Storm

Storm loved the forest. Everything about it was perfect- rich in prey, lots of clean water, and all kinds of cool places that would make a nice camp for a lone wolf. Lone wolf... Storm liked the sound of that. He liked the idea of being able to look out for himself and not have to rely on any packmates for anything. He was proud to be independent. But, when he was just about 2 years old, instinct took over and he started wanting a pack. The thought of being an alpha was appealing to him, so he set off to find some wolves he could lead. He already had a nice camp that would be able to accomodate around 4 or 5 wolves. He roamed the woods for days until finally he caught the scent of another wolf. He went towards it and to his delight, he found a wolf that looked like she was in desperate need of a pack. She was a light brown and white female, although her fur was stained with so much dirt and blood that it was hard to make out her actual colors and markings. She was thin and still fairly young, but determination and pride burned in her blue eyes. Her head snapped up when she saw him and she let out a little warning snarl. Storm did his best to look nonthreatening. "I don't recognize your scent, I'm guessing you're not from around here?" he said

She uncurled her lip and sat down, looking at him curiously. "No" she responded. "I'm from the mountains." 

Storm actually had no idea where the mountains were, but he didn't want to look like an idiot, so he said "Geez that's a pretty long journey to get all the way to the forest. So what brings you here?" 

So she told him her story. How she had run from a collapsing, abusive pack in search of freedom. How she had spent her puphood fighting a pointless war. How she had to cross through enemy territory and the seemingly endless prairie just to get here. Storm wasn't going to lie- he was impressed. If this wolf could fend for herself and travel hundreds of miles on her own- even as a small pup- then she was definitely a wolf he wanted by his side. 

Storm smiled at her "Well, what do you say we start a pack?" She looked skeptical at the idea, and Storm realized that her experiences with other wolves probably weren't great. (given that she had seen nothing but war and hate within her previous pack) So he said "A good pack, free from war and starvation and humans" "It won't be like the mountains, things will be better here" She finally smiled back at him and said "That sounds wonderful" "My name is Valka, by the way" 

Storm grinned. "Valka" he said, trying out the name. "How would you like to be called beta?"

From that day on, Storm and Valka remained the alpha and beta of the Yosemite pack.

TBC