Cold Shadows

Walking, running, resting and more walking.. It seemed to be an endless and very monotonous task but in some ways it beat having to stay in one place all of the time and following endless rules that seemed tasking to ones mind and soul. Out here where one could be alone or perhaps travel in the company of another was true freedom and there was most always peace. Sure there were benefits to being in a pack one being you'd probably eat more times than not with a large hunting parting then just one measly little wolf and the other was always having a warm nest to curl up in. But the one seemed to always out weigh the other and there was no question in the yearlings mind.

He was happy.
He was content and most of all....
he was free! Free to do what he wanted, free to be himself and free to go where he wanted with only himself to look out for. There was little to no confrontation as he seemed to always avoid areas that had other wolves in it and kept to himself, preferring the quiet to the noisiness of a pack life.

Kraken had been on his own for several months now. He had parted from the little friend he had made by the water and had set out to journey on his own and jumped from place to place find interest in each territory he visited and luck being on his side he seed to avoid stepping into pack lands.

The young male padded in silence, his ears erect and listening for noises. His body had changed, muscles had taken place where puppy fat had been and his fur held a different feel. His eyes were sharper and more keen. The puppiness had left his face leaving it with a broader shape to his jaw and a sharper point to his nose. The only thing that seemed to be the same were his large paws, paws that promised he would be a good sized wolf by the time he was done growing. As he padded through the wooded area his nose twitched taking in the scents around him. He could scent many things, the smell of the recent volcano explosion - a smell that seemed to not want to go away. The burnt smell was almost nauseating but held an underlining that was sweet to ones nose. As he moved through the unknown land the sound of water hit his ears, twitching them forwards in interest and excitement the young wolf dashed off in the direction the noise was coming from. Breaking through some undergrowth the male stopped short when he caught sight of the waterfall.

Blue eyes widened in awe when the scene greeted them. Beauty, peacefulness and much more was pouring from the waterfall and seemed to pull him in. Moving slowly the male's nose twitched with excitement at the smells of fresh water only to make him stop abruptly when the smell of another wolf hit his scent glands.


"Hello?"