OK, I've decided to do a midequal (sp?) to one of my stories, "The First Iphio." This chronicles the loner days of Kuvageegai, the first Iphio of Enigami.

Disclaimer: I own Kuvageegai, the Sangria River Pack, and of course, Enigami.

Update 9-17-08: Improved this a little. No criticizing, please.

The moon shone brightly in the sky in the land of Enigami that evening, casting shadows on the ground. Owls flew overhead, their bright orange eyes searching the ground for prey. Foxes dashed through bushes, the white tips of their orange tails flashing. In the distance, wolves howled as they began their evening hunts. Plodding silently on his hind legs was a strange, goldenrod wolf by the name of Kuvageegai.

His pelt was goldenrod, but his stomach and the underside of his tail was jade green. His hind feet from the hock down were deep peach. His ankles, arms, and face were painted with royal blue markings (along with his stomach, which bore a royal blue "K" upon it) and his vermillion eyes flashed with anger as his electric purple claws dug into the elk meat he was holding in his forearms. His ears were pricked forwards, listening for any suspicious sounds.

"So, that wolf Digger says I'm an Iphio, which means 'strange beast' in the wolves' language," Kuvageegai mumbled under his breath. "He says I'm not a wolf, but instead an Iphio. If he says this, then so it shall be. I now realize what I truly am. Not a wolf; just an Iphio. A strange beast." With his teeth, the year-old Kuvageegai tore a piece of the meat and swallowed it. Hunger was returning to him again, even though he'd eaten an elk earlier that evening. The goldenrod Iphio halted and sat down on the ground, placing his meat in front of him and began to ponder about how far in his life he was.

Kuvageegai was born to the alphas of the Sangria River Pack, the last-born in a litter of nine. His siblings were known as Arid, Buttercup, Snowflake, Racer, Sumac, Hummingbird, Wind, and Terra. Of the eight siblings he had, Arid, Sumac, and Wind were deceased. Before the yearling went on his first hunt, life was good in his birth pack. He played and explored with his siblings, the adults in the pack fed him, he was watched by his older sister Skye, and he was filled with peace.

However, when Kuvageegai and his brothers and sisters were called on for their very first hunt, everything was slowly beginning to go downhill for him. The pups' first hunt failed, mainly caused by the former Sangria omega, Grasshopper. Then, the three pups Arid, Sumac, and Wind got sick and passed away. Soon, one of the yearling's brothers Basil was wounded in a hunt, which was followed by Grasshopper mutinying and being cast out by the Sangria River Pack's alpha male, Swagger, who was also the father of Kuvageegai.

Sometime after the banishment of the omega, Kuvageegai's mother, Cloudberry, announced that she was pregnant with her third litter. Everyone in the pack was thrilled, especially Kuvageegai and his siblings because after their soon-to-be born younger siblings were born, they would no longer be the youngest in the pack anymore.

But the joy was short-lived.

On that March evening, Cloudberry had six pups. Out of the six, only two survived and were named Kita and Thunder. The rest of the pack was filled with grief, and to their surprise, Kuvageegai assured them that the stillborns were actually destined to be born somewhere else.

But all of a sudden, Swagger confronted Kuvageegai and blamed the deaths of the four pups on the goldenrod yearling himself. Then, the wolf banished him from the Sangria River Pack. He'd also told him that if he wasn't out of the pack's territory by morning, Swagger would take Basil and Cutter and the beta male Nile and hunt him down. Terrified, the yearling had fled.

After several days of wandering about, the goldenrod yearling decided that he would go and search for a pack that'd accept him. The first wolf pack he came across startled him because they'd killed a stray wolf that'd entered their territory. The second pack, the Raven wolves, had insulted him and when he'd attacked their alpha, Digger, they'd ordered him to leave. And earlier in the night, Kuvageegai snuck into the Raven wolves' territory, killed an elk and dined upon it, and as he was hiding behind an oak tree, he'd heard Digger speak the word Iphio, and the yearling knew that the wolf was giving his breed a name. Iphio. The strange beast. The name would stick for the rest of his life.

"I hope Father is glad I'm gone," Kuvageegai muttered to himself, his teeth already setting into the elk meat. "He probably won't care about me. Since he has another two pups, I'm sure that he's busy helping Mother raise them."

He stopped eating for a moment and thought back to his remaining brothers and sisters. Buttercup, Snowflake, Racer, Hummingbird, and Terra were sad to see him go, along with his two-year-older siblings Basil, Cutter, and Skye. Nile and Wildflower, the beta female of the Sangrias, were also sad as well. Apparently, it was Wildflower who'd warned the yearling to flee and not let his father catch him. And Kuvageegai had taken her advice well. Perhaps a little too well.

Now, here he was, stuck out in the middle of nowhere, probably many miles away from his original homeland, and soon, it wouldn't be long before word spread about a strange, golden wolf.

Finishing up his meal and licking his chops, Kuvageegai pondered on what would happen when other wolf packs became aware of his presence. They'd probably snarl and chase him. They'd probably insult him. Or worse, they'd probably kill him. Kuvageegai couldn't help but shudder at the very thought of being killed.

Stepping away from where the remnants of the elk meat were, Kuvageegai sniffed about for a source of water. It wasn't long before the yearling found a shallow brook nearby and drank from it thirstily. He drank for a long time. When he was done drinking, the goldenrod Iphio looked down at his reflection and saw vermillion eyes staring back at him. Slightly disgusted at how he appeared, the yearling splashed at the water, hoping to rid of it, but a few seconds later, his reflection came back. Those vermillion eyes were still staring back at him.

"Well, I've already decided to become a loner," the Iphio sighed, turning away from the brook. "I'll hunt and sleep whenever I please, and I'll be careful when I reach a wolf's territory. I'll never join another wolf pack." With that made up, the Iphio raced away from the border of the Raven Pack on two legs instead of four. His hind legs were pumping and his tail was streaming out behind him. He didn't know how long it would be before he'd come across another wolf pack, and he didn't know if he'd see any familiar faces. In fact, Kuvageegai didn't know if he'd actually see anyone from the Sangria River Pack. But in his heart and in his mind, the goldenrod Iphio knew only one thing, and one thing only.

His loner days have now officially begun.