Wolf Roleplay

Originally posted by Pickle.
Rules-

1. No controling someone elses wolf or kill them. By this, I mean this:
"Wolf 1 embedded his razor sharp claws into the shoulders of wolf 2 and pushed her off the cliff, his claws ripping free as she tumbled to her death" Okay, that's annoying. Here's how it SHOULD be:
"Wolf 1 embedded his razor sharp claws into the shoulders of Wolf 2 and pushed her toward the edge of the cliff, his claws ripping free as he let go." That gives the other person the choice on what to do next. They could have her fall and die, fall, and climb up, or counter attack etc.

2. Please, nothing gross. If you want any wolves to have puppies, just have it "happen". Seriously.
You are allowed to describe gory scenes as much as you want though. I honestly don't care.

3. No chat speak.

4. Try not to swear TOO much. A bit is fine, but not too much.

5. You can control the weather if you want. But if someone is saying its raining, don't say something like "It cleared up" in the next post. That can be rather annoying if someone is trying to stir up a plot

6. Keep it semi-literate.

You may role play as soon as your character has been made.
Form-
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Rank: (If you aren't sure what rank you want to be, just put ???. The positions are: Leader, second in command, Member, healer, and loner.)
Fur:
Markings:
Eyes:
Personality:
History(optional):
Family:
Mate/Love:
Played by:
Picture:

Characters-
Name: Inferno
Age: 1/2 a year
Gender: Male
Rank: Pup (Deceased)
Fur: Red
Markings: A black mane, and the front tips of the mane is yellow
Eyes: Pale red
Personality: Was abused and abandoned when he was first born, so he's a bit timid, but at the same time desires to somehow be recognised as important. He doesn't exactly care much about others, because he feels "Why should I care about anyone if none of them care about me?"
History(optional): His mother gave birth to Inferno while in the back of a hunter's truck. Because he was small, he was able to crawl outside of the cage, and fleed the truck where he was cared for by his father. His father pressured him to become as powerful as he could be, and whenn Inferno hadn't showed much potentional, his father abandoned him. Now Inferno seeks to be considered important to others. He also developed a dark power from having so much hatred towards his father. The darkness is so strong, it embeded itself into his DNA. He uses the darkness often. It makes him stronger, makes his fur turn to a deep red, and turns his mane to a dark orange color. His fangs become poisonous while he's in this form, but the poison isn't deadly, since he's only a pup.
Mate/Love: None yet
Played by: Pickle
Picture:


Name: Amiss
Age: 4 years
Gender: Female
Rank: Member
Fur: White
Markings: Swirls of red going down side, with a soft gray tuft of hair on top of her head, as well as a dark gray tail tip. (On page fifteen, she gets a small revamp. She gets a mask similar to.. This mask )
Eyes: Green
Personality: She can be bold, and quite often will speak her mind if it has value to her. She prefers night over day, sticking to the shadows when she must travel in the day.(This is because of the mask) Often, she is a dreamer, and she quickly warms up to people but can be weary when her senses tell her to be. She is very cautious, due to the mask incident.
History(optional): She has never spoke of such, and it is completely unknown to anyone.
Family: Oaki(Brother), Aurora(Pup), Shade(Pup)
Mate/Love: Monclear(Deceased wolf)
Played by: Meta/Midna
Picture:
(Excuse the cruddy ref, I was rushing. Does not include mask.)

Name: Monclear
Age: 4
Gender: male
Rank: Member(Deceased)
Fur: Black, gray, and white
Markings: The tip of his ears are black, the tip of his tail is black, his underbelly is gray, and he has gray markings on his flank, and the rest of his fur is white
Eyes: Glowing green
Personality: Very welcoming, kind of keeps to himself, very loyal
History(optional): He was adopted in to the pack after a human let him loose in the forest after he was first born. He is half Huskie, half wolf.
Family: His Mother was owned by a human, and his father was a wild wolf. Every night, his mother would sneak out to be with his father until the human who owned his mother found out, and locked up his mom inside. There, she gave birth to Monclear
Mate/Love: Love is Amiss
Played by: Pickle
Picture: I have to draw it first

Name: Rajora
Age: 1/2
Gender: Female
Rank: Pup (Presumed deceased)
Fur: A lovely shade of brown
Markings: A black swirl behind her eye
Eyes: Blue
Personality: Highly curious, kind of playful, very open to others, and loving
History(optional): Her mother and father were brave battlers in her pack, but they unfortunately died while trying to save her from a loner. Obviously, they were successful at saving her, but their wounds were fatal. Rajora has no idea, however. She thinks that she was adopted into the pack, and her parents are alive in another pack. Those were her parent's wishes, as they didn't want their pup to worry about them after they died.
Family: Mother and father are dead, but she doesn't know
Mate/Love: None
Played by: Pickle
Picture:

Name: Izue
Age: 7 years
Gender: Male
Rank: Healer
Fur: Soft green
Markings: White star or sparkle- shaped markings down back, white tipped tail.
Eyes: Yellow-green
Personality: Empathic, sensitive, easily hyper, protective of all pack members and friends
History(optional): N/a
Family: None.
Mate/Love: None, open.
Played by: Meta
Picture: None.

Name: Altair
Age: 4
Gender: Female
Rank: Leader(Deceased)
Fur: White
Markings: the tip of her tail is a light blue, and her head is light blue. She has a marking that looks like a cloud on the side of her neck
Eyes: Icy blue
Personality: Strong, considerate, willing to help wolves in need, but loves a good battle, so she requires a wolf to prove their strength before they join the pack
Family: Dead
Mate/Love: None
Played by:Pickle
Picture: none yet

Name: Oaki
Age: Four years
Gender: Male
Rank: He strives to be second in command, but puts up with member so member.
Fur: Deep purple-black.
Markings: Soft orange-red mane and back, white circles(split down middle) with dots in between on sides. Deep deep red 'cuffs' of fur on legs/paws.
Eyes: Black with a hint of red
Personality: Courageous, thick-headed, main concern is fighting, anything but a coward.
History(optional): Never spoke of it.
Family: Amiss(sister), Shade(niece), Aurora(niece)
Mate/Love: None, but open.
Played by: Meta
Picture: N/A

Name: Shade
Age: Six months
Gender: Female
Rank: Member
Fur: She is mainly a soft blue-white.
Markings: She has black shoulders, black forelegs, one black back leg. She has an orange stripe down her head and lightning-like green markings on her legs, with bulls-eyes in between. The top half of her head is black, and her ears are marked like her legs.
Eyes: Originally soft green, now they are a piercing deep red.
Personality: Shade prefers to work alone and distances herself from essentially everyone, with few exceptions. Though soft-spoken and reserved, she never bluffs. If she makes a threat, she has every intention of carrying it out. Shade is known to treat others in a very indifferent manner, and in combat, she displays a natural "killer instinct" that others lack. Alongside her dark demeanor, she can be smug, stubborn, and somewhat sarcastic. Despises Amiss and anyone who gets in her way.
History(optional): N/A yet.
Family: Monclear(father, dead), Amiss(Mother), Aurora(Sister), Oaki(Uncle)
Mate/Love: N/A.
Played by: Meta
Picture:

Name: Aurora
Age: Around 6 months
Gender: Female
Rank: Member
Fur: White
Markings: The tip of her tail is black, and she has a patch of brown on her back that is technically a scar from when she was a pup, and was thrown by Inferno. The fur grew back that color)
Eyes: Sky blue
Personality: Very strong, independant, free spirited, a warrior, willing to risk her life for her loved ones, a bit stubborn at times, somewhat rebelious if she is being commanded to doing something that is completely against her morals, strong willed.
History(optional): Since her past takes place in what's already posted, I feel no need to type this out.
Family: Monclear (Father, but is now dead), Amiss (Mother), Shade (Sister)
Mate/Love: None
Played by: Pickle
Picture: N/A

Name: Lunar
Age: 3
Gender: Male
Rank: Loner (for now)
Fur: Black
Markings: A thin white ring around his muzzle, and a thin white stripe that travels along his spine. One of his ears has a notch in it, and... let's just say it's impossible for him to ever breed because while fighting over a female wolf, he was defeated, and banished from his pack and they, uh..... did something to him |D; He has a scar over one of his eyes because of that fight, therefore, has a bad eye.
Eyes: Pure white. One of his eyes has the scar, as mentioned before
Personality: Tries to act strong to make a good impression, when in reality, he really knows he is actually weak. A tad naive. Can come accross as a jerk at first, but it's only because he feels insecure, and once he gets to know other wolves, he shows he has a good heart.
History(optional): As I said, he fought over a female wolf, he was defeated, and banished from his pack.
Family: His family was in his old pack, and stuffs.
Mate/Love: Well, he did love a wolf from his old pack, but he lost the fight for her. Fighting for the female was a traditon in his pack. He now feels that because he is unable to breed that he is no longer allowed to love.
Played by: Pickle
Picture:I has no picture, I just made him up on the spot -guilty- xD;

Name: Waterstrike
Age: 5 years
Gender: Female
Rank: She wants to be leader or second in command, but puts up with member. ((Currently loner- soon to be pack member.))
Fur: Her fur is white and when wet the sun sometimes catches it, creating the illusion that it shines and sparkles.
Markings: Two blue wing-shaped markings on back. When jumping from a cliff or running, sometimes the wind flows through her fur and makes it look like they're three dimensional, and as if she is flying. Although every time she jumps she always gets light-headed and sometimes she might pass out.
Eyes: Deep blood red
Personality: She is kind and nice but when threatened she becomes fierce like a badger. She is protective of her friends because she lost her family. Also, she will do anything for the pack and her friends even at the cost of her own life. Although she is fierce she isn't the best of warriors.
History(optional): She doesn't remember anything from her past. She only remembers simple things and her name, as well as the fact she lost her family. She is afraid of thunderstorms because her family got hit by a lightning strike in an open field.
Family: None (I might change this.)
Mate/Love: None, but open.
Played by: Princess Zelda/Plusle
Picture:

Inferno padded softly through the forest in search of prey. He raised his muzzle in the wind and picked up the scent of a rabbit. He concentrated on the scent a bit more, and smelled a trace of milk, meaning the rabbit must have young. He prowled softly on the ground, his tiny pads only making a muffled, almost silent taps against the dirt. He neared the scent which led to a rabbit hole. Normally, a wolf would have given up here, and looked for more prey. But Inferno hadn't eaten anything since his father abandoned him. He didn't know how to hunt, so he had to teach himself, which took a bit of time. He burrowed his head into the small hole, then used his tiny paws to shovel out dirt. After a few minutes, he became restless, and began desperately claws out all the dirt, striking a rock every so often, but it didn't slow him. THe scent of rabbit made his mouth water. Finally he reached to where the mother was nursing her young. He hungrily snapped at the rabbits, hoarking down the young rabbits one by one, then finally the mother. His ears perked a little bit, and noticed a young rabbit at the back of the den. It was a lot smaller than the other rabbits.
"I suppose your mother abandoned you as my father did to me" Even though he normally didn't care about others, this little rabbit was hard to not show sympathy towards. He carefully picked up the rabbit, and pulled his head out of the hole. He sniffed the air, and found a trace of another rabbit, with the same trace of milk. He carefully placed the rabbit into the hole. He watched from, out of view as the mother in this hole brought thelittle rabbit deeper into the hole.
Inferno sighed, looking for a place to stay. He knew his chances were slim, but he hoped to find a pack of wolves that wolf accept him into their pack.

Ploosh! Ploosh!

Paws splashed into a deep, cool river flowing slowly through the riverbed. Ker-ploosh! Ker-ploosh! It came again. Amiss took her steps slowly, but with a goal in mind. The water dilated, then calmed again. A flash of orange and she was on it in an instant. The fish, now decapitated due to it's tail being torn, writhed helplessly. Splish! Crunch! Crunch! Scales crunched, soft bones being ground. She swallowed, dipping her muzzle into the cool river. The minimal blood washed off, leaving nearly pure-white fur visible. She shook her head, then took her time to get onto the bank. Not even bothering to shake her paws, she took in a deep breath and let the scents organize themselves into something comprehensible. Rabbit under the bush, wolf a mile or so up, bobcat a few miles south. Don't go south then.. she told herself, heading in the direction of the wolf. The scent of a wolf could only mean one thing- a pack. She hoped this was a pack-wolf, as she was getting tired of the small game.

Inferno sighed, looking about. Where was he to go? He had nothing, and he was weakening everyday. He was still hungry, but he didn't dare eat from the hole he placed the small abandoned rabbit. His ears perked, hearing a few leaves rustle far away. He hadn't stopped to smell the scents lingering in the air in a while, so he lifted his muzzle in the air once more. Another wolf. It smelled like it was an adult. But the wolf was alone. What if the wolf was going to attack him? Then again, what if it was a pack? What should he do? He struggled with his thoughts for a moment. He made up his mind, turned into his dark, and lept into the bushes to try and get a look at the wolf before it could get him. If the wolf found him first, he would attack in his dark form.

Amiss kept a jog-trot pace, making her way towards the ever-alluring scent. When she reached the place where the scent was strongest, nothing shouted "Wolf!" to her. Nothing stirred in the bushes, and the trees were only moved by the soft breeze. She sat down and waited. "If you're here, do come out." She murmured, stamping a paw. She was not impatient by any means, but she was still hungry and had planned on doing some small game hunting. "It's not like I'd hurt you, unless of course you hurt me. And in that case..well, figure it out for yourself."

Inferno cautiously padded out, his dark form fading. He shook with all his might and looked into the wolve's eyes. He said nothing. All he could do is trust that she really wouldn't hurt him. He knows he couldn't defeat her by himself, since he was so young.

Amiss paused, a knowing look on her face. "Gahahah! It's just a furball pup!" She could hardly contain her laughter. "Wait..if your just all alone out here..you don't have a pack, do you?" The knowing look transformed into a disappointed frown. She considered this fact for a while, running over her options. "Are you, possibly, hungry, furball?" she questioned, deciding that leaving the little thing alone would just be bad luck. She stood up and shook herself, tasting the wind again. There was plenty of potential prey around, but it seemed the little thing either didn't know how to hunt, or he just could not find said prey.

Anger suddenly flooded into Inferno's mind. Who was this she-wolf to call him "just a furball pup"? His face turned to a scowl.

"No, I don't have a pack. And don't call me a furball! My name is Inferno!" he snarled, showing his teeth, which still leaked of acidy venom from just recently being in dark form.

"I'm fine. I already ate enough to make me last for a few days"

He was still angry, but he didn't let it get the best of him. He needed this wolve's help, whether he wanted it or not.

"Inferno, hmm?" Amiss gave a soft chuckle, then glanced at the young one's belly. "Your belly is burnin' like an inferno, if I ever saw such a thing." she chuckled again at her joke, then got down to business. "Listen, kid. You couldn't take me on with a whole pack like you. You look like your nearly skin and bones, and your eyes tell a different story than what your attempting to tell me. Yes, that's right. I said your eyes. Everything about a wolf is in the eyes, if you look hard enough." she explained, padding in a circle around Inferno. It was so obvious that the pup was hungry, WHY was he lying to /her/? "Now, tell Amiss the truth please, darling." she nearly sneered, but held her voice at a soft, almost comforting level.
Inferno paused a moment, then responded with "I honestly don't trust you is all. I know I need some help, since I really can't hunt too well, but.... I can't trust anyone... and... I had to learn that the hard way..." he let his head droop. After he said this, he realised what a weakling he was making himself out to be. How was he ever to be important to anyone if he couldn't even fend for himself? Then he had a sudden thought.

"You said you could tell a wolf by their eyes, right? Well.... tell me what you see...." His fur suddenly turned a deep red, and his mane turned into a dark orange color. The tip of his ears turned black, and the tip his tail did as well. Then, his eyes turned into a firey red. They flared up, and glowed, turning into an abyss of ember, his pupils almost piercing like daggers.

Amiss stopped mid-step and blinked. Was she seeing this? Was it all just a dream that was oddly very real? Blinking again, she shook her head. Nope, it wasn't just her eyes. She WAS seeing the transformation. It was scary, really. She had heard of such things in kiddie-tales when she was younger, but she always thought the elders just made them up. Reality was quickly changing for her. "Well..hmmm...I see..oi, that doesn't seem like a good way to start your life! I see a childhood filled with obstacles at every turn, a dad of whom did not value you, and a mother who was...hm..I can't seem to pick that up. I also see a lone pup, who just needs a good jump-start in life." she heaved a deep breath, then glanced towards the East. In the East, soft forest floor gave way to rugged mountain terrain, but it was there that they would find suitable shelter. The sun was sliding down the horizon, and soon night would fall. Her green eyes blazed, plan in mind. "Kid, where exactly do you sleep at night?" she asked, dropping any rude or private questions.

Inferno tilted his head, acid dripping out of his mouth, killing the grass it landed on. "How.... How did you see all of that? And... my mother is most likely dead right now, unless she somehow escaped out of the cage the hunters had her in.... Anyways, I really just sleep in wherever I pass out really... I spend all my energy TRYING to find prey easy enough to get... as I said, I can't hunt.... I.... I just wish I had a mother.."
Inferno didn't know why, but out of pup instinct, he scampered over to the she-wolf he pressed his head into the fur on her front leg. Inferno came to his senses and quickly backed away. He really needed to try and keep himself from looking like a weakling.
"Even though I'm reluctant at saying this... could you help me find a pack? I don't know what I'm supposed to do... I know it may seem like I'm a weakling, but I'm really not, I just need a bit of... support..."

"It's not hard, really. It's just instinct, I'm sure you'll get it someday. Wherever you fall, you say? That's no way! Please do come with me. I'll show you my den. Help you? Me? Ohohoh, you must be kidding. Of course. That's no worry at all." Amiss nodded, turning herself Eastbound. She put on a slow trot, slow enough to keep the pup close but fast enough to not be walking. The pup-like maneuver didn't even phase her, as she had nursed a young abandoned wolf pup litter a year back. "It's not far out, and you'll get much better sleep."

Inferno nodded, trotting after her. "Will you teach me?" he asked. Without waiting for a response, he continued to ask more questions "Where are we going? Will there be a lot of prey there?"
He paused a moment "Thank you for helping me.... I... I never really knew there were actually wolves that cared about me..." He sudden;y had another perspective about others. Maybe there were some that really DID care. Then Inferno realised he shouldn't get his hopes up. Sonner or later, he knew he'd be betrayed.

Amiss listened to the young wolf intently, only giving a quick grunt and nod in reply to the questions.

The sun slid down the sky farther and farther, casting shadows over the entire forest and mountain region. Only about two hours separated day and night, and Amiss desperately wanted to get to her den before night. If they were late, they would possibly face other wolves and or mountain lions. "Can you, maybe, walk faster? Show me how fast you can run. We're almost there." She said, as soft forest floor gave away to brown and hard mountain terrain in the distance. Scents filled her highly attuned nose, and told her exactly where to go. Be it a certain more stable rock, an alternate path to avoid mountain lions, or some other reason. She kept her pace, a brisk jog-trot. Black-tipped tail hung behind her, swinging back and forth to her movements.

Inferno sped up, stumbling due to hunger. He shook off the dizzyness, then sped up a lot more. He was now beside the she wolf, but he kept trying to run faster. He wanted to prove that he was still strong, even though he was starving. He didn't want to be underestimated. He sped up in front of her and looked back at the she-wolf every few seconds to be sure he was going in the right direction.

"Woooaaahh!" Amiss laughed, attempting to get her legs to sync with Inferno's. Suddenly the ground changed, the mountain rising before her eyes. "Look, up there." She nodded her head towards a black hole in the mountain, with rocks caving it into a small squeeze-through entrance. Many years ago it had been the site of a mine, where the humans collected mountain rocks and carved through the walls. Eventually they sealed it with two large rocks, but they eroded in the middle and made a small entrance. Amiss had made this a den because it was a small entrance, and because it was large enough for a food storage if ever needed, as well as a good amount of sleeping area.

Inferno skid to a stop. He looked up into the rocks. Suddenly, his paws turned black.
"I know this place..... I saw it in a dream once...." Inferno concentrated a bit harder "But... it had a river of Lava surounding it..."
Inferno looked around, seeing no sign of a volcano, or any dark black rock created.
He tilted his head a bit, and took a step forward. He jolted back abbruptly, feeling something wet on his paw. He looked at his paw. It smelled like blood, but... the liquid leaking from it was a jet black, flowing out as if it were made of a dense, moist smoke. Inferno looked at his paw a bit closer, and noticed that there was a small cut. He must have stepped on a stone. But... he had never bled like this before... He turned around to face Amiss, and notice the tip of his tail was a bit different. It steadily turned a blackish color, and he wasn't even in dark form. His eyes suddenly changed to a concerned look.
"Amiss.... do you know what's happening to me? I... I don't understand..... This has never happened before.." He showed his paw to Amiss, his eyes still flooded with a worried look.

Amiss blinked, staring at Inferno's paw. "I have an idea, but..your blood, it's quite different.." she shook her head, clearing any irrational thoughts. Quickly the 'mother' instinct took over and Amiss padded over and licked the paw. It tasted exactly like blood, but at the same time there was a tinge in it..something different. Licking it again, she still could not put her paw on what was the difference. "Do you mind me carrying you, like this?" she asked, enclosing her jaws around the loose skin on Inferno's neck. He was heavy, but the cave wasn't too far up. If Amiss could carry him to the cave, she could inspect the paw more thoroughly and it wouldn't get more cuts in the process.

Altair peered from behind the rocks in front of her den. She felt an odd presence of someone else within her territory. She had never exactly felt this way about any other wolves, but... there was something... different. She wondered if the prophecy painted on her den wall had anything to do with it. It told a story of a volcano errupting, turning all the rock black, and the ashes would be so thick, it'd change half of the pack into beasts. There was supposed to be an heir of the pack that would save them all. But... There were no active volcanos around. In fact, there were none around them at all. No one else in her pack even believed it. She had a small glimmer of hope though. But could this strange presence really be coming from the wolf in the prophecy? Besides, the wolf was supposed to be an heir of a dark wolf in the pack.

"I don't mind" Inferno said "When we get into the cave, will you tell me what your idea of it is?"
He thought about it for a moment "I'm sorry if I'm a burden to you... I appreciate you doing this for me...."
Were there REALLY wolves that DID care? What if, by some chance, she actually did care about him, and wouldn't let him down? Then again, he felt the same about his father until he abandoned him.

"Mmhphm." Amiss attempted to say through gritted teeth and Inferno's scruff. She took off again, this time a faster run than a trot. Though it seemed she would hit Inferno on the legs while climbing, she never did. The den was about a half mile up, it wouldn't be too far. She hoped that her assumption would be correct, if not she was clueless. She took her steps slowly, now that she had gotten into the rock-slide territory. The cave was even closer, only a few feet separating them. Oh, please let him be okay.. she begged silently, hoping somehow her 'prayers' would come true.



Inferno glaced around as they neard the cave. He looked up into her eyes. He saw a worried look in them. "What's wrong?" He barked curiously. He knew he wouldn't get an answer until they reached the den because her mouth was full. "I can climb the rest of the way." he said

Altair leapt down from the small rock her den was on. She sniffed the grass around her, and glanced around, seeing if any other wolves were awake. She had let her curiousity get the best of her, and wanted to see who, or what, was causing this strange aura. She started off for the edges of her territory.

"Mmhmph. Mhmpmh..." Amiss said again, setting Inferno down on a small ledge under the dominant ledge of the cave. "Keep your footing, be careful. I have a small stash of herbs in the cave." She warned, setting her paws lightly down onto the dominant ledge.
Grawrgrrrrrr.
She growled, warning anything inside the cave of their arrival. Nothing stirred, all was clear. She sniffed the opening of the cave. Musty and damp scent filled her nostrils, as well as her own scent and sweet herbs. "All good Inferno." She squeezed into the opening, then quickly rushed over to her nest. It was large, made of leaves and cotton. She split it in two, one for her and one for Inferno. It would have to do until she could get more material. The cave was over a mile long, with the back quite unused. It could be a training ground if Inferno ever desired to be trained again, she decided.

Inferno scrambled up the remaining rocks, and slipped through the opening. He sniffed around, then plopped down on the bed. He was exhausted. But, he couldn't sleep until his questions were answered.
"What exactly is it that you think is wrong with my paw?" He looked around at all the herbs, wondering were they came from, and what they did. He directed his gaze to the back of the den. Near the entrance of the cave, there were cracks in the 'roof' of the rock where light shown through. But the darkness of the back of the den seemed to stretch endlessly.

Altair's ears pricked, hearing the slightest growl from a distance. She shot in the direction of the noise instinctivly like a silent arrow, moving so fast, she didn't even crack a leaf, or break a twig.

"Well, I must admit that I am completely skeptical. I honestly am not completely sure, but I believe you are part of a prophecy." Amiss sighed, willing her mind to call up the prophecy in question. It had been in a dream at one point, but she had only dismissed it. "Are you willing to listen, furball?" she wasn't going to tell him unless he said he was ready. She settled herself down inside her nest, head pointed at Inferno, ears aimed behind her.


