100 Suns

Humphrey gazed out blankly over the valley that he called home, it seemed darker than he remembered. The color of the grassy fields and flowers had faded. The cliffs cast long deep shadows, the birds no longer sang and most of the caribou had left. The sky was as grey as steel and only small rays of sunlight made it through the clouds. It was a grim day for the pack, made even more so by the light drizzle that had begun to fall as Humphrey spied Hutch making his way up the cliffs."What are you doing up here?" Hutch panted as reached the top.

"I just wanted to be alone for a bit." Humphrey said flatly.

Hutch nodded. "Alright but it's time, they're about to start."

Humphrey was not looking forward to this, today was Connors funeral and moonlight vigil. It had been two days since his death and Humphrey was still reeling with shock. The whole pack was. Lexy had up in disappeared soon after she found out about her brothers fate. This was troubling for Humphrey and her pack mates because she had to be present at the funeral so the Rights of Passage ritual could be completed. If the rituals weren't done then Connor would not receive an honorable death and wouldn't be recognized as a warrior. It made no sense to Humphrey, but he wasn't all to worried about that though Connor would always be a warrior in his mind. Humphrey was just trying to deal with the felling of loss that was almost overwhelming him. One of his best friends was gone. He didn't know what it would be like to lose Lilly but if it happened this is what he thought it would feel like. It wasn't a good feeling at all. In the back of his mind Humphrey felt responsible in some way for his friends death.

"But I was only following orders, he wanted me to stay back." Humphrey whispered to himself.

"What'd you say?" Hutch asked giving Humphrey an odd look. Humphrey didn't realize Hutch was waiting for him.

"Nothing." The Omega replied quickly. "Let's get going before we're late."

"Hey I was the one waiting for you." Hutch complained.

The rain had begun to ease up by the time Hutch and Humphrey arrived at the funeral giving way to a bright fall day. The landscape was dripping with golden colors, the trees were ablaze with shades of red and yellow, fallen leaves carpeted the ground creating a beautiful mosaic... The beauty of it all on any other day would have been amazing but, a dark invisible shadow was cast over the valley. The memorial was being held by a creek that was fed by a small waterfall. A large rock stood beside the water, he guessed that was where Winston would be addressing the wolves. Humphrey broke off from Hutch and set off into the crowd in search of Lilly. He found her sitting beside a handsome looking brown and red wolf. Puzzled about who this new wolf was Humphrey tried to press forward, but was met with a solid wall of wolves. Humphrey decided that it wasn't worth the trouble and just found a spot to sit. He let his eyes wander, Humphrey was barely able to recognize any of the wolves that surrounded him. They weren't defiantly not from around here, all of them carried a scent that Humphrey had never smelt before. The throng of wolves fell silent as Winston rose up and cleared his throat.

"My fellow wolves we are gathered here today to honor the passing of Connor, a noble warrior and an honest friend. He was a model citizen of the pack, day in and day out he fought with a steely determination to protect our pack and he did this to the best of his abilities. Connor was always willing to help others and stick up for his friends. He was a bright and brilliant leader for the alpha's and omega's who looked up to him." He paused and let the audience soak up his words before continuing. " Even though he was taken from us in battle I'm sure Connor wouldn't have wanted it any other way. So let's us not dwell on our loss of a great wolf but rather remember all of his triumphs and accomplishments. Connor will be forever missed and always in our hearts and minds. This is where he is been buried, behind the majestic water fall that symbolizes grace and power two things Connor possessed great amounts of. Thank you." Winston finished. The rest of the funeral passed by in a blur until they reached the Rights of Passage ritual. Winston asked if Lexy could come up to the front but there was no reply, not even a movement in the crowd. Humphrey craned his neck to see him he could spot her but found nothing.

"Is there any other family with us today?" Winston asked into the group of wolves. Humphrey knew there would be no answer; Connor didn't have any other family than his sister. The Omega knew something had to be done. He stood up tall and made his way to the front. All eyes were on him as he climbed the rock to stand beside Winston.

"Humphrey what are you doing." Winston whispered angrily at him.

"Connor dosen't have any other family besides Lexy. I figure I'm the closest thing he's got to right now. I can do the Rights of Passage instead."

"Humphrey you do know what that means right? You're going to take on all of Connors responsibilities as an Alpha." Winston said in a hushed and hurried tone. "Do you want that?"

Humphrey let the question hang heavy in the air while he paused to think. Is this the right choice? Humphrey's voice echoed inside his head. Am I doing the right thing? He pushed aside these thoughts and took a deep breath.

"Yes I do, this is what Connor would want." Humphrey said firmly. Winston nodded slowly then turned to face the crowd.

"Then I hereby name Humphrey Connors successor, may he watch over him with vigilance." Winston announced. This was met with booing and shouts of protest.

"Humphrey can't be Connor's successor, he isn't an Alpha!" a unknown voice criticized. Other wolves shouted in agreement. Suddenly a blinding flash bloomed out from the waterfall and sent a shockwave across the whole valley. Wolves were knocked off their feet and flung high through the air. Everyone was stunned except for Humphrey, he stayed rooted to the spot as massive tendrils of pulsing light stretched put towards him from the waterfall. All of Humphrey's fur stood on end and his gazed was glazed over, the color of his eyes had faded to white. The crowd screamed as he was engulfed by the light and completely obscured from view. It only lasted a few seconds but to Humphrey it felt like a lifetime. His skin burned and glowed white hot, a searing pain throbbed in his head growing stronger and stronger until. . .It stopped and just as quickly as it appeared the light faded, leaving Humphrey laying on the ground, motionless.