Kabian drew a ragged breath. The cool night air stung his lungs as he tried to breathe it in. He coughed. Something wet settled on his tongue. Blood. He gave another cough and the blood sprayed onto the ground before him. His throat burned, and he did all he could to swallow and take another breath.

He opened his eyes slowly. His vision was a little blurry at first but it soon settled. He saw the blood he had coughed up. There wasn’t much there, and it was mixed with phlegm. He took another breath. His lungs started to feel better, but his throat still burned.

He raised a paw to scratch at it, and could feel the fur matted with blood. It was also very tender to the touch and he learnt quickly to keep his paws away from it. He tried to stretch his neck. It was difficult, and the pain that flooded his body was immense. He heard a small splash and could smell fresh blood. He stopped moving his neck around at that point.

His legs seemed to be fine, and he twisted them under him so he could stand. But once all his weight was on them he staggered. The whole side of his body was bruised and he could feel that some of the skin was torn and exposed to the air. It made him shiver.

It also made him realise how fragile his young body was. Poi had nearly killed him with ease, crushing the life from him with his jaws around his throat. He was sure how his side had been bruised and grazed, but he guessed from the dirt and grass he tasted when he twisted his head to lick the wound, that he had been tossed at the ground.

The only reason he was alive was because Kamide had told Poi not to kill him. Otherwise his body would have just joined the rest of the clan. On the knoll where he now stood.

He lay down again, with his front legs crossed and his wounded throat resting on them. It wasn’t the most comfortable position right now, but it was the most dignified. He looked at the sky from his spot and noticed the moon was less full. It was a new night. He must have been out all day.

His ears caught a sound in the distance. Then more sounds. They started twitching as they noticed all the sounds going on during this new night.

From what he could hear it sounded like there were two clans fighting. And they were quite close. It must be the clans trying to steal the Hot Sands territory. This would not end well for Kabian.

Slowly he got to his feet, wary of the pain that was flowing through him. He looked once in the direction that the sounds were coming from, then turned the opposite way and started walking. He knew they would soon be at the knoll, marking their scents, battling for the grazing grounds of the deer the Hot Sands Clan used to hunt.

He doubted they would be killing each other though. They were small enough in numbers as was, and hunting had its own perils.

He moved slowly as he made his way through the trees. He kept away from any bushes and only followed the clear tracks. That way he was sure not to rub his right side against anything that might agitate it. He couldn’t risk becoming more injured. Some noise startled him, but it was just the sound of animals running through the bushes away from him, no doubt smelling the blood on him.

His mind wandered and his vision blurred. He kept putting one paw in front of the other, ever following the tracks left by the other animals. He thought back to what had happened. He was roughly two months old. Or was he three? He wasn’t sure. He hadn’t really been taught how to count the months properly. But he assumed it was something like that.

His first hunt had gone well, but after they had caught the deer it had quickly dissolved into disaster. Moment by moment things had kept getting worse. And now he was alone. No family left to take care of him. No one to teach him how to hunt. Not a soul to teach him how to live. It was a horrible way to start out his life.

After he got those melancholy thoughts through his head one ray of happiness shone through. He was alive. Partially by chance, but alive none the less. He could learn how to hunt. He could learn to fight. There wasn’t going to be anyone other than himself that could hold him back. He would survive. He may be an outcast, but he would show Poi that he wasn’t a coward. If Kamide would let him into the Clan if he could defeat Poi in a duel, then he would have to do that.

He stumbled along until a familiar smell struck his nose. It stung slightly, but not in the way it had when he entered the Oak Wood Clans land. This was the smell of the Undrinkable Water. It was close too. And sure enough a few moments later Kabian stumbled from the forest onto the sands before the Water.

The sounds of the waves crashing against the shore soothed him a little, and he climbed the dunes to get a view of it. Above the waves he could still hear the sounds of fighting though. He did his best to ignore it and walked down to the edge of the water.

