Snow gasped and dashed towards the creature and flung herself onto its back. DIgging her claws in deep, Snow sank her teeth in the closest spot she could reach and clamped her jaw into the fur of the beast until she could taste blood. The beast roared in agony, tossing Snowflake as far as it could and thrashed, trying to throw Snow off. Panicked, she leaped off and ran next to Snowflake's side. Her eyes were closed and she seemed unconscious. Opening her mouth, she howled "Moon!" As loud as she could.
Her head spun as she dashed around, trying to think. What would Moon do? "Moon!" She howled again. Cobwebs! She remembered. Spotting a wad, Snow swung out her paw and clawed out a pawful. Dashing back, Snow pressed onto the bloodiest gash she could find and set all her weight on it. Shaking with fear, Snow winced as Snow twitched with pain.
"Snow!" A voice made her jump.
"Moon!"
"What happened?" Moon panted,"Here, let me," Moon peeled off the cobwebs and folded it up into a firmer, smaller patch,"Get me some water," Moon ordered. Snow dashed to the nearest tree she could see and scratched at the moss. Spotting a pond, she soaked up water in the moss and ran back. Moon used the water and cleaned away the blood. Chewing up an orange flower, Moon trickled the juices into the wound,"It's Calendula, that'll prevent infection, and help heal the wound," Moon explained as he wrapped a fresh wad of cobwebs around the wound, securing it with a pat,"Now we can only wait."
"We should move her somewhere warmer," Snow suggested. Lifting Snowflake gently by her scruff, Snow dragged her to a patch of sunlight.
"What happened?" Icicle ran up to Snow, gasping.
"She got attacked by a creature," Snow said.
Icicle's eyes widened,"I'll make a nest," he suggested. He padded over to his sister, Rain, and murmured something in her ear. Rain's eyes widened and nodded, and the two of them padded into the woods.
"WIll she live?" Snow asked.
Moon looked away, "I don't know, I never healed before," he admitted.
Snow nodded,"It's all in the Great Spirits paws."
Moon cocked his head, "Spirit?"
"Remember the dreams I had? They were the spirits of the dead," Snow explained,"I named them the Great Spirit, to tell everyone the dead are always with us."
A ghostly pale wolf appeared next to Snow,"That is indeed correct Snow," her father said.
"Father!'' Moon said, shocked.
"Dear Moon, how much have I missed you," his father said,"When you and your sister got separated from your mother, I had to choose you."
"Did you have to leave Branch?" Snow asked. She remembered when Father was still alive, he and Branch were like siblings and were close friends.
Her father shook his head. Lifting up his head, the stars that surrounded his paws began to rise. Slowly, one by one, a pack of wolves that died came into view, some that Snow didn't even recognize.
The group that Snow was with lifted their heads to see the ghostly wolves.
"Berry!" Icicle shouted with jubilance. The two wolves ran toward each other with jubilance.
Names were shouted out and the air was filled with reunion and joy,"Now let's just not hang around and be happy, we need to set up a camp," a wolf named Bamboo said.
Daisy's eyes widened,"Bamboo! You're here!" She exclaimed.
Bamboo swung around. As her eyes fell onto Daisy, she immediately looked guilty,"I'm sorry you had to go, I should have been a better leader," Bamboo said.
Daisy shook her head, "It was inevitable, the pack was dying; if I didn't go, I would be dead."
Bamboo nodded with relief,"Now, we should start building," she ordered as if she was a leader again,"Find some long, bendy branches that we can use for the walls of a den," she started. Looking around, "Ooh! How about the leader's den can be on that boulder? The top looks nice and flat; enough for about five wolves. And it's sturdy."
Snow nodded,"Willow tree branches should be good, and we can reach them," she suggested,"Ooh! There 's one next to the river!" She exclaimed. Bounding to it. Snow grabbed and mouthful and tugged. The branches bent and refused to snap. Snow lost her grip and tumbled backwards as she was almost hit by the branch as it shot to its normal place. Bamboo let out a woof of laughter,"Let me," she said. She ran up to the tree and leaped, but instead of grabbing a branch, she seemed to stand on an invisible ground.
"How are you doing that?" Snow asked, astonished.
Bamboo chuckled, going higher,"I'm a Spirit, remember? We can fly, walk on water, and never be harmed."
Snow's eyes widened,"Being able to do those things must make life easier," she remarked.
Bamboo came down with her mouth full of branches. Spitting them out, she lowered her voice, "You can do it too," she said,"Remember the prophecy?"
Snow nodded,"The kin rise as their elements fall into place. When the time is right, the elements will hold the power of the spirits in their paws."
Bamboo nodded,"All I know is that you are the kin, and the power of Spirits is being able to turn into one of us," she said.
"You mean we can die?" Snow said, confused.
"No," Bamboo laughed,"Here, focus on something that is calming to you, or something you like," Bamboo started. Snow closed her eyes and imagined white puffs of snow falling from the sky, what she was named after.
"Then, pretend you are that thing you are imagining," Bamboo continued. Snow imagined herself like she was a snowflake, soft and light.
"Now open your eyes!" Bamboo said, satisfied. Snow's eyes popped open and she saw stars surrounding her paws, and her body became purple and transparent, like a Spirit.
"You like the cold," Bamboo observed,"Purple means that you like cold, crisp things."
Snow understood, "And green means you like nature?" She asked. Bamboo nodded.
"Now try to fly!" Bamboo suggested. Snow hunched up her hind legs and pushed off, but instead of falling back, Snow's paw's stayed off the ground, and she was flying! Howling with joy, Snow galloped through the sky and to the willow tree. Biting off branches, Snow's jaw became tired soon after. As she came down, it felt like the tree was barely touched.
"How many branches does this tree have?" Snow asked, panting.
