Chronicles of the Packs | A Dark Stones One-shot Compilation

Settling

Tulip regarded the stranger with caution as they sat near the fire in the central cave. Well, stranger wasn't quite right—he'd been here for over three quarter-moons now. But Tulip, being rather shy, had yet to truly approach him.

But now that Light Spirit had been formally adopted into the Pack of Deep Hollow, Tulip knew they had to get to know their new Packmate. He was an unusual wolf; small and scrawny and lacking a coat, and he'd come from the south, where apparently he'd been enslaved by Wessels' Army. Tulip felt truly sorry for him, especially now that his two best friends, the ones called Pale and Cloud, had moved on.

But I understand why Gray Ears had to let them go, Tulip thought. She did truly want to help them, but keeping so many former Army wolves could be a hazard for our Pack. And there'd be yet more mouths to feed. The Pack of Deep Hollow was already quite a sizable Pack, and having three more wolves who cannot hunt for themselves to feed would prove difficult for them. But Pale and Cloud will be okay; they will find a new home in another Pack. Perhaps they'll come back to visit Light Spirit.

They decided, at last, to approach the scrawny wolf. He had his huge bear pelt draped over his shoulders, weighing him down, which was a somewhat comical sight.

"Hi," Tulip said softly, not sure how else to begin.

Light Spirit looked up, his ragged ears somewhat perked. "Hello," he said, a little awkwardly.

"I..." Tulip paused. "I figured I'd come and introduce myself properly. You know most of the Pack by now, right?"

Light Spirit nodded. "Yes."

"Sorry for being so late." Tulip scratched at the ground with the claws of a forepaw. "My name is Tulip and I use they and them pronouns. I'm a Ranked wolf, though I'm barely older than you are." They smiled weakly.

"Ranked? What Rank do you hold?" Light Spirit inquired, seeming genuinely interested.

Tulip was happy to finally get the conversation started. "I'm a Sentry. That means I guard the underground from intruders."

Light Spirit smiled back. "I figured as much. Burlo said he's also training to become a Sentry. That young wolf will grow into a strong one, I can tell."

"I take it you've gotten to know him well, then?"

He flicked an ear. "It's not like I had an option. He's a good wolf, but he keeps poking his nose where it doesn't belong."

"He's always been curious," Tulip agreed with a chuckle. "He's our only trainee at the moment, so he has no peers to hang out with. He probably likes seeking contact with any wolf, especially newcomers."

Light Spirit nodded. He then regarded them for a while, blinking sparsely.

"What are you...?" Tulip involuntarily flattened their ears.

"Oh, I mean no disrespect!" Light Spirit said quickly. "I just...I've never seen a wolf with a coat like yours before."

Tulip's coat was a very dark gray with black splotches, and some ginger on their tail. It wasn't a very usual color and markings for wolves to have. "Oh, that," Tulip said, still feeling uncertain. Did Light Spirit think their coat was weird?

"It looks quite beautiful," was the bald wolf's next remark, and Tulip instantly felt relieved. "If I had a coat, I'd like mine to look like that. Many different colors and markings."

Tulip smiled. "Thank you, that's very kind."

"I do have one question though, about the coats of you Deep Hollow wolves..." Light Spirit said cautiously. "I notice that you and a lot of others tend to cover yourselves in mud and dirt. I mean, it makes sense that you'd have some earth on you because you live underground, but it seems kind of deliberate. Like your coat is all mud-stained, and so is Gunnar's, and honestly most Packmembers seem to do it on a consistent basis. I think Gray Ears is the only one so far who I haven't seen do it very often."