Forest's Journey

Chapter 25

It was three weeks after the events of the flood, and one peaceful morning a loner, escorted by a small patrol of Etas, burst into camp.

"Who's in charge here?" the loner asked.

Forest and Rose stepped out of their den.

"We are." they replied.

"A savage pack of foxes attacked the land beyond the East River last night, and a few wolves have already died. We have tried banding together to fight the foxes but no one would listen to anyone else. Please, I beg you, take your pack over to our territory and help us fight them off." the loner pleaded.

"Foxes don't live in packs!" Flower pointed out.

"These foxes seem to have banded together to fight for a new home." the loner explained.

"Have you been able to understand anything they're saying?" Forest asked.

"I'm afraid not, they're language is quite different to ours." the loner answered.

"I had thought so. How many foxes do you estimate there are?" Forest asked.

"Around forty." the loner responded.

"A group of forty foxes travelling together is certainly unheard of. Perhaps they're really desperate to find some place to stay." Rose remarked.

"We can't send out help straight away, but meanwhile you can go back to your territory, gather up the loners and bring them here-" Forest began.

"Most certainly not! I feel for the loners, I really do, but they can't all stay in our territory." Rose exclaimed.

The Beta and Delta, who had emerged from their dens too, agreed with her.

"It's alright, most of the loners have run away from the territory to hide from the foxes. We just need your help to regain the land." assured the loner.

"Wait patiently by the East River and I'll send a wolf to contact you when we're coming to help. What's your name, by the way?" asked Forest.

"Parsley." the loner replied.

"As much as I want to help them, I don't know whether we should risk the lives of our packmates to fight for them." Rose said after the loner was gone.

"We drove many of those wolves from their original homes. The most we can do for them is to help them regain their new home." insisted Forest.

"Forest's right, Rose. Many of our relatives, as well as the relatives of our packmates, live in the territory of the loners. If we don't help them, we may never see them again." Amber reasoned.

"Fine, we'll go and help them. However, we have to enlist the help of other packs. We can't have our wolves fighting one on one with the foxes." Rose decided.

"Good idea. Ant, Bluebell, Dust and Goose, go and get all the other Alphas. Do you know where to go?" Forest commanded, beckoning to four Etas in the camp.

"Yes." they replied.

Moments later the Alphas were all congregated in the Alphas' den. Forest reflected that it was the first time in two months they saw each other face-to-face.

"What was so urgent that you couldn't come and get us yourselves?" Bush asked.

Forest and Rose explained the events of the morning.

"And why exactly should we go and help them?" questioned Holly.

"We were the ones who drove many of them out of their homes. If we didn't do that, they could've fled to the packs' territories and kept safe. Because of us, now they can't. " answered Forest.

"And many of our packmates' relatives were endangered by the foxes." added Rose.

"Also, if we don't go and help them, the foxes might be greedy and snatch up our territory too. It's best to eliminate the threat before it becomes bigger." said Leaf.

"I concur. The Pack of the Leaf will join you in the fight." agreed Pine.

"All of your reasons are very valid, but the recent flood has absolutely devastated our pack. We couldn't find higher ground to stay at, so a few of our wolves drowned when we were trying to find a safe place. We can't afford to lose more wolves to a fight with foxes. We are very sorry." Grass apologised.

"This is also the case for our pack. We cannot fight either." added Flower.

"That is alright, we understand." assured Rose.

Grass, Heather, Flower and Marsh left the den. Forest turned to Holly and Bush.

"Bush and Holly, are you planning to fight?" asked Forest.

They hesitated, then answered:

"Fine, we'll join in."

"Thank you, Bush and Holly. We need your help very much." responded Forest.

"So, what's our strategy?" asked Pine.

"We should go in and attack any fox we can find, just to attract their attention."

"And then when they all come to drive us out of the territory, we surround them in a horseshoe shape and separate them from within their group. The only way they'll be able to flee from the fight is to leave the territory."

"We should attack this afternoon when the foxes least expect it, since they're nocturnal."

"We should also take the loners out of hiding and let them fight for us."

Forest sent one of the Etas to go and bring back Parsley.

"Every pack should bring around 25 wolves to the battle."

By the time Parsley came, they already had an organised and cohesive plan that they were ready to put into action.

"Parsley, do you know where the other loners have gone?" Forest asked.

Parsley nodded.

"Go and gather them now, and bring them back to their territory two hours after noon. They are to fight against the foxes with us and listen to our every instruction. You must do this to ensure our victory." Forest instructed.

"You can count on us." Parsley promised.

Soon after Parsley left, the other Alphas left too. Forest sent an Eta to get all the Etas from the patrols. He must prepare them for another battle.