To hunt, to howl, to run with the wolf pack, that was the heart of being a Wolfrider. All born to the tribe were destined for it by the blood in their veins. But to fully take their place in the society there was one rite of passage. In a world that was harsh and unforgiving, where survival relied on dependence on one another, a hunter needed to prove that he could stand alone.
In the past this rite had involved a handful of young elves, but the tribe's numbers had been dwindling. This time there would only be three facing the challenge. And that is what worried Nightfall.
She had no doubts about the ability of the hunting party. Although inexperienced, her own hunting skills were good enough to catch Bearclaw's attention, and that was something.
Cutter was strong and quick and took to the blade as if born with it. Skywise was cunning and light on his feet, even lighter with his hands. He could outsmart a fox or steal the eggs from a hornbeak's nest with the hen sitting right on top.
No, the problem wasn't the hunters. It was the quarry. Part of the thrill of the first hunt was being able to select the prey. And Cutter and Skywise wanted nothing less than a blackneck deer, a target normally reserved for a full tribe hunt. But that's what they wanted, Cutter to prove himself to his bear-hunting father. Skywise, well, just because.
She hoped the blacknecks would prove difficult to find and Cutter would give up and settle on some easier, more plentiful game. Unfortunately, lack of persistence had never been one of her friend's weaknesses.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a howl issued forth from outside her den. She sighed, looking from her knife to her bow, then rolled them both up in a soft, worn pelt she strapped to her back. Her feet were still high above the forest floor when she felt the gentle tugging at her boots.
"Cloudtail! Wait for me to get down!" She dropped the last few feet, then stood laughing while Cloudtail's rough, wet tongue tickled her face hello.
"Are you ready?" Cutter asked. He and Skywise were both on their wolf-mounts and eager to leave.
Cloudtail whined his excitement. Nightfall's mind was filled with a wolf-send, the scent of fresh game and the taste of warm blood. He trotted to the other wolves, then back to Nightfall, nudging her elbow. He, at least, had no doubts about going. Envying his simple enthusiasm, she pulled herself onto his back with a smile. "We're ready."
They had been traveling for several days, more than once flushing out a flock of ring-necks or a small herd of springers, but they never took more than was needed to satisfy their own immediate hunger. As usual, Cutter was steadfast in his ambition, guiding them with single-minded purpose.
Finally, they left the thick trees of the forest and stopped before the grasslands where the blacknecks were usually found.
The land opened up before them, a sea of waving greens and tans dotted with islands of dark brown. The blacknecks. The crests of their strong shoulders rose above the plains, the tall grass swaying around them like a stream rippling past boulders. All around them, taking comfort in their bulk, were smaller denizens of the plains, curl-horns and mud-pigs, ring-necks and quill-backs.
Cutter was the first to leave the safety of the trees as he carefully picked his way up a rise to the side of them. "What's that?"
*Are you sure it's safe?* Nightfall hesitated, wary of stepping from the shadows into the open sky.
Cutter was confident. *The humans are too afraid to go this far from their village. Too scared of the animals. Especially the big cats.*
Skywise grinned at Nightfall. "I guess they have some sense after all."
*Besides,* Cutter continued, *you know humans can't get near animals without causing a fuss. There's no sign. Now, get up here!*
"Yes, my chief!" Skywise winked at Nightfall before disappearing into the tall grass the way Cutter had gone. She hurried after him, joining them where they lay on their stomachs at the top of the rise.
"Look!"
Her gaze followed Cutter's extended arm to a large dark spot on the valley floor.
At first all Nightfall could make out was a muddy, rocky mess. Then she noticed the rocks were moving. Animals, larger than any she had ever seen before. Strange creatures, most of their bodies taken up by their huge, shaggy heads. They would almost seem funny if Nightfall didn't know what was going through her tribemates' minds.
"What are those?" Skywise asked in amazement.
"I don't know." Cutter's face was alight with excitement. "Think we can get one?"
"Cutter, no…" Nightfall loved her friend. She would follow him to the ends of the earth. But this was crazy. "Let's go back and tell the others. We can come back with a couple more hunters-"
"Bearclaw hunts bears alone." Cutter's arm slid across her back and he gave her shoulder a tight squeeze. "Together, we can do this."
She couldn't hide her skepticism. "Those are bigger than a bear."
Cutter's gaze drifted back out to the distant herd. He thought of the look that would be on Bearclaw's face after seeing the hide of one of these huge monsters and grinned. "Much bigger."
The rest of the day was spent studying the strange, new creatures. Nightfall had to admit they seemed pretty docile. All they had seen them do was stand around in the mud and eat grass. They seemed much like blacknecks, the herd governed by a few males who stood look out while the females and young grazed. At one point a pair of big cats wandered by a little too close to the shag-heads' territory, but a big male just stood up to them and the cats wandered away. They were obviously very strong, but with those massive shoulders and heads, the elves thought they probably couldn't move very fast.
