And Dreams Shall Sail

Chapter One

Chapter One

Daxton Cassesso, better known as Dax, walked through the dim forest. His footsteps were silent as he walked, as was the rest of the area. The trees in this area were dense, and he could hear the faint sound of the river in the distance. Along side him walked a beautiful white wolf. She had her ears erected, listening out for the slightest of sounds, and her ice-blue eyes were scanning through the trees. A quiet yawn escaped the wolf's lips.

"We should rest," Dax told her, "The sun's almost set."

The animal nodded in agreement and began trotting off to find somewhere for them to sleep.

About ten minutes later, Dax found where she had gotten to, but a wolf was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a small girl stood at the entrance to the cave, not looking amused by her twin brother.

"Took you long enough," she stated.

"Remember who was on all fours, Alaysia," Dax replied, "I couldn't risk shifting, you know that."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Alaysia rolled her eyes at him and went into the damp cave, "just come and get some rest, will you?"

The male smiled at her and followed his sister inside, before taking his, now dirty, jacket off to sleep on. He sighed, watching the sun set. Dax loved his sister, but couldn't help but feel a little scared at her threats, especially coming from such a small person. Although she was over a foot shorter than him, he knew what she was capable of, and didn't want either of them to get hurt, should their wolves take over. Siblings or not, wolves get serious when being threatened, but he did try and stay calm for her, because he couldn't bare the thought of losing his baby sister.

>><<

The sun rose early as ever the next morning, and the two woke up as the birds sang their song. Dax groaned. One reason he hated the summer; early sunrise. But he did love this season. Lots of food, the young prey animals were growing up, longer days and a lot less hunters about. Hunters was one thing they had to be careful about, as they didn't have a pack to protect them anymore; they had to rely solely on each other, which did sometimes get quite tough when one of them got ill, or they had to split up for food. They'd managed to survive this far, though. Maybe we didn't need a pack, after all? Dax thought to himself, before quickly realising that they were much stronger back then.

Alaysia looked at her brother, a little worried. What is he thinking? She thought to herself.

"Dax," she said, "come on, please don't do anything stupid today..."

"Me? Stupid?" Dax chuckled, "What are you talking about?"

"It's our hunting day, and I don't want you doing one of your 'amazing' plans, as usual."

"They are amazing though, Al, you know it."

"I wish I did..." she replied, turning away from the male. She wished they were still part of a pack; actual hunters could do the hunting then, instead of someone who was trained from a pup to be a warrior doing it all. She looked up, and noticed Dax staring at her with a confused look plastered on his face.

"Come on, we'll have to start now before it gets too late," he said to her as he began walking out the cave.

Alaysia nodded and shifted into her wolf form. She wished it was winter, as her coat blended in well the fluffy snow. Trotted after her brother, she shook her head slightly at her thought, it's not winter, so I'm going to have to be extra careful, as usual. Her steps were silent as she walked, and her senses were focused on searching for food.

The girl found it annoying, mostly, that they couldn't afford to stay in one place for more than a couple nights. She knew the risks of hunters, and that they'd more easily find the siblings if they stayed in one area for too long, but she did keep thinking about how nice it would be if she could stay in one home. She would explore the area, find the best places for hunting, have a favourite place to just relax and get her head away from everything. But to live in one place for a wolf means having a pack. A pack to protect the rest. A pack to mark their territory. Without a pack, they had to stay on the move, and keep an extremely close watch on anything suspicious to protect one another. Neither sibling could bare the thought of losing the other, especially after losing their family; their mother, father, other siblings. Gone, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Dax was now in his wolf form, which was a lot bigger than his sister's. His fur was black, camoflauging in with the surrounding shadows. He was the strength of the two, whilst Alaysia was the speed. Together, without Dax's new hunting plans, they made a powerful team, working with each other to take down prey, which was a hard job, even with lots of wolves.

By midday, the two wolves still hadn't found food, and both were beginning to get tired. Alaysia's feet aches from walking all day, and as they never got time to rest properly, her whole body was hurting from just under a year of living alone. Dax, although tired, kept his senses heightened, listening out for even the slightest noises that could indicate a herd nearby.

Then, as if by chance, the male caught the faint scent of an animal, probably a deer, he thought. He started trotting the direction of the smell, which he guessed was a little over a mile away. Alaysia looked at her brother in confusion for a few seconds before realising what he was doing and began following him, staying a couple of paces behind.

After about ten minutes of trotting at a near constant speed, dodging low branches and hopping over large tree roots and trunks, the Cassesso twins made it to where their food was. It was a small herd, of about twenty animals, but one doe would be enough to feed these two, although they liked to aim for the bucks so they didn't have to hunt so often. The two scanned the herd, trying to pick out a suitable target. Both locked their eyes on the male in the centre, but knew the chances of them being able to hunt him were slim. Alaysia nudged Dax and looked over to a doe near the edge of the herd. She would be a good source of meat for the two, even for just a couple of days.

Making sure they were downwind of the animals, the two wolves began their well-rehearsed hunting plan. They went on opposite sides of the clearing, hiding in the shadows.

Alaysia darted out of the trees, panicking the herd, and making them run all over the place, and into the safety of the woods. The female made sure she didn't get trampled on by the much larger animals as she ran towards the doe they planned to eat. As the chase got closer, Dax came running out of the bushes, pounced and tackled the deer to the ground. Before it could get away, he dug his sharp teeth into its neck, blood trickling down, going all over his muzzle and the floor. The white wolf licked her lips, and helped her brother keep the animal down. They waited until it stopped shaking, before eating the lifeless animal.

By the end of it, both the wolves' muzzles were covered in blood, and the doe was almost just a skeleton. Neither wolf was hungry anymore, and both knew they would be able to live almost a week without hunting again. They didn't even know where their travels would take them anymore. It was a risky business, living in the wild, but it had to be done. Growing up in a pack, they both knew they wouldn't be able to live life as a normal human, so the forest was the only place they could feel at home, but home wasn't a word they used anymore. Home, to them, is gone. Home is just a memory to the twins. A memory that would stay with them forever.