by Bryce THOMAS
‘You know what you have to do Zelda!’ Bamar yapped as he dropped Lexa and ran forward. By now his attacker was only paces away. Once again, Zelda picked up the dog pup and ran, though in which direction she knew not, except that it was directly away from the crashing sound and imminent danger. Bamar bounded towards the bear, seemingly intent on meeting it head on. The huge creature opened its mouth ready to grab him but in his last stride before lunging, Bamar twisted his body, and sinking his teeth into the front paw of the bear, he veered off to the left. The momentum of Bamar’s body swung the bear around, flailing and slashing with its other arm. As Bamar swung at the end of the bleeding paw, he was spun around like a lifeless fish. He let go somewhere in an arc as he circled the bear and suddenly started to glide backwards, legs splayed and tail spinning, ready to land. He sailed through the hot windless air in a straight line away from the bear but still facing the enemy. It paused only momentarily to see him land awkwardly amidst a pile of drift wood and then, seeing the wolf at a disadvantage, the bear resumed its pursuit. Bamar yelped as his back legs hit the wood first, sending him somersaulting backwards into the dust and then landing with a heavy thump with his back against a rock. He had less than a second to get his bearings, but he was winded and dazed. The bear was relentless, teeth barred ready to grab him. Pain shot through his whole body as the bear bounded closer.
Then, as Bamar shook himself to clear his vision, suddenly, from nowhere, four wolves, all as if synchronised, floated through the air, Rhamin slightly ahead, landing his huge front paws on the shoulder of the bear, sinking his long canine fangs into its face. One by one, the others seemingly in slow motion landed upon the quarry, Natan on its back tearing at its thick fur along the bottom of its spine; Powla grabbed its back foot and Silvah hit the top of its left arm as she grabbed for its throat.
When attacking a large animal, wolves attack by ripping and tearing at their prey, then they leave go and attack again until, eventually they wear down the creature and expose it to a final and fatal attack. There was no way to do that with a bear. They have thick, almost impenetrable coats and are only really exposed on their faces and their feet which are, inevitably, well protected by teeth and claws. As each one of the wolves ripped and then let go, they knew that one blow from the long claws or one bite from the jaws of their enemy would be fatal. The bear’s claws could rip open their sides like breaking the surface of a still pond. Its jaws could crush their bones or their skulls in a single gnashing lunge. Only Rhamin kept his grip on the animal. With his feet braced against the giant body, and with his long teeth sunk deep into the animal’s eye, the skin on its face began to tear as he hung there, shaking and twisting at the loosening flesh beneath its lower eyelid. The warm dust laden air vibrated with the sound of the bear as it let out a tremendous growl that boomed into the evening sky. Enraged and now injured, the bear stood upright, and made an upward swing with its injured paw. Rhamin thought of letting go but he would have fallen at the feet of this giant animal where, if he landed off balance, he would have been slain immediately. There was nothing he could do but hold on until, eventually, he was knocked off the bear’s shoulder by the upward force of its paw. Rhamin’s teeth, clenched by the force of his powerful jaws, ripped right through the skin of Bortag’s face as he was thrown clear, rotating through the air, his tail spinning and legs splayed to stabilise his flight. He landed on all fours amidst a cloud of dust and flying grit. He recovered his balance immediately, and joining the others, he began to circle the attacker the way they would do when hunting their prey. The bear swung wildly at them with its claws as each wolf snapped and withdrew with practiced locomotion, circling it, ripping at its heels, tiring it and making it dizzy.
And then, as suddenly as they had attacked, they followed Rhamin’s lead and disappeared towards the spot where they had last seen Zelda. She had howled. It was a cry for help. It took less than five seconds to reach sight of her, and there, in a flurry of dust, saliva and clamour, she stood in front of a second bear, equally as big, snapping and snarling like none of the pack had ever seen her. Zelda’s one existing long tooth was slashing and cutting at the air in front of the bear’s huge black nose. Behind her was the dog puppy, covered in dust and flying grit, motionless and totally oblivious to the danger amidst the turmoil. To one side, Rasci, as wolves do, was slashing at the attacker and turning and bounding away time and time again, each time, his rebound synchronised to avoid the motor reaction of the swiping arm and claws of the bear.
