Lacy
“Running, you should know, is a kind of stillness.” ― Tiphanie Yanique
The bright fire was slowly fading behind her, as was the victory cries of the humans and last whimpers of her family. Soon the only sound that filled the dark forest was the thumps of her paws onto the ground and the soft exhales and inhales of breath. Cold gusts of wind fought against Lacy, threatening her to slow down, but she ignored it, she ignored the burning of her lungs as she pushed the freezing air in and out, and the numbness of her paws as she pushed herself to get further and further away, as she tired to escape her appending doom. It would be so easy to stop now, to give up and let death come and collect her, but she had always been a fighter, she had never been one to give in. The she-wolf would never understand why it was her who had lived and not one of her siblings, after all, she was the smallest of her family, she would have been the easiest to pick off, the only thing she had going for her was her speed, and even that was less when it came down to a battle. Then again, it was her speed that had saved her.
The night wore on, and as she traveled up, over the mountain, the air cold colder and the winds whispered louder, soft snow was falling slowly, unlike in the valley below. The tall, dead trees cracked and twigs snapped beneath her, and yet, she only stopped once. She stopped at the peak of the mountain so she could turn around and look down at the valley that used to be her home. She could see the fire that was engulfing the dead trees, it was slowly spreading, through it would stop soon, it was clear it had been man made. Other animals were running away, fleeing from death. She lifted her head, and let out a heart broken howl. It priced through the air and echoed off the the mountain and down to the burning valley, and the darker, untouched valley. Lacy turned then, and started to run again. She didn't stop again after that, not with the picture of her home burning branded into her mind.
Soon the mountain started to tilt downward and she knew she was coming closer and closer to the other Tribe of wolves. Her mother had heard mere rumors about the other wolves, since not many of her own tribe had liked to travel over the mountain, she knew now, by the scents that burned her nose, the rumors had been true. This tribe, The Tribe of the Fallen, was one of the biggest tribes in this area. If she could, she would warn the Alpha of this tribe, explain what had happened, how ruthless the humans had been, and how they might be next, and then she would move on to warn others. Lacy no longer had a family of her own, the least she could do was help protect other family's from the same loss.
She pushed down the swelling emotions, the pain, and pushed her legs to move faster. She strained her ears and nose, trying to hear if any of the wolves were near by, trying to figure out how old these scents were. As far as she could tell, they were at least seventy-four hours old, most likely, they had belonged to a hunting party, they were most likely trying to pack as much food up for the rest of the pack before winter hit them as hard as it had hit the mountains. The snow was still caught up in her fur from when she had been higher in the mountains, and most likely it wouldn't melt out completely until the sun rose. Lacy kept going through, ignoring the new cold as she traveled blindly through the forest. She didn't start to slow down until she came across newer scents. The she-wolf soon slowed down to a light jog, and let out a softer howl than before, through she still winced at how horrible it sounded, like she was a dying animal calling for help. She was certain that the tribe would hear the unfamiliar howl and come to investigate.
“Running, you should know, is a kind of stillness.” ― Tiphanie Yanique
The bright fire was slowly fading behind her, as was the victory cries of the humans and last whimpers of her family. Soon the only sound that filled the dark forest was the thumps of her paws onto the ground and the soft exhales and inhales of breath. Cold gusts of wind fought against Lacy, threatening her to slow down, but she ignored it, she ignored the burning of her lungs as she pushed the freezing air in and out, and the numbness of her paws as she pushed herself to get further and further away, as she tired to escape her appending doom. It would be so easy to stop now, to give up and let death come and collect her, but she had always been a fighter, she had never been one to give in. The she-wolf would never understand why it was her who had lived and not one of her siblings, after all, she was the smallest of her family, she would have been the easiest to pick off, the only thing she had going for her was her speed, and even that was less when it came down to a battle. Then again, it was her speed that had saved her.
The night wore on, and as she traveled up, over the mountain, the air cold colder and the winds whispered louder, soft snow was falling slowly, unlike in the valley below. The tall, dead trees cracked and twigs snapped beneath her, and yet, she only stopped once. She stopped at the peak of the mountain so she could turn around and look down at the valley that used to be her home. She could see the fire that was engulfing the dead trees, it was slowly spreading, through it would stop soon, it was clear it had been man made. Other animals were running away, fleeing from death. She lifted her head, and let out a heart broken howl. It priced through the air and echoed off the the mountain and down to the burning valley, and the darker, untouched valley. Lacy turned then, and started to run again. She didn't stop again after that, not with the picture of her home burning branded into her mind.
Soon the mountain started to tilt downward and she knew she was coming closer and closer to the other Tribe of wolves. Her mother had heard mere rumors about the other wolves, since not many of her own tribe had liked to travel over the mountain, she knew now, by the scents that burned her nose, the rumors had been true. This tribe, The Tribe of the Fallen, was one of the biggest tribes in this area. If she could, she would warn the Alpha of this tribe, explain what had happened, how ruthless the humans had been, and how they might be next, and then she would move on to warn others. Lacy no longer had a family of her own, the least she could do was help protect other family's from the same loss.
She pushed down the swelling emotions, the pain, and pushed her legs to move faster. She strained her ears and nose, trying to hear if any of the wolves were near by, trying to figure out how old these scents were. As far as she could tell, they were at least seventy-four hours old, most likely, they had belonged to a hunting party, they were most likely trying to pack as much food up for the rest of the pack before winter hit them as hard as it had hit the mountains. The snow was still caught up in her fur from when she had been higher in the mountains, and most likely it wouldn't melt out completely until the sun rose. Lacy kept going through, ignoring the new cold as she traveled blindly through the forest. She didn't start to slow down until she came across newer scents. The she-wolf soon slowed down to a light jog, and let out a softer howl than before, through she still winced at how horrible it sounded, like she was a dying animal calling for help. She was certain that the tribe would hear the unfamiliar howl and come to investigate.