The indigo night sky stretched endlessly above the darkened trees, and starlight seemed to form transluscent paths across the heavans. Pale streaks of luminesence pierced through the trees from the silver gibbus. Cool breezes swept across the earth as if in apology for the day's intense flames. The day had easily been the summer's hottest and night came as a relief. A stream trickled somewhere off in the dusk, its waters sloshing like memories in the eternal emptiness of time.

An ivory she-wolf sat alone in a small patch of the Fuschia Sky trees, peering through a gap in the canopy overhead at the stretch of stars the Zaburi's called Lupus's Path. Legends told of spirit wolves that patroled this stretch of sky, looking down on those they left behind. The wolfess frowned, her serpentine eyes tinted and glowing in the moon's light. She found herself lost in memories again, and the scents around her lulled at her senses. She felt the faint and barely existing images and scents and sounds of childhood, dancing just out of reach as memory tends to do so. The lupine bared her fangs at the heavans in an odd sort of grimace, of perhaps inner pain. But the expression soon flickered and died away. Are they up there now? She wondered, curiously picking at the tales of long long ago. Are they watching?

The hoot of an owl disturbed her from her reminessence and she shifted her gaze to catch the shadow of a barn owl, silhouetted against the moon like a pale, translucent ghost, lost in eternity, in time, in what they called forever. The young alphena sighed inaudibly and glanced around. Just then, the wind picked up and carried a painfully familiar smell to her nares. Reimora, she looked up into the sky once more and swore she saw a single star twinkle coldly at her. Oh Reimora, my brother...are you happy? Are you with her? Tamazarashi? The wolfess shook her head at herself, at her now ridiculous thoughts, but she couldn't help feel the longing for childhood again, to see Kaede and Reimora pounce over Raidon, to see Kimiko stand proudly in the alpha stance she'd admired so, to giggle silently at Reimora, sneaking away to see his love, Tamazarashi of a pair of loners. How far away that seemed now. She would never again see nor hear her siblings querrel, never again breathe the sweet, sweet scent of her mother.

Her thoughts fell away into silence as the night's crickets picked up their symphony again, once again reminding her that she was alone in the world. The alphess of the Blossoming Leaves tossed her well-crafted head, wondering where her packmate and friend was and if she should indeed be getting back to camp.

The faint thud of paw-falls entered the she-wolf's ears but even before that came the scent of unfamiliarity. The ivory femme turned her head, eyes narrowed suspiciously. Before the she-wolf could see the new-comer, she had deduced that it was a she-wolf from a far distant land, not a Zaburi. Pity, I had hoped for Tetesi...maybe then I can subdue this hunger with her blood, she thought, uncharacteristicly harsh. Yet as the wolfess came into sight, the Janichanuan alphess drew back, hardly daring to believe her eyes. She took in the red hue of the she-wolf and took a step forward before veiling her eyes with icy guardedness.

"Scarletflame?" she breathed, forgetting her suspision as she gazed at the cinnamon she-wolf. She saw the she-wolf move out of the shadows and saw the streaks of black underneath her fur and the amber glow of her eyes. It was not the Janichanuan Shaman she grew up with. Yet the haunting similarities she saw unnerved her as she observed the ginger wolf's wrathful beauty.

"What be thy name and they purpose on Janichanua-Zaburi's land?"

The brilliant white lupiness lifted her head and straightened herself into the infamous alpha stance qnd rested her steel-cold green eyes on the red-hued wolfess. A small frown played at Sonya's lips, pushing away memories of the gentle but fierce she-wolf Scarletflame.

The surface of the pond rippled, the mirror view of the clouds and stars above shaken and broken as the wind zipped across it almost playfully. The moonlight trickled through the tree branches, creating its usual odd shadows on the tall, verdant green grass. The viridian expanse of land shook with the breeze. The grass was night cool, a welcome chance to the earlier heat. Suddenly, a dark shadow fell on the grass. The silhouette of a lean, tall-built wolf was seen as wisps of moonlight quivered around it. The water produced a new image, the reflection of the red wolf’s bright ginger fur.

