Silent Language
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the canon characters; they belong to Studio 8 as well as Columbia Pictures and any other respective owners of Alpha. Also, keep in mind that even though any Alpha story from me will be written in English that all of the characters will be speaking their own indigenous language. All lines of dialogue in italics are not spoken aloud where Keda can hear them, but rather are uttered between two members of the wolf pack. I thought that would be easier to grasp then writing it as a description. With all that said, on to the story! I hope you all enjoy!
The language of the wolves is a system so incredibly complex that no human should ever expect to understand it. Aside from the visible markers of anger, such as bared teeth and a growl, humans have never been able to understand a wolf's true emotions or mental state. However, in respects to Keda, the chief's young son, Alpha seems to believe this human may be the closest any Man has come at understanding a wolf. Alpha begins to learn more of Keda's language, the young man's commands and words of encouragement slowly becoming a part of her world. Lying by the fire, waiting for Keda to toss her some dinner, Alpha hears something rustle in the grass and shrubs ahead. On instinct, Alpha leaps to her paws, ears pricked and teeth bared, preparing for a fight to the death if only to protect herself and Keda. The shadowy figure with glowing amber eyes comes forward, and it's then that Keda and Alpha realize their assailant is a black wolf. Alpha races towards the figure, hackles raised and teeth prepared to chomp down on flesh, but something stops her in her tracks. The grey and russet colored wolf recognizes the smell of the wolf in front of her. The smell… The smell is all it takes to make Alpha switch to a non-threatening posture, a movement that does not go unnoticed by Keda.
Letting out one of the softest yips possible, Alpha nuzzles her ebony-colored mate's face, breathing his scent in through her highly receptive nose. To put it in human terms, the yip is Alpha's expression of love and excitement at seeing her mate alive and healthy, despite the pack having lost its best hunter when Alpha began travelling with Keda. Alpha's mate nuzzles her face, and the two adult wolves share a tender lick to reassure one another of their tight bond. Alpha longingly stares at her mate with what can only be described as heartache.
"Wait!" Alpha calls after him in the wolf language, stopping her mate in his tracks.
All Keda hears is a soft whine coming from Alpha's lips, and the human's heart practically shatters for his wolf companion.
"Yes?" Alpha's mate inquires in the same wolf language, not yet wanting to leave his mate, but sensing the restlessness of the pack behind him.
"I must travel with the boy. He has lost his pack, and he helped cure me. I owe him my life. Once I return him to his pack, I shall return to my rightful place in the pack. The boy is under my protection; no harm is to come to him."
The silent exchange between Alpha and her mate actually is not silent at all, but the sounds are simply too low for Keda to hear or understand. Nodding to Alpha, the ebony colored wolf turns and begins to sprint off into the darkness, howling to call the other members of the pack to him. Sensing the feeling of longing within Alpha, Keda watches as the pack of wolves retreats a bit farther before speaking.
"Go and be with your family," Keda gently coaxes in his native tongue, and Alpha picks up the two most important words of 'go' and 'family.'
Looking at the man beside her, the female wolf determines she has never met a nobler, more compassionate human in all her days. Making a silent vow to protect the young hunter, Alpha leaves Keda's side, howling to her pack in an attempt to get them to wait for her. Keda watches her leave with a heavy heart, a feeling of loss settling in the pit of his stomach.
The second time Alpha uses her silent form of language in front of Keda comes not even a moon later. Feasting on her pack's latest meal, Alpha feels the rich, tender meat fill her belly with all the protein and nutrients she would need to survive the gruesome and harsh winter conditions as the blizzard continues to rage, causing the snow to deepen rapidly. Hearing a familiar voice on the howling wind, Alpha becomes filled with both panic and a slight sense of guilt.
"Alpha!" Keda calls, his voice weaker than when they parted ways, and the female wolf's acute hearing picks up the traces of a persistent cough.