He remembered the matted fur on his neck and across his side and moved a little into the water. He didn’t go far in though, because he could feel his paws sinking into the wet sand below the water line. He didn’t leave though, and lay down on his side to let the water run over his side and throat.

As the water rushed over it he was calmed. But after a moment the calm he had felt was shattered when the salt of the water started to get into his wounds. It stung, and he yelped in pain and leapt from the water back up onto the drier sand. He rolled in the sand to ease the itchiness he now felt, and shook himself off afterwards.

No wonder you go mad if you drink it, he thought to himself, remembering the words of Mitsui.

He glanced along the edge of the water in both directions and could see nothing in either. Nothing besides the waves splashing against the sand and reforming it with every new wave. But this didn’t help his decision. He needed to go somewhere away from the other wolves. If he went back on their land they were likely to not let him leave alive. And he surely could not take any of their food.

He decided to head right, for no real reason, except that it kept his grazed side away from the water that had stung it before. He walked along the sand, at the very edge of the water. Sometimes it came up high enough to touch his feet before it would flow back again, as if it wanted to catch him and drag him. This made him shudder, and the next time it happened he leapt away from it and further onto the dry sand.

In the distance the mountains rose before him, like a black silhouette blocking the starry night sky. They got closer as he walked, and the ground before him soon became rocky and harder to walk across. The waves lashed at the rocks, and ahead of him it sounded like a thunderstorm was happening with no clouds in the sky.

The mountains closed in, and he looked up at them. They disappeared into the mist above, making him unsure of exactly how high they were. They seemed bare. But this could just be a deception of the night. For all he knew there could be more animals up there. Aside from the ones Kamide warned him against. He stopped short and listened for the roar he had heard the other night. He couldn’t hear it above the crash of the waves, and was thankful for that.

The ground kept changing as he drew nearer to the mountains. Small pools appeared, filled with strange creatures and insects. He didn’t touch them though, unsure what they might be, and afraid of the sting of the salt in the water. He pushed on though. The land started to curve away, striking further out into water, and it rose sheer above him as a cliff.

He couldn’t see any way to climb it when finally stood below it. But why would he want to anyway. There would be nothing there. He turned to step away and his foot splashed in a small stream of water. He followed it with his eyes and noticed it came from further inland. It felt cooler than the water that had caused him pain. He let his tongue reach down and touch it. It was fresh water.

His spirits lifted at the finding of fresh water, and he bounded back up the stream, being careful not the trip on the rocks in the night. And soon he found what had caused the stream. A second cliff rose above him, sprouting from the other one like a toe of his paw.

Below the cliff was a pool of water, which trickled down to the Undrinkable Water as it filled from the water falling from above. Another stream trickled from the top of the cliff, and was almost a fine mist as it reached the pool at the bottom. This excited Kabian, and he moved over to drink from the pool.

As he put his head down to drink he noticed something on the other side of the mist. Cautiously he padded around the pool until he was on the other side. When he got there he noticed a small cave, possibly caused by the water over the years. When he looked inside he could see that it wasn’t large, and that it was unused. It would be ideal for him to stay in. After drinking his fill, and bathing his wounds in the untainted water, he decided to get some more sleep and let his body recover.

*          *          *

The light from the noonday sun woke Kabian. He blinked as his pupils adjusted to the sudden brightness. The den he had been born in had faced away from the sun, and it was much deeper. Here he was only a few feet behind the mist that fell from above, with his back resting on the stone wall. It wasn’t much of a cave. It had looked bigger in the darkness. Now he could tell it was more of a hollow than a cave. But it did offer him some protection.

He stood slowly, remembering the pain he had felt last time he had stood. It was there again, but this time only dull. He twisted his head to try and get a look at his wound. From what he could see it had been healing very well, and now that it was clean would only heal faster.

The wound under his jaw was another matter though, that would take some time to heal properly. But it would still heal; he would just have troubles in the meantime.

