The next morning. . .
March 21st, 2010
"*yawn* Where am I?" Stormfast woke up from his sleep and realized that he was covered in debris: sand, mud, and little sticks. His once straight, pine-combed coat he prepared for the Moonlight Howl was now wet and muddy. Next to him was the bark he rode on earlier. He stood up and looked around. He was on the sandy beaches of a large lake. He wondered if the river he floated on last night emptied into this lake where the water then dumped him.
His stomach started to rumble. "Well, in Alpha School, they said, in times of need, you eat berries or eggs. Just like the Eastern chieftain, Bronx, did when he accidentally got washed far away in a river and had to find his way back home. See, I know my wolf history!" he assured himself, trying to find motivation. Just then, he heard a grumbling sound in front of him. He ducked behind a sand dune. There, in a grassy area was a small caribou. "Well, good thing I don't have to eat eggs."
He began to creep in the grass. All of a sudden, the caribou ran like there was no tomorrow. Stormfast ran after. "This moose must have some great sense of smell," he remarked, catching up to it. Now they were in deep forest. "Gotta watch out for trees." Stormfast then ran alongside it. "You know, I'm going to call you Memphis!" Then, out of nowhere, a mysterious voice caught his attention.
"Hello?" Stormfast looked behind himself.
"Hey, I'm trying to chase down Memphis over here!" he yelled, not noticing Memphis turning a sharp right to avoid an incoming object. (*SMACK!*)
Meanwhile. . .
Stone was sound asleep when Simon entered his cave.
Hmm... I thought there were apples in here. He must be a fellow traveler just like all the others, he thought. He placed all of his freshly picked onions in the cave, then went to Stone and tapped on his head.
"*yawn*" Upon seeing a new wolf, Stone was instantly frightened. The new wolf was right in his face.
"Excuse me. Who are you?"
"Uhh, my name's Stone."
"Well, Stone. What are you doing in my cave?!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I just needed a place for a break."
"A break from what?" Simon questioned.
"Following pawprints," Stone answered. The other wolf began to connect some dots.
"Oh, wait. Are you an Eastern?"
"Well, not anymore," said Stone. Simon sat down and laughed. "What's so funny?"
"Oh! I bet we have a lot in common!"
"What?" Simon started hugging him.
"Let me tell you a story. I was an Eastern like you but younger, and there was a day when I licked an onion. I realized it tasted so good! So from that point on I was an herbivore!" Stone tried his best not to chuckle. "The day after that I was promoted to Alpha. But then, on my first Alpha hunt, the chieftain, Bronx, came to me and said I wasn't allowed to hunt 'cause I didn't eat meat! I asked my fellow Alphamates to back me up... but they agreed! So I told them I would run away and return with revenge! The end!"
"Short story," said Stone. "What's your name?"
"Simon. So who's the pack chieftain now?"
"Tony."
"Oh... Bronx's obnoxious pup."
Simon was a very elderly wolf. He had white and grey on his cheeks and legs. He was older than Winston and Tony, but he was a large wolf. Stone guessed his longevity came from his diet of fruits and vegetables.
"Owww!" Stone yipped, looking at his broken paw.
"Oh, let me help you with that," said Simon as he went and grabbed an onion. "Here, eat this."
"I'm not eating this!"
"JUST EAT IT!" growled Simon. Stone quickly ate the onion. Suddenly, the pain in Stone's paw disappeared.
"Whoa..." He moved his paw around.
"Don't move it! It may not hurt anymore, but it's still broken. The onions are killing the pain. Here." He went to the back of the cave and got a piece of wet tree bark and wrapped it around Stone's paw. "So what's your short story?"
"What?"
"You know. What's your origin?"
"Well, I don't really have an origin," said Stone. "Stormfast's mom, Debby, fostered me. She said I came from the river that lies between the Eastern and Western Packs, the Dividing River."
"Hmm, not a real Eastern, eh? Who's Stormfast?"
"Oh, my ex-best friend. Last night I was captured by humans and when I called him to save me, he ran away like a coward, like he didn't care about me anymore." Simon started laughing again. "It's not funny!" growled Stone.
"Oh, but, my precious jewel," the old wolf said with a snicker, "I was laughing at the Easterns, the fact that Stormfast and Bronx, both pure Easterns, did this to us."
"Are you suggesting revenge?"
"If you want to rebuke Stormfast, then yes," Simon replied. Stone thought for a few minutes.
"How 'bout I give you a deal? I'll go along with revenging the Eastern Pack if you help me organize a pack of my own."
"That's not a fair deal. You know it takes a while to make a pack. Plus, you don't even have a mate," said Simon.
"Oh, don't worry," Stone said with a smile. "The pack is going to be the foundation from which revenge can be best served."