Kastern shifted in her sleep, paws twitching restlessly as she dreamed. In her mind, she was racing over the hills and plains of Sky Pack territory with another wolf by her side. Her brother. They laughed as they hurtled through the golden grass, wind blowing against their faces. The sky above was clear, the air was warm, with just a hint of a light breeze. Rabbits jumped out of the way, fleeing into their deep burrows as the two wolves charged through, paws pounding against the ground and flattening the grass. Behind them wound a long trail that wove around rocks, through puddles of water and around the scant bushes that scattered the territory. The sun cast its warm rays over the landscape, its light spilling over the land, glowing up the waters of sea. Her brother grinned playfully as he tackled Kastern, sending them rolling straight into the glassy blue waters of Naer Lake. A huge splash rose up and crashed down, drenching the nearby area. Kastern and her brother came tumbling out of the water, soaked but still play fighting. She broke free from her brother’s paws and ran a couple of paw steps away, expecting him to follow. She glanced back but he was gone. Vanished. The fields of yellow grass were empty. She spun around, panic rising in her chest. Her heart thumped. The territory was quiet. Too quiet. She couldn’t find him. He was gone. She ran, shouting his name. The sun grew dark, the wind howled and the grass rustled forbiddingly. The once-friendly landscape loomed over her. He was gone. And she was alone. Kastern jolted awake with a gasp. Her breath came in fast as her surroundings slowly came into focus. The den. Calm down. She hadn’t dreamed of him in a long while. Rubus rolled over, eyes blinking sleepily. “Are you okay?” She nodded as her breathing steadied. “Go back to sleep.” He sighed, curling up against her. She hurried her nose into his soft brown fur and closed her eyes. She was young, newly made alpha. only two moons ago. She was only just settling into her position, going on patrols alone or forgetting to give wolves tasks to do. She was struggling often, mostly because of her brother. Altercations with other packs over prey kept on coming and no matter how many times she talked to her brother, they’d always happen again. He was always causing trouble, whether it be accidentally chasing away prey or insulting a pack’s leader. Her paws crunched against the dried up grass and the sun beat down on her pelt as she wove through the tall stalks. She needed to pace, to move. Restless, she bounded up onto a light gray, sun-baked rock that overlooked the moor. She stared off into the distance but a urgent shout jolted her out of her revrie. Pawsteps pounded towards her. A wolf skidded to a halt, panting hard. Your brother— he’s facing off the Bonepack Senior right now!” How’d he get there? wondered Kastern absent-mindedly. “Wait— The Senior?!” She sprung into action, bristling fur standing on end. She raced towards the border, sprinting as hard as she could and hoping, praying he wasn’t in trouble. The messenger followed behind, she could hear his shallow breathing and the sound of his paws thumping against the ground. She flew across the territory, panicking all the way there. Kastern was beginning to tire but the thought of her brother gave her just enough drive to bring her closer to those two blobs in the distance. The two figures grew rapidly closer until she realized it was her brother and the Senior— and they looked like they were about to have a brawl. She sped in, breathing hard. Her heart thumped, feeling like it was going to jump out of there chest. Her body shook with each breath. “What is going on here?!” The Senior drew himself up, the white skull on his head staring at her with cold, dead eyes. “He trespassed on Bonepack territory. When ordered to leave, he blatantly refused.” Her brother snapped back immediately. “No, I wasn’t! I was in Skypack territory this whole time!” Kastern turned her head towards her brother questioningly, searching his face. Her brother gave her a despairing look, eyes begging her to take his side. And she wanted to. The Senior snarled angrily, his voice echoing and hollow. “I had to force him over the border. He has no respect for our customs and rules. If we find him in our territory again, we will kill him.” Her brother protested adamantly, refusing to confirm nor deny what the Senior had said, “He attacked me!” The Senior gave him a long look, his breathing hollow in the mask. She glared at her brother, ears laid back and teeth bared, trying to make him stop talking. She turned back to the Senior, trying to force herself to relax. “Please accept my apologies. I will see to it that this never happens again.” The Senior nodded. “See that you do.”