He heard a splash from outside, as if a rock had fallen into the pool. Soon he could hear a few splashes, but not as large as the first. He started to walk out of the small hollow. The cliff curved away to his right and left as he walked out, the shallow pool opening before him. He moved to the right to head away from the mist and around the pool. The cliff seemed to stop as it ran in to an even larger cliff. This new one ran out into the Undrinkable Water and then curved away from his sight.

The splashing continued, so he stepped around to where he could here it coming from. At the front of the pool was a small creature, about two paw lengths big. It was flat when viewed from the side as he was doing, and it seemed to be bouncing up and down on either end. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he did remember seeing something similar once, in the creek where he had taken a drink in Oak Wood.

It was moving very fast, and didn’t seem to be enjoying the dry land it was near. Kabian moved closer to it, sniffing the air near it to make sure it wasn’t hostile. All he could sense was distress, and the smell of meat. Not of the red meat which was his usual faire, but it was still meat.

He raised his head to look left and right, checking in either direction to make sure no one was around. When he couldn’t see anyone he quickly gathered the creature up in his jaws and took it into his hollow. It jumped and writhed in his grip, and the slippery texture of its back nearly caused him to lose his hold. But he sunk his teeth in a little more and soon it was still. When he was in the hollow he dropped it to the ground.

It wasn’t moving anymore, which was probably a good sign. But it still looked strange. So he closed his eyes and grabbed it with his mouth. He lifted his head and started to chew. The small fragile bones in the creatures’ body broke easily, and soon it slid down his throat. He licked at his lips and spat slightly. It didn’t taste very good, and it was all slimy. But it wasn’t overly bad, and it filled his stomach slightly.

It would take a few to fill him though, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to go about getting more. At that moment another splash occurred, followed again by the smaller ones. Kabian rushed to get to the front of the pool, but he didn’t see anything there. He heard the splashing again though and noticed another of the silvery, slimy creatures bouncing their way down the little stream that ran to the Water.

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Intrigued by what it seemed to be doing he followed it. For a little while there was a section of land in front of the cliff, wide enough to walk down, in which the little stream flowed. The creature made its way down until it reached the edge. The cliff kept stretching away to the right, while the land he was standing on just dropped away.

A wash of water across his face reminded him where he was and he looked out over the water. It seemed that even though the land stopped, there was still more out there. Some large rocks were sticking up out of the surf that pummeled them. They wouldn’t be difficult to reach; he could get to them with relative ease.

More splashes drew his attention then as the creature pushed itself off the edge and into the water. Surely it would go mad. But soon enough he saw it jump from the water with a spin and then land back in. The sun reflected marvelously off its back.

The sea salt stung his nose a little again, but he was starting to get used to the smell. The only problem was it hid the smell of any creatures that might be around. But what creatures, aside from the little shiny one, would dare come to such a dangerous place. He shook his head. Loners like him. Those driven from their clans and homes.

There couldn’t be many of them though, so he would be safe for a while. He looked where the creature had gone. It had moved further from the shore, jumping in and out of the water with ease. Soon he could see more out there.

He stepped back a few paces to get a run up, then bounded across to the nearest rock. It was slippery from the spray, but he managed to find purchase on its rugged surface. He dug his small nails into the cracks to help him hold his position. The creature had moved further away though, so he leapt to the next rock.

The waves crashed against the rocks with some force and caused a slight mist before his eyes. Within the mist though he noticed more of the creatures, different shapes and size, some red, some blue, some silver. But they were all similar. And they were being dashed against the rocks and up before his eyes. He swept a paw out in front of him and hit one. It came from the spray and landed on the rock, where it bounced around with all its might, trying to get back to water. But he stood on it with his paw until it stopped moving. Then he grabbed it in his jaw and tossed it all the way back to the solid ground.

