Chapter 4: Forest of Death.
Darcia awoke early. It was still dawn. The way it still kind of looked dark.
He looked around, remembering Star, but... She wasn't there.
Just him, and the now dying fire.
' maybe she decided to go on her own now.' Darcia thought.
He didn't really care if she HAD gone by herself.
Just one less thing he had to worry about.
But... What if she was in danger, or became endangered when she was on her journey... Oh, why did he care... He did care.
Darcia argued in his mind.
His 'good' side took over, and he stood in his wolf form.
" Only one way to know where a member of your pack is." Darcia said as he walked to the edge and looked out where they were heading.
Darcia took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
When he was ready, he reopened his eyes, lifted his head in the air, and let out his own strong, spine tingling howl. Out into the open.
His howl lasted quite a while, and when he stopped, he waited and listened.
No answer.
Panic began to fill Darcia.
He growled lightly at his feelings, but he took off in a sprint down the mountain.
When he reached the bottom, he was in another forest.
" Star!" Darcia called.
He looked around worriedly.
" Darcia, are you ok?"
Darcia saw the white wolf coming out of the shadows.
" What were you doing?" Darcia asked a little sharply, as if striking his daughter.
Star cowered down at his sharp tone, " I... Was just hunting."
" oh," Darcia said softer this time, a little relieved.
" Sorry for... Worrying you." Star said, still cowered down.
Darcia looked down at her. Did she really get scared that easily? Maybe it was her instincts to be afraid, she HAD indeed been an orphan since she was a pup.
" I'm sorry for snapping." Darcia said.
" No, you had every right to be mad at me, I... Should have awoken you first." Star said, looking down at the ground.
" uh, just don't go again by yourself ok? Danger lurks everywhere in these woods, stay close." Darcia said as he turned and walked into the forest.
Star slowly stood and followed after him.
" Are you going to hunt?" Star asked.
Here she went again with the questions...
" no, I'll do it later." Darcia said.
He could smell something familiar, there was something about this forest.
He couldn't quite put a claw on it.
" Are you sure? I mean, I could..."
" Shh." Darcia hushed her, as he came to a halt. His ears pointed up sharply. They were raised as high as could go, and he listened.
" I-I don't like this forest." Star said shakily as she crouched close to Darcia.
He looked down at her, she really was a frightened young wolf, probably even scared of her own shadow, he felt for her.
" It's ok, stay close and everything will be ok." Darcia said and continued walking.
Star was next to him, her length meeting up at his shouler.
A sound of flapping wings echoed through the forest.
Star jumped, shaking to death.
" Where are we?" Star whimpered.
Darcia had stopped when she did, and he took a couple steps foward before stopping, scanning the area.
" We are in the forest of death." Darcia said.
" D-d-d- Death!" Star shook out.
" We must keep going, stay close to me." Darcia said and began walking again.
Pretty soon, he felt a shivering soft body against his fur.
Star was THAT scared.
They entered a blinding dark area.
" Star." Darcia said calmly.
" Yeah?" Star shook out.
" Take my hand, we must stick together." Darcia said.
" Where are you, I can't... AH!" Star screamed as the sound of ground crumbing.
Darcia looked at the direction Star's scream came.
" Star!" He shouted, as he ran, his paw went down on thin air, and he stopped, stepping back.
Star's scream was becoming lighter and lighter as she fell, then suddenly stopped.
Darcia looked down at the hole she fell from.
" Hoo! Look out, it is a very long fall, Hoo! Here her call." A voice came behind Darcia.
He turned, seeing an owl perched on a branch.
" What is it you want!" Darcia growled.
The owl stretched it's wings and flapped them, going in the air above Darcia.
" HOO!" The owls' call echoed as his wings curved, and he flew downwards straight in the hole.
Darcia was worried, was this owl carniverous? Did it eat things bigger than itself?
Star HAD to have survived the fall, she HAD to.
With his emotions concentrated on Star, he leapt up and let himself dive downward in to the hold, just like the owl.
He caught the sight of limbs.
He moved over and landed on one of them, and as he saw, there were tree limbs all the way down left to right like a ladder.
" Star!" Darcia shouted and waiting for a reply.
No answer.
He jumped to another limb, and finally, even though it was still a long way down, he saw a whitew olf laying unconsciously on her side. One the flat ground.
" Star!" Darcia shouted again and waited.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Star's eyes slowly opened.
" Star!" A familiar voice shouted.
Her vision was blurry.
She blinked.
Her vision cleared a little, and with her weak sight, she saw a black figure a couple feet above her, standing on a branch.
" Star?" Darcia called.
She was tired and sore, but she HAD to answer.
" Darcia." Star whispered weakly, that was as high as her voice would go.
" Star!" Darcia shouted back half relieved half concerned, and he leapt down the rest of the branches and ran up to her.
She blinked and looked at him.
" Are you ok?" Darcia asked, lowering his face to hers.
Blood was on her fur, and her left front paw was shaking.
" Darcia, am I... Going to... Die?" Star whispered.
" No. You will not. Don't even say such things!" Darcia growled baring his teeth.
" My.. Chest hurts." Star cried silently.
" Hoo! What will she do? Hoo will help her?" The owl phrased.
Darcia growled more and faced the owl.
" Hoo! They come! They come in numbers!" The owl said, as he flapped his wings and took off into a different direction.
At that moment, Darcia heard something moving, when he looked back down at Star, he saw she had closed her eyes going back into unconsciousness, he also noticed a rolly polly type bug coming towards her.
Darcia growled and snatched up the bug, crushing it with his sharp teeth.
It squeaked in the process, and soon, thousands were coming.
Darcia barred his teeth as he stood over the unconscious wolf, he had to protect her!
Two bugs charged at once, and Darcia jumped in the air, killing the first one, and came hurried back to kill the other one, who was starting to feed off Star.
When he got it off, small droplets of blodd began turning the side of her furry face red.
The thousands of bugs began closing in on them.
" Hoo! Lead them to the light, Hoo! Flee the fight!" The owl circled Darcia's head.
He snapped at it, trying to catch it, but the owl lifted higher in the air, and flew off the direction he came from.
There, he saw a light, the outside.
Whenever he could get out of the stupid forest of death, he could easily outrun the bugs.
Darcia lowered his head, gently setting his fangs in the nape of Star's neck, picking her up slowly and carefully.
" hmm." Star whimpered still having her eyes closed.
Darcia slowly and carfully set Star on his back.
" D-Darcia?" Star whispered.
" hold on Star. I'm getting us out of here." Darcia said.
" mmhm." She muttered in understanding, and she relaxed her head at the top of his neck.
By now, there would have only been enough room for Darcia to stand.
The bugs buried the place.
Darcia turned to the direction of the exit, lowered his hind legs, and leapt over the bugs.
He landed on the ground again, but the bugs behind him, were only inches from his back paws.
They turned their attention on hi and immediately crawled for him.
He took off in a sprint, and all too soon, did another lunge out the exit.
A couple bugs followed him, but the rest stayed as if there was a barrier to keep them back.
When Darcia landed again, he continued running, Star's head had dropped from his neck, and was now leaning off the side of his body.
He turned his head and set her head back on his neck, and continued running.
Suddenly, something bit into Darcia's fur at his belly.
He yelped, but kept going, the bug attached.
Finally, he found a cave and went in.
He slowly let Star slide off his back, and onto the ground.
Then he tended to the bug.
He easily took it off and killed it, but a deep gash remained on his side.
He licked it softly a couple times before limping over to Star.
He laid a couple inches away from her, and fell asleep.