Chapter 6

This one's a fairly short chapter, due to it being 10:00 at night!

                                                   CHAPTER 6

Please read prologue and chapters 1-5 before reading this chapter.

“WARRIORS!” Hummingbird yelled. “This may not be our camp and our home, but these are wolves that need our help! We must defend them!”

The words he spoke echoed in River’s mind. Her leader and his pack were strong and brave. These were two qualities she did not have. She was a newer warrior and had only fought three battles. All of them she had left with scars. According to the troubles happening, this looked as if it wouldn’t be any different.

Hummingbird was the first to run down to the camp, followed by all of the rest streaming behind him like a group of fish in a shallow pond. It took her a while to gather her nerves, but soon she was running right with the others.

The snow underpaw was very slippery and hard to run in, not to mention the heat of the flames that somehow didn’t melt it. Many warriors were having a hard time running too.

When she reached the camp a quick gaze around told her that the Black Creek wolves were winning. White Snow warriors littered the ground like prey in the kill pile back at camp. They were outnumbered and horribly loosing. It was the time to act.

Hedge was the first to spring. He crashed into a black scarred wolf with long and sharp claws. But Hedge was known around the forest for his sharp claws too. He was able to pin the warrior down and slash his claws across his showing belly. The wolf howled in pain and reared back, only to slip through the snow and fall unconscious.

River had been so distracted by Hedge’s expert fighting that she hadn’t seen the dark brown she-wolf sneaking up behind her. The warrior hit her back and brought her to the snow. River yowled in pain as she felt claws hit her exposed back. Bringing up her paw she thrust snow into the face of her attacker. The she-wolf fell back and into the crowd of fighting wolves.

Shaking the blood from her pelt, she turned her head to see Hedge locked in a battle with a silver wolf twice his size. She ran as fast as her paws could carry her to help Hedge, but was swept away by the cold wind blowing the fire.

The silver wolf had Hedge pinned to the ground. With a twisted snarl, he lashed his claws into Hedge’s chest. Instantly Hedge went limp as his eyes widened.

“HEDGE!” River yelled.

Chapter 5

A big thanks to my friend Stormy who is the only person that reads this who is not in my family!

                                                   CHAPTER 5

Please read prologue and chapters 1-4 before reading this chapter.

River bolted up and looked around. Hedge got up to and growled at the unseen enemy. Bronzewing ran over and pushed Hedge back with his paw. “You are not going out to fight! You are still healing and may not go out and reopen them!” He said angrily.

“I guess I’m going to have to be extra careful then.” Hedge said with a smile.

Hedge turned and bolted outside. River shrugged at Bronzewing and followed him at the same speed.

When she got out the fog had passed. The camp was filled with every warrior. She gazed around and caught her eye on the enemy they had seen. It was a white arctic wolf she recognized as Glacier, a White Snow Pack warrior. Though the White Snow Pack was not their ally yet, they were far from their enemy.

Hummingbird bolted from his den and stopped at the group formed at the entrance. He pushed his way through until he was tail-lengths from Glacier. He examined the white wolf that appeared to be out of breath. Padding up to him and opened his mouth to speak.

“The Black Creek Pack has attacked our camp!” Glacier yelled before Hummingbird good say a word. “Please! We need help!”

Hummingbird nodded. “We understand. Hill and Pond will stay back in case anyone attacks camp. The rest of the warriors will come with me and Glacier.”

River was thankful that Hummingbird had forgotten that Hedge had been hurt. She was also thankful that for once she could join the other wolves on an actual mission. She padded along with the others as they began to leave through the entrance.

When they reached the outside she could feel a disturbance in the air. It seemed hotter than usual and smelled like smoke. It overwhelmed her senses. Looking around she noticed that everyone else smelled it too. Sycamore had to keep Rose up with his shoulder just so they could keep walking. Each step made it stronger and stronger until it was almost unbearable.

“That’s it...!” Said Thistle “I can’t take it anymore!”

“Good, because we’re here.” Glacier said sadly.

River looked up to see the White Snow camp in flames. Every tree was burning; every wolf was trying to run from the fire. What scared her the most were the highly-practiced cackling laughter of the Black Creek wolves standing on the stone ledge above the camp.

Oh no River thought.

Chapter 4

And so the story continues!