Panic sets in as she worries for her boy, the young hunter who risked his life to save hers. Without his own fur to regulate and insulate body heat, Alpha begins to fear the boy shall freeze to death without her warmth and comfort to enfold him. Licking the last traces of blood from her lips, Alpha feels a pang of guilt build within her for two main reasons. She left Keda to fend for himself in the wild with no pack nor survival skills to speak of, something the matriarch of the wolf pack cannot forgive herself for. Secondly, Alpha feels guilty for practically gorging herself on the kill after she had acclimated to Keda's style of dinner in which she ate lastly and in slower intervals. Something tells Alpha that Keda would not appreciate regurgitated food as a wolf pup might. As Keda nears the wolf pack, Alpha gives the command in her wolf tongue for no one to harm the young hunter. Fear grips Alpha's heart as instinct guides her to Keda when the young man falls into the murky, deep, and chilling ice-water below.
With her claws scrabbling across the ice, Alpha makes a valiant effort at rescuing Keda. Alarmed whines pass over her lips as she watches her human companion get swept up in a current before he plunges into the water. Barking out a command to hold position to her pack, Alpha races after the outline of Keda's body trapped under the ice. Even though snowflakes and shards of ice threaten to invade Alpha's eyes, she remains steadfast and strong in her pursuit of Keda. Stopping dead in her tracks, Alpha smashes her front paws against the ice, trying her hardest to free her companion from his current sub-zero prison. Watching as Keda pulls some sort of weapon from his side, Alpha doubles her efforts to reach her human companion before he freezes to death. Mustering every last bit of energy, Alpha rushes forward with the speed of a soaring eagle, devoting her energy into trying to save Keda. Between the human attempting to crack the ice first with a knife and then his limbs in addition to the female wolf crashing against the ice, Keda eventually breaks through the surface of the ice. Gripping the hood of Keda's clothing, Alpha manages to haul the young man out of the freezing water and place him on solid ground. Doing her best to restore Keda's body temperature, Alpha lies on Keda's chest, the young hunter cuddling the female wolf closer to him.
"Thank you, Alpha," Keda whispers in his native language, feeling as if his ancestors entwined his destiny with Alpha's when they were both born.
Alpha bestows a gently lick to Keda's cheek, her silent way of saying "You're welcome" to the human. She hopes that Keda understands the gesture as they continue to comfort one another.
Despite the presence of a human around their leader, Alpha's packmates keep their distance, recalling the command they received earlier. Once Keda seems to have stopped violently shivering, Alpha pads over to her ebony-furred mate named Tulok, nuzzling him with all the tenderness she just bestowed upon Keda.
"I must go with the boy." Alpha reveals in her wolf language, a silent exchange between her and Tulok. "He is practically freezing and starving without me. I must ensure that he returns to his pack after he has fought so hard to survive and he allowed me to return to you."
"Alpha, do not tax yourself to exhaustion," Tulok cautions, nuzzling his mate and hoping for her safe return. "You know what happened the last time you overexerted yourself when…"
"I know, Tulok. Do not worry. Keda has risked his life to save me; I must repay that kindness."
"I understand that. Have a safe journey."
"I will return to you once the Man is back with his kind. You shall not have to worry," Alpha assures, licking Tulok's cheek before turning to walk in Keda's direction.
Tulok watches her leave, hoping his mate returns home safely.
The third time Alpha speaks in her silent language with Tulok, the rest of her pack and all of Keda's pack are present. After successfully giving birth to five healthy pups, the matriarch of the wolf pack has a treasure to be fiercely proud of and protective over. Alpha allows Keda to cuddle, hold, and touch the pups starting moments after their birth, forging a strong bond between her human savior and her rather defenseless young. When the pups' ears and eyes open for the first time nearly two weeks later, Alpha explains to her three daughters and two sons the current situation they find themselves in.
"My children of the moon, the Man you see sleeping beside us is Keda. He saved my life, and as such you owe him the loyalty you have for your father and me. You will meet your father in one moon's time, but until then, Keda and I will serve as your protectors," Alpha softly explains as her growing pups nurse to fill their hungry bellies. "He will always protect you," she whispers, tossing a loving look in Keda's direction, her amber eyes glowing with admiration even as she continues to bathe her only black-furred pup, a strong male who looks incredibly similar to his father.
Blissfully asleep beside Alpha and her pups, a smile creeps over Keda's face as he subconsciously curls his body to shield Alpha's pups from the dangers of the outside world.
