Over the next few fortnights, something spread across the woods. It was like a slow poison that was just taking root, and it unsettled the she-wolf. She couldn’t tell what it was from, where it started; but every time her paw touched the dirt, grazed against the blades of grass, she could feel it. It stung at her pads, causing her ears to pin against her skull. When it had lasted for three months full, she realized something was terribly, terribly wrong. The breezes that used to caress her fur were harsh, pushed past her as if distracted. The trees groaned in protest, but there was nothing they could do. Something was attaching itself to the Forest, and the canine didn’t trust it. That was why she made her way up to the Great Cliff; it was the largest cliff in the Forest, nestled into the ancient cypress trees to the northeast. The top of the rocky formation overlooked even the tallest of oaks, giving anyone standing atop it the best view.
But the cliff wasn’t to be used willy nilly. The creatures of the woods held a lot of respect for that place; the old legends her old pack members shared was that the Forest Spirit had stood there to create the woods many, many eons ago. It was a referred space, and usually, only the Great Alphas of the wolves were allowed to travel to the top, to sing to the Spirit as thanks for the great honor. The she-wolf was no Great Alpha; in fact, there hadn’t been one in a very long time. Many believed that the Great Alphas had died out, or that no wolf now had that right spirit inside them to become one. It didn’t stop her, though. The female knew what she had to do, so as she peered up the trail that led to the top, her ears swiveled forward, and she paused. She let herself take in the sounds; the poison hadn’t spread here, yet.
Her paws tread lightly upon the springy earth as she started to climb up. It wasn’t a long trek, but a steep one, but the female was young and in good shape. She had to, living on her own. She had been adopted, per say, by a pack. She was abandoned as a pup, or perhaps a predator had gotten to her mother early on, she didn’t know. The she-wolf wasn’t too worried about the circumstances, either way. And it wasn’t like she didn’t fit into pack life. No, she had been a fantastic addition to the pack, when she grew older. She was a proficient hunter, eyes always catching in the smallest of details, and easily socialized with the rest of the wolves. But when she started predicting things- started to commune directly with the Forest itself- when they saw what she truly was, they asked her to leave. She didn’t know what they had found; it didn’t scare them, but it made them uncomfortable. Not wishing that, the she-wolf willingly left.
She had reached the top of the cliff. The moon, full and a brilliant silver color, hung in the sky. The she-wolf always settled into a happy, pleasant mood at night, when the moon’s rays warmed her pelt. Her own silver eyes could pierce across the skies and see the dips of craters, the blue and gold clouds that sparkled on the surface of the great formation. She never told anyone that she could see it so clearly. Her tail twitched, and she placed herself right at the very tip. Another name for the Great Cliff, one that nobody remembered anymore, was The Bridge to the Moon. How she knew that, well, she figured the Forest had slipped it into her mind during on of their little sessions. She never questioned it, but she liked the name better than the one that the creatures used now.
She had more important things to figure out right now, though. Tilting her head back, her song lifted into the skies. The howl was the first of the night, and the packs all around stopped in shock. It was hard to ignore where the howl was coming from; at that high, it sounded clearer, stronger, than any normal hill or cliff in the Forest. She saw down below that small groups of wolves were forming, even some pushing the edge of her sight, so far away into the trees. They all stared at her in amazement. Nobody had dared to howl at the top of the Great Cliff in ages. They couldn’t believe it.
