DC57: This was written in my hopeless denial that Cher didn't really die in that one episode: ENJOI!
"Cher! No!" The man sobbed pitifully into his wife's body.
His wife breathed her last breath and then was still in his arms.
The five wolves watched him grieve. They watched him with sorrow in their eyes. They all knew what it was like to lose someone they dearly loved.
The man composed himself quickly, and wiped his face across is sleeve. "C'mon, I have to put her to rest."
The glacier of ice was too thick to even try to dig through. He found an opening in the glacier. The watery grave was the best he could do under the circumstances.
He placed her faintly warm body into the icy water. She sank quickly into the darker depths.
"There, she is at peace." The white wolf said. "Are you?"
The man sniffled one more time and solemnly nodded.
"Let's keep moving." He said in a monotone.
They righted the six-ton vehicle that harmed Cher. They wanted to move on from this place.
"Look! Over there! What is that?"
"It looks like a dog! Poor thing is soaking wet."
"She's still alive. Her breath and pulse is very slow. Quick, give me a blanket. We can still save her."
Cher woke up underneath an animal skin blanket and a small fire crackling to give warmth. A elderly Indian woman smiled at her.
"Here, drink this," she said in a soft voice and handed her a small cup filled with a warm and steaming liquid.
Cher sat up to drink it. "Thank you."
Warm herbal tea was in the cup. Cher wasn't ever a big fan of tea, but it nourished her shivering body. She drank it all and then sighed contentedly as it warmed her.
"Would you like some more?" The old woman asked softly.
"Please," Cher said and handed back the cup.
The woman left her and exited through a flap in the doorway of the small hut.
Cher sat up further and pulled the blanket off of her. She was wearing some very odd clothes that she had never seen before. A long-sleeved white button-down blouse that was open at her collar. Over her shoulders was a pair of cheap, brown elastic suspenders that held a pair of brown slacks. A pair of tacky brown shoes was on her feet.
She gave a look of disgust at the outfit, but she found it odd. It wasn't the clothing she remembered wearing lastly and where would she get it? Her blonde hair was still thrown up into the clumsy rooster-tail ponytail.
She tried to remember what had happened earlier. She remembered tumbling down an icy cliff in the giant artillery truck.
She remembered her husband, Hubb, holding her.
"Hubb..." she said softly to herself.
She remembered his last words to her. About having a beautiful white house and finally having children together. But...where was he now?
The woman returned inside the hut with another cup of tea and handed it to Cher.
"Where did you find me?" Cher asked the woman.
"We found you washed up on some ice, child..." she replied softly. "My son and I brought you in from the cold."
"There wasn't anyone else with me, was there?" Cher asked
The woman shook her head.
Cher sat back down to try to relax a little.
Hubb wouldn't leave me, would he? Why would he leave me? I remember...we said...goodbye. And then...everything became cold and black.
Her memories were fuzzy and mixed up.
The old woman watched her ponder for a while. "Have ye lost your way, child?" She cawed.
Cher looked at her. "What do you mean? How would you know where I was going?"
"Your way. Your journey. Are you lost?" The woman cawed again.
"Lost? What are you talking about?" Cher was confused.
"To Paradise, correct?" The woman cawed strangely again.
Paradise...That's where she was headed with Hubb and...wolves!
Where am I now? Why has Hubb left me?
"How did you know I was going to Paradise?"
"That is where all wolves try to go. Everyone knows that." The woman replied again cawing strangely.
Wolves...They were taking Cheza there. They were taking Cheza to Paradise. They had to. Cheza was their key to Paradise. The girl made out of lunar flowers.
"Are you all right, wolf?" The woman cawed at her again.
Cher was caught off guard by what the woman was now calling her. She looked at the woman in confusion.
"Do you not know what you are?" The woman asked.
"I'm a human...I think..." Cher replied, confused by this enigma of a woman.
The woman shook her head sadly from side to side. She grabbed Cher by the arm and took her outside the shelter where fresh powered snow had fallen. The woman led Cher to an open water hole in the ice.
"There, go see for yourself, wolf." She said and pointed to the reflective water.
Cher looked again at her and then walked to the water. She was slow for she was afraid of what she might see. She nervously looked down.
Staring back at her was a large, grey wolf with black fur along its back, shoulders and tail. The tips of the ears were black and the fur inside was white. It's underside was white from its chest and covered her stomach. Its thick fur moved slightly with the wind. The wolf's glare was an intense golden yellow.
Cher stared at it and it stared back. Cher turned to look at the woman who stodd hunched over but with a grin across her old face. Next to where the woman was standing the snow, were fresh wolf prints leading to where Cher was now.
Cher looked back into the water and the wolf met her gaze again. She crouched down to get a better look to see if this was somehow a trick. When she moved the wolf sat back on its haunches it's eyes never leaving Cher.
Cher looked down at her hands in the snow and watched the image of her hands fade and big wolf paws appear. She looked back at her side and saw the grey and black backside and tail of the wolf.
The wind picked up more and blew her long fur around her head, neck and chest. Her ears rotated to new sounds and her wet nose sniffed the wet, cold air. She moved her paws and felt the snow in between her toes.
Cher looked back at the woman, who wasn't there. In her place was an old raven with her feathers puffed out against the cold wind. It cocked its head sideways at the wolf.
"Do you see yourself?" The raven asked. It's beak never moving, but Cher heard the voice.
Cher nodded.
The raven nodded her head and then suddenly took off from the snow.
"Wait!" Cher called. She barked and it even startled herself. The raven was too far gone to hear her.
What am I to do now? Cher asked herself.