by Bryce THOMAS
‘Are we ever going to return to our beloved cave?’ Silvah asked.
‘When the rains return, so will our prey. But until then, remaining here means certain death to us all. If we attack the man’s animals again, not only will we lose more of our pack, but as surely as the rains will come eventually, the man will hunt us until we are either all dead or have moved to a place beyond his reach. Then we will never be able to return home.’
There was a dreadful silence from the members of the pack. Not one of them spoke. All watched and waited for Rhamin to give further instructions. ‘From now on,’ he continued, ‘we will follow our prey. Never again will we be caught out by such a freak summer. We will remain a big pack and we will fight for the right to hunt and eat wherever we are. We will return to our precious home only when the hunting is good again.’
Eventually, Solin spoke. ‘So when are we setting off on this epic walk?’
‘We eat and take our fill of water now,’ Rhamin replied. ‘We gather up any food we have left, take the babies in our mouths and we set off in time to travel a good distance before sun set.’
During the whole of the meeting, Zelda had remained totally silent, her sightless eyes wet with tears. Rhamin hadn’t failed to notice. He knew that the old wolf was afraid that she was to be left behind. Without the pack she would perish within days. ‘Zelda,’ he called. Her head lifted and her sightless eyes looked straight at him. Sad as she was, she, like all the other members of the pack, responded instantly to his call. ‘I hope that you have fed as well as the rest of us over the past three days.’
‘Yes,’ she said in a quiet tone. ‘Silvah and Rasci have fed me well. They have done their duty by me. I do understand that I will remain here.’
‘Oh you do, do you?’ Silvah asked, her head tilting and her eyebrows raised. ‘And who said so?’ She looked towards Rhamin.
All eyes swung to Rhamin. He shook his head. ‘Not me!’ he said lightly with a shrug. But his eyes showed concern. ‘As I said, Zelda, we are a big pack and size gives us an advantage not only in hunting but in deterring our enemies.’
‘And what use is a withered old scroat like me then?’ she said.
‘The same use you have always been Zelda the wise.’ He saw a noticeable rise in her stature; her head became more upright and her chest puffed out.
‘I don’t recall anyone taking any notice of my wisdom lately,’ she countered.
‘Well there you are wrong old thing. Perhaps we didn’t take enough notice of you, but we certainly knew you had warned us and with that we took more care than we might otherwise have done.’
‘But the rains are coming,’ she said gazing blankly ahead of her. ‘I know it. We could all stay and wait for them.’
‘You don’t have to say that, Zelda. We are not going to leave you behind.’
‘It’s true,’ she insisted. ‘And, if you think I won’t slow you down then I suspect your eyes are as bad as mine.’
‘Oh I have good enough eyes to see that you do not have the teeth to hunt with us any more but you travel quickly, even if your speed isn’t as fast as the rest of us. You have travelled to our different rendezvous camps with us over the years. This will just be a longer trip, that’s all.’
Zelda closed her eyes. ‘I don’t know what to say,’ she sobbed.
Rhamin licked her affectionately on the muzzle. ‘If you have nothing to say then we know our journey must succeed,’ he stated bluntly. ‘Have you warned us against this journey?’
‘Well, no, but…’
‘And why not?’
‘Well I haven’t seen anything! I haven’t seen a long journey, I’ve seen rain, and Corvak the Raven returning and…’
‘You never see anything Zelda,’ Rasci quipped. ‘That’s what happens when you go blind. You just dream and fart a lot.’
‘Oh shut up you young tyrant,’ Zelda scolded. ‘You’re not too old to get a good bite from me.’
‘Or a nasty suck!’
‘I’m warning you, young whippet!’
‘Sorry Gran!’ Rasci had always found it difficult to be serious about anything. He always cheered up the old wolf with his comical but candid repartee. In return for her telling him stories of long ago, he spent much of his time with her, telling her about his hunting experiences; for instance telling her about the time he had been overpowered by a hare, when in fact it simply played dead and when he put it down it got up and ran off. But the detail he put into the story made it all very convincing. He knew that Zelda never took him totally seriously. He adored the old wolf, and took it as being a duty to feed her whenever he caught anything. But Silvah understood why this young male comedian with his silver and brown streaked coat and his small white bib under his chin was so fond of Zelda. More than any of the other wolves, together they had protected him when he was a baby.
