Chapter 1

Smoke and fire. There was no clear blue sky. There was no escape from the wall of fire all around the area. Trees fell like dead timbers. Their leaves rustling with agony before bursting aflame. Grasses wailed, as a sea of fiery blaze that left nothing alive behind smothered them. Wind was not cold anymore; rather, it was searing with heat, intense heat, enough to roast animals alive, enough to destroy life itself. The forest was burning. The land was crying. Red-hot embers were like a swarm of invading soldiers. They marched across the mountains with a cloud of black ashes enveloping the heaven from behind. Debris dropped like stones as the firestorm continued to grow bigger and stronger. The only safe area was near the riverside but there, already a crowd of animals were growling and howling. There was not enough space to fit one more victim that was trying so hard to get to safety. Some could not swim. Others were trapped in the water. On the other side of the river was yet another inferno that was threatening to devour any living being that dared to venture close to its roaring bright yellowish body of death. An afternoon sky was forced to turn into night. The only difference between a normal, serene night and a night of chaos was the dark orange blanket that glowed in the semi-darkness.

A wolf pack growled as they were driven away from their home. The holes were first suffocated with acidic gray smoke before tongues of the flames licked out from within. A baby wolf yelped when the fire lashed at his tiny little tail. His eyes were wide. His mind was filled with terror. The Alpha Wolf howled loudly, signaling others to follow him. They made their ways through the fallen trunks that were blackened by the conflagration. A trail of paw prints could be seen only for a second before blistering air currents distorted the images indefinitely. The young wolf trotted closely beside his mother. He dared not taking his eyes away from her, lest he lost the pack and be strangled in the mingling darkness. He couldn't see clearly. The smog was too thick. His ears could not detect any other sounds other than the roars from the blazes that were catching up to them. It was life or death. He knew well in his mind. Yet, he was having a hard time keeping up with the pace that his pack was setting. He tripped a few times here and there by the broken branches that had littered around the forest ground. He was coughing and sneezing and messing up his strides; all of this was due to the raven-colored cinders gathered upon the ground. Slowly, he realized that his mother was too far away. He cried out in distress, hoping that his family members would stop and wait for him. Yet, with all the devastations around them, none of the wolves wanted to pay any attention to a little crybaby.

Further and further grew the distance between his pack and himself. Soon, they vanished within the pallid fog of forest residues. He was alone. He was petrified. He was lost. He dashed toward the spot where his mother was last seen. Nothing was there. He tried using his tiny black nose to detect his mother's scent but all he got was a wave of sour smell. It stunted his nostrils as he sneezed once more. His little paws stamped the ground nervously, as his tail was limp without strength. He was tired and hungry. Sun had already set and he didn't even know. The fire had slowed down its swiftness when temperature gradually dropped with the oncoming nighttime. Not that it made a difference; the place was still unbelievably hot. Even though his furs had not been developed fully, he was starting to feel the perspiration breaking out from his skin. He whined a little before seeing a large boulder with a big enough hole underneath to fit him. Without thinking, he leaped toward it and hid himself from the world throughout the entire ordeal. He wanted to get to the riverside because he knew that was where his pack was heading; but with his energy running low, he felt sleepy. His stomach protested loudly and he didn't have any food to fill it up.

Drowsiness swept over him and he didn't care much anymore. Darkness took him as he dozed off while other animals were shrieking and running away. The crackling sound of the fire never woke him once. He only dreamed of his mother. The way, in which she cleaned him with soft, pink tongue. The way in which she would let him snuggle close to her belly every night. The way in which she protected him from predators and dangers. He dreamed of how she caught food for him. Her light brownish furs wavering in the light temperate morning breeze. A fine mist coated her and she shone like a thousand stars whenever sunlight bathed upon her.

He felt empty and cold. His life was shattered.