The male licked his large canine teeth and angled his head to look up at the sky. Suddenly, the violet eyes shimmered with sadness. The gleaming stars twinkled at him. Nakkura let his mouth gape open to let escape a long, deep whine. He had lost so much… What about Sonya? he asked himself. She’s lost plenty of family, too. Stop being selfish. He smiled and settled down in the grass, and then the wolf threw his head back. Jaws parting, his chest rumbled, and his voice exploded out of his mouth. A long, deep howl ripped through the silent night, quivering as the note hit the end.

Nakkura smiled and opened up his eyes. He saw a gleaming figure just ahead of him. Through the glow, he caught the dark cinnamon gaze he often seen staring down at him in his dark dreams. He broke out into a grin and ran to the wolf-dog, who turned to nuzzle him. Her touch was cool like the wind. Ari closed her eyes and took a step back. Nakkura followed with a step, but the female turned around and leapt into a run.

Nakkura’s past often came back to him in these flashes. Sometimes it was Ari, the love of his life; sometimes it was Luja, his adopted brother; at times it was even Luja’s friend Rok or Sosei the Dark Wolf. They never spoke to him, just occasionally followed him, lead him away from the camp, tried to send him a silent message. It pained his heart to not be able to understand, to talk back, but he understood their warmth at least. Now, he trained his eyes on the flying figure ahead of him and lurched forward in a gallop.

Suddenly, the wind whirled around and brought to him an unfamiliar scent. He stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air again, to confirm it. Yes, it was a strange she-wolf as well as the alpha female of his pack. He noticed the glittering shape ahead of him stop and turn, and the look in the spirit’s eyes seemed sad but understanding. Ari nodded, knowing he had to go to his pack. At least, he thought of even the one wolf his pack. He didn’t have another.

I’m coming, Sonya, Nakkura thought as he ran in the direction of the she-wolf. He broke through the tall grass, running past the stream and the pond. He narrowed his violet eyes and drew his lips back to show his teeth as he screeched to a stop. He stared distrustfully over at the ginger she-wolf as he came into view. He turned his body to take a step toward Sonya, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t understand the situation at hand just yet, so he too waited.

"Thank you, Lady Sonya, I would be happy to accept your offer to join Janichanua-Zaburi," FireWren answered, the Zaburi names sounded odd to her and they felt wierd as she said them. "And as for where I came from; I come from FirePack, a pack of red wolves far from these lands."

Lost in memories of her old pack, FireWren distractedly asked, "Do you know what's become of my parents. I'd much like to see them again." FireWren's fire-orange eyes glowed with hope as she waited to hear what Sonya knew about her long-lost kin.

Growling softy as she accepted her invitation, Sonya gave a small, controlled smile. She flicked her brush at Nakkura, indicating that there was no need to be overly suspicious. She knew that it was the red varg's nature to be so but she herself believed FireWren and was glad to welcome another member to her pack. Her ears flickered as the wolfess questioned about her parents and their whereabouts with hope in her voice. Her own heart sank a little as she realized that she would have to disappoint her.

She sighed and shook her beautiful head, keen eyes growing sad with the memories of the beautiful shaman and her mate. She remembered training and tussling with Duskshower and her siblings and watching Scarletflame mix herbs. She almost found Scarletflame's presence as comforting as her mother's and still longed for her sweet, herbal scent. Sonya shook her head slowly, fixing FireWren with a sympathetique look that said, I'm sorry.

"During the Battle of the Frozen Leaves with Baridiganda-Zaburi pack from the north...many were lost, my own parents included," she paused, eyes narrowing as her blood boiled with cold fury towards the ice wolves. "I am not certain of what became of Scarletflame or Duskshower...my sister and I escaped the devastation but we did not see your parents, either way...and later when Kaede died from her wounds and I wandered the lands, I never once saw nor heard of them, I apologize, FireWren." She shuddered inwardly, feeling glad she chose the phrase either way instead of dead or alive. She couldn't bare to utter those words about the wolves that were near enough family.