"A lot," Bamboo replied.
"How do I become a wolf again?" Snow asked.
Bamboo shrugged,"You just imagine you're a wolf again."
Snow closed her eyes and imagined she was opaque again, with a gray body. Opening her eyes, she was Snow again. Grabbing a mouthful of branches happily, Snow ran back to where the group was settling and set down the branches.
"Pine, Hail, you want to grab a few wolves and start making a den?" Snow suggested. The two wolves lifted their heads and nodded.
"Who should I get?" Pine asked.
Snow shrugged, "Whomever you like."
Pine grabbed a mouthful of branches and set off with Rain to build the dens. Snow and Hail worked together and quickly wove a first layer,"That took a long time!" Pine remarked. Snow would hold two or three branches together and Pine would weave another branch through, securing them together.
"Yeah, at least the branches are long, we only use three or four branches for each level," Snow said optimistically. Hail nodded.
By dusk, only two dens were finished, so only about five wolves could sleep in a den.
"We Spirits will sleep outside," Berry said,"Nature can't harm us; the rain won't make us wet or the wind won't make us cold."
Snow nodded, "And I-" Bamboo cut her off.
"Lowering her voice she said, "Better to keep the fact that you can change into Spirit secret with your brother," Bamboo said.
Snow cocked her head, "Don't you mean brothers?" She asked.
Bamboo shook her head,"We tried with Coral but he ignored us and almost got himself revealed, we had to make a forgetting spell so he won't spoil it."
Snow nodded,"Can I tell Moon though?" She asked.
Bamboo nodded,"He's the other kin, and Daisy knows too," she confirmed.
"But I'll still sleep outside," Snow said. Bamboo rolled her eyes but agreed.
"I'm starving!" Coral suddenly exclaimed loudly, and Snow rolled her eyes.
"We'll hunt," Drizzle said looking and Hail and Petal, who both nodded,"The woods might be plentiful with prey," she remarked.
Snow padded up to Daisy,"Will you teach me how to fish?" She asked hopefully. Daisy grunted and stood up.
"Do you remember what I told you before?" Daisy asked.
Snow nodded, "But I'm still not sure about diving head-first into the water," she admitted.
Daisy nodded,"It took me a long time to get over my fear too," she said,"I started out hooking out the fish with my paws."
Snow cocked her head,"I never thought of that."
Sitting on a rock with the sun setting towards Snow, she lifted her paw, ready to scoop out fish. As a white fish with orange splotches on its scales lazily swam close, Snow tensed herself, preparing to fling it out of the water. Squealing, Snow suddenly shot her paw into the river but felt nothing. At the same time, Daisy appeared in a flash and dove into the river and popped out with a fish in her jaws,"Nice one!" Snow congratulated.
Daisy hauled herself out of the water,"Do you know what you did wrong?" Daisy asked.
"Yes, the fish heard me when I was trying to catch the fish," Snow said sheepishly.
Daisy nodded,"It's ok, I remember when I was your age, it took me forever to catch my first fish, try again."
Snow nodded. Staring at the shimmering river once more, Snow's eyes were glued to a black fish. As it came into reach, Snow flashed her paw into the river and realized it was too far away. Not even thinking, Snow dove into the water and clamped her jaw around the flailing fish. With her visits to the lake, Snow knew exactly where the surface was and gracefully popped out of the water.
Shakily standing up, Snow looked at Daisy,"Well done!" Daisy said, shocked,"Maybe you should be an official water wolf!" Snow smiled with pride.
Taking back her fish to the middle of the camp, Snow dropped the fish along with Daisy's and Drizzle's prey.
"The whole pack shall sleep with full bellies tonight!" Snow called out. Dragging the fish she caught, Snow shared with Daisy and Moon, and Snowflake.
"Tell us a story!" Snowflake nudged Daisy.
Daisy smiled,"What would you like to hear, young'un?"
"How did you meet Bamboo?" Snow asked.
Daisy settled down,"When I was as young as little Snowflake," she began, "My parents died. I was alone and hungry, so I wandered off, foolishly trying to find food."
Snowflake let out a small woof of laughter,"What? I was young and foolish," Daisy defended herself in mock anger. This made Snowflake collapse and tremble with laughter.
Shrugging, Daisy continued, "That's when Bamboo found me, trying to dive into the river to catch fish. The thing is, the current would have swept me away if she didn't save me. Then, she brought me back to camp, pretending I was her pup, and the father had died," Daisy swallowed,"I was old enough to eat prey, so Bamboo would sneak me into her cave and feed me, pretending I was nursing."
Daisy took a breath, "At that time Bamboo wasn't the leader," she added quickly,"A couple years later, when I was about Snow's age, a bear came in and raided our camp," Daisy started, and Snow sat up, fully attentive,"We fought him off quickly, but he carried a sickness with him, called Greencough. Wolves would become sick and barely eat, so they became sicker. Eventually they would cough up blood," Daisy stopped,"That's when Bamboo told me to run. The whole pack was sick, not including her and I, because we had a separate den. But she couldn't leave, she was now their leader after the last died of the plague." Daisy swallowed,"Then she died, and I never saw her again, until now," Daisy's voice brightened dryly,"And everything's back to normal."
But it's not.
Snow nodded solemnly,"Thanks for telling us this."
Daisy nodded,"Anytime; I'm your elder, filled with stories."
Snow nodded,"It's getting late," she observed,"We should sleep," padding over to Bamboo,"I think the pack needs some downtime, do you want to make the announcement?" Snow asked.
Bamboo nodded,"Sure," taking a breath, she howled, "Wolves of all ages! It has been a fun day but we should get some sleep."
The cluster of wolves eventually thinned and the Spirits were left with a few other members of Snow's pack.
"May the Great Spirit visit your dreams," Snow murmured to Moon.