A/N: After a bit of deliberation, I have decided to bring this one back. Now that I am online more and working with the wolf pack, I am getting new ideas and follow-ups for the pack itself. Hopefully this one will come to a good ending and you all will enjoy it. I am aware that it is not actually a Lioden fic, but there is no listing for Wolvden, and they are owned by the same company, so for the time being it will just be listed under Lioden. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated. ENJOY!
Chapter 1
The sun rose over the mountains, streaks of light cascading across the sleeping pack. Time and again the pups had been warned to not sleep at the mouth of the den. Predators were not uncommon in the mountains and the young were easy pickings for lions and bears. Unable to properly defend themselves, the pups would stand no chance.
A younger she-wolf slept soundly beside them. It was her duty, as a pupsitter, to keep guard over the youngest members of the pack. It was her job to make sure none of the pups went missing or got hurt. Wolves needed the pack to survive.
Accustomed to the scents of the forest around them, no wolf in the den smelled anything amiss as they dozed. Not a single one realized the tragedy that was about to strike their pack. They slept on, as one of their own was stolen right from under them. The youngest pup was picked up and carted off.
She dare not whimper for the lion would surely kill her outright if she did. What was a young pup to do in this situation? It would be best to stay quiet, pretend as if it were entirely normal…
Vhensa bolted upright. Another dream. She yawned, stretching her forelegs out before her. The dreams had been coming more frequently as of late. Mostly memories of before she was taken from her pack. This was the first one that occurred during it, or even after. Vhensa worried what these dreams could mean, but she would need a healer to figure it out. She had not thought about her old life in a very long time. Not since….well, that didn't bear thinking about anyway.
She shook the sleep from her limbs and started her trek. The jet coated she-wolf was running low on the meat she had stashed for herself, so she would have to go hunting again today. Hopefully this would go better than yesterday or she would run across an abandoned carcass she could scavenge from. Vhensa loped out from among the shelter of the pines and looked around. The forest was still, not much more than the rustling of small rodents in the underbrush. Nothing that could sustain her for long. She would have to find a rabbit or quail.
She padded along the old deer trails, keeping her nose down to catch every scent to cross her path. There was a stream up ahead. She was likely to find some smaller prey animals near the water. She stalked closer and lapped the water, glancing around to see if there was anything else at the stream. No such luck.
Vhensa followed a trail away from the water. There was an older scent going off toward a clearing she had visited in the past as she explored her new area up in the mountains. She made her way to the edge, hazel eyes scanning for anything out of the ordinary. Vhensa saw nothing and carefully made her way to the abandoned elk carcass. From what she could gather, it was a cow, and it would provide her with at least a few days' worth of meat and bones.
Ice blue eyes narrowed at the sunlight filtering through the pine boughs as the wolf picked his way across the coniferous forest, heading toward his favorite place. Just beyond where he had settled that week was a hidden clearing between towering black pines. He adored the scent that lingered there, reminding him of deep winter even in the height of summer. Everything subtly covered in the scent of pine sap. Baisen loved it. He had left his own pack a long time ago, outgrowing his alpha's constant need to put him down for his charming nature, something he had very little real control over. It wasn't exactly his fault that the she-wolves liked him better than their arrogant alpha.
"Mmm, this looks like a good place for a nap." He turned a few times over a thicker patch of fallen needles, looking for the best way to lay. If he moved them just so….Baisen curled into the nest with a soft huff of contentment. This was the life. No one to answer to, no one to feed beside himself. He rolled onto his back, exposing his soft cream colored belly to warm in the sunlight.
Baisen relaxed in the pine needles. His paws were sore from hiking down from the higher altitude on the southern face of the mountain. His light tan fur was covered in burrs that he knew would itch him later, but he didn't have the energy quite yet to actually do anything about it. He'd been traveling for days on the advice of Tala, a rogue black who said his destiny had been further down the mountain from his old den sight. Not that he truly trusted the advice of a wandering she-wolf the whole world thought wasn't even real to begin with. He'd made it this far and didn't figure on going any further. Baisen was decently out of the territory of his previous pack.