                                                   CHAPTER 4

Please read prologue and chapters 1-3 before reading this chapter.

When River awoke she could only make out the outlines of the things around her. She slowly got up and arched her back, stretching her muscles as if she hadn’t woken in months. She felt around her and realized that her moss bedding had been torn up all over her corner. Must have had a bad dream she thought.

Looking around her she realized that a thick fog had formed over the night. It was gold like the rain and very wet. Padding through it made her pelt feel as if she had fallen in a stream. It seemed to move too, as if it had a current on its own.

She slowly padded outside and remembered the events that had happened during the night. Hedge! She ran over to the side of Hummingbird’s den and looked around, only to find that Hedge had disappeared.

Turning around confusingly, River looked around the camp for Hedge. He was nowhere in sight. She spotted her brother and padded over to him. Thistle noticed her and nodded a greeting.

“Have you seen Hedge?” River asked

“He’s with Bronzewing.” He answered. “Nobody is supposed to come in though.”

“I’ll make a way in.” River said angrily. This was her friend, and she could not be kept from him while he was suffering.

She turned and quickly padded to Bronzewing’s den. When she reached it she saw no warriors at the entrance and walked in quietly. Bronzewing turned his old head and put a paw on her shoulder.

“River, you shouldn’t be here.” He croaked out. “Hedge needs peace and quiet.”

“Grandfather I will not leave. Hedge is my closest friend and I need to see him.” She replied angrily. Bronzewing was her father’s father and was the oldest member of the pack. One with his skill could heal Hedge quickly, though ever since her father had been killed he had been slow and depressed.

“River, this is important to me. I couldn’t help your father and I must make up for it with helping everyone for the rest of my life.”He answered.

“This is important for me too!” River yelled. Seeing the replied look on his face she quieted her tone down. “Please let me stay grandfather.” She whispered to him.

Bronzewing groaned and nodded his approval. “Just don’t get in the way.” He turned and pulled back the huge curtain that had been strung together by tons of animal pelts. River looked in to see Hedge lying on the moss floor.

“Hedge!” She said happily. Running over to him she dug her muzzle into his fur. “I thought you were dead.” She said.

Hedge opened his eyes and smiled. “I was, but…something happened. I saw black and then it turned to gold. Then I woke up and saw the camp around me. I got off the rock and ran but then froze when everyone came around me. I couldn’t move or speak. Finally I just fell back and woke up in here. Bronzewing healed me and told me to take a rest. And now I’m here.”

River smiled as tears came to her eyes. “I’m just glad you’re okay Hedge. I missed you.” She said.

“I missed you too-“Hedge started to say but was cut off by a yowl from outside.

“INVADERS!”

Chapter 3

                                                   CHAPTER 3

Please read prologue and chapters 1 and 2 before reading this chapter.

River pushed her way through the crowd at the front of the den. Nobody noticed her trying to get through, as usual. Hedge was dead, she was sure of that. But now he was gone. And the rain...it was a pure color of gold.

Finally River got to the front of the den and looked closer at the stone.  No Hedge. She narrowed her eyes to see that the muddy outline of paw prints were all over the stone. What was going on?

As if on command, a faint howl was heard from near the back of the camp, not far from the stone. An outline of a wolf wandered around, swaying his head side to side as if he were very confused.

 River couldn’t take it anymore. She burst through the front of the den and outside into clearing. River spun her body around so that she faced the wolf. Wait…where was the wolf? It had seemed to have left. Others slowly followed River outside and into the rain.

“Over here!” Thistle said in a whispering yell. He pointed his head to the Alpha and Beta den. Next to is stood the dark wolf again. Wolves around River crouched down and snarled lowly at the shadow wolf. Something kept her from doing the same. The wolf moved familiarly. The way its stiff body moved up and down and the way its fur was drawn back into a V shape.

River’s eyes widened. It couldn’t be. She knew that wolf! It was Hedge!

“Everyone! Stop!”She yelled. Most turned their heads towards her although some acted as though she didn’t even talk.

“It’s Hedge!” She yelled “Can’t anyone else see that?!”

A low murmur went throughout the group. Some nodded, but others just thought of him as an invader.

“She just has his death stuck in her head!” Rose said with a smile. Standing beside her, Pond nodded and sneered.

River ignored the comment and looked back at Hedge. He looked around with fear and confusion. It was almost as if he didn’t recognize anyone.  It must have been too much for him to take in.