They decided to use the same strategy that worked for blacknecks. Pick a weak member of the herd, separate it, then bring it down. After some discussion, they decided on an older female. With no young, she was relegated to the outside of the herd and not taken much notice of by the males.
Their course of action set, the three elves allowed themselves a leisurely evening. Now they lay in the grass, awed by the wide expanse of stars above them.
Quickly losing interest in trying to find Skywise's images in the stars, Nightfall turned to look at Cutter. His pale hair shone in the starlight, his eyes stars themselves as he talked animatedly with Skywise.
It had been a while since she had been close to him like this. She liked to think they had just been busy, that it was part of growing up and taking on new responsibility in the tribe, but when she was honest with herself, she knew she was avoiding him. She was sure that he'd noticed, but he hadn't said anything.
They had played at love, but it had been like playing at hunting and fighting. Fun, but just practice for the real thing. Now she was ready for the real thing, but Cutter was not what she wanted. She didn't think she was what he wanted either. They had rolled in the furs many times, exploring, but their hearts weren't in it. Nightfall loved her friend, but he was too wild, too headstrong. Great for play, but not what she wanted in a lifemate.
As they had often done lately, her thoughts drifted to Redmark. She had barely taken notice of him as a cub, finding his gentle ways unexciting, his interest in plants utterly mystifying. She had always just dismissed him as an elder. Someone who was always just there.
Though she hated to admit it now, she had even made fun of him from time to time, finding his quiet patience amusing. Now she found his presence…comforting. Thrilling. Confusing! She closed her eyes, mentally shrugging off the uncertainty this line of thought always ended up causing.
Things were so much easier with Cutter. She missed the closeness they had shared, but it was not enough for her anymore. She was ready to grow up, but did growing up mean giving up the best parts of her childhood?
She decided that, for tonight, it wouldn't. She scooted closer to Cutter and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt him shift and knew that he was looking at her, but the conversation with Skywise didn't even pause. He wrapped his arm around her, his fingertips trailing softly up and down her arm.
Not wanting to be left out, Cloudtail pushed his snout under Nightfall's arm while Nightrunner laid his head on Cutter's stomach. Warm in a pile of elf and wolf and lulled by the low voices of her friends, Nightfall soon drifted off to sleep.
Even though it was still early morning the sun shone down on Nightfall with an intensity she was not used to, made worse by the bare rock outcropping that she stood upon. The plan was that she would stay here with her bow and arrow, and Cutter, Skywise and the wolves would drive the shag-head to her. At least, that's what they hoped would happen. Nightfall hoped it would happen quickly, so she could get off this rock and under the protection of the trees.
She shielded her eyes from the sun to try to get a better idea of what was going on. From this distance, she couldn't see clearly, but she thought that she could see some movement in the grass near their intended target. This would be the tricky part. Cutter and Skywise would have to get between the animal and the herd without alarming it, or it would run into the herd. So far it was going well. As they expected, the female shag-head had wandered a short distance from the rest of the herd and Nightfall could see the grass between them swaying as the other elves moved toward the beast.
Finally, they made their attack. But something was going wrong. Instead of bolting, the shag-head just stood there. Nightfall was amazed. Could the animals really be that stupid? The creature took a few steps, seemingly ignoring the elves and wolves that were poking and biting it. Nightfall could see that Starjumper had a hold of the creature's hind leg. It bellowed, and Skywise was able to pull the wolf away just before the shag-head gave a powerful kick.
Now, the bellow was being answered by others in the herd. From her vantage point, Nightfall noticed something strange going on. The shag-head they were attacking had not moved much, but the rest of the herd was now turning to face towards it. The bellowing was growing louder, and now the animals closest to her were starting to move.
*Cutter! Skywise! Get out of there!*
Luckily, they had noticed what was going on and were already heading away from the herd. She watched as amazement as the whole herd began moving in the same direction, almost as if they shared a single mind. As they became more organized they began to move faster, reaching a speed Nightfall never would have thought possible. And they were coming straight at her!
There was no way for her to get away from them. The herd was huge, stretching as far as she could see across the plain. She would never get far enough away in time. She crouched down on her rocky perch, thankful now for her height above the valley floor, certain that the beasts would break and go around it.
The first animals were reaching her, but they weren't turning. They didn't even slow as they neared the rock. Nightfall was mesmerized, expecting the shag-heads to pound into the rock, but suddenly they were up in the air, jumping straight up and over the stone impediment.
Nightfall didn't even have time to react. Something grey and furry plowed into her, knocking her off the ledge away from the oncoming stampede. She barely had the presence of mind to push herself close against side of the rock before the bulk of the herd came over her. The stream of hooves flying overhead was unending, the sound of so many heavy animals hitting the ground a deafening roar. Soon all Nightfall could see was a brown cloud as fine sand filled the air. She fought to breathe, removing her headscarf and covering her mouth. Just as she thought she could take no more, the sound began to abate. Sunlight filtered through as the dust began to settle. Her legs giving out, she sunk down to the ground, coughing.