Vhensa paused to catch her breath and make sure there were no larger predators in the area. She may have been a wolf, but she was certainly no match for a bear or mountain lion on her own. She'd need a full pack to take on a carnivore of that size.
"I've been waiting for you."
She nearly jumped out of her fur, finally registering the black wolf sitting on the far side of the clearing. They sounded like a she-wolf, but one could never be sure. Vhensa dipped her head, looking below the edge of her lashes. She suppressed the growl that wanted to escape. The wolf was sitting just on the other side of the elk carcass. Her one source of meat for the month.
"Who are you?!"
"My name is Tala. Don't worry. I've no interest in the carcass. You may have the whole thing. I have a proposition for you."
Vhensa stepped back, cautious, "What kind of proposition?"
"Would you like to the the alpha of a pack?" Tala stood. It became apparent she was much larger than Vhensa, large enough to kill her if she so chose to. The jet she-wolf sat down on her haunches, still quite wary. "Wouldn't you like to have a pack all your own? To be the one making decisions on who does what, who stays and goes?"
"..."
"I can see you do, follow me then, young one. I'll lead the way." She turned and headed into the wood-line, not stopping once to see if Vhensa were following. The younger wolf would have to decide quickly if she would follow or not. A memory niggled in the back of her mind. Something about what happened when a wolf stumbled across a lone black wolf out in the middle of nowhere. She just couldn't remember what it was.
"Wait!" Vhensa chased after her, curiosity getting the better of her and wanting to know what was going to happen when they got to wherever it was Tala was leading her. She felt no fear in following the larger wolf. Perhaps there was nothing to that initial niggling she'd felt.
Tala walked her down the far side of the mountain, nearly to its base. There Vhensa found another clearing, this one much larger than the original that had held the elk carcass. She sniffed the air. There was no scent of any wolf pack. It seemed quite impossible that this place would be unoccupied. She stayed at the edge of the meadow.
"I believe this place will be well suited to your pack as a home base, for now."
"But I don't have a pack…"
Tala smiled, "Not now, no. But you will."
"Oh. How do you know?"
"How does anyone know anything? The world tells me what I need to know. Then I tell whomever needs to know it if that is what the world decides." She brought Vhensa to a secluded area off the side of the clearing. A fallen tree created a deep shelter. "Perfect for keeping the pups. They will be protected and only visible from one side of the root system. You would need to approach exactly so in order to see the whelps in the nest here." She walked to another part of the den area, nosing the ground slightly as she walked, "Just beyond the scrub there is a clear stream you can use for water. This place should be sheltered from most outside predators."
"Why are you…?"
"Because none of my kind should be left alone if I can help it. We are not meant to live solitary lives. We are meant to live in groups. Here you will raise your own pups and become the great leader you were always meant to be."
Vhensa didn't quite believe her, "If you say so...but I'm one young she-wolf. I don't even know any other wolves to join a pack with me."
"Leave that to me. You just rest for now." Tala licked the top of Vhensa's head and the world went dark around her. The last thing she could remember was the shape of the black she-wolf sauntering off into the trees.
Baisen stretched and rolled onto his belly. He was getting hungry and was decently sure he'd passed a small pond not that far back. There should be some decently sized fish in it. A few would hold him over a day or so.
"Baisen."
"Tala. You know, I thought I had hallucinated you. Guess I wouldn't hallucinate you twice in a row, though, huh?"
"Most assuredly not. Are you done with your reprieve? You have not yet reached your final destination."
He licked his paw, "I like it here though. It's quiet, far from Dhahae's place and I have plenty of fish in the pond there to keep me fed...probably. I haven't actually checked yet." He turned his icy blue eyes to the water. "Unless you can promise me a good she-wolf and breeding rights, I won't likely move from here."
"Why else would I have sent you out? You are to be the only male with breeding rights in the whole pack. Imagine, all of those she-wolves for you to pick from, and I can guarantee there will be many."
"Really?" His ears perked forward, interest piqued. Baisen wagged his tail slightly. He looked at her expectantly. She made a huffing sound that could almost be mistaken for laughter and turned away. Tala shook her head as they walked down the deer path past the stream and toward the bottom of the mountain. He barely spared anything a glance or cursory sniff as they walked. Baisen's interest was solely on the female he would meet when he made it to wherever Tala was taking him. "You're sure this is the right way?"
