Wolfkissed [GxG]

Chapter 1

After the last of the snow had melted, the leaves began to appear back on the trees and with them came the certainty of spring. Foliage that had been crushed under the thick blanket of winter could finally break free and touch the air, timid but playful under the new sun. What was once a landscape of muted greys and sullen silence was once more overflowing with the vibrance of life. Although, despite the plants' making their reappearance the same could not be said for the animal inhabitants.

The extreme cold had ransacked the land and brought insurmountable death and sickness to those that remained. A winter that malevolent had not been experienced in many a season and took the population by storm. Very few critters basked in the warmth of the new season, leaving the forest lacking in its usual harmony of sounds and song. The wild elk herds never made it to their usual grazing grounds, nor the bison dare to leave the plains. Even the birds had seemed to abandon their home, leaving the trees to stand alone in their rebirth.

Despite this, a lone wolf still traversed beneath the looming trees, basking in the scent of pine and the rich earth underfoot. A pale coat like the sandy bank of a creek flittered between shadows, the fur broken up beautifully with a sporadic and carefree dusting of copper, russet and brown which mixed to form a cape across her back. Amber eyes were alert and keen, searching the surrounds for anything that could serve as a meal. A wolf couldn't survive off of the infrequent treat of roots and wild berries, and the winter had thoroughly depleted her energy stores. Her bones were prominent beneath her thick winter coat which was just beginning to thin out in response to the fleeting cold. With prey being so scarce, there was little she could think of in order to keep herself alive.

Her human form would surely fare much worse, lacking the durability and perseverance her canine body provided. The cold had previously rendered the thought ridiculous, and even though spring had now taken over the forest she couldn't fathom anything that could draw her into her second skin. As malnourished as she was, she was in an extremely vulnerable state. The wild could be harsh and unforgiving, where the weak are consumed by the strong and so the cycle goes on. She didn't wish to be the former.

Yet the forest remained bare of life and she was drawn further and further away from the dense heart, the trees thinning out and the undergrowth receding. Ahead lay one of the major rivers which ran through the area, wide and swollen with the water that had been released from its icy jailor. Fish would surely be plentiful, exploring the areas that had been rendered impossible to visit during the winter. The fast moving water and the wolf's paws being a terrible substitute for a net made that idea fall into an inevitable and frustrating dead-end. Instead, she followed the bank just inside the tree line, hoping that perhaps fortune would be on her side and another animal would have thought to stop for water.

The sun had gradually moved across the sky and had just began to descend from its peak when the wolf stumbled upon something which caught her eye. Tracks littered the loose sand and rocks, trailing up into the dirt in seemingly sporadic trails. This wasn't left by any prey animal, she could recognise the shape and scent of humans from anywhere. They were very much unlike the more wild scents found deep in the trees, being somewhat set apart from the rest of the animals. Their scent was of civilisation, smoke and woodwork. Perhaps the wild left her mark on her subjects, uniting them under the fierce but strikingly equal forces of nature. Humans just didn't quite fit into that world.

There were so many prints littering the area that she wouldn't even know where to begin if she had to guess the number. But one thing stood out to her even more. The humans that lived in tribes scattered across the country were one of the only creatures who could possibly be faring well during this famine. They had the means to cultivate and grow their own produce, as well as they were occasionally known to keep domestic animals for their resources. Whether or not any sort of livestock would have survived the winter, she wasn't certain. But she was willing to investigate.