Inferno's eyes widened.
"Really? So... I do have purpose in this world?" He said hopefully, his tail softly wagging.
"I'm ready. I'd like to know."
He said, tucking his paws under his chest, ears towards Amiss.
He really hope this story would supply him with answers as to why he was the way he was.

"All right.." Amiss nodded, eyes closing. "I had this dream, a long while back. A pure white wolf came to me. It spoke of a young wolf, whom bled black. The said wolf would need plenty of help, with all the senses and techniques of your normal adult wolf. Now, I believe you are this wolf. The white wolf also spoke of a pack, and then a disaster. Said disaster had something to do with fire, and the pack isn't too far off as far as I remember. Said wolf would, somehow, lead said pack to a new territory. Said wolf would ALSO get many scars from the disaster, but would grow to become legendary." She finished, her eyes opening. She looked out through the small peephole of an entrance. "Of course, such thing is only a dream and I am not entirely sure if you are the wolf, but it mostly seems to match you. And I have heard the howls of at least ten wolves in the night, so there must be some truth to it. Now, Inferno, please. Get some rest, we'll set out at dawn." She yawned but only stood up, stretched, and squeezed out of the den. She would keep watch on the ledge until the moon was level with her eyes, when she felt safest to sleep.


Inferno's heart raced, but he was silent in deep thought. Him? /Legendary/? He almost felt like he wanted to grasp the whole forest within his claws. But... what if the wolf wasn't really him? He hadn't ALWAYS bled black. He peered behind his shoulder and looked at his tail, the fur gleaming in the moonlight. Still black. Still black.....
His head drooped into a deep slumber, once he greatly needed. His thoughts could wait till morning.



Altair dove through bushes, the scent of wolves drawing near. She came to a steeply slanted cliff, and leapt up the ide of it with ease. She slowed when she reached a small gap. She was on the edge of her vast territory, but rarely went to this area, since the dense part of her pack's home was the most rich in prey.
She peered through a crack in the side of a cave, and saw a small red wolf and a white wolf in the cave.
"Well, if they came into my pack's territory, they must have a reason. But... they must have great courage and strength as well.... either that, or they're too ignorant to smell the markers" She knew the last part wasn't true, because the border hadn't been marked in a long time. She gave a soft growl to grab the adult wolf's attention.

Amiss was nearly out of the entrance when an almost inaudible growl sounded from the outside. She answered with her own growl, throwing in a soft bark.
Grrrraaarrrrrkkkkk!
Squeezing the rest of the way through the entrance, she came upon a white and light blue wolf. "Explain your business, there's a little one sleeping. Wake him up and I'll be on you immediately." she snapped, flicking her tail from side to side. She was hardly in the mood to fight, but she would if needed.
Swish, swishhh..

Altair was impresed. "If you defeat me, I'll state my business and show you my pack. If not, I'll let you go, but you must never cross our border again" she growled. She didn't want this wolf to know what she was doing here, and that she was a leader. She just wanted to see how strong this outsider was.
"Agreed?" She snarled.

"Excuse me, but, where exactly do you expect us to fight? Certainly not on this small ledge." Amiss questioned, green eyes twinkling with eagerness. She hadn't fought in forever, but she knew that she was ready. The moon rose higher in the sky, casting pure silver light on the two wolves and any protruding ledges. The river rumbled softly in the distance, and the trees whispered softly to the wind.

"Right here, of course. What, the cliff a bit too steep for you?" She said, smirking
She wasn't really trying to poke fun at anyone's abilities, but she wanted a good battle, and a good battle happens when your openent is enraged. At least that's what she felt. "If you can't battle on the edge of this cliff, we can meet up tomorrow, and battle in the clearing below." She said with the flick of her tail. Suddenly, she realised something. What if this wolf, or the other wolf had anything to do with the strange aura she felt in her territory? Most of all, what if one of them had to do with the prophecy? She didn't want to chase them off....
She hesitated for a moment "Actually.... in the morning... meet me in the clearing. We will not have a battle. I think I'll just bring you.... to... my... territory's.... camp..." she hada hard time saying this, since she normally tested the strenght of all who came to her territory before coming to their camp. She craved to fight, but she knew now was not the time.

"Mmmhmm, mmhmm. Alright. I'll see you then, mystery wolf." Amiss nodded, then took up her post at the edge of the small 'flat top' ledge. Her tail calmed and the cold breeze ruffled her gray thatch of hair as well as her shorter white fur. It- the wind - brought the tinge of cold, most often traced in near-winter winds. Her thoughts raced to the next morning, and already she had many questions for the strange wolf. How big was the pack? How was their game supply? Did they have good dens? Good leaders? Where did they get their herbs, if any? Oh so many questions. She watched the surrounding area below, listening to the sounds of the night.



The sun rose on the horizen. Inferno lifted his tiny head, stretching out his paws, as hungry as ever. He felt a little light headed, stumbling for a moment, then trotting over to where Amiss lay.

Meanwhile, Altair dashed to the clearing beneath the strange cliff. She waited for the other she-wolf to arrive.

Amiss opened her eyes, not to sure of where she was for a moment. Her ears swiveled back to the sound of Inferno's tiny pawsteps. It all came back to her in a flash. "Oh, uh...morning furball." she laughed, slowly rising onto her haunches. Stretching, she got to all fours and turned to face Inferno. "C'mon down with me, we've got a meeting today." she said, not even waiting for a reply. She got over to the path-like edge and jumped down, jumping from each protruding ledge. "We'll get you some food after it's over!" she shouted up to Inferno, tail wagging excitedly.

Inferno's face perked up. Food! Finally! Maybe he'd be taught how to hunt today! But what was this business about a meeting? Oh well. He scampered after Amiss.

He padded down the side of the mountain, a white and light blue wolf coming into focus.


Altair looked at inferno curiously. Did this pup belong to the she-wolf? His pelt certainly didn't look like he did. She shook the thought off, then began to talk "Hello. Glad you could make it. I didn't get the chance to ask you this last night, but what exactly is your name, and who is this pup that's with you?"

"The name is Amiss. That, my friend, is Inferno. I'm essentially baby-sitting him, but he doesn't have parents as far as I know. Now, listen. Could we make this as quick as possible? He's hungry, and I'm hungry. He's hungrier than me, you see. I'm not trying to be rude, though. So, uh..where's this pack of yours?" She said, eyes darting to Inferno then back at Altair. Her tail calmed, dropping to the ground. This mystery she-wolf had a different stature, one that almost seemed to command respect. This must be a leader.. she thought, studying her. As was in her nature, she kept her tail down. She didn't know the temperament of the wolf, and even if it seemed to be good she wasn't going to risk it.



Altair nodded "Of course. We can hunt on the way there. There's plenty of deer that live here, so we don't mind sparing a few for wolves in need." Altair then realised it wasn't a good idea for her to say that. It was adead giveaway that she was the leader, since she was making decisions only a leader could. She shook the thought off, and briskly headed into the direction of the dense forest.

Inferno bolted aftwerwards without saying anything at all. Maybe this pack would help him survive. But at the same time, would this mean he would have to leave Amiss? After all, she was the first wolf that had actually cared about her. And.. even though he had only known her for a short time, she seemed like a mother to him in a way. He tried to keep a bit to hmself though, as he didn't want to get in the way of things. He didn't even fully understand what was going on.

Amiss watched Inferno run off with Altair, paused for a moment then followed. "Thank you. We aren't completely 'in need' but whatever you say, ma'am." she said, licking her chops eagerly. She changed her pace, catching up to Inferno. "I did what I promised..sorta." she said to him, not moving her gaze from Altair. If the leader-like wolf was going to feed her and Inferno, it only raised her respect for her.

Altair nodded and then stopped dead in her tracks. She motioned with her tail for the others to crouch down. Her ears pricked for a moment, then she did an unusual thing. She glided up a tree with ease, and leapt up out of view. When she came back down, she had a hawk pinned down with her claws. With a swift bite of the neck, the hawk went lifeless.

She offered it to Inferno and Amiss.
"It might not exactly be enough, but it should give you some energy."

Inferno dove for the hawk hungrily, and hoarked down pieces of meat. He stopped for a moment "I'm sorry... I'm just so hungry..." He pushed the rest of the meat towards Amiss, which was the majority of the hawk. He wanted to give his thanks for her kindness toawrads him. If it weren't for her, he'd most likely be scrounging around for rabbits still, alone and afraid. But... there was something in Inferno's heart. Something that made him want to eat the whole hawk, and not leave a scrap of it for anyone. But why, he didn't know. He began feeling a pang in his head.
"B-Be right back" he stammered, his head pounding. He hid behind a bush, then turned into his dark form. His head stopped hurting. His senses seemed sharpened. He heard hoof step. A small one. He darted and his instinct guded him. The next thing he knew, he flew ten feet from the ground, and landed on a young buck. It hadn't even grown any antlers. Inferno dug his claws into the deer's back, ripping its pelt with his razor sharp claws. Inferno let out a large bellowing screech, and leapt off of the dere's back. He snapped at all of its limbs, and watched as blood poured from its wounds. A few minutes later, the deer lay motionless. Inferno smirked, almost as if he had been craving to torture for pleasure. His red eyes turned pale once more, and suddenly felt almost horrified that he had killed the deer in such a painful way. But his head wasn't hurting anymore. It was a bitter sweet moment. He clasped the deer's leg in his haws and drug it back to where Amiss and Altair were.

Altair was in shock "What was that screech? I've lived her my whole life, and I've NEVER heard such a thing...." She listened for it again, almost in disbelief. She had the sudden thought of someothing that boggled her mind. What if the sound had came from this pup. This small little pup. No... it couldn't be... he was just a young pup, he couldn't have POSSIBLY made that terrifying noise. Or could've he?

Amiss shook her head, but she gulped down the rest of what was left anyways. She looked at Altair. "Thank you." was all she said, then she turned to Inferno. But he was already gone, running through the bushes. "Infern-"
YIPE!
Amiss let out an ear-piercing yipe, the screech startling her. "I..I don't k-know. Hawk and it's prey fighting? Yeah..that's..that's probably it.." she mumbled, watching Inferno drag back a small deer. She attempted to hide her concern. Did Altair suspect Inferno of something? That couldn't happen..no, that would not happen. If it did..Amiss didn't even consider what would happen. She leaned over to Inferno and whispered, "What was that, furball?" then fixed her stature and looked long and hard at the deer. The wounds, so obvious..but..the deer was, although young, still a little too big for Inferno to catch. /How/? She sighed, shaking her head. It was impossible, but yet there was the proof, right there. "So, uh, what about this pack of yours? Inferno, you can either go and put that into the den and come back following our scent trail or drag that with you if you'd like." she asked Altair, making sure her voice was steady and held no hint of worry.


Inferno honestly did not want to tell Amiss that the screech really was him, letting out the murderous cry. He was ashamed of himself, to kill it in such a horrific manor. He looked into Amiss's eyes with great guilt.

"I'll b-be r-right back then...." he stammered, dragging the deer towards the cliff.




Altair, still in disbelief, turned her gaze to Amiss. "Well... my pack is just beyond that hill right here." she flicked her tail towards a steep grassy hill. "At the top of the hills, there is basically a wall of trees that is too thick to pass through. However.... there are many dug out channels running throught the hill. Many say they were dug by our ancesters. They even say that each time a wolf in the pack became leader, a new channel was formed. But it's honestly too hard to believe really. Sure, there was a channel created when I became leader, but I don't think it was formed because I-" she paused for a moment, then cursed under her breath. Great.... she just gave away the fact she had was the leader of the pack!

Amiss's ears pricked. "Well well well, ms. boss." she snickered, suspicions confirmed. "Lets go, shall we?" she said, listening to Inferno's paw steps and the deer's body being dragged along. Again the wind blew, bringing the winter tinge. She shuddered, looked up at the gathering clouds, then looking at Altair again. A small bit of sadness tugged her heart down- with a pack found, would she leave Inferno? She had promised him that she would train him, but..he needed a pack, where he would get cared for like a normal pup. Amiss herself couldn't take care of him alone, especially not in the cruel winter that lay ahead. It'd get cold, food would be scarce, and the food that was available would need a pack to take it down. Yet at the same time, she didn't want to join a pack very bad. It'd be nice, sure. But she really wasn't as interested.

Altair gave a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry... I'm not rying to boss you around or anything, I'm just a natural leader I suppose."
"Let's wait till Inferno comes back. I don't want him to lose his way."

After a while, Inferno returned, blood from his last kill still dripping off of his jaws. When he returned, he licked Amiss's leg, and nuded his muzzle against it. He just couldn't help himself from the pup instinct he had in him.

Altair motioned for them to follow and bolted off towards the hill. Inferno ran after her as well. Guilt still crept in his mind, and at the same time, he was wondering if he'd get to stay with Amiss. He knew he couldn't survive out here without a pack to protect him, but in a way, he didn't want to leave Amiss. Inferno had so much on his mind, he didn't notice a root, and he tripped over it, sending him into a nearby small cave. Since Inferno didn't exacly know much about forests, Inferno thought only wolves lived in dens. But he was wrong.

A badger grabbed Inferno's flank, and pulled him in.
Inferno tried to escape its clutches, but the badger was quick, and it pounded it's massive paw onto Inferno's leg. Inferno didn't want to have to do this in front of Altair, since she hadn't seen, but Inferno knew it was the only way he could be quick enough to save himself. A wave of darkness consumed his body, and Inferno sunk his fangs into the badger's belly. The badger howled in pain as acid burned its neck. Inferno swiped at its eyes, and squeezed out of its paws. But... why did this not seem like it was enough? Inferno could've escaped at that moment, but... he had a hunger for more.... he wanted to show, and have more power.... He turned around, ripping at the badger's throat with his long, black claws, then bit as hard as he could. The badger knocked him off, sending Inferno flying out of the den and hitting a tree. The badger crawled out of its den, and cornered Inferno.

Amiss nodded, ran after Inferno and Altair, falling into pace next to Altair. She sniffed the wind, making sure that it carried Inferno's scent strongly. Yet it didn't..it stopped abruptly as if he had turned without them knowing. "Inferno? Inferno!" she called, stopping dead in her tracks and turning her head to look around behind her. She spotted a badger coming out of it's narrow den, it's eyes focused on something. "Oh..no..." she mumbled. "Stay here, please. I'll be right back, whatever you do..DON'T COME WITH, alright? I'm not trying to boss you around, but just please.." she said, charging towards the badger and it's revolting scent. A low growl vibrated in her throat, the battle she knew would come was imminent. Oh, please be okay..please Inferno..don't do this on me.. she told herself it'd be alright, but already she didn't believe so.


Altair nodded, a bit worried as to where Inferno went, but she stayed as Amiss had asked.

Inferno, not noticing Amiss, pressed himself against the tree as much as possible, trying to dodge the Badger's claws. Inferno didn't know what to do. Even with his dark powers, he was no match for a badger. It was about ready to slam down its paw on Inferno's body, when it heard an angry gorwl from elsewhere. It whipped around and saw Amiss charging at it. The badger snarled, grabbed Inferno by the neck, and drug him towards its den. Because Inferno was a fairly large Pup, the Badger was actually a bit clumsy.

Amiss stopped in her tracks and studied the situation. "INFERNO!" she yelled, charging yet again at the badger.
GrrrrraaawwrrffffRRRRRAAAAWWRRRRR!!
She let out a battle cry, leaping onto the badger's back. She dug her blunt but strong claws into the skin and climbed up onto the neck of it. She let the growing growl out, then bit down with all the force she could muster. She tasted the warm, bittersweet blood that pumped from the bite wound. She let go, shook her muzzle briskly, then dug her claws in deeper. She released one paw, then batted at the spot where she hoped one of the badger's eyes was.

Inferno was freed from the badger's jaws as it let out a roar in pain.
Inferno darted to safety, almost wishing he could help Amiss, but he knew he was much to small to take on this strangely large badger.

The badger, now blinded in one eye, flipped around, trying to free itself and drag itself into its den.

Amiss freed her claws from the skin of the badger, jumped down and fled towards Altair. "Inferno..are..are you okay?" she asked softly, nudging him. She licked his face, then his paws and flanks, slicking down his fur. "Are you going to be able to walk, or do you want to be carried?" she questioned, still licking him. She stopped, then looked at Altair. "Who knew there were badgers around here, huh..?" she laughed, warily. Adrenaline was still being pumped through her veins, causing her tail to wag and an almost evil grin plaster her face. She enjoyed fights, but only when they were for pleasure- yet, the previous fight had seemed like one of those. She licked her paw, smearing red over her pure white fur. "Dang, that'll be in there for a while." she mumbled, glaring back at where the badger had disappeared.

Inferno tried to get up, his black blood gleaming. "I-I think I can s-s-sta-" he fell to the ground, his head pounding. This was humiliating... it was sort of his fault, since he tripped over the root... Now he was covered with blood, and couldn't walk.
"Would it be okay if you carried me? I'm so sorry...." He hung his head in shame. If there was a guide on how to make yourself appear as a weakling, he would be following it as close as a fox following a chicken.

Altair couldn't stand waiting, and ran after to where Inferno and Amiss were. She stopped dead in her tracks. Not because Inferno couldn't stand, not because Amiss was badly hurt. Sure those were surprising things, but the reason she stopped was Inferno's blood. /It was black/
She sudddenly felt light headed. "I-it's..... you....." She said, still in shock. He was the cause of the strange aura in her territory. What was she to say to her pack?

Amiss's eyes widened, and she leaned over to pick up Inferno by the scruff. Altair's voice stopped her. "I-It's nothing to b-be worried a-a-about. He's just...different. He..it..we...the badger's blood was black..?" she attempted to cover for Inferno, but failed miserably. She licked him, pressing her tongue down on the worst of the wounds. She grabbed him by the scruff, twisted her head and neck until it hurt and attempted to put Inferno on her back. "Please..he's just different..he can't do anything to hurt you, and you shouldn't hurt him. He may just be your lifeline, essentially. Kill him, hurt him, whatever, and you'll be sentencing yourself." she looked into Altair's eyes, tail drooping and a small whine forming.
Altair, still in shock, backed away nervously, then bowed before Inferno. "You are the wolf who will lead my pack to safety. I can't believe it's you though... Although I don't know exactly how you will lead us out, you are him..." she said. She wasn't exactly sure if Inferno would hurt her or not, because the story was so broad. All she knew is that he would lead them to safety... but she was unsure of one thing. If Inferno was to lead their pack out, why is is that an heir of a dark wolf in the pack would have to save them? This was the biggest reason that she was nervous about Inferno. Would he turn dark from all of the ash, just like half the pack would? And how would he even become the leader? She was frightened, but she knew as long as the prophecy would play out, the future of her pack would be alright.

Amiss blinked. Her? Bowing before a pup like Inferno? Sure, he was in a prophecy but he was only a pup, and no one was for sure that it was him. "Ahh, pack wolves. I'll never understand. I've known the entire time! I'd think a leader wolf like you would have gotten the dream I did, but no. Seems not." she stared at Altair, then at Inferno. It was impossible. Unless he was trained with the best. The name "Oaki" popped up in her mind, but she had no idea why. Another part of the prophecy? Perhaps. The poor thing barely knew how to hunt efficiently, but he was going to save them all? How, she wondered, would that even start to work out? She shook her head, deciding that knowing may not be the best thing.

Monclear shook his fur, returning from a hunt. He set a plump deer in the middle of the camp, and looked into the sun, eyes gleaming. He looked back down, and took a large bite from the deer, and returned to the forest to hunt a bit more. Normally a wolf in his pack would go out in a hunting party. But Monclear honestly had no one ever to talk to. It seemed like everyone else always had their own business they were dealing with, so he mostly just kept to himself. He bolted out, running toawrds a large field. When he got there, he leapt into the air, feeling the breeze flow through his fur, and move through his soul. He closed his eyes and gave a faint smile. He loved the wind and the sky, and admired birds greatly. He never once ate, or tried to hunt one. He longed to have wings, but reality often struck him. He just couldn't, and he'd have to accept himself for the way he was.

Crunch, rustle, rustle
Oaki blinked open his eyes, long- excuse the phrase - cat-nap finished. He stood up, got out of his nest, then shook his fur. He padded out of the den, spotted freshly killed deer and raced towards it. He opened his greedy mouth happily, chewing on a leg. He tore it off, spotted a shaded spot and walked towards it. Setting the deer leg down, he fell down next to it and chewed yet again on it. His deep purple-black fur gleamed in the sunlight that shone between the leaves of the tree, and his eyes were squinted. All he had wanted in a long time was some good deer leg, and none seemed as good as this one. He sniffed the air, the scent of four wolves filling his nostrils. He didn't mind, though. He recognized three of them, and went back to his meal

Amiss blinked. She had a point, though she really didn't need to snap. She clenched her muzzle shut, feeling a small fire burn in her heart. She hadn't meant it like /that/, what right did the mystery wolf have to treat her like such? After all, if she hadn't of intervened, Inferno would have possibly been dead already! Where was the respect? She'd show her, alright..oh yes, she would. She sighed, grabbing Inferno again and setting him down in front of Altair. "If he's so important to you, take him!" she growled, charging off towards her den. She didn't even consider what message she was setting for the pup, but at that moment she really did not care. She picked her way up the path to her den. Once she got to it, she plopped herself onto the ledge. She watched the proceedings from above, ears laid back in distaste.


Monclear sighed, and sniffed the air for more prey. He smelled a rabbit, and heard it hopping about. He narrowed all of his senses on the rabbit, and tore off towards it, then scooped it up in his mouth. He padded back to the camp to see Oaki eating one of the legs of the deer he recently caught.
"Hello there Oaki" he said, trying to make conversation

Inferno's ears drooped. He was right all along... anyone that seemed to care for him would just leave him in the end. He gave a small whimper. Altair just seemed like she only cared about him because he part of a prophecy. What if he didn't succeed in fulfilling the prophecy? It seemed like a lot of pressure was on him right now, and no one even cared for him for being him.

Altair growled. She only snapped at her because it was important to her, and it was rather offensive to say what she had said.
"Come on Inferno, let's go..."

Inferno's head was spinning. What was he to do? No one in this world cared for him... not a single soul.... he snarled, rage building up. "I THOUGHT YOU CARED!" He roared, trying to lift himself up. Even though it was as painful as ever, Inferno tore off, his paws fumbling, tripping over rocks and twigs, bloodying up his fur more and more each time, but he kept going, not looking where he was going. He clunked his head on a rock, then fell, out cold.
They betrayed me.... they... all.... do....

Oaki's head snapped up, a low growl reverberating in his throat. He relaxed, seeing that it was only Monclear. He swallowed the small amount of meat in his mouth and yawned. "Hello Monclear. How's the prey running? It's nearly winter, the fact you found any good, easy-to-catch deer is surprising." he said, looking around.


"It's good. I guess I just search a lot" He stretched out his front paws. He lifted his muzzle in the air.
"Hm... I've never smelled this scent before... I smell two new scents of wolves... do you?" He tilted his head. If he could smell them, it must mean that they were some-what close. That must mean the leader was bringing them to their camp. He was looking forward to seeing new wolves.

Amiss watched Inferno run off. Guilt and rage rose inside her. He was going to get himself killed. All because she was a coward! Why, oh why was it HER that seemed to take the full blow of the guilt? Mystery wolf had been the one who made her feel that way! She sighed, raising up onto all fours. She was going to save him, and figure out who, or what this 'Oaki' was. She backed up, tail tip touching the rock wall. She ran forward, low to the ground, then launched herself off the ledge. Wind came racing at her, slowing her fall but slapping her in the face. "INFERNO! IINNNFFFEEERRRNNNNOOO!" She howled- still falling -, a loud bellowing howl filled with rage, guilt and overwhelming sadness. It seemed to cut her vocal cords, but she ignored it.
AaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrooooOOOOOOOORRRRRRRrrrrAhahahrraooooorrroooohhh
She howled again, adding more to the haunting call. Feet hit forest floor, and she nearly tumbled but caught herself. She took a deep breath and dashed, fast as she could go, legs pumping, towards Inferno's scent.

Oaki nodded. "I recognize Altair's scent, the other two....I'm not sure. Faint memories." he said, not willing to say what the last part meant. He watched the most-used pack-camp entrances, waiting for the figure of Altair and his 'sister' as well as an unknown wolf appear, dappled in shadow. His ears pricked. An almost deeply moving howl echoed through the camp, the voice only belonging to his lone sister. It can't be her..here? Here of all places? No, I must be mistaking myself..

ALtair, confused and concerned, ran after Inferno's scent as well.


Inferno was caught in a dream while blacked out. A strange, black wolf with a firey mane, around his age, was talking to him.
"Can you believe them? They've betrayed you... you must seek revenge... they don't care about you..."

"But.... revenge isn't always the answer. What good will that do? Besides, revenge is evil!"

"It will teach them that you are no weakling, and it'll make them regret what they've done to you. And they've done evil to you. Shouldn't they get a taste of their own medicine?"