"Do you suddenly not trust me, Baisen? You're away from Dhahae, just as you wished. Have a bit of faith, my friend, and you will never go wrong."
"Yeah yeah." He twitched his tail lightly as he walked beside her. Tala was a strange one alright. Baisen wasn't sure at all if she was a live she-wolf, or one of the old gods, not worshiped for many generations. Not since the packs had been brought back to the forest. He rolled his eyes. "Who is this she-wolf anyway? The one you're taking me to?"
"Ask her yourself." Tala stepped to the side at a break in the trees. Just beyond was a jet black she-wolf, exploring the edge of the meadow. He could see the medium and dark brown all over her coat catching in the sun. She sniffed at a mound of something that he couldn't make out from his position. "Go on…" Tala gave him a gentle nudge.
He growled at Tala, stumbling into the soft grass. Baisen tried to recover quickly so that the she-wolf didn't notice how undignified his entrance had been. Judging by the sound of laughter, he had failed.
"Are you alright?" His gaze snapped to hers. He had not expected her voice to be quite so lyrical. There was a soft undertone of an accent to it that he couldn't place. Whomever she was, she must not have been a local.
"I'm fine. She shoved me is all." He shook out his coat, releasing a small cloud of dust and debris.
"Who did?"
"That good for nothing meddler, Tala." He turned to point out the rogue, but there was no one in the vicinity. Just empty space and the indistinct sound of wolfish laughter. "I could have sworn she was right there."
"She got to you, too? Found me and brought me down here. I do believe she meant you to be the first member of my new pack...I don't know who she meant the rest to be. I'm Vhensa, by the way. What's your name?"
"Baisen. I scented other wolves over the ridge there. Perhaps among them we could build a pack? Or, just you and I. Make a pack of just our own pups…"
Vhensa swat at the pale tan male and huffed again, "And what, you would breed your own daughters?"
"Right, right. You have a point." Baisen grinned. He trot toward the ridge and looked over his shoulder, "Shall we then?"
"Yes, we shall." Vhensa followed him, unsure of where they were going. This would be interesting. Perhaps Tala wasn't so bad after all.
* line *
Imriki returned to the shelter just about the same time Marrus and the hunting party did. He dipped his head to the sandy furred wolf and lay down.
"Not much else so far, just more pines, squirrels, and rabbits. You?"
"Not sure how long it will last, but we found a whitetail and brought it back. Couple of days at least. Perhaps a full week of meat if we keep close to the present site." He nodded to the party and they began the process of pulling the carcass apart and burying it for future use. "We still need to decide which of us will lead. You know we can't survive long like this."
"I know. What will we do though? Easara has not said which of us is best suited for the duty of pack leader."
Easara sat beside the chaser, absently licking the juice from a carrion-flower from her paw, "Because she is not here yet. I told you before she would take a few days. Mostly because of her male companion. He's a bit stubborn."
Runizo lay down, wondering just what kind of wolf Tala would send their way. There was no telling what they got from the goddess of wolves. He just hoped whomever it was would be a good fit for their fledgling pack.
"Erm, excuse me?" The heads all turned at once to the soft voice. A jet she-wolf and ducat male stood at the edge of the valley, looking out at the small pseudo pack. "Tala sent us here. Presumably to find you?"
Easara stood from her sunning spot and padded to the she-wolf, bowing low and exposing her throat, "Took you long enough to get here. I've been wondering where you were."
"Right...so I'm supposed to be your new lead wolf? Why isn't one of you the leader?"
"Tala told us we would get a different one. That it was not to be one of us. So, we've been waiting. You've come, and now we are a pack. It will be up to you what we are called."
Vhensa looked around. There was not much here besides a copse of pine trees. She watched the way the shadows moved underneath the boughs and tilted her head, sitting beside the herbalist. "Shady Pines Pack. That is what we will be called."
The wolves all howled up to the sky. The Shady Pines pack was officially founded, with an intelligent lead wolf to see them through their first few months as a pack...
