Young Writers Society

2.

The Appearance of a Long Lost Past

Nami and Helena had done well this time but Nami wasn’t sure how well she would do the next time she did something like that. Her father had barged into her room when she had gotten back and was already dressing into her normal clothes with the help of Helena but quickly exited in embarrassment when Helena screamed in surprise and quickly stood in front of Nami to hide her when he had walked in at such an inappropriate time. Afterwards no attempt to talk to Nami on the matter had occurred to her relief.

In the afternoon when she had nothing to occupy her time with, Nami walked out of the house towards a creek which flowed behind it, her mind was occupied with thoughts of Thomas and whether he was doing okay, so much that she hadn’t noticed something black watching her from behind a tree. When she finally had noticed it ducked behind the tree and out of sight. Nami looked towards the spot of where it had just been and wondered whether she had only imagined it. She settled on the fact that she hadn’t imagined it and went to investigate. She slowly tiptoed to the tree and was about to look behind it but shouted in surprise when she saw the head of a black dog come out. She stumbled backwards, landing flat on her bottom. The dog was actually a wolf she realized and it came towards her out of curiosity, sniffing her feet which were nearest to itself. She watched the pup sniffing her, his black nose traveling up her legs and finally to her hands which were planted on the ground. His cold wet nose tickled her hand and caused her to jump.

She had expected the wolf to run off at her sudden movement but instead he stood there, unflinchingly looking her square in the eye. Nami was surprised by the pup’s boldness. She looked at it strangely as if it was something new to her. She stood up and continued looking down at the puppy. The wolf never switched his gaze from her eyes. Nami then remembered that where there’s one wolf, there are no doubt others so she looked up so fast her neck popped. Her eyes flicked from one tree to the next in the woods which were in the backdrop of her home. She saw none, but she didn’t want to take her chances so she slowly walked backwards to the house. Then to her surprise the pup followed her. Every step that she took backwards, the wolf would take forwards.

“No!” She shouted in a whisper. “Go back!” She motioned with her hands as she pushed the wolf away. But the wolf resisted and continued following her. Nami decided to do nothing about it so she finally turned around when she was a good ten paces away from the woods and turned the corner of her home. She knew that the wolf was still following her so she took a new direction towards the back of the barn for she knew that her father hated anything with four legs that could not be harnessed and controlled. She continued on without looking back at the puppy.

She finally came to the back walls of the barn and sat down and leaned against the red painted wood. She waited for the pup to come and as expected he came and lied down right next to her. She absentmindedly started stroking the black wolf and still didn’t notice when the black wolf crawled toward her and sat in front of her. She finally realized when he started yipping to her.

“What?” Nami asked, completely startled as she returned to reality in a shock.

The wolf continued barking.

“What do you want? You have to stop barking!” She cried out. “Shush!” She yelled when he still had not calmed down. She reached towards him and clasped his muzzle shut with her hand. “What do I have to do to make you shut up? Feed you?!”

The pup suddenly stopped resisting. Nami was taken aback at the sudden halt. “You want me to feed you?” Nami asked uncertainly while fiddling with her dress frills. She didn’t know whether to take it as a yes or not but the puppy seemed to wag its tail at the sound of food. Can it understand me? But that’s… Nami brushed the idea away and stood up to go and retrieve the promised food.

“If you can stay here I’ll go and get the food.” She spoke as if talking to a real person. It seemed as if her thoughts had been confirmed for the wolf sat down and waited patiently with his eyes closed apparently ready to take a rest. Something’s different about this animal, Nami thought with definiteness as she walked off towards her house.

She walked into the kitchen where two cooks were shouting to others as the sound of pots and pans clanged against sink surfaces and cabinets. She pushed through the group of people preparing dinner for the expected guests of her father’s and found Mr. Pulleen chopping slabs of ice hard meat. He was their personal butcher.

“Mr. Pullen!” Nami yelled over the clamor of dishes. He turned towards her and bowed his head.

“Hello Ms. Elswooth. What can I do for you ma’am?” The sound of a dropped pan rang in the distance.

“I need a favor.” Mr. Pulleen wiped his hands on a nearby towel and turned towards her. “I need some meat. Any meat will do, as long as it’s not rotten or moldy.” Mr. Pulleen looked quizzically to her but complied. He went into a room full of meat on hooks and brought out a thin slice of fine cut meat.

“Oh, it doesn’t need to be this good. Preferably something like a bone with meat attached.”

