear. The water's roar came back into place, and swirls could be seen in the now distant fog. The voices followed Starpack until it was as if something pulled them away, and the traces of steam fled back to hover over the water.
"That was spooky," said Alaska, fear in her shaking voice, "Those voices were almost unreal."
"What voices?" asked a young, female apprentice, "I didn't hear anything."
"You didn't? But it was clear as day those sounds!"
"Sorry!" said the apprentice as she stepped away to join her mentor in the middle of the group. Alaska was terrified. She led the pack with fear in her eyes, going at a slower pace, growing faster with each step. She decided to let it go, and shook her head furiously, hoping to make the memory go away.
They were now travelling inside a lush forest. Small streams dipped around curvy bends. Huge, old trees with roots like snakes covered the area. Moss coated everything in sight. The sun was now in the middle of the sky. It was afternoon, but it
could begin getting dark at any moment. The wolves ventured
on, leaping over fallen trees, and swerving around crabgrass
and thorns. The moss felt good under their paws. They had been
travelling for quite a while now, it soothed them.
Trees stared down on the creatures. Alaska looked up, she wondered what she would look like from far up at the canopy. She wished that she could climb so high.
Red and pink streams covered the sky like fireworks, caught in time. The sun was not visible from here, but the wolves knew that it was setting. They were coming upon an area with many large rocks and broken down walls built by humans. This place was obviously abandoned, covered by moss and ferns. It looked comfortable enough here.
"This is where we will set up camp for
the night. Take your time to explore before we go about our
hunting. I sense much prey to be found here. Be sure to stay
close to the camp."
At that, the dogs sniffed around and brushed up against boulders and white bricks of cement. They marked small bits of territory to claim the best sleeping spots before the others could get them. Alaska found a fertile area behind the most part of the wall. It was full of shade and had plenty of plants and leaves to make a soft bed. As Alaska was brushing up against the wall to mark her scent, storm started to do the same right next to her behind the wall. "What are you doing?" exclaimed Alaska, "I claimed this spot first!"
"Yes, but there is plenty of room for another guest." protested storm, "You should share the best beds with the rest of your pack."
Alaska grunted and moved over to let the wolf claim half of the territory. She eyed him hardly as he took over the half of the shady area. Storm was right. There was plenty of space here. She just didn't know if she could stand sleeping next to this mongrel all night.
Alaska stood from her bed after circling a few
times to make it comfortable. She gave a small, mocking growl
to Storm as she passed him, and made her way to edge of
the dryer area of land.
"This way now, everyone must hunt. For
any apprentices that do not know how, it would be a good time
now for mentors to teach them. Come along."
Alaska and the rest of the group stalked in the grass, mouths watering, preparing to pounce on the plentiful rabbit that sprung over the dark, dry woods. The trees were bare and
dead here. The ground was mostly mud except for a few rocks
and small patches of yellow grass. In the distance, the last sliver
of sun was disappearing behind the hills.
Suddenly, everyone's head turned to the sound of rustling in a bush near the middle of the woods. This prey was bigger than the rest. Everyone there would be after it. A young doe stepped out of the bushes, weeds hanging loose in it's mouth. A large male, rampaged out of the cover of the undergrowth, and shot across the land at the deer. The rest of he pack followed, bumping up against one another, attempting
to catch the prey.
In the head of the pack was Storm, dashing after the doe, only a few inches from its rear. He grabbed hold of its tail with his fangs, which sent the two of them flopping to the ground under their immense speed. Wolf by wolf, the rest piled on top of the prey, Storm at the near bottom. Alaska was the last one to jump on top of the pile of wolves, wriggling her way the bottom to get to the deer.
Before she could make it to the prey, Storm came running out of the heap, chasing the doe who had somehow escaped. He toppled over it, and slit its throat with a single, swift action. The deer hung limp in his jaws as he started a pile next to a large rock, engraved into the ground.
The hunting session went on until shortly after moonhigh. They had a few more deer than expected and about ten rabbits. The
stronger males grabbed at as much prey as they could carry, while the others took only one or two rabbits per wolf.
They made it back to camp, and set the prey in the center near a few old logs. They covered the kill with leaves and sticks for camouflage. The wolves settled down for the night, and soon all were asleep.
Alaska had gone to bed very curious about the
strange mist. She tossed and turned through a terrifying
nightmare while she slept. Tomorrow morning, they would be in
the mountains that had looked so far away earlier. The only way to the Dorris River, is over the mountains to get to the other side. Alaska was anxious about tomorrow's hike. But this was not the reason for her disturbed sleep.
