All things have a beginning

[Zalen Damaichu]

OOC: I decided to write the most traumatic events of two of my characters down for posterity. First is Ruby, cuz she needs some back story just for myself. Next I'll write Zalen's and if I feel bold, I might write something for Helotes too.

This is to get more words for SSWM cuz damnit I'm not gonna get all the way to 83% and not finish!

IC: Ruby's Story
WC: 1366

A girl was born in the cold month of December, on the 18th day.
She was a beautiful ray of sunshine for the Blue Moon house, the labor wasn’t painful for Starla. It could have been that the baby was her third child or that she was special.
When Azure Demaichu, the child’s father, looked upon his new daughter his chest swelled with pride, she was so strong.
He loved his first child, a boy with his name, and his second child, a girl with a flared attitude. But this little girl was a wonderful gift, like a kiss from an angel.

Here is her story…

Azure stared out the window, his hands clasped together tightly. Why was he afraid? His wife, Starla, wasn’t screaming in pain through the birth, maybe that is what scared him.
Azure’s sister, Impa placed her hand on his shoulder, he smiled up at her and she smiled back.
“Daddy?”
Azure looked down upon his daughter, Darah, “Yes honey?”
“Is my new sister or brother here yet?”
“No honey, not yet.”
Darah frowned and walked off to where her older brother, Azure Jr. (Junior) was reading.
Azure sighed, “Junior, watch your sister ok.”
Junior looked up from his book, “Yeah dad.”
Azure turned back and watched the harsh snow outside.
“Impa why is she quiet? Is something wrong?”
Impa shook her head and smiled, “The baby is not hurting Starla at all, this is a light and easy birthing.”
Azure smiled and suddenly the cry of a new born pup broke the household’s silence.
Azure stood and ran to the room where his wife lay. Starla was on the bed; she looked perfect and seemed to have and airy feel to her. Her red hair was wet with sweat but still her beauty radiated.
Azure went to her side and took her free hand while her other held a small bundle.
A little face peered up at him with emerald green eyes, “She’s perfect.”
Starla smiled and kissed Azure, “Yes she is.”
“She has your fur.”
“She’s got your eyes though.”
Azure chuckled and took the baby away, “Hi my new daughter.”
The baby tried to look at her father through closed eyelids but instead reached out her tiny muzzle and took hold of her father’s fire amulet in a toothless mouth. It was a gift his father had given him; it still contained his fire element.
As soon as the baby touched it, it shone brighter.
Azure glanced at Starla who smiled, “Do you like the ruby?”
The baby laughed in a puppish way, “Ruby…”
Azure held his daughter in front of him and laughed, “My little Ruby…”

(Several months later)

“Ruby! GET BACK HERE!” Darah shouted after her younger sister, “GIVE ME MY COMB YOU LITTLE IMP!”
Ruby giggled and kept running, her red tail flying behind her like a flag of triumph.
She had stolen her big sister’s favorite comb.
Night was falling and Ruby’s eyes kept adjusting to dark, she was very good at this.
Sometimes the other children called her cat eyes for she could see well in the dark and if you shone a light near her, her eyes would glow with a misty green light.
But Ruby was slowed when she came to the riverbed; the sharp rocks sometimes hurt the soft pads of her feet. She turned around breathless to see if her sister was chasing her still.
“Hey Rube, what you doing?” A male voice came.
Ruby looked up to see her older brother Junior, coming back from one of his hunts, he trotted over and licked her face, she giggled and clambered onto his back best she could in her four legged form.
“C’mon horsey!”
Junior barked and began trotting back to the pack site. Ruby had lived in a huge cave as far back as she could remember but her parents and brother talked about living in castle once and that they would go and visit it someday. The young heart of the crimson pup was excited at the prospect of staying in a castle like a princess.
When they entered the den Ruby slid off her brothers back, all the pack members were in a heated conversation about things that did not concern Ruby so she went off to play with her friends.
“We must attack first, or we won’t stand a chance!”
“The Black Thorn monsters are coming; our scouts said today they’re only a few hours away! We must evacuate.”
Azure scratched his muzzle, “I’m not so sure, it might be a trick.”
“Don’t be blind Azure! What about your children aren’t you worried for their safety?”
“Darah and Junior are old enough to fight… maybe it is wise to get all the young children out of here as soon as possible, but if so, we must do it now!”
All the members dispersed throughout the pack gathering the young and retreating into the forest.
Ruby sat in her room fingering her sister’s brush. Suddenly her grandma, an elder who other’s called Icy Snow Wolf, entered.
“Ruby! Quickly!”
Ruby blinked, knowing what this meant, and went to curl up into a ball, her grandmother picked her up by the scruff of the neck and began to run. Ruby wasn’t scared, just confused; this was a strange time to have an emergency practice session.
But suddenly a huge beast landed in their way, causing Ruby’s grandmother to skid to a halt.
It was a huge, brown, evil looking creature, “Well, well, well what do we have here?”
Icy Snow growled but the creature just chuckled and lifted his claws he swiped downwards.
Ruby whimpered and closed her eyes, but instead of pain the creature screamed.
Ruby opened her eyes and saw one of his arms was torn and bleeding, an suddenly a Luperci burst forth from the bushes. Ruby knew he was from her pack, he pounced, claws shining as he came down upon their assailant.
Her grandmother began running again, Ruby saw many of her family’s friends running or fighting dark creatures.
There was so much fire…
Fire, that was what Ruby would remember the most, was the fire.
Suddenly the ugliest black Luperci they had ever seen came diving at them, but another ebon wolf matched him and pushed it out of the way and they rolled on the ground.
“DADDY!” Ruby yelled at the black wolf, he looked up at her.
“Go!” He whispered harshly to Icy before the larger enemy was upon him.
“DADDY!!!” She screamed as the black Luperci slashed her father across the face in a shower of blood rendering him unconscious.
Ruby could only watch. The black wolf looked directly at her and snarled as if telling her she was next.

