Post by Laur on Jul 17, 2016 18:25:15 GMT
YEAR ONE, LATE WINTER
- - Pandora had left her old homelands somewhere way into the west after the ices of winter began to first melt. She traveled with very few in her party, all of them traveling to the northeast in hopes that they would find better lands to thrive than their overcrowded territory that Pandora's old pack had stubbornly refused to leave behind. On and on, the meager group pushed themselves to keep going, but there seemed to be no end in sight. Many of her group gave up on hope that they would find a better land to live in and dropped from their ranks, left behind as the group kept traveling. For days, Pandora watched with her pale amber eyes as her group members grumbled over hunger and illness, tired from the constant wandering. It was becoming clear that they all thought themselves dead, which made the she-wolf feel a terrible grief over suggesting they follow her out here. One year passed, and there was no result of their scouting yet. -
- - The white she-wolf came upon the abrupt ending of the thick woods that had enfolded them in its grasp. Pandora's eyes fell upon a gathering of structures in the distance, not foreign from where they were from. She bounded with excitement back to her group, who were fretting over a new litter that had been born not four weeks ago. All of the whelps were sickly and not expected to survive for much longer. When Pandora brought the news, the now small group of twelve couldn't believe what they were hearing. A land that wasn't nothing but trees? Surely not, not after the long, hard year they had suffered through. Pandora encouraged them all to look for themselves and it was the mother of the litter that dared to follow the she-wolf. When the mother saw the village, abandoned but rich with the smells of prey, such as rabbits and deer, she let out a great sob and nestled her muzzle in Pandora's thick, white fur. Pride consumed this she-wolf, made her proud as she turned to see the others appearing along the edge of the treeline, eyes wide and expressions of awe and shock written across their faces. Let them ever doubt her now! -
- - It became clear that the village wasn't the only part of this area. Out of the huts came coyotes and foxes, who shared the barren buildings as dens. They were amazed to see such foreign wolves, looking gritty and worn. The tribes took in the group, nursing them back to a healthy weight and helping the sick litter gain better health. Pandora gave the tribes her thanks, telling them that she and her group owed them their lives. The tribes brushed it off, and told them that the village wasn't alone in the wonders here. Immediately, the group of wolves were keen to listen to what these coyotes had to say. A whole clearing, though it was terrifying to cross by yourself for its open fields, lead to a rocky, loose rock slope that would lead down into a ravine. At the end of the ravine, there would be a pool of water to rest before they continued into a small copse of trees and into the center lands. Further on, there were the highlands that held caves with mazes so tricky it was easy to get lost in. The tribes said that there was an old female fox named Cora that knew the safest path through the slopes and ravine, while also warning that if they wanted to go into the center lands, they would have to go soon. When the snow and ice of winter finally completely melts, the ravine would be impassable, too heavy with water to even dip a paw in. The group asked if Cora would take them. The matriarch of one of the tribes shifted her eyes uncomfortably at this question. She told them Cora was a fickle vixen, only taking travelers through if they would do one thing from them. Pandora thought this wasn't odd at all, so why did the coyotes act so strangely? One of the foxes, a cocky young male twittered at Pandora's quizzical expression. "She wants you to bring her a claw from a bear!" he chuckled at their shocked faces. -
- - The mother of the litter looked at Pandora and told her she would join her if she accepted this strange quest. Ears flat against her head, Pandora muttered her agreement and summed up forces to hunt for a bear. The one they found was quite elderly, but still strong enough to break the back of a single wolf with one swipe of his paw. With a group of six, half of her whole gathering, Pandora brought down the bear. Unfortunately, there was two casualties. One was a youthful male, who sought adventure and gained it through his death. Another was the mother, whose death hung heavy on Pandora's mind as she returned to the village. She adopted the litter as her own, thankful they were old enough that they were already weaned. The pups asked many questions of where their mother was, but Pandora never answered a single one. When they came to the den of Cora, Pandora practically flung the claws of the dead bear at the old fox, amber eyes afire with resentment over what she had done and what risk this damned fox demanded. Cora twittered as she looked up at Pandora's glare. "You were brave, but I know that look. You were also very, very foolish." With that bouncing around in Pandora's head, the fox lead them into the center lands. They settled down in the copse of trees just as the last of winter made itself known by the roaring rush of water filling the ravine. One of her group asked Pandora if she thought Cora survived. "I hope she did not, the trickster. I hope she drowned and wasn't able to see her death coming." At her words, the group became wary of their leader. -