Ashamed that she could not give the cinnamon she-wolf any more information, she let her tail drop a little in further apology before glancing at Nakkura, frowning a little as he showed what looked like extreme interest in the newcomer. Finding this slightly amusing, she cocked her head at him, remembering that the she-wolf's being a red wolf may bring him feelings of kin. Sighing, she forced her thoughts away from the state of Duskshower and Scarletflame, but she desperately wanted to know what became of them, even if they were dead, she would want to know.

The red wolf stared at the ground again. His ears perked up in the direction of the female as she guessed that her parents were dead and said that they had promised to meet her again. Nakkura had never known his real parents; he knew only Luja’s, and he didn’t know if they were alive or not. It was natural for a lone wolf to be alone, but he was glad that he had a pack now.

Therefore, he could only imagine the sadness Firewren felt. He glanced up at her, sympathy showing a little in his eyes, but she stared at him in surprise. He guessed that it was because he was another red wolf; he hadn’t seen any other than in the southern lands. In fact, he thought he had only seen one or two in his life.

And now I meet a female one, he thought with an inward shrug. He then realized that Firewren would’ve noticed him before, but her surprise was directed toward his eyes, a deep violet. He blinked and turned his head away, looking almost abashed. The cream around his muzzle seemed to match his gingery fur as he blushed. He mumbled to Sonya, “Uh, I could go and hunt now...or something...” He started to walk away, but his white paws hesitated. He frowned and lowered his head again.

Nakkura couldn’t remember feeling this way before. He was thrilled to meet another of his breed, at least his heart told him he should be, but he wasn’t used to getting odd gazes, even after being stared at several times by other wolves. Even his adoptive parents had recoiled when his eyes first opened, rich purple. He frowned and sat down, wrapping his slick tail around him. He didn’t want to appear embarrassed, but his stone mask failed him.

"So...is this all that remains of Janichanua?" Sadly, Sonya nodded, it was all the answer she gave her, all that was needed.
Sensing Nakkura's uncharacteristic embarrassment, she turned to him and blinked in what she hoped was a light and cheering way. Truthfully, she liked his violet eyes; it reminded her of the late night sky. As he said he could go hunt, she nodded slowly.

"Yes, good idea...in fact, I will come. We can do your trials now if you'd like to be tested for hunter, FireWren," she said lightly at the she-wolf, smiling now. As FireWren commented on hunting in forests, she laughed softly, feeling curious about hunting on open plains. She had once journeyed through the Red Plains on her way to a gathering but had not stopped to hunt. Feeling a sting at the memory for it had been her only gathering with her mother, she quickly passed on the thought.

Returning focus to the wolfess with the shaded red pelt, she cocked her head, green eyes meeting FireWren's red ones.
"Well, you are about to find out then...I'm certain it will be pretty different," she growled, stretching out each of her hind legs in turn. "I'm also pretty sure we scared away all the prey in this part of the territory...maybe we should introduce her to the Verdant Forest and camp...Nakkura?" She turned to him, slightly amused at his embarrassment and slightly ashamed that she was. Leaning in so only he would hear her, she growled, teasingly into his ear. "I like the color violet, Nakkura..." She flashed him a look and grinned before running off and calling at them, "C'mon...huntin' awaits us!"

FireWren smiled back at the violet-eyed wolf, already used to the strange hue and even coming to like the color. As he spoke, she listened intently, wanting to learn all the techniques for forest hunting. "Yeah, my pelt was good back at FirePack where the plains were reddish in color. But back there, there was no cover so one caught their prey simply by chase not by stalking it. If you tried to stalk your prey in the FirePack plains you’d end up with an empty belly; the prey would see or smell you before you were close enough to lunge for it. Then, the prey would get a head start and you’d never catch it,” FireWren realized she was repeating the words of her adoptive mother, Juniperfeather when she’d taken her out on her first hunting mission. The young varg thought how ridiculous she must sound talking about hunting on plains to wolves who’d never hunted anywhere but this lush forest. Suddenly overwhelmed with embarrassment, she began to study her paws.