• Chapter One: The Lost Wolf

    Cold liquid seeped through my thin, black fur. My small, fragile body began to freeze, I was near death. I struggled to move, to stand and seek shelter. But my muscles were too weak, my bones too thin. My near death state grew worse and I eventually fell into an bone-chilling, numb sleep. There was no final dream, nothing to even dream about as I slipped into my icy tomb. But there was at least a final breath that swirled into the freezing air.
    “Is he dead?” a whisper broke the eerie silence.
    “I’ve tried my hardest to warm him up and strengthen his bones... We’ll just have to wait and see.” another whisper answered.
    Who? I silently asked. Who’s there? What happened to me... Am I still alive? There was never an answer. The only response was the sudden feeling of two pairs of eyes burning into my fur, awaiting my miraculous awakening. Air began to slowly seep into my weak and empty lungs. It was painful at first, but very refreshing afterwards. The next thing I knew, my eyes were open and deep, healthy breaths were traveling through my slightly parted jaws. My heart was beating steadily and strength began to appear within my small body.
    I shifted my eyes from side to side to take in my surroundings. Around me was a circular wall of a small hut. A bright fire crackled on my right side. Many colorful, woven blankets were laid over me. I shifted my eyes down to see two jet black paws that my head was resting on.
    “He’s alive!” a loud voice exclaimed in relief. My ears pricked up at the sudden sound. I slowly began to slide my four paws beneath me to push myself into a standing position in order to see the other people that sat around me. To my left sat a big, tan wolf that wore a strange mask over its eyes. There was another wolf that sat behind me, it was brown and also wore a mask. Both of them had tremendous strength that was shown by their muscles rippling under their fur.
    I shifted my nervous glance from wolf to wolf. They both stared at me in return, their expressions carefully hidden behind the masks. My neck was craned upward so I could look them in their hidden eyes; they were much older and taller than me.
    “His name will be Kuro, for his pitch black coat.” the tan wolf said, looking to the other wolf. The brown wolf nodded in agreement.
    “It fits him well.” They both looked back down at me.
    “How old are you, pup?” the tan wolf asked. I stared up in confusion. My name is Kuro? Really? And what age am I, anyway?
    “I don’t know... How old am I?” I shot the question back at the wolf. They knew my name, so they must also know my age. The two wolves exchanged a glance before replying.
    “You really don’t know? Did you get a hit to the head?” the brown wolf asked.
    “I’m not sure, did I? The only thing I remember is the cold slowly taking away my senses... Is that what you mean?” I cocked my head to the side. The wolves looked back at me in concern.
    “I found you unconscious in the blizzard out there.” said the tan wolf. “I’m not sure what happened to you before that. Do you have any idea?”
    “No.” I answered, my confusion began to rise. “You should know everything, you knew my name. I really don’t know anything.” The wolves sighed.
    “He has complete amnesia.” the brown wolf whispered.
    “We should keep him here longer then planned in that case.” mumbled the tan wolf. I shook the woven blankets off of me.
    “I live here?” I asked after sitting down on the blankets that I threw off.
    The wolves didn’t answer, they just stared at me in concern again. “Is there something wrong?” They sighed and shook their heads. I blinked in further confusion. It sure seemed like something was wrong... There wasn’t very much I knew except that I woke up in this small hut. The two wolves gave me a name without asking, but they asked about everything else. Why? Why couldn’t they just give me an age like they gave me a name?
    The wolves seemed to pick up on my thoughts. “The name was only going to be temporary, and we can’t just give you an age. It doesn’t work like that.” said the brown wolf.
    “But you look like a pretty young wolf, barely a year old, I’d say.” the tan wolf cocked his head as if he confused himself with his own comment. “Then, how could you talk so well and understand us... well, understand us for the most part, anyway...” the wolf muttered.
    “I can understand you perfectly, it’s just that your confusing me a little bit...” I commented. The tan wolf looked away, trying to hide the words that he was saying in his eyes. But I caught the silent words, “You are confusing us even more than we’re confusing you, I bet.” I figured it was best to pretend I didn’t catch that. The wolf might get freaked out or something.
    “Uh... I have a quick question.” I started. Both wolves looked at me. “Do either of you know anything about who I am? The most significant memory I have is waking up here. I don’t know anything besides that...” The wolves exchanged another glance.
    “Maybe the poor pup was attacked by a monster or something...” the brown wolf murmured.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me! Have you seen his fur? It’s completely undamaged. It’s scary how healthy he looks, almost godlike!” the tan wolf countered. I listened with curiosity.
    “His health is godlike? Where did that come from?” the brown glared at the tan wolf as if to say, “You had better keep quiet!” The tan wolf didn’t say anything else. The brown wolf turned to me. “Oh, excuse us, Kuro. We haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I am Steldi and this is Kucojen.” Steldi bowed in greeting but Kucojen suddenly turned angry. He stood up and left the small hut without saying a word. My eyes followed him as he disappeared through the canvas flap. Steldi shook his head in shame. “You must excuse him.” is all Steldi said before he followed Kucojen out of the hut.
    I stared at the door, completely confused. They must be really moody or something, or did I say something wrong? I thought to myself. Kucojen’s sudden bitter reactions confused me more than I already was, and I thought that I was already as confused as anyone could get! I didn’t know this place, I don’t know who I am or anything that happened before my near-death situation in the blizzard. It seemed as if I shouldn’t know how to talk or stand, but at the same time, it feels as if there’s too much knowledge that I’m missing. I’m even having trouble phrasing things right in my thoughts!
    Slowly, I picked up my paws and walked the few paw steps to the door. My ears folded forward, listening for any sound outside the hut. When I heard nothing, I took a cautious first-step out of the only shelter I knew of. Snow was blowing around wildly, making it hard to see. The wind roared and whistled through unseen things.
    Fear started to build up inside of me. Nothing looked familiar, everything was a stranger to me. I felt as if I was lost alone in the middle of nowhere with no supplies. With no one to comfort me, to keep me company or to protect me. I had only been awake for a short time, but I felt as if I had been lost forever in this icy realm.
    The scariest part was, the more I thought about it, the more I discovered that I was right. The only thing that I had was myself, I really was lost alone in a realm completely unknown to me!