Garius was out hunting, foraging, and looking for supplies that his pack could use to fatten up for the upcoming winter that would soon be upon them. He knew his tricks well enough that he could survive winter no matter how bad it would become, but he worried for the other younger members of his pack. While he himself had fathered no children, many in his pack did and he always felt the need to be a father to them as well as all the others within his pack. He was the leader and he knew the responsibility for them was on his shoulders.
He had heard a loud commotion in the distance, it was his pack and they were chasing something quite aggressively so he quickly sprinted into the direction the sounds were coming from. As he drew closer he could pick up the scent of at least six of his pack members as well as the scent of someone he did not recognize. Female, scared, and nearing exhaustion. As he came over the hill he saw them at the bottom racing along a river trying to catch a fox, yet this fox was like no other he had seen. She was darting through trees and branches as she ran and it was tripping up some of the members of the pack which only frustrated them more.
Garius smiled and then let out a loud howl that his pack members would recognize immediately. He told them to stop and everyone froze in that procession including this nimble fox. He had smelled her, but thought it was a strange wolf instead. It made him curious so he called out to those in his pack and ordered them to leave. He would handle this as he made his way down the hill towards this curious fox.
She looked up at his majestic form standing on this hill top barking out orders as her pursuers now all tucked their tails and left. She would not run as he now made his way down to her. She would stand her ground with pride, even though she was afraid, she wanted to meet this one who was unlike any other she had seen before.
He marched up to her expecting her to bolt and run in one direction or another, every other creature would as many in these lands feared a wolf of his size, yet she just stood there as he came just short of her slightly down the hill. Unsure if she was frozen in fear or just crazy he stopped just short of her face, nostril to nostril, He was breathing out his heat and inhaling hers as he stood there just staring into her eyes. She was not afraid, she was brave and she was beautiful. He had never seen a fox like her and for one short moment he was lost in her light eyes, but then snapped out of it.
"Who are you and why was my pack chasing you?" he asked, looking her over. "You're too lean to be food."
She took that as a compliment as she prided herself on her athletic abilities. "I am a wolf," she told him, "and I was trying to help them find food".
"A wolf?!" he snapped back at her "Well I must see this." He rose off of the slope he was standing on to tower over her. He was monstrous compared to her and he circled around her examining her in case he missed something. The ears, the tail, all very fox-like. She was small, strong and he listened to her heart moving her blood through her, very wolf-like. Next his eye was captured by the markings that ran down her back. Weaved into her fur from head to toe was a blueish grey fur that filled her back where her whole spine would be covered.
"A wolf of blue and grey" he whispered looking her over. "Why do you have these markings on your back?"
"I am not sure, I thought they were from my father, he was a wolf."
He snapped back into her face "Impossible! The blood lines do not mix."
"I am not sure of that, whatever it means, all I know is my father gave his life to save me as a child and he was a wolf."
Garius needed time to think about this. If she was a wolf then they would do her no harm, yet she looked like a fox, blazing red from the front and proud. She had more courage than any fox he had seen, probably more than some wolves whom he had watched wet themselves in his presence. He decided to walk with her and take her back with him to meet the pack. This was going to cause an uproar.
"Follow me, let's go meet the pack" he sighed.
She could not believe what she had just heard. For so long she had been alone out here trying to find a home, no, a family that would welcome her in. She followed behind him as he turned back to her and said "Not back there, stay by my side, you must enter as my equal, not my follower. It is a show of strength." she now raced up besides him to keep pace "Do you have a name? I am Garius"
"I am unsure. My father called out Nibelski before he died"
"Nibelski, alright that will do fine. Now they may be upset when they see you, leave that to me, just don't bite any of them no matter how tempting it is"
She nodded wondering what he even meant, but he was the largest and obviously the leader. He had a gentle way about him buried deep within his strength which he did not need to show off. The one howl from him was blood curdling enough, she thought of what he was like when he was angry. They quickly made their way to the pack who she saw in the distance with a crow overhead watching from a tree.
He was correct and they all started growling in displeasure as they approached the pack in the den where they were staying. One smaller wolf came out and began to walk in circles in front of them growling the whole time. Garius ran up to him and threw him to the ground like an empty sack and placed his paw on his throat. "You would challenge me, Thydor? You would not be with us today if not for me, then maybe it would be best if I were the one to end you" he now showed his teeth and the muscles across his back and shoulders tensed up as another wolf came charging out of the den.