‘So, I’m coming with you then?’ Zelda asked tentatively.
‘Zelda! Why do you think we are still here?’ Rhamin asked her. ‘We’re waiting for you!’
‘And I’ve been waiting for you, for goodness sake! Well, really, I don’t know. Tut.’ She paused as all the other wolves had a hearty giggle. Even Solin grinned. ‘Well, I’m ready. Who else are we waiting for?’
‘Just me,’ Yeltsa answered. ‘I’ll get the babies.’
‘Oh, can I carry one for a while?’ Zelda asked. ‘I promise I won’t bite!’
‘As I said, more of a suck really,’ commented Rasci. Then he added, ‘I’ll carry one.’
‘And me,’ Silvah came in quickly.
‘Right,’ said Rhamin. ‘It doesn’t seem like I can have any fatherly duties at the present then?’
Yeltsa turned to him and rubbed up against him. ‘Darling,’ she whispered.
‘What is it my love?’
‘You can carry the biggest.’
‘Oh, okay then,’ he said pleased with the result of the conversation. ‘It’ll do you good to have a rest, anyway.’
‘Surprise! It’s a surprise,’ whispered Zelda.
As Yeltsa turned he followed her into the cave. Rasci and Silvah did the same.
At the back of the first cave, in a dark corner and up a slight gradient away from any direct beam of daylight, there was a small passage that lead three or four paces further on to a chamber about the height of a standing male wolf. Not the height of Rhamin, of course, for he was much bigger than the average male wolf, standing a head higher than any of his contemporaries. No one knew who or what had made this cave complex, but the designer had most certainly been a wolf.
Yeltsa stood over her brood and quietly picked one up and handed it to Silvah. It was the smallest of the litter and was all grey. ‘I have named her Depni,’ she said. ‘Take that one for Zelda will you please?’
‘Oh, she’s adorable!’ Yeltsa could hear Zelda exclaim as Silvah passed her the pup.
‘And you can take Floss,’ She said to Rasci. ‘Carry her gently.’
‘I will, don’t worry about that,’ he said with a grin that couldn’t be seen in the darkness of the cave.
‘And I named this one Ramusan, after you,’ She said to Rhamin. ‘It means son of Rhamin, because he is big and is going to be huge like his father.’ Rhamin nodded and bent forward to take him. ‘Not so fast! Yeltsa said quickly.
Rhamin lifted his head back up to face her. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
‘I mean that Silvah is to carry this one.’ Silvah had returned, ‘Silvah, take care of him as you did Rhamin when he was a baby,’
‘You can be sure of it,’ Silvah said proudly.
‘I know. I am,’ said Yeltsa. Then she picked up another pup and handed it to Rhamin. ‘This is yours, I believe. Her name is Lexa,’ she said and waited for a response from her mate.
Rhamin sniffed at the baby and felt it with the tip of his nose as he fitted his mouth around it. It was much bigger than any of the others, it smelt of the others and it smelt of Yeltsa’s milk. He popped it down at his feet so that he could speak.
‘I can’t believe she is only three days old,’ he exclaimed.
‘Darling,’ Yeltsa whispered in his ear. ‘She isn’t.’
‘What? How do you mean?’ He stood there trying to work it out. ‘How could she have a baby older and bigger… Huh! You didn’t! Yeltsa, please tell me you didn’t keep that dog thing!’
‘Darling,’ she said again, licking his nose. ‘You told me to keep it. You said it was for me.’
‘Yes, but I meant…’ He bent his head down to the furry mass that now squeaked and smelt just the same as the other pups.
‘Tell me then,’ Yeltsa said, licking his face now, ‘Why didn’t you kill it?’
‘Well I… I… I’m not really sure to be honest. I mean, it didn’t fight back or anything.’
‘Not that it was likely to!’
‘It didn’t even move or make a noise until you grabbed a hold of it.’
‘Exactly, you coward. You expected me to kill the little thing. They aren’t so much unlike us as you think, you know.’
‘Tell me about it!’ Rhamin said, recalling the dog that had confronted them on the farm. He let out a huge sigh.