He had discovered for himself a source of food. He grinned. He had thought it would take him much longer. But then, he had also thought they would let him join their clan. The creatures just kept flying up in front of him. Soon he had a small pile of different kinds lying off to the side. His mouth felt slick from the scales of the creatures.

He looked around, further than he had before. The water still just went on seemingly forever. But out on this rock he could see around the cliff face more and more. The waves crashed right up against it. His eyes followed it around and saw another small waterfall misting down. The cliff continued around further.

Through the mist that formed at the base of the cliff, where the crashing of the waves mixed with the falling stream, he thought he could see something. When the wind blew briefly and cleared the mist for those brief moments he though that he could see trees. They didn’t quite look like trees he was used to. He was used to seeing trees of vibrant green. But what he could see was a reddish colour. The moment was gone though, and mist made the trees a faint blur again, a smudge of colour on the horizon.

But the damage had already been done. Mitsui had told him that the world ended at the mountains. But this was obviously not true. There was more land on the other side of the mountains. Was this where the humans had come from? What else had Mitsui lied about?

While he was lost in his daydream about the lands on the other side of the mountain, someone had crept up to the edge on the water where his pile of shiny creatures was. They didn’t touch the creatures though. They stood there, silently for a few seconds, watching the wolf on the rock look out past the cliff.

“Young Wolf!”

The sound startled Kabian and he turned quickly to face it. As he turned his paw lost its grip on the surface of the rock and slipped from beneath him. The rest of his paws followed soon after, and he landed stomach first on the rock with a loud thud. A wave came in, and with the spray on the rock he started sliding towards the edge. Quickly his paws scrambled to get some grip, but it was too late.

He landed in the water and slid under the waves. Bubbles rose from where he fell. But soon he had burst from the water and was gulping at the air. With the instinct to swim ingrained into him he paddled and managed to push himself closer to shore. Another wave washed across him and he went under again, but this time he was calmer as he resurfaced.

He placed his paws on the slimy wet rock that spread out under the waves and braced himself. Another wave passed across him, but this time it didn’t drag him under. When it receded he lunged forwards and dragged himself upwards with his claws. His paws scrabbled forwards, finding the nooks that they sought to bring him up.

Once he reached the solid ground that marked the shore he collapsed, his energy spent from trying not to drown. He lay spread eagled as the water dripped from him. He shook his muzzle briefly as the salty water dripped into it. He caught movement in the corner of his eye as his head turned.

He brought his feet back beneath him and stood. The water pooled under him. Over the drips though, he could hear the laugh of another wolf. The wolf sounded old, like Mitsui had been. He shook his entire body, trying to get as much of the water from his fur as he could. The laughing stopped abruptly as the other wolf started coughing. But then it started up again soon after he stopped shaking.

Emitting a deep growl Kabian turned to face the wolf that had surprised him. His head turned to the left and he could see the wolf more clearly. It was larger than any other wolf he had seen in his short span, but not by much. He towered over Kabian though, who still hadn’t reached his full size.

The wolf was covered in a dark grey fur, tipped with a silvery colour along his back. Kabian still had much of his puppy fur, and hadn’t fully developed a colour of his own. The black hairs had been falling out though, so he was lightening in colour.

The other wolfs teeth were in pristine condition. Not a single one was broken or chipped. But they showed signs of good use. The wolf stopped laughing and closed its jaws, and stared intently at Kabian, a serious expression now on its face.

It was at that moment that Kabian noticed the pure white eyes. Not the gold or blue that was common to wolves, but a pure milky white. This must be the Longtooth that Mitsui had told him about. Warned may be a better term. Kabian wasn’t sure what he should do in the presence of one such as him.

He rolled on the ground in front of the Longtooth, exposing the soft side of his neck to him in a submissive gesture. The Longtooth only looked at him in disgust and turned away.

“Didn’t Hakai teach you anything?” His voice was gruff, and very deep, but it was also soft, and quite difficult to hear.

