Silvershore

Chapter Three

A few days after Stormjay, Sky, Bright Moon and Kenya met, the four of them decided to check out the shaman resources den. This was a den used in the Main Territory for keeping shaman resources, and where shamans would spend a majority of their days.

At the time, Kiara, the paternal aunt of Stormjay and Sky, was the only shaman of The Pack of the Earth, and she almost immediately noticed the four pups as they walked in.

"Oh, hello," Kiara greeted them. "Is there something you needed?"

"We just wanted to check out this place!" Sky explained.

"I see. Well, feel free to explore, but be sure not to mess up the resources. I just sorted them earlier."

"Okay!" Stormjay nodded. The four of them began to check out the different resources Kiara had sorted.

"What's this?" Bright Moon pointed her muzzle towards a pile of bark.

"That's hardwood bark," Kiara explained. "If a wolf has severe injuries that can't be healed by anything else, you place the bark onto the wound for five to ten minutes."

"Cool." Bright Moon started to sniff around the other resorurces.

"Hey, what's this?" Sky asked. She had nearly tumbled into a pile of strange-looking, small yellow plants..

"Oh, do be careful, Sky..." She grabbed Sky by the scruff and placed her in front of Kiara's paws." That's celandine. If an eye is infected or damaged, those plants are crushed into juice and trickled into the injured eye."

"That sounds painful," Stormjay shuddered.

"It is quite painful, I've been told. But it's very affective.

"What about this?" Kenya wandered up to a pile of what looked like sticks to Stormjay, but he figured they weren't.

"Those are comfrey roots. They have many uses. Some of which are soothing wounds to numb the pain, or being used on stiff joints."

"How does that work?" Bright Moon asked, clearly interested in these resources.

"Simply wrapping these roots around the wound or stiff joint will apply pressure to the injury and help it heal faster."

"That's so cool!" Bright Moon was looking at the comfrey roots in awe. "What do all these other resources do?"

Kiara smiled. "Well, let's start from left to right." She trotted over to a pile of thin, spiky looking leaves. "These are fennel leaves. They're mostly used on older wolves, but they help with pain in the hip. When these leaves are broken, the juice that comes from them are squeezed into the receiver's mouth."

"Why do all of these resources work?" Bright Moon asked.

"That's a very good question, because I'm not sure." Kiara confessed. "I'm sure there's a scientific reason behind it, but it's beyond our range of knowledge at the moment. I'm sure The Pack of the Stars will bless us with answers someday."

"What's that?" Kenya asked.

"Hmm?"

"The Pack of the Stars."

Kiara perked her ears up. "You don't know what The Pack of the Stars is?"

"Man, Kenya, how do you not know what that is!?" Bright Moon glared.

"Now, now, let's not judge her. Let's just educate her." Kiara smiled. "The Pack of the Stars is a pack that exists beyond Earth. This pack consists of all the honorable and decent wolves that once served in a pack, but passed away."

"Woah, cool!" Kenya grinned.

"It is cool!" Kiara agreed. "This pack is just another reason to be good to one another. You'll end up there someday if you follow the right path."

"So, it's not just nothingness when you die?" Kenya asked.

"Not at all! Of course, it's certainly a very sad thing to lose a loved one. But all you have to remember is that someday, you will meet them again in The Pack of the Stars."

"Sounds awesome!" Kenya squealed.

Stormjay and Sky had stayed silent in this conversation, pretending they already knew what The Pack of the Stars was before Kiara informed them about it.

"Kenya, has your mother or father not taught you about this before?"

"Y'know, I thought I heard my mom talkin' about some pack in the sky before. But, she wouldn't stop talking that it bored me to sleep!"

Kiara chuckled. "Just be sure to always listen to what your mother says from now on. That was some very important information!"

"Yeah, yeah... okay."

"Now, where were we?" Kiara smiled.

For about another hour, Kiara taught the four pups all about shaman resources, and what it was like to be a shaman. Stormjay, Sky, and Kenya all found it interesting, but weren't interested in becoming a shaman later on. Bright Moon, however, was much more interested and curious about the subject.

Just then, a tall, black wolf with glowing amber eyes entered the shaman resources den.

"Oh, good afternoon, Daruk." Kiara greeted him.

"Good afternoon!" Daruk smiled. "Oh, and hello, Bright Moon. Good to see you're making the most of your day! Anyway, Kiara, I've got a thorn stuck in my front left paw that I couldn't get out myself. A little help, here?"

Kiara nodded. "Let's see... do any of you four remember what the first thing to do is with a thorn stuck in a paw?"

Bright Moon spoke up immediately. "You grab a stick, and rub it around the thorn to make sure there's so infection!"

"That's very good, Bright Moon!" Kiara smiled.

"That's impressive that you already knew that, dear." Daruk praised her.

Eventually, Kiara removed the thorn from Daruk's paw and he was free to go.

"That was very good, Bright Moon." Kiara praised her.

As Sky and Kenya began to walk out of the den, Stormjay listened to Kiara and Bright Moon's conversation.

"You seem to be quite interested in all of this, Bright Moon." Kiara mentioned.

"I really am!" Bright Moon exclaimed, her tail wagging behind her.

"Do you have any interest in becoming a shaman?" Kiara asked.

"I think so, it sounds a lot better than all the fighting and killing stuff."

Kiara chuckled. "I'm going to have to agree with you on that. Tell you what? Why don't you come in here once or twice a week, and I can start training you early in being a shaman?"

"Yeah!"

"Then, it's settled. I'm sure your parents will be pleased that you're taking this path."

As Bright Moon began to walk out of the den, Stormjay started walking beside her.

"Thanks for waitin' for me!" Bright Moon thanked him.

"No problem."

"I'm gonna be a shaman someday." Bright Moon told him.

"That's so cool, Bright Moon!"

"I know, right!? I'm already so excited!"

"I can tell!"

"Ahh! I can't wait to tell everyone!"

As Stormjay and Bright Moon headed out to find Sky and Kenya, Stormjay knew he'd found his lifelong best friend.