Book 1. The long dark nights. RE-EDITING

3. Birth mark. RE-EDITED

Picture of what the birth mark is similar to.

Rinty spent the rest of that day teaching Artos more about hunting. By the end of the day, Artos was a bit better, but still needed a lot of work.

"Thank you for teaching me." Artos said.

"Well, if you're gonna stay up here all by yourself, you need to be able to survive." Rinty responded.

"But I don't want to be here all alone." Artos said. Rinty looked at Artos. He noticed something on his neck. He rolled Artos over to get a better look at it. His eyes widened. It was a fire symbol. "What was that for?" Artos asked. Rinty looked at Artos.

"How long have you had that mark on your neck?" He asked.

"What mark?" Artos asked. He could not see the birth mark, for it was on the part of his neck he could not see.

"The one on the front of your neck."

"Ohh. Well, momma said I had it since I was born."

"What was your fathers name?"

"Why?"

"I need to know."

"Kasai. But why..." Rinty cut him off.

"Do you know what that means?"

"Nope."

"It means Fire."

"Ummm, okay." Artos said not understanding what Rinty was talking about

"I need to get you east of here."

"Why?"

"Do you want some friends?"

Artos jumped up "Yes! I do ever so want some friends!"

"Well, I can get you to other wolves."

Artos didn't want to leave the place he was born. It was the only place he knew. But he didn't want to be lonely. He sat there for a minute. He just met this wolf. Can he trust him? He did teach him some more useful survival skills. But that was just so he could survive on his own. He walked over to the water near by. He looked at the birth mark in the reflection. "What made you change your mind?" Artos asked.

"Well, I can't just leave you up here alone, could I?" Rinty said.

"But you were gonna before."

"That was before I saw the birth mark."

Artos turned and looked at Rinty. "What's so special about this mark thingie?"

Rinty sighed. "Well, some rogues... do you know what rogues are?"

"Pack wolves that revolt against the pack?" Artos guessed.

"Basically.. I'm not gonna ask how you know that much. Well, there are rogues that would like to kill those who have birth marks like yours."

"Why?"

"I'm not the best at explaining things like that. But I can take you to a safe place." Artos looked at Rinty. Something deep inside told him to trust Rinty. But he didn't want to leave this place. That was the only thing stoping him. "But what about mother?" He asked "She died here and I don't want to leave her."

"Her spirit is free now. And besides, she would want you to be safe and to have some friends."

Artos looked down at the ground. 'I guess that's true' he thought. He looked up at Rinty again. "Okay."

"Okay. We can get some rest for the night, then head out in the morning." Rinty said. They headed up the mountain to the cave with Artos leading the way. They reached the cave and Artos immediately collapsed from the tiredness that had accumulated through the day. He fought sleep, however, for he knew what came with sleep. The mare that rode in the night. Hence, nightmare.

He eventually fell asleep, though he didn't want to. He dreamed that he and Rinty were traveling to the mystery location, when he saw his family. He knew what happened last time he ran to his family, but he still had the urge to run to them. He wanted to talk to them. He held back as much as he could, but his emotions got the better of him. He got up to them. They didn't turn savage. He was happy. Then, without warning, they tried to kill him. Just as in the other dreams, he ran from them. This time, he ran to Rinty. He got to him, Rinty jumped over him, blocking the wild wolves from getting to Artos. Rinty started fighting the wilds... Then he woke up. He was breathing heavily, and he was scared outa his mind. He looked over at Rinty. He was sleeping by the entrance. All Artos could do was think about the dream. He tried to go back to sleep, but the dream kept him awake. It made no sense to him. Why did this dream keep him awake, and the other dreams not. He pondered that till the sun rose up a few hours later.

"Alright. Time to get up." Rinty said. As soon as he said 'Alright' Artos was up and running to the entrance. He wanted to say bye to his family now so it wouldn't be harder later. He laid down for a minute where he and his mother would sit and watch the sky. He thought about the last words his mother said to him.

"Artos. I need to tell you something. Don't ever forget it. You are very special. You have abilities that only a few wolves have or ever will have. Now, when I get back, we will see about getting those powers to work."

'Could this mark on my neck be the thing that made mother think I had powers? If I had powers, shouldn't I have known that, and been able to use them by now? Well, maybe I will be able to get some answers wherever we were going.' He thought. He got up and walked over to Rinty, who had caught a rabbit by this time. He drops it in front of Artos. "You eat while I catch me something. You'll need more strength if you're gonna make it to the Sākuru."

"The what?"

"It means 'circle'."

"What circle?"

"You'll see when we get there." He said. Then he went to catch him something to eat. Artos thought about all this. It made no sense to him. So he didn't try to understand it. He just ate bugs bunny, and waited for Rinty.

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Another Edited Chapter