It was liberating to be outside that invisible line that marked the Court from the surrounding lands, and Augustus was thriving in the chill of the northern air. He felt alive as he leaped over rock and stream. It was not until he saw the hard stone of the mountain looming ever closer that he gave pause. It stirred something within him as he gazed at the majesty of nature. He had never intended to wander so far, but ever since he glimpsed the mountain he’d longed for a closer look. The scents of the neighboring packs had died down and melted away into this…This wonder. He felt compelled by its high frost shrouded peaks to join his voice to its heights. Slowly he lifted his scarred muzzle skyward unleashing his voice and calling to the heavens themselves. It was a long cry, a tale of his life, and the life he had yet to live. Some notes long and mournful, others short and filled with hope. He mourned his brother and his banishment from his pack- the death of his old life, but flavored his voice with hope with the prospects of what the future held in store for him.
He slowly lowered his head at its finish, and his tail wagged to hear his voice linger on the wind and echo back to him. It was almost as if some invisible pack was howling with him and he reveled in the sound. He closed his eyes a moment, imagining their faces. His brother’s loomed before his minds eye and his tail stood still. “Brother!” he called ecstatic. When he opened his eyes he was there, and he had grown. But when he looked into his eyes he saw his own staring back at him- yellow flecked with green. No…he had amber eyes…The predominately black wolf faded before him into a whiter creature…himself. When the water stirred he realized he was starting into a small pool…at his own reflection. .
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