"Please spare him Garius, he is young. I promise he will pay for his disrespect to you and your guest"
"He better pay, Ophelia. I will have no disrespect among the pack. The leaders word is final"
"The leader's word is final" they all chanted as Garius let his paw off of the young wolf's neck and then turned his attention back to his guest.
"This is Nibelski, she is my honored guest. You treat her as you would treat me. There is a mystery at work this day and I need time to reflect on it. Until I decide what to do, she remains with us." he stopped and listened to the pains of her stomach. "Break out the meat and berries, my friend is hungry"
The food was brought out and they began feasting as Garius took a small chunk of flesh and tossed it away from them as the crow landed to feed on it. One of the pack looked up "But what of more food? Today's hunt did not go as well and this is yesterday's portion."
It was Siphel, the ever present thorn in his paw, always with something to whine about. He was more like a pup than a wolf of his age. Garius shook his head.
"The plains where I was roaming just over the hill will be filled with life tomorrow. Prepare early, before dawn" He looked through his pack for a worthy wolf to lead the charge, then after finding it turned his attention back to Siphel "Since you concern yourself with food supplies, I think you should lead the charge." Garius had now made Siphel the fool and he just had to wait for him to prove it.
"Oh, great leader, my rear leg is still healing from the fall I took last week on our hunt. I would hate to be the one that hinders the hunt tomorrow." Siphel now backed into the pack.
"Yes, that would be too bad" he turned his attention to his friend Werson. "Werson, are you up to the challenge?"
Werson stepped out immediately in front of the pack "It would be my honor, but what of you Garius? Will you not be there tomorrow?"
Garius looked over at Nibelski gorging herself on berries. "No, I think I will be busy. There will be some weak ones tomorrow, easy to catch." The pack never knew how Garius did it, but they were convinced he could smell the next day before it arrived. Under him the pack was strong, unbeatable, and they trusted in him for their very survival. He made his way over to his honored guest to try to make some sense out of the days events.
"I hope you don't plan to only eat those berries. You should have some meat as well." he told her.
"I am used to them, I have survived very well on my own out here….no disrespect."
He nodded "All alone, you have no family at all, no pack? Were you separated from them?"
"All I remember was that I was very young and the earth was running away from us. My father, a large wolf, grabbed me and threw me to safety. I heard him call my name and when I turned to look he was not there. He was gone, everything was gone. The trees, all the creatures, just gone."
It was the first time Garius had heard of such a thing and he thought he knew every story in this region. "What do you mean the 'earth was running'?"
"Well, I was very young and I just remember it was all running away from me until it wasn't there."
This was strange, and Garius did not like mysteries that may one day affect his pack. "Have you no mother? No siblings?"
"No, I just passed out from exhaustion and woke up alone. I know my father was a wolf, but my mother I do not remember"
"She must have at least have been a fox" Garius felt wrong saying this as he knew the two could not breed. They also would never get close enough to have that much trust. "Do you know where this place is? Could you show it to me?"
"It was a long time ago, I know part of the way." She paused and swallowed "It was all very traumatic and my memories of it are not the best. Like I said, I was young."
"Yes, young" he said looking her over. She was still young to him. He wondered how long she had been out here by herself. He decided to get to the bottom of this mystery and hopefully they could find her family as well. They would set out tomorrow. "You should really eat some meat, you have a long journey tomorrow."
"Journey?" she asked, confused. "Journey where?", but he was off pulling at some meat scraps to prepare himself for tomorrow. She decided to take his advice and went over by him to take a few small bites. Meat was something she did not have that often, yet it felt good as she took a small piece to nibble on her own by the side of the den.
Garius went over and stood in the circle of wolves "Tomorrow I will be leaving for a short time and taking our guest with me. There is a danger somewhere out there and I must find it and make sure it does not come our way. It has the power to destroy everything, trees, water, our lives. It is how my friend here lost her family, so I hope that she can lead me to the answers out there. Werson, stand in my absence." he nodded to him as Werson nodded back.
It was getting late and the morning was bringing a busy day for them all. They made their way into the den to rest for the night as Garius lay down in the entrance to the den as was his custom as a protector. She would not rest in a den of wolves so she lay down just in front of him to get some rest as he placed a paw on her to keep track of where she was.She had the best sleep that she could ever remember, having a protector so close allowed her to relax and just let go. It was a nice feeling.