Like wolves, bears often prey on weak or elderly animals or the very young. In nature, in the wild such predation leaves the herds of the hunted stronger and regulates their numbers. It was no coincidence that the bears had sought out Zelda. She was clearly at a disadvantage. And the baby she was carrying was totally helpless. But Zelda wasn’t ready to leave this world. Perhaps her instinct to protect the young contributed to that drive to survive. And to her all the pack was young. It was clear now, that in her prime, back in forgotten history, Zelda must have been a formidable hunter and fighter. She stood her ground, sensing the swinging arms of the huge bear and somehow, miraculously swayed and swerved out of the sweeping path of its claws.
Then, once again, the pack descended on the creature, running, floating and hitting their target, tearing and leaving in one smooth practised action. From the corner of his eye, Rhamin saw Zelda pick up Lexa and scamper away as they circled and tormented the bear. Soon it was joined by Bortag, his face wet with blood, his right eye closed completely. Together the pack attacked and withdrew, worrying, snapping, slashing with their teeth, constantly moving; not giving either of the bears any chance to organise any tactical retaliation upon them. Eventually, when they were sure Zelda had got clear, they circled off in single file, leaving the bears panting and disheartened.
It was only a short while before they caught up with Yeltsa, Charka and young Rowan. Each was carrying one of the puppies. Bamar had joined them, limping badly, his left back leg suspended from touching the ground. He carried a fourth youngster. But old Zelda was nowhere to be seen.
Rhamin looked back. There was still a flurry of dust in the background. ‘Come!’ he ordered and headed back with all the unburdened wolves at his heels. Zelda was isolated and carrying a baby, and there was no time to lose as they raced back towards the dust cloud. But his concern was unnecessary. There, trotting along side the old wolf, and carrying Lexa was Solin. There was no sign now of the bears, just the raven cawing overhead. As the pack appeared, Solin stopped abruptly. He spat out the youngster which tumbled over the dusty ground.
‘We could have decoyed them with that thing,’ he said spitting in disgust. ‘But instead, we end up in a scrap to save it!’
‘They were after Zelda,’ Rhamin stated. ‘Didn’t you notice that wherever she was the bears were?’
‘As a matter of fact, no,’ Solin snarled.
‘Well, you were conspicuous by your absence,’ Rhamin stated bluntly. ‘We heard you but what fighting did you do?’
Solin scowled and barred his teeth. ‘I happened to be busy with the third bear,’ he growled.
‘Oh, really?’ Rhamin said, sceptically.
‘No, it’s true,’ Natan interjected. ‘There were three of them. I saw them too.’
‘And I kept one of them busy while you dealt with the rest,’ Solin hissed. ‘They were all spread out, closing in on the pack from three sides.’
‘You took on the smaller one, then,’ quipped Natan.
‘I didn’t see you taking one on by yourself,’ Solin recalled, ‘whatever the size.’
‘All right,’ Rhamin said in a conciliatory tone. He paused for a second or two and then, looking from one to the other, said, ‘We did well, all of us.’ With that he licked Zelda’s nose and squeaked as wolves do to the pack members they admire. ‘Come on then, let’s join the others.’
‘Er…’ said Solin, standing his ground. ‘I only carried that thing to get the old fool to move. Don’t think I’m go
ing to carry it now!’ He cuffed the wet, round black bundle with his huge paw, making it roll over with a squeak. Zelda’s hackles rose as she stepped past Lexa and faced Solin nose to nose.
‘Don’t get me cross,’ she said quite seriously.
‘Oh you and your stupid dog pup!’ Solin grumbled. ‘It was because of you I’ve been seen carrying it!’ He faced the others. ‘If I hadn’t got her to shift, the bears would have still been on her ragged tail. I don’t know why I bothered!’
‘I’m sure you know exactly why you bothered and I’m also sure you know she’s grateful,’ Rhamin consoled. ‘But you do have a way of upsetting everybody.’
