Thirty-Four has been awaiting his Pelt all his life. All across the wolf world of Sylvera, others wield magic of all kinds, and he longs for the ability to channel his own power.
All around him, mysteries begin to unfold. With eyes watching from the...
It was dark. So, so dark. Every spark of light had vanished from the world. Even the stars were hiding in the folds of night's cloak.
Carefully, Toivo took another soft step in the direction he hoped led to his destination - not that he was entirely sure where that destination was. All he knew was that he had to get there, whatever the night threw at him.
Yet the darkness swamped him constantly. It seemed to flow and ripple, closing in deeper and harder with every dive. Try as he might, he couldn't penetrate its suffocating hold.
A panic began to squirm inside, wrapping around his chest, forcing his breath to emerge more rapidly. It wasn't the only sound amongst the dark. From all around him, birds chirped, and leaves rustled. From far away, he detected the excited yell of a playing Peltless. But he wasn't part of that world. Instead, he was alone here, with only the night to accompany him.
Or perhaps not. His ears pricked up, the panic releasing its hold briefly as a baying howl sounded. It was far away. But it wasn't unreachable.
More voices joined. And more. A whole pack of wolves, also shrouded in darkness, all calling out to him.
Maybe they knew how to find the light.
With a replying bark, he sprinted forwards, hurtling towards his companions. Surely they were getting closer. He'd be with them soon.
But then there was another howl, this time from behind. In fact, all the howls came from behind. Turning, he raced back the way he'd come, desperation powering his limbs.
The sound moved to the left. He curved to the left. Then to the right. Back, and forth, until he found himself running in circles. Helpless. With every effort, the night only swooped in to tighten his dark prison.
Panic returned in full force, roughly twisting his heart and pressing his lungs. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't cry out.
He couldn't even fight back.
The call faded to one single voice, but it sounded different from before. Quieter, whispering voices pricked at the night. But still he gasped for breath.
Until the stars broke through. Silver light flashed, and the darkness finally vanished.
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Toivo's eyes snapped open. Gasps still shook his chest, and he dug his claws into the ground beneath him, never more grateful for reality. Blinking rapidly, he huddled downwards, shying away from the orange glimmers of light above.
For a moment, he expected to roll over and see Calder beside him. The thought crossed his mind that he should go to see Lexi today, and maybe she would be able to help him understand his new nightmare.
But it wasn't long before it all flooded back.
Along with the distant sound of a howling call.
Toivo shot to his paws, ears fixing on the sound. It had been the same one that had cut across his dream, right at the end - although he wasn't sure whether that had been subconscious sound or this reality. His eyes darted across the clearing to see Katana, also on her paws, ears tilting forwards as she stared fiercly into the dim forest.