OOOOOO

With a loud yawn, he stretched a little before walking out of his new home: a small hole with some bushes covering the entrance. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but at least it was home. It took him two years to learn how to dig a hole good enough to prevent any cave-ins and an additional year to learn how to catch wild birds and rabbits that were striving to stay alive in the forest. The last time that he remembered the retreating figure of his mother was a long time ago. It was luck that had let him survived the inferno that had killed so many other animals. What was the exact cause of such destruction, he did not know. All he remembered now was how he fought for his survival the day that he started exploring the unfamiliar territories. He had never gone beyond the area where his pack had made all the marks previously. He had no choice. There was nothing left behind except barren lands with smoking rocks. He was vulnerable to other predators, with some actually tried attacking him. Cougars lingered around, feasting on the remains of the dead animal carcasses. He could never forget the cold gazes from the massive cats. The stare was so terrorizing that he felt his blood starting to freeze up. His thin, short legs began to shiver. His semi-developed furs became stiff. What could he do? Nothing, except watching the saliva of the large enemy dripping onto the ground that was covered with fallen leaves. The shape of the fangs was shockingly long. He imagined what it would be like to be eaten alive. Would he feel pain as his muscles were torn up piece by piece?

The lone wolf shook his head and gazed out into the foggy land. He vowed to himself that he would never be foolish enough to enter the cougar realm ever again. He understood now what those marks on the tree trunks meant. Razor claws, serving as a warning sign to others nearby to watch out for their backs, stripped off the ancient barks forcefully. He remembered how he started running when the three giant cats raced after him for his flesh and blood. He cried for help but no answer came. Three adult cougars ganging up on one wolf offspring, where was the justice of that? He was fortunate that there was a log draping across the gap of the cliff walls that were in front of him. It could hold his weight but it could never handle three two hundred pound cougars. And the predators were smart enough not to follow him, as he leaped onto the slippery tree stem that was covered in mosses with relative ease. He didn't dare looking back. He didn't want to. Running away was the best choice. Running away was the only way to guarantee his safety. He shot through the shrubs and saplings while dodging overhanging vines that were sprouting spikes all around them. He didn't stop until he could find a hole between several colossal tree roots. His bony chest heaved in and out and his heart was beating rapidly. Was he safe? He was pretty sure he outran the enemy.

The first night alone was disgusting. Rain poured down like there was no end to it and his so-called "shelter" was nothing more but a mere "hole" created by the roots of the pine trees, with spacing so big that they served absolutely no purposes at all. He shivered in coldness as the wind started to pick up. Small streams of brownish water constantly poured into his little house, mixed with mud and other insects. He curled up into a ball and closed his eyes tightly together. How was he going to live from now on, by himself?

Bringing his thoughts back into reality, he marched toward the place where he found those rabbit prints a day ago. He was pretty good at hunting over the past year or so. The first time that he caught a wild rabbit was a complete surprise even for him. The prey was sprinting to the left all of a sudden that he didn't have the chance to follow. He ended up smashing his head against a medium sized rock while going uphill, which rolled down on the other side and landed upon his catch. He earned himself a meal and a large bump on his head. He tried using his tongue to lick the wound, but it was impossible, even for a mature wolf. Regardless of the pain, he was happy and content. His stomach was filled up quickly because he was still so small in physique.

A bird chirped above him as he looked up. Old memories were hard to fade, especially the painful ones. Sun was trying to shine through the dense floating vapors that were in hues of blue, but it could only emit a faint glow of white. It was going to take at least half of the day to clear up everything. For three years, he learned how to live on his own without the dependence of his pack. He also gave up the search for his family. Why bother? They deserted him in the first place during that forest fire incident. He had wasted a month or so just traveling around the mountains, trying to pick up the well-known scent of his pack. Yet, it was futile. They were long gone. They could have died already.

He whined a little before sitting down beneath a giant evergreen. He called it, "Ancient", just for the fact that the tree looked fairly old and thick. Licking his short, light silver furs a little, he shivered. The ground was wet from the abundant morning mist and the copious mosses weren't helping at all. In fact, all they did is retaining the moisture more effectively than the soggy forest floor. His dark brownish eyes scanned around the woods. His ears flickered a little, trying to capture all the miniscule sounds that were created by the inhabitants of this jungle. It should be mid-morning by now. He was getting hungry. Although, he wasn't sure where the rabbit had gone. The footprints were erased by a fallen branch that had stirred up quite a bit soil upon impact. He should have caught his food when he had the chance. He knew it was too late. A tiny water droplet dripped onto his head and he shook it off instinctively. His paws were matted with dirt and he was not happy with that. The feeling was uncomfortable and it made him felt unclean. After a few minutes of contemplation, he decided to take a dip in the river in the afternoon.

