The Valley Of The Wolves

Sled dogs and an old friend.

On the way back home from the springs I took off on my own. Eager to do some hunting practice.

I tramped through the snow, trying my best to be quiet. My ears perked up when I heard the squeaks and cries of a rabbit. Listening to my stomach but also to my dream, that 'animals can mimic sounds', I crept carefully towards where the noise was coming from.

A white hare struggled against a trap that had sprung around its leg. I kicked and pleaded until it saw me. Then it started to struggle harder, fear ripping through its poor little heart. I felt guilty for scaring the rodent.

Red glisteny blood was splattered on the snow, making quite the scene. I knew it would probably not make it on its own, but I could at least give it a chance at freedom.

I pushed between the bushes toward it, staying low, so as not to scare it too much.

But then a grip tightened around my neck. I panicked and looked behind me to see nothing. I continued to make my way to the rabbit but the grip tightened more, and when I looked back this time I saw it; A rope was snug around my neck. I had walked right into a snare. And a snare for a big animal indeed.

Panicking, I walked backwards trying to free myself from the snake of a rope. It held me tight in place. I shook my head, fluffing out my mane and gave up. I lowered myself to the ground. I didn't want to struggle myself to exhaustion like this rabbit did.

***

It was sunrise when the hunter came. He had a pack of dogs with him. Barking and howling. Ready to kill.

But I didn't rouse when he turned the corner. I didn't move a mussel. I wasent dead or exaused, I wasent alseep or dumb, I was the smartest animal he had ever caught in his trapps, much smarter then him. He looked at me with pure terror and exitement.

"You're not Blizzard." He spoke softly under his breath. "You're a wolf."

I raised my head with as much grace as possible. Showing off my raw power. I squinted at him and huffed. He crouched down and held out his hand with a few chunks of meat in it.
I growled softly. What did he think he was doing? One of his 5 dogs growled at me, bearing his teeth like he could beat me in a fight. I sneered at him and he backed up with his ears flat and his tail tucked. The other dogs looked at him with surprise. Had their leader just submitted?

Of course the owner had noticed none of this while he tried to get me to eat. For he had no clue how long I had been here.

After a few minutes I ate some of the meat he had dropped in front of me. And in that moment he grabbed my head and stuffed a mussel on me. I growled and snapped around to bite him, but the device was already on my face. I tried to scratch it off with my paws but I couldn't. He had bested me in my weakness, not an honorary win, but humans cared nothing of the sort.

I snarled and snapped but he ignored me, pinning my head to the snow while he worked on getting a harness on me. With the braveness of a lion, and the stupidity of a mouse with a concussion he pulled me by a leash back to his sled.

The dogs, seeing they could treat me the same way with my mussel on, barked and snapped at my legs and tail. I raked my paw across the leader's face with a vicious wack. The dogs yiped and winned with terror as they scattered. They didn't even know the wolf tongue.

The man tied me to one of the ropes attaching me to the sled. He attached the dogs too, tying the leader to the front.

I tried to run the other way. To escape or something, But being tied to the pack kept me running along with them.

God they were slow, and weak. Even their coats were not nearly built for the snow as well as wolves.

When we got to his cabin he put me in a dog crate and hoisted onto the sled. He grabbed extra dogs to pull us both and rode us into town. People chattered and pointed. I recognised some faces but they didn't recognize me.

Except for one.