The chieftain believed that too much had happened to the wolf tribe. The hard won peace may not last forever, but at least it gave them time to grow. He could only hope that the other tribes would not continuously try to wear away their already declining numbers.
With the black wolf still alive, it can add another layer of protection for the tribe. The beast that killed both leaders of the lion and bear tribes. Who would dare to face off against her? Add on to that, the victories for the wolves, it is clear to see why those tribes only sent such small attacks.
Arzhen didn't know what the chieftain thought about her, but she wouldn't care even if she knew. Without one of her eyes, hunting had become slightly more challenging. She only had half her sight, so hearing became more important to her. She made her way up to the top of a hill and looked down at the vast forest below, listening carefully to all the sounds and going ons under her.
As time went on, with her remaining eye closed, she could start to hear more delicate and quieter noises. Some were of animals too small for her to bother with, others filled with groups trying to make as little noise as possible.
Arzhen was surprised, she had guessed that some tribes would try to take advantage of the chaos to deliver as much damage to the wolves as they could. However she didn't expect to run into it herself. Now she wondered if she should intervene. She had already helped the wolves enough, and suffered greatly for doing so.
Although when she saw the group slinking through the forest she wondered how this ragtag assortment came about? In it she saw deer, moose and bobcats. Arzhen wondered why they were here,until she heard one of them speak. It just so happened to be a tiger.
"What are you all worried about. The wolves have been dealt successive blows by the two strongest tribes. Even if they could fend off those small attacks from those weak beasts, they have no chance against us".
Arzhen came to understand why a tiger would bring this group. Although tigers are very territorial, they will almost never allow a second one into their territory, unless it's their mate, but in terms of war, they will still fall in line under the orders of a much stronger Tiger, although they will be very dissatisfied.
However looking at the tiger that was no bigger than a wolf, she knew that he couldn't exert any dominance over his kin and was forced to choose these other beasts. She guessed that he wasn't taken seriously in the domain of the tigers and came here to try his luck in the war ravaged wolves territory.
"I don't know, my lord. What about that monster the wolves have. I heard that it was able to kill both the lion and bear Kings".
The tiger seemed disdainful of what his subordinate had said, "Just that wolf? I heard it's injuries were too severe after fighting with the bear King, that it walked off into the snow and disappeared. It probably wanted to find a place to die. You don't need to worry about i..."
Arzhen wasn't angry because of what the Tiger said, but she realised that she had been out for so long and now there were cubs at home, she couldn't just laze around. So before the Tiger had a chance to finish its contemptuous statement, she had already killed him.
The change came so fast that the rest of the group had no chance to even beg for mercy before they suffered the same fate. Only the birds flapping their wings to flee this area being the sign that something had happened there.
Arzhen took a long time dragging the group back to the den. The antlers of the deer kept digging into the ground. She swore that next time she'd rip the antlers off first, but by that time she had already reached home.
The three little wolves heard the commotion outside and saw the large group that Arzhen brought back.
"Where did such a large group come from", Sedraa asked dumbfounded.
"They wanted to attack the wolves over there, so I took the opportunity to solve them. I wasn't expecting to find so many that close either".
The three little wolves looked at each other, guessing that Arzhen's injuries were probably much better seeing as there wasn't a single injury from her hunt today.
The cubs that had their little rest wandered out of the den in a daze. The brave girl that Arzhen had met earlier was still leading the way. When they saw the big black wolf standing tall, next to a pile of things they hadn't seen before, they walked over curiously.
As they got closer, they could smell that these were like the things that the mama wolves brought back, except there were a lot more. The ones that the mama wolves brought back were usually much smaller, and it didn't look like it could fill them. So when looking at this group, they knew that the big black wolf was really strong.
The little cub leader looked at Arzhen who was speaking with one of the mama wolves, with awe and longing. She hoped that one day she could become as fierce and powerful as the big black wolf. Just standing in place, who would dare to look down on the black wolf.
Arzhen and the three little wolves noticed the little cub's gaze.
"It seems you'll have a little follower from now on" Rin joked.
Arzhen chuckled and turned around, but seeing the longing on her daughters face, she didn't know how she should feel. She doesn't want her children to be like her. She knows that she is cruel and indifferent. Only to the few of them that live here with her, will she show any sort of affection. However she wants her children to have hope for this world. Not to live in hatred and spite. She will raise them differently. With the help of the three little wolves, she will give her children the life that she had always wanted.
The End