‘Oh well,’ he said after seemingly gathering his strength, ‘goodness knows what gip I’m going to get from that bunch now! Especially that dog of a wolf Solin!’
‘Careful now my Rhamin. You use the word ‘dog’ as a swear word. You’ll have to stop doing that now. We have a dog in our pack!’
‘Oh, for goodness sake,’ he said stooping to pick up Lexa.
‘Come on then you dog!’ He couldn’t see Yeltsa’s expression but he could sense it. He picked up the pup. ‘Goodness knows what they’ll say!’ he chuntered unintelligibly through the soft folds of Lexa’s skin and waited for Yeltsa. She got the gist of his complaint.
‘Oh, and by the way,’ she said with a noticeable chuckle in her voice, ‘This last one, which I’ll be carrying, is Fatz. I call him that because he is a chubby little fellow.’
Rhamin couldn’t speak anymore with his mouth full. Perhaps it was just as well.
CHAPTER FOUR
Rhamin was right of course. All the wolves had a good laugh at his expense. Yeltsa had adopted Lexa, because Rhamin had spared her life, and by doing so he had started the adoption procedure. Yeltsa had just completed the formality of taking her into her family. Now Lexa was as much a wolf as all the rest of the pups. She smelt the same, cried the same and she drank twice as much milk. Yeltsa still reckoned that Lexa was only a week older than her siblings; her eyes were still closed and would remain so for another week. But Lexa was almost twice the size of her adoptive brothers and sisters. ‘What kind of dog was her natural mother?’ she asked when they had stopped in the early evening, well before sun-set. It was the first time they had rested that day, since leaving the Darin. At this early stage in the lives of new born pups she would have to stop every three hours or so in order to feed them and give them a chance to rest together. The pups, or cubs as they are called as they become a little older, would fall into deep mists of sleep even as they were being carried but Yeltsa was concerned. She didn’t like the fact that they were not together. Baby animals do not easily regulate their temperatures like older members of the species. They don’t pant, and wolves do not sweat. The days were still scorching hot and the starry cloudless nights drew in a cool breeze. She had no doubt that the babies needed to be nurtured in their nest away from the daytime sun and the cold of the night.
The pack had dropped the pups in a heap in the centre of the circle of wolves. Yeltsa’s question had brought all eyes around to examine the babies. There were distinct similarities between Lexa and her brothers and sisters. But she was different.
Eventually Rhamin replied. ‘A massive ugly bitch,’ he snapped rather too quickly.
‘Now, now,’ Yeltsa consoled. ‘You’re using that word as a swear word now!’
‘No, seriously,’ Rhamin explained for all to hear, ‘the others that were there will back me up on this.’ He glanced around at his companions. They had all winced and, all but one, were noticeably trying to avoid getting drawn into the conversation. The other, Solin, just grinned triumphantly. Rhamin went on, ‘Come on guys, back me up on this!’
‘I have to admit,’ said Solin, remembering how the big animal had body-checked him in the farm yard, knocking him sideways, ‘she was big.’ He paused and then said, ‘And ugly! Fellas, was she ugly or what?!’
‘Sure was,’ confirmed Charka.
‘Oh yes?’ retorted Yeltsa.
‘Useless flopped down ears, face as broad as a Zelda’s backside and muscles in all the wrong places. Ugh!’ joined in Natan, his tongue hanging out as usual, half way down to the ground.
‘I see you’re all enjoying this, I can tell,’ mused Rhamin. ‘At last I’ve managed to do something right! I’ve brightened up your day!’
‘Wish I hadn’t asked now!’ Yeltsa said rather less dejectedly than she tried to appear. It was obvious to all the wolves, and not just Rhamin, that she was besotted will all five of her new babies. But she really did want to know what kind of dog Lexa would grow up to be. Sure, she would be a wolf in nature. She would eat like a wolf, howl like a wolf, hunt like a wolf, but she would always be unmistakable if she looked, as the hunting pack had described, like her natural mother.
