"Thank you for meeting with me, Alpha Glory."
The moon was high and bright and cast spots of light through the dense branches of trees in The Deep. It was still and quiet. Eyes in the Dark sat tall, her shoulders squared and her eyes meeting those of her alpha before her, like a soldier standing ready.
Her words were met with an acknowledging hum. A stoic silence followed, long enough to where it felt pointed and purposeful. Finally, from the silence, his voice answered.
"Tell me about your hunt."
Eyes took in a breath to speak, held it a moment to consider the right words to say, then began.
"The Captain," she started, keeping her eyes to his. "The Captain told us that you had given us a specific mission. That we were to venture farther from the pack lands to locate the prey herds."
"I did," Glory confirmed after considering her statement. He stood, walking past her in a wide radius. Green and gold eyes scanned the shadows of the woods thoughtfully. "Even with our current low numbers, the prey numbers here aren't enough for the council to feel comfortable through the winter. Many are hesitant to break tradition and leave The Deep before winter is through, so we decided to expand our hunting radius." At this point he had been standing at her flank. Glory turned towards her, the warrior who was still sitting tall and stiff. "Did you find the herds?"
"…we did," she responded after a long moment of quiet. "But…" her voice trailed off and she gave a frustrated breath out of her nostrils. "But it isn't all we found."
He narrowed his eyes at her but didn't reply, letting his silence press her forward.
"On the third night, the Captain came to us after having gone to scout ahead alone. He said he had met a group of lone wolves and stuck up conversation in an attempt to learn where the herds were. They had advice but they also seemed enthusiastic about something that they'd witnessed."
Another pause followed. Eyes' mouth pressed into a thin line, as if she were digesting the information she was about to give. As if she knew the implication of her words.
"They said that they had heard of an opening in the world to a new place. One of wonder and…. and magic. They said that they were going to try to pass through. That… that creatures from that world were passing through to this one. They said they were brightly colored and mystical and… and had abilities."
A long silence followed. Glory remained seated at Eyes' flank, digesting the information he'd been given.
"The Captain was insistent that we follow the rumors and hunt down more evidence of the claims. I was sent back to inform you."
Finally, Glory moved past her. The alpha paused at her side, eyes looking straight forward. "Refrain from speaking of this to others. We'll decide what is to be done next. Thank you for your report."
"Sir." Eyes responded with a nod, exiting the small clearing into the dense wood.
Glory remained there, alone. Finally, when he was sure that she was gone and that there was no one else there, he released the sigh that was held in his chest for what seemed like an eternity. The alpha's eyes closed and he felt his jaw tense.
He had heard stories of some mythical world that held magic and wonder. Of a door that supposedly existed lifetimes ago. Some believed them. Some believed them to be just stories. Regardless of the truth, the surfacing of the news of spirits walking the world would have its repercussions.
The pack was low in numbers. The great famine and the plague that followed had been generations ago, but they had never truly recovered. The pack had remained isolated and dedicated to their ways, both old and new. They number of recently joining wolves were low. Many of the older members were stubborn and unaccepting, and others were too focused into their mission to worry about things like pack numbers.
As alpha, though, it fell upon his shoulders to worry about such things. Their numbers were too low to have any meaningful amount of strength. And as it stood, they didn't really have the resources to support any sort of growth anyways. They were going through a difficult winter. Even if he did his best to rally up recruitment and make some sort of charge against the spirits, they wouldn't get far. And with the numbers they had now, any sort of substantial failure would surely call for the end of the pack.
Some members would want to follow the stories and chase the spirits down, no matter the cost. He could hear the argument in his head, now. No wonder the winter was so feeble. Spirits were returning and drawing life from the earth, leading to the decrease in prey numbers and their subsequent difficult season. They would argue that it was their duty to do something about it. To kill the snake by cutting off its head. They would argue that there wasn't any point in finding better prey numbers or in recruiting more members when the source of their strife was still out there. Still, other members would argue that barging heedlessly into the hunt would only drive them into the ground and that they would need a stronger foundation before attempting anything drastic.
Glory opened his eyes and tilted his head back, looking at the little spots of moonlight that trickled down to the forest floor. A decision needed to be made. Things were going to change. They were going to leave The Deep soon. He would need to meet with the council and give them a report. They would need to decide what they would announce to the pack. They would need to decide what action they were going to take: one towards their mission, or one towards bolstering their health and numbers.
The wolf's brow furrowed and he shook his head. A decision needed to be made.
Spring was coming, and the spirits had returned.
(WC: 1027)
