I am the one

Chapter 2

Long dry winds swept across the golden grass of the Savannah. The sun had yet to pass the horizon and yet it felt like her pads were burning, Quest sighed as she continued walking.

She'd only come across scorpions or small rodents, in other words nothing worth eating.
Luckily no trouble came her way as her pelt blended in almost perfectly with the surrounding area, it was a pity that she had yet to put this advantage to proper use.
She stopped walking when the sun was in the middle of the sky and went to rest under a tree, she wasn't going to risk traveling at the hottest time of the day.

Her pads were dry and cracked, it hurt when she licked them. Her foster mother had told her as a pup that every wolf wishes to go on an adventure deep down but right now all she wanted to go was home.

Quest wanted to sleep but the distant sound of hyenas kept her on her toes, she'd never seen one before but recognized the creepy calls that they gave off, it was like someone was laughing at her from the shadows.
She eventually got bored, after stretching a while she climbed a small boulder and tried to see what was going on further in the distance.
Running through the long grass a meter or so away was four hyenas, their muzzles down as they seemed to be sniffing a trail as they ran. These creatures looked a bit different compared to what she'd pictured, they were a head bigger than wolves with bulkier structures and short tails.

What were they looking for? Maybe a wounded animal? She licked her lips, if she looked hard enough she could probably find it before they could, she could taste the meat already. Straining her eyes she scanned the area, she couldn't spot anything though.

Growling she wondered if she should give up, pacing for a bit she then ran toward where the hyenas were heading, she was dead if she didn't eat anyway so why not take a risk?

She prowled the ground sniffing for a scent that didn't belong to the other predators making their way through the grass, all she could smell was bird which wasn't helpful.
Maybe there wasn't actually wounded prey, but then what were the hyenas looking for? She really was not finding any solutions, sighing she followed the scent of the bird while looking around large rocks and the thick undergrowth.

"This is impossible!" Quest snarled, running to cover. Tracking and avoiding hyenas was like mission impossible, she still hadn't caught a whiff of what they were looking for and there was too many close calls. She might be able to fight one on one but four against one was overkill, she was now hiding behind a large tree while the sound of laugh-like calls slowly faded into the distance.

When she was about to leave she heard a slight cracking, a small rock had been knocked off from the edge of a small mound of stones. Cautious and excited she crept around the side of it, her body low and tail flicking lightly.
Sweeping her head around the mound she was met with a pair of narrow yellow eyes, "Aah! Lion! Get away you damn cat, I'm all skin and bones!" An eagle screeched, waving his large wings threateningly at her.

"Who's a lion you bird brain?" Quest growled fully revealing herself as she strode closer, on closer inspection this eagle looked quite old and one of his wings had a bad gash down the middle, it resembled a bite mark. She found herself drooling, if he couldn't fly away then it meant a free meal with no effort included.

"A wolf? Don't see many of you around here... I'm not food! Stop drooling!" The eagle hissed raising a talon and swiping it at her muzzle. Dodging Quest then took a few steps back questioning whether this meal was worth an eye or leg, eagles were much bigger in person then in the sky and were equipped with sharp talons as well as strong beak. Hearing the incoming hyenas she was preparing to leave when an anxious cry stopped her, "Wait!"

She turned her head back to look at the eagle, her green eyes fierce as if he was any other bird he already would be in her stomach, "What do you want bird? I'm in a hurry here," The eagle had an ignorant face on and fluffed out his dark brown-grey feathers making himself look bigger and more important, "The name isn't bird, Wolf! Those who dwell in the sky call me Old-Edge. Can you assist me? As you can see I'm grounded and don't wish to become hyena food, my wing got bitten by the leading hyena when I swooped down to get a rabbit and they still haven't given up the chase," he explained.

Quest rolled her eyes, "Why should I help? I don't get anything out of this and if I'm carrying you along I'll be pulled down and ripped to shreds," she argued back baring her teeth as she didn't have time to be talking at that moment.
Old-Edge looked troubled, "I can hunt a few rabbits as thanks, well when I'll healed though... how about it? It sounds reasonable enough," he tried to persuade but the she-wolf shook her head at this,
'What? Risk my life for a few rabbits? No thanks!' She thought and once again turned away ready to run for the hills.

"H-hold on!" the eagle was hesitant but his life was what was most important to him so he continued talking, "a heritage skill that's been passed down the generations in my family. I can teach you, if you help me that is,"
Quest stopped again but her nerves were being rung through as she could hear the hyenas getting closer, "I don't have time for learning! I need to travel and fast, I don't have time to spare comprehending a heritage. It takes years to learn if one is not of the same species,"

Old-Edge was depressed, he wanted to shout out, 'what do you want then!' but kept the thought to himself and once again prevented Quest from leaving, "Stop!" he shouted and the she-wolf almost tripped over her front legs, what was with this eagle? She felt like a fish that wanted to go upstream but was constantly drawn back due to the current, maybe ignoring this guy would be the best... he didn't have anything to offer.
"I can transfer the heritage skill to your mind," Old-Edge said, now this is something that could catch a wolf's attention. Quest turned around her eyes carrying a hint of surprise, "Pardon?" She wanted to confirm that what he was saying was true.

"I said that I can transfer it, it'll reside within your mind and will be easier to learn since some of my experience with the skill will be copied over.
You can practice it anywhere you want, interested? This is the last deal I can offer wolf," he confirmed.

"You should have started off with this eagle," the she-wolf sighed, with great difficulty she gripped the bridge between Old-Edge's wings and ran.

The pursuers presence obvious as laughing rung out behind them as Quest ran, there was no time to think about ditching the eagle now so she did all that she could do and that was run as fast as hell.