A twig snapped at his right and he immediately stood up. Was it an enemy? He tried hard not to shake in fear but he was all alone. He could never get used to the sensation of roaming around the forest without any guidance. He fought the urge of running away as he stood his ground. If he was going to survive on his own, he had to learn not to be afraid. A moment later, a reddish wolf offspring leaped out of the brushes with leaves coating his body. The young one jumped around a few times to get rid of the debris before stopped in front of the lone wolf.

"Hiyah!" the unexpected guest said happily with enthusiasm.

The lone wolf rolled his eyes before sitting back down on his spot. It was the friend that he had made a week ago. The strangely colored one glowed like a fiery fire. He was near drowning before the deserted one dove in and helped the struggling red wolf onto the shore. They huddled together for warmth for a while within the faint afternoon sun, until the red one's pack came and picked him up. Ever since that day, they met each other frequently and played around a few times. Although, the adults of the red wolf pack weren't happy at the aspect of a foreign wolf mixing in with their clan. What was his name again? Shadow? The irony to that was the fact that Shadow's crimson pelt wasn't exactly "dark". If Shadow were in the middle of a verdant jungle, he would be the first target to be attacked. It was that obvious color.

"Hey, Myth. Why are you lying there? Aren't you supposed to be hunting?" Shadow crawled up close to his buddy and pushed against the bigger Myth.

The lone wolf brushed off the question with a wave of his short tail. How he had gotten the name, "Myth", was beyond him. His mother never told him what his name was. He assumed it was because of his secret background, one he was not able to tell Shadow, that had made him have the title of "Myth", as in "mist"; a fog-like entity full of obscurity and mystery. With the two of them sitting side by side, it was evident that he was larger than Shadow in body size. Of course. He was slightly older than his friend.

"I lost the footprints left by the rabbits," he replied softly. Sticking out his short little tongue, he tasted the air. It tasted nasty. "I should have gone further and find out where the nest was last night, but I got lazy. Now, I don't have any food."

Shadow lifted his head a little and nudged his buddy. "Aw, come on. It's not that bad. Hey, you know, I can share my food with you."

Upon hearing the proposal, Myth's expression changed dramatically. "Are you sure? You won't mind sharing your catch with me?" Hearing his pal was so generous he expressed nothing but joy. Although he settled down immediately and his happy mood disappeared. "I'm not sure your parents would like that idea though. Wolf packs don't mix with each other and your family, as well as your relatives, aren't exactly happy at seeing me."

"Who said that you have to eat in front of my parents?" Shadow laughed. "The forest is a big, wild place. You can eat anywhere you want. Besides, you saved my life. So I don't see what the problem is."

"That was also luck. You were lucky that I was nearby. I mean, how can you fall into a river? Didn't your mother ever tell you don't get too close to the river banks?"

Shadow whimpered a little. "There was an oddly-looking mushroom that I wanted to see up close. How would I know that the surface was too slippery for me?" He then grinned. "At least you saved me, so that's that."

"Yeah, after you bit my tail-"

"That was an accident!" the red wolf exclaimed innocently. "I was panicking. You can't blame me for that...."

"And clawed my back several times," Myth reminded his friend. "Did you know how painful that was? I still have the marks! You can check them yourself if you don't believe me."

"Okay, so I forgot to retract my claws. Come on, man! You are not going to get angry over a few scratches and bruises!"

"And nearly bumped me off the river side and into the water when you got to the shore first. I was lucky that I'm heavier than you. Otherwise, I would have died!" the lone wolf snarled teasingly. He then became sober. "Shadow, you have to stop being so senseless. The world is a terrifying place. Look at me for an example. I have nothing, basically. My family deserted me and I can hardly catch my own meals everyday. You have your parents protecting you. Me? I have no one. Life is not a game."

"Yeah... but I'm still young. I know nothing about the adult world."

They both fell silence for a few minutes. The forest had never been so peaceful, so full of tenderness. Even the shadows around the scary-looking corners of the terrains around them were retreating, as the sun was burning off the heavy fog gradually. A few bird species landed upon the grassy land in front of them and some picked at the soil for worms to feast on. A gentle breeze blew through the woods, sending a slight shiver down Myth's back. He laid his head on his forepaws and closed his eyes for a few minutes, savoring the comfort of the warm sunlight shining on him and his buddy. The red wolf glanced left and right eagerly. Unable to stay in one spot, he at long last stood up and chased after a fleeting butterfly that was dyed in light orange color with alien blue blotches on its wings. With the noise created by Shadow, Myth reopened his eyes and heaved out a deep breath. His mouth tasted funny. A bit bitter and a bit sour. Too hungry, perhaps? He thought so. He wanted to ask Shadow if they could eat now but he knew it would not be polite to do so. After all, that was not his food but his friend's.

