Forest's Journey

A/N: All the chapters are told from Forest’s perspective unless otherwise stated.

Forest padded purposefully towards the humans’ town, pushing all his grief and fear away to the back of his mind. He knew if he thought about his grief and fear, it would overwhelm him like a wave of cold water. His mother told him to find a safe place to sleep when The Pack of the Sun will visit his dreams and guide him to his new home. He found a place in an empty alley and circled down to sleep on the hard ground.

He opened his eyes, and he was blinded by a flash of bright sunlight. He looked around and saw himself in a bright forest with sunlight and realised with a surge of excitement that he was in The Pack of the Sun’s hunting grounds. He saw a he-wolf with a band of bright yellow sunlight all around his body.

“Who are you?” Forest asked the newcomer.

“I’m Beech, your father’s father.” replied the newcomer.

“What do I have to do to get to the new forest where I must make five packs?” asked Forest.

“See this beam of sunlight in front of you? When you wake up, you’ll still see this. If you follow this beam, you’ll meet the wolves you need to meet. Only you can see the beam, and no one else.” Beech said as he pointed to a beam of sunlight shining out from between Forest’s paws

“Oh wow, I didn’t see this before!” exclaimed Forest, “But if other wolves can’t see this will they believe me?”

“You’ll need to tell them about your quest, and you also need to tell them who sent you on this quest. As you know, The Pack of the Sun and The Pack of the Moon are only the ancestors of packs, and the ancestors of loners stay somewhere else. The loners you’re going to meet know this too. All loners fear pack wolves, because they’re much stronger than them. Most also believe that the ancestors of the packs give them strength, so the loners admire, respect and fear The Pack of the Sun and The Pack of the Moon as well. Once you meet a loner you’re destined to find, you need to tell them about your story, and the wolf you find will be visited by us in their dreams. You’ll be visited too, and the wolf you find will be shown your beam of sunlight, as well as a formal welcome from The Pack of the Sun or The Pack of the Moon. Then they’ll have to believe you.” explained Beech.

“Thanks for telling me, Beech. I’ll try my best to complete my task.” replied Forest.

Black mist swirled around Forest until he opened his eyes to a beam of sunlight shining down from above.

Forest’s belly grumbled as slowly woke up. He decided to go on a hunt before he would follow the sunlight trail that shone before him. He knew he wouldn’t find forest prey like squirrels or voles, but he hoped he could bring down a rat, a mouse or even a bird. Soon Forest had killed a rat and a mouse, and he sat down and devoured his prey in several gulps. Then, he stood up and followed the trail that would lead him to where he was supposed to go.

Forest’s fur stood on an end as he heard a low growl from a creature in front of him. It was hiding behind a shaggy bush, but he could make out the strands of russet fur on its pelt and its sharp, white muzzle. Forest gasped. It was a fox! It leapt out from the bush and landed almost on top of him. Why had the trail led him to a fox? Was it his destiny to die before finishing his quest? Suddenly, a wolf with long and messy fur jumped out of nowhere and landed on top of the fox. The fox yelped in panic, and it spun and jumped to shake the newcomer off. Then, it ran as fast as it could with its tail between its legs.

“Thank you for chasing the fox off. I’m Forest. Who are you?” asked Forest.

“ No problem, I like to help new wolves around here. I’m Bush, by the way. I’d better be off now, I don’t like to talk much with other wolves.” the newcomer Bush grunted.

He was about to turn around and walk off when Forest called him back.

“Wait, don’t go yet. I need to tell you something. I think you’re destined to be an Alpha of a pack at the place I’m travelling to. Please, let me use one day of your time. Stay with me tonight, and you’ll find out if you’re supposed to lead a pack somewhere far away from here.” Forest pleaded.

“All right, I’ll come with you for a night. I guess some company once in a while is fine.” Bush grumbled.

Although his tone was grumpy, Bush’s eyes sparkled with an excited light and an ambitious gleam.

“Welcome to the hunting grounds of The Pack of the Sun. I want to first welcome Bush into the huge community of pack wolves. By helping another wolf in need and believing what Forest said, this young wolf has proved himself worthy to be a pack wolf, and soon a pack Alpha.” announced Beech.

“Thank you. I’m honoured to be welcomed as a pack wolf. I’ll try my best to serve my future pack.” replied Bush.

“Bush, do you see the light leading to Forest’s paws? In the waking world, only Forest can see this light. This light will guide you to the new territories. Always follow and believe Forest. He is always under our guidance.” informed Beech.

Bush nodded in understanding, then black mist swirled around the wolves before they once again woke up.

“Did you have the dream about...The Pack of the Sun?” Bush asked hesitantly after they woke up.

“Yes, of course. They really do want you to become an Alpha. Beech is my grandfather, and he has guided me since I started my journey. Now, let’s start hunting.” Forest said.

Bush nodded and they went to separate directions to find their prey. There was a lot of commotion around the cluster trash bins where they usually found rats and mice. Loud growling filled the air around them, while a huge truck was parked near the cluster and the humans emptied all the rubbish in those huge boxes to the truck.

“Let’s hunt somewhere else, there’s too much commotion here and I don’t think we’ll be able to catch anything.” whispered Forest.

“I agree, let’s go!” replied Bush, gesturing with his tail.

They soon found another cluster of undisturbed trash bins, and they caught mice and rats for breakfast. As soon as they finished eating, they heard a loud cry for help from a wolf. Without hesitation, the two wolves rushed towards the sound and saw three wolves being captured by humans. ‘Animal rescue’, they called it, but it was actually endangering them by capturing them and taking them to who knows where. The two he-wolves leaped into action, clawing and biting the humans so the 3 wolves being captured could escape the metal hoops and nets that the humans used. They fought with unanimity, dodging the equipment that the humans used while dealing heavy blows and deep scratches with their big paws and sharp paws. After they were sure that the 3 wolves were safe, they quickly fled before the humans could bring reinforcements.

“Wait for us, we want to talk to you! Please Tell me your names.” yelled Forest as they ran after the 3 wolves.

“I’m Leaf, this is Grass, and this is Rye. What have you got to say to us?” asked the oldest of them.