I just wanna thank the people who have supported this story so far. I really loved the movie, and so in turn, really love this story, and it makes me happy to see other people love it as well. On another note, chapter 2 was running a little long, so what I decided to do was split it up into two parts. Enjoy, everyone
Silver Snow
Chapter 2, Part 1: Leap of Faith
It had been the first sign of long sunlight in a while, but surely and slowly, the glowing orb of light made its rise into the air. The warm rays of light had melted the last of the winter snow, and now only flecks of slush drifted off of the tree leaves and down onto the wet, green grass. Flowers budded in small groves here and there, and the birds flitted musically through the air in celebration of the long-awaited awakening of the spring time season.
"One, two, three…one, two three…one, two, three, four…" Silver took his sweet time as he made his way across the trail in an almost nonchalant pattern. He had walked this familiar trail so many times before that the fact that he was now doing so with his eyes completely shut wasn't even a problem. He had certainly grown over the course of the past winter. A full-fledged wolf, he stood tall, proud, and strong. At a glance, a stranger would have mistaken him for an alpha wolf as opposed to his omega status. He had let his head fur grow, so that it hung just barely over his face—possibly in mock to Snow's style—and the burn marks that had once branded his fur were now completely gone.
"One, two, three…one, two, three…" Silver muttered to himself, then came to a stop. His ears perked up, and he suddenly dropped, just as something white streaked overhead and crash-landed into a nearby tree.
"Aph!" Snow recoiled down to the ground, landing on her back, and curled her paws up with her tongue sticking out. Her body lay perfectly motionless. But Silver just shook his head.
"Not gonna work."
"…" Snow responded with a dead stillness. Silver grinned and arched his back, whipping his tail up into the air slightly. With a mighty heave, he pushed himself through the air, aiming down towards his friend from above.
"Ha!" One of Snow's eyes opened; her foot raised up and caught Silver by the chest, rolling him overhead and sending him sprawling. He crash-landed into the tree with a thud, and soon came teetering down dizzily next to her.
"Okay, how'd you manage to pull that off, again?" Silver rolled over onto his stomach and turned his gaze towards Snow. He hadn't been the only one who had grown during the winter. His playful friend was now a strong, beautiful she-wolf—who still happened to think in terms of being a pup. But he liked that about her. Snow could make anything and everything fun, regardless.
"Would you believe me if I said I controlled little green wolves that force you to fall for anything I do?"
"No,"
"Then let's chalk it up to natural-born talent." Snow playfully pushed her paw across his face.
"Pfth, natural-born show-off." Silver smiled—he knew she liked that because every time he did, her eyes would light up—and placed his paw on her head. Snow gasped and quickly jerked back from him, tail wagging.
"No. Every time you do that, you mess it up."
"Awww, lighten up," Silver tackled Snow, but she squirmed, playfully working and wriggling out of her friend's grip. Silver teasingly bade her to hold still, taking every chance he could to keep her head from dodging his paw. He eventually came to pin her up against a tree, where his paw slapped down on her head and started ruffling through her head fur wildly.
"Silver!" Snow tried to sound mad, but her giggle betrayed her. By the time Silver was done, her head fur frizzed out in almost every direction as though she had just waken up from a bad night of sleep. She frantically began to shake and rub it back into its natural directions, and Silver just sat there, smiling as he watched her do so. She tried to frown. "Do you have something against my fur?"
"I like it." Silver said simply.
"Well it doesn't like you." Snow teased, but truth be told she only avoided it to give Silver a hard time.
"I beg to differ."
"Oh no you don't!" Snow yipped and was suddenly on her feet, smacking Silver's nose playfully with her tail as she ran off. He was going to have to catch her first. Silver let his eyes follow the to-fro of Snow's hindquarters while he followed at a sprint. The two laughed joyously while they dashed along the trails of the forest, practically racing each other from tree-end to tree-end. Every now and then, Snow would pull out ahead to give Silver another flicker of her tail, which was eventually discarded as a bad idea when he took to biting and tugging it every other time she did so. Silver felt the corners of his mouth being constantly turned up, which didn't feel so unnatural anymore nowadays. He had grown considerably, not just in physical appearance, but as his own self. He laughed a lot more; had come to care for his rather large pack, and had come to care deeply for Snow. Even if he still couldn't remember anything about who he had been, it had long since stopped being important. Snow kept him up, and therefore, kept him happy.
"Is this a private race, or can I join?"
Silver and Snow were apart by Luna. She winked at Silver, and he almost felt the nostalgic return of one of his trivial stares. It wasn't that he didn't like her, per say—she was a good friend. But she had the absolute worse timing to show up out of nowhere.
"You're looking good today, Silver."