"No... I can't... Even if she doesn't care about me, I still love her like a mother... I could never do that to her..."

"But she betrayed you! You loved your father... and what did he do!?"

Inferno was silent..

"WHAT DID HE DO!?!?!"

"He.... betrayed me... and I hate him... I hate them all... they're no different than my father..."
Inferno blinked his eyes open to see Amiss coming towards him. He snarled, foaming at the mouth, turning into his dark form. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" He screeched
He watched as Altair ran towards him as well "HAVEN'T YOU IDIOTS DONE ENOUGH TO ME!!?" He buried his head in his paws.

"I see..." Monclear sighed. He heard a loud screech. "Be right back," he said, curious to see what the noise was. He darted in the direction of the sound. When he got near enough to see, he stopped, watching from behind a tree. He stared into the eyes of a strange wolf he had never seen. As far as he knew, she didn't see him.

"I see..." Monclear sighed. He heard a loud screech. "Be right back," he said, curious to see what the noise was. He darted in the direction of the sound. When he got near enough to see, he stopped, watching from behind a tree. He stared into the eyes of a strange wolf he had never seen. As far as he knew, she didn't see him.

Amiss stopped dead in her tracks, tears welling up.
AaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrooooOOOOOOOORRRRRRRrrrrAhahahrraooooorrroooohhhrrooo
This time, the pitiful howl was filled with pure sadness. "But Inferno, you don't understand. /She/ only wants you for your power, but who, furball, saved you, when said wolf was starving herself? You were a pitiful puppy. Few would have taken you in, prophecy-wolf or not. I took you in, when I didn't even have my own pack or prey stock. She made me mad, of course I was going to run away. But I'm sorry, that was a big mistake. You've gotta know what it's like to have feelings control your actions. You've gotta understand!" she pleaded, rolling onto her back in submission. It was a foolish thing to do, but the pup WAS ferocious, it was only natural. She stared up at Inferno, tears already streaming like a river. She was guilty, and she knew it. She didn't like the feeling and she would sacrifice life and limb for everything to be right again.

Oaki watched Monclear go, then blinked. He sighed, set his deer leg down behind a bush and raced off after Monclear. He hid behind a large bush, eyes widening. There was Ammon, submissively rolled over. Again the howl came, making him shiver. He watched the proceedings curiously, not moving an inch.

Inferno looked into her eyes. She meant what she said. His dark form faded. He didn't want to be let down, but he trusted her. Battered and bloody, he crawled over to Amiss and looked deeper into her eyes. Hi softly licked her paw, and pulled it toawrds him. He rested his head on it. He felt he couldn't trust her.... but.... he loved her... she was the only one who really tried and cared for him. " I understand, mother" his eyes widened. Why did he call her mother? He supposed it just slipped.

Altair felt awfull. She didn't mean to cause all of this.
"I'm so sorry.... I..... I just was trying to think of the best thing for my pack, and didn't realise what I was doing.... I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just, my pack means everything to me.... and.... I didn't stop and think about how it would make you feel..." Her head dropped.


Monclear emerged, confused as to what was going on. His gaze was still locked on the strange she-wolf, almost in a trance. The sun made his fur look lumnious, while his his green eyes glowed.

Amiss flipped back over onto her belly, licking Inferno's face. "Thank you, Inferno. Now, we need to get you cleaned up. You've sure gotten yourself into a lot of trouble, furball." she said, in between bouts of licking. She looked over at Altair, nodded solemnly and went back to Inferno. She never even noticed the new wolf, nor the deep purple wolf who followed.

Oaki hesitantly followed Monclear, eyes still widened. He kept his gaze on Ammon, who was tending to the wounded mystery pup. "A-Ammon, is that you..?" he asked, voice wavering and uncertain. She was exactly as he remembered her, albeit a bit bloodied.

Inferno gave a soft chuckle. His head burned badly though. He definately could not walk now.

Altair gave a faint smile "You recognise her, Oaki?" She turned to Monclear "Hi Monclear." She turned away. Monclear gave no notice to Altair. He looked at Oaki, then back at the strange she-wolf. How did they know each other? Were they mates or something? He looked at Amiss. Then at the pup below her.
His face immediatly turned to a shcoked look. The pup... it was... bleeding black!?!? But.... those were just stories his leader told... they didn't really mean anything, did they?

Amiss's head snapped around, nearly giving herself whiplash. "...Who're you?" she asked, head tilted. His fur and markings, they were familiar..and how the wolf knew her previous alias was out of her reach.

Oaki studied Ammon again, hoping he was just mistaking himself. But nope, she was Ammon. He was as sure as his name was Oaki. "It's me, Oaki. Do you remember me? Mother has passed, but she told me that I needed to find you. Father was captured shortly after mother's passing." he explained, a lump forming in his throat. Remembering how their mother had passed was painful, but he felt it was important.

"Oaki...no, I do not remember you. I do remember your fur and markings, though. And, Ammon...that..that was my name from before, but I changed it to Amiss.." she said, sighing. It was so odd. This wolf, this wolf must have been her brother. And the name Oaki, she now knew what it meant. This wolf was to train Inferno, if her suspicions were correct.

Monclear realised it now "So you guys are related then?" It was odd really. A wolf from a prophecy, and a lost relative returning at the same time? How could this be?

Inferno tried to get up, shaking, but he fell to the tough dirt. He didn't say a word though. Monclear noticed, and the least he could do was help. He could tell he was in great pain, so instead of carrying him by the scruff, he stuck his muzzle under Inferno's belly, and carefully slid him onto his back. "We should get back to the camp immediately. They need their wounds treated immediately...." He silently padded towards the hill with many channels he had passed through on his way over here.

Altair watched Monclear pad off, and looked back at Amiss and Oaki, as if saying 'Are you ready? We should get back soon'

Inferno's head buzzed. Why was it that so much seemed to be keeping him from getting to the pack? It seemed like it the forest wanted to keep Inferno from reaching its center clearing where the wolves lived. But why?

Amiss nodded, stood up, shook herself and followed Monclear and Inferno. Oaki nodded as well, and followed, taking up the middle. He wasn't worried about the pup's blood color, as his parents had taught him that everyone was different, right down to the blood. He did notice a strange scent emanating from him, but again he wasn't worried. Amiss watched Inferno silently, guilt still clinging to her like burs. Confusion, guilt, worry and a small amount of eagerness clung to her, and she hoped they'd fall off soon. It was hard enough knowing Inferno was possibly in trouble, but the added stress of a long-lost brother and wounds added to it.

Monclear padded into one of the channels, motioning with his tail to follow. "So... what's your name, little one?" Monclear asked.
Inferno gave a small whimper, then weakly said "My name's Inferno..."
Moclear replied with "My name's Monclear..... The reason I'm named that is mostly because my eye and fur colors. Clear comes from nuclear, like my eyes, since they glow as is they're radioactive, and Mon come's from moon. like the Moon's light."

"Oh, they're human terms... I can't really explain it, it's kind of hard... You should rest though."

Inferno rested his head on his flank as they walked through the tunnel.

Altair trailed behind, watching from the back. The tunnels were dark, the only thing lighting them were the openings.

Monclear paused. The tunnel came to an intersection, and Monclear had to remember the way. Of course, this was no chalenge for him, as he often explored these underground passages. He turned to the right, stomping loudly so that the others could hear where he was in the blackness. Something odd happened though. Inferno's wound began to glow a dark purple color. Monclear hadn't noticed, but Altair did. She wondered if the others noticed as well.

Amiss kept her eye on Monclear and Inferno, and though she couldn't see them very well, she was intent on watching the two. Following, tail drooping slightly, she stared at Inferno and the purple light that radiated from him. The white wolf had not spoke of such happening to the 'chosen wolf', and such legends similar to the prophecy never said anything about it either. Then again, she wasn't like the pack wolves and she didn't know the same set of legends that they might.

Oaki followed silently, eyes fixed on the ground infront of him. His thoughts were rushing like a river, but he did his best to ignore them. It was not the time, he could tend to his thoughts later. He pricked his ears, listening to the soft breathing of Amiss, the pup, Altair and Monclear.

Monclear saw a light, and his ears listened for rushing water. There was a strong, gushing river that had broken through and created a thin tunnel that was growing everyday ever since Altair had become leader, he looked back, noticed the purple aurora. He had a dream explaining something like this about the "prophecy wolf" once, but he never told anyone it. Not like anyone would really care anyways. Besides, he didn't even really think it mattered much in the first place, since he didn't believe the stories and dreams before seeing this wolf, so why WOULD he tell anyone?In the dream, it said in the darkest times, a light would shine. However, although the light may be tempting, it would burn, just as a moth would be atracted to a fire, then smothered with the blaze. Monclear thought it had meant dark times, as in, hard, and tough times, not literally dark. But... what was this about burning? Monclear found out a second later. Inferno's blood burned like acid on Monclear's flesh. He cringed in pain, but didn't dare put Inferno down. After all, he couldn't walk, and if anyone were to take the pain, he wanted it to be him. Monclear thought about it for a moment. Did this have a symbolic meaning as well as a physical meaning?

Inferno licked the wounds on his front paws. He looked up at Monclear's face, then looked down at Monclear's fur. He realised it must be his blood that was causing Monclear pain, but it didn't seem to burn to him. His ears pricked, hearing rushing water, and he looked forward to see a faint light. They were nearing the exit.

When Monclear finally reached the exit, he pointed in the direction of the camp with his tail. "Not too far now. How are you doing?" he said, averting his gaze from the camp, and turning to face Amiss. He wanted to believe he was asking her because she was another "guest", and he already knew how Inferno was doing. But he honestly felt it was a different reason. He shook his head to cleear the thought from his mind.

Amiss blinked, eyes adjusting to the light. "Uh, fine..thanks. Why are you asking?" she said, eyes still locked onto Inferno as if he was prey. "Want me to take him?" she asked, noticing the singed look his fur had in the areas Inferno's blood had touched.

Oaki emerged behind Amiss, licked her muzzle and sat down on his haunches, listening to the conversation, still wrapped up in curiosity.

Monclear shrugged "I don't know... I guess since you're a guest here in the forest?" He lied, trying to make himself believe it as well.
"I can keep him on my back... it's not far, and his blood isn't exaclt y burning me anymore... "

Since they could all see clearly now, Altair took off towards the camp, and motioned for eveyone else to do the same. Monclear bolted off, but kept his back from moving too much, that way Inferno wouldn't fall off.

Oaki and Amiss exchanged confused glances, then tore off, following the two pack wolves. Their tails streamed behind them, fur being 'plastered' to their sides. Amiss's eyes shone with eagerness, and reflected Oaki's eyes. Amiss's head started to fill with questions. Did the pack have herbs? How did they tend to wolves' wounds if not? How big was their pack? Was it only Monclear and Oaki, and then Altair? So many questions, but not enough time.

Monclear reached the clearing, and trotted into his den. He rested Inferno into his den, then licked his wounds a bit "At the moment, we don't a healer... We have plenty of herbs in case of emergancies... If I could, i would help you, little guy, but I don't exactly know which herbs do what. All I know is that cobwebs can help stop bleeding." He took a mouth full of the cobwebs and pressed it against Inferno's side.

Meanwhile, Altair padded into the camp, and leaped up onto the high ledge. She didn't see anymore wolves stirring abourt which was a bit odd. Where was everyone? Perhaps in their dens? She cleared her throat, then spoke "Gather for a pack meeting" She said in a mellow tone.


Oaki wrapped his tail around Amiss, signaling her to follow him to the clearing under the high ledge. She followed as asked, and laid down near the back. He grinned, laid down next to her and set his head on her paws in a friendly, almost family-love way. She sighed, heaving a deep breath, then looked up at Altair. Oaki closed his eyes, but aimed his ears towards his leader.



Rajora stretched out her paws and came scampering out of a bush she had been exploring. She trotted towards the ledge. She looked around, smelling two new scents. She spotted Amiss, and walked over to her "Hello!" she said in a soft, pup-like voice. She sniffed the strange new wolve's flank. Where was this other scent coming from?

Altair smiled "Rajora, don't be rude, I was just about to talk about them. That is, once all of the wolves gather."

After Inferno's bleeding stopped, Monclear padded outside of the den "Stay here, Inferno." He said, walking to the area beneath the rock ledge.

Izue padded out of his den, shaking his coat as he went. He scented two new wolves but was only intent on following his leader's orders, and he took up a spot near a red and white she-wolf. He spotted Oaki resting his head on the new wolf's paws. He grinned, stifling a soft chuckle. He turned his attention up to Altair, blinking in the sun's glare.

Oaki and Amiss kept quiet, Amiss only acknowledging Rajora with a small flick of her tail and a grin. Oaki opened an eye, winked at Rajora and closed it again.

Altair spoke in a clear voice " You may have noticed the two new wolves that have come to our pack. Please, treat our guests with much respect, as they play an important part of our pack. She didn't want everyone to start a whole big things, so she didn't mention Inferno was part of the prophecy, painted on her den wall with paw prints. She knew Inferno needed his rest, and she didn't want anyone bothering him. Would they even believe her? "Izue, there is a small pup in the healer's den, He's in need of treatment. So does Amiss, but the pup needs urgant help." She flicked her tail in signal that the meeting was over.

Monclear turned to Amiss and sighed a bit. In a way... he felt a longing for something, but he honestly didn't know what. He walked over to the prey pile, and tore off another deer leg. He silently ate from it.

Inferno listened from inside the den, and awaited Izue's arrival. Was he going to be nice? Or did he know about the prophecy, and was he only going to help him because of it?

Izue nodded, bouncing to his feet happily. He bounded over to the Healers' den and immediately was greeted with a pitiful sight- a battered, bloodied pup. He glanced at his herb stash, and grabbed a Burdock Root. He chewed it to a pulp, then licked his paw and padded down on the wounds, letting a good amount of the pulp stick on. "Now, little pup, this pulp will speed healing. I can only hope you do not have infection, but if you do it is most likely only a minor one. Sniff this, I need you as calm and relaxed as possible." He pushed a bit of lavender near Inferno's nose, then also chewed leaf, root and stem of some Yarrow and applied it to the wounds, mixing the two pulps would help Inferno muchly.

Amiss sighed, standing up and slowly walking towards where Izue had disappeared. She glanced into the den, watching him apply the various herbs. It was amazing, everything she taught herself and more at the paws of the healer wolf.

Oaki's head clunked the ground, due to Amiss removing her paws from under his head. He mumbled something, then stood up and walked over to where he had earlier hid his deer leg. It was still good, lucky for him. He grabbed it, dragged it to where he was previously laying and chewed it contentedly.

"Alright" Inferno said, inhaling the wonderful scent of lavender. It was so calming, he bagan to feel drowsy, and his eye lids began to feel heavier. Finally, he drifted off into slumber.

Monclear walked over to Oaki, and whispered "So.... She's your sister?" he grunted a bit then asked "She's very..." He paused for a moment. "She's very pretty..." he said, wincing and preparing himself for Oaki to be angry at him or something for saying this.

Rajora walked over to Amiss ad sniffed her pelt once more. "Hello!" she said cheerfully.

Izue licked the rest of the slightly bitter pulp onto his fur, then watched as the pulp he applied to Inferno dried and did it's job. He nodded, stood up and padded his way out of the den, nodding to Amiss. "Well, ma'm, shall we get your wounds?" he asked casually, as if she had nothing more than a few clean scrapes.

Oaki blinked, barely keeping down a loud and quite obnoxious laugh. He wasn't one to do such things, but it /was/ pretty funny. He considered his words, attempting to be tactful. "Well...I...heh..gahah..she is pretty, that's for...gahahhhahah..sure." he said in between giggles and bouts of laughter. "Sorry, sorry...gahah..heh..but yes..?" Oaki whimpered, feeling a bit bad for downing Monclear.

Amiss looked at Izue up and down, he was such an interesting wolf. Most wolves in her family had the interesting markings, but it seemed not just her family after all. She shook her head, then looked down at Rajora. "Hello, sweetie. Listen, I gotta get my wounds treated- never take on an unusually big badger alone, or you'll end up like the pup in there or like me." she laughed, then got back to what she was going to say. "Anyways, I can talk after Izue here has treated my wounds. See ya soon, sweetie." she said, nodding to Izue.

Monclear's ears flattened against his head, a bit embaressed. He turned away, and padded into his own den. Then, he fell over onto his bedding. He wasn't exactly in the mood to stay active right now. At least after the last incident. The reason he was sad wasn't the fact that he was embaressed though. It was mostly that when Oaki laughed at him, he real;ised that he probably would never be a good mate for Oaki, as he didn't exactly fight the best, so how could he protect her? He also wasn't the most social wolf in the world, as he spent a large amount of his time away from the wolves, and only occasionally starting a conversation.

Rajora gave tiny chuckle. "Izue, do you mind if I stay here and watch?" She said, curious to know how he healed the wolves. Was it magic? Did Izue have secret powers? Of course, this kind of thinking was common for a small pup.


Inferno drifted deeper and deeper into a slumber. He had had a long day.
"Hello there, Other half" a voice said. It was the same black wolf he had spoke to before.

"Hello." Inferno said "Who are you anyways?"

"I am you, of course. Your other half. And yyou're my other half. We work together in one body, but you're the one in control, as you were here before I."

"How'd you get here anyways?"

"You, of course. You invited me here. You created me. I am your hatred. Your darkness. Your power. The reason why you're so important. If it weren't for me, you would've never survived that badger attack. After all, you struck back with your dar power, didn't you? When you let me help you, you have the strength of two wolves. And the senses of two wolves. Without me, you would be alone"

Inferno's eyes widened "You mean.... you're... you're here because of my hatred? And... I... created you?" Inferno thought about what his darkness said. "But... I wouldn't be alone without you... I have Amiss, don't I?"

"Yes, I'm here because of your hatred for your father." the dark shadow of himself explained "But don't you see? Your hatred is what makes you stronger. Also... Amiss? Doesn't her little episode make you wonder, is she REALLY always going to be there for you in your darkest times? I am your light in your dark. Yes, I am a shadowey figuire, but my light is my knowledge. I know that if you trust me, and let me have a bit more control in your life, you will become great, and you will be legendary."

"But... I know Amiss didn't mean it!" Inferno cried. He thought about what his darkness said about the light though. "Are... are you the one who makes my black blood, and makes it glow in my darkest times? Was that whole incident in the tunnels a symmbolic thing? But... I don't understand.... why did it hurt Monclear?"

The darkness was silent for a moment, then made up a lie "It was to show that when you are hurt, and in a dark time, they should still be disciplined, and know their place when YOU'RE in control. After all, you're the wolf from the prophecy. They should know their place." The darkness knew very well that the burning REALLY meant that no matter how desirable the darkness was, it would still end up consuming you, until you weren't your old self anymore. In fact, his darkness knew his whole future. He knew more than the pack wolves did. The darkness wanted to convince Inferno that it was the key to becoming respected, because the darkness KNEW that if Inferno turned towards light, the darkness would be killed, and overcome.

"But.... I don't want to control them... I don't even WANT to be apart if this stupid prophecy.. why couldn't it have been some other wolf?"

"Because, you have me. No other wolf has darkness in their heart like you do. You are unwanted by everyone and everything. Except me. I am your only friend, Inferno."

"No.... Amiss cares a lot about me too!"

"So did your dad, remember?" he brought up again. "Or it seemed. Turns out, he didn't want you. Even if she didn't mean what she did earlier, who's to say that she still won't abandon you?"

"Me!" he snarled. He leapt at the darkness, and clasped his teeth around its throat. The darkness roared, and flipped around, throwing Inferno off of his shadowy back.

"You see Inferno, I am a valuable part of you. Why is it you don't trust me? I am the only one who truely cares. Maybe Amiss does care a bit. But not as much as I. I am so close to you, I'm embeded in your genes. If we work together, and become leader, you will get the respect you've deserved your whole life."

Inferno looked down sadly. Maybe the only way to get respect in life was to do something that he didn't want. After all, not everything can go his way. He knew that in life, sometimes you'll have to do things you don't want to do, and the out come is something you want.
"Alright... I'll... try to trust you... I don't want to become a leader... but... if what you say if true, I will consider. "

The darkness smirked. He wanted Inferno to fully trust him, but he knew that this would take time. The situation was like a thread with a weight. If he put to much weight, or force, onto Inferno, he would break, and the bond between them would be lost. But if he slowly made the thread, or the the bond, stronger, he could aplly more force onto Inferno, until he got so pressed that he would open his entire sol to the darkness, and it could consume him, smothering his true self, and turning it into something else under his control.


Inferno opened his tiny eyes. It couldn't be true... he knew Amiss cared for him. But the darkness was very tempting at the same time. Inferno shook all of his thoughts from his mind. He didn't need to think about it now anyways.

Izue nodded to Rajora, "Just don't get in the way, alright?" he said, reentering his den. Amiss followed obediently, sniffing Inferno as they passed him. "Alright, just lay here in this nest. Now, I don't see any visible wounds. Do show me where your wounded." he whispered, not wanting to wake up Inferno much more.

Amiss settled down into the nest and turned over her front paws. "I jumped down from a pretty tall ledge, and my paws got cut up on the rocks. And after the badger attack, my legs started to hurt. The bleeding has stopped though." she explained, glancing at the herb stash. Pink star-shaped flowers, thistle-like plants, a large-leafed fernlike plant, and much more were completely new to her. She inhaled the various scents, calmed by the sleep-inducing herbs.

Izue examined her paws, then dabbed them in the dirt. "What was that for?" Amiss asked curiously, sniffing at her paws.

"Any open bit of wound will heal up better with dirt, I didn't use it on the pup because he had so many wounds." he explained, chewing on some Goldenrod. He licked it off onto his paw pads, then dabbed it into Amiss's paw pads. "Goldenrod, great for healing minor wounds." he explained. Izue pushed a fat black root infront of Amiss. "Comfrey, good for broken bones. I'm assuming that's what that pain is, but it could be something else. Eat it into a pulp, then swallow." he instructed.

Amiss sniffed it, then chewed it. Swallowing, she winced. "Kinda bitter.." she coughed, then looked at Izue. "Thank you." she said simply, standing up and walking out of the den.


Rajora nodded, and watched the proccess closely. She was amazed at how much Izue knew. After Izue was finished, she wondered how badly the other wolf was. She padded over to where Inferno lay. He seemed like he was awake, but he didn't seem to notice her. He was torn up pretty bad, with scratches along his side, gashes in his leg and belly, and chunks of skin and fur missing. Now she knew why he couldn't walk. She poked him with her tiny paw, and Inferno jolted in surprise.

"Oh, hello" Inferno said. He had been deep in thought, and was kind of irritated the other pup disturbed his thinking. He laid his head on his paws.

Rajora's ears drooped "I'm sorry. I just wanted to know how you were doing. Is that wolf your mother?" She said, flicking her tail towards Amiss.

Inferno was surprised. Why was it that so many wolves were being so kind to him? It was obvious that this pup didn't know he was part of this "prophecy", so why did she care about how he was doing? And why were the others doing the same? It seemed the only wolf who didn't actually care about his true self was Altair. But maybe she did? He didn't know.. "I'm doing good... and... she's not my mother. My Mother is dead, and my father abandoned me."

Rajora had pity in her eyes. It must be hard not being wanted, and having someone you loved die. "I'm so sorry...." she said.

Inferno shrugged. He really didn't feel like pity at the moment. He really wanted to talk to Amiss about the darkness inside him, and what it had said. "Well... I should be getting rest."

Rajora nodded, then scampered out of the den.

Inferno lifted himself up, his wounds still burning. He decided instead of walking, he'd drag himself. He lugged his weight over to wear Amiss was. "Amiss, can I talk to you about something in private?"


Izue blinked, considering telling Inferno that he needed rest and shouldn't be walking. He sighed, decided against it, and dashed out of his den towards Altair. "The pup and Amiss have been seen to, ma'm." he reported, nodding towards the two.

Amiss looked down at Inferno, a cross look on her face. She sighed, "Inferno, really..you could have just called my name. Get your furball butt back in there, and we'll talk." The last part, furball butt, was of course just a joke. She looked back at Oaki, then at Monclear's den and padded into the healer's den.

Oaki finished his meal, crunching the bones into edible pieces. He stood up, stretched, then darted over to the last bits of the deer. He tore off a large chunk of meat and another leg, dragging them over and into the healer's den for Inferno and Amiss.

Altair nodded in understanding.

Inferno pulled himself back into his bed, then told Amiss about everything that happened in his dream. "What should I do Amiss? I....." He paused, shuffling his paws. He knew that he could only talk to Amiss about this "Please, don't tell anyone else in the pack..."

Meanwhile, Monclear had woken up, and was going out to hunt. He trotted over to his favorite field, but.. it didn't seem the same. The field always seemed to accompany him, but this time, he felt very much alone. He'd never actually felt this way before, as he never thought too much about it. But now, he knew he was alone. He wanted someone to hunt with, spend his life with, and start a family with. Obviously, he would want to be alone at some times, because that's who he was, but he wished that he had someone to go to when he didn't feel like being alone.

