The Land of the Sourpie

by J. S. Skye

  “Everyone’s here! What other wolf could it be? Who is it?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t recognize him. He looks rather elderly, if I do say so myself.”

  Sure enough, an extremely old wolf meandered into Isangrim’s camp. This particular wolf was so thin that it appeared to be nothing but fur and bones. He did not walk well either. However, little did they know that this wolf was part of Flurry’s ploy. Inside the costume was Caboose, on stilts. It was Caboose’s job to distract Isangrim while Fall tried to get his necklace.

  As Caboose approached in his poorly-made costume, Isangrim circled him with caution. The jarl of Pack Isangrim was suspicious. He sniffed and examined the frail visitor.

  “Who, may I ask, are you?” Isangrim inquired.

  “I’m a wolf,” Caboose answered.

  “I can see that. Though you’ve got to be the ugliest wolf I’ve ever seen.”

  “Oh, sank you!” lisped Caboose.

  Isangrim shook his head. “That wasn’t a compliment.” The pack’s leader raised his voice. “Your name! What’s your name?” Isangrim’s frustration and lack of patience was abundantly evident.

  Caboose could not think of one. Flurry had not planned that part out. From a distance, Flurry watched to make sure their plans did not go awry. When Isangrim became distracted by Caboose, Flurry was going to make a run for the necklace Wolfhroc wore.

  As Flurry watched, worrisome thoughts set in. He became increasingly concerned by the answers Caboose kept giving to Isangrim. Flurry was certain that they were going to be found out.

  Caboose attempted to think of a name in vain, and he blurted out, “My name is Wolfy McWolfington from suh Turnip pack.”

  Isangrim’s mouth dropped open as he stared at Caboose with disbelief. “I’ve never heard of such a pack. If it exists, that has to be the worst name I’ve ever heard! You look like you could fall over dead at any moment. You don’t look healthy at all.”

  “Well, you know, unhealssy is suh new healssy.”

  Isangrim stood up straight and shook his head in disbelief. Flurry did likewise and buried his face in his paws. “Oh, Caboose!” Flurry muttered, followed by a sigh.

  It was this moment Isangrim was convinced that something was definitely wrong. He sniffed around Caboose again. “Oh no! He knows!” Flurry whispered to himself, as he watched in fear. Flurry knew this was the “now or never” moment, so he signaled the other two cats that hid among the trees.

  Isangrim grabbed ahold of the elderly wolf’s fur and gave it a tug. The fur fell to the ground and revealed Caboose as he stood there on stilts.

  “Hello!” Caboose cheerfully greeted the jarl.

  An arrow flew at Isangrim’s head and grazed the back of his neck. It appeared to be a near miss, but the purpose of the arrow was a success. The shot caused Isangrim’s necklace to fall to the ground.

  Fall used her foot to quickly cover the necklace with the fur from Caboose’s costume, so Isangrim would not see it lying there.

  Another arrow did likewise as it grazed the back of Wolfhroc’s neck. “We’re under attack!” shouted Isangrim. “You two! You’re a part of this somehow, I just know it! You’re coming with me!”

  “Not if you want this!” Flurry called out from the ridgeline. The cub held up one of the necklaces.

  “You! How did you get that?” Isangrim then reached for his own to find it missing as well. He quickly spun around and glared at Fall and Caboose. He was certain they were the culprits. Isangrim postured himself to pounce the cubs. He bared his teeth and growled at the two cubs.

  They probably would have been ripped to shreds if the second part of Flurry’s plan had not worked. As Isangrim was about to attack Fall and Caboose, a horn sounded, and an army of cats appeared from all sides of the camp. Spears and arrows littered the sky as the attack commenced.

  Normally, such an attack would not have worried Isangrim, but he was without both of the necklaces, and the cats from Tikalico were accompanied by the Sourpie as well. It stood to reason that King Sourpuss and King Ja’gwar had resolved their differences. The brothers stood side-by-side as they watched the battle commence.

  “How could this have happened?” Isangrim asked himself as he ran for cover from the arrows. He looked up and saw Flurry run toward the kings with one of the necklaces. Isangrim broke from cover, ran toward Flurry, and shouted, “You! You did this! If I can’t win this battle, I can at least have the satisfaction of ripping you apart!” Isangrim leapt at Flurry with his maw wide open, teeth bared, and claws extended. It appeared to be the end of Flurry.

