"Blue Wolf," I cried to the pond and to the sky. "Blue Wolf, please come. I need help. I need Lupus's help." I closed my eyes. Dew clung to my fur. I opened them slowly. There stood the Golden Gates, glistening in the Sun's rays, mist swirling around it like flies in the wind. The Blue Wolf emerged.
"Back again?" she asked. This time, even she seemed to have a tone of annoyance. "You know, Silver, you're not supposed to use the Land—and Us like a toy. You're only supposed to come in times of great guidance and when He calls for you to come or I come to get you." She shook her head.
"What do you mean?" I growled, forehead wrinkled in anger. "How is this not a time where I need guidance?" I broke down and began crying. The Blue Wolf came up to me and licked away my tears.
"If you have any questions to ask our Lord, you better tell Him them now. You can't come back. His orders," her eyes watered, full of pity. "He can't help you much more. Bane outsmarted him this time, I think," she woofed, "Though, I always thought that was— aw, what am I talking about? Lupus is our Lord, and Bane can't—c'mon, Silver, I'm probably boring you, I'm sorry, let's go." She cantered at a brisk pace through the Gates. I followed at her hocks. She stopped at the edge and nudged me forward, almost cowering from what was inside. The Land was different. The bright blue sky was now grey and hazy. As I looked to the right, I was startled to see Lupus. He seemed older, and more wasted then any Wolf I'd ever seen. I bowed swiftly and then looked into his dull eyes. They were a greyish white and seemed even worse than the sky.
"What happened, Lupus?" I asked, as if I were an old friend.
"Bane. He cheated. I don't know how," Lupus practically gasped.
"Aren't you immortal? You can't die, can you?" I questioned. "How did he cheat?"
"I'm immortal, Silver. I won't die. I can't die. But if this—illness?—gets any worse, I can't be fit… to be Leader, to put it simple." He sounded like an aged Wolf in its death den. "The longer you take to find a mate and have pups, the worse I'll get. If you have pups by next year, which is earliest, then I will heal. If not, Bone will be—in Command. I'll be Lord, Silver, but he'll take Charge. I won't die. Become blind, become immobile, maybe, but not die." He paused and coughed like he had an Arkhar hair in his throat. "Ask, Silver. Ask away. You can't come back after this. Understand?" I stood, staring. I moved my head, but no sound came out of my mouth.
"H—how will I know when I find the right male?" I inquired.
"Silver, Silver," He practically groaned. "If I tell you his color, Bane will send his servants who have the same color to you to fool you. If I tell you how he acts, Bane will send one of his servants who can act like that. But that's the best I can do. Just be careful. Like the situation with the Hunter, you will be able to tell, faintly, whether the Wolves you meet are fooling you or true." He looked at me, his eyes clouded. "His coat is a ghostly-white on the bottom with grey beginning at the tip of his tail, flowing across his back, and becoming darker towards his nose. He is kind, friendly. But he is also tough, strong, and willing to do anything that is for the better. I've told him about you, too," Lupus added with a slight grin. My heart skipped. The male's looking for me right now. No wrong can go on, now can it? I need to get back. "You can go," He said, motioning toward the door. I took a look back before slowly walking away. "Trust me."
I bounded on, following the border. Even when the rustle in the bushes was just a little creature and not the white and grey male, my hope didn't die. By night I had traveled a great distance and I was tuckered-out. Sleep overcame me as I closed my eyes.