"Uhm, thanks?" Silver blinked, but his attention had only lasted on Luna for a second when he saw that Snow had once again begun pulling away. He barked and began to ride Snow's heels.
"Snoowwww!"
A loud thud rang into Silver's ears and the next thing he knew, he was spiraling along the ground with another furry entity that had crashed into his side. Silver and Mick tumbled through sticky shrubs, rolling past the trees, and the two girls only had time to slid to a stop just as a loud splatter sounded into the treetops. Terrific, he had landed smack-dab in the middle of a large mud puddle, no doubt created from the recent onslaught of rain showers. So why did his fur feel so dry? As a matter of fact, not a fleck of mud had touched even the white fur of his paw tips.
"Eroff meh..!"
"Hm?" Silver's ears perked up at a gurgling, but by the time he had realized it was coming from underneath him, he was hurtled out onto the grass with a loud thud. Mick sat up, waist-deep in the mud and covered from head to toe. It had been so thick on him that even when he tried to shake it off, more simply sopped over his face. Snow and Luna couldn't help but snicker, especially when he had tried to stand up and ended up falling face-first back into the thick.
"N-nice job, Sliver!" He spat. Silver frowned. It wasn't always easy for him to get along with Mick. He sat up and looked back at him, and almost wished he hadn't. His paw pressed to his maw in some attempt to stifle his laughter.
"It's Silver. And I didn't do anything."
"Whatever!" Mick flared, then almost immediately cooled off when his attention had turned to Snow. He frantically shook as much mud off of his fur as he possibly could. Silver hadn't noticed it earlier, but he seemed to be holding some kind of flower in his mouth. Or rather, what was left of it. Steeped in mud, the stem lay limp between his fangs and all but one petal had fallen off. Mick waddled his way over to Snow and poked his muddy chest out proudly.
Snow had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, and even moreso when Mick leaned the less-than-a-flower over to her. But Silver couldn't hold it and ended up rolling onto his back in laughter. It mustn't have taken Mick long to realize why, because the stem had suddenly bounced off of Silver's head.
"Yuck it up, Mr. No-sense-of-humor wolf!"
Silver stopped laughing and his frown returned. Snow quickly jumped to Silver's defense.
"Mick, that's a little mean." She said.
"Seriously, what kind of Omega can't break up even a simple fight between pups?" Mick interjected. Snow and Luna were suddenly on either side of Silver, frowning.
"He's trying!" They had said together. Mick took a disgusted step back, clearly outnumbered once again. He grumbled and took to shaking the mud off the ends of his paws. Silver wasn't really sure he deserved such a strong defense. Truth be told, as an Omega, he sucked. He wasn't funny and felt as though it just wasn't in his nature to be able to break up any kind of squabble. For the most part, he usually ended up making it worse if anything.
"It's mine, you mutt!"
"No, I had it first you filthy dog!"
The sound of snapping and whining ripped through the air like a crack of lightning, causing all four wolves to avert their attention to the side. Snow was the first to stand at the edge of a cliff, gazing down into the grassy clearing below. The two wolves at the bottom were practically head to head with each other, circling and letting out whip-like snarls from deep within their throats. Their eyes locked, waiting for the other to give a reason to be ripped limb from limb. Wedged between their fangs was a bone with several thick scraps of meat clinging to it. It was surprising that something had even been left over from yesterday's hunt.
"You western wolves are so greedy." The wolf with a rather large nose and red fur's voice became dangerously low.
"You eastern wolves are still the same as always—you think every bit of food is branded with your name on it!" The wolf opposing snapped, the sun bouncing off a particularly splotched patch of white on his gray fur. Snow let out a sigh, and from the same reaction from her friends, she knew that they had been thinking the same thing she was. Though there was no need for such an old rivalry, every now and then it would inadvertently show itself again.
"Alright, omegas," Mick flecked the last of the mud off his ears, "Time to do what we do best." Silver, Snow, and Luna nodded, but as Silver jumped to slide down the side of the cliff, Mick held his paws out before the girls, keeping them from proceeding forward. He nodded his head down towards the midnight-furred wolf and then laid down with his paws crossed. "Let's see how well he does. Snow and Luna didn't look too thrilled at first—they knew this was probably payback for the mud incident. But still, Snow sat at the edge of the cliff, keeping her eyes close on her best friend and muttering words of confidence she knew he wasn't able to hear. Silver dug his claws into the rock cliff to keep himself from descending too fast. His body commanded nimble, coordinated movements, so that his slide all the way to the jump awarded him with an almost perfect, painless landing. The two wolves had already begun a dangerous tug-of-war right before him, slapping their clawed-paws against each other's muzzle and tugging harder to see which would give first. Silver took a deep breath.
