Forest's Journey

Chapter 9

The night after the wolves escaped the humans, all the adult wolves in the group received a dream from the Packs of the Sun and Moon.

"Lilly, welcome to the Packs of the Sun and Moon. We're the ancestors of every pack wolf on Earth. We give living pack wolves predictions, prophecies and instructions to help with their everyday life. I'm Ivy, Forest's grandmother. The he-wolf here is my mate and Forest's grandfather." introduced Ivy at the border between the Pack of the Sun and Moon's hunting grounds.

"Thank you, ma'am." Lily replied

"You all made it to the territories you are to set up the packs in." Beech said proudly.

"We did it with your guidance, sir." Forest replied humbly.

"Today you're gathered here to be briefed on the next part of the mission: forming the packs. You'll each take the territory with things that resemble your name. There is a strip of sparse forest on the leftmost strip of the land. To the right there is the small East River. To the right of that there are three territories. Leaf, you'll take the shadier territory with denser trees that have more leaves. Forest, you'll take the sunny territory with many trees. Bush, you'll take the territory with many bushes and undergrowth. To the right of those three territories is the large Main River. On the right side of the Main River are two more territories. Grass, you'll take the grassy plains, and Flower, you'll take the territory with a field of flowers. To the right of those two territories is the West River, and to the right of the river is the rightmost strip of land. All of your territories are approximately the same size, and can hold about 45-60 wolves. Your job is to recruit loners from mainly your territory, though you can recruit wolves from the large strips of land on the leftmost and rightmost places of the territories. Any wolves who don't want to join a pack will have to live on that land on the leftmost or rightmost strip ." Beech began.

"Hold up, we don't want to do that. We don't want to colonise and commandeer the land. Those wolves should have the freedom to choose where and how they live!" protested Bush.

The other wolves murmured in agreement.

"Trust me when I say that many of those wolves want to live in a pack. They've been trying to form their own packs for ages, but they could never do that because all the wolves knew each other and no one thought that anyone was responsible enough to become the Alpha, so they could never agree on a leader. However, being newcomers, the wolves might want to give you a chance." assured Ivy.

"How do we cross the rivers into our territories if we don't know how to swim?" inquired Bush.

"Forest knows how to swim. He'll teach you." answered Beech.

"What if we fail?" Grass asked nervously.

"You most likely won't all fail. If you do, we might be able to find another territory without any packs on them and you can have a second chance there." replied Ivy.

"We won't let you down." promised Leaf.

Beech and Ivy gave benign smiles.

"I'm sure you won't." said Beech.

The world around them swirled with darkness as their dream ended.

The next morning, they woke up at dawn, excited to complete the next part of their mission.

"Since we're near the territories we were supposed to go to, let's skip hunting and just get there in one go." Forest decided.

The other wolves agreed, and they continued their journey with a renewed determination. At around noon they arrived at the territories. They first hunted and ate at the leftmost strip of land. They told every wolf they came across about the packs, and some promised to join as soon as they were settled down. Soon, they reached the East River. At the sight of such a large, turbulent body of water, Leafson panicked, and started shaking and crying.

"Oh dear, Leafson is reliving his traumatic memory from a few days ago." sighed Leaf.

She tried to comfort Leafson while the others discussed how to get across the river.

"I'll teach you all how to swim today. The pups can sit on our backs when we swim across" decided Forest.

"Ok, so what do we do?" asked Grass.

Forest plunged into the water and relished the cool feeling on his skin.

"You have to use your paws as paddles to propel yourselves forward. You move your right paws forwards, then bring them back as you move your left paws forward. Form a steady beat and rhythm. Watch me." Forest instructed.

He swam along the bank of the river, making sure the wolves could see how his paws moved in the water. He chanted 'one' as he moved his right paws forward and 'two' as he moved his left paws forward, showing the wolves what it's like to have a steady beat.

"Who wants to give it a go?" asked Forest.

"I'll try." Grass said before he plunged into the water.

The water lapped at his nose and mouth, and he tried to keep his head above the water as his paws churned desperately. Forest helped him to the side of the river and helped him grip his paws on the riverbank. Grass lowered his head in embarrassment.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, I nearly drowned the first time I learnt how to swim. Just remember how you should move your paws. Keep that steady rhythm." directed Forest.

Grass nodded, and slowly let go of the riverbank. He remembered Forest's advice, and moved his paws in a steady pattern. Soon, he was able to easily stay afloat. Then, he tried moving around in the water. It took a lot of effort, but he was able to do it in the end.

"Who else wants to give it a go?" Forest asked.

One by one, the adult wolves learnt to swim. Some wolves, like Flower, Violet and Thorn, enjoyed swimming while others, like Bush, Leaf and Lily, hated it. Eventually, they were ready to cross the river. Each wolf had a pup on their back, and they slowly and steady made their way across the river.