Ahoooooooo!
The howls of the wolves pierced the night, as they sang of their journey to this new land, this Distant Blue. Even the roars of bears joined them, full of happiness that they had reached this new home.
A thin pale gray wolf let himself be immersed in the song, immersed in the memories he had of the Beyond, howling as a skreeleen at the Blood Watch. It would be different in this new land, but he was finally at peace, on firm ground once more.
As he howled, he was reminded of how his howls had changed, now that he was no longer a malcadh. And his voice was now normal, no more strange whistling noises. Maybe one day I can change my name, he thought.
Strangely, the howls seemed quite a bit louder. It was like other wolves had joined in - but there were no other wolves here. There were no walls, so there could be no echo. It was truly as if more wolves were joining in to howl.
Maybe he was simply imagining it, imagining what it had been like back in the Beyond, many wolves howling. Maybe the Distant Blue was the kind of place that seemed to unearth memories from deep within a wolf's soul. This 'other howling', as he put it, was likely to be a figment of his imagination, a memory of memories.
Once all of the wolves stopped howling, including the mysterious howls, a shaggy red male asked, "Did you hear that howling? It was loud. It was as if there were more wolves here!"
"I thought that I was the only one who heard that!" a tawny she-wolf exclaimed.
"As did I!" the pale gray wolf barked, surprised. Could these howls have been more than just his imagination?
"I agree - something was strange about those howls," the silver wolf growled. "I think that they might have come from some sort of lochin."
"Lochin!" yelped a she-pup. "Is mum among the lochin? Why can't I see her?"
"No lochin are visible tonight," whispered another pup.
"So you say it is lochin?" the big red wolf asked.
"Yes, yes, lochin and nothing more..." the silver wolf trailed on, his voice unsteady, as if he was not sure what the strange howling was.
"Faolan, do you think that there could there be more wolves living here?" the russet wolf with one eye muttered.
"I'd say that would be highly unlikely," Faolan replied. "After all, during the Ice March, the wolves were all led out of here. The leftover wolves would have died. Although there may be other howling creatures here - coyotes, perhaps."
"But can coyotes howl so beautifully?" another tawny she-wolf wondered. "It sounded like wolves to me."
"Here is what I think," said Faolan. "We can investigate this if we hear more howling. But it is late; we should rest. And our priority is to hunt, and to create new laws for a new land. It is probably not other wolves, but it could be, or it could be lochin or coyotes like I said earlier. But whatever it is, it is not causing a problem of any sort. I suggest that we leave whatever is howling alone for the time being."
"Yes, that is probably the best plan," agreed the russet she-wolf. "But it would still be great to know what is causing this howling."
"You heard what Faolan said," the big red wolf barked, although he sounded uneasy, as if he was being forced to agree with Faolan. "We aren't going to investigate this howling tonight unless it causes problems."
"Rags, you sound as if you are being forced to agree with Faolan," the larger of the two tawny she-wolves said. "Understand that this is not one of Heep's routs. You are allowed to speak your opinion."
"Okay, Mhairie..." he said.
As the other wolves discussed, the pale gray wolf sat silently. What could that have been? He wondered. Could it be possible that we are not the only wolves that live here in the Distant Blue?