Istone Pack

Your paws crunch in the thin layer of snow coating the ground. It's only autumn, but the nights are already cold, and this snow is left over from a few days ago. Most of it has melted since then, but some remains, and there's a bitter chill in the air even in the valleys where you are now.

You're shivering with cold and your fur is still damp from the river you swam across in the early hours of the dawn. Now it's mid-morning and the sun has just appeared over the mountains, casting its glow over the forested valleys and rocky slopes of the mountains, and finally warming your wet fur.

Suddenly you realize that you can smell wolves - not the faint, stale scent of a lone wolf passing through several days ago, but the fresh smell of at least two wolves. It seems like you've entered a pack's territory without even knowing, and you immediately come to a halt, ears swiveling alertly. You don't know the wolves in this area, so while they might be friendly, they might easily be aggressive, and you're in no state to fight. You're about to turn back and leave the territory when you hear paws crunching over leaves and freeze.

A pale brown wolf comes into sight, stepping out from behind some trees. She stops and looks at you in surprise, her eyes widening, but doesn't immediately seem aggressive. You start backing off, tail between your legs, when she speaks.

"What are you doing here?" she asks. Her voice is gentle, and her eyes have softened with concern. You halt and start to stammer out excuses, but she moves to your side in a few quick steps and starts sniffing you over. You stiffen, fur bristling nervously, and give a small warning snarl. She steps back calmly. "No need to be aggressive," she says. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She sniffs you again, and this time you stay still. Then she draws back. "Did you swim across the river?" she asks, disbelieving. You nod, ears flat in embarrassment. She looks worried. "I'd better bring you back to the pack. You'll get sick in this cold." Before you can protest, she starts nudging you forward, and somewhat reluctantly you follow her, still feeling wary.

"My name is Breeze, by the way," she says as you walk. Now that you're a bit calmer, you notice that her fur isn't plain brown, but mixed with beige and creamy yellow hues, and she has hazel-green eyes. She looks very strong and athletic, and her coat is thick, clearly adapted to the mountains' cold climate.

You suddenly realize that she expects a reply and quickly tell her your name, even though your jaw is tense from the cold. She looks back at you with concern again. "We'll get you to our herbalist now. He'll get you warmed up and check you for any sickness," she tells you, even though you didn't ask. Then she says, "I suppose you don't know of our pack?"

When you shake your head, she continues, "It's called the Istone pack. We live here in this valley. Our leader is Reina, and her mate is Blizzard - he's scouting right now, but Reina should be at the camp."

A few minutes later, Breeze comes to a halt. "We're here. Just follow me and treat everyone with respect, okay?"

You nod and she leads you into a clearing in the pine forest. On one side is a steep slope, filled with holes, which you assume are the dens. On the other side, the land slopes away down to a small creek, before rising again into the mountains that surround the valley. In the center of the clearing is a pile of prey, which makes your mouth water.

The clearing is full of wolves. You see some puppies and adolescents playing, some wolves sleeping in the weak sunlight, and a few adults chatting in one corner of the camp. As you enter, a reddish-brown and white wolf looks up, her ears perked. She says something to the others before getting up and walking over to you. Breeze dips her head in respect, so you guess that this is the pack leader - Reina - and do the same.

"Who's this, Breeze?" Reina asks. Her voice is warm, but you can tell by how raspy it is that she's getting old. You look up again and see that her muzzle is going grey and her thick pelt is grizzled. She's still an intimidating figure, though, large and thick-furred, and her blue eyes are still bright.

Breeze tells her your name and explains that you swam across the river. You cringe in embarrassment as Reina looks at you in surprise. "In this weather?" she asks, shocked. "You do know that there's a crossing to the west?"

You reply that no, you didn't know, otherwise you wouldn't have swam across the wide part. Reina quickly sends you off to the herbalist's burrow so you can get warm and Thistle, the herbalist, can look after you. You walk across the clearing, conscious that the wolves are all watching you with interest, and crawl into the burrow. A purple-grey wolf is sitting inside, and looks up with surprise as you enter. You notice that his fur is laced with silver and cream, although the markings are hard to see in the dim light of the burrow. "Hello," he greets you. "New here?" He's already sniffing you and you reply, telling him your name and why you're here. When he hears that you swam across the river, he chuckles.

"That's a new one!" it says, before going to the back of the den to grab some herbs. "I'm Thistle, by the way." You nod and tell him you already knew as he returns and drops some leaves in front of you. "Eat those," he tells you. "They'll warm you up. Then go lie in the sun and ask someone to lick you dry."

You eat the herbs and then leave the den, looking around at all the wolves. Maybe instead of resting, you can learn more about the pack and the wolves in it?