‘Me? You don’t think perhaps some younger members of our pack would do better to keep their mouths shut?’ he half asked, half stated, looking directly at Natan.
Rhamin smiled. Despite his aching body, he needed to remain in firm control. ‘Come,’ he said. He picked up Lexa ready to lead the way.
‘And just where is it we’re supposed to be going?’ asked Solin.
‘Home,’ Zelda stated.
‘But what about the drought?’ Solin asked. ‘We are still short of game to hunt.’
Zelda looked at Rhamin with her glazed eyes. Looking back at her, Rhamin asked, ‘Well?’
‘The rains are coming, I promise,’ Zelda stated matter of factly.
‘And until then?’ asked Solin, looking towards Rhamin. ‘Are we to hunt the man’s stock as he hunts ours?’
‘It shouldn’t be necessary,’ Zelda said confidently. ‘The rains are here and I know where there are six buffalo.’
‘And how do you know that?’ Solin sniped. ‘Another of your farty dreams I suppose.’
‘Corvak told me.’
‘A raven! That stupid bird that played at pulling your tail last winter!’
‘A raven,’ confirmed the old wolf. ‘You know very well that he and his mate used to follow us to our prey. Well he often told me where to find it in the first place. We share our food with him because he helps us.’
‘You never told me that,’ Solin complained. ‘You always made out that you had some kind of ability to foresee things you old fraud.’
‘I don’t need to explain my methods to you, Solin. I said they sometimes talk to me.’
‘That doesn’t mean Corvak or whatever you call him gave you any information about rain.’
‘I’m not answering that,’ Zelda said angrily.
‘It might help all of us if you did,’ Rhamin said in arbitration. Zelda sighed. ‘Well, you know Corvak can travel a hundred times faster and further than we can in a day,’ she said, still panting heavily. ‘Well, he tells me he has seen the rain coming this way.’
‘Huh, well I hope it gets here soon then,’ Solin quipped, as he started off in the direction of the rest of the pack and the Darin. ‘Because if it doesn’t, we are all bear food.’
‘We certainly gave those bears a good whupping, though!’ Rasci boasted, noticeably lightening the mood as he skipped on behind, tossing a dry stick in the air playfully.
‘Yes, I think we did,’ Rhamin said with a chuckle as he took the lead.
Towards midnight the pack stopped once again to give Yeltsa time to feed her litter. It was good that she was returning them to the safety of the Darin. The pups were looking noticeably stressed. She knew there was little chance that they would have survived a ten day journey. But they had started on the trek because the pack had to survive. Although everything in a wolf pack centres around the new litter and their mother, in times of dire hardship the survival of the adults takes precedence and in such circumstances, wolves have been known to leave the young to die or to even kill them. But Yeltsa and Rhamin knew that their pack would do everything in their power to protect the babies and prevent the death of any of the offspring. Now, if the rains were coming and they could find food for a few more weeks, all the game would return to the hills, the forests and the plains.
‘The buffalo are beside the dry lake, two day’s travel away, towards the rising sun,’ Zelda explained to the assembled pack. ‘They have travelled along the rivers down stream to the lake following the water from the rains in the mountains to the north. The water is flowing much faster than the rains are travelling, and the cracks in the dried up lake bed have already started to fill.’
‘I supposed this will be another wild profitless escapade,’ Solin grunted. ‘And you will expect us to carry a buffalo back for your dinner!’
‘Only if I’m right,’ Zelda retorted.
‘Well, I’ve got to admit, you’re not just an ugly old wolf,’ Solin said sarcastically. ‘If you’re right then I take back everything I have said about you!’
‘And what is that exactly, as if I didn’t know already?’
‘Nobody ever listens to him,’ Natan cut in, ‘so don’t you bother to listen to him either!’
Solin raised himself up on his toes and looked down at Natan. ‘You should know better than to mock your betters,’ he stated threateningly.
‘Didn’t know I was doing,’ Natan replied undaunted and standing on tip toe, eyes burning into Solin. ‘It was just you I was getting at.’
