Tsila

Tsila, known as Flower when she was a pup, established Soquili-Aniwaya as young, newly-fledged adult looking for her own path in life. Her mother had been older when she gave birth, and as a consequence she’d been the only one to survive. Not that she minded; her mother took great care to see to her every need, and there were other pups in the pack she was able to play with. One of these was Darke, later known as Ul sih ga, a sweet and handsome male that soon became her best friend.

They made quite a pair with their contrasting fur—hers was a honey golden-brown, while his was gray and black, more common for the wolves in their pack. They lived in a rather damp and dark coniferous forest, and he blended in with the environment much better than she did. Tsila didn’t much like the damp, dark place of her home anyway; it was gloomy and downright depressing. Plus prey sounded oddly muted as it moved through the trees and scurried through the pine needles, and she hated it. Ul sih ga seemed to be skilled at hunting no matter the territory, and regularly went out in the hunting parties while Tsila opted for patrols. Not that there was much excitement on these excursions around the territory, much to her disappointment. They simply kept the scent markings fresh and scouted for potential prey to relay back to the hunting parties. She had to pretend that she saw things among the trees to keep herself entertained on these long treks.

Ul sih ga eagerly ate up the stories she would tell at night when they both sat eating their prey. He knew they weren’t real, but neither of them minded since it passed the time. It was fun to imagine things beyond their own limited experiences.

They kept up this ritual until late adolescence, when Tsila’s mother sustained a fatal blow during a hunt and passed away shortly after. The young wolf was devastated, and found herself isolated from the rest of the pack with the exception of Ul sih ga. Besides him and her mother, she had no attachments to anyone else and withdrew from them all. It wasn’t long before she became restless and unhappy, and started going off on her own for extended periods. This wasn’t home anymore; it was simply a place to live.

Ul sih ga tagged along when he could, and she liked it best when it was just them. Short distances away from pack territory became longer each time they went, and one day they just...kept going. It wasn’t an agreed upon decision, or even acknowledged. They just trotted along together, tracking new scents, hunting when they could, and sleeping curled together at night. Tsila wasn’t sure where she was going, or what exactly she was looking for, but she knew that once she found it, it would feel like home.

Before long they were so far away from what they knew that the terrain began to change. The trees began to thin, the air became warmer and more dry, and the smells of prey they had never tasted passed their noses. Eventually the trees were nonexistent and it was just a rippling prairie laid out before them. There was a good breeze and the air was fresh and clear, not like the stifling forest. Tsila stopped and lifted her head, soaking it all in and feeling the delightful tug of the wind in her fur. Ul sih ga was just as entranced at the golden-green ocean before them.

He nudged her shoulder and they locked eyes.

”Are we home, Flower?” he asked her, and she gave him a small lick on his nose.

”We’re home, Darke.”