“He didn’t teach me how to swim…”

The wolf laughed again. “At least you have some wit about you,” he turned to Kabian, “now tell me, why are you out here?”

Kabian was a little taken aback by this. He hadn’t expected anyone to come out here, let alone ask him why he was here. He turned his head away from the wolf as he spoke.

“I am an outcast. I have nowhere else to go.”

“Ah, that is what they are calling these days is it? Outcast? Well, stay here if you must then. But tell me, why are you an outcast?”

“Because my family was killed, and I couldn’t defeat Poi to become an Oak Wood.”

The wolf mulled over this for a few moments.

“Walk with me young wolf. It is much calmer over near the pool, away from the crashing of the waves. Bring your fish along, and we will continue talking there.” The wolf started to slowly trot away.

“Fish?”

“The shiny things you left in a pile there. They are an animal called Fish. They live in water. Now bring them along, I want to lie down.”

Kabian grabbed his fish up and took off after the old wolf. When he had reached the pool he was surprised to find the old wolf already lying down before the pool, almost asleep. He placed the fish in his small hollow and came and rested next to the old wolf.

“Now tell me, why are you here?”

Kabian was confused, he had already answered this question.

“Because I am an outcast.”

“We covered that already, I want to know why you are here. It seems a strange place to find one so young.”

“Because I didn’t know where to go.”

“You’re not very good at answering questions, are you? Let’s try an easier one then. Do you at least have a name?”

“Yes, sir, Kabian. Hakai named me Kabian of the Blood Mist.”

“Ah, that sounds one impressive title. You must have done something special to deserve that. Don’t bother calling me sir, I prefer Ohenoki. But if you must, you must.”

“Yes, sir, Ohenoki, sir.”

“Okay, so we have established you have a name. And I know you have a clan.”

“Not any more. They were all killed. By these strange creatures that moved on two legs.”

“Yes, I know about that. But as long as one clan member remains, then it is still a clan. Maybe you are not Hot Sands anymore. But you are still part of a clan. You’ll know I am right when the time comes.

I know of these creatures. The essence of Monok has taught me much in the many years that he has flowed within me. They are called Humans. They are vile creatures. They destroy for the sake of destroying. They hunt for fun, and leave the meat to rot. They are not worthy to live with us. Monok realised that, and he brought us away from them. But like moths that are drawn to the light. They have been here once, they will come again.

The Oak Wood and Crystal Glade will stop taking your lands soon. They are fighting over the last bit now. But they have not touched the Sands. They don’t see it as any use. No game live out there. As clan leader, I suggest you mark your territory, and patrol your borders during the night. You might be surprised at what you find. And watch the Water for me.”

Ohenoki stood up quickly. Kabian was surprised one who seemed so old could move so quickly. Much of what he had just heard made no sense to Kabian, but he took it all in anyway. He might know what it means some day. But right now the only thing in his mind was the colours he had seen past the cliff.

“Ohenoki,” he called before the old wolf had gone very far, “what was it I saw around the cliff?”

“Nothing. I suggest you forget about it. Just you go along the tree line tonight, Kabian. You need to.”

Kabian turned to look at the pool for a moment before turning back to ask Ohenoki another question. But he was nowhere to be seen. The wolf seemed to vanish. But Kabian could hear the sound of the pads on his paws striking the rocks. He was very fast.

He thought for a few seconds about this encounter then moved into his hollow to eat his fish. He would go along the edge of the forest tonight. If the old wolf wanted him to do it so badly, then there must be something special.

*          *          *

As the sun started to set Kabian made his way back towards the sands that separated the water from the forest. The rocky landscape he walked on slowly gave way to the sandy beaches that were home to no prey. With the sun below the horizon the sands had cooled enough for him to walk on them. Even so, he was cautious with his first few steps. His paws spread wide as he stepped onto the sand, keeping his paw from sinking into the soft sand. He could still hear the waves crashing against the rocks behind him, and the soft sound of the water sliding up the beach and back again.