"Okay, Snow, any idea—" He suddenly felt nervous. He looked to the left, then to the right, realizing that no one else had made their way behind him. He looked back up, just in time to see Mick brandishing his paw and urging him to continue. Silver frowned and mouthed, "Yeah, real fair!" but he knew he was on his own. The wolf turned to the problem before him, stood erect, and began to proceed with a deep breath.
"Ahem,"
There was no response. Silver put his paw to his maw and cleared his throat a little louder, and when that dind't work, he resolved himself to a well-sounded bark. The two bickering wolves only gave him the grace of their eyes parting from the squabble.
"Come on, guys, seriously? Fighting over a little scrap of meat like that? Don't you have something better to do?"
"Beat it!" Strike one. Silver scratched his head, then took it upon himself to try and get between them. They growled, but he ignored it.
"Instead of fighting, focus on something else. Like…" He looked around. "Uhm…" They snarled, eying him angrily. "Err…well, look at the snoz on this guy. I mean, sheesh—I'm surprised he can even see over his own face, let alone see you!" The red-furred wolf gave a warning growl, but the other seemed to chuckle a bit.
"Yeah, he does have a big honker there."
"And this guy," Silver patted the gray wolf's shoulder, "That white patch—doesn't he look like someone just threw up all over his back?"
The laughing stopped. Silver shrank back, now that both eyes had turned to stare at him angrily.
"Why you little—"
"Ah!"
The wolves dropped the scraps and fly-tackled Silver down, rolling and tussling the younger wolf into a slightly painful if not somewhat comical submission. He pushed away from them, at least trying to avoid being bitten in the wrong places (but letting out a pleading yelp when a foot struck him somewhere…unpleasant). When he felt himself being slammed down to the ground, he repeatedly patted his paw on the grass.
"I get it! I get it! It wasn't that funny—ouch—okay, not funny at all! Somebody tag me out!"
Meanwhile, Mick was on his back atop the cliff, roaring with laughter. It was only a shame that Snow and Luna hadn't joined in with him. Instead, they both sported rather worried looks for their friend being wrestled down below.
"T-that's so horrible—but I'll give him credit. At least he got them to stop fighting each other!" Mick exclaimed.
Snow shook her head. She couldn't watch anymore and took to sliding down the cliff as fast as she safely could.
"Come on," Luna leapt down, and Mick reluctantly followed after her. Snow dropped down first and bounced the forgotten bone scraps into her paw. She held it over her head and let out a loud, sharp whistle; the wolves almost instantly dropped Silver (who scrambled away on his belly as quickly as possible) and turned their attention not to her, but to the food. She grinned—this was going to be too easy. Her tail waved just out of eyesight of the two, and Mick suddenly dropped down, tackling her over.
"I saw that first, pup!"
"Bite me, mud-pooch!"
Mick frowned for a second, but quickly went back into character. "You wanna start some trouble, foofy-hair?"
"Bring it on, mutt!"
"Bear-breath!"
"Chihuahua!"
"Snow!" Mick hissed and whispered to where it was barely audible, "I thought we agreed no more Chihuahua jokes!"
"Mick!" Snow protested, indicating that they didn't have the time to discuss it. Mick turned her over and kicked her square in the rump, so that she fell forward on her chest. The scrap soared and he caught it between his fangs. But it had only remained in his possession for a hot second. Luna came sliding from out of nowhere, crashing Mick into a nearby tree and reclaiming his find.
"Both of you can shove it—this is mine." Snow and Mick rolled back onto their feet, and the three wolves were pressed at the heads, circling each other in a chorus of seemingly real and very threatening growls. They tried hard to keep from giggling; Snow knew they didn't have to read each other's minds to be a success. Even if the entire thing was improvised, the other two could follow suit as though they had spent days rehearsing it. Snow was the first to leap into Luna, and all three of them were suddenly wrestling each other, the scrap bone bouncing from mouth to mouth like a ping-pong ball. The trio crashed into trees and rolled over shrubs, eventually knocking a friend out of the tumble only to have them bounce back into the fray seconds after. By now, Silver and the two once fighting wolves were sitting down in ring-side seats for the show. There was a loud snap, and the scrap bone rolled out from under the trio, broken in half. Snow let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled Mick and Luna off of her.
"That's not gonna work, now is it? There's only two pieces and three of us." She put her paw to her cheek and motioned at the two wolves with the other. They looked to her, then to each other before walking over and taking up one piece of the broken bone. The solution had been simple, and apologies were exchanged silently before they parted ways.
"That's how it's done." Mick said, slapping high paws all around while he and his friends laughed in triumph. Silver rubbed the back of his head. He truly felt that all the training in the world couldn't turn him into some kind of peacekeeper. But the sight of the resolved conflict between the wolves made him smile. And the fact that he knew his friends could always be counted on made him feel even better.
