Quietly, in the fall noon air, trots up at fae. Her silken hair spreads silently over her body, a mix of drool left in it from the time she panted after she raced with the black brute. Her eyes were golden waxed, keen and sensitive. She glanced around, her eyes darting this way then that. Her ears swivel about to pick up any such sounds of the male.

Then the male appeared, as silent as stone. He came over to see Tiara graciously, the two tumbling in the sweet-smelling autumn grass with each other, struggling in the dirt, tongue lolling out loosly. The male, called Dakota, was once a member of a barren-homed pack, a pack where wolves had to fight just to survive. Tiara was no longer used to this, for she had left that left and joined a pack where plentiful prey were abundant. But now, seeing Dakota, his ragged-haired fur, his dark, amber eyes, his rough and jagged personality, came crashing down upon her. She could remember the mist, the dead trees, the cries of the eagles as they swooped above the deserted land, their beady eyes searching for their next rodent victim. Bones lay upon the rocky ground, and plants and flowers feared to grow in this world where only the stronger surely survived, in any way most wolves didn't survive barely a year.

Some of them were strong enough to leave the land they called "home", while others were wasted away, leaving the Earth forever in exchange for a land filled with beauty and clouds, puffs of smoke rose up from every leap, and every wolf's eyes shone as bright as the sun itself. For this was Wolf Heaven.

Shaking off the thought of the land Tiara had left, the wolf panted, and lay in a play bow, her plume wagging back in forth in play. Dakota caught on quickly, leaping up joyfully as he scampered across the meadow. The breeze stroked the wolves' fur gently, as the dense wind became noticeably colder. The leaves rustled as the wolves came upon them with great force, panting playfully. Always they taunted each other, grabbing a stick in their mouths and running off with it, but tripping over their own paws as pups would, as if to give their opponent a chance to grab the stick.

All this ended when Tiara had to go back to her pack. ButWhat would they say? Dakota is an outsider....

Dracoy, the alpha male of Tiara's pack, was a little taller than each of the other wolves in the pack. His mane bristled as he peered down at Tiara, his amber eyes looking straight through her. "Where were you?" asked the brute.
Cleo quickly scurried over towards her mate, nuzzling him softly. The gray wolf glanced down at Tiara. "Tiara, have you been with that....that outsider again?"
Dracoy shuddered at the word. "Tiara, as long as you are in this pack, you will behave like a pack member. Iwill not tell you again. Dakota is an outsider, he is unknown to us and our ways." "He was just like you were when you first joined." Cleo smiled. Flann, Brogan, Riley, Rayleen, Saden, and Madra quickly scurried over to see "the talk."
"Aww man, this is gonna be good!" snickered Saden. "Yeah!" replied Madra.

Dracoy shot a stern glare in the other pack members' direction, then calmly turned back to Tiara. "Tiara, please, listen to me..."
"No!" Tiara yelled.
"Tiara..."Cleo quickly tried to calm her down.
"No!" Tiara repeated. "You guys don't even know him! You were reluctant to let ME join the pack, right? But look how good a pack member I am NOW!"
The alphas exchanged glances.
"Just listen to me! You MUST give him a chance!"
"Look, Tiara, we understand you. But..." Dracoy gulped. It was hard to say. "Tiara, let me tell you something. A long time ago, when the wolves first emerged from the barren lands, there was something strange about them that....that we just couldn't understand. Then one night they just....just turned on us. They grew mad at us. They demanded to take the land that was ours. They must've planned it all along." Dracoy sighed. "There was many deaths. Many wins and losses." He stood up proudly, and in a braver voice, said," We finally won our land back."
"So?" Tiara cocked her head, wondering if she should be impressed or not.
Dracoy snarled at her. "Listen Tiara those outsiders are just trouble! Who knows, he could be leading an army right to us! One moment you two could be froliking around in the grass, and the next, he gives the command and the whole pack's all over us! Tiara, he's just using you to get to us! He'll throw you away like an old caribou skin, where you'll pass away and..."
Tiara's vocie was shrill. "That's not true! Dakota loves me! It's been several days and...and nothing bad has happen!" Tiara gulped. She couldn't tell him about the way Dakota had leaped at her, almost knocking her over. Of course, it was in mock play, but it was almost as if he meant to hurt her. Tiara shook her head. No. He was just rough-housing.
"Oh, but it will." Dracoy looked at Tiara sternly. Tiara got up and began to quietly back away from Dracoy. She curled back her lips and snarled, her pearly-whites glistening in the afternoon sun. "No...you can't make me believe something that hasn't even happened yet. You can believe that, but you can NEVER make another soul believe an idea as stupid and ridiculous as that!" The whole pack was shocked at what Tiara had just said. And before Dracoy could even react, Tiara was off in a split-second, dashing across the hills.

She heard some angry barks and howls behind her, but she didn't dare look back. She sprinted across the meadowside, through the edge of the forest, and across a river. She was planning to meet Dakota here, but then realized that she was in a different territory. She noted that she met Dakota in the meadow she had just sprinted across. Sighing, she lay down on a muddy river bank. Tiara knew her chances of ever meeting Dakota again were slim.

Tiara awoke suddenly. It was the middle of the night (about two in the morning) and a huge black figure was standing near here. The she-wolf jumped suddenly, but was reassured with a quick nuzzle. Then a familiar voice said, "Come with me."
"D...Dakota?" Tiara was shocked.
Dakota nodded. "Yes, now come with me."

Tiara got up and followed Dakota across the river and turn into the forest. Tiara had never been into this part of the woods before, and she shuddered, staying close to Dakota.
"Look." The brute quickly lifted her large paw and pointed it towards a huge valley. It was grassy and airid, but the sides remained hard and barren, almost like a grand canyon. "What's this?" asked Tiara, moving up to study what lay before her. Dakota smiled. "It's our home."
"You mean....?" Tiara was breathless.
"Yes. Our pack lands.
Tiara stood tall and said “we will show them, we will have a pack of our own then see who’s the best”

© Shantie'04