Chapter 11: The Bone Message (written ?, 2012 to maybe Feb, 2013)
There, in the grass, far from the cave was the bone with the same clawmark of the bones of his necklace. "Ahh, thank you, -uhh-. What are your names?"
"I'm Stormfast and she is Terra."
"Well, you two, mates made my day. I suppose I won't have to hurt you. My name is Sparks but my mum called me Sparky." Stormfast's stomach growled again.
"Well, Sparky, we've been wanting to ask you. Can we have a little of your caribou? We have not eaten in a while.
"Sure. Have all of it."
"Really?" said Terra.
"Yep. I only hunted it for extra. I could always hunt more."
"That's very kind of you." Terra then licked his cheek.
"Aww... shucks... You know that wasn't necessary," Sparks blushed. Stormfast couldn't take any more of this.
"Okay! That's enough "adventure" for one day. So we best be on our way back now."
"Wait!" shouted Terra.
"What is it this time?!" Stormfast yelled. His behavior was starting to get on Terra's nerves but she decided to deal with it later.
"Look! Another bone." They looked towards where she was pointing her right paw. Another bone not too far from them was there. But this time, there was no clawmark. At first, Sparks sniffed the air. Then he immediately pounced onto it. He laughed. Not only that, there were bones scattered in several places. Sparks was jumping in excitement.
"You two," he called, referring to Stormfast and Terra. "Find as many bones as you can and group them right here." He pointed at the spot. As Stormfast and Terra were searching, another bone caught Sparks's eye. It was a skull. He started sniffing around it. Soon, he quickly recognize who this once was. His mind suddenly stirred in his memories. The bones' were his father's. Jonah was his name. He started to cry. Terra noticed it.
"Hey?" She walked up to him, feeling a bit worried. "What's wrong?" Her voice was soft and sweet. Stormfast soon noticed too and came to Terra.
"What's this?" he asked, curiously. The she-wolf shushed him.
"He's having a moment." She turned back to Sparks. "Do you know what this is about?" He began to speak as he trembled under his own breath.
"These bones are my father's. A long time ago, he left to hunt when I was a pup but he never came back." Terra could feel his pain. "And know, I finally know where he was and now is," he sobbed. He then felt the need to hit something. He knocked over his father's skull. Sparks started crying on Terra's shoulder. She looked over his shoulder and saw something extraordinary. In the area where the skull was laying upon, there was yet another bone, except this one was not a wolf bone. On the surface of the bone was writing. She read it and nearly cried herself.
"Look Sparky! It's you're father's words." He turned and around and gasped. The bone said this:
Dear son, if you are still alive, I have been hit in the chest by what I think was a moose. I believe I might go to the place where we wolves go after we die. So I want you to know if you ever read this, that me and your mother had always loved you and even know our future pack was not successful, we had a great time and that's all that matters. I am sorry that I couldn't be there for you. I hope that you can forgive me, Sparky.
Sincerely, Jonah.
"Sparky. I am so sorry for your loss," said Terra. " I feel you. I had once suffered loss before." Stormfast felt a twinge in his thoughts due to this turn of events.
[Was this love? Terra and Sparky? he thought. No, that couldn't happen. They'd just met. But then again, that's how most wolves get married.]
"Thank you, mates. I hope we see each other again," said Sparks.
"Okay. Thank you for the caribou and the company."
On the way to the riverside den, Stormfast started wondering. Something had sparked between them. But just as that was happening, he was beginning to have feelings for her. Terra was sweet, she was a beautiful wolf, she never yells out of anger, she loved howling, she had the belief that many things could be done with great leadership even know she was an Omega, and yet her best friend had died in front of her very eyes because her father became crazy and killed her. A spirit like that shouldn't be wasted.
At Sparks's den...
"Such a sweet couple," muttered Sparks. Unlike like what Stormfast thought, Sparks was not interested in Terra. If anything, he thought she was interested in Stormfast. It seemed pretty obvious. Had he figured that out? He had brought the bones of Jonah to his den. He laid then next to his mother's. He looked at them and smiled. "Thanks guys," he whispered.
Sparks was a lone wolf. So was his father and mother at one time. They were making a pack. But that all changed when his mother died. When he was a pup, a bear had came and took her life. Dad stayed by her side until her final breaths. The day after, Jonah told Sparks that he was going outside the den to hunt for food, but he never returned. So Sparks was left alone with no friend in the world. All he had was his mum's bones and the tiny den his parents had owned. He took his mum's paw bones and clawmarked them so he would never forget her. He got string from the last caribou, his dad hunted and made a necklace. He wore it everywhere he went except for hunting or going someplace far. He trusted no one. The only wolves he met were lone wolves. Since his parents died, he had little education as a pup so he had to learn on his own. He didn't know how to hunt so he created his own method. It was harder than a pack's method but it got most of its kills. It was what pack wolves would call, "Wild Wolves."
Next: Chapter 12: The New Borders