"High paws for you too." He didn't realize how close Snow had gotten until she was right upon him. Her paw was held up with an expectant smile on her face. Silver shook his head.
"I didn't do anything. I don't deserve any high paws today." Silver stated simply. Snow shook her head at him with something of a disappointed look on her face.
"You set them up for us by—"
"Getting your butt kicked."
"By getting them warmed up." Snow corrected Mick and then wiggled her paw, "So high paws for you too. Come on, you know you want to."
Silver snorted playfully, but with a roll of his eyes, he slapped his paw to Snow's, then went on to ruffle her head fur. This time, she didn't pull away. "Thanks, Snow."
The bushes nearby had ruffled and Silver's gaze turned just in time to see Humphrey emerging from the green. The wolf had an approving grin on his face, and when he had reached the younger generation, he too slapped them several high paws. Silver could only surmise that he had been watching the entire time, and therefore felt even more guilty when Humphrey had counted him in the praise.
"That was pretty good—If I'm not careful, you're gonna put me out of a job soon." He said jokingly. Silver rubbed the back of his head. Humphrey must've guessed what he was thinking, because he had patted a paw on his head. "You'll get the hang of it soon, especially if you keep sticking around the wolf stooges here." It wasn't reassuring. The 'soon' should have been an entire season ago. Humphrey extended another congratulation to them before walking off, probably to go check on another group. The moment he was out of eyesight, Snow let out a sigh—a real sigh. Her ears drooped slightly and she placed her paw on her cheek, halfway gone in her thoughts. Mick made his way over to her and tapped his paw to hers.
"Aww, what's wrong? We just got praised for a good run and you're the only one getting depressed about it."
"It's not really the compliment." Snow said, "It's just…well, is this really all we have to look forward to for the rest of our lives?"
"What're you talking about?" Mick asked her, "It's our dream to be the best omegas in the pack—we have that to look forward to."
"But then what, Mick?" Snow looked at him, almost as though her eyes were pressing the male to answer. When he didn't, she shook her head and paced away from the group a little. Luna knew exactly where snow was going with this, and let out a soft sigh under her breath.
"If this is about you 'escaping' to see the world again…I thought you were past that already?' Snow didn't answer. Instead, she gazed upwards beyond the tent of leaves that the tree branches had presented and into the sky above. It looked like graying rainclouds were once again imposing themselves across the deep blue, and the stench of on-coming spring showers had begun to fill the air rather quickly. Snow wanted a closer look, over the trees, over the rocks; over her walls, and took to trying to climb one of the nearby trees. But when she fell short, it was Silver who had nudged her up into a lower branch with his muzzle before hopping up to take a spot next to her. He didn't say anything much, but rather leaned over and looked at her, gauging her expression.
"You still think it's not silly?" She asked after a while. Silver was indifferent. He didn't think it was the greatest idea in the world. He liked the peace and the routine; the assurance of waking up to something secure and homey, though he couldn't really quite explain why. He also didn't think Snow's dream was the worst idea either.
"Of course I don't." Silver told her, and moved his paw to lift her chin up slightly. It didn't seem to comfort her much though. She seemed pretty resolved to the fact that she was never going to be able to see what lay beyond the walls of her territory. Silver turned away from her, out towards the quickly graying sky. "One day, when we grow a little more, I'll go see the world with you, Snow."
"Don't encourage her, please." Mick called up to them. He had meant it teasingly, but hadn't realized how harsh it actually sounded until Luna had hissed something to him about it.
Snow snorted. "Okay."
"I mean it." Silver insisted. Snow waited until he had turned her way to look into the silver of her best friend's eyes, searching for traces of mock attitude. She didn't find it. His eyes were strong, and honest, and reassuring. He was really serious about it, and that alone made her smile. She nodded in agreement, but blocked him when he went to ruffle her fur yet again.
"Stop that."
"Heh, couldn't help myself." Silver curled the corners of his maw up just slightly. When Mick was sure he had seen enough (indicated by the many unsubtle snorts and grunts he made), he turned around to walk off from his friends.
"We should go already. Don't wanna stick around here any longer when we could be finding fights to break up. I bet we can catch some of the younger pups in a mess."
Luna slapped her paw to her face as she followed. "Dude, we're not supposed to be encouraging the fights just to have a chance to break them up." Silver gave Snow another searching expression. She was flattered, and when she had indicated that she was alright, the two of them dropped down from their spot and made off after their friends.