The tiny red wolf found a small hole along the monstrous pine roots and stuck one of his paws into it. A minute later, he yelped loudly when a ground squirrel bit down on his flesh angrily. He growled and tried to dig himself a bigger hole to seek revenge. Myth smiled with his eyes semi-opened. Shadow reminded him of himself when he was at such a young age. His mother would sit on the side, watching him played with whatever he could find. From earthworms to insects to small rats, he amused himself for hours. He would play forever until his mother told him to settle down because food was ready. Body reeked of sweaty smell; his mother would bring him to the riverside for a quick bath first by lightly biting at the skin on his back and lifting him up. He never loved bathing. The water would always be freezing cold and he hated getting wet. Several times, he would try sneaking away when his mother wasn't watching him. Of course, he didn't get far before the Alpha Wolf crossed his path and hit him with a sharp swing of the thick, powerful tail.

"Hey, Myth! What are you thinking? You are dozing off, man. It's only early morning too!" His buddy jumped onto him and bounced up and down merrily. "Come on. Let's go eat!"

With a loud yawn, he stretched his body a little before getting up onto his four paws lazily. Nodding, he said: "lead the way."

A giant clearing could be seen after a few minutes of running in the forest. The trees were fitted so close together that they formed a natural fence of which no animals bigger than them could get in. Bears and the likes could only scratch at the barks outside but they could never bring down one of these magnificent cedars. In the center, a carpet of soft, clean mosses of light green could be seen. Sunrays rained down from the opening above, casting a golden glow to the area. It was as if the clearing was a holy place, a haven for one to purify his soul. Some oddly looking flowers were sprouting nearby along the ground and Myth could see two big boulders of granite-like materials placed in the middle of everything. In front of the stones, a freshly killed boar was visible. It was still dripping blood and no flies had assaulted the tender meat yet. Just by looking at the food had made Myth extremely hungry. Before Shadow could introduce the area that they were now racing toward to, Myth increased his pace tenfold and leaped through the air. He landed upon the meal with great force, stirring up fallen leaves of brown, yellow, and verdant green before he started gnawing at the victual.

"Hey!" Shadow yelled with irritation as he chased after his pal. "Wait up! That's my food too!"

Both of them struggled to eat faster than the other. They pushed and snarled at one another as pieces of flesh of the boar were torn off savagely. Myth didn't lick his mouth or his fangs at all before there was nothing left but skeleton of the victim. He sighed a relief before he started cleaning himself up. Shadow sat beside Myth and did the same. After a moment of resting, they both laughed.

"Hey, Shadow. There's a strand of boar fur stuck onto your nose."

"Better than a boar claw sticking out of your mouth."

"Where did you get the meat anyway?"

The red wolf said happily: "My Mom killed it for me. She's actually quite fond of you, you know? And she knows that you are uncomfortable eating with my clan members, so she placed this boar here for both of us to enjoy."

Myth then jumped onto the slab of rock and lied there. "By the way, what is this place?" he asked while feeling the smooth surface of his temporary bed. The sun had warmed it up to a temperature that he liked the most. He then realized that he was tired.

Shadow wagged his tail a little before he answered: "I was trying to tell you, before you raced off trying to hog the food all to yourself, that this is a gathering place for my clan." When he saw the nervous look of his buddy, he grinned and said: "Don't worry. They won't be here until late afternoon. They are a lazy bunch and their meetings normally are held late at night. But today's a special day. It's a celebration of our God, Temonra. What you see here is actually the place where a giant beam of light landed upon this very spot a long, long time ago. The stone that you are sitting on is one of the many fragments found along this region. What I've heard from my grandfather is that these rocks possess some magical auras. Of course, I never believe them."

"God? Auras?" Myth was baffled completely. He had never heard such a tedious tale from his mother when he was very young. "What do you mean by that?"

The red wolf answered: "I have no idea. Something about spirits and stuff like that. My grandfather believes that all things in this world are alive. They breathe like you and I. They live like you and I. The only difference is that they cannot think on their own and we can."

"Until your parents tell you to go to sleep and so on," the lone wolf interrupted. "That's when your ability to choose and make decisions are taken away from you."

