The Lonely Wolf

First Draft

Dakota was a cheerful pup, and he was dangerously curious. This curiosity caused one of the most dramatic events in his life. Dakota's mother's name was Aspen, and his father's name was Ashko, but he was usually called "bear," due to the way he achieved his leadership in the pack, built a community of wolves that they governed when a treaty was signed with the bears. The wolf bear war, was a war started over a border dispute. Among them were wolves with special powers, the power over time. These wolves were known as time wolves, and the war was started when in the border dispute, a time wolf was killed. The bears also had powers, but they never used them in the war. The wolves however, did. No one knew the start of the war, but it lasted over a hundred years. Dakota also had two siblings, Dylan and Sydna. They were playing tag out in the clearing of the woods where they live. The clearing was about ten feet in radius, and was lined with dens all along the rim. In the middle was a rock, about five feet high, that the wolves would eat around, or where their pack leader, Ashko, would address them. There were 17 wolves in all, with five families. The males of all five families were the hunters, and the females would tend to the dens and anything else in the clearing. They would also tend to the pups, Dakota, Sydna, and Dylan. As the head wolf, Ashko and his family had a den under the rock. It was called sky rock, due to the fact it was tall to the wolves. "Hey Dakota! Catch me if you can," Dylan yelped as he raced across the clearing. "Oh come on Dylan, you know I'll catch you. I have five times already." While all the hunters were away, and the remaining wolves resting in their dens or basking outside them, Dakota, Sydna, and Dylan were playing tag in the clearing of their home in the woods. They were 6 months old, and had never left the clearing. The hunting party came back, and not only did they eat squirrels, the usual food of wolves, they had an entire deer too. "Wow! Dad did you kill that deer all by your self?" Sydna asked, delighted they would have something besides squirrel to eat. All the other wolves gathered around the buck to gaze, breathless, and think of the wonderful feast they would be having. Winter was getting on, and so the prey was getting scarcer and scarcer, even the all abundant squirrels would be hiding in their trees, stuffing themselves with nuts. Unfortunately, Dakota and his siblings would still have to eat squirrel, because their jaws had not fully developed yet. "Mom, can we have just a little nibble of deer? We've never had it before and we want to try some," they whined to Aspen. She just explained to them the same thing she always said,"you can't eat deer until your first year. Why, I did not get to eat deer until my third." The pups then went away to the other side of sky rock to discuss this outrage. "I still do not see why Mom won't let us have deer. I mean, come on, we've eaten rabbit before," Dakota complained. Sydna replied, "Ya, and you were coughing up fur balls for the rest of the evening like the wild cats. They argued like this all the rest of the afternoon, and when it finally came 're for dinner, they went to Ashko with a proposition. "Dad," Dakota said. "We want you to teach us to hunt." Ashko was taken aback. "You- want me to teach you to hunt?" He asked. The three pups nodded. "Let me think about it," he replied to the pups. Ashko walked off to the great rock where the rest of the pack was waiting. "Come one over, pups," Aspen called to them. "Well, I guess we should go over there," Dakota sighed. The pups went over, their tails dragging at the thought of eating squirrel while the rest of the wolves get to eat deer. That night, when all the wolves were settling down in their respective dens, Dakota, Dylan, and Sydna snuck out of the den. Ashko had taught them the basic hunting skills they needed to hunt for themselves after dinner. So, the pups devised a plan to show their parents that they were ready to eat deer. They went out of the clearing and into the woods. "This is exciting," Dylan whispered to the others. They did not reply, but went on silently stalking through the undergrowth of the forest. Presently, they came to a clearing, where they could hunt. In this clearing were several burrows, and surprisingly significant squirrels. They didn't usually scurry around so much, but the pups didn't know that. They just went in, and using their hunting technique they learned, they caught 3 squirrels, one for each. Before taking their first bite though, they did something that hadn't been done in a while for the wolves. They gave thanks for the food they had caught, and after they were done, they dug in. The flavorful scents wafted and enveloped them, and they were so absorbed in the delicious meat, they didn't notice a rustle in the woods. When all three had devoured their meals, they decided it was time to head home. On their way home, which seemed to take longer than when they had left, they noticed there was significant rustling in the bushes. At first they thought it was just some mice or squirrels, maybe even a wild cat, but nothing the three of them couldn't take care of. Then, they got the feeling of being watched. That, and the fact it seemed to be taking forever to get back to the clearing, scared them. The pups stopped and glanced at each other, the fright apparent on their faces. They all had the same thought; We're lost. When the foreboding fact of it hit Dakota, it almost swept him off his feet. Thunder rumbled in the distance, foretelling a storm. Lightning flashed. "We need to get home, now," Dakota yelped over the increasing sound of the wind. The situation only got worse. The pups had a large imagination, and this made it terrifying for them. The wind was blowing in rain, large, cold splashes that felt like needles pricking the wolf pups' skin. Another lightning flash, but this one was closer. Seconds after, a roll of thunder so loud it left the pups disoriented and their ears ringing. The next flash of lightning revealed a face. Dakota only got a glimpse of it, but even so, it chilled him to the bone, and his heart skipped a beat. The face was gnarled, the snout out and pointed, and gums pulled back over yellow and cracked teeth in a snarl. It was a bear. Dakota had never seen a bear, but the stories his father and the other wolves of the pack had told him were enough for him to recognize one when he saw it. So this is what has been following us he thought, terrified. Despite the tearing wind, the crashing thunder, the blinding lightning, he still had a curiosity about what it was. Now that that curiosity was quenched by the image, he wasn't so glad he had figured out. Another flash of lightning. This time, the bear wasn't there. Dakota was scared even more fearful, because now the bear could be anywhere. Sydna tried to say something, but it was lost in the wind. But the other two wolves understood the message: we need to leave. So, they trudged onward. As the rain thickened, so did the darkness. Soon, the pups couldn't see two feet in front of them. "We should settle down somewhere until the rain stops," Dylan barked loudly to be heard over the howling wind. Keeping close together, the pups scavenged around for a hollow they could squeeze into for the night. After a few minutes, they found one and packed in. Surprisingly, it was large. Just large enough for the three of them. The hollow they were in was cosy, and with three mid-sized wolves in it, no matter how wet they were, it was soon hot in the den. Eventually, the pups fell asleep, and Dakota, who fell asleep last, had an unusual dream.