(Sometime later…)

Ruby sneezed, her feet were numb and her nose hurt from the cold.
She had been walking for hours; ever since her grandmother had been killed and she had escaped she had wandered through the snow. She had a cut on her leg, it hurt so much, but she kept walking, afraid of what might be following her.
Being in this form just made things worse for she kept falling in large snowdrifts; she so wished she had been old enough to shift, but it was no use.
Finding a tree that was leaning to one side so that it created a patch where snow hadn’t fallen, Ruby ran over and sat down in the patch of ground and tried to keep warm. It was not long before darkness found her.

(Then…)

Impa had been taking a ride on her horse when she had found Ruby’s half frozen body in the snow. She quickly recognized her as her niece and took her to Château Frontenac.
Ruby awoke to see her aunt next to her, “Hi aunty.” She said but then coughed.
“Shhh, be still, you have a nasty cold.”
“Where’s mom and dad?” Ruby asked.
Impa frowned, “Ruby… they…”
“They are dead aren’t they?” Ruby said and her eyes filled with tears.
Impa looked away; this was going to be very hard for the four-month-old pup to understand, but it was an unavoidable truth
“I’m so sorry sweety…”

[Zalen Damaichu]

WC: 2301

The snow had long since started falling in Canada this year; it seemed as if winter was finally upon them. It had been months since they had had a permanent place to call home, and now the weather forced them to finally do so. The wolf mother had chosen a small hollowed out cave nestled underneath fallen wood and snow as the new den, and the two had spent the first few days of the intense snow storm in it’s warm embrace. But finally, hunger drove Lahleia, the mother wolf, to finally leave the den to find sustenance for her and her son.

Nuzzling her ever growing and always hungry pup, the red tinted wolfess slipped from the den and went off into the forest. Her pup, a blacked furred and rambunctious male, hesitated before coming to the mouth of the den, apple eyes watching as his mother disappeared. He did not dare leave the entrance to the den, and instead laid there, large paws tucked under his soft puppy belly. He knew she would return, she always did, and sometimes bringing with her a full belly of warm and yummy meat. His tail wagged in anticipation of such a feast; it had been nearly a week since he had last eaten and his mother’s milk could only sustain him for so long.

Zalen laid there for several hours, until the sun started to dip in the sky. His eyes became heavy lidded and he dozed as any puppy would. In his dreams it was spring time and he and his mother bounded through fields of flowers without a care in the world. Sometimes a third wolf would join them, one as black as he, his father, and the three of them would run together. Zalen smiled in his dreams.

A cold, wet nose prodded him to wakefulness and he opened his eyes, “Momma!” He cried out, his backend going into a swivel of unhindered joy. She smiled down at him and gave him another nuzzle before disappearing into the den behind him; he went back to join her in its warmth.