Oaki dashed out of the healer's den, realizing that Amiss and Inferno probably needed to talk. He watched Monclear go, then looked around. "Hmm..maybe I'll go collect some fish." he murmured to himself, charging out of camp.

Amiss considered her words carefully, almost unsure if the pup was being serious. "Well, Inferno, I don't know. As you've described it, this is darkness. So, darkness cannot be trusted. Rarely have such things gone well. I'm not saying you should distrust this...other half of you, but I'm also not saying that you should trust it. It should not escalate into a true trust, if you decide to half-trust this wolf." she said thoughtfully, "As well, I do not plan on abandoning you. If I do, it's most likely not my choice but my personality. I do hope that makes sense." she continued. "Inferno, my conclusion is- tell this wolf or darkness or whatever, tactfully, that you are not open to completely trusting it. If he tells you about your father again, simply say 'The past is the past, and you are part of it' and leave it at that. I can't see that not working, but as far as I'm concerned trusting the darkness is dangerous." she concluded, shaking herself.

Inferno nodded. But... what the darkness said made sense... He should trust what Amiss was telling him though.
"Should you really?" the darkness whispered to him. "It's funny, I've never once tried to abandon you because of my 'personality', now have I? And yet she's telling you not to trust me?"
Inferno tried to ignore it, but what the darkness said made so much sense... he just couldn't avoid this temptation. He knew darkness was evil, but... he said that he is Inferno's light...
"Amiss... my darkenss never tried to leave me because of its "personality". Why is it I should trust you over it? And how do you know he's really bad? After all, he DID say that he was my light. And how is he apart of my past if he still exists in me, helping me through the dark times. If he's so evil, why is it that he'd HELP me?" He said, the tip of hi ears turning a darker color by the second. Soon, the tip of his ears were a shadowy black color.

"Because, my little puppy friend, he could easily be lying to you. Now, I must admit that I might be too. But hey, what do I have to gain from it? He, or it, on the other hand..well, he could take you over easily if he so desired and, wait for it.." she paused dramatically, giggling softly, "He could take out all the packs leaders, causing himself to be the leader. He has a lot to gain from a pup like you, not to mention your the prophecy-wolf. I don't have nothin' to gain from it, and I also do not lie without a purpose. Besides, I believe he couldn't leave you if he wanted to. I'm sure there are more wolves like you, older too. Darkness, Inferno, is bad. No matter how you look at it. Unless, of course, your stalking night prey, and then it's helpful. Light? LIGHT? Again, he is probably lying. To reply to the past thing, I must admit that was bad wording on my part. I simply mean that you need to tell him, straight out, that you are not interested. You need to put him in your past, it's fine if he wants to help you with things like the badger attack, but that thing with the deer, that was most likely the bad part of the darkness." she said, heaving a deep breath. She was surprised at herself, she didn't know she could actually give good advice, especially to a pup. She watched Inferno closely, his face, his ears, his eyes especially. If he was troubled by the darkness, or anything else, she'd be able to tell. She ignored the rapidly changing fur and markings and such.

Oaki exited the tunnels, then veered off West. He flew over fallen logs, bushes, anything in his way. When a tree was blocking him, he nearly hit it but swerved just in time. He reached the river and splashed in.
Ker-ploosh! Ker-PLASH! Flish, flish, flishh
His tail wagged by itself, and he barely noticed. Small orange fish darted in all directions.
CRASH! SPLASH!
Oaki's paws hit two of them, and he collected them quickly. Setting them down on the bank, he spotted a larger fish, about the size of a rabbit. He crouched, rose his bottom, shook, then pounced onto it. It dodged, but the shock wave caused it to flip out of the water onto the bank. Oaki administered a quick bite to the neck and the fish stopped writhing. He collected his three fish and ran back towards the tunnels.

Izue's belly gurgled at him, and he looked over into the middle of the clearing. Just enough deer left for him and Altair. He took the last leg, settled down near Oaki's den and chewed the leg happily.

Inferno sighed. Amiss was right... he shouldn't listen to him.He's just a dirty, little-

"GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Inferno roared, feeling his throat pulse with pain. What was happening?
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!" The darkness howled "DO WHAT I SAY! YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME! YOU WANT TO BE RESPECTED, DON'T YOU!?!?" The darkness said, tearing the skin around his throat loose. Inferno let aout another horrifying screech, similar to the one after he slaughtered the deer, but this one sounded a whole lot worse. Inferno turned into his dark from, and lost control. He felt himself run outside of the den. He struggled to stop, but couldn't. The darkness attacked the first thing wolf saw; Monclear. Inferno sailed through the air, his claws digging into Monclear's back. Monclear howled, shaking to free himself from Inferno's claws, and the darkness's attacks. Monclear didn't dare try to hurt Inferno though. How could he? "Inferno!" he yelled in pain "What's happened to you, get out of this!" Monclear howled. He knew he needed to protect himself, but what if Amiss got mad at him for hurting Inferno?

"Inferno!" Amiss squeaked, voice caught in her throat. She sighed, throwing out another one of her battle-cry-like howls.
AhhhaahhrooROOOWWWrrroarrrowRRRR
As soon as the howl came, it was gone with the wind. She barreled out of the den, jumping onto Inferno, carefully calculating the pressure and speed, as well as the angle so as to not knock over Monclear. She pinned Inferno down, keeping her throat well away from the pup's menacing jaws. "Inferno. INFERNO. Get a hold of yourself, furball." she snapped, batting at the pup's ears playfully, attempting to bring out the puppy playfulness she knew was buried in Inferno's instinct. Amiss looked eye-to-eye with him, scanning the dark eyes pleadingly.

Izue jumped at the sound of Inferno's screech, eyes wide and heart thudding like a gun shot. He looked around, then spotted Amiss positioned herself on top of the poor pup. But, something wasn't right..he wasn't very playful like, his fur was different, and he had a possessed look in his eyes. He watched silently, already making a herb list in his mind. Monclear, Amiss and Inferno would most definitely need tending to.

Oaki stopped abruptly as soon as he entered camp, fish dangling from his jaws. He tossed them into the bushes briskly, then looked at his sister and the pup. "Amiss, Inferno..?" he whispered, unsure. Amiss's fur was darker than normal, dirt clinging to her fur greedily.

Inferno couldn't stop the darkness... He had let it take too much of him over. Now he understood...
He could feel the darkness controling his mouth, snapping his jaws around Amiss's neck. At this moment, Inferno took over the darkness, and threw himself against the ground, knocking out his shadowy self.
"Don't you DARE hurt Amiss again!" He snarled, tearing off after the darkness, then springing onto it. He pounded his paws over and over against the darkness. It roared a bellowing howl, then began to whimper, tail between legs. It turned to smoke, then crept back into Inferno's mouth. Inferno had more power over the darkness once more. His wounds from the darkness quickly healed, as he had hurt the darkness enough to be stronger than the damage.

Monclear, however, had wounds that would not heal. It was probably because he wasn't the one who had caused the darkness to flee. He panted, then shook himself. He had had worse wounds in his life, and these weren't all that bad.

Rajora listened to this from her den, almost too afraid to move. What were those noises coming from outside? What if the world wasn't eactly a place that was always welcoming, and fun to explore? It was hard to accept this, as Rajora had always thought that the world was a magnificent place. But... after hearing this... she began to realise that even the best of souls could be torn apart by evil.

Amiss backed up quickly, mind already starting to reel. She coughed, then looked around. "Izue...I believe that is..your name.." she said, coughing. "Help..?" she squeaked, stumbling half-blindedly towards the healer's den. She set herself down onto one of the beds and heaved a deep breath. Sleep would come so easily, but she knew that it was less likely she'd wake up if she fell asleep untreated.

Izue was frozen in place, but at the sound of his name he was bouncing into his den. He took a pawful of cobwebs, covering the four bite marks. He examined them thoroughly, then came to a conclusion. "Any farther to the right and you'd have been a goner. Your 'alpha' veins as I call them are a few more inches to the right, but they shouldn't be punctured. You should be fine. The reason your feeling as you do? Your mind is just tricking you." he explained, pushing some Coltsfoot leaves in front of Amiss's mouth. "Coltsfoot, good for shortness of breath. Now, I don't care if you don't HAVE shortness of breath, it's to prevent it anyways. Chew it into a pulp and eat it." he instructed, sorting through his stash. He pulled some marigold towards him, chewing the petals of the flower. He licked Amiss's wounds gently, with enough pressure to get the marigold poultice to stick but gentle enough to not hurt her.

Amiss sniffed the Coltsfoot, took it in her mouth and chewed. She swallowed, a sweet aftertaste following. She looked at Izue's stash, noticing some poppyseeds. She looked at him, and he nodded knowingly. Amiss stretched her neck as far as possible, lapping up a few of the seeds.

Oaki collected his fish again and tossed them next to the deer. He looked at Monclear, tossed his head towards the healer's den and ran towards Rajora's den.

Inferno padded into the healer's den. "Amiss... I'm..." he closed his eyes, tears streaming out of the corners of his eyes. He had let the darkness take too much control, and... it was all his fault... He felt a horrible ache in the pit of his stomache from guilt. "I'm so sorry...." He whimpered, pressing his head into Amiss's pelt.
Inferno felt so awfull... he was a monster... and... it was his own fault.... "Amiss... how could you ever forgive me? You did all you could to help me, and.... I betrayed you...."

Monclear lugged himself into the healers den. "Amiss? Are you alright?" He stopped for a moment, seeing Inferno with his head rested upon Amiss's flank. He decided now wouldn't be a good time.

Rajora opened her tiny blue eyes, watching Oaki move towards her. "W-what happened?" she stammered, looking at Oaki with lost and desperate eyes.

Izue watched Inferno and Monclear enter, decided that they probably need more time alone. He stood up, nodded at Monclear, and took off towards Altair. "So, that's your prophecy wolf? He's not a bad kid, but..I dunno." he murmured, half to himself.

Amiss blinked, the poppy seeds already going to work. "No, Inferno. Do not put yourself down like that, furball. It wasn't your fault, and it wasn't anyone's fault. If anyone is to blame, it is /him/, the one who gives you your powers." she said softly, licking Inferno's head gently. She craned her neck and rested her head on Inferno's back, eyes closing slowly. "Yes, Monclear. I am fine, thank you for asking." she said, not wanting to ignore him.

Oaki looked down at Rajora, considering his words. "A small...ah...bickering of a fight, it's nothing to worry about. Two wolves were wounded but it's truly nothing bad, you'll be fine and they'll be fine." he said bravely, licking the small pup reassuringly.


Altair looked away in embaressment. Was it really worth it to allow him to stay in her pack to save them if he was just going to end up hurting everyone in the process? She couldn't help but wonder...

Inferno looked into Amiss's eyes "But... I gave in to his lies... it's partially my fault.... I shouldn't just trusted you...." he closed his tiny eyes "But now... I don't even know if the pack trusts me... they don't know that he was using me like a puppet. They just think /I/ did it! He began to cry helplessly. Here he had someone that FINALLY cared, and he betrayed THEM. Why? Why!??! Why did I do that?! He thought.
The darkness pondered over the situation. He was out of tricks.... for now...

Monclear nodded in reply to Amiss while walking out. He was incredibly worried about Amiss. He didn't exactly understand why the pup attacked him and Amiss, but he knew by looking at how much Inferno really did care about Amiss that he truely did not mean to hurt her.

Rajora nodded silently, then nudged Oaki's leg with her muzzle "Oaki... sometimes I wonder... where are my parents? If they were really in a different pack, don't you think they'd at least visit me, or send other wolves to tell me how they are, or something? I mean... why would they even leave me in the first place?"

Amiss was half-asleep, but was still awake enough to answer in a gentle whisper. "Inferno. It's not your fault, and even if it is, I do not blame you. And we'll tell them something, maybe...you had a bad dream, or..something, we'll tell them something. Don't worry..." her head slowly slipped down onto the den ground, sleep overcoming her.

Izue padded towards Monclear, twitching his tail towards the healer's den. "Quiet, though. The adult wolf is asleep, or should be, and the pup is probably gonna be sometime soon as well." he said softly, entering the den.

Oaki sat down next to Rajora, sighing. "Well, Rajora, I'm not sure. Sometimes, wolves have to part. Once your old enough to be weaned, and have learned how to hunt at least half successfully, your ready to part from your parents. It's hard, but that's how it is. And they probably just don't know where you are, or have....been busy." he said, attempting to comfort her by lying on the last part.

Inferno nodded, his eyes slowly getting heavier. He needed rest as well. Even though his wounds were gone, he was still worn out from the incident.

Monclear soflty padded in where the sleeping pup and female lay. Since no one else was around, and they wre both asleep, he softly licked Amiss's cheek and whispered in her ear in a clear voice "I love you..." He backed away, and laid down in the bedding beside Amiss and Inferno. He had almost completely forgot about his wounds.

Rajora looked deeply into Oaki's eyes. "You've lied to me long enough... tell me where they are!" She said in a vicious, but soft tone. She gave a small pup growl, her tiny white teeth showing.

Izue yawned softly, the sun starting to set. "'Bout time, I say.." he muttered, looking over at Monclear. "I'll get to your wounds in the morning, alright? They don't look too bad." he whispered, exiting the den and settling himself outside of his den, nearly smack-dab in the middle of the entrance. He heaved a deep breath, then listened to the distant voices of Oaki and Rajora, as well as the night-life that was slowly coming to life.

Oaki blinked. Does this pup have the same 'power' that me and Amiss have? he thought, quite confused. "I don't really know, Rajora. I'd ask Altair, she would know. I'm just a 'lowly' member, but Altair is the leader and there is more of a chance that she knows." he said softly, turning around to exit the den.

Amiss stirred in her sleep, dreams entering her thoughts..

"Amiss, I have come again." a pure-white, almost misty wolf said.
"...You, the ghost wolf...?" Amiss asked, blinking. A strong wind roared at her, bringing with it freezing cold temperatures. The empty-ness that had previously surrounded the two wolves flashed, disappearing. In it's wake was a barren land, snow covering everything. Amiss looked around, stunned. She spotted dens off to one side, as well as the high-ledge. It was the camp, but...snowed-in.
"Amiss, the time is coming closer. The pup needs training, and winter is soon to come. You must tell your brother this, and everything...or most everything..will go accordingly." the wolf turned around, and a blast of snow surrounded the wolf, enveloping it. Amiss lost sight of the wolf, and everything turned black.

Rajora sighed. "Are you sure you don't know? I just.. I feel like you do...." She let her head hang. She always felt like there was always something to be happy about, and to explore... but now... It just felt like she had been a foolish pup who didn't recognise reality.

"No, Rajora. I do not know for sure. But, wherever they may be, they are watching over you and it is only nature, how we were born." he said simply, not even turning to look at her. He exited her den, sighed and entered his. He plopped himself into his bed, drowsy as always.

Rajora looked into the stars outside her den. She often looked at the sky while inside her den. It always seemed to comfort her when she was sad. For some reason, at this moment, she felt as if she was about the face death, and she had to protect something. An image flashed before her in her mind, but, it went so fast, she could barely make out what it was. It seemed to be a light blue smudge. She let the thought slip from her mind, as it probably wasn't important.

Inferno awoke to a gleam along the horizon, the light shining through trees onto his face. He stretched, then lifted his muzzle in the air. He turned around to see Monclear, sleeping the the bedding next to Amiss, his tail slighty wrapped around hers. Inferno tilted his head. Now that I think about it... Monclear didn't even try to fight back when I- well, the darkness, attacked him... Perhaps he didn't want to hurt him.. for some reason?

At that moment, Monclear awoke. "Hello Inferno..." he said in a half asleep voice. He wondered if Amiss would wakeup soon. He hoped she'd get some rest though.

Amiss's eyes flashed open, morning light streaming in through the den entrance. Her jaws opened in a long yawn, and she closed them quickly. Looking down at Inferno, then at Monclear, she stood up and stretched. Her neck was a little sore, but otherwise it felt fine. She licked Inferno, and nuzzled Monclear playfully. "Morning, boys." she laughed, looking out of the den tiredly.

Monclear tilted his head. He'd never seen Amiss act that way before... In a way, he was happy, but at the same time, it was confusing, and surprising.

Inferno looked up at Monclear. His expression looked confused. "Monclear, why have you been acting so weird lately? "

Monclear looked down out Inferno. He looked back up, then walked out without answering.

Inferno shrugged. If Monclear didn't want to tell him, he didn't want to force him to.

Monclear walked over to Amiss. "How are you feeling, Amiss?"

Amiss shrugged, blinking at Inferno. "Fine, thank you. Yourself?" she nodded her head at Monclear's wounds.

Izue blinked, eyes adjusting to the dim morning light. He stood up, yawned, shook himself and stretched. "Monclear!" he half-whispered, half-yelled. He bounded into the healer's den and looked at his three 'visitors.'

Oaki opened his eyes for a moment, but groaned, rolled over and fell back to sleep.

Monclear shrugged, not reponding, but instead, looking into Amiss's eyes. Of course he could'nt read anyone's mind through them, but, there was just something about Amiss's eyes that captivated him.
He jumped at the sound of his voice, and spun around. "Oh, hello Izue" He said with a sigh. "Izue, I think I'm fine. My wounds aren't that bad, I can go without treatment, alright?"

Izue blinked, took a long glance at his wounds, and nodded. "I 'spose they look okay anyways, so sure.." he nodded solemnly, turning around and exiting the den. He looked at the fish in the middle of the camp, approaching them slowly. Fish? Food? There was no way...fish could be food, especially for a wolf. He sighed, he wasn't the best at hunting but a /mouse/ would be better than fish. Muttering to himself, he trotted out of camp.

Amiss blinked again, looking away shyly. She had this odd...feeling that seemed to emanate from Monclear, and it only 'radiated' when they were together.

Monclear watched Izue pad out the camp, then turned to Amiss. Then he turned his gaze to the sky above. Clouds dancing and twirled through out the whole sky. He tilted his head, looking at the clouds a bit closer. They looked oddly familiar. He looked at Amiss's flank, and then to the sky once more.
"Amiss.... look... the clouds... they have the same design as your pelt...."

Inferno over heard, and couldn't help but participate. "What designs? All I see is one big puffy cloud... it doesn't look like any design...."

Monclear looked back up into the clouds, and Inferno was right. Was he just seeing things> Or had it been a sign?

Monclear looked at his paws for a moment. "Amiss, the prey looks a little low... do you think we should go hunting?" It felt odd to Monclear to say this, as he had never asked another wolf to hunt before, since he normally hunted alone.

Amiss shrugged, considering the fact that her marking was wispy, and clouds were wispy. She nodded at the hunting offer happily, but paused.."Inferno can come, too, right? He needs hunting practice, and I'd like to train him mostly before winter closes in." she asked doubtfully, glancing at the pup.


Monclear paused a moment, his mouth open as if he was about to say something, then replied with "O-of course, yeah.... " He said nodding, then bagan walking towards the forest.

Inferno didn't say anything really. In a way, it felt like Monclear was trying to take Amiss away from him, but at the same time, he wanted Amiss to be happy, and it wasn't really a big deal anyways.

"So Inferno, still think she won't betray you?" The Darkness said, cackling a bit.

Inferno rolled his eyes "Get away from me" he snarled. "I'm not going to fall into your lies anymore"

"Don't you realise what's happening though? Monclear loves Amiss. /IF/ they become mates, you'll be left behind, and no one will care about you!"

Inferno snarled "I said get away from me! Alright? You're really getting on my nerves!"

The Darkness couldn't help but give a faint smirk. Whether Inferno was mad at Monclear, or mad at him, it didn't matter. As long as he kept his hate alive, everything would work out, and he could take over Inferno.


Altair stretched out, her eyes gleaming in the sun.

"Monclear, what're you doing?" she asked strictly. " I thought you were supposed to be patrolling the border, not going out for a hunt!" She knew they had to be going for a hunt, as they wou;dn't bring a pup to the dangerous borders were Mountain Lions, and lone wolves attacked everything they could find. At least that was Altair's impression of most loners, since she was almost killed by one when she was a pup.

Monclear lowered his ears "I'm sorry......I......... I-I forgot...." He braced himself for Altair's scowl.

"Forgot?!? Do you realise that without order, and obedience, our pack won't be the best it can be!?! Oaki!" she shouted "Patrol the borders! And Monclear.... you're staying in the camp until you can learn that the pack isn't just something you should protect when you feel like it, and you DEFINATELY shouldn't be spending every waking moment trying to selfishly attract a mate!" She spat, leaping down, and looking at Inferno with the same glare she gave Monclear.

Monclear cursed under his breath, and returned to his den.

Inferno was a bit intimidated by Altair's eyes, as if he did something wrong. Was Altair being so strict to be sure that nothing like last night would happen? But it didn't make sense... why was she being so strict with Monclear as well? Perhaps she just wanted to show me see she wasn't afriad to give punishment, and she showed no sympathy, even to a pup...
It frightened Inferno in a way. He wasn't exactly trying to do anything wrong. If he was, why would he have attacked Amiss?

Amiss followed Monclear eagerly, looking at Altair abruptly. She watched Monclear go, feeling a bit bad for him. It was obvious what he was trying to do, and it really was only his feelings getting in the way of duties, so why was Altair acting so up-tight? Maybe she didn't have her own mate, and she was jealous, or she was grumpy..at any rate, Amiss decided to stay in the camp. She'd ask Oaki about the hunting and training later, after he was done patrolling.

Oaki sat bolt upright at the sound of his name, as if someone had dunked him in ice cold water. "Alright, alright.." he grumbled lazily, standing up and padding out of his den. "Border patrol? M'kay, be back soon then." he said, charging out of camp in a rush. If the patrol went smoothly, he could grab some breakfast. Maybe a large deer would calm Altair, no one else could hunt today anyways, and they all needed food. He hoped he was correct, if Altair got mad at him..he shook his head, clearing the thoughts. If he focused on the negative, something was SURE to go wrong. Positive, positive Oaki.. he thought to himself, chanting the words a few more times.

Izue poked his head through every bush he found, deciding that a litter of mice would do fine until a hunting party was sent out. Suddenly, a round of squeaks filled his ears, and he bounded towards a bush settled yards from the river. Nosing his way in, he pawed out the small litter of mice. Just enough for a snack, but it'd hold him. He devoured the mice hungrily, leaving one of the larger ones for the mother. He felt bad eating them, but..he was a wolf, that was what he was born to do. He pushed the last one back into the bush-nest, and dipped his muzzle into the fast-flowing water. He drank quickly, hoping to get back to camp before Altair noticed he was gone. He shook himself off, sighed contentedly, and trotted back towards camp.

Monclear, head hung, turned his gaze in the direction of Amiss. "Weren't you going to go hunt?" He mumbled sadly. His face xpression abruptly changed. "I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't be acting all depressed, since you decided to pay me a visit..." he said, a glint of longing in his eyes while taking a few momentary glimpses at Amiss. In a way, he wanted to tell Amiss he loved her, but at the same time, he was in fear of rejection. He knew he had only known Amiss for a few days as well, but he knew he had never felt this way before.

Inferno stayed outside the den. He looked down at his paws, his eyes half closed.
"Am I just a burden to them?" he whispered faintly to himself, looking at Monclear's den, then up at Altair. He sighed, then got up. He padded out of the camp, and decided he'd explore while he pondered over his thoughts.
\
Amiss shook her head, "Nah. Later," she shrugged. "I hear you've got a thing for someone here, hm?" she asked mysteriously, approaching him and nuzzling him playfully.

Oaki turned towards the left side of camp, bounding past trees on his way to the border edge. The scent of a few pack wolves filled his nostrils, strengthening the closer he got. A low growl rumbled in his throat, but he held it down.

Izue kept a trot-jog pace, and he neared the camp. "Heya, pup. Whatcha' doin' out here? It's not time to hunt yet, and there ain't much else to do out here." he asked Inferno, spotting the young wolf exiting camp. He halted, sniffing the air. A very, very, very faint scent of pack wolf was hanging in the air, but he shrugged. Oaki's scent was there as well, so it probably wasn't a problem- besides, healers didn't normally fight unless ordered to, and they didn't join patrols unless ordered as well.

Monclearshuffled his paws a bit. "I-I suppose...." he said a bit unsure. If rthere was anytime to tell Amiss, it was now. But... he just felt a bit nervous. He took a deep breath, and said playfully in resonse "It might be a certain someone you know very well" after he said this, he closed his eyes, bracing himself for rejection.

"I'm just going out to explore" replied Inferno. "There's nothing really else to do..." without waiting for Izue to respond, he bounded into the forest. He spotted a tiny rocky hill, and decided he'd explore that first. He bolted towards it

Meanwhile, a mountain lion peered from behind a rock, watching as a tiny red speck neared. It growled, then hid behind a large rock.

Izue tilted his head, considering where the pup was going. The area was prime mountain lion and human country, but at the same time the pup was probably going to be okay. He sat down, watching the pup go just to be sure.