She couldn’t tell if he was satisfied for the elk skull. The symbol of how he was intertwined with life and death. How fitting. She gave him a nod and quickly left. Her brother fell in beside her, giving the Senior behind him a dark look. Halfway through their journey across the moor, he remarked airily, “That Senior is a stuffy old bore.” She gave him a reproachful look. “Don’t you realize what might have happened?” He gave a careless toss of his head, snorting scornfully, “I could’ve taken him on.” “No, you couldn’t,” snapped Kastern shortly. “You would’ve started a war. And even if you didn’t, you’d die.” He shook himself off vigorously with the air of one who couldn’t be bothered to care. He shot back,“Or I’d be a hero! C’mon, you know everyone hates the Bonepack for worshipping Kharlana!” “Exactly! The Senior could’ve send Shadow-Kharlans after you, or worse, the whole pack!” Kastern snarled. “But he didn’t!” She stopped short to stare at him incredulously. “I can’t believe you. You really don’t know what you’ve done, do you?” His expression dropped, the spark in his eyes fading. “What?” She turned away with a growl. “Maybe it’d be better if you left." He flinched back, his face crumbling and eyes sparkling with crystal tears. “I’m sorry, Kastern.” She didn’t answer. The next day, he was gone. She never looked for him. She assumed he’d return eventually. But he never did. Days turned to weeks, weeks to moons. Time dragged on and still, there was no sign of him. The brilliant golden and red leaves of autumn withered to dark brown and faded to nothingness as the bitter cold set in. Snow covered the landscape and froze it in perfect white splendor with its icy touch. Early winter had taken hold of Skypack territory, rabbits had retreated deep into their burrows. Elk wandered the territory, oblivious to the crystal frost that settled on the dying grass. Flowers drooped and their colors faded. Life went on, it had to, but she wondered and she hoped. Until one day, when she was patrolling on her own, she came across a familiar scent, mixed with the iron taste of blood. She shoved her way through the undergrowth, following the scent until she saw a reddish brown wolf, bloodied and still. He barely moved, barely breathed and wrapped in his paws was a small pup. [1 moon earlier] A reddish-brown wolf padded through the rocky terrain of the Lone Mountain. Late autumn had brought much prey, mostly mountain goats and elk, one of which he’d recently caught. He dragged its body up the mountain, wincing as sharp rocks jutting from the ground, jabbed his pawpads. The air was crisp and fresh, with the scent of ice and stone. The warm breeze from below smelled of salt, fish and the roaring sea. He was happy in the mountains, until he turned to see the sprawling moor of Skypack territory. Even from this distance, he could see the shimmering lake, with its soft sandy shores and cooling waters. He shook his head and tightened his hold on the elk, small sharp teeth piercing its hide. He carried on until a small cave rose up before him and a small brown pup came bounding out, followed by a flustered-looking dark brown wolf with gleaming aqua eyes. She raced over to him and they touched noses affectionately. The tiny, bright-eyed pup bounced up and down, chirping enthusiastically about a feather he’d found. The brown wolf smiled at him, love glinting in her thoughtful gaze. But the beautiful idyllic scene proved too good to be true. The deep, low growl of a lumbering bear thundered. It was hungry. Angry. The flash of gleaming white claws and the crushing strength of its heavy paws. Screams echoed. Blood splattered across the rocks. Despairing wails and the sound of desperate feet pounding against the ground, heedless of where they ran. 1 moon later Kastern gasped as she nudged the limp brown wolf’s body. No warmth came from his soft fur. Blood stained his body. But the pup, it was squirming and blinking its confused aqua eyes at her. She gently took hold of the tiny creature and led him away from the wolf, blinking away tears. “What’s your name?” she whispered softly to the little pup. He gazed up at her with trusting eyes, burrowing into her splotched fur. “Rubus.” [8 moons later] Kastern sighed pensively as she watched Rubus from the entrance of the den. The famine had her worried, wolves were starving but the young wolf never seemed to tire. He tumbled and rolled rambunctiously, shrieking with laughter at the littlest things. As the young wolves played, she gazed over the territory. Small moving dots in the distance told her wolves were hunting. She twitched an ear anxiously but her worries were all forgotten when Rubus crashed into her. He immediately yelped an apology but she simply nudged him away. He raced off to plunge another poor unsuspecting wolf into a puddle. “Be careful,” she called as he sped off into the distance. “I will!” He shouted back.