  Flurry screamed and fell to the ground with his eyes covered. The cub did not want to see the fate that was about to befall him. A moment or two passed, but Flurry did not feel like he was being ripped apart. The bear cub decided to peek out and see what had happened. There he beheld Isangrim frozen in midair by the power of the necklace. Flurry had held the necklace up over his head to shield himself from the wolf’s attack.

  “Put me down!” Isangrim demanded. “Face me like a true warrior! I challenge you! Only a coward would hide behind that necklace.”

  Flurry stood up and bravely replied, “Oh, so that’s why you wore one?”

  Isangrim growled and looked upon Flurry with eyes full of rage.

  While Flurry and Isangrim struggled, Fall grabbed the other necklace from the ground and ran toward the cat kings in the hope of getting it to them, but her path was blocked by Wolfhroc. “Where do you think you’re going with that?” asked the she wolf.

  “Please! How can you be like this? I thought you were our friend,” Fall replied.

  “You and your brother need to do a better job at picking your friends.” Suddenly Wolfhroc’s mouth opened wide. She revealed her razor-like teeth and bit down on the bear cub. Fall screamed as Wolfhroc lifted her up by the back of her neck.

  The next moments did not play out as Fall thought they would. She opened her eyes and saw herself being carried by Wolfhroc up to King Sourpuss. The wolf dropped Fall at his feet. “Don’t tell Isangrim that I helped you, and don’t expect any favors from me in the future. This was a one-time deal.” Wolfhroc then turned and ran off with the other wolves. They had retreated due to the overwhelming number of cats and the fact that the feline warriors now had both of the necklaces for protection.

  The kings and the most elite guards closed in on Flurry and Isangrim. They both had been frozen in place, but for Flurry it was out of sheer fright.

  “I give you the opportunity to surrender or to perish right here.” The king of Tikalico addressed Isangrim, while he removed the necklace from Flurry’s paw and put it back around his own neck where it belonged. He then released Isangrim from the necklace’s hold.

  “Never! I’ll never surrender!” Isangrim snarled.

  “Very well. Have it your way,” The king replied. “Archers! Take aim!”

  Isangrim, though defeated, was still very strong and extremely fast. He leapt at the cats, knocking many of them down, and ran into the jungle. The wolf disappeared behind a wall of vines and other vegetation.

  “Pursue him!” the king ordered, and a legion of cats ran into the jungle in hot pursuit.

  Flurry approached the kings. “I’m glad you can both be friends again.”

  “It’s all thanks to you, young one,” said King Ja’gwar. “You have a lot of wisdom for such a young age. We did as you suggested, and I appealed to my brother again. So, as of this very moment the curse has been lifted, and the Sourpie are no more.” Ja’gwar then turned to his brother. “You shall no longer be named Sourpuss, and your clowder are meow citizens of Tikalico.” Everyone cheered. The cats lifted Flurry, Fall, and Caboose into the air, and carried them around as heroes of the battle.

  That night, festivities reigned, and Flurry was finally getting all of the tasty treats he had come all that way for. On Flurry’s table he had every kind of pie imaginable, not to mention his plates of cookies and cakes. Flurry scarfed down his food so fast that it app
eared to vanish into thin air. With crumbs all over his fur he shouted, “Yum! Yum!”

  Every story has an end, so that a new adventure can begin. And with all stories, this one had now come to an end, too. In the morning, Flurry, Fall, and Caboose were given miniature ponies to ride upon, and an armed division of Tikalico warriors were sent with them to protect and accompany the cubs back to Ursus.

  “Thank you for all of the tasty food!” Flurry exclaimed to the two kings.

  “No, it is we who should thank you. If not for you, our two clowders may never have been reunited. You, your family, and your friends will always be welcome here. Have a safe journey back,” King Ja’gwar replied.

  Everyone cheered, and confetti rained down from above while Flurry, Fall, and Caboose were led out of the city, across the bridge, and on their way back home.

  After they rode for a little while, Fall turned to Flurry and said, “You know what? You’re not such a bad brother after all.”

  Flurry blushed. “Thanks, but I was a bad brother. I’m sorry that I was so mean to you. I’m also sorry for being jealous. You’re not such a bad sister either.” Then he turned to look at Caboose and said, “And you do a great wolf act!” Flurry giggled.