River padded through the wet grass until she was a few tail-lengths away from him. “Hedge?” She asked.

Hedge stared at her until he could not take everything in any longer. River watched as he fell onto the ground as if his body was holding up the entire pack. Gasps came out of surprise and the group behind her ran forwards. She saw Thistle run into the Alpha den and a moment later Hummingbird came out.

“Move!’ Hummingbird commanded. The crowd parted to let him in. He examined the body and then looked at the sky. The golden rain had turned to a small drizzle.

Each drop seemed to scare Hummingbird and make him shiver. He shook his head and then looked back up. “Get back to your dens. We will examine this more in the morning.”

Slowly each member left the circle and returned to their dens. Last to go was River. Each step felt like a tree was sinking into the ground. There was too much going on in her head. She almost felt like Hedge...

When she reached her den she leaned against the wall of the hollowed out boulders. She needed rest, and she knew it. Shaking her pelt, she padded inside to her moss bed.

Merry Christmas!

This story takes place before the other Wolf Tale stories, and does not have anything to do with the stories. I have created it to spread joy and to give everyone a good holiday greeting. Happy Holidays to everyone, and a happy New Year!

Wolf Tale: Christmas Edition

By Duncan Groff

The snow fell from the winter sky. Slowly, clumps began to form on the roots of the trees, the tops of the houses, the edges of the paths, and the stretch of ground extending as far as one could see.

The trees were bare, making the blue-toned birds easier to see. This was one of the advantages of winter, along with the snow muffling all pawsteps.

River moved through the three-foot-high piles of snow. It had come down a lot harder this year, and the young of the People would make them into large, odd shapes, resembling of nothing she could think of.

Slowly, River crouched lower and padded near a large sycamore tree. Her keen eyes detected a slight movement in the upper section. Slow tree. It had not taken its time yet to shed its leaves. What a lazy tree.

Reaching the edge of the bark, she unsheathed her claws and quickly hooked them into the year-old bark. Doing the same with her back paws, she climbed up the side as if she had done it many times before, which, she had.

As River reached the top branches, she poked her head up to see the bluebird nibbling on the food it had brought up. One quick swipe of her paw, and River pierced the bird in its plump body, twisting it and bringing it down to her mouth. With one quick bite, it dropped its head, giving River a new meal.

Turning around, she jumped down to the ground and landed on her paws with ease. Carrying her prey in her mouth, she made her way to a pile of dull rocks next to a patch of nice moss growing on the side of one behind her. She settled down into a comfortable pose and devoured her newly-caught food.

Staring out past the forest, River saw People houses with fresh white snow covering their tops and sides, while fog formed on the ice parts of their walls.

Their garden flowers were covered up with the snow, and the wooden spikes on their fences had been turned into a clump of white. River smiled as she saw the Young People come out and laugh in the snow. They threw clumps of it at each other and hid behind giant pounds of it. They seemed so joyful to fight each other. Odd.

Something thumped through the snow behind her, and River turned to see Hedge’s brown fur padding her way. River looked in shock as she saw something on his head. It was red with a white fur-thing on top.

“What is that!?” River asked in surprise as he settled down next to her.

“One of the People dropped it, so I picked it up and put it on like they would!” Hedge explained “Isn’t it cool?!”

River let out a laugh and looked into one of the ice walls in the nearest house. The People had put a small tree inside and hung small colored balls and strings of fire inside ice-things. These People were very odd.

She turned her head back to Hedge. “It sure suits you.” She said in a quiet tone. Hedge smiled and looked at the tree inside the house.

“There’s something the People say around this time of the year, but I forget what it is.” Hedge said, keeping his eyes on the trees.

River looked at the funny thing on Hedge’s hat. It had odd symbols on it. The symbols the People used to speak to each other when they weren’t talking. She had listened to them say these symbols time after time, and it gave her a happy feeling whenever they did.

“It’s ‘Merry Christmas’ Hedge. They celebrate it as a joyful time, just like we celebrate the Gathering of snow. Every year the People say these words to spread happiness through each other’s hearts. It makes them smile and they say it back. This ‘Merry Christmas’ is a happy time. Merry Christmas Hedge, Merry Christmas.

