Chapter 1
As the brightly burning sun rose in the sky it warmed all it touched. But just as
quickly as the warmth came it retreated as the roar of pain tore through the air.
Alenia scrambled to her feet and looked for the source as it sounded close. Her mind told her to run away, but her instincts told her to run and help after all her kind don’t work alone.
Her decision took nothing but a moment before she was in a dead sprint in the direction the sound came from her belongings forgotten. She burst through the trees to see a mother bear fighting a small pack of wolves. Granted it wasn't a large pack they still had resilience and stamina, neither of which the mother possessed. She was severely wounded and losing strength fast. The cub behind it's mother was caterwauling which only drew the attention of the largest wolf. Who then attempted to get past the mother, but he was not very lucky. Another wolf took advantage of the momentary distraction to dart past and it succeeded. The mother didn't see it, and it was after the cub. I knew she would have too much to deal with to guard her back when her back was to a cave with only one entrance.
I jumped into action when the wolf still went unnoticed by the mother bear. I lunged at the cub, shifting all in the space a few heartbeats, and landed right behind it, snarling at the other wolf. By its smell I could tell it was a male. With my sharper vision I could see now why they are attacking the Great Bear. They are starving to death, also probably why their numbers are so little. They are obviously rogues with no territory or food.
The wolf jumped back, and my snarl, having drawn the attention of the enormous beast, was snatched up by its neck and thrown at a tree with a great enough force to kill. The mother looks at me and in that single moment a look of trust and understanding was seen, before she turned back around and snapped at the other wolves. When I first jumped out she had already killed or wounded four of the seven still slinking in a semi circle in front of her, waiting for a moment. She quickly dealt with one after another until the last when her previous wounds would be fatal.
The mother bear went for the last wolf with a snap of her mighty jaws and missed, the wolf having turned at the last minute to bite into her already bloodstained neck and he started to shred. I was not fast enough to stop the end result and I will carry that guilt forever. But I can do one thing and that is to grant her final wish, to make sure that her legacy will continue and that her death won't be in vain.
I knew she didn't have long before she traveled up to Ursa. I ran over to her and I licked her snout, telling her it was going to be okay, that I would protect her until she traveled to the heavens. I layed down next to her to give her further comfort in this situation.
I laid by her as she took her final breath, a look of complete trust in her eyes. I knew the cub would become distressed and attract unwanted attention if we didn't leave quickly. The cub was laying down at her side, whimpering. I didn't want to scare it so I gently stood up and licked it behind the ear.
My hearing detects another presence, so I jerk around to see that behind me sits a deer. I am confused by its presence until it calculatingly gets to its feet, and gracefully strides to the mother bear. The buck further confuses me when it throws back its head and lets out a call so beautifully mournful that I can't help but cry with him. A loud thunder is heard and I stop my cry to see hundreds of small and large animals; prey and hunter alike.
The cub hides behind me but there is no reason, none of the animals hold any malice in their actions. My attention returns to the great stag, when he throws his head up again and cries a song so sad that every animal lays down, in grief allowing diversity. I am also caught in the mournful sound and lay down against the great mother bear.
The mourning continues through the night unto the morning with complete silence like the whole forest decided that it was in mourning. At the first drop of sunlight the great bear begins to glow a bright white blue and it's bright enough that every creature looks away. I am the first to stand up and to look back and I see the mother bear like she is alive with the cub at her feet rubbing on her legs. Then the mother bear lifts her head from her cub and looks at me. And I hear a voice, like a mindlink in my head."Will you continue to protect my cub?"
"Yes I will, I will protect him with my life," I send a reassuring aura into the link so she knows I speak the truth. I sharply turn my head and bow to her. She then turns to look up at the sky, then I see the constellation of Ursa is also glowing.She looks back at me one last time, then turns and trots away. As she goes farther away, she rises higher in the air, till she reaches her final resting place with Ursa.
I feel something rub against my leg, and I look down to see the cub. He looks up at me and I try to mindlink like his mother did with me. I feel like I am diving into a well of wisdom, even with him being so young."What is your name, little one?"