By the time Silver, Snow, Luna, and Mick had begun to return to the den area for the afternoon, the sky was already darkened by storm clouds, and a light sheen of rain began to coat the land in water. The wind had picked up, swaying the lightest of tree branches in low, eerie creaking sounds, and the warmth from the open arms of spring had been stunted temporarily. But as the quartet of young wolves returned home, they could almost immediately tell that something wasn't quite right. Wolves were muttering under their breaths, looking down at their paws or huddled up in their dens. The majority of them seemed to have been gathered around Kate and Lilly's den. A look of curiosity branded Snow's face as she took off to meet her parents. Silver, however, made his way towards one of the lower-level dens where he had been staying. He could easily make out Anna's figure and knew she had been waiting up for him. The female omega stood quite tall, her black fur rough in some parts, but smooth everywhere else. It was her who had become something of a mother figure to Silver since the pack had taken him in.
"What's going on?" Silver sat down next to her. He didn't mind when she automatically began to groom the rough spots on his own fur. Since Anna couldn't have pups of her own, she would most likely always see Silver as her baby.
"It's Eve…She's gotten sick again. It looks like it's worse this time…"
Silver cast a worried glance up towards the alpha's den. Snow had been doing a good job about not worrying about her grandmother before, especially when it seemed like she was getting better. So how was she holding up now..? Silver jumped from his thoughts when he felt Anna's muzzle nudge him forward. He looked back at her, as if trying to say there wasn't much he could do, but she motioned for him to continue on towards the den of his friend. A low roll of thunder growled across the sky as the black-furred wolf loped across the grounds and up the incline to the alpha's den. He shoved his way through bystanders, and the moment he had made it into the mouth of the den, Snow had nearly crashed into him, hiding against his fur. Mick, who was sitting just a short ways away from them, growled, but Luna flicked his ear. Now wasn't really the time for that. Silver placed his paw on Snow's head and chanced a glance inside.
Eve was pressed against the wall on a large pile of soft-looking leaves. Her fur color had paled from a vibrant gold to a sullen yellow, and he was sure he could see her body visibly twitch every now and then. She coughed hard, which caused Lilly and Kate to stir next to her in extreme worry. Humphrey and Garth could only try to comfort their mates as best as they could while trying not to give into the worry themselves. But if anyone had looked as though they were about to drop, it was Winston. He hovered over his mate as though something might come in and take her away at any moment. His graying fur had possibly gotten more gray, and strands poked out in wild ends due to stress.
"Why did this have to happen…?" Snow whispered under her breath. "She seemed fine a few days ago…" Silver let his tail slowly embrace his friend, his ears lowering. Had he answers to give, he would've offered them all too eagerly. Helplessness riddled Snow's entire figure, and the only thing she could resolve to was gripping clumps of Silver's fur with her claws. Winston sighed and ran his nose through Eve's fur, and Kate was looking more and more frustrated by the minute.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" She asked, wincing when her mother gave another harsh cough. A red-furred wolf slowly paced his way beyond the crowd of wolves, making his way past Silver and Snow and into the den. He was about as elderly as Winston, and walked in such a slow pace that truly indicated he was getting on in years. The old wolf came to take his seat next to Winston, his expression looking grave.
"I have heard of something like this before, a long time ago. It is a sickness that occurs within the elderly, usually due to a contaminant in food or water." At this, Kate gasped, then hung her head low, as did the rest of her hunting alpha team. A twist of guilt, confusion, and angst branded her face. She started to blame herself, but Eve shook her head with what little strength she had, stating that it wasn't her fault. Not that that was all that reassuring, especially after another wicked cough that followed. Winston's head snapped up to the older wolf. His eyes were heavy and pleading.
"Is there anything we can do, Tony…?"He asked.
Tony made a gesture with his paw as he recanted an almost long-forgotten memory. "I haven't actually seen it…so I can't really say that this is going to work. But there was talk a long time ago about a certain plant being able to stop the spread of this sickness. A flower that grows in the north with petals of silver and the ability to survive and grow through any season for an entire cycle." He let his paws rub the brim of his muzzle out of stress, "If there is anything to be done, then finding this flower would be it. But the journey is long and very dangerous. And…" He hesitated, "We…may not make it in time."
Kate's head immediately snapped up, and she could tell by the look on Lilly's face that she knew what she had been thinking. She didn't object, at least not openly. Without a word, without even another thought, she turned and almost ran off, had not Winston called out to her.
"Kate, you can't, especially not by yourself." Winston's words had only been half-hearted, torn between responsibility for his pack and the concern for his beloved mate. Kate wasn't hearing it, and Winston had to bade Tony to stand in her way.
"Dad!"
"Kate, this has to be done by someone else."
"I'm going to do this for mom—I have to!" Kate exclaimed. Winston rose and walked over to his daughter. He could see the stubborn, proud will he had passed down to her deep in her eyes. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Kate, you are not a pup anymore. You know you have a responsibility to this pack and can't go running off to who-knows how far."