As River said, Merry Christmas, and I hope everyone has the best of holidays.
-Silverstar3131

Chapter 2

Its finnally here!

                                      CHAPTER 2

Please read prologue and chapter 1 before reading this chapter.

When River was a pup, her father had been killed by a Black Creak wolf. She had felt so horrible sitting in a forest clearing, watching the evil wolf slice a final blow into her dad. Her body could not move, paralyzed by the frightening moment. The wolf had laughed evilly and thrown her father on the ground, howling in the moonlight and then padding away like it was nothing. She was left sitting in fear, crying hard as the warrior wolves around her fought the other Black Creak wolves.

That emotion was almost the same as what she had when she saw Hedge. Her eyes became wide with fear as she stared at his dark body, lying at the feet of several other wolves. She could not process what she was seeing. Hedge was just lying there. His deep wounds were bleeding, and he was not breathing.

Heads turned as Hummingbird sprinted to the gathered crowd. “What is this?!” he yelled, coming to a complete stop in the stained dirt. His eyes wandered across the body of Hedge, and his ears began to droop down. Thrush and Daisy, the two Betas’ of the pack, came over to comfort him. Even when they told him calming words to cheer him up, he still looked sad.

A small chatter began to form, and questions started being asked to Thistle, who had found Hedge on his hunting sweep.

“Where did you find him?” asked Sycamore. Thistle simply lowered his head and stared at the ground. He had also been close to Hedge, but not as close as River.

Pond stepped up and replied for him. “Near the old rotten-bark” she said. The old rotten bark was the place where prey was mostly found. It was a tall dead tree that had been hallowed out for decades by birds and insects.

Bronzewing, the healer wolf and taleteller, stepped forwards and picks up Hedge by his scruff. The old wolf had sorrow in his eyes and weak bones in his body as he dragged the former warrior to the healing stone. The healing stone was the large stone with a cave underneath it where Bronzewing restored wolves to good health. It was also the stone where lost warriors were placed for the next night, before being placed in the river flowing next to camp. 

Saddened wolves went up to the body and said their words, as they kept their heads low and their tails wrapped around their tired legs. The moon was showing, and it would be time to sleep soon. Although River wanted to say her goodbyes to Hedge to badly, she could not bear to look at her old friend again.

The sky darkened and wolves started to finish their meals and pad towards their beds. River swallowed a bite of her half eaten sparrow and glared at it. She still couldn’t imagine that Hedge was gone. It was too much to think of. She got up and padded towards her den. Turning her head sideways, she glanced at Hedge, lying on the healing stone. Sorrow filled her eyes, and she continued on inside.

Her moss bedding was cold that night. On any other day it would probably be warm, but it wasn’t any other day. Her ears were almost deaf to the world as she went through her thoughts. Wolves don’t just die spontaneously. There is always a good reason, but River couldn’t think of one.

He could have been killed by a falling tree, she thought. No, his body would have been crushed. He could have been shot by a Tailless. Again, no. Tailless’s never came that far into the forest. The camp was deep in the heart of these woods, and Hedge was killed farther inside the woods.

As River thought, she barely noticed the things around her. Wolves that had been sleeping started to perk their heads up to an unusual sound. Thistle’s eyes opened to the sound too, and he nudged River with his paw.

“What’s that?” he asked. River slowly put her head up from the ground and listened for what he was asking about. At first she thought it was just the rushing water of the creak next to camp, but then she realized it was rain.

“It’s just rain. Go back to sleep.” She said as she lowered her head down. Thistle turned his head and stared at her as if she were crazy. “Did you bother to look at the rain?” he asked.

River tilted her head in confusion and turned her head to face the leaf opening. It was just regular rain, she thought. She turned her head to tell her brother he was crazy, when something fell in the corner of her eye. She turned her head once again to the rain, and looked closer. Her jaw dropped as she noticed that the rain was not clear, but gold.

She padded to the front of the den where a group of wolves were staring at the rain dumbfounded, and squeezed in between Pond and Sycamore. As she looked closer once more, she saw the rain really was a shinning gold.

She turned her head and looked across camp. Everything dripped gold rain. Puddles had formed in the damp grass, and the prey was soaking up some water too. Her eyes led her to the healing stone, where Hedge was laying. Wait a minute…Hedge wasn’t there! The healing stone was empty!

Where was Hedge?!?!