Her hunt had been successful, and Zalen soon had a belly full of wonderful rabbit meat. Once satiated, his nuzzled into his mother’s soft, warm belly and looked up at her, “I love you mommy, are we going to stay here for a long time?” He was so hoping they would, he was so tired of moving around as much as they had.

Lahleia looked down upon her only son with a sad smile, “We will see my love, perhaps we can stay here for a while.” It was hard for her to say this, for she knew it most likely would not be so. They had to keep moving, they must, for if they lingered too long he might find them again, and Lahleia was sure that Zalen would be killed outright if found. She dug her red face into Zalen’s black belly, “Let’s sleep now.” She said wearily, and sensing her pain Zalen did not complain and settled in for the night’s sleep.

The world outside the den was cold and quiet, and stayed that way well into the night, even as the moon set and began to fall. But the silence was broken suddenly in the early hours of the morning, when the sun’s rays were only a glimmer in the distance. It was a sound that woke Lahleia and froze her to her core, as her emerald eyes peered out to the dimly lit forest scenery beyond her den; coyotes. Their calls sliced through the air like daggers; they were close. Lahleia lowered her head again to her sleeping babe; had they found them? They were close but still far off, maybe they were just passing by. Lahleia knew that her and her son would be safe in the den, if they remained quiet.

Lahleia remained awake until her pup stirred and the sun was fully risen. She was so weary but she had to stay vigilant for her child. Zalen and stretched in the small hovel her body created and then looked up at her. She licked his face, “Did you sleep well darling?” He smiled dreamily at her, “Yes, momma.” He said, giggling as she licked his face again.

Lahleia was so proud of her son, so proud of him for being strong even when they were alone in the wilderness, it was so hard for her to keep asking him to move about, and now she would have to do so again. With a sigh she placed her cheek against his, “Sweety I know I said we could stay but we have to leave tonight.”

Zalen’s smile slipped from his face, “But, why momma?” He asked with a small whine.

“Because, it is not safe for us here.” She said softly, knowing he would not understand, and knowing she could not tell him the truth; it would shatter him.

The two of them stayed hunkered in the den for the entirety of the day, watching the snow fall. It gathered around the entrance to the cave and Lahleia had to push the snow away every hour to leave an opening. Zalen tried to sleep but he was bored and sad that they had to leave; but soon the sun began to set and he could sense his mother become anxious, so he became anxious too.

Once the sun was gone and the world was gray and quiet, Lahleia slipped from the den with Zalen close in tow. They moved quickly into the woods, but the two of them remained nearly silent. Zalen’s whole short life had been full of sneaking, and so he and his mother were like shadows in the trees. Every once in a while Lahleia would pause to sniff and scan before the two of them continued one.

Zalen let his mind wander in times like this, he day dreamed of more fun things to keep himself entertained. He was not sure how long the two had travelled, but by the time he noticed his mother’s heightened pace it was pitch black. He was confused, she was nearly running and he was having a hard time keeping up; that’s when he noticed the glows. Every few minutes, in the trees, there were be the winking of several pairs of glowing orbs. Zalen could feel the unease creep into him, causing his fur to stand on end as he bounded after his mother, “Mommy… what’s happening…?” He said quietly, his voice shaking.

She didn’t answer him right away, but her path became erratic as she zigged and zagged. Zalen tried to keep as close to her as possible, sometimes tripped on her legs. Soon they came out of the trees into a clearing, and this was where his mother stopped.

Zalen sat next her in the snow, shivering and panting from the run. He noticed those twinkling glows all around him now, “Mommy, what are they?” He asked, putting a large puppy paw her leg.

Then, one of the pair of glowing orbs materialized on the face of a coyote as it exited the tree line. Zalen backed up against his mother, who stepped over him, straddling her pup and becoming like a cage of protection above him, with raised hackles and bared teeth. Zalen watched, frightened, as more and more orbs revealed themselves to the be the eyes of coyotes.

Some of the coyotes looked strange, larger, standing on two legs. He had seen his mother like this before, but very rarely, and to see scary coyotes in that formed was nightmarish. Zalen cowered, whimpering, as the coyotes, maybe eight of them, began circling.

Lahleia stood ridged, a vicious growl emanating from her and never ceasing, her eyes darting from one scoundrel to the next. There were so many, too many, there was no escape. The looks on their faces were not ones of violence and lust as Zalen’s father’s had been, but instead, hunger. They were hunting them.