"So I just sit here and do nothing while mom suffers."
"You stay strong for the pack."
"When I could be out there looking. You just want me to standby!"
"I'm not saying that—"
"Then let me go while I can still do something about it—"
"KATE!" Winston wasn't aware of whether it was his whip-like bark or the simultaneous crash of thunder from the rain that caused everyone around him to jump. There was a long, awkward silence. He sighed and placed his paws on Kate's shoulders.
"I know you're frustrated, Kate…and we're going to save her. But you cannot be the one to go. The pack needs both you and Garth here to lead them." Kate let out a sigh at her father's words, but solemnly nodded her head in agreement. Snow hadn't expected an idea to creep into her head, but when it did, she sat up abruptly. The helpless feeling that clung like ice to her chest had disappeared. She could do it. She could be the one to bring the medicine her grandmother needed, instead of just sitting around doing nothing about it. This was her family, and she could take responsibility for it just as well as anyone else could. Snow shifted away from Silver and stepped across to her grandfather. She tried not to look at her parents; between Lily's and Garth's overprotective wishes for their pups, they'd have probably just made her too nervous to go through with it. She motioned for her grandfather's attention, and then spoke once she had it.
"I can do it."
"No you can't." Garth's voice was like an instant brick wall to Snow's. And judging by all the worried eyes of her family locking onto her, they silently agreed. Snow frowned.
"I can—I can do it. She's my grandma and I really wanna help."
"We all want to help, Snow…" Lilly went to lay her muzzle on Snow's head in a comforting manner, but her daughter moved away from her reach.
"You're all treating me like a pup, but I'm a member of this pack too. I'm family—I can help!" She exclaimed.
Winston, having already been worn by calming Kate down, let out another long sigh. He didn't have the fortitude or patience to try and explain anymore reasons to the stubborn generation after. He held up his paw, at a loss for words, the expression grim on his face, and then went to lay down next to his still shuddering mate. Snow gazed around to everyone in the den. Stress had stricken every weary face, and all they could manage to do was sigh or avert their gaze. Snow turned to Humphrey for some kind of support, but even her happy-go-lucky uncle just shook his head to her. It shouldn't have been such a slap to the face. In the back of her mind, she knew this was the answer she was going to receive. But it still made her mad. When it came down to it, it didn't matter how confident she felt in what she could do. Snow's ears fell. They were done listening and she was done talking, and took off. Silver automatically followed after her.
The rain had come in full force, inviting a premature gale that caused the tree boughs to sway. Snow had made her way as far as to the river before stopping to lay along the bank side. Rainwater drenched her entirely, so that her head fur hung in frayed, limp ends across her face, but she didn't care. Nor did she seem to care of the agitated splashing coming from the body of water. All Snow could focus on was how aggravating everything was starting to make her. Did thinking that she could do anything for her grandmother considered being 'just a dreamer' too? The rushing water almost completely obscured her reflection along the river surface and a twinge of slight disgust riddled her. Snow slapped her reflection with her paw.
"Snow…" Snow wasn't surprised when Silver suddenly plop down beside her. However, she wouldn't meet his eyes, therefore closing her own from him. "Everyone's worried about you."
"Maybe if they did a little less of that, there wouldn't be a problem." Snow snapped, then quickly wished she hadn't. Silver didn't seem to mind.
"I understand, Snow…I really do. I know you just want to help—"
"No, you don't." Snow raised to a sitting position. Silver could see her claws digging into the fresh grass and mud. "No one understands that I'm a part of this pack. No one understands that I'm capable. No one understands that I'm not a pup or just an omega, or that I'm not just a dreamer." She paused. There was another clap of thunder, loud to the point of almost making her jump. Drops of water streamed down from her face as the sky relentlessly showered down on the two of them. "There's so much possibility…if only I get the chance to try." Snow finished. A serious frown spread on Silver's face, and his ears stood erect despite the fact that the rain continued to try and drench them down. Sometimes, he thought Snow truly forgot who was on her side; who had been since the day they met.
"That's not true." Silver spoke. Snow didn't turn around. He shook his head in disbelief, trying to find the right words that could get through to his best friend. "Everyone gets their chance, Snow. So you think different, or so you're a dreamer. None of that means I don't understand. You think you have it hard, but no one's really ganging up on you. Everyone is just worried, about you and about Eve. And I'm always worrying over you. You can't say I don't understand."
Snow dropped her eyes to her paws. If she had felt bad for snapping it him, now she felt considerably worse. Still, there was a nagging in the back of her thoughts and she had to ask.
"You don't believe I can do it either, do you..?"
