The enormous wolf towering over Ali rooted her in place with fear, that same fear was also the best kind of motivation to force Ali's brain to catch up with her petrified body and move accordingly.
The wolf's golden eyes followed her closely as Ali scrambled away from the monster before her, the idea of a talking wolf who's teeth were as big as her forearm was taken straight from a nightmarish version of a fairytale.
'Wake up, I've got to wake up.' Ali silently chanted to herself as she slapped her cheeks until they turned bright red, her head swiveled around frantically as she backed up while looking over the vast thundra for a place to hide.
Clumps of ice and snow, beaten down by the wind and odd occurrence of rain made the landscape naked of cover, the only recourse Ali could find was a hill of ice that she hoped to put between her and the huge monster behind her.
She quickly turned and got up with the intention to run but she'd made mo more than two steps before a very, loud very stern yet soothing voice cane from behind her.
《SIT!》
Ali sat.
Upon hearing the word her leg muscles seemed to guide themselves into a sitting position against her will as she came to sliding halt with her knees tucked neatly under her body.
《Young one, will you run like prey or will you stand your ground and at least get an answer to some of the questions that you have been asking?》
While saying this the wolf walked out from behind her until only it's head was visible.
Fists clenched white with fright and with no way to run Ali took a breath of cold air and turned to face the monstrous wolf. With that motion her body returned to being under her own control.
《That's Better, now I shall show you a legend and a truth.》
The wind picked up blinding Ali, she was forced to her to cover her eyes with her hands as her hair whipped back before settling down, then it rained, it cascaded down forcing her to lean back but the rain didn't move, harder and harder the rain fell until a mirror made of water had gathered before them, it twisted and stirred almost like a living thing, then a flood of color appeared showing images and shapes that started to come to life like watching a movie on a waterfall but showing visions of the distant past. Ali felt compelled to reach out and touch it but when she did her mind became fuzzy before going blank.
Ali snapped back into consciousness a moment later, the wolf was still there but the mirror had gone, however, the images that it had shown continued to play out before her as if she'd entered the scene.
The two of them continued to watch as the dreamlike event unfolded before them.
▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
It was horrible, smoke rose from the aftermath of a ravaged indian village on the border of on an ice covered peninsula and the frozen fertile grassland where the beauty of the Aurora Borealis hang in the sky.
The remains of walls crafted from wood and mud lay shattered and broken in places, some surviving people stood around in shock and confusion while many others were desperately trying to salvage what was left of the tragic situation they'd been handed.
From outside of the village a lone hunter abandons his catch to the ice as he runs into the village, to his home.
The two watched the dream scene play out in the mirror world, it showed a hunter searching hastily through the village before finally finding his family dead, mad and overwrought with grief and despair he staggered out of his village.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
Ali's curiosity got the best of her and she pulled her gaze away from the scene, as she did this the mirror of water returned.
"Why are you showing me this? Weren't you going to talk to me?"
《Your people say a picture is worth many words, so watch.》
Ali reluctantly turned back to the images flowing on the rain mirror and felt herself being sucked into them once more.
The hunter in his grief set about killing animals not for food or to aid his village from threat but out of pure malice and rage.
Then after a long time traveling through the bleak barrenness he finds a hidden cave with pups and kills them.
Alice felt sick and heartbroken at the sight of the man's savage madness. When he had found the cave she tried to call out to him, to move or reach out and stop him somehow but it was futile, she was merely an observer grasping at at mist. The only thing that changed was the intensity of the golden eyed wolf next to her who's mood seemed to dim when it looked at her struggle to save the pups.
《.........》
The hunter left after the kill, not taking the cubs but leaving them as they lay in the cave as he again wandered off to find a new target to hunt.
After what felt like hours to Ali, a younger version of the wolf at her side appeared carrying a large caribou in its mouth as it drew close to the cave it paused for a brief moment as it sniffed the air, sensing something was wrong it immediately dropped it's prey and rushed towards the cave only to find what she already knew to be true.
Ali thought she would hear the wolf howl in grief and loss but but only silence filled the air, not even the wind blowing outside the cave could be heard like it did before the wolf entered the cave.
The mourning and vengeful hunter had continued on his unending path of grief driven slaughter until he had reached the wolf's cave then coming back to himself after realizing what he had done, he ran off to hide himself.
Night fell as the hunter continued to hide in shame, after the heartbreaking sorrow of his meaningless slaughter, it was the wolf who hunted.
The wolf ran through the boreal forest with a single goal, it didn't search for the easy to find hunter who had hidden himself away but instead went to the unfrozen lake where he'd stopped to take a drink from the day before.
After reaching the edge the wolf's eyes scanned the water, finally seeing what it was after the wolf's mouth snapped forward into the water, pulling a deformed humanoid shape from the water that looked like a twisted ghostly version of the hunter, the wolf then slowly ate it.
As the wolf set out to return to her cave she passed the hiding spot of the hunter. He had died in the night, his face etched in horror and fear.
His lifeless, snow covered body lay frozen on the ground and only a sharp glance was cast as she moved on.
Shortly afrer entering her cave the wolf received a great shock, amongst her dead cubs a young human girl was sleeping.
Looking at the child the wolf was unsure of what to do amid the death of her own children, then the child's eyes opened not a sound was made by either the child or the wolf for what seemed like an eternity as the two watched each other, the child then reached out her small hand to the muzzled face of the wolf who didn't pull away.
After a while the wolf went over to the dead caribou that was left behind in the snow when she went after the hunter and brought it into the cave.
Ali's hands covered her mouth as she saw a younger version of herself now being cared for by the wolf.
《This is who I am and that is who you are, simply bonded together. 》
"What are you?"
《Amarok》
"Is that your name? Amarok? I'm really trying not to freak out and give you a chance to explain what's going on."
《Names, everything seems to need a name in this new world. In the past there was a village that i learnt words from and a child that I once helped called me Ila.》
"Ila? If you're Ila, then an Amarok is that a type of wolf? Cause except for how big you are and the talking you could be a wolf."
《Wolves are pack, I stand alone. 》
《 Amarok were lords of strength, hunter's in the night, wolves look to us as exaulted ancestors.
We were a strengthing force that helped bring balance to the land, assisting the survival of nature in various ways, because of our... special nature we were venerated. You are Alice I am Ila》
《You are being hunted, the four that you met already told you about it. While I take time to regain my strength, you should take the time to start forging you're own, for we must both be ready for anything.》
"What does that mean?"
《Learning how to survive.》
▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
Ali woke up to the sound of her home phone ringing,
"Lloyd? "
"Morning, I have to make it quick this morning, you'll see me in a few minutes."
"Sure, I'll see......."
It was then she looked at her hand, more importantly the two inches her fingernails were now lengthened and sharpened.
"What the........."