Oaki neared the border swiftly. He slid to a stop, spotting two small pups and an adult wolf about a foot away from his side of the border. "Morning." he said casually, hoping to get some answers out of the three wolves. He sniffed them, but stayed at least an inch away from the border that separated the two stretches of land.

The pups jumped at each other playfully, squeaking and squealing when one hurt the other even the tiniest bit.

The cream-furred mother turned towards Oaki, leaping in front of her pups, paws nearly touching the border. She studied him, decided he wasn't a threat and nodded, backing away from her pups. "Hello. Can I help you?" she asked hastily, watching the two wolves tumble and chase each other.

"Well, sorta..." he said softly, then yawned. "Where are you from?" he mumbled, hoping she only heard 'Where.'

Amiss took in a deep breath, mind swimming. Yes? No? Maybe? What to answer. She KNEW it had to be her, as Altair was so mad at him, and she was the only other adult female wolf in the camp. "Well, I.." she whispered, "....Ye....ye-yes." she said softly, still not completely sure. But, that was that. In her family, once a wolf said yes, it was done and there was no going back. Perhaps it was different for the pack wolves, but she was not aware and as such stuck to her family's 'beliefs.'
Monclear stood motionless, his mouth wide open.
"Yo- h- Really?!" His words stammered from his mouth. He put his fore-head against hers and stared into her eyes lovingly. "I love you..." he drew his head back, a tear coming to his eye. He gave a faint smile.

Inferno ran through the thinning trees into an open field. He lifted his muzzle in the air, catching a trace of a scent that seemed familiar, but he didn't exactly recognise it. He thought for a moment. He finally remembered smelling a stale scent like this in the den Amiss brought him when they had recently met. But what was it exactly? He neared closer to the rocky hill, and the scent began to get stronger and stronger. He was about to peer around a rock when a mountain lion leaped out from behind one, and caught Inferno's tail in its claws. It gave a loud roaring scream, and at that moment, Inferno's paws gave off a luminous blue glow. He whipped around, and then tapped the lion's paw, and it released.
"What the..." Inferno asked himself aloud. But Inferno didn't have time to think, he had to get away, FAST! He bolted off, the tip of Inferno's tail turning red, instead of the black it had changed to a little while ago. The lion trailed behind, snarling, and spitting as it chased Inferno. Inferno knew he wouldn't be able to outrun the lion, but for some odd reason, the glowing on his paws made him faster, and in a few moments, he was out of the Lions sight, and it gave up trying to attack him. Inferno's paws stopped glowing, and he slowed.
\
"INFERNO! What're you doing!?" The darkness growled "Don't you realise by using the false light powers, it'll posion you? It may seem good at first, but I assure you, I am your only true light!" It panicked a bit, its heart beating. He had feared this would happen.
"R-really?" Inferno stammered. "But.. if you're my ture light, why'd you attack Amiss?"
"I told you, without true punishment, one cannot be a good leader. You wouldn't do as I said, so I punished you. It's life, you can't change that. I am telling you the truth, just please trust me, and you won't be punished. Besides, Amiss doesn't want you!"

"Well, you may be right about punishment, but Amiss is my friend, and she's like a mother to me! And... I suppose I'll stop using the poisonous power, but I still don't trust you!" Inferno shouted, padding off. The Darkness returned inside of Inferno. If he could convince Inferno that he was destined to be a leader, and stopped tryingso hard to get Inferno to trust him.... maybe, just maybe, he could get Inferno to do something that would satifisy Inferno enough to begin thinking about himself. However... Inferno was still young... He decided when Inferno got a bit older, he'd try this plan. But until then, he needed a new plan.

Amiss licked him, nudged him and pretty much expressed her happiness. She didn't completely show her love for him like he had, but she did have a certain fondness that was only set aside for 'the one.' She wagged her tail a mile a minute, back end wiggling in happiness. Perhaps they'd have pups some day...Amiss liked that idea very much, and hoped Monclear was aware of that. "No words are needed, ma cherie." she laughed, rolling over playfully.

Izue saw Inferno bounding towards camp, and yawned. He stood up, turned around and dashed through the tunnels. He took a detour, remembering a back entrance that no one ever used. It was winding and small, but big enough to fit him.


Monclear gave a faint chuckle, nuzzling his nose on her neck. He no longer felt the alone-ness he had felt before, and felt as if he had no more longing. He had almost forgot he wasn't allowed to leae the camp, as he was so overcome with happiness. He laid down bedie her, softly closing his glowing green eyes.

Inferno panted, returning to the camp, He decided it was best if he just stayed in the camp until Oaki returned. He padded into Monclear's den gingerly, in case Monclear was asleep or something. He saw Amiss and him and decided it was best just to leave them.

The mystery she-wolf sniffed Oaki again, "A few miles back, this is my pack border. Don't you dare come this way." she growled, stamping a paw. The pups stopped playing together at their mother's commanding tone. They all tilted their heads, looking at Oaki curiously. They said nothing, only woofed a few times. "No no no, I wouldn't think of it. Just don't let your pups pass this line, alright? I wouldn't want them getting into any trouble with my pack back there." Oaki said, nodding. "Good day, ma'm." he said in farewell, charging off North to follow up on the border patrol.

Izue followed the tunnel, then stopped. A small crack with light coming through pierced the darkness. He nudged the crack, and the rock covering the hole fell forward. Getting onto his belly, he crawled through, a tight fit for him. "Dang, it was bigger when I was a pup.." he laughed, pushing the loose rock back infront of the secret entrance.

Amiss rolled back onto her belly, pondering if she should ask her new mate about pups. It was a little early, but..her family did that every once and a while, perhaps Monclear wouldn't mind.

Monclear coughed a bit, then asked "So... what are you planning on doing in the future? Like... do you think we should plan for a family or something?" He jolted at this thought. It seemed kinda early, since they had only been mates for a few moments really. He hoped she wouldn't scowl at him for this. What if she thought he only wanted to be mates for... well.. mating?


Inferno laid in the middle of the camp, bored out of his mind. He didn't want to go out alone, as he was afraid the lions would come out again. He shook himself, then ran over to his den, and laid down. May as well sleep until Amiss and Monclear were finished talking. But why were they taking so long?


Monclear shuffled his paws and hesitated. "W-would it, uh... be okay if we.. um...... now?" he said brading himself for a scowl. He was paddling into dangerous waters one time after the other, and taking big risks. This felt awfully strange though. He had never actually even thought about having pups until just recently, but it seemed like now, he wanted them. But... he still felt very awkward.


Inferno leapt out of his den "Hiya Izue! What'cha up to?" he said, desperately wanting to do something. This day had been extremely boring, and Oaki wasn't going to be back very soon. He hoped Amiss would at least come out soon, so he'd at least get to hunt or something to pass the time.

"Well...that...hm..that would be fi-fine, I suppose." she said softly, licking Monclear. What would she say to Inferno? 'Hi furball, your gonna have some friends in a month or so!' was not right, and that would seem rude...she shook her head slowly, deciding that she'd just keep it a secret. Of course, once they were born, she wouldn't be able to hunt for two weeks..she HAD to help Oaki train Inferno soon, or it'd be too late.

Izue shrugged, " I was going to check on those two, but..I get a strange feeling coming from Monclear's den, so I've decided not to. Don't go in there, either. They probably need to be alone. They'll be out sometime, promise. Other than that..I don't know." he said, sighing. He had a good idea what that 'strange feeling' was, but..it was impossible. Not already. He licked his paws boredly, looking over at Altair.

Meanwhile, over a few miles away from the camp, Oaki was nearing the top edge of the territory. A low growl resounded from the small mountain, and the scent of mountain lion filled his nostrils. "No, not again.." he muttered, marking. Not with two untrained pups in the camp! He gave a warning bark, then went on down the border.

Monclear nodded and it was settled

Inferno tilted his head. What in the world was Izue talking about? He shook his head clearing the thought from his mind.
The darkness growled "See, what'd i tell you Inferno? She'd forget about you! She wants to be alone with Monclear, and now, she's only got time for him. What kind of friend is that?" It snarled, half smirking. It knew Amiss wasn't REALLY trying to spend all her time with Monclear, and it knew exactly what was going on. But it was trying to decieve Inferno into thinking it was the only one he could trust.
"No... it can't be.. Amiss is like a mother to me...." He sighed, half hanging his head.

Izue rested his head on his paws, closing his eyes. Nothing like a mid-morning nap to take the time away.

Finishing his patrol, he entered the camp, panting heavily. "All clear.." he shouted, legs carrying him over to a tree-covered area near his den. "Must..nap.." he murmured, plopping down.

-later that day-
Monclear padded out of the den, feeling a bit starved. There was no prey in the fresh kill pile, and he wasn't allowed to leave the camp still. He sighed, his ears dropping a bit. He just remembered that, and it got him a bit down. He stretched out a bit, then noticed Altair sleeping on her rock
"Altair... um... weren't you supposed to start a hunting party?"

Altair jolted a bit at her name "Monclear, you don't give orders to your leader! That's it, I;ve had it with you... you're staying in the camp for a second day!"

Monclear gave a soft growl. "That's it...." he snarled. He tore off into the forest, angered that Altair was being so cruel. He skid to a stop. He let his anger take control of his duties.. He sighed, padding back. Then, another thought clung to his mind. He left Amiss in the camp... "Augh... what kind of mate am I..." He let his head hang. He was being so different lately. Not at all like himself... He decided it was best if he just concentrated on his duties, and made a blanace between his duties, and Amiss.

Inferno ran up to Amiss "Finally! What took you so long? There's nothing to do, and.. well... Oaki's taking a nap..." he sighed. He really wasn't normally this eager to do something. Then again, he'd always been busy before, so it was odd not having to scrounge for food, or find shelter.

Amiss padded out of the den, a small joy filling her heart. Noticing Inferno, she shook herself, considering her words. "Well..we had to talk about something." she said softly, looking towards Oaki. "You were wanting to hunt, or train for fighting?" she asked, watching the bicker-fight between Monclear and Altair. She watched Monclear run off, but made no move to follow him. She had other things to get to, she'd have all the time in the world with him when the pups were born. Her priority was Inferno at that point in time.

Izue stretched, opening his eyes. Sunlight danced through the trees, dappling his fur. He sniffed the air, frosty late-autumn scent dangling in the air. He stood up, listening to the conversation Inferno and Amiss were having.

Inferno looked at AMiss in a strange way. "Why did it take you so long though? Izue also told me not to come in.. was it about me?" he said, his ears drooping.
"Sure I suppose. I just want something to do... And... I tried exploring, but...." he pointed the tip of his muzzle at his tail, which had a small patch of fur missing.

"No...it...wait a month, you'll see. Don't worry, it's nothing bad." she said, making sure to be vague. On one paw, she wanted to tell him, but on the other...it just did not seem right. She padded over to Oaki, nudging him with her paw. "Hey sleeping pops, wake up." she growled.

Oaki blinked, groaned and sneezed. "What, what is it?" he asked, looking his interrupters in the eyes. He relaxed, realizing it was only Amiss and Inferno. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"Listen, Oaki...well, Inferno needs battle training, and...I can't do it alone. Hunting training too, whichever you want. Would you...maybe be able to...help?" she asked, waiting for her brother to laugh and go back to sleep.

"Fine, fine." he murmured, getting onto all fours. "We'll go to the clearing for battle training." he instructed, padding off towards the camp exit. Amiss followed, twitching her tail at Inferno as a sign for him to follow.

"Well, alright..." he said with a sigh.

After Amiss talked with Oaki, he trotted after Oaki to the clearing. He sat down in silence, awaiting for Oaki to teach him how to fight.

Oaki turned towards Amiss, and she nodded. Satisfied, he looked down at Inferno. "I'm going to demonstrate these techniques, they are the most simple and are the easiest to perfect. You'll attack Amiss, but even though this is practice and we want you to be fierce, be gentle- this is not a real fight. Claws sheathed, teeth will say IN your mouth, got it?" he asked, crouching. "Though this is simple, and easy, you must learn it before the other moves." he said, twisting his body. Taking his weight in his front paws, he pulled his legs in, then kicked with all the force he could get. "Take all your weight in your front paws, and remember, balance!" he instructed. "Judge the distance between you and your opponent, be silent on the ground, and make sure to attack from behind for best effect." he added.

Amiss braced herself for the attack, turning herself around so that the attack went correctly.

Inferno did as Oaki instructed, putting all his weight in front, then kicking as powerfully as he could. The darkness doubled Inferno's power when he kicked, causing him to hit Amiss with tremendas force. Inferno gasped "Amiss, are you alright? I'm sorry..."

Amiss gave a small YIPE of surprise, but nodded. "Fine, fine. No need to worry about me." she said, looking at Inferno knowingly. That /thing/ Inferno had was going to be a bit of a problem...she shrugged. "Why don't we try hunting training instead? We can't hunt all night, but we can fight at night. So lets get hunting training done." she suggested, looking over at Oaki. He was a smidge disappointed, but nodded. "You can take over for hunting, Amiss. Your better at hunting than I am." he said. She nodded, and took off West, where a large tree-rimmed clearing resided, and a river flowed through- the edge of the border. She kept a jog-trot pace, stopping every once and a while to make sure Oaki and Inferno were following. Oaki kept pace with her well, panting in contentedness.

Inferno felt a bit bad that he had hurt Amiss, but he trailed after her, his tail softly wagging. He pricked his eyes as the sound of rushing water came within hearing distance. He smelled a strong scent of the pack clinging around in the area "Where are we? Is this the edge of the territory?" Inferno asked curiously. Inferno lifted his nose in the air, picking up the scent of a rabbit. He stopped, and looked at Amiss, as if asking what he should do.

Amiss nodded at him. "Show us how you do it, furball." she said softly, pounding the ground with her paws. The rabbit dashed out of it's hole, bounding towards Inferno in sheer blind panic. Amiss grinned, watching the pray pretty much sentence it's self.

Oaki watched silently, sitting behind Amiss.


"Yes Inferno... show them...." The darkness cackled, giving a smirk.
Inferno become a flash of darkness and caught the Rabbit by his claw. He tore off its jaw, then rippped off it legs, finally finishing it by tearing out its throat.

Inferno reverted back to his normal form. He glanced over at Oaki and Amiss, awaiting evaluation.

"You see Inferno, you are much better by my side!" it snarled in a satisfied manor.

Amiss stood silently, dumbfounded and quite scared.
Oaki blinked, then glanced at Amiss. "He..uh..and..the rabbit..and..it.." he stammered, rubbing his eyes with his paws, "I must be in a dream, 'cause you said he needed training. THAT does not need TRAINING!" he whispered harshly to his sister, stirring her ear fur.
"I...well..that was before.." Amiss was at a loss for words. She didn't really feel like telling the entire story of Inferno, but..she didn't want to sound like an idiot, either. "He..he told me he needed training, and..I..um..hrm.." she murmured, not really to anyone in particular. "Training.." she spat softly, "You do not need training. Just...some teaching. Nothing big..just..some correcting, perhaps? Yess.." she turned around, whisked her tail back towards the camp and padded off. "Oaki, take him back to camp. I need some time..alone.." she called back to the two of them, heading off past the camp. She picked her pace up to a jog-trot and pointed her ears backwards, listening for any pursuing pawsteps.
Oaki tilted his head sideways, then shrugged. "Bring what you can of that rabbit back to camp, and..just let her be, I suppose. She was like that when we were pups. Friendly, but needed her space at times." he said briskly, padding back towards camp and his 'sacred' den of sleep.

Izue flipped onto his back and rolled around in the far corner of the camp, which contained things such as mint and wild garlic. Sunlight almost always reached this part of the camp, and due to that it was perfect for napping in. But for Izue, he loved to roll in it- he didn't know why. Perhaps it was just something the healer wolves did. He shrugged the thought away and yawned.

Inferno waited while he watched Oaki and Amiss whisper briskly back and forth to eachother.

Inferno had a sudden pang of guilt. Why was he listening to the darkness still? After all, it had caused him to injure Amiss greatly.

"Inferno.... you must not hold grudges...."

"But I'm not holding a grudge against you. You gave a bad impression, and I know I shouldn't trust you anymore...."
The darkness snarled, and waited till Amiss was gone.
"Either you trust me, or I'll force you to do as I say.... "

Inferno growled "Never...."
The darkness glared at Inferno. It acted as if it was about to hide away inside his head again. Then, it leapt at Inferno, roaring a load snarl only Inferno could hear. It tore at his neck, Inferno squeeling in pain.

"Now, either you do as I say from now on, or die!" it bellowed.

Inferno, his eyes watering in pain, slowly nodded, and the darkness freed its fangs from Inferno's throat, and whisped away into his head once more.

Oaki turned his head around far enough that he could see Inferno out of the corner of his eye. "Come on now. We don't have all day. Are you just going to sit there and look around?" he laughed softly, waiting for Inferno to catch up.

Amiss relaxed, approaching the river, her favorite place to just think. She sat down on her haunches and looked around. The air carried the taint of winter, as well as less prey. "This winter is going to be a harsh one." a voice said behind her. "Who..?" Amiss flipped around and studied the forest, looking for any creature she'd understand even the slightest. A misty white wolf padded out from behind a thicket, and Amiss closed her eyes.
"Amiss..you have done the wrong thing. Having pups was not part of your destiny, at least not for a bit." the creature barked, sitting down in front of her. "Yes..but..I..he is such a nice wolf..and I do love him..and..Inferno isn't the only one who should get to be happy!" she opened her eyes, suppressing an annoyance quite severe. "And besides, it's too late now. I can already, though it only happened recently, feel life inside me. If Inferno is so great, then can't he take care of himself? I don't want to be alone all my life. My mother always told me that having pups was the best thing she had ever done. I deserve that happiness." she sighed, looking down at her paws. She wrapped her tail around herself. "Yes, I always did tell you that. Now, Amiss, honey, I'm not mad at you. And yes, you deserve to be happy. But it's too early. Pups ARE a part of your destiny, but only AFTER all this happens." it said soothingly. "I..but..what am I supposed to do about that? I've already made the choice, and it's not like I'm going to ask Izue for some pup-killing herb..." she tilted her head at the wolf. "I cannot help that right now. You need to figure that out yourself." it said with a hushed tone that faded. As the voice faded, the wolf faded as well. "What am I supposed to do about it..?" she pleaded, with no answer.



Inferno weakly lifted his body up, then fell to the brisk earth beneath his paws. A dark black liquid seeped from his wounds.
He began to lift himself up once more, and yelped as his legs gave away once more. He beared his teeth in pain, and didn't know exactly what he should do.
The darkness growled "Do I have to help you everytime, you worthless scrap of fur"
It combined itself with Inferno and he turned to his dark form. Inferno lifted himself up with a bit more ease "I-I'm ready...." he stammered, black blood trickling from his throat.

Amiss rose onto all fours and, miserably, padded back towards camp. She let her tail droop, ears lay back against her head and paws just barely rise with each step forward. Should she go back? If she did, she'd have to face difficult questions, and she wasn't sure if she'd have all the answers. But she had a 'tie' with a certain wolf, and she knew that when you had one of those, you did not, under any circumstance, abandon your 'tie.' Although at the same time, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable...no, she would not let herself think that way. It WASN'T reasonable at all, and she knew it. She would go back and be strong, and no matter what she would be loyal- to Inferno, Monclear, to everyone.

Izue didn't recall falling asleep, but the next thing he knew he was woken up, his sleeping spot cold. He looked around drowsily, scenting fresh...blood? Was that puppy blood? No, he was just imagining it, there was no way, as Amiss and Oaki were out with Inferno, and he didn't scent any stranger wolves. It smelled as if it was just a small scrape wound, barely a trickle, so whatever it was wasn't major, he concluded. He licked his paws, then his chest in boredom, considering his options of what to do.

Oaki sniffed the breeze, which was a slow, soft gust that was coming from behind. It brought the scents of many forest creatures, as well as a few faint human scents and...puppy blood? No, that was such a faint taint that it was hard to distinguish at all. Still.... He pushed the thought away, and turned around to see what was holding Inferno up. "Cougar got your tail, kiddo?" he chuckled, a tiny bit hesitantly, when he noticed...blood? No, he was seeing things, but..the blood scent was a little bit stronger now. No, it wasn't happening. He wasn't seeing it, it was just his imagination. You're going crazy, Oaki... he told himself, forcing his eyes to look at Inferno directly, rather than at the pup's neck.

Inferno yowled in pain, pulling his claws in towards him, digging up a bit of dirt along with them.
Inferno quivered, and he felt his paws seem to become... lifeless? What was happening to him? The darkness hooked his claws into Oaki's nose, then tore back, leaving Inferno's paw stained a murky red, as if blood was flowing though his claws. Suddenly Inferno felt his very self enjoying the blood on his claws. He gave a loud roar, then latched both of his paws onto Oaki.

Monclear pricked his ears while at the camp. He looked over to check if Altair was looking, then tore off into the forest, ears pricked. Something in his heart seemed to be guiding him towards Inferno, although he wasn't sure what, or why. Perhaps it was because Amiss saw Inferno almost like a son, and because Monclear was now Amiss's mate, instinct told him that Inferno was his pup. But.... what was happening? He couldn't pick up Inferno's scent In fact.. he couldn't pick up any scent at all. Monclear shook his head then lifted his muzzle in the air, trying to grasp the faintest whisp of scent. Nothing. He tried harder, but it was no use. Suddenly, his heart began beating faster. Monclear closed his eyes, and began to walk. Why? He didn't know. Even so, he followed this sensation.

YIPE! Huff, huffff, grrrrrff..
Oaki stumbled back in bewilderment. He backed up too far, and tripped over a tree root. His breath was knocked out of him, and he gasped shallowly. Finally he regained his breath, pushed up with his paws to raise himself, and, shakily, regained his posture. A low growl reverberated in his throat, and adrenaline- yes, the best feeling in the world besides sleeping- rushed into his veins, his mind, his body. A battle...his favorite thing! Yes, he would show this mere pup a thing or two, and he would regret messing with the mighty Oaki. He wasn't planning on killing the pup, but a bruise or two would most likely set 'em straight. "You'll regret the day you challenged Oaki!" he roared, charging at the pup full-throttle. Twisting to dodge any side-swipes, he skid on the grass and, in a burst of speed, leaped at Inferno's back. Coming in too quick, he landed his front paws on Infero's shoulders, but his back paws slipped. He gripped with his claws in a slight panic, afraid he'd roll over onto his belly. Once he was on his belly, he'd be dead meat for sure. Any reputable warrior knew that. Still growling, holding back his full power, he bit softly, but firmly, into the pup's scruff, twisting as he caught his footing. "I'm warning you, you insolent, idiotic, peremptory pup!" he growled, "Give up now and I may spare you my full wrath, otherwise..."

He snapped at the pup after releasing his jaws and bark-growled. Tail up and twitching, head raised so that he was proving himself more dominant, he circled the pup like a vulture, ready to strike again.

Inferno's brain began to pump a black liquid through it. He wanted to feel his claws rip through flesh, and to feel the blood drench onto his paws.

"Inferno..... remember... whatever you do, don't let your prey slip out of your paws...." The darkness smirked. It was beginning to get closer to Inferno, and began to embed itself into Inferno's brain. If Inferno would just fully submit himself to the darkness, even for a moment, it would embed itself into Inferno's genes, but worst of all, his soul.

Inferno lifted himself up, stumbling a bit.

"Inferno.... you know what to do..... satisfy your craving.... go all out. I will help you turn him into mangles of flesh and bone...."

Inferno felt a shock wave of power pulse through his tail to his neck. He could feel something different happening... what was going on? He closed his eyes, raised his head, and gave a loud, beastly roar, worse than had even escaped his throat. It was such a powerful roar, he could feel the vibrations plummeting through his whole body. He opened his eyes, and the clouds above him began to swirl above his, slowly turning gray, until they reached a smokey black color. Inferno's pelt turned jet black, and his mane caught fire. He tilted his muzzle down to face Oaki. Although he was only a pup still, Inferno felt like he could take on anything, and shread it to bits. He dove at Oaki with the strength of the darkness inside of him, his claws tearing into Oaki's pelt. He felt the trickle of blood rush onto his claws, then he grabbed Oaki's leg in his teeth, and began to tear off the skin rapidly, knawing at it like it was fresh kill.

Pain shot through Oaki's leg, and his vision grew cloudy. "Must..not..let..Amiss..down.." he muttered weakly. He wasn't used to this kind of pain! The pup was ripping his leg off, second by second! Forget Amiss's tender love towards the pup, it was time to prove himself. He tore his leg out of Inferno's jaws, wincing a bit when he glanced the patch of bare skin and bone. "You know, pup, you ain't very smart, which is odd, since Amiss really cares for you. But, alas, she'll probably just want to see nothing of you if you kill me. If you give up now, I'll spare your life. I have a feeling if you get outta this one alive, Izue won't be helping you, either." he laughed with a hint of worry. What the heck was wrong with this tiny creature? He was being so stupid! Oaki was a pack member, a friend, not an enemy or a piece of prey! Was the day of darkness really here? Was this the END of everything he had trained for? He couldn't let that happen. If he had to, he'd kill this nuisance of a pup- or at least attempt to drive him out. He roared with rage, and attacked the pup head on, clenching to the warm spot in the neck, right at the middle, squeezing just enough to be near the jugular, but not close enough to split it. Using his front paws, he pushed Inferno to the ground, getting ontop of him and swiping a back leg over the belly, raking through the fur. Oaki's purple fur was ruffled every which way, and he had it raised, not in fear, but in defiance and courage.

