A Crashing Wave {Closed}

[Rykett]

Tiago felt like causing some chaos. He spent his time in the valley so far taking stock of the current political status of the valley. There were two Evil packs, a single Neutral, and one Good. Many terrified words were whispered about a particular Evil pack, Midnight Silence. It was lead by none other than Fjord himself! The name sent shivers of hatred through Tiago. His sister, Shiver, had left seeking revenge on that monster. Before she’d returned a sickness had swept through the pack, completely breaking apart the remains of his family. He’d left and never seen any of his sisters since.

Tiago wanted to destroy Fjord and that pack of his… but he would need his own pack, his own army. He considered creating one from scratch, but it’d be easier to just take alphaship of an already established pack. The other Evil pack might have the best fighters, but the Alphess was said to hold a Level 3 power and it would be hard to convince other evil wolves to turn against their own alliance. The Neutral pack was also said to have a powerful leader with loyal wolves. The Good pack, Eternal Snowfall, however… their Alphess had not been seen for seasons and few wolves even knew of its existence. It wouldn’t be hard to turn the Good wolves to thoughts of honorable war when he told them of what Midnight Silence had done. There were rumors of slaves and killing wolves as a form of promotion surrounding the pack. The only downside of targeting Eternal Snowfall was their distance from Midnight Silence’s territory. That could be remedied with a temporary move Northward.

So, Tiago stepped up to the border of Tranquil Meadows. He belted out a powerful howl to the alpha, requesting entry into the pack.

The elderly Alphess of Eternal Snowfall relaxed in her large, lonely den. Piala thought of her pack. Their numbers dwindled and few of Piala well-known friends remained. At one point, Piala had accepted every one of her current members into Eternal Snowfall, now she could barely recall her own members’ names. She wished she knew her members better, but she never felt well enough to leave her den and spend time getting to know them. Maybe she should just fall asleep and hope she felt better after the much-needed rest.

Piala closed her eyes but immediately opened them again as a howl sounded through the territory. The alphess sighed. Now? It was her duty to respond though. Piala pushed herself half-up by her front paws. The motion felt stiff and her bones ached. As a bout of dizziness took her, Piala steadied herself by leaning against the den’s wall. Then she rose fully. These feelings were nothing new to the Elder. It came with the territory of being old. But a sudden, new pain flared in her chest as Piala took a step. She collapsed with a gasp of pain. She curled into a ball and shuddered, trying to inhale with unresponsive lungs. Blackness crept into the edges of her vision.

This was it, wasn’t it? Rejects flooded her thoughts. She’d never found a mate and never had pups. But Piala pushed them all away. There was nothing she could do about all that now. She had led a good life. For the majority of her life, her pack had thrived under her rule. At least, she had a Beta. Albus had shown promise so she’d promoted him, but she hadn’t announced it to the rest of the pack. He’d take the lead after her passing. She’d helped many wolves and given many new chances. The blackness enveloped her and her spirit fled to the Afterlife.

-Exit Piala-

Shiver lay inside her own, lonely den. Once, Zeke would’ve been with her, here, and perhaps her pups as well. Shiver missed them… How could they leave her? The howl reached her. Shiver’s ears perked. That howl sounded familiar for some reason… No matter. Alphess Piala would answer the call. Shiver’s gold eyes shifted to watch the world outside, searching for Alphess Piala’s form as she left to respond to the request. No elderly she-wolf walked past. Shiver sat up. Why wasn’t she responding? Shiver slipped from her den and glanced at the entrance. A white form was curled up just inside the den. Piala must be asleep.

Shiver looked toward the origin of the howl. The familiarity of it haunted her. Perhaps she should see who was requesting entry? The upper ranks of Eternal Snowfall were relatively empty. Maybe if Shiver showed initiative by responding to a joining request when Piala was busy, the Alphess would grant her a higher position and Shiver would have some new purpose in her life. Shiver found herself trotting towards the border.

The she-wolf could barely believe her eyes when she saw the form, waiting on the border. ”T-Tiago?”

The alphess sure was taking her time… Tiago shuffled his feet in boredom and scratching at the dirt. A familiar voice made him look up. Before him stood his sister, Shiver. She was older, but it was definitely the same wolf. ”Shiver