  “Sank you!” Caboose replied. “What’s a wolf?”

  Fall laughed. Flurry buried his face in his paws. The siblings learned that family and love are what truly matter, and they felt happy to have each other. Along with Caboose, the three of them giggled and laughed all the way home.

  EPILOGUE

  ISANGRIM’S PLEDGE

  Nightfall had come, and Pack Isangrim were huddled up in their cave near the southeastern shore, beyond the mountain range the enclosed the feline territory. It was quite a distance from the jungle out of which they had been chased.

  In the infamous cavern known as Isangrand, Jarl Isangrim the Great sat on his throne which had been chiseled from solid stone. Bones were scattered all over the floor of the cave. Wolfhroc lay at the foot of the throne, below Isangrim’s feet.

  As they exchanged glances, Isangrim’s face twitched with rage. His eyes were wide, and his teeth showed as he growled.

  He suddenly stood up, shoved one of the wolves from his path, strolled to the mouth of the cave, and looked out over the enormous lake. Thunder shook the walls of the cave as dark and ominous storm clouds were seen above the water along the distant horizon. Wolfhroc came to her spouse’s side in an attempt to comfort him. “What is it that troubles you, husband?”

  Without a reaction to her presence or breaking his glare from the violent waves, he replied, “This isn’t over! Mark my words! I’ll have my revenge, if it’s the last thing I do. I shall find Flurry and make him suffer for what he has done to me!” Lightning bolted down from the clouds, and a loud crack of thunder shook the cave just as a female voice spoke from the shadows behind him. “Perhaps I may be of assistance.”

  Isangrim turned and looked in the direction of the voice. He recognized the silhouette of the feline figure coming out from the shadows. With a hint of disdain in Isangrim’s expression, he asked, “For what purpose does an assassin stand in my presence?”

  The female cat stepped into the torch-lit opening. She had golden fur and sparkling green eyes. “You know who I am!” she remarked. “Necatual, or Necat, will suffice, thank you.” An evil smirk appeared upon her furry face. She felt proud of her wit before such a ferocious beast.

  “As you already know, King Ja’gwar wiped out my great city many years ago, killing my family and all that I loved. I intended to use the Sourpie in my scheme to overthrow him. That bear cub thwarted my plans, too. If we join forces, we can both have what we want.”

  Isangrim looked away from Necatual and turned his gaze out toward the storm. The wolf’s posture straightened, his eyes narrowed, and a grin came to his mouth. Without breaking his gaze upon the waves, he replied, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend indeed!”

  ABOUT J.S. SKYE

  J.S. Skye grew up in the Midwestern region of the United States. At a very young age, it was apparent that he was very talented. Finding that he was gifted in music and art, he plunged himself into both. As time passed, he set aside music to focus even more of his attention on developing his skills as an illustrator.

  All throughout his years in school, J.S. Skye spent every available moment creating and developing fictional worlds. Caring about realism, he developed multiple people groups, countries, worlds, and even languages. His fictional realms were created through both written and visual mediums.

  After traveling to almost a dozen different countries and studying different cultures, J.S. Skye decided to implement his interests in ancient cultures, history, languages, mythology, and more into his writings. He decided it was best to pour his heart and passion into writing instead of having divided interests between both art and literature.

  J.S. Skye has accumulated a fairly large collection of his various writings. These stories range from all types of different genres such as mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and even horror. Friends encouraged the aspiring writer to produce a novel and see how things progressed from there.

  J.S. Skye’s first novel, The Granted Wish, was met with cheerful affirmation. The positive feedback was overwhelming and unexpected. Fans of his Flurry the Bear novels grew and began to clamor for more. From this point forward, his first novel series came to be.

  For more information or to get in touch with J.S. Skye personally, he may be contacted by e-mail at:

  JS-Skye@FlurryTheBear.com

  ALSO BY J.S. SKYE

  The Granted Wish (Flurry The Bear ‌—‌ Book 1)

  The Land of the Sourpie (Flurry The Bear ‌—‌ Book 2)

  The Throne of Frost (Flurry the Bear ‌—‌ Book 3)

  The Book of Snow (Flurry the Bear ‌—‌ Book 4)

  The Rising Tide (Flurry the Bear ‌—‌ Book 5)

  The Assassin's Pact (Flurry the Bear ‌—‌ Book 6)