“Ok...” He went back into the room and brought out a small rack of ribs which still had chunks of meat clinging on.

“Oh that’s perfect.” She said as she grabbed the bone with a towel. “Oh, and um don’t tell my dad.” Mr. Pulleen’s great belly shook as he laughed.

“No problem Ms, your secrets safe with me.” He winked.

“Thanks a ton.” She waved as she ran out of the kitchen. She concealed the bone from the maids behind her back before running out to the slumbering wolf. When she came to the wolf she found him awake and waiting. He had stayed close to the building the whole time and was extremely happy when she had presented the rack of ribs to him. He jumped onto it eagerly and started tearing at the meat with his small canine teeth.

What am I going to do with him? Now that I’ve fed him, he’s not going to leave. Dad would not approve of keeping a wolf. But this wolf…he’s different. That’s for sure. It’s impossible for him to actually understand me. There must be something else. Perhaps body language? Well whatever it is it’s extremely disturbing. Ok first things first this pup needs a shower. He smells horrible. She waited for him to finish eating before walking towards the creek with absolute certainty that he would follow her. As she squatted down with the puppy in front of her she noticed a tag that was hanging on the dog’s neck. She looked closely and she found that it was a silver rectangle with a gold outline and the black shape of a wolf’s head. She wondered why something so expensive would be put on a stray wolf. She concluded to the fact that it might have belonged to a rich family and maybe it wasn’t a wild wolf after all.

She tried to take the tag off; not wanting it to get wet, but the pup stepped back. Nami laughed. I guess he doesn’t want it off.

“It’s okay, I want to give you a shower because you stink and then I’ll give it back to you, I just don’t want it to get wet.” Nami wasn’t so surprised this time when the pup seemed to understand, but the whole fact that an animal understood her was a bit unnerving. He stepped forward and allowed her to take it off. She cupped water from the cool creek into her hand and poured it over his head, with no resistance from him, and then scrubbed it clean. The process was slow but soon the wolf was clean from head to toe in the end and Nami’s plain brown dress was covered in hair and water.

Nami decided that she couldn’t go inside in the state she was now so she walked over to a clearing in the forest which was close to the crystal clear creek. The ground was carpeted with a large expanse of black dirt and small tiny twigs. She cleared the ground of twigs with her foot before lying down on the warm ground. She folded her arms behind her head and closed her eyes for the bright light from the sun was too intense to look at. The pup followed her and rested a bit away on a large boulder where he curled up and completely relaxed. He closed his eyes and just let the energy of the sun and earth be absorbed into his body and dry him. Nami lied still; feeling the rhythm of her breathing and listening to the birds, the insects, the wind, the creek, the sound of rustling grass, she felt the vibration of the earth and the warm glow of the sun. And she hear rustle of leaves as little lizards scurried along, hurrying to be somewhere and the sounds of birds calling to one another.

She looked over at the odd little puppy that was resting contentedly beside her. She gazed at him. He was jet black, except for a small white triangle that was centered on his chest. He had big bones and really large paws as well. His ears were a bit floppy, but they would soon stand erect she presumed. His legs were stout and sturdy, and he was almost up to Nami’s knee, which would mean that he was about two feet tall or so. She noticed a mark on his right front paw. Her eyes squinted and noticed that it was the same mark as the one that was on his necklace. She looked at it closely. It had the same gold outlining and the wolf’s head in the middle of the rectangle. She wondered who put it on there, and why it hadn’t come off when she gave him a bath.

Soon the sun was setting and Nami felt her stomach growl. She felt rested and her dress had dried so she figured that now would be a good time to go back. She knew that her presence was not required at the dinner that her father had prepared for his clients so she was allowed to take her time and eat when she wanted to that night.

“I need to get this wolf a place to stay first.” She stood up and the wolf woke up. Looking back at the wolf, she motioned for him to follow her. They walked towards the barn and she crept inside quietly. She looked around and saw no one except for one groom and he was busy with one of the horses. She quietly tiptoed to the storage room. She grabbed an empty grain bag and rolled it up into a nest like way. She shoved it into a corner where they were least likely to find it and then bedded it with straw. It wasn’t the best but it would have to do for now until she could find out what to do with him. The black pup slowly walked to the nest, sniffing his surroundings as he did so. Nami waited till he was settled in and curled up. The bag seemed to be just the right size for it seemed to wrap around his small body. She leaned down and stroked his head.