Four weeks after the pups open their eyes for the first time, Keda and Alpha take the rambunctious quintuplets on their first real journey outside of the camp. Before heading out on their journey, Keda hosts a traditional naming ceremony for Alpha's pups since they are officially part of the tribe. The ebony-colored male, as the biggest and most recognizable, receives his name first. Keda declares the pup's name is Inuksuk, a local name meaning "on the right path". Being one of Alpha's pups, Keda desires to remembering his journey with Alpha in which she guided him on the right path, and the young warrior hopes Alpha's young son possesses the same ability to track even in a blizzard. The three grey and russet colored females receive the names Ahnah, Alasie, and Amka which mean "wise", "noble", and "friendly", respectively. Ahnah is the most curious out of all five pups, always searching for something new to play with or always trying to follow Alpha when the adult she-wolf goes on hunts. Keda always has to scoop the inquisitive female pup into his arms whenever she is bound to get into trouble, and though Ahnah typically squirms for a minute, she usually relaxes in Keda's embrace, allowing her human protector to cuddle her without fear of dropping the squirming pup. Alasie is definitely the protector in her group of siblings, always managing to keep her smallest sibling Amka from becoming the target of their larger siblings' rather rough playing methods. As such, Keda views the female pup after her defining character trait. Amka, the smallest of the five pups, tries to make friends with every living creature around Keda's camp, from the rest of her siblings to every human member of Keda's tribe. Thus, Amka earned her name not just from Keda, but from the whole tribe who admire the delicate nature of Alpha's smallest pup. The final pup, the only grey and russet male is the last to receive his name. His personality is more of a mystery than his brother's and sisters', and that is because it seems as if the smaller male simply wants to wrestle and play fight all day long. However, taking into consideration the pup's speed and the conditions surrounding the night Keda met Alpha, the perfect name comes to the chief's son. He gives the pup the name Kallik, a name meaning "lightning" to describe both the speed the male pup exhibits in addition to the stormy night that brought Keda and Alpha together. Alpha nods her approval through the naming ceremony, and Keda is filled with praise as he introduces the nearly christened Inuksuk, Ahnah, Alasie, Amka, and Kallik to his tribe.
With the naming ceremony complete, Keda calls the five pups to him using the form of whistling he has managed to train Alpha with. The pups come bounding after Keda, Alpha not too far behind her litter, making sure none of them get left behind. Alpha helps direct her growing pack of pups towards the rise of the cliff where she and Keda are taking the young wolves for a special surprise. Upon reaching the rise of the cliff, Keda sits down, Alpha doing the same as she bunches her haunches. Inuksuk, Ahnah, Alasie, Amka, and Kallik begin to wrestle not far away from the watchful eyes of their mother and Keda. Tilting her head backwards, Alpha begins to let out a long, powerful howl, her melodious voice carrying for many miles, enchanting all those who hear her call. Keda tilts his head backwards to copy Alpha's stance before he begins his own version of the howl, his not nearly as powerful or majestic, but Alpha appreciates his efforts. Inuksuk hears Keda howl, so the ebony pup bounds over to the hunter before sitting down in the lap of the chief's son. All five pups join in the howl, not sure why their mother and Keda are howling, but happy to join in. Not long after Alpha finishes howling, a new voice howls back in an extremely close vicinity. Springing upwards, Alpha runs over to meet Tulok, her mate and the father of her five pups.
"My beautiful Alpha has returned. And what strong pups she bore," Tulok praises.
"Would you like to meet them, Tulok?" Alpha inquires in her wolf tongue.
Never before had two species mingled as such, and never again would Man and wolf be separated.
Author's Note: And, that's it! My first Alpha fanfiction! I'm not sure why this hasn't been made a movie fandom yet, because I have emailed FanFiction support about it several times over the past month and a half and have yet to receive a response. Anyway, that does not deter me from posting this one-shot, and I plan on writing more of them in the future! I wrote this one-shot about a month ago, because I saw the movie on opening weekend in August due to my love of dogs and wolves, but I am just now finding the time to type it up. My first year of college has certainly been hectic and fast-paced since I have a job, too! (And I'm technically already a sophomore!) Anyway, I hope to hear what all of you dear readers have to say about this one-shot, and if you'd like to request a future Alpha story, please don't hesitate to drop a prompt in a review! Until next time, my amazing readers! Have an amazing day, afternoon, or night!