The ruby wolfess crouched low, and spoke to her son; her voice shook as she did so, as well as her body, for she felt that this may be the last time she would be with her only child, “I love you Zalen… but you have to run. Run and don’t look back.” Her voice quivered.

Zalen looked up at his mother with wide eyes, but before he could speak his mother exploded out of her stance to attack the large coyote that was before them. Her sudden movement took him off guard and the two went rolling in the trees. The others were frozen in surprise for a moment, and then, completely forgetting about the shivering pup before them, leapt after his mother and the coyote she had attacked.

Zalen could heard the distinct sound of snarling, barking, growling and whining that came along with violence. He could hear his mother, her growl deeper than that of the coyotes, but it was nearly drowned out by all the other voices he heard. People were shouting, but he could not stay, he would listen to his mother. Zalen turned and ran.

The black pup sprinted until the sounds were left behind, until the world became silent save for his panting, until he thought he heard someone following him and he zigged and zagged through the trees like his mother had taught him. But he did not stop, he could not stop, until finally he thought his lungs would burst and he collapsed underneath a large fir tree, its snow laden branches hanging down to shield him from all.

Here he lied, feeling as though he was dying, as he panted and cried for his mother. Was she dead? Would she come for him if she wasn’t? What could he do now? The frightened and lost puppy lay there whimpering until he finally could sleep.

His dreams were nightmares, and he was being chased by shadow demons. Everywhere he turned he could see his mother being pulled into the darkness as she cried out for him.

A cold, wet nose prodded him to wakefulness and he opened his eyes, “Momma?” But it was not his mother, instead two wolfish faces loomed above him. He yelped and tried to back away and the two male wolves looked at him sadly, “What happened to you little guy?” One said, stepping forward to sniff at him again, “It’s alright, I won’t hurt you. My name is Keylo, what’s yours?”

Zalen wasn’t sure about this, he hadn’t met any other wolves beside his mother, and he didn’t know what to do. She had never taught him how to react to wolves, only coyotes; what should he do? Well, this male seemed nice, and both he and the other were looking at Zalen so sweetly, “Z-Zalen…” he said timidly.

The two males looked at each other and smiled, “Well then, Zalen,” Keylo said, “this here’s my brother Cody and we found you sleeping under this tree. Where’s your mother?” He asked kindly.

Zalen averted his eyes, “I… I don’t know… we were attacked by… by coyotes…” He mumbled.

Keylo and Cody looked at each other suddenly and with concern, “Coyotes? Around here?” Cody said.

“Yes…” Keylo said darkly, “Seems so.” Then, turning to Zalen, “Do you want to come with us little Zalen? It’s not safe for you here.”

Zalen looked up at Keylo and then Cody, “No, what about momma?” He said, frightened that these two strangers would take him away.

“Kid… your mom is…” Cody started but Keylo bumped into him, shutting him up, “We can go look for your mom Zalen, would you come with us then?” Keylo asked.

Zalen nodded and stood. The three of them left the dry underside of the tree and Zalen began to lead them as best he could back the way he had run. It was hard to do, for the trees looked so much more different in the day as they did at night, and so much less foreboding when one wasn’t being chased.

But soon, the brothers’ noses found a scent, and the search went much easier. Soon they entered the clearing that Zalen and his mother had been in the night before, “Here!” Zalen said, running into the tree line where his mother had disappeared.

The scents here were strong, confusing, and Keylo and Cody flanked Zalen like guards as they cautiously sniffed around. At first, there was nothing, except for the smells, but soon, the snow began to reveal small droplets of red melting into its white façade. They were scattered at first, but as they continued the red grew into swatches, smears, and soon, pools.

Finally, the three entered a very small opening in the woods, and here the snow was stained crimson. Keylo and Cody hesitated, but Zalen stepped right out into it looked around. There was nothing, nothing except for blood and bloody paw prints. But there! In the snow! Zalen trotted over to where he had seen a glimmering and found, half buried in the snow, his mother’s silver earrings. He pushed at them with his nose before so slurping them up to deposit them in his cheek for safe keeping. Then, after looking around once more, he turned to Keylo and Cody, who looked at him in such a sad way it looked as if they might cry.

“Momma’s not here…” Zalen said quietly, walking up to them. The two male wolves bent down to nuzzle at the black pup comfortingly but Zalen walked through their touches, “We can go, then…” The black pup said.

Keylo and Cody looked at each other then followed up after their new companion. They did not speak on the blood forever after.