He walked out on to the sand and then stopped. He turned his gaze out to the blackness that was the Undrinkable Water. In the darkness of the night the horizon was but a dark line running between two depths of blue. The mysterious light he had seen that night, not so long ago, was nowhere to be seen. Which he concluded was good.

He breathed the salted air deeply, letting it sting his lungs. He was becoming more used to it as the time wore on. He moved over to the edge of the trees. He couldn’t smell any sign of wolves out on the sands, but the smell was thick as he neared the trees. It seemed they had decided the Sands were of no use to them.

A warm smell caught his nose. He turned his head to the left and lost the scent. He turned to the right and started trotting down the tree line, following the warm smell. As he neared it he could tell it was blood. Fresh blood. Not deer blood, but blood none the less. The strange creatures called fish he had been eating today had a sickly smell about them, and were cold in his mouth.

He arrived at the scent that had dragged him along. Two freshly killed rabbits were lying on the sand just outside the trees. He sniffed at them, smelling a wolf’s scent on them. The scent was familiar though. He raised his head to look around at the area and see if anyone was there. There was no one. No one that he could see any way. He sniffed at the rabbits again, and then started tearing the flesh away from the bone. After today he wouldn’t need to eat for a number of days.

A noise disturbed him as he ate. He hoped his hearing improved as he got older, because everything seemed to be able to surprise him right now. He backed away from the trees, dragging one of the rabbits with him. When he was a suitable distance away he looked up, keeping his head close to the rabbit.

Before him stood Tomi. Kabian looked around quickly and sniffed the air.

“Do not be afraid Kabian. I have come alone.”

Kabian relaxed and let his tongue hang from the side of his mouth for a second. Tomi picked up the other rabbit and dropped it near the one Kabian had.

“I am glad to see you safe. I was worried when Poi grabbed you by the throat. But he wouldn’t disobey Kamide. Still…” she turned a little and walked beside him, facing the water. He turned around to stand facing the same direction.

“You brought me these? Why Tomi?”

“Because I do not want to see you end up with the rest of your clan. You may not have a clan now, but I am sure someday you will. The fighting stopped when they hit the Hot Sands. Neither clan wants to take it. Why would they, nothing grazes out here.”

“Then I suppose… this is still controlled by the Hot Sands Clan then? Maybe I will have to make it my own?”

Tomi laughed briefly. “Surely you jest. But do as you will. I don’t think any clan would care if you claimed the Sands as your own. You should be fine. And I’ll bring you some rabbits every few moon rises. That should keep you fed.”

“Thank you, Tomi, but wont you get in trouble with Poi?”

“Kamide and Poi don’t care for a few measly rabbits every now and again. They hunt the deer, more of a challenge for them.”

A howl sounded in the distance, back into the forest. Tomi looked around at it and nodded glumly.

“I should be off then. I need to help with the wounded. I will see you again soon.”

“I thank you again, Tomi. You are my only friend.”

Tomi smiled at Kabian as she turned to go, her tail wagging in the air. Then she had vanished back in to the forest. Kabian looked down at the rabbits. He ate them as quickly as he could, undisturbed except for the squawking of some air borne animals.

Once finished he stood up and made his decision. He moved to the edge of the forest, where a small amount of grass grew. He started pawing at the grass, then rubbed his shoulder into it, leaving his scent over that section of grass. If the other clans didn’t want to have it as their own, then he would gladly take it. He may only be one wolf, but he was still the leader of his clan.

After marking his first scent on the grass he went out to the edge of the water. As the water rushed up around his paws and ankles he let out a howl to the heavens. Sending his vows straight to the halls of Monok where even his father Hakai could hear them.

“I vow to watch the Waters until I can move no longer. I vow to protect the wolves from these humans. I vow that I will not be the last of my line.”