Vanilla

A small pup with a cream coat and bright shining blue eyes bounds over to you. On closer inspection, you see that her fur is flecked with tiny stars, swirling and glittering around her like a mini galaxy. "Hello, hello, hello! My name is Vanilla!" She sounds so cheerful, so carefree. You wrench your eyes away from the mesmerizing swirls of the stars around her, focusing on the puppy. Her cheerful expression slowly melts into a sad one. "You want to know why I'm a spirit, don't you?" Her voice wavers slightly. "It's okay, I understand. Here, this is how I died..." Vanilla focuses her blue gaze on you, wisdom and memories swirling in her eyes. You feel yourself falling, falling away from reality...

The night was bitterly cold, but Vanilla eagerly pushed on, padding stealthily away from the camp. The alpha of Vanilla's own pack, Dawnblaze, had explained to her that some adults don't like pups from other packs on their land, but that was all a bunch of nonsense! Once the puppies saw her, they would play and be bestest friends forever. End of discussion. Her tail started wagging at the thought of it. She put her tiny quivering nose to the air, sniffing deeply. There, another pack! She thought excitedly. As Vanilla approached the border, the gigantic shape of a well-muscled adult wolf silhouetted against the full moon came into view. She felt a twinge of fear, but shoved it down. Keep going, She told herself sternly. Taking a deep breath and fixing a sweet-natured smile on her face, she padded up, keeping her wagging tail low as a sign of submission. The adult wolf spun around at the sound of her pattering pawsteps, hostility burning in his eyes. When he saw her, he let out a hearty chuckle. "Oh, a wee pupper on our borders, eh? Well, I suppose it's just a matter of time before we earn a reputation as pup-killers, for many a pup comes here to play and meets the same messy ending." He hooked his claw onto something white and held it up for Vanilla to see. Fear drenched her like an icy waterfall. The thing the wolf was holding... was a pup's skull. "Oh, so sorry, Mister. I'll, uh, just be going now..." Vanilla tried to mask the fear in her voice, dipping her head politely and backing up slowly. The wolf let out a nasty, gravelly laugh, baring his razor-sharp canines. "Where do you thing you're going, eh, little missy? Can't let a pup get away, can we? None of ye littermates will learn to stay on their territory." Vanilla started backing away faster, turning and trying to run away. But the wolf grabbed her and picked her up, swinging her from side to side and making her dizzy. "Well, I'll make this a quick clean kill... out of consideration to ye, little missy... beddy-byes, now." The wolf threw her down, stunning her for a moment, then picked her up. She hung limply, still in shock from the impact. Her vision was blurred, but out of the corner of her eye she saw wolves leap out of the bracken, one a bright shade of burning orange with a white streak on her forehead that could mean only one thing... Dawnblaze! A second wolf leaped out, this time a darker shade of auburn. Squirrel! Mama! Vanilla thought with relief and started yelping for her mother. Squirrel smiled at her, then snapped her head toward the wolf holding Vanilla and advanced, growling savagely in her throat. Suddenly sharp, excruciating pain scorched through Vanilla's neck like lightning. She fell down, dropped by the wolf as Dawnblaze attacked him. Through her vision, getting blurrier by the second, she could just see Squirrel, her mother, with tears in her green eyes. "Vanilla! No, Vanilla..."

Vanilla blinked. Her vision was clear and her neck stopped hurting! "But Mama, I'm here!" She whimpered. Then she looked behind her, shocked as she saw her own body lying limp on the ground, her neck at an odd position. A wolf with stars in her fur materialized, her motherly expression tinged with sadness. "I'm sorry, Vanilla. You are now a spirit. Follow me, young one. Do you want to say your goodbyes first, or are you ready?" Tears welled in Vanilla's eyes. She glanced back at her mother, weeping silently on the ground, and realized that there was no way she could live with the living, constantly following her mother and watching her last living sibling of three, Honey, grieve with their mother. And she would see her brother Bonbon in the starry haven of the spirits... "I'm ready," She told the spirit. And she followed the spirit without turning back.

You feel yourself jolting back to reality. "That is how I died," Vanilla says sadly. "But don't worry! I like it here! I made friends with other pups and everyone is so nice! And I get to see my brother! I also get to see Mama and Honey! Brianna - that's the spirit wolf - is teaching me how to make myself visible to the living. And I'm getting really good at it! Oh! I need to go. Sorry! I promised Bonbon I'd play Hide and Seek with him. Bye! Please visit again!!"