"Of course I do." Snow felt Silver's paw gently fall on top of hers. His claws caressed hers so very gently out of the mud. "I believe it if you say you can do it. I always do. But I don't want you to get hurt. That's why we've gotta wait till we're more…seasoned." He mulled the word around in his head to make sure it was right, then added, "You believed in me. I was blank—a nothing. And you didn't stop believing until I became a someone." Snow looked at her paw, and then to him. The silver of his eyes always seemed so pure and clear whenever he spoke to her like that; as though she could believe anything he said to her. It made her feel considerably better, but she only showed in a nod before laying back down on the wet grass. Silver laid his head down onto her back. The wind had all but completely obscured her scent, so that she smelled something like a wet rug. And as if the rainwater wasn't enough, the river banks were starting to overflow from all the constant raining, teasing even more water at the two. The two laid there for a while, watching driftwood sail like tiny oddly-shaped rafts down the turbulent river surface. When it had gotten too wet and too cold, Silver could feel Snow wiggling underneath him for warmth. It made his chest feel warm and tight, and gave him the urge to pull her closer.
"Hellppp! Someone help me!" The voice had been riddled with coughs and sputters, and nearly drowned out by the rain and wind, but they had still heard it. Wild splashing followed from upriver, and in the distance, the two wolves could just barely make out a bobbing muzzle being tossed and rolled about through the water. Snow and Silver reluctantly broke away from their huddle, practically leaping onto their feet. The powerful, churning current carried a small pup down, smacking him against the bank walls. Whenever he found a rock or edge to cling to, the water would quickly yank him away.
"Hold on!" Snow barked and she and Silver broke into a sprint along the river side. They were fast, but the rapids were faster, dunking the floating pup under several threatening times. Neither she nor Silver had any clue on what they were going to do, or if there was even anything they could do. Silver's eyes darted around wildly, sifting through the rain that matted his head fur to find anything they could use. It was Snow who had come up with an idea first, snatching up a long branch that the wind had snapped off a nearby tree. Silver protectively followed her very closely as she made her way to the slippery edges of the bank. Snow had trouble balancing the end of the thick bit of wood in her mouth. Several times she felt like dropping it, especially when she began to graze the other end into the surface of the river out towards the pup.
"Grab on!" Silver barked.
When the pup came crashing towards the ledge, he let out a scared whimper, but nonetheless reached his fangs for the branch. He fastened them securely—for about ten seconds before a splash of river water came smacking down on top of him, pummeling him into the depths below. Snow recoiled. Her paws slid out of control and the branch had struck her cheek as it flipped out of her maw. She felt herself slipping; tumbling from the loss of traction from the wet grass and plummeting towards the cold water.
The splash never came. Instead, sharp pain jolted in her tail. Silver grunted, yanking Snow back up on her feet before nudging her side up with his head to prompt her to run again. The two of them panted, dashing side by side in a race against the rushing water. Silver's head bounced around in almost every direction. He could tell that Snow was having a hard time coming up with a second option as well out the corner of his eye. By now, the pup's struggling had become less vigorous. They had to come up with a plan fast.
Silver's ears eventually shot up like a bullet. His gaze had fallen far beyond the wet trails and manic-swaying shrubbery to a tree in the distance. The giant plant had already been rotting with age for the longest time and leaned over the water path like a looming shadow. Its base was severely splintered and looked as though it could fall at any time at the mercy of the elements. It was perfect.
"Follow me!" Silver's paws dug hard into the ground and he began to run at a full blown sprint. His midnight fur moved like a deep black blur through the heavy rainfall, but Snow had no problem keeping up with him. They had fallen well ahead of the pup who was so frantically trying to keep his head above water. Silver's momentum hadn't stopped until he found himself ramming his shoulder dead into the base of the tree he had targeted. The base shuddered, but failed to give way. He barked for Snow to assist him, and the two were repeatedly crashing and slamming into the old wooden giant. Loud thuds came in super reverbs when their shoulder-slamming came coupled with the thunder. The old tree wailed. Splinters flew in large chunks as it stubbornly refused to yield to either of the young wolves. Silver grunted and took a long step back. He could see the pup flailing helplessly closer and closer, and gauging just how fast he seemed to be moving towards them, they would soon be out of time. He closed his eyes; allowing his claws to dig into the ground; allowing his ears to shut off every unnecessary sound from the crash of thunder to the splashing rapids before him. He took a deep breath, commanding all his strength, and launched himself heavily into the old tree.