“I’ll see you in the morning. Don’t move or else you might be found out.” The pup stared at her with bright yellow eyes. He yawned, exposing pointed sharp serrated teeth. “Night.” She stood up and dimmed the oil lamps which were in the room. Leaving the door open she walked towards the groom.

“Hey, um Jeff.” The groom looked at her in surprise.

“Oh hello.” The old man greeted as he was rubbing down the horse.

“Hi,” She repeated while leaning against the stall door. “I have something that needs to be kept a secret in this barn. If you could-.”

“No problem.” He grinned. “I understand. Don’t worry about it, I’ll make sure that it stays undiscovered.”

“Thanks.” Nami beamed. She left the barn a little hesitantly. She wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing or not, keeping a wild wolf in a barn full of creatures ten times its size. Nami actually stopped for a couple seconds wondering whether to turn back or not but she soon concluded that there was not much more she could do for now so she retired to her warm bed and comfortable clothes.

Nami woke up early the next morning. She got changed by herself without the help of Helena into a pair of comfortable pants and a regular top and ran outside. Not many people were circulating the house at this time so it would be the best time to leave. She ran to the barn and quietly opened the door to the supply room. She carefully closed it and walked towards the spot where the wolf puppy lay sleeping. She tiptoed over to him and sure enough she found him sleeping soundly. She squatted down and watched him sleeping. It seemed that he had sensed her for he slowly blinked his yellow orb like eyes open and looked up at her after an enormous yawn, exposing his pearl white teeth. After petting him on the head she stood up and walked out of the room making sure that there was no one around first. The wolf followed her out of the barn and to the creek in which he was bathed last. She was constantly on the watch as they advanced towards the edge of the woods. All she saw were a couple maids and grooms but nobody noticed her.

After one last glance she ran into the emerald green woods. She had no idea where she was going, but she wasn’t concerned, just the sheer thrill of running through the woods lifted her spirits and she felt like she could just lift up through the air and fly away. The woods were filled with sounds of animals and leaves and nature was written all over it. Birds of all kinds trilled with joy as if encouraging her to run on, and she could hear little insects chirping away. Dead leaves were crunching under her feet and a cool wind breezed by. Nami’s legs took her faster and faster, her arms swinging by her side, continuously going faster still when she saw the small wolf run up beside her and speed off as if giving chase.

After a while she stopped and rested on a smooth rock. The puppy also jumped onto the rock. Its sides were heaving and his tongue lolling as he panted; thoroughly exhausted he collapsed on the rock, closed his eyes and fell asleep. Nami looked at her surroundings. With a panic she realized that she didn’t know where she was. She tried to find any trace of something that she could identify, but nothing there was familiar. It was near the time when all the maids woke up along with her father. She had left a note for Helen and hoped that she wouldn’t be worried, her only concern being that her father might think that she had gone off with Thomas when she was actually lost in the woods with a wolf. All she could do was pray that her father didn’t run off after her and barge down Thomas’s door.

The puppy had sensed her agitation and now was watching her intently through his yellow rimmed eyes. Nami looked at him, and he stared back. Ever so slowly he got up jumped off the rock and slowly walked back the direction they had come. “Wait!” yelled Nami. Where is he going?

She could soon see her own footprints in the clutter of leaves that covered the floor. She finally saw something that she could identify. She saw a carving that she and her friend had done a long time ago on an old tree. Delighted she ran all the way back with the puppy in the lead. Filled with exhilaration she ran in circles with the pup until she fell down in exhaustion. She closed her eyes and sleep overtook her right away.

She woke up a while later to the sound of a voice. She thought that she must’ve been dreaming when she saw the puppy’s mouth move as if it was talking. She rubbed her eyes again and looked once more.

“Wake UP!!” Startled Nami nearly jumped out of her skin. Her mouth moved in dumb silence. Finally she managed to croak out, “Di..Did..You..You..Just talk?”

“Well of course. Who else would be talking?” The puppy was now looking straight at her with wide eyes.

“Dogs don’t talk! I am dreaming! I am dreaming! I am dreaming!!!” she said to herself constantly shutting her eyes closed forcefully.

“You’re not dreaming! And anyways, I’m a wolf, not a dog. But I’m also not an ordinary wolf, I belong to the ancient line of Giant Wolves.” He started to lick underneath his paws. Nami stared at him, gaping. That would explain how he could understand me so well.

“But I thought that your kind was all killed. They said that they couldn’t find the rest of the Giant Wolves anymore. It was written in the legends.”