‘You can both calm down,’ Rhamin said, standing up and stepping between them. ‘We have hunting to do and we have to see our young and elderly safely back to the Darin before we go. I’m not prepared to leave them at any risk out here. If the bears are tracking us, another attack from them will be fatal if we have split up. Zelda, Yeltsa and the babies must be returned safely tonight.’
CHAPTER FIVE
It was no surprise, even to the sceptic Solin that Zelda had been right. The hunting pack located the small herd of buffalo by mid day two days after leaving the Darin. Zelda had instructed Rhamin to follow Corvak and his mate, Corvus. They had been good guides. Rhamin looked down towards the animals from a small ridge that ran along the chain of hills and rises that formed a long barrier between the plains and the steep upper banks of the lake. The upper banks were just a brown dusty extension of the hilly slopes, bone dry and showing little sign of ever having been submerged in water. Further down, the site became flatter, stretching for what seemed an endless distance into the horizon, with cracks so wide that even the big paws of the wolves would not span them. Over to their left the pack could see a broken silver line reflecting the sunlight as it twisted and turned and snaked its way far into the distance like an umbilical chord connecting the embryo of a new and freshly growing lake to the dark clouds of its remote mother source. It wasn’t possible to say whether the buffalo had yet visited the gathering waters which the pack could just distinguish as a silver patch far, far away, but their tracks indicated that they had followed the path of the newly replenished river. The water had raced down to the lake ahead of the rains because so little of it had been absorbed by the baked river beds and the parched ground far away in the mountains. It had nowhere to go but to run off down the dry streams and rivers, channelling and cascading its way over the rocks and pebbles and, gathering speed and collecting dirt, it drove along, pulling out dead branches and trees and any other debris in its path. It raced down hill, faster and faster, nothing able to impede its progress until, released from the confines of the steep mountain valleys, it spread out like a blanket, soaking into the cracks of the plain and the dry lake bed. But once the surface had been given time to absorb the water the land adjacent to the old river bed had begun to soak up the water like a dry sponge, diminishing the torrent to a trickling stream as most of the liquid disappeared into the ground. And, as if by magic, the resilient grasses were reappearing, sending up new shoots that gave the landscape along the side of the silver ribbon a welcome green hue. The buffalo had been following the new green growth, nipping off every new grassy leaf tip.
When the pack got close to the herd, the animals appeared much thinner than they should have been for the time of year, for they too had suffered severely from the drought. There were no young calves with them as there would have been in a normal year. T
hey had either died from lack of food or they had been preyed upon by other hungry predators. But these adult animals were healthy. Rhamin selected a young bull to take, leaving a mature bull and his females to breed. Rhamin knew that in the long term it would benefit them to allow all of the hunted animals in their area to multiply, especially after such a deadly dry spring and early summer. If there had been a disabled or a diseased animal, despite the desperate need of the pack, he would have taken that rather than a healthy one and for no other reason but to preserve the stock number. Wolves are quite capable of taking large healthy animals but when they perform their style of husbandry, it is usually dismissed by humans as the wolves’ inability to bring down the larger animals. That just isn’t so. As it was, Rhamin left the females and their mature male for they were the important ones needed to increase the stock in the next breeding season. In fact, Rhamin knew that they would probably be already in calf for next spring.
Zelda who had stubs of teeth and needed pre-digested food, Bamar who had a broken leg and Yeltsa who was nursing her young, all stayed at the Darin. The rest had travelled with Rhamin and they all fed well that afternoon. They lay in a circle around the carcass resting and sleeping as they digested their huge meals. Corvak and his mate Corvus had been joined by several vultures, but Rhamin lay close enough to the carcass to keep them at bay whist the ravens dined.
Wolves can eat a third of their own body weight in meat at one go, washed down by ample supplies of water, in this case from the newly replenished streams tumbling towards the lake. But their digestive systems can work remarkably fast, and by sun-down, Rhamin’s pack were tucking into the carcass once again, taking their fill this time ready for their journey home during the cool hours of the night.