*
Cairo ran up to the edge once he heard the howling of his daughter, Kayala. The tension was very much visible in his face. He raised his neck, turned left and right to locate the Druids. Kayala was the eldest of her siblings and the most skilled wolf in the pack. Her howling couldn’t be a false alarm. If the Druids aren’t visible then they must be lurking around the bushes and waiting for the perfect moment to strike, Cairo, the wise old alpha of the pack, thought to himself. Adana, sitting inside the den, was watching him. Two cubs were playing with each other behind her and a new born sleeping between her front legs. She could sense the tension rising in Cairo. For a moment she felt helpless for not being able stand by his side and the next moment she felt guilty that, if she didn’t walk out from her pack with this charming lone wolf that day then it would never come down to this. Her siblings, the Druids, were up against the alpha of her new family. They were her own blood with whom she grew up together, played together, hunted together, fought of intruder packs in their territory and invaded the territories of other packs together. Most importantly, they always had each other’s back no matter what. Until one day the young brown lone wolf entered their territory. Though he was unwelcomed by the rest of the Druids, Adala was enchanted by the new comer’s charms, so much so that, the she became willing to leave the once inseparable bond with her siblings.
Cairo walked up to Adala and rubbed his head with hers and licked their new born son. It’s been nearly 5 years since the day he first met her but she still looked just as much beautiful and elegant. Once a Druid always a Druid, he thought. He still remembered the day they met for the first time. He was exiled from his pack for disobeying his father, the alpha. Despite his orders, young Cairo kept hunting from forbidden territories and got himself and the rest of the pack into trouble times and times again, just to despise his old man. Until one day he had to be excommunicated for the sake of the pack. Cairo started travelling through the lands. On his travels he had to hunt down preys that were double his size, face predators that moved in groups. These were the time when he truly realized the need of a pack. These were the times he missed his siblings the most, who used to show up united and strong to back him up every time he got himself into trouble with other packs through trespassing. These were also the times that developed in him precision, discipline and wisdom. Looking for a shelter he arrived at the land of the Druids. The wise old alpha Druid could smell trouble in the new comer. Without delay he started to chase the lone wolf out of his territory and the rest of the pack glared and growled at him all at the same time. Cairo walked out far enough to not appear threatening. But he stood straight and kept his tail facing upward, looking eye to eye at the alpha male. That was the very moment one she wolf of the Druids stopped growling. The young handsome wanderer had no one to stand by his side, yet he displayed pride and grace by facing her father upright while being calm and non-threatening. Adala was moved by the graceful presentation of this charming individual. In the darkness of the night she ventured out to meet with the new wolf. She had made up her mind. She was completely captivated by his charms. She did not have an option. The two, accompanied by four more of her siblings that followed her out in the dark, had to stay in hiding to avoid the wrath of the pack. The next morning when the Druids went out on their regular patrol, they spotted their siblings with new comer in the center. They started to chase the six of them. Cairo led his newly formed pack towards the no man’s land. The chasers gathered around and started howling together. The howl carried the sound of disappointment, betrayal and disgrace. An exiled lone wolf leading the pack of a pure blood druid! What could be more disgraceful for them? They could not let it go that easy. The Druids kept an eye on the new pack over the course of time.
Cairo, with his new family, started invading neighboring territories. The once exiled wolf was now the alpha of his own pack and owned more territory than his old man. Over the span of five years the pack grew much larger and stronger than it was at the beginning. Cairo and Adala were no longer young hunters but wise old leaders of the family. Their children, trained by their parents, uncles and aunts, were growing up to become just as much ferocious and fearless. But the time had arrived when they finally would have to use their skills in a battlefield instead of a hunting ground. The Druids did not let go of their resentment for the siblings who disregarded them to join a nobody. They had been waiting for an opportunity to get back at them and let them know what it is like to betray the family. Since the previous year Cairo and his pack had been pretty much advertising their presence in the land by howling and patrolling a lot more openly, firstly, to showcase their power to the other predators but most importantly, because they were now truly capable enough to tackle a possible threat. He knew the day would come when he would have to face the former family of the alpha female of his pack and settle the matter once and for all. The howling did not go unnoticed by the Druids. They were on the move, now that their enemy was inviting them in deliberately.
Kayala, along with her siblings returned to the den and so did the siblings of Adala. The Druids could now be seen, coming from afar, united together like one big wolf, just like old times. This is it, Cairo thinks. This would be the battle that would turn the tides entirely for one of the two packs. This would either be the final blow for the Druids or this would mark the ending of the Legend who started with nothing and ended up building an empire. Cairo signaled his younglings to stand on guard in front of Adala and the cubs and ordered the rest to march with him. With his daughter by his side and the rest of the pack behind them in perfect formation, Cairo started marching towards the Druids. The Druids on the other, aggressive and arrogant as always, were coming towards them like hungry beasts let out of a cage. Within split seconds the two groups clashed into each other. Cairo and Kayala bit and pawed any druids that came in their way. His other children, who had only sparred with each other and fought against elks and bison, were having a hard time facing the Druids, who had been fighting against deadly predators their whole life. But the children of Cairo were much more mindful during the battle as they were taught by their father. They spread around the field and forced the Druids to split up in order to get to them. Now that, they were tackling each other one on one, the fight got a lot more intense. A lot of the Druids were overwhelmed by the calm and collective sons and daughters of Cairo. A lot of the young soldiers from this side also were getting mauled by the Druids. Cairo at that time was facing the new Alpha of the Druids, the eldest brother of Adala. They both held their grounds with precision. For every blow thrown by Cairo, he had to receive one back. For every bite, he got bit back, until he missed one blow. Cairo threw his paw aiming for the face of the Druid alpha. He jumped back and managed avoid the attack. Missing his face, Cairo stumbled and fell on the ground. This was the moment that could decide the fate of the war. His enemy was on the ground with a fractured leg. He could easily kill Cairo and get hold of his entire pack and his land. He decided to go for it and jumped to attack the wounded beast lying on the ground. Right at that moment he felt a heavy blow on his torso from the side and got thrown on the ground. He tried to stand up but fell down again. He turned his head and saw Kayala standing in front of him, shrugging her shoulder and growling at him with her teeth clenched. She leaned back a bit and jumped at him with all her might, forcing her front paws on his neck and throwing constant bites while barking out with each bite. Suddenly a very high pitched howl from not very far startled everyone on the battlefield. All engagement suddenly stopped. The rage of the battlefield transformed into silence of a graveyard in a split second. As the soldiers made way, Adala, the majestic white furred she wolf, walked through carrying her new born in her mouth. Her younglings, who were in charge of her protection walked behind her while glaring and clenching their teeth towards the Druid soldiers on either side. Adala walked up to her elder brother, who was pinned to the ground by her daughter. She dropped her new born on the ground and signaled Kayala to move off of her uncle. He now managed to stand up. Seeing her standing in front of him after all this year sparked all sorts of emotions in him. His tail was down, so was his head. He was staring at the new born child of her sister. Everyone on the battlefield was baffled by the scenery, wondering what kind turn of events are going to take place now. After a while the new born left out a yawn stretching his arms and made a whining sound. That was moment he was forced to break out of his character. He could not hold back any longer. He slowly walked up to the kid and licked him. Right away every wolf on the battlefield started howling in unison. He now proceeded to embrace his sister. Cairo stood up and Kaya walked up beside him. Once a Druid, always a Druid, he thought to himself.
