Fragments Gallery
Wolf Sister
She slept fitfully with her fingers entwined in soft warm fur. Her clothing, spun cotton, was torn and dirty; it had clearly seen better days. The wolves lay all around; some were even curled up against her. To them she was pack. To her they were family.
Outside the cave in which they slept darkness fell. Slowly the wolves began to stir; it was time to rise. Time to hunt.
Her hair, long and lank, cascaded around her shoulders as she sat up. A nearby wolf stood and stretched, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he yawned. He nosed her shoulder as he walked to the entrance to the cave as he silently told her it was time to leave. She stretched as well; her limbs ached as she worked the stiffness from them. Some nights she remembered the soft bed she had slept in while she lived with the humans.
Sometimes she remembered what the human settlement had been like; but then she always remembered the fire that had come after. She remembered the fear she had felt, the terror that had consumed her until the wolves had found her and adopted her into their pack.
They had told her that she was an odd human. She was furless and walked on two legs, but she could speak with them as though she were pack. She was an oddity.
The pond rippled as a pine cone shattered its glassy surface. Tiny waves raced towards the edge of the pond where fallen leaves lay scattered across the forest floor. Single file the wolves left the cave. The girl trailed along behind; as the least experienced in the pack she was the last in line.
The leaves barely rustled as the hunters went through. They were silent and hungry; the time had come to hunt and then eat. Within moments they were gone from the clearing.
With the wolves life was so much easier, thought the girl as she followed them towards their prey. Here she could be herself, here she was at peace.