Amiss sniffed the air, and the taint of Oaki and Inferno was drifting towards her. She pricked her ears, caught the sound of Oaki's battle taunts and a roar, then rather than running into camp, she ran into the heat of the battle. It was Oaki and Inferno, but..Inferno looked..different. He was totally black, with a fiery red mane. And his eyes were filled with rage, hatred and evil of spirit. So, this is why she wasn't supposed to have pups. A mother wolf going into battle was risky, but surely she'd be okay. "I may be a mother, but my brother needs me, and I'm the only one who can stop this!" she yowled, picking up her pace.

Izue jumped at the sound of a roar and a battle taunt, as well as growling and scuffling not far outside the camp. Blood scent crowded into his nostrils, and he got up in a rush. "Altair! Altair! Battle! I smell a pup and two wolves!" he called, not loud enough for the ones in the fight to hear, but loud enough for Altair to hear. He looked around desperately, unsure of what he should do.

Inferno, seeing Amiss, rolled onto his feet and backed away from them. He growled, foam running from his mouth, clenching his teeth. His blood seeping from his bodyy was almost as if it was tar. Inferno shook his head, fur ruffling up a bit, then collapsed under confusion. He wanted the taste of blood, he wanted to hoark down pieces of meat from any living creature, but.... as soon as Amiss showed up, it seemed like he really didn't. Inferno really didn't know what to do. His eyes began to see two of everything, and he blindly leapt at what he thoguht was the shape of a wolf. Inferno then realised it was a bush, and tumbled through it, realising there was a cliff behind. He tumbled down, his body catching on a thorn bush, and blood beginning to spew out. "What's happening to me... Inferno said, his pelt turning back into a redish color. Oddly though, his fur was a much darker shade of red, and his mane had some red, orange, and yellow highlights in it. His tar like blood turned thinner, and, although still black, returned to normal. Inferno, confused, and losing blood, had no idea of what just went on. Then it began to all come back to him. Those cravings he had WERE all his, but just now was he realising how wrong they were.

He lost consiousness, and his head fell on one othe branches of the thorn bush.


Monclear heard cries from everywhere as he opened is eyes. He tried with all his might to get one fragment of a scent, but he couldn't. He had no idea where he was, and began to panic. His paws began guding him once more, and he found himself over a large pool of crystal water. He looked down into the pool, and saw an odd looking object in the water. He put his head under water, and grabbed the object with his jaws. It was a large marble ring, with three smaller rings around it. One was made of gold, the other silver, and the last bronze. It was rather heavy, but he managed to lift it completely out of the water.

His ears pricked, hearing roars in the distance, and a flood of guilt came over him. He could do nothing. He didn't know where he was. And all he could do is stare at this odd object in bewilderment.

Oaki spit out some red fur that was torn away after Inferno had run off. "Amiss, nice timing." he said with aslightly nervous tone, as if he thought that Amiss would scream at him for hurting Inferno.
"Why?" she asked in a simple, but confused, tone. She sat down next to him and licked his wounds the way that a mother would, not blaming him for anything. This was simply how the destiny of the camp would play out, and whatever happened, happened.

"He just attacked me, out of nowhere. I didn't want to hurt him, just..I wanted to defend myself and protect you. I didn't have any intention of killing him, that's for sure." he blurted, pawing the ground in guilt. He went too far, and he knew it.

"He's not normal, and now you know- I wasn't going to tell you, but...well, it seems it wouldn't have mattered either way." Amiss sighed softly. "To add to the trouble, I'm..I'm going to have pups eventually, in a few weeks." she muttered.

"WHAT?" Oaki screamed, eyes wide. "You..tie..with who..?" he asked, then as an afterthought added, "Not the pup, I hope." while chuckling to himself.

"Oaki, you know he's too young, and besides, I don't have..that interest in him. When they're born you'll see who." she growled. Even though it was blatantly obvious, she knew Oaki wasn't going to guess, since Monclear was so..to himself.

Oaki tilted his head, but let it go. "Should we go..you know..check on him?" he asked quietly, not sure if she cared for the pup still.
"Well, yeah, of course." she shrugged, yawning. She found an opening on the side of the bush, and glanced down the cliff, looking for Inferno.

Monclear stared at the strange object, and gave it a small lick, since he couldn't smell it. It just tasted like pond water and mud. He spat out the taste then carefully poked it with his front foot. He lost his balence, and his foot fell into the center of te large ring. When he tried to lift his foot out of the center of it, it wouldn't budge
"Odd... it's... not tight enough to be stuck...."

Suddenly, the object lifted itself from the ground until it reach the height of Monclear's elbow. Then, it ubruptly tightened itself somehow until it fit onto his arm. Then, the marble pushed itself, combining itself with his fur, and the top layer of skin. Monclear, too frigthened to move, felt a bit of stinging shoot through his arm, followed by a small, qucik jolt that hit his brain. Then nothing else. He peered down at his arm. The object was still there, but he didn't feel any different. Moclear shook his head, and saw a rabbit go by. As his smelling had gone, this was a good opportunity for him to eat something. He lowered himself to the ground, his right arm (the one wearing the object) in front of him, his mind had the hunting instinct to kill sink into his brain, and was about ready to attack, when the object on his arm began to glow, then shot out three green beams which shot at the rabbit's eyes, and mouth. The rabbit dug its tiny claws into the ground in pain until the beams stopped, and it fell limp and lifeless. Monclear, wide eyed, slowly padded towards the fresh kill, and sniffed it, then realising he still couldn't smell. The fur around the eyes was singed, and the eyes were completely gone. Monclear cautiously took a bite of the fresh kill. It seemed perfectly normal.
Monclear felt a bit of extra strength in him after the peculiar incident.

Inferno, his consiousness coming back quickly, looked at his fresh wounds. They had closed up, and Inferno was beginning to feel more and more guilty. It was taking him longer to recover from the darkness now, and he was becoming fearful that one day, the darkness wou;d never leave him.

Inferno closed his eyes softly and rolled out of the bush, thorns clinging to his fur. He opened his eyes, and felt tears leak from them. He felt aweful for what he had done. Why couldn't Inferno just leave the darkness forever? It was causing him to have thoughts, and do things that he'd never DREAMED to do.

Amiss spotted the pup as he flipped over, and she scrabbled down the cliff towards him. "Inferno.." she begun, searching for the right words. "Inferno, did-" she cut herself off, realizing that if she asked, it could possibly start another fight with the Darkness.. It was best to leave that for later, and just make sure he was okay. "I mean..everything alright?" she asked, holding back a tone of worry and frustration. This was the pup who was going to save a pack? It just wasn't..it just wasn't..sensible. Sure, he was a loyal pup who tried his best, but he wasn't perfect and his alter ego was surely far from it! She licked him gently, removing most of the thorns and debris. She just hoped that whatever happened, her pups would be okay..

Oaki watched them, red-black eyes glinting in the midday sun. Was he in trouble for seemingly attacking the pup? Or was the pup in trouble for attacking him? "You guys comin', or what?" he called down, tossing his head in a 'come on, back to camp' gesture.

Izue realized that Altair wasn't answering, and calmed down a bit. The smell of blood was lingering, and it was completely silent except for the birds chirping. He shook himself, then padded into his den. He pat down his nest of moss, dried leaves and grass, then circled a few times before finally laying down to rest.

Altair smiled, realising that her decision to not take action was a good one. Whatever happened was over now.

Inferno, almost reading Amiss's mind, looked up into her eyes as if to say "Help me.." He closed his eyes once more and collapsed.


***Flash forward 9 months***

Monclear, inside his den, his mind dense with thought. He still hadn't figuired out what this odd device was. Others seemed to not take much notice to it. He had never used it in front of other wolves, but he did use it to catch prey when he was alone. His nose, still uncapable of smelling scents was becoming a normal think that he really didn't mind much. Though.... it did pick up traces of... something... He couldn't quite put his claw on it, but he knew whatever it was, it was actually quite usefull. It gave him odd sensations depending on who was near him. Near Amiss, he had 3 buzzing feelings in his skull. Near Oaki, Izue, and Rajora, he always had a tingling sensation in his ears. However, when near Altair and Inferno, his heart usually seemed to pump harder and faster, and his claws usually turned an odd dark purple instead of the usual black. He looked over to the side of him, seeing Amiss lyign there beside him still asleep

She looked so lovely in his eyes.
"Any day now.... I'm going to be a father...." He drooped his head for a moment though. He felt bad that he had caused Amiss so much pain the past few months. He couldn't help but feel like it was his fault for this. His gut was filled with guilt, and he softly licked Amiss's flank, as if appoligising.


Amiss blinked her eyes open, yawning. "Morning, Monclear..." she mumbled. Shakily, with a lot of effort, she attempted to stand up. Failing, she chuckled a bit, "Seems it'll be soon, I'm so heavy I bet even a badger couldn't carry me." and settled back down into her nest. Suddenly..
Huff! Huffrrrrhuff!
She was seized with a jolt of pain, and she clenched her teeth. She took a few deep breaths, then called as best she could "Izue! Get..Izue, quick!" she didn't even manage a shout, but it was enough.

Izue sat bolt-upright(he was laying outside their den, since he knew they'd be coming soon) and dashed into his den. He grabbed a couple of thick sticks and some moss. He dipped the moss into a small rock with a dip in the middle, and let it soak for a second. Then he ran out, twigs and moss in his mouth, and quickly ran into Monclear and Amiss' den. He set down the twigs and the moss in front of Amiss. "The pups are coming, Monclear. This is it. Get ready, pops!" he laughed, hoping to keep the tension down. Normally, wolves didn't have any problems, but it was still possible, and he knew one mess up from him could be the end of the pups. He pushed a twig towards her. "Here, take this. You can bite down on it when you're in pain." he explained, then pressed on her side firmly. "Pain?"

Amiss's flanks heaved with effort, and she gripped the twig. She grunted in reply.

"Breathe more, not less, you MUST breathe, Amiss." Izue instructed.

She kept up with her deep breathing, and another spasm shook her.

"Here comes the first one," Izue told Amiss and Monclear. A small white bundle plopped into the nest, and Amiss quickly begun licking it to stimulate breathing. It gave a whine of protest, and Amiss was flooded with relief. How many more would there be, though? She grabbed the pup and set it next to her belly, and it begun eating immediately. Another spasm rippled through her, and she looked at Monclear with a bit of worry. The pup who was already born was pure white, with a black tail tip.

Izue studied it for a moment, then nodded. "Female." he said and went back to watching Amiss.

Amiss clenched her jaws again, pain shooting through her. Another plop, and she let out a sigh. She licked it with pride, and looked it up and down. It was a dark black pup, and it had a red stripe down it's head. It also had a white muzzle, with tiny dots of soft green on it's paws. She grabbed it by it's scruff and set it down next to the other one.

"That's the last one. Female, as well." Izue nodded. "Good job, good job. Beautiful pups, you two."

Amiss looked at Monclear with a warm smile on her face, and she sighed. "Thirsty." she huffed, licking the bundles of moss with such speed she nearly ate them. "The one..with the stripe..Shade, is her name.." she mumbled, exhausted.

Oaki stumbled out of his den, blinded by sudden sunlight. He stepped into Amiss and Monclear's den, and blinked. "So, that's all the commotion?" he asked, looking at the two small bundles. "Grats, you two." he said, then padded back out in search of something to eat.

Monclear, stunned, stared at the newborn pups for a moment, and then walked over to Amiss, nudging his muzzle against her face.
"I'm..... I'm sorry Amiss...." he said, feeling bad he had caused her so much pain. He took a step back and glanced at the pups, then padded over to them. He leaned down to lick them each on the head, then softly nuzzled them with his nose.

Inferno padded into the den, realising what had just happened. "..Wha..?" he barked, mouth agape. He looked curiously at Amiss. Inferno was much older now, and was nearing his adult stage.

Altair, noticing all the commotion, leapt down from her rock and padded into the den. She saw the two pups, and Monclear smiling at them and Amiss. She gave a soft growl, then looked at the pups with disgust
"How dare you imbecile keeps this from me?!" She spat, teeth clenched.

Monclear's smile shot to a worried look and quickly backed away as Altair padded at him, her claws clashing on the cave floor. She leapt at him, tacking him to the ground.
Monclear's first instinct was to protect his family. And that. He did.

The device responded to his instinct.

It shot beams of light.

Altair went lifeless.

Amiss blinked at Inferno. "This..er..." she stuttered. She had forgotten to tell him, or at least maybe give him a hint. She jumped at the sound of Altair's voice. "Love is love." she growled, not even worried that it was a threatening growl. She nuzzled the pups closer, and blinked when Altair just..fell. Simply just fell onto the ground and sizzled. She looked at Monclear curiously. "What just..?" she asked, her energy finally starting to come back.

Izue shrugged at Inferno and said, "I told you you'd find out eventually." He watched as Altair padded in, and watched as her body simply fell and was gone like that. He sniffed her numerous times, then cocked his head at Monclear.

Oaki sighed in disappointment when he reached the spot where fresh kill normally was. Only a few scraps remained. He decided he wasn't hungry, and sniffed the air. Sizzling..fur? Burning fur? He bounded back into Amiss and Monclear's den, and froze at the sight of Altair's lifeless body, wide-eyed.

Monclear was frozen. He didn't move one bit.
"I-I...." he stammered, to scared to move. He stared at Altairs hollowed out eyes and mouth where he could see into the inside of the lifeless corpse. The device stopped glowing, and a flood of strength went through Monclear. Still shaken from the incident, he looked at the shocked looks from everyone. He didn't mean to did this... the device just responded to his instinct... he didn't really mean to kill Altair.
Monclear stopped for a moment. His claws turned an incredibly noticable purple color. He stopped for a moment, and his nose picked up a glint of something. What exactly was it? Why, it was the singed smell of Altair's soul. He then realised the odd sensations he had been feeling were from his nose smelling the souls of other creatures.

Inferno's head pulsed, and the darkness began to speak to him "Inferno.... I have not spoken to you for many moons. I have to say, I'm quite dissappointed in you. You haven't shown them your true power at all. They have no leader now. Who will they pick Inferno? Not you, that's for sure. You have failed. You should've done what I asked you to do. Now look. They will all die in a volcanic eruption because of you. All because you cared about the possibilty of killing an individual. Well, now we're all going to die Inferno. Good job" The darkness's voice whisped away. Inferno's eyes, fileld with more disbelief than they were before, darted everywhich way. What was he to do now? Though Inferno never thoguht this day woulcome, he cried "Darkness come back!" And so. The Darkness came.

"You want to save them all, don't you Inferno?" the Darkness said, trying to hide the grim smirk on its face
"Yes... I do... I'll do what you say, as long as we can save them"

Faster than a blink, the Darkness clung to Inferno's brain, and stabbed a large barbe into it. Inferno wailed silently in his midn as the pain was almost too awfull to bare. It dug deeper and deeper.

"D-do.... what you must do Darkness.... don't... stop"

Even if the darkness wanted to, it couldn't. It was almost as if it was a natural thing for it. It dug deeper and deeper until finnally, the pain wnet away, and the Darkness was in his brain. Then, it gave a swift jolt, and combined itself with his genes. And worst of all, his very soul.

Inferno's fur immediately turned jet black, and his mane turned it's firey color. He didn't attack though. He had devised a plan.

Though this WOULD save them.... it brought an even worse future. But Inferno had been deceived. The Darkness knew what it was doing. And Inferno could no longer escape The darkness. At all.

Amiss watched Inferno change, and immediately realized...it was soon. Why hadn't the strange white wolf, who was also her mother, warned them? They could have fled, and saved themselves! Instead of endangering her pups, her pack, and her friends. Worst of all, they had no alpha. But... She glanced at Oaki, then at Inferno. Well, at this rate, Inferno sure as heck wasn't gonna be the alpha! She wouldn't stand for it, even if she had to kill him. Sure, he'd save them, but who said that that would happen without it's complications? She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that someone was going to be 'sacrificed.' She'd fight day and night if she had to, to protect those she held dearest. She licked her two pups and nuzzled them closer still. Shade gave a loud whimper of protest, but the other, whom was not named yet, was quiet as she got her fill. It would be a long, winding road with it's bumps and obstacles, but she knew that whatever it took she would persevere.

Izue tilted his head at Inferno, mind spinning. In all his experience, though short, not once had he or his mentors experienced this..phenomenon. A wolf, changing color, scent changing as well. It just wasn't natural. Sure, when wolves grew up, they changed color just a bit, but it really was just a slight fading of the coat. Never has a wolf changed color completely. He stared at Inferno with curiosity, suddenly interested in something OTHER than Altair or the new arrivals.

Amiss sighed. Although she was still a bit weak, the pups needed to be moved, just to be safe. She grabbed both of them by their scruffs with her mouth and, glancing at Monclear and Inferno, padded out of their den. Now, who's to call her own hide-a-way? Oaki's, perhaps? Yeah, he'd do fine. He was a good warrior, a good brother and he WAS their uncle. She stepped into Oaki's den and took one of the extra nests Oaki used when his other nest wasn't comfy enough. Sure, Dark Inferno could still reach them, but at least Oaki could protect them some-what. It wasn't that she didn't trust Monclear, because she did, but she knew Oaki was a better warrior and Monclear just wasn't..a big fighter. She set Shade and the other pup next to her belly, and rested her head on her paws.

Oaki shrugged, not interested due to what had happened nine months ago, and exited the two's den. Not even interested in where Amiss was taking the pups, he padded into his den. "Wait. Woah. Hey, I don't want MY nest smelling like pups and milk." he said, hesitantly setting down onto his nest. "But fine. I suppose you're afraid something might happen?" he asked, watching the pups as they crawled around Amiss.

Amiss nodded. "It's not that I don't trust the kid, but..I just want to be safe. Besides, they need to be around their uncle, too. Monclear can always visit." she explained, a hint of drowsiness in her tone. She closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep.

Oaki chuckled to himself, pleased that his sister was making a good choice. He took his eyes off of the now sleeping pups and watched the entrance.

Monclear shook his head and ran after Amiss.
"Amiss, what's wrong? I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to kill her.... I just...Do you think I'm an endangerment to the pups or something?" He hadn't even taken notice to Inferno or anything.


Inferno gave a small growl, seeing Amiss taking their pups away.

"They don't trust me, do they?" he muttered, feeling so much more of change. He didn't feel like the same wolf anymore. But it was still him. What had even happened? He didn't understand really, but he noticed he was seeing things in such a different way. He used to see Amiss as a motherly figuire, and had great respect for her a few moments ago. But now.... he saw her as a burden in the way. He didn't want to feel this way. But he couldn't seperate himself from this mindset.
Suddenly, he realised how little anyone had really taken much notice to Altair's death. Perhaps it was because she was such a controling leader with little sympathy, and she wasn't exactly..... missed....

He sighed, then walked out of the den as well. He walked into the forest out of the camp, and went to the hills with tunnels in them. He hadn't been here since he was a pup. Because he knew he was in his dark form, and knew his blood lowed in the dark when he was in this form, he made a small cut in his arm to light the cave. He padded through the tunnels, his odd source of light lighting up the caves. He looked around, and noticed a red X spattered on the wall. He took in a glint of blood with his nose. It was such a stale scent, it smelled over a hundred years old. He noticed a bit of writting in the same blood. It sloppily spelled....... Inferno....
His eyes widened, the dark part of his guiding him to the X. He dug his claws into the dirt, and pushed, revealing an opening. Odd too, it gleamed with light even though there were no openings at all.

"H-hello?" Inferno said curiously, realising what he ust said made absolutely no sense. There was no one there. And yet he stilled called.

A shallow pool in the middle, the source of the light, glimmered even brighter than before. Inferno averted his attention to it.

"Inferno, I am the lightness. I cannot tell you how dissapointed I am in you. Your soul is now corrupt with the darkness. Although it may seem like nothing happened, you will slowly turn into a heartless monster. It was your destiny to find this, and be consumed with the light.... but.... you let your hatred toward your father get in the way Inferno..... now that you've let the darkness consume you..... there is still hope for the others. But...... I'm afraid not everyone will survive, and there is no hope for you. If only..... If only you would've gotten that motherly attention...." The voice sighed. Inferno was SUPPOSED to be given attention by Amiss before this.... if Amiss wouldn't have mated, perhaps Inferno would've had that attention he needed, and he may have realised how wrong the darkness was ahead of time.

Inferno's heart stopped. No.... no hope for him? And some of them wouldn't survive? He didn't know what to do. It was all his fault... the Darkness really WAS wrong. And if this had beene here for hundreds of years... this was the true prophecy.... He was foolish. Those who woul;dn't survive would now pay the price.... for his mistake..... He clenched his teeth, then dug his claws into his throat. This wasn't worth it..... it... it was too much.... why cou;dn't someone else lead them out? He didn't even know where to go... Why did HE have to do this? He dug his claws farther into his throat. But... he WAS apart of this prophecy... and... he still had to save them.... He stopped digging his claws into his throat, the glowing blood dripping from the small gash in his neck. His neck had been torn open so many times, it almost was as if this was just a regular thing.

Amiss blinked open her eyes and yawned. She shook her head. "No, it's nothing to do with you. I trust you, and I know you didn't mean to hurt her, however you did, but.. Well, it's the prophecy. I know something is going to go wrong, after we're 'saved', but I don't know what. I can't go any further than this, but I want Oaki to protect the pups for me. I know you can too, but he's extremely fierce and..I hope you understand. I really do trust you.." she explained. Then, as an afterthought, she added, "If I didn't, I wouldn't have these little suckers, now would I?", nuzzling the pups playfully. They both gave yips of surprise, but, realizing it was only their mother, they fell back asleep instantly.

Oaki sighed, setting his head on the rim of his nest, still focused on the entrance. "Don't even start gettin' lovey-dovey on me." he teased. He yawned, more in boredom than exhaustion. "I'm gonna go hunt, okay? You should be fine for a bit." he said, getting up and off his nest. He padded out of his den and paused in the middle of the camp. The high-rock blocked the sun, and he stared at it for a moment. He imagined himself up there, happily addressing the pack. He shook his head, clearing the image. No, he would never be the alpha. He knew it, in his heart and mind. He didn't have the qualities any alpha had. He didn't mind not getting the spot, though. He was fine being able to laze about. Alphas had to be alert all the time, and make difficult decisions that would decide the pack's future. He continued on his way, exiting the camp. He noticed some paw prints in the dirt, but ignored them. Whatever it was, he had learned to stay out of the way. He raised his muzzle into the air and sniffed, examining the scents. Was that..Inferno? It had to be. There was no mistaking it. He decided, no hunting in the mountains. He headed towards where, nine months earlier, they had first attempted a training session. He slowed his pace and set his paws down lightly, avoiding stepping on any twigs. A mother rabbit ventured out with it's young, and Oaki begun stalking toward it. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. A mother..with young..no. Why was he thinking of the rabbit as if it was Amiss? The rabbit was helpless, Amiss wasn't. Unless.. He searched for a different meal. Sniffing, he detected nothing else. That was odd...perhaps he hadn't been paying attention and made too much noise. He sighed. Just one baby, just one wouldn't hurt. He begun stalking the mother again, and when he got close enough, silently pounced on the first baby to venture away. He quickly devoured it, tearing into it with such ease. The mother rabbit watched in horror, but it was too late. The mother rounded up her remaining babies into their burrow and retreated. Oaki felt a bit bad, but that was the circle of life. He would just ask Izue if he wanted to come help hunt for the rest of the pack. He charged back towards camp. He was still hungry, but at least he wasn't starving.

Izue blinked, watching everyone leave. Realizing he was the only one left, other than Altair's lifeless body, he shook his head. Things were changing so, so quick. He flipped Altair over and grabbed her scruff. She was dead weight, but not too heavy that he couldn't carry her. One of the tunnels led to the 'burying grounds', where the medicine wolf would bury every wolf whom was..gone. He set Altair's body next to the corner entrance of the tunnel and begun digging rapidly.

Monclear nodded, noticing the pups playing. It really hadn't even sunk in that they were... his pups.... it almost seemed in a way that him and Amiss weren't even mates. It's not that Amiss hadn't shown that they were, but.... part of him wasn't really grasping the concept of it all.
He nuzzled the pups a bit with his muzzle as they slept then padded out of the den, the wind passing through his fur. He didn't feel.... right.... Now that he had started a family, he had begun to wonder.... where was HIS family? He never really thought about it, but it seemed now an important question, He never even remembered anything about his parents.... did he even have any? He gave a small chuckle. Of course he had parents. How else would he be here? He thought about it for a moment. He never even remembered being a pup.... He shook this thought from his mind.
I probably just have a bad memory.... He thoguht, forcing himself to let the issue die in his head.