"Exactly," Shadow said with a bit of annoyance. He remembered how his parents would growl at him if he didn't stop running around. He used to be exploring the surrounding area when it was late at night. 'It's dangerous', they would say. He never trusted the fact that the forest was dangerous. In fact, he had never seen a predator before. Even so, the way in which Myth had told him about the cruelty of the world had really made him thought about the actual threats that had hidden away from his senses. "Sometimes, I just wish my parents would stop treating me like a kid. I thought we were supposed to become independent! You know? But they cuddled me too much. I can't really do anything at all with them around. Like there's this one time, my Mom yelled at me for chasing after skunks and I...."

Myth became silent as he listened on. Somehow, some way, something had tripped his logic senses. He felt an emotion that he had never felt before starting to emerge. It was so intense that he didn't know how to describe it. Burning? Melting? Something along the line of confusion and rage. He tried to restrain his feelings from exploding outward. He knew that the force of the blow would hurt Shadow. Yet, as he continued to listen to how his friend had complained regarding parents and family, he became more and more furious. Soon, his mind filled with nothing except one thought: "Shadow was an ungrateful bastard". His claws extended and they sliced lightly across the stone that he was sitting on. Fine white powder gathered along the slender claw marks, which, flew away when a warm breeze appeared. His furs were straight with intensity. His eyes were burning, fueling the uncomfortable mood that was swelling in his young, untainted mind. He wanted to stop hating but he couldn't. He was both envious and angry at Shadow. The dumb kid had a family and he had no idea how important it was. The stupid kid had no idea how painful it was to live alone, enduring the harshness of wilderness without anyone to comfort and to care for you.

Shadow must had noticed the furious expression displayed on Myth's face and he immediately stopped. His friend looked as if he was going to attack.

"Um.... Myth? Are you okay?" Shadow asked timidly. He wasn't sure if he should be staying around anymore. The bloodshot eyes of Myth sent a series of cold shiver down his spine. "Did I say something wrong?"

Straining to control his rage, Myth closed his eyes and tried not to bare his fangs at the red wolf. With voice trembling, he said softly: "Your parents, your family, are the only thing keeping you alive.... Who are you to say how they are controlling you or how they are scolding you? Have you ever thought about how I feel when you started whining about your family members? Have you ever considered my situation and the days that I have to suffer all these years? Day after day for the first few months, I've traveled within different regions of the mountains of which I did not recognize, trying to find my mother. Day after day I had to flee for my life whenever predators attacked. Day after day the weather was brutal and heartless. I fell, I got hurt, I got chased, and I shivered.... The nights were not of relief as the bitter wind blew through the only crude shelter that I could find between tree roots. I got insects flying around me, biting me, sucking on my blood.... But did I complain? Yes. I did and for good reasons; not for crying about how Mom and Dad forced me to go to sleep, but for the fact that I was deserted by my own family members who didn't care about me at all!" He then glared at Shadow and snarled. "Who are you to say you dislike your parents? They cared about you! They wanted to give you the best for you! Could you have done the same thing as I have done? Would you be able to survive in the wild when darkness is the only thing that you can see?"

Shadow was stunned. He stood there like a statue as his little legs shivered like the branches that struggled so hard to resist the powerful gusts of wind in a storm. He gazed left and right nervously while the big lone wolf of silver stared coldly at him. He was just telling how he felt and how his parents were treating him that was it. Why was Myth so enraged? Had he really said something that he shouldn't have said? But.... He didn't know anything! Myth never told him what had happened when Myth was still very young. Shadow wanted to say something but he couldn't. Words were stuck in his mouth like cements. His tongue was tied up. His ears were draping down the sides of his head all the while to have his short tail tucked nicely between his hind legs with fear.

"I'm sorry, Myth. I... I didn't think.... I should have considered about your feelings first...." Shadow whimpered loudly as he retreated further. This was the first time he saw the other side of his pal. A dark side. A murderous side of Myth's personality. He wanted to run away and find his parents but he couldn't. Something was stopping him from deserting his friend, a friend that had once saved his life. "I'm sorry. Really. I'm sorry, Myth."

Without saying another word, the silver one leaped down from his resting spot and stood in front of his friend. "Thanks for the food. I'll pay you back next time. Bye."

Before Shadow could halt him, he ran off instantly without looking back. The only things left were the puzzlement and the frightening experience that the red one had felt for the first time in his life.

End Chapter 1