Chapter 53

Epilogue 4

"Salvation"

Death finally came for me.

I expected it to snatch me in the cold taloned grip of a choke. We were fated adversaries after all. The very moment of my conception initiated the never ending fight for survival, but battle was rooted in the heart of all creatures. Over the years, our hatred for one another turned into rivalry and our fights found new focus in common enemies. No longer just allies, our trials turned us into trusted partners. We became a hunting pair and, inevitably, friends.

Death embraced me not with the dark clawed hands of the Great Shadow, but the strong compassionate arms of My Boy. Although, by then, he was no longer a boy at all, but a man. His Spirit had grown like the sun, filled with so much light that no matter how the world cut him, he split into a ray of focused beauty, illuminating everything he touched with color. It was no surprise I found my way to him and him to me, his faithful shadow. And it was that very darkness that overwhelmed him now.

He held me close to his chest and wept, afraid of what was to come. But that was alright. He could cry to me. It's what Mothers were made for. To take care of those under our watch. If only he knew what lay beyond the void, of the light that cast the shadow that created it. How beautiful it was. It filled my cloudy eyes with colors so rich and so pure, the great Ring Bears of old would have gone blind in their purity. It was perhaps why I could see them so clearly. I had long since lost my sight and hearing and stamina. The fur on my muzzle was white as light, masking my face anew with the reflection of the vision I saw.

All color bound into one. The fiery breath of the Spirit revealing itself in all so that every sight and smell and sense were connected, burning everything I thought I knew into a single understanding. I fell asleep in the Spirit, that warm gentleness, and Walked unlike anything I ever experienced before. I was back in the grasslands. I saw my pack. In past and present and future as the Spirit did. How the blood of my blood had, and always would, teach the ways of the Mighty Hena so that we would be ready to answer the call no matter the pack or tribe or territory. I saw Mato leading the grasslands, running with the others on a hunt, happy and steadfast with eyes determined to seek only the best.

The pups were grown. Generations come and gone. New names, old marks, yet one in the same body and Spirit. Omega was away on a mission given by the council at Castle Rock. He had more feathers twisted in his mane. Catori Soft Song and Mahakah Dust Eater were with him. Lakota Long Tail and my War Pup, Okatie, too. Many new friends from many different species assisted them on their journey, but the Mighty Hena had always remained one in many, so it was easy to acclimate. The New Lands of the East pressed up against the riverlands and the grasslands. Balance shifted, but remained sustained. The Pack of the Forest held fast. The Wanderers and lesser packs filled the spaces in between. Pups and young ones. Old souls and rebellious youth. In the day. Under the moonlight. Howling and playing and pushing even the wild to its limits.

But they were not the only ones.

I saw My Man reclining on a blanket in the back of his jeep, staring up at the stars above the grasslands. Scout jumped up into the bed with him, although she was no longer called so, and laid down beside Her Man, resting her head on his chest while he stroked her mane. I followed the light of the heavens they watched into the sky where I flew with the Sky Tails on winds I never knew existed. I ran with the herd, both bulls and ponies, feeling the thunderous roar of their hooves and flames. I cooled on the muddy banks of the Yawning River and splashed Brother with his Mud Kin in tow. My Cub still took to screaming, even when formally crowned king. Now all could hear his roar, especially when he wrestled with Mighty Hena and battled bears in the ring.

Carried away on the currents of life, I was together, everywhere, all at once, regardless of time or place, season or species. And there, waiting for me was Father. I finally caught up to the sun. There was no need to look back at all that I left behind because they were all with me, and I, with them. One in the same Spirit. Even now, at the very end, it taught me a great and mighty lesson. Death was every creatures' companion.

And now, I could be Mother to all.

END

Reference

See Fanfic – Heart of the Trainer: Champion