He closed his eyes, and padded towards Amiss. Without thinking, he blurted out the question "Do you think my family ids out there somewhere?" He winced, realising he had accidently spoken his thoughts aloud. Before Amiss could answer, the device on his arm jolted into his body, sending a flashback into his mind. He saw a a person sleeping, and immediately shot into their thoughts, seeing a picture of Inferno on a large rock above many other wolves. Half of the wolves at the bottom, the ones looking most interested in whatever Inferno was saying, were darker colored. Their fur were many different shades of black and gray. The other half were just normally colored wolves of shades of brown, white, and some had odd markings and designs. He panned the group with his eyes, and noticed a familiar wolf in the back... it looked.... like one of his pups. The pup that was white with a black paint brush tail. He tried to look for Amiss and Shade, but he couldn't see above the large crowd of wolves. Was this... their pack in the future? But.... why was this person seeing this. The vision pulled out, and he looked at the person's face. It was odd... the person seemed.... so familiar to him. He saw the person get up and walk out, almost as if they were overcome with sorrow. He folowed them, and noticed the person had.... no... it couldn't be....

Suddenly, the vision stopped. He blinked for a moment, realising no time had really gone by at all. He realised again that he had asked Amiss the question before the flash back, and awaited to see ifshe would answer.



Inferno gasped for breath, the glowing blood still leaking from his wounds. He clenched his teeth, and a tear began forming in his eye. All of this hatred towards his father.... and he never stopped and really realised, the reason the darkness had formed was because he hated being abandoned. But why didn't he stop this hate after meeting Amiss and the pack? He felt so stupid. He was foolish to have this hatred, and to let it take over him. He rammed his skull into a dirt wall in anger. He fell to the ground, then began to hear a faint cracking and rumbling noise. The rumbling grew louder, and he realised what he had done. He desperately tried to get out of the cave, but a rock fell in front of the entrance. He looked around trying to find a safe spot, but all that was in the cave was the pool of water. He leapt into it, hoping perhaps the water would miraculously shield him from the rocks that were about the fall. He felt cracking beneath his feet, and the ground under the water gave way into an even larger cave below. Not wasting any time, and scrambled onto his feet and began uning as far from the hole as possible. Rocks began pummeling down. Inferno ran as fast as he could through the cave. Even after the last rocks fell, he kept running, hoping that he would be able to reach the end of the cavern. The cave twisted an turned everywhere. The floor slanted upward, and Inferno followed this path. Hee bagan to see a bit of light and slowed a bit as he neared it. He stopped to catch his breath, and shook his fur. Then, he softly padded towards the light. When he reached the end, he blinked his eyes to adjust to the light. Once it had become clear, he gazed into the large space. Wait a minute.... he knew this place... he took a step, and noticed deer bones that looked to belong to a small buck before. He saw black claws marks along its spine..... This was the cave he had first rested in when he first met Amiss! He stepped out onto the ledge in front of it. He had a vision, as he did when he was aa pup and had seen this place. It had been engulfed in lava. But.... was there really a volcano around? He gathered his strenght, then leapt onto the "roof" of the den. In the vision he had, the lava was traveling downwards. If it had been flowing from here, that must mean there was a volcano at the top of this. He climbed up farther, and noticed the temperature begin to feel hotter and hotter. He never realised how high up this "hill" really was. After a while, the temperature was almost too hot the bear. He looked around, and noticed an odd pool of lava. he stared wide eyes at it..... it... it was so... beautiful... he had never seen anything so destructful yet so.... charming in a way. He bean to not noticed the heat at all, and slowly dipped his paw in it. It idn't even feel painful. He lifted his paw out,a nd noticed a transulsent blue shield was covering him. He was bewhildered. How in the world....? He gave a soft chuckle, then padded a little higher than the pool of lava. Smiling, he lifted himself over a ledge at the top of the hill. His smile turned to horror, his mouth agape, as it was an entire wall of volcanos. He turned around and saw that this wasn't just a wall of volcanos...... It was a ring of them circling the ENTIRE forest....

He shivered. He realised now.... he had to lead the wolves out of here.... and.... was this shlied around him a way for him to explore and find the safest route to a safe area? Overcome with fear, he carefully went through a gap that in between two volcanos. There was a much larger land below. It had walls of rock in front of where lava would flow.... that means if the volcanos were to erupt, the land below wouldn't be effected much. He rushed down the familiar side of the ledge, and as he got closer and closer to their territory, his sheild went away. He had to warn everyone, and he needed to find a safe route to the other side of the ring of volcanos. He ran as fast as he could until he reached the grass below. He tore through bushes, and vegetation, not stopping for a minute. He began to near the territory. He howled to get everyone's attention who was in the camp. He reached the camp, collapsing in the middle of it. He was out of breath from running such a large distance. He gasped for air and laid in the middle of the camp, trying to explain what he had seen between breaths "Everyone... there.... there's..... there are volcanos circling the the... the entire..... forest!! I saw! We.... we have to get out of here! I'm not sre how..... but... but....." he passed out, his energy from running made him extremely tired. He must've ran at LEAST 10 miles plus the length of the caves before.

Amiss shrugged, "Perhaps. It really depends, but I'm sure at least one is." she said, attempting to reassure Monclear. At the sound of Inferno's voice, she darted up in alarm, ears back, fur raised. The pups barked in alarm, now afraid of something, as if they knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. Already? The pups couldn't even walk for themselves! They were still blind and deaf, too. She scowled at herself, and begged the strange white wolf to appear. Amazingly, the wolf did. First it appeared as a simple smudge of mist, but slowly it shaped into the wolf Amiss knew so well.

"It is time. Time to prove your integrity, your determination and your courage. There is, as you know, danger ahead. I told you having those pups was a bad idea, but by then it was too late, unfortunately. They are adorable, I must admit, and I am very proud, but it wasn't time for them yet! You should have spent that time training Inferno, even if he IS quite fierce, in battle and spirit, rather than having pups." she growled, but not in a threatening tone.
"I can't help that NOW. I was kind of hoping to have had them sooner, and train them and Inferno together. I expected that by the time THIS happened, they'd be at least a few months old and able to walk, hear and see. And fight, too." Amiss grumbled a little too loudly.

FLASH! The world around them was bathed in a white light, and Amiss was forced to close her eyes. When she opened them again, smoke hung heavily in the air. The taint of wolf, a small band of wolves to be exact, was barely recognizable due to the scent of smoke. It was clear, though, that something had happened. Claw marks scored the ground, blood was spattered everywhere visible and some dried grass was trampled. She looked around for the white wolf but saw nothing. Then..the shape of a wolf, lying on the ground, appeared as shadows in the smoke. She detected no breathing, and when she softly called "Hello?" there was no answer, not even an ear twitch. She had a sinking feeling this was one of her friends. Possibly even her mate or brother. It couldn't be one of her pups, it was too big. What other wolf could it be? Perhaps one of the rival packs, but it looked more like a male and she only detected familiar pack scent in the surrounding area. And even that was faint. Suddenly..
CRAAAA-AAAACK-SS...THUD! SSS...
A tree fell inches from Amiss, and she jumped out of the way just in time to dodge the flames as they engulfed the tree.

"This..is what will happen, Amiss." a voice whispered to her, and the white wolf appeared again.

FLASH! They were back in the cave, and the pups crowded around Amiss's legs in fear. "But..can you...lead me, the pups, everyone..? You heard Inferno, he doesn't know where we're supposed to go! We can't let this happen!" she barked in desperation, licking the pups, hoping she would get to see them grow up. A tear welled in her eye, but she blinked it away.
"There is nothing we can do. I can accompany you, I suppose, but..I can't interfere much more than that. I'm sorry, sweetie, I really am." the wolf sighed, watching the frightened pups. "We must leave as soon as possible if we wish to make it at all." she added, padding out of the den. "I will wait out by the entrance for you. No one will hear you talking to me, so don't worry about looking odd." she called, slowly walking towards the entrance.

Amiss straightened up and gathered the pups. "Tell me if you can take one of these two." she mumbled through the pups' scruffs, obviously talking to Monclear. She dashed out of the den, careful to make sure her movements were smooth and gentle for the pups. They dangled, but were actually asleep already. Good. If they sleep the entire way, they won't be hungry and we won't have to stop. And they won't whine to be put down, either, so it'll be easy going, hopefully.. she thought to herself. She skidded to a halt infront of Inferno, and nudged him cautiously. "Inferno, dear, get your butt up, will ya?" she insisted, quite frantic. Adrenaline was already surging through her, like a river in a storm. Sure, the real action hadn't begun yet, but she KNEW what was going to happen. "You're our only hope, Inferno, and I kind of..well, I'm depending on you. The entire pack, the pups, everyone..we're depending on YOU to help us. I know you're the one to lead us away, after Altair died. Although you are quite fierce right now, I must trust mothe- I..I mean, instinct and prophecy." she said softly, nudging him again- this time harder and with more urgency -with her paw.

Izue finished up digging and set Altair's body into the hole. He quickly filled it back in, and used his paw to make the, say, place marker. It was shaped just as Altair's swirls were, and Izue stared at it, long and hard, sorrow sinking into his heart. Sure, Altair had been kind of...rude, but for some reason that he didn't know, he felt very bad for the poor she-wolf. She was only mad because Amiss and Monclear had kept it secret, and it was also known to all pack wolves that ONLY the alphas, or alpha, mated. On rare occasions did the subordinates get to mate, but they usually got permission and told the alpha/s in advanced, rather than just letting him or her find out for themselves. He watched for a moment longer, then heard a howl and a sentence that replaced the sorrow with fear. The day of darkness and fire was here! "Altair, only alpha who I ever really..cared for, alpha whom was only trying to make right a deed that was not completely right.. I am deeply sorry about this, and that you didn't even get to retire from alpha formally before departing. Now I must leave your body, your only physical remain, to darkness and fire. I am sorry about this, but we can't stay much longer, and you know that..." he muttered, feeling kind of foolish. With one last look at Altair's grave, he dashed out of the cave and into the camp. "The day of darkness and fire, it is here!" he howled as loud as possible, hoping that, maybe, just maybe, the other packs would hear. Sure, they were rivals, but that didn't mean they deserved to die! He ran into his den, hoping that maybe he could give everyone some strength and energy boosters for the trip, which would need everything they had. He wrapped some Burdock root, chamomile, juniper berries, ragwort and lamb's ears in a leaf especially for Amiss, and the others got everything but burdock root. He brought everyone some, dropping them next to the wolf they were for. "You need strength, and you also need to be calm to have an open mind." he said after setting Amiss's down in front of her.

Amiss gratefully unwrapped the leaf casing and ate each of the herbs, wincing at the burdock root's bitterness.


Oaki bolted into camp, fur on end. So, that was why he had seen that rabbit as if it was Amiss. He watched Amiss nudge a passed out Inferno, and quickly devoured the herbs Izue set in front of him. "Well, well, well." he mumbled. "I'm so excited for this next adventure. Oh, yes, lava, heat, smoke, and burning hot rocks. So exciting!" Oaki said sarcastically, padding over to the entrance.

Monclear grabbed one of the pups out of Amiss's jaws so she wouldn't have to carry them both then looked ahead toawrd Inferno


Inferno struggled to get up, hoarking down the herbs. He cringed, struggling to get up. He would not let the darkness control him. He gave a loud howl then bolted forward, his strange shield activating.
Wait a moment.... He thought My.... My shield only activates when there's lava nearby.

Panicking, he looked around, not seeing any trace of lava. He heard a loud crash that seemed to be miles and miles away. Already?! It was only one of the volcanos, and it was extremely far away, but Inferno still began to panic. He pondered over his possibilities.
Why can't we just take the route I took? Inferno thought. Then he realised that he had only gotten there because of his shield. The heat would be too strong for the others.


Aurora awoke as Monclear grabbed her, her tiny paws struggling to feel for the ground. She felt nothing, and though this bothered her, she kept quite. Somehow, she could sense that danger was going on. She didn't feel fear... but instead... her heart began to race... almost as if she WANTED to face the danger.

Rajora, whom had gone missing months before, was wondering on the outside of this ring of volcanos as a loner. She had found a small crack in a rock when she was a bit younger, and had slipped through, and tumbled into the land below. She couldn;t climb back up, so she wondered on her own in these strange lands. Of course, now that she was bigger, she could climb up where she fell down, but the crack was much too small for her to fit now
((OOC/ Sorry, I kinda just got lazy and didn't want to have to RP Rajora |D; ))

Inferno's eyes raced around. He felt a strong presence within him telling him the head.... towards the lava? No.... this couldn't be.... but his paws already began taking him towards the whole other nd of the forest, a trip that would take many days. Without thinking, he shouted "Follow me!" and tore off through the forest.

Monclear was a bit confused. Why would they want to head TOWARDS the erupting volcano? Inferno must know what he was doing though... Monclear began running after Inferno, and stopped to wait for Amiss to come as well.

Amiss blinked, nodded at Monclear and clutched Shade tighter, praying that whatever happened, they'd get through it alive. "Thank you." she said, before tearing off after Inferno. She kept her head still, and made sure that Shade wouldn't shake too much. She followed him a few feet behind. Is he INSANE?!? He's leading us right into a trap! she screamed silently in her head, slowing her pace a bit. Shade was whimpering due to the speed of which Amiss was running, and she instinctively slowed down enough to where she was at least ten feet behind Inferno. Her green eyes blazed with anxiety and worry, but she knew she needed to be strong. It was either follow the chosen one, or die.

Oaki ran full-sprint after them, trailing behind Amiss. Eyes focused on the path ahead, he gave a howl of encouragement.

Shade dangled from her mother's jaws as if she was a piece of prey, and she was alone with only her simple thoughts; Hungry. Tired. Bored. Excited. And, for some reason beyond her, miserable. Something was missing. Her mother's warmth was all around her, but..something was missing. She gave a heavy sigh and yawned, kicking the air feebly. She wanted desperately to get down, to just lie down next to her mother, but she could tell from her mother's energy that she would just have to wait a long, long time. She knew something urgent was going on, as her mother wouldn't run so fast with her in tow if nothing was wrong, but she really wasn't interested. She was just interested in her needs being completed. Otherwise, the world could just close her off, leave her alone.

Izue bounded after everyone, following close behind Oaki. He wasn't as used to long-distance-fact-pace running as everyone else, but he didn't mind. It was good exercise and it was sure as heck better than getting burnt alive. He sped up and fell into pace with Oaki, grinning. It was exhilarating, and though he knew it was no time to have fun and goof off, he couldn't help but be tempted.

Inferno ran further and further towards the volcano. He stopped sudddenly, and his ears pricked. Back at the camp, part of the wall holding up the lava collapsed, pouring out its molten rock onto the camp.
If they would've been there moments before, they would've died. His heart punded, not knowing what to do. He closed his eyes, and imagined a large tunnel that went underground. He traveled farther in the vision, and saw a cave that lead through a molten area of rock, but there was a natural thin rock bridge that went over a pool of lava. Where was this...? Suddenly, many many crashes were coming from everywhere. His eyes raced around, looking for the tunnel that lead underground. He saw a large rock jutting upward with a hole similar to the one in his vision.
"Everyone, hurry, into that den! I'll try my best to keep the lava from puring in as long as possible!" He howled, running over to the den, and forming his shield around the hole with a small opening in it.

Monclear briskly darted to the hole, and crawled down into it, seeing lava begin to flood around everywhere, engulfing the forest in flames. Suddenly, he himself had another flash. It was the same human he had seen before with the odd instrument on his arm. It really WAS the same one that Inferno had. The man took the instrument off his arm, obviously in pain, his teeth bared. He gave a loud whistle, and a black dog brought over the corpse of a white wolf. The man put the instrument on the dead wolf's arm, then stared straight at it. The device shot off three beeam of light, and sucked the soul o the man out of his body. The dead wolf opened its green eyes, and its fur had green designs on it.... this wolf looked oddly familiar.... it..... it was Monclear.... The wo- well.... Monclear in the vision, padded towards a stream, and took the instrument off its arm, and place it in the water. It began floating away. It floated for miles until it poured over a waterfall into another river. The waterfall was one that was in their territory, but it began on a large plateau that was a mile above ground. The instrument floted a bit more until it settled in a small pool.. The same pool Monclear had found the instrument at. Monclear(The one in his vision) ran along the river amd leapt off of the waterfall's ledge into the enormous pool below. He swam onto shore, and then layed there. Monclear remembered that this was the farthest his memory had ever gone back. He blinked a bit and returned to his current world. "I.... I remember it all now.... I remember seeing this peril in a dream... and.... I knew I had to help.... I figuired out a way I could by using this...." He peered at the device on his arm. "I.... I can't use it yet though....." He ran deep into the tunnel. He looked down at his small pup. He almost began crying. What was he thinking? Why had he ever mated? He only knew the nature of a wolf.... and now, what would he do? He just couldn't tell Amiss that he was actually a person... well... his soul was a person's soul.... He couldn't stop thinking of the morbid picture of the dead wolf.... He was living in a shell.... it once belonged to another wolf. It was rather disturbing to him. But he couldn't concentrate on that now. He had to protect his family and the others. He stopped,a nd turned back to be sure the others were coming.

Amiss followed Monclear in, setting Shade down for a moment. "Is something wrong, Monclear, dear?" she asked, tilting her head. She licked Shade vigorously, cleaning the pup and also cooling her. She nosed Shade gently.

Shade snapped out of her thoughts and, though blind, looked up to where she sensed her mother's face was. She reached out a paw and batted at Amiss, only wishing to be with her thoughts again. How much longer was the trip? She was set down finally, but she could feel deep in the earth shifting, things moving. And wherever they were, it was very warm. She attempted to pad over to where another wolf, whom she was learning was her father, was sitting. She made it, but tumbled over when she got to him.

Amiss giggled and padded over to where Shade had tumbled. She propped her pup back up, then rested her head on Monclear's back. "I really do hope we find our final destination soon, the poor pups aren't gonna make it if we have to keep running. I can't stop every few hours and feed them if we have to run..." she muttered, deciding to give the pups a snack. She patted her paw and laid down about a foot away from Monclear.

Shade stumbled over to her mother and begun eating at once. She wagged her stumpy tail in delight, happy to be eating at last.

Oaki followed Amiss in, taking a last look at the place he had been raised and born. He sighed and padded in slowly, the migration heavy on his heart. Why was this happening? What was so bad about that land that they had to run? He was so confused.. He sat down on his haunches and watched Amiss and Monclear.

Izue dashed in after Oaki, taking a deep breath. "I've never ran so fast in my life!" he laughed, the stress of the situation causing him to be jittery. His tail was wagging extremely fast, and he had to sit on it to keep it from knocking Oaki over.

Amiss looked at her friends, remembering the first day they had met each other. It was so long ago, yet it didn't seem like very long ago. She wouldn't let them be lost now, no matter what. "So, where to?" she wondered, standing up.

Shade whimpered pathetically, turning her head every which way looking for the food. Suddenly, her mother grabbed her by the scruff again. Shade yipped in worry, but realizing that it was her mother and that she was okay, she relaxed. Happily she went back to her thoughts, pretty much falling asleep.

Monclear closed his eyes, and turned towards Amiss. He looked into her eyes, then hung his head. This..... this didn't feel right to him.... it was all so normal to him before, but now.... He remembered his past, and didn't know how he would tell his mate that he was actually a human soul living in the corpse of a dead wolf . Most of all, he didn't know how to tell Amiss what he had to do. He struggled a bit, then finally spoke "Amiss.... I'm... I'm not really a wolf... you see... I-" he was cut off with the sound of Inferno howling


"Everyone go now! Lava is going to start pouring in, I can't hold this up much longer!"

Monclear grabbed Aurora by the scruff, and ran through the cavern. He darted through the twists and turns. Suddenly, his heel caught on a sharp rock, and he tripped, falling with a crack, keeping Aurora away from the ground. He steadily got up, and felt the ground beneath him grow hotter, Had lava gotten into an underground cavern below them? Just how many of them had erupted anyways? The answer to his first question was answered as a spout of lava shot up from the ground, and the cavern turned to a bridge over a pool of lava, the same one Inferno had seen in his vision.


Inferno couldn't hold the lava anymore, and it began pouring throught the entrance

"RUN!" he yelped, tearing off accross the bridge. He lept over Monclear whom was struggling a bit with staying steady and holding Aurora in his jaws at the same time.

Inferno ran farther until he crossed the pool and was now in a regular cavern once more. He decided to look ahead to be sure they were going the right way.

Monclear lost his footing, and toppled over the side of the bridge. He desperately clawed the bridge, setting Aurora down.
He slipped further down the bridge until he was dangling at the very bottom of the side. He peered down in horror, afraid his death would be right now, and he wouldn't be able to use the device on his arm.

That's when the device began glowing, giving him even more strength than before. It was so powerful, he dug his claws into the solid rock, and heaved himself up. Not stopping to catch his breath, he grabbed Aurora in his jaws, and started for the end of the bridge into the rest of the cavern.

Inferno ran through the tunnels, and reached the end where it slanted up to the surface. There was a small gap in the rock ahead that lead to the outside, where they would be safe. There were two walls of lava that were pouring in on the path. Inferno used all of his strength to put up a shield

"HURRY!" He yelled, voice blaring over the sounds of the rumbling volcanos.

Amiss clenched her jaws tight around Shade, and she dashed across the bridge and through the tunnel as fast as possible, not daring to look down. A relative of her's had once looked down while crossing a rock bridge over a very deep river, and he was never seen again. She made note of all the pointed rocks and either jumped over them or veered around them to dodge. She squeezed through the hole Inferno was standing near, relieved to feel fresh air all around them. The misty white wolf was no where to be found, and Amiss wondered if that was because they were finished with their journey, or if that was because it wasn't time for her to show herself.

Shade woke with a start, feeling fresh air rush towards her. Where was her mother taking her? She wished that she could hear, or at least see. Then she'd be able to hear her mother's voice, and see her father and mother. She also really wanted to see where they were going. Why so soon after being born, did she have to be moved yet again? She kicked the air in defiance, whining to get down. The hard rock surface that she had been on minutes ago did not interest her. She wanted the feeling of a nest, or at least grass under her small paws. She felt a small jolt, which was her mother softly shaking her, and she quit whining but kept on kicking.

Oaki stood up, stretched for a moment, then dashed off with his legs pumping as fast as possible. He made it over the bridge, slipping slightly when he made a wrong step, and squeezed through the hole that Amiss had gone through. He padded a few yards away from the hole and sat down, panting. "If we have to do that one more..time.." he sighed.

Izue felt a bit of a hot substance touch his tail, and immediately without looking back ran a foot or so behind Oaki. He tripped over a small rock that had planted itself right in the middle of the bridge, but he stood up, shook himself and finished the last of the race for life. He squeezed through the hole and sat next to Oaki. He looked at his tail with interest, and was relieved to know that it wasn't as bad as he expected. He licked it a few times, and looked around.


Inferno had no idea what to do as the lava closed on the path even more. There was no way they could all make it, seeing as the path was only around 10 feet thin, and there was about a quarter of a mile of distance between where they were and the gap in the rocks to the safe place. He hung his head. This was the end. He had failed them all.

Monclear reached the outside as well. Seeing the pathway was getting thinner by the second, he realised... he had to use the device now.... Why so soon? He sighed, then placed Aurora in front of Amiss.

He threw his head into the air and got on his hind paws. Then, he howled in three tones. Each tone activated one of the rings on the device. A single beam of gold, silver, and bronze shot out and formed an enourmous dome. Monclear roared in pain as the shield ripped all of the souls from prey and Altair out of his body. "Go on everyone!" he shouted in agony, the pain of everything rushing out of him cinged his insides and his fur.

Amiss pushed Aurora and Shade near her, and she looked at Monclear with worried eyes. "No. I can't, and I won't leave you." she said, every bit as courageous as could be. She wasn't going to let everything they had worked for go now! Tears welled in her eyes, and suddenly..
"Amiss..you know..he was not kidding when he said he was not a wolf. It is true. He is not any creature you know of." a voice said softly. The mist wolf appeared and sat next to Amiss. "This is only part of your journey. The vision.." it murmured, just barely enough for Amiss to hear.
"But..but..but.. Why? Why can't he come? He HAS to come! Please, please.." Amiss pleaded, blinking back tears. Why was everyone she either loved, or at least knew, being torn away from her? Who next? Shade? Aurora? Oaki? Izue? "Can't you save him?" she asked again.
"No. I cannot help. You must do this yourself." the misty wolf said solemnly, rubbing her head against Amiss. "I'm sorry.." it said. Slowly, the wolf disappeared and was whisked way.
Amiss's head throbbed with the wolf's words. "I cannot help." and "He is not a wolf" were the worst. Why was she in this situation. She sighed, pushing Shade and Aurora back into a patch of grass, where they could sit for a moment. Gathering her legs under her, she backed up, braced herself and ran towards the shield. She hit it with her flanks, and she gave a howl of pain. But she kept on ramming it, hoping to knock it away from Monclear, and save him. She didn't understand at all.