A loud, screeching snap tore through the air. The rotting wood cried as it crumbled under the weight of the wolves, crashing down across the river line to the other side like a bridge. Snow didn't waste time. She bolted up atop the tree and practically slipped off the side on blind faith. She was well rewarded when the sting to her tail returned from Silver snapping his fangs down onto it. The water splashed into her nose to the point where she felt she could've drowned by just being near it. Snow pushed her fur away from her face long enough to see the pup crashing her way. Relieved that he was even still moving, she reached her maw down as far as she could, fastening her fangs onto the nape of his neck. The pup sputtered, hacking water out of his lungs.
"'Ot 'im!" Snow exclaimed.
"P-peachy," Silver's maw trembled. It was one thing to just hold Snow up, and something completely different to have to do it while balancing on slick, wet wood. "Now tell him to 'urry up!"
"Can you climb up?" Snow asked the pup. He was tired. He was wet and looked like he had taken on a lot of water. But apparently, he was capable for he began to claw his way up Snow's body like some kind of step ladder. Silver felt Snow's tail inching from his maw. His tail gave an impatient twitch and his silver eyes bore down into the pup's, pressing him to hurry. It was a bad idea. The pup jumped and came springing up Snow's body and onto his maw. His foot struck Silver's nose, and he yelped from the sting of sharp claws striking his nostrils.
Splash!
Silver's mouth moved, but the taste of wet fur was gone. As a matter of fact, there was nothing in his mouth at all. A sickening feeling clung to his stomach and when he glanced back, it got even worse. Snow splashed her paws wildly, her head bobbing above the rushing river water that was continually smacking her around. Her body bounced into rocks, or large bits of floating driftwood, and when she tried to call out her best friend's name, she was suddenly dragged under.
"SNOW!" Silver didn't have to think. He threw himself out as far as he could, splashing down into the icy cold water hard. He immediately felt the current trying to overtake him. But no force of nature was about to make him fail, and he forced his powerful wolf legs to kick against the raging water towards his best friend. Snow coughed, hacking out large amounts of water only to be dragged under every other moment. Her legs pedaled hard, for each second spelled impending doom. Silver took in a large amount of water, but he didn't care. His body shot through the river like a sleek black bullet. Waves and debris slapped him from all around, threatening to overturn him, but everything about him—his thoughts, his feelings, his will—were focused solely on rescuing Snow.
He had been swimming so fast that Silver didn't realize how hard he had smacked into Snow until he heard her yelp in pain.
"Sorry!" He coughed and gripped his paws around her. Snow clung tight, nearly dragging him under. The two of them spiraled down the long, snaking river, and though he paddled his feet as hard as he could, Silver could feel the limits of his body being pushed. It was hard, so very hard to resist the urge to just stop moving. But he knew that if he did, then Snow would end up dead, and so prepared to spit in the eye of Mother Nature.
"S-Silver…" Snow called his name, but he didn't respond. Silver forced his body up towards a large slab of driftwood and did all he could to heave her on top. His tongue lulled out and his chest heaved heavy breaths, and he could do to keep from falling off himself dig his claws into the edges. Snow tried to pull him in, but exhaustion had taken its toll on her as well. Still, she refused to give up. "Just hang in there, Silver, and I'll—"
Snap!
Snow was suddenly taking in water again, realizing to her horror that the weak bit of wood had split under her weight. Silver sighed. So Mother Nature was prepared to spit back. Silver commanded his aching body underneath the river surface, moving beneath Snow's body so that she was ferrying his back. If she had protested, he didn't hear it. So long as she held on, all he cared about was sailing the rapids to her safety. He inched closer and closer to the banks, swearing under his breath whenever the water yanked him back outwards. The speed of the current was picking up. He knew what it meant and persisted to push harder through the wet. But he couldn't avoid looking back; looking to where the river edged over a steep cliff. Silver pleaded to himself in his head, the words "save Snow" religiously invading every command he made. But the river, coupled with the hard rain, was merciless. Silver felt himself being thrown off the edge. Snow screamed with what little voice she could muster, practically digging her claws into her best friend's side. The wind of the fall picked up in gale force, racking the two wolves with icy stings all over their bodies. Silver felt his strength slipping away, and the moment the two struck the surface, the whole word went blank.
Silver took a good look at himself. When he realized that he was seeing himself as a pup, he wasn't surprised. He had explored this particular single memory of his past many times before. There he sat, on the bank of a calm, sparkling lake surrounded by lush trees. The sparkling sunlight reflected diamonds off the surface and a few fish plopped in and out of the blue. An older wolf, worn with wisdom, sat next to him. Normally when he spoke, Silver couldn't make out a word he said.
"But that's not enough." The old wolf's voice—soft, but powerful—suddenly fragmented into Silver's ears. "Here, take this." As usual, Silver felt the press of the black beads the wolf had been skillfully stringing to his paw. He enclosed around them and gazed down. The old wolf's voice had become audible again. "Once you find someone special—someone you can't live without—give to her this gift from the heart…"