“That was a misconception that we spread amongst the humans. We went into hiding for we couldn’t risk being out in the open for the king had put a price on all our heads.” explained the puppy.

“You’re talking about the ‘wolf massacre’ led by King Garaya, right?” Nami asked.

“Uh-huh.” He nodded.

“I didn’t know there were any left.”

“Only our pack out of three survived. Nobody knows of our existence except for a few people.”

“Who are you exactly?”

“My name is Goneck, it was given to me by the Mirgten.”

“What is the Mirgten?”

“The Society of Mirgten is a group of six wolves that make up the social order that lead our tribe. Their wisdom and judgment have helped us through many hard times, including the time of the slaughter. It is because of them that we have survived this far.”

Nami took some time to digest this. They have a society. They’re like people… She stared at Goneck for a while. He stared back with intelligent eyes. “And how old are you?”

“I’m a mere pup, about 9 full moons old.” He watched her astonished face. “We believe that a wolf’s actions and contributions define a wolf’s status. This is my contribution to my tribe. I’m the youngest so far to do any kind of contribution of this importance. It’s a noble deed for one so young.” His eyes glowed with pride.

Nami thought for a while. “What kind of contribution are you making anyways? I don’t see what you need me for.”

“I volunteered, well not exactly volunteered, I asked for permission in a sense, to go on an expedition to find someone who was competent and able to help us. I was looking for quite a while. What I have been looking for is someone who is willing to leave their home and follow us and help my kin. We are looking for someone to speak for us. The Mirgten think that this will be the best possible way to save us from extinction and avoid violence which could lead to another occasion like the ‘wolf massacre’. Since then our pack has grown larger and larger. Hiding has become a problem and now many of our pack members are considering splitting up and finding places of their own which is extremely dangerous for the largest forest in Saradana is the one we already occupy. If they go anywhere else they would be easily spotted and killed and that would be dangerous for even us. That is why I have come to you, Nami.”

“Oh. How come you didn’t talk to me before?” Nami inquired.

“I wasn’t sure if I could trust you.” He stated simply. “Our existence solely depends on the choice I make. As well as the fact that I couldn’t just simply look at you and start talking; you would probably think you’re going insane.”

Nami acknowledged this with some amusement She probably would go insane.

“But why me?”

“It was for many reasons. Some of them extremely simple, first you were one of the only two children that we had a connection to. You’re also the older one.”

“Wait.” Nami interrupted. “How am I connected to you?”

“Your great ancestors were once one of the most influential to the Giant Wolves in the old days.” Goneck replied.

“And who’s the other one?”

Goneck sighed in exasperation. “So many questions! Will I never get through this conversation?”

“Sorry.” Nami said quietly.

“The other reasons are that you’ve been unexposed to the problems which are occurring in other cities which mean that you are not yet corrupted. And as well as that, you are in a safe place which would be least likely to be attacked any time soon. It was a safe bet.”

“I have another question first. What does that necklace and marking on your paw mean?” Nami asked after she had absorbed everything that Goneck had said. Goneck looked at his paw and then looked at Nami and said, “It’s given to people who are given a mission. It’s meant for good luck and it is also the crest of the Giant Wolves. Its proper name is ‘Crest of Exodiux’. If I am successful with my mission, I can wear this mark with pride and honor, but if I fail, the mark will be taken off, along with this necklace.” Nami still needed time to comprehend all of this. She felt like her whole life had changed all in a matter of seconds. Secrets that were treasured above gold itself had just been revealed to her. And now she was being asked to save a whole breed of animals from extinction, animals which were feared and almost wiped out in less than a decade by a king and its people. A part of Nami wanted this to all be a dream and let her life just go back to normal, but another part of her was excited and thrilled at the change occurring in her life, a life which she hated with such a passion that she had considered running away. This was exactly what she had wanted all her life.

“So all I have to do is make a choice right?” Nami asked finally after much thought. “And if I say yes, then I will leave my home and go with you to you’re homeland and be your voice and state my reasons for your survival and place in the earth. Is that it?”

“Almost, but as you know, it will be harder than you think. These humans won’t listen by just hearing it once. It will be hard, but I think that you are capable of it. You’ll have help.”

She thought for a moment. I think that I could be capable of such a task, as Goneck just said, I would have help. Nami smiled at the aspect of going on a life changing adventure. Goneck waited in anticipation.

“I accept.” She said with finality. Goneck simply nodded.