Shade whimpered when she was pushed back, away from the warmth and smell of her mother. Something was terribly wrong. She felt as if a soul she knew very well was being torn away from the earth, and she whimpered more. What was wrong?

Oaki blinked, watching Amiss. Had she gone crazy? Whatever was happening, it sure wasn't anything tackling would help. He looked at Izue, confused. "What is she doing?" he muttered.

Izue shrugged, equally confused. The day of darkness and fire was upon them, and it wasn't only going to claim their home, but it was going to claim a wolf's life, as well. Or, so Izue thought.

"NO AMISS, SAVE THE PUPS PLEASE. IF YOU BREAK IT, YOU'LL ALL DIE" He yelled, the pain worsening as the shield grew even stronger

"I WASN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE A WOLF AMISS. I DID THIS TO MYSELF SO I COULD SAVE YOU ALL" He howled, the burning sensation worsening. " I.... I'M A HUMAN.... JUST PLEASE, GO AMISS....."

Inferno grabbed the pups by their scruffs, and pushed Amiss in the direction of the opening "I'm sorry Amiss... but... we have to move on. If we don't go now, Monclear will have gone through all this pain for nothing. If we don't go now, we'll ALL die" He bounded off, carryingboth pups by the scruffs, not wanting to take any chances.

A loud snap occured, and a large tree branch hit the shield, sending a surge of pain throughout Monclear's body. It was becoming even more difficult to hold the shield up.

Aurora felt a strange wolf she didn't know pick her up, and was a bi worried. But whoever this wolf was, it didn't seem bad. So she stayed calm, hoping her sister would do the same. SHe could tell they were in a periless situation, and tried her best to stay calm.

Amiss clawed the ground feebly, tears blurring her vision. Why her? Why was she being forced to leave him? She took one last look back, and whispered, "I love you..." She padded up to Inferno and grabbed Shade from him, rubbing her tail on Inferno's flank. She blinked away another set of tears, but her heart was flooded with sorrow. Her tail drooped, and her eyes focused on the ground in front of her.

Shade growled as Inferno picked her up, kicking the air in extreme distaste. She calmed down a bit when her mother grabbed her, but whimpered as she felt part of her disappear. It wasn't her sister, but someone else very close to her..

Izue followed Inferno and Amiss slowly, worried that Amiss would never recover from the shock of losing someone she loved. He knew what that was like to an extent, but not to the point that Amiss felt.

Oaki, also worried about his sister, jog-trotted next to Izue. "I sure hope she gets better.." he sighed, watching Amiss. Perhaps, just maybe, Monclear and Amiss would meet again somehow, but he doubted that. Humans rarely saw wolves and acted friendly towards them, even IF they knew each other. He hoped that they would see each other again, though, that way maybe Amiss would feel better.

Inferno leapt into the crack of the rock, and squeezed through to the outside world, carrying Aurora in his jaws. Aurora was very confused as to what was happening. The whole world felt like it was falling apart.

Monclear's pain shot even higher, as the shield shattered. The lava began flooding in fast, and engolfed his body in flames. He roared and schreeched as his fur caught fire. His paws were consumed with lava, and quickly burned off, causing him to fall backwards into the pool of molten. Monclear gave one last look in Amiss's direction, hopefull that she would look back. It was as if he was trying to say "I will always love you"
Soon, he toppled face first into the lava, as his backside had melted off. His lower jaw turned to ash, and his eyes were lit to fire. Monclear had felt all of this. And had thought through all of it. He hoped that his family and his pack would be okay. Finally, his vital organs were torched, and he no longer lived. His soul escaped, and took on the shape of Monclear. It floated into the heavens, and dissappeared. Gone from the world forever.

Inferno watched as Monclear's soul floated into the sky. Then saw as the shield broke into the shapes of rabbits, mice, deer, and most of all, Altair. They all followed him, passing through the clouds.

He set Aurora down on the safe grass on the outside, and looked around. They would now have to figuire out a camp. But.... it was so hard to leave the world he had once known behind.....

Shade yowled, and Amiss set her down next to Aurora. Shade stopped whimpering and stumbled towards her mother, towards food.

Amiss stayed silent, speechless. She didn't know how to feel, or how to react to anything. She just wanted to curl up and die. Deciding that the pups probably wanted something to eat, she plopped down and patted her paw on the ground. Her mother had done that when she was a pup as a sign that it was time to eat. Pups couldn't hear, but they could feel vibrations well enough.

Oaki padded towards Amiss, and settled next to her. He licked her ears and back in empathy. He knew she didn't want to talk, so rather he just...was there with her.

Izue skidded to a halt behind Inferno and asked the question they all wanted to ask, "So, where to next?" He wagged his tail, and looked at Amiss. The poor girl....she had pups, lost her home, and lost her mate all in the same day.

Inferno hung his head. He felt that it was his fault for this... If he would've just ignored his hatred... maybe Monclear wouldn't have died?
"I'm.... I'm so sorry Amiss...." he said, giving a sigh. He wished that someone else would've been the "chosen one". Someone who didn't have darkness in their heart.... THEN they would've been lead safely out. He looked around, and saw a tiny den that looked like it SHOULD be big enough to fit them all in. He decided it'd be best if they rested there. "I'm going to head over there where that den is... we'll rest there for the night.... JUst.... catch up when you guys are ready...." He [added slowly towards the den, and raised his muzzle in the air. There was no scents of any other animals. He plopped down on the ground. He had ran so much that day.... It felt good to just be able to rest now.

Aurora ate hungrily, glad that whatever just happened was over now. But.... something didn't seem right... something was gone.... something that seemed very close to her... She stopped eating then crawled accross the ground, smelling the grass and rock scents, itching to explore. She pawed at the ground and dug a small hole. She pulled out a small pebble, then began sniffing it curiously. She grabbed it in her mouth, then wobbled towards her mother's scent, and placed it down in front of her. Her little tail wagged, excited about her find.

Amiss nudged the pebble back towards Aurora, feeling a bit dejected. So much was wrong, so much was lost..she felt like she was in the middle of a snow storm, her entire body felt..numb, and she felt as if she was just there. No body, no mind. Just there. She watched as the sun slid beyond the volcanoes and the moon begun to rise, casting a faint silver glow over the land. She got up, shook herself, and grabbed Aurora and Shade in her jaws. Padding into the cave, she took up a spot in the very back and set Aurora and Shade down. She needed sleep. Maybe, just maybe, THIS was all a dream. Maybe she'd wake up and it'd all be gone. Monclear would be back, they'd be back in the first camp, and they wouldn't have to worry about anything. She closed her eyes, sighed, and succumbed to sleep.

Oaki watched Amiss pad into the cave, then followed right behind her. His belly was extremely painful from no food, but he really just felt like sleeping for now. Food could wait..he settled at the front of the cave and curled up into a tight ball, with his eyes poking out so he could keep watch.

Izue blinked, noticing everyone was leaving into the cave without him. He made a point of feeling left out- by looking around for a moment, barking and generally making himself look pitiful and alone- then he strode into the cave and settled a few feet behind Oaki. Wrapping his tail around him, he whined in pain(all the running and jumping and stuff had made him tired and his legs were in pain) and curled into a ball, eyes fluttering open and closed.

Shade gave a yowl of protest as she was picked up, away from her meal and not even allowed to explore like her sister. She punched the air with her front paws and made some very..different movements with her back legs. Upon being set down again, she stopped punching and kicking and looked around, even though she could not see. She could feel her eyes getting ready to open, and she was quite excited to see the faces she could only smell. She could also hear just faintly the breathing of sleeping wolves, and of the night sounds. Her ears would start working fully soon.

Aurora felt herself being picked up, then quickly grabbed the small pebble in her jaws before she rose. When she was set down in the den, she set the pebble down, and curiously pawed it a bit. To an adult wolf, the pebble would just be another rock. But Aurora thought this small, worthless pebble was amazing, as it was like nothing she'd ever felt. She'd only felt fur, claws, teeth, and soil since se was born. She sniffed the rock, when sudden;ly, something strange happened. Light flooded into her tiny blue eyes though it was getting dark out. She was amazed when she looked up and saw her mother's face. She stretched out her front paw towards her mother, eyes glimmering in the moonlight. Curious about this strange world, she prowled clumsily accross the ground of the den. Ths world... it was so much larger than she had expected....
She wandered over to Izue, and looked up at him with her head tilted a bit.


Inferno rested his head on his front paws, then glanced up towards the sky.
"I'm sorry Monclear...." he sighed, clutched a pawful of dirt in anger at himself for being so ignorant "If I wouldn't have let the Darkness consume me.... you'd probably be alive.... and.... Amiss would be so much better off....." If he would've just ignored the hatred for his father...... he would've lead them to safety. Well, at least ALL of them to safety....

Shade twisted her head until she was looking behind her, at the back of the cave. When she looked back in front of her, towards where her sister's scent was strongest, she realized she was seeing everything in a new way. Was this what sight was like? Obviously, it was. And then..the sounds of strange, far off wolf howling filled her ears. She could hear things now, too! She listened to it, the sound filling her with a very nice feeling. She padded as quickly, but silently, as possible- which was actually quite noisy- towards Aurora. Clumsily, she pounced on her sister and nipped her ear. She gave a small growl, meant more as a threat than an invitation to play. It came out as a soft growl, though, and did sound more like a play growl than a real growl.

Izue's ears pricked, and he rose his head up a little. Obviously, the pups had opened their eyes and they could hear now, too. He sighed, thumped his tail and looked at Oaki. Wouldn't Oaki be kind of...grumpy if he heard the two pups play fighting? After all, it was night time and it was Oaki.. But then Izue realized Oaki was sleeping, as the sounds of snoring were easily picked out. He snorted. Some guard he is.., he thought, then closed his eyes, hoping to just sleep. The pups kept him from going to sleep fully, but even half sleep was fine with him.

Aurora gave a small smile, and tackled Shade, knawing softly at her limbs, and giving small barks. She crouched down, her hind quarters in the air, then pounced onto her sibling, enjoying the pleasure of this small thrill. She gave a tiny howl in excitement, then pawed at her sister playfully.

She rolled off of her sister, then pricked her tiny ears. A small pitter patter accross the ground a few feet away. She opened her small nostrels then let in the scents. It was a strange scent, but somehow, instinct told her to go after it. She gave a quiet growl, then leapt into a bush nearby. She looked down and noticed she had a small mouse trapped beneath her paws, struggling to get free. She softly picked up the live mouse in her jaws, then gave a swift clamp on its neck. She didn't know why she did this exactly, as she didn't know anything about hunting. She padded over to her sister, and placed it down, curiously sniffing it.

(And that concludes our 14-page, 38 thousand word summary. ..; )

Shade rolled down and under her sister, then kicked Aurora off, attempting to send her flying. Alas, the attempt failed. Due to Shade's age, her back legs were still a bit wobbly and she only managed to give a small push, not enough to knock her sister off. She growled in frustration, angered that she could do little damage. Nipping Aurora, she watched as her sister padded off, bit something and returned with a small creature. Head tilted, Shade pawed the creature tentatively. She gave a small bark, then attempted a howl- it came out as a tiny squeaking moan. Sounding enough like a howl to her, she turned around and around, as if chasing her tail. Then, with an evil glint in her eyes, she scooped the creature up and fled behind their mother. She giggled softly to herself. Thieving felt..fun! It was a game to her. She peeked up from behind Amiss and swiveled her ears, blinked her eyes and taunted Aurora.

Amiss was lost in a dream more unlike any she had experienced. Fire flashed, dancing off the rocks, sending sparks flying every which way. The silhouettes of many wolves were easily picked out, but they seemed to be running /toward/ the fire. One in particular caught Amiss's eye. "Monclear!" she whispered, tears blurring her vision. A voice rang through the fiery plain, extremely hard to pick out. Amiss craned her neck, straining her ears. She couldn't catch a word of it, and now the fire was faded, replaced by a forest maze. One path to the left, one to the north, and one to the right. A soft whisper caught her ears, "The path.....choose, decide.....fate.." Amiss gasped. Was this another prophecy dream? She looked at each path in turn. The right one was swampy, with broken branches, and the left one was extremely obvious- a clearing with a river in the middle. But the water was very..dark, with square particles dancing and floating through it. There was not another way to cross, and it was quite deep. There were rocks spanning it, but they were far apart and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to make it. If she slipped..what would happen? But if she swam, she was a good swimmer, what would happen, being exposed to the water more? The north path was even more intimidating. Creatures of all shapes and sizes were milling around, not taking any notice. They were HUGE, and black, with green markings. Amiss bit her lower lip, deciding on the left path. She begun walking toward it. At least it was easiest. Then, a much louder voice echoed in the forest. "Momma!" it screamed, coming from the path Amiss was taking. Amiss listened, then realized...Shade! she picked up her pace, and spotted Shade hanging from a rock about a foot or so above the river. The river that was dark with black particles. Shade was extremely scared, and the pup was slipping. Amiss charged towards the ledge, mother instinct taking over. But..she was a second too late. "Mommmaaa!" Shade screeched, plunging into the dark water, her pawholds disappearing. Amiss dove into the water, and a burning filled her entire body, especially near her right eye. "Aaarrrgghh!" she growled in agony. It hurt, really really bad. But her pup was in danger.
Shade(not the real Shade) struggled to get her head above the water, but she kept swallowing dirty water. "Momma! Help! It hurts!" she screamed, the burning sensation extremely real now. She churned the water with her paws, but it was useless, The only thing keeping her up was an underwater current. The river wasn't too fast, but it was fast for a pup.
Amiss dog paddled, straining her body, ignoring the burning. It grew more intense, until she felt the very fur around her right eye burning off, and when she dipped into the water again, a sudden wave coming over her, the spot around that eye was bald. For some reason, it didn't hurt anymore. She paddled faster, reaching her muzzle out to grab Shade. She clenched down, paddling to the bank. "Momma.." Shade whispered weakly. Something was wrong with Shade's fur. It was sort of teal, with blackish-green spots and green markings just like on the monsters she saw in the north path. The stripe on Shade's head melted away, and her eyes became a burning orange red. Amiss gasped. Then, like a gunshot in the night..
Amiss awoke with a jolt, breathe coming fast and shallow. Realizing that she was awake, she put a paw to her right eye, then gasped in horror. The fur was burnt off! It really was another true dream. So, what happened to Shade? She looked behind her, spotting Shade.
Shade had been seized by burning, and a light had come over her. Slowly, the light faded, and she got up groggily. She felt different. Deep green-black markings replaced her old red and white markings, and her eyes felt as if they would burn up into fire. She looked at her mom, and whimpered. What was wrong with her?
Amiss looked at Shade and licked her pup's head. Then, she blinked. Shade's old red stripe was still there, but it was now orange, close to the color of fire. "Shade, honey.." she whispered, voice catching in her throat. What was happening? Amiss grabbed Shade by the scruff of her neck, and hurried out silently, hoping Aurora wouldn't notice her. Something was calling her and Shade north, toward a large glade.

-Hops onto roleplay-
What? I did what you asked? -beaten with a fish-

I dun WANNA RP DDDDDD=

I guess I will though >>

Aurora curiously pricked her ears and watched as her mother took off with Shade. Aurora tilted her head curiously, then padded over to Izue, placing a weak paw on his. She turned her head back towards the spot where here mother dissappeared, straining her eyes to see if she could depict a silouhette of her mother amongst the murky darkness with her beady blue eyes. She averted her gaze into the distance, and turned it towards Izue. She slid her paw off of his, then nudged her muzzle against his paw, trying to get him to wake up so she could somehow find answers as to what was going on.

Amiss spotted a large glade, one that she had not noticed before. Sighing inside, she quickly made her way to it, halting at the entrance. She heard voices, and the smells coming from the glade were not that friendly. But..what if something bad happened to Shade if she /didn't/ go in? Looking back behind her, considering, calculating the risks, Amiss decided to enter the glade. She couldn't let anyone see her face again, at least not like..this. Sure, Aurora was still left at the cave, but Amiss could easily sneak back and grab her, and they could find their own home and..no. Amiss growled at her own foolishness. Her own selfish desires were /under/ her pups, they were not as important. However...
She tentatively poked her nose into the trees in front of her, attempting to get a good idea of what she was about to do. Then she whimpered. There were so many..black, scary, unknown creatures! They smelled horrible, as well. Some of the creatures looked like deer, and others looked like bobcats, but most of them were extremely odd looking, standing on their back legs and kind of bending. What creature in their right mind would do /that/? Then again, the creatures did look extremely stupid, and that would explain it. Amiss padded forward, keeping to the shadows. But it was no use. Her pure white pelt stood out against the inky darkness of the trees and the creatures spotted her. They spoke some language incomprehensible, and she growled. Amazingly, the growl seemed to scare the creatures, and they took off as if they had somewhere better to go. Amiss giggled half-heartedly, "Yeah, you better run!" She noticed a pool of water, and she took a few steps forward towards it. The water was crystal clear, and it looked like it'd be nice to dip into for a moment, even though it was still night and the temperature wasn't exactly the best for swimming.Setting Shade down next to her, she dunked her head in, closing her eyes, savoring the nice, cool feel the water brought to her injured eye.
She lifted her head out of the water, but something was..different. Her head felt heavier, and it wasn't due to water. She looked at her reflection after the water had settled, and stumbled back. Something cold, stony, and heavy was on her head! She shook her head and pawed at the thing, whimpering, afraid something was attacking her. It didn't feel alive, but..it felt different, that was for sure. It fell to the ground with a Thud! and Amiss relaxed. Whatever it was, it wasn't on her anymore. She looked at it, and rolled it over, to where she could see it's front side. Designs were etched all over it, some looked like snakes, others like leaves, and some like fire. Some even looked like her own red markings. She nudged it with her muzzle, and then..
Click!
It snapped onto her head, and she froze. Then, panic. It was on her AGAIN! She yipped, head-butting a tree, attempting to get the thing off her. It wouldn't budge. After a few minutes of this, she fell down onto the cold grass and sighed, accepting her fate. Now what? She couldn't go back to her friends, her pack, looking like this! It was worse than earlier..no. She COULD go back. She just did not want to. Head hanging, she got up and looked towards the moon, which was straight up and above her head. She howled in a low tone, and the sound spoke of distress and confusion. It rose, lowered, and rose again, then ended. She felt very different, and deciding to brave her pack again, she picked Shade up by the scruff and loped back toward the cave. What was happening to Shade could not be stopped, she decided, and she had to let nature take it's course.

Shade whimpered. Her fur was still changing, rearranging, becoming something else. Strangely, it didn't feel painful or anything. "Momma?" she asked, without realizing that she had just spoken. Her mother looked different and smelled a bit different too. Something hard and big was on her mother's head, and a strange scent emanated from it. She dangled from her mother's jaws and shuddered. So much was different already. What was happening? She wished she wasn't so young, because if she was older she could ask her mother what was happening. She knew that if she asked now, she'd get a "Nothing" and that would be that.

Izue blinked open his eyes, groaning, "What, what is it?" He stretched, stood up and looked towards where Amiss was sleeping. "Ami-" he stopped himself. Where was Amiss? Her scent was fresh, and it led out of the den. Shade's scent was drifting with it, as well. Izue held down a bit of panic. Obviously, Amiss had taken Shade for a walk or something. No big deal. He turned back to Aurora and sighed. Why had she left Aurora, though?

Midna wrote:Amiss spotted a large glade, one that she had not noticed before. Sighing inside, she quickly made her way to it, halting at the entrance. She heard voices, and the smells coming from the glade were not that friendly. But..what if something bad happened to Shade if she /didn't/ go in? Looking back behind her, considering, calculating the risks, Amiss decided to enter the glade. She couldn't let anyone see her face again, at least not like..this. Sure, Aurora was still left at the cave, but Amiss could easily sneak back and grab her, and they could find their own home and..no. Amiss growled at her own foolishness. Her own selfish desires were /under/ her pups, they were not as important. However...
She tentatively poked her nose into the trees in front of her, attempting to get a good idea of what she was about to do. Then she whimpered. There were so many..black, scary, unknown creatures! They smelled horrible, as well. Some of the creatures looked like deer, and others looked like bobcats, but most of them were extremely odd looking, standing on their back legs and kind of bending. What creature in their right mind would do /that/? Then again, the creatures did look extremely stupid, and that would explain it. Amiss padded forward, keeping to the shadows. But it was no use. Her pure white pelt stood out against the inky darkness of the trees and the creatures spotted her. They spoke some language incomprehensible, and she growled. Amazingly, the growl seemed to scare the creatures, and they took off as if they had somewhere better to go. Amiss giggled half-heartedly, "Yeah, you better run!" She noticed a pool of water, and she took a few steps forward towards it. The water was crystal clear, and it looked like it'd be nice to dip into for a moment, even though it was still night and the temperature wasn't exactly the best for swimming.Setting Shade down next to her, she dunked her head in, closing her eyes, savoring the nice, cool feel the water brought to her injured eye.
She lifted her head out of the water, but something was..different. Her head felt heavier, and it wasn't due to water. She looked at her reflection after the water had settled, and stumbled back. Something cold, stony, and heavy was on her head! She shook her head and pawed at the thing, whimpering, afraid something was attacking her. It didn't feel alive, but..it felt different, that was for sure. It fell to the ground with a Thud! and Amiss relaxed. Whatever it was, it wasn't on her anymore. She looked at it, and rolled it over, to where she could see it's front side. Designs were etched all over it, some looked like snakes, others like leaves, and some like fire. Some even looked like her own red markings. She nudged it with her muzzle, and then..
Click!
It snapped onto her head, and she froze. Then, panic. It was on her AGAIN! She yipped, head-butting a tree, attempting to get the thing off her. It wouldn't budge. After a few minutes of this, she fell down onto the cold grass and sighed, accepting her fate. Now what? She couldn't go back to her friends, her pack, looking like this! It was worse than earlier..no. She COULD go back. She just did not want to. Head hanging, she got up and looked towards the moon, which was straight up and above her head. She howled in a low tone, and the sound spoke of distress and confusion. It rose, lowered, and rose again, then ended. She felt very different, and deciding to brave her pack again, she picked Shade up by the scruff and loped back toward the cave. What was happening to Shade could not be stopped, she decided, and she had to let nature take it's course.

Shade whimpered. Her fur was still changing, rearranging, becoming something else. Strangely, it didn't feel painful or anything. "Momma?" she asked, without realizing that she had just spoken. Her mother looked different and smelled a bit different too. Something hard and big was on her mother's head, and a strange scent emanated from it. She dangled from her mother's jaws and shuddered. So much was different already. What was happening? She wished she wasn't so young, because if she was older she could ask her mother what was happening. She knew that if she asked now, she'd get a "Nothing" and that would be that.

Izue blinked open his eyes, groaning, "What, what is it?" He stretched, stood up and looked towards where Amiss was sleeping. "Ami-" he stopped himself. Where was Amiss? Her scent was fresh, and it led out of the den. Shade's scent was drifting with it, as well. Izue held down a bit of panic. Obviously, Amiss had taken Shade for a walk or something. No big deal. He turned back to Aurora and sighed. Why had she left Aurora, though?

Aurora lifted her head, and her beady eyes gazed into the confusion in Izue's eyes. She realised Izue would not be able to provide her with answers about this strange occurance. She whimpered a bit, worried about her sibling. Would she be alright?

Inferno blinked his eyes open a bit. A strange feeling purdged through his skull, and murky darkness flowed through his brain and into his blood stream.

"Hello there friend."

"H-hello...." Inferno spoke inside of his mind.

"We haven't exactly spoken in a while.... But you've done it Inferno. You've saved them."

"Y-yeah.. but I don't feel I've done all I've should... I... I don't know. I just got this strange idea... what if there was a way to somehow.... ensure my pack's safety?" He cringed, realising he had referred to them as "my pack". But his thoughts were changing bit by bit. He didn't feel the same, and yet it felt so...so.... right....

Inferno's darker half spoke "Well, you could somehow control the breeding of the other wolves... perhaps you could only allow stronger wolves to breed, producing stronger offspring for protection?"

"No..... I could never do that to them.... besides, our pack is small already with the death of Monclear and Altair, and the dissapearance of Rajora"

The dark half pondered for a moment, then spoke "Well... sooner or later you're going to have to build up from here. May I suggest... possibly recruiting some wolves?"

"Y-you mean /loners/?"

"No, no, no, I mean.... well....." The darker half paused, then gather his thoughts, and words flowed from his mouth once more "What I mean is.... If you train enough.... perhaps you could attack weaker packs, and if you win the battle against them, force them to give up one of their strongest wolves to your pack...."

Inferno gave a pleasurable grin. He liked the idea of this. Once again, the craving to taste another wolf's blood in his jaws, and feel his claws tear through pelt and meat returned from nearly a year ago.

The darker half of Inferno faded away, and Inferno(The actual one) returned to reality. He looked up into the clouds. "I'll make sure my pack is protected.... " He rolled onto her back, and gave a faint smirk