Tales From the Alps Short Stories #9: The Last Ferals

The Last Ferals

They were gone. Jaire still couldn't believe it. The Ferals, the dogs she had lived with for pretty much her entire life, were all gone. Alan had died first, being killed in a patrol skirmish with the Clan quite a long time ago. The rest had been killed by Clan-animals in the span of only a few days.

Quasar, the dog she considered her own son, had been taken out by the leader of a Clan patrol during a border checkup with Nick. Not much later, the packs neighboring the borders with the Ferals had come and taken down both Big and then Nick.

Their deaths hadn't been in vain, having given Jaire, Starlight and Kwebso the time to escape in the river, but Jaire knew she wouldn't be able to process the loss of them anytime soon. The two brothers had been like family to her as well.

She sighed as she moved through the thin forest path of the mountain. She was still cold, as she hadn't shaken the icy river water out of her coat yet, even though she and Starlight had left it behind quite a while ago.

I'm all alone now. Jaire knew she had no one left. Back at the river, when she and Starlight had said their goodbyes to Kwebso, she'd referred to both herself and Starlight as "the last of the Ferals".

She groaned to herself. What was I thinking? I'll never find anyone to fill in the hole in my heart that Alan, Quasar, Nick and Big left. She had liked Kwebso for the time he stayed with them, but both she and Starlight knew that the brown mutt simply wasn't meant for life in the wild.

At least she had Starlight. The scarred black wolfdog was moving quite fast in front of her. She seemed a bit jittery, as if scared that a Clan patrol could jump out any second, but Jaire no longer feared that that would happen. The swim in the river had nearly drowned the three of them, but at least it had taken them to a different location far away from Clan territory.

Starlight, who had actually bothered to shake the river water from her fur, quickly retreated and started to walk beside Jaire.

"Sorry for constantly going ahead. I just want to make sure everything's safe," she said with a forced smile on her face.

Jaire didn't meet her eyes, simply staring at the forest ahead. "Uh-huh."

"We should start looking for a territory soon. You know, if you still want to do this together..." Starlight's voice trailed off. The prickly fur along her haunches indicated that she was nervous.

Jaire didn't know if this was what she really wanted. Starlight hadn't been particularly nice to her back at the Ferals' territory, but Jaire honestly didn't blame her, with Nick holding both Starlight and Kwebso hostage and not allowing them to flee. But Starlight has surprisingly softened after the whole escape.

I barely know you, though. When I've known the Ferals all my life. Jaire briefly wondered if she shouldn't have instead joined Kwebso and returned to life as a pet dog in a Humanplace in the valley. But I never would've been happy cooped up inside, she quickly realized. I'm a wild dog and always will be.

"So...um...nice weather, right?" Starlight said. "Birds are singing, and I can smell prey. You know, I was never the best hunter back at the Clan, but my sister Saedira, she could catch rabbits like no other! And then there was my brother Wal-"

Jaire hated having to speak up, but she really wasn't in the mood for Starlight's chatter right now. "I'm not in the mood for talking, Starlight," she barked.

Starlight's forced smile faded. "Oh, sorry. I was just...you know, trying to lighten the mood."

Jaire ignored her.

They kept walking for another few hours until they finally reached a tiny open space in the forest, covered by low and long branches full of leaves of the trees surrounding it. A small creek streamed through the forest only a few meters away.