Chapter 1

Hey everyone! Heres Chapter one of Wolf Tale: Survival of the Red Oak!
READ PROLOUGE BEFORE THIS PLEASE!

                                      CHAPTER 1

Please read prologue before reading this chapter.

The wind rustled through the leaves on the ground. Piles of them had been formed since fall had come. And there were lots of them from all the trees in the woods. Every time you took a pawstep they would crunch. Right now there was lots of crunching from the two wolves taking a walk in the woods.

The first wolf was named Thistle. He was an Arabian wolf with thick fur. He was part of the Red Oak pack, one of the most thriving and popular packs in the woods. He was a warrior of the pack, and he would do anything to defend it. One of the most things he was known for was bringing his pack exactly four piles of prey in two days.

The second wolves name was River.  She too was an Arabian wolf and Thistles sister. She was another brave warrior of the Red Oak pack along with being part of its night patrol. She has been known to win all the battles she has fought.

As they walked, they also searched for prey. Prey was usually very nice during this time of the year, although with the leaves it was easy to be heard while searching.

With no luck finding anything, the two wolves walked back to their pack home. The location of the pack was a secret to all wolves outside the pack, and was only given away at the end of the year meeting, where all the other packs would meet and get to know each other. After the meeting the pack would gather everything they needed and would set off to rebuild a new camp somewhere that no one knew about.

Right now the pack camp was located in the middle of six old red oak trees, giving the pack its name. The plants grew high in between each tree making walls. Two circular holes were made in the Center of two of the trees. One in the front, one in the back. These holes were used as entries inside the camp and they were heavily guarded by two wolves each.

River and Thistle lifted their noses to the smell of fresh prey that had just been brought back. Mouths watering, the two sprinted in through the holes, right past the guards, and up to the food pile. They both grabbed a piece and gobbled it down. 

Licking her lips, River settled down next to the food pile as her brother finished his sparrow. She looked around the camp. Everything was beautiful. There was the wolf den where all the wolves slept. There was the pup den where the newly born pups slept with their mother and father. There was the leader den, where the Alpha males, betas, and their mates slept. The food pile in front of her was in the middle of everything, and the meeting place was next to it. Home she though.

The Alpha male, Hummingbird, came out to the meeting center and signaled all the wolves with a howl. Every wolf other than the pups and their families came out to the meeting area. River got up and walked over to the area, her brother behind her.

“Prey is scarce now.” Said Hummingbird. He looked at every warrior wolf and continued. “We must send out groups to go hunting. Thrush, take Rose and Sycamore with you. Daisy, take Fern and Bark. Thistle, take Hill and Hedge.”

River frowned. She was the only one staying back. Hummingbird never chose her. He always thought she was too young. Even though she had only just become a wolf, she still thought she was old enough to be out on patrol.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her brother. “Hummingbird, Hedge hasn’t been seen since yesterday afternoon.” He said. Her ears perked up. Thistle was right. He hadn’t been seen since yesterday afternoon. Where was he? She thought. Hedge had been like a second brother to her. They had been best friends since they were pups. But where could he have been?

Hummingbird nodded his head and said “Your right.” He looked around for another wolf to join the group. As his eyes wandered they stopped on River. He thought a little while then turned back to another gray wolf. “Pond can go with you” he said flicking his tail at the gray wolf. Darn she thought. He had to choose pond.

Hummingbird told all the groups to keep a look out for Hedge before they all headed off into the woods. River slowly walked to her den. Inside she settled down on the hard rock floor and put her head in her paws.

She closed her eyes and imagined herself sprinting through the wolves, her leader and her brother running behind her, with the whole clan following her. She smiled as she continued to imagine Hedge run out of the trees and join the run. They ran up the mountain and ran so fast that everything was a blur to them. At the end of the mountain a cliff hanger hung over the vast world. The packs pelts shone brightly in the night as they stopped at the end and howled at the moon as it came up into the sky, bringing night to the world.

She then lowered her head and smiled. Hedge walked up next to her and told her something in a language she could not understand. The words then turned into “River! River! Wake up!” She frowned, and tried to understand what he was saying. “River! Wake up!” he said again.

River shot up into the air like a thorn hit her. She was back in her den. It had been a dream. Thistle stood over her looking shocked. “River come on!!” He said sacredly “We found Hedge!!”