While they rested, they saw that Corvak the raven had landed near to Zelda. It had been a long time since they had seen him. She was no doubt telling him about their planned trek. The old wolf and the raven chatted for a long time before, eventually, her friend took off to the sky again. She lay sightlessly pondering their conversation for a long while, until, eventually, she fell into a deep sleep, twitching and contorting uncontrollably. She passed wind a couple of times, almost awakening herself with the sound, and then lapsed back into blankness. Rasci and Silvah, who had been lying next to her, casually stood up, stretched as if restless, and moved to the up wind side of the old wolf. ‘It’s a good job there aren’t a lot of animals that prey on wolves,’ Rasci commented as he settled down on a soft patch of dusty earth. ‘She’d be a dead give away.’
‘Don’t speak too soon,’ said Charka a moment later. Her head was up and her ears pricked forward. She suddenly gave out a warning bark; a quiet ‘woof ’. Rasci jumped in alarm, sprang to his feet and spun around, ears and head rotating, listening for the sound of danger. All in the pack stood up silently and strained their ears in anticipation. ‘It’s down wind,’ Charka whispered in a low tone.
‘What is?’ Rhamin said close to her ear.
‘I’m not sure, but I’ve sensed this danger before, not too long ago,’ she said almost inaudibly. Rhamin could see that she was half talking to him and half talking to herself. ‘But then I could smell it as well as hear it; it was coming to us from upwind that time. I was sure danger was somewhere out there, but it was several miles away. Now its sound is much nearer.’
Rhamin gestured to Natan and Solin for them to circle around and take a look to see what was approaching them. They could all hear now what Charka had heard. There was movement through the dry grass, and a sound of suppressed breathing. Obviously the maker didn’t want Rhamin and his pack to hear. It sounded like a big animal, but not an elk or deer.
Suddenly Zelda awoke with a squeal. ‘Run!’ She yelped.
‘What is it? Zelda,’ asked Rhamin.
‘Heh?’ Zelda looked confused. ‘I… I was dreaming,’ she said, her voice trailing off as she thought more about the question. She gazed sightlessly towards the darkening cloudless horizon. Rhamin could hear the sounds getting closer but he waited for Zelda to continue.
Then, from up in the sky, way up, from a speck floating in the breeze, came the caw-caw of Corvak the raven’s rasping voice. ‘Yes!’ Zelda cried suddenly. She stood up shakily and bounded stiffly towards the bundle of puppies. ‘We must get them back to our home,’ she said, picking up the top most, black bundle from the pile of sleeping babies. She looked around sightlessly, waiting for the other wolve
s to follow suit and then lead her away. But they all looked at her, unable to understand her mood.
‘What is it, Zelda?’ Rhamin asked her again.
She put the puppy down at her feet. ‘Run!’ she woofed.
‘We must run. We can out run them.’ With that last warning, she picked up Lexa and bounded off down the trail they had all left earlier, blindly crashing through brush and thicket.
‘After her!’ Rhamin yelled, gathering up the next baby. Yeltsa followed suit, and within seconds, the pack, all except the two scouts, were bounding after Zelda.
Corvak the raven cawed again, nearer this time. When the warning from the scouts came, they were sharp yaps in quick succession, warnings of imminent danger. By this time the pack had overtaken Zelda and, telling her to follow close, they guided her the way she had wanted to go. It wasn’t directly away from the danger, more at right angles to the sound of running and heavy breathing. They could hear the sound of heavy creatures crashing through the brush to intercept them. The voices of Natan and Solin yapped incessantly. Zelda was falling behind. Bamar the yearling male noticed first. He circled back to find her standing panting, mouth dripping with saliva as she gasped for air past the small motionless puppy. ‘Come, give me that bundle,’ he said standing in front of her so that she could not pass. Obediently she put Lexa down on the ground and Bamar picked her up. Then, stepping to one side, he waited for Zelda to run along beside him. ‘Run!’ she gasped. ‘Leave me. Save the baby!’
Bamar stood his ground. ‘That isn’t an option,’ he stated as the sound of crashing feet and heavy breathing seemed almost upon them. Bamar could see clearly now what the chase was about. Looming up from the dried stubble of vegetation, a huge brown head bobbed up and down as huge paws ate up the ground beneath it; a large snout with a wet black nose, which seemed half the length of its face, curled back to reveal the fangs of a bear. He had heard of this bear before; it was a mean and vicious old male called Bortag. And Bortag was probably no less hungry than the wolves. He was preparing to attack.