Shadows swam in her watering eyes.
"Are you alright?" Skywise pulled her from the slight overhang that had saved her. Still coughing but finally getting some clean air, she nodded. They turned to look at the decimated landscape. In the distance they could still see the herd moving, creating a column of dust rising up to the sky.
Cutter's eyes were wide with shock. "Two-spear's madness!" he whispered.
Skywise scratched his head, his eyes shining with a half-grin. "Any other ideas?"
Cutter shrugged. "Go back to the blacknecks?"
They started walking back towards the woods when Nightfall stopped, her face anxious. "Where's Cloudtail?"
Disconcerted, the elves looked around. Nightrunner and Starjumper lifted their heads and sniffed the breeze. Nightrunner whined, then ran forward.
"Oh, no!" Nightfall moved unsteadily over the torn-up ground, hardly aware of where her feet were moving. There, amid the clumps of earth and grass, she saw it, a patch of fur rippling gently in the breeze. She tried to wolf-send. Nothing.
She fell to her knees in the moist dirt, turned red with blood. He was almost unrecognizable. Her beautiful wolf-friend, reduced to a ragged pile of flesh and bones under the pounding of the shag-heads' hooves.
She lifted her head in a howl that ripped out of the bottom of her soul, then collapsed, sobbing on Cloudtail's broken remains.
Cutter and Skywise sat a short distance away, wanting to give comfort, but not sure of what to do. Neither had lost a wolf-friend before. Sometimes the pelt was taken as a way of remembrance, but in this case there wasn't even enough pelt left to take. They offered what they could in word and touch, but she was numb, wanting nothing more than to sit with Cloudtail for a while more.
They were sitting this way when a familiar scent reached them, followed soon by light footsteps. Pike and Redmark sat down next to Cutter and Skywise. Pike looked over at Nightfall. "What happened?"
Skywise recounted the days events, then the four elves fell back into silence.
Finally, Pike stirred. Rising, he caught Redmark's eye, raising an eyebrow and inclining his head toward Nightfall.
Redmark nodded.
Pike stretched. "Well, the wolves look tired and thirsty, and so do you two. Let's go see if we can find some clean water and scare up some food, too."
The younger elves knew they were being herded away but didn't protest, glad to give up responsibility, in this instance, to someone else.
Redmark waited until the rest of the elves were gone, then approached Nightfall. "Mind if I sit down?"
Nightfall shook her head.
"It's hard losing your first wolf-friend. Especially so soon."
Nightfall had been stone-faced, thinking she'd finally run out of tears, but now they welled up again. "He saved me. And this…this is what happened to him!"
The tears began falling faster. Her throat, so dry before, felt tight and thick. "Why'd he have to die!"
Redmark let her cry for a while before speaking. "You wish you had protected him?"
She nodded.
"And how would you do that?" His voice was soft, his tone caring. "Keep him in the holt? Never let him hunt?"
She was still, then gave a small shake of her head.
"No, you wouldn't do that. You couldn't do that." He moved closer, joining her in stroking the largest patch of fur that was left. "He loved the hunt, it's what he lived for, all the wolves do. That's why we share their blood. It's survival, but it's more than that. They know there's danger, but this is life. There isn't one without the other."
Nightfall felt the knot in her throat loosening. "Will it always be this hard?"
"Yes, and no. It's always hard saying goodbye to something you love. But after a while, when you've been around as long as I have," he chanced a small smile, "you learn to accept it. We live a long time, and I've known very few wolves that have died of old age. They're having too much fun to worry about it. I'm sure Cloudtail would agree."
Nightfall thought of Cloudtail's excitement about going on this hunt. She knew Redmark was right. Cloudtail had died, doing what he wanted. It was the way.
She and Redmark sat in silence as the clouds above them gently shifted to pink and amber hues in the afternoon sun. In the soft, thick fur, their fingertips brushed against each other.
Nightfall wiped her tears away. "Why are you here, anyway?"
Redmark shrugged. "I guess I just still want to protect you cubs."
The anger flashed in Nightfall's eyes. "I don't need your protection. I can hunt and fight as well as you. I'm not a cub anymore!"
Redmark was startled, taken aback by this sudden change in emotion. What had happened to the happy-go-lucky child that had followed Cutter everywhere like a duckling its mother? Whose laughter would trickle through the holt like rain?
The last rays of the setting sun shone over the crest of the hill, lighting up flecks of gold in Nightfall's hair, echoing in her golden eyes. Eyes that looked at him now with a want no cub knew. He had his answer. The cub was gone. In her place stood a huntress, ready to claim her place as his tribemate and equal.
"No," he answered softly. "You're not a cub anymore."
His hand brushed against her wet cheek, then curled gently against the smooth curve of her neck. He could feel the bone of her jaw against his hand and the faint tremor of her pulse below. He pulled her toward him. She met his gaze firmly as the last flame of defiance burned out and the tears returned. She dropped her head to his shoulder. He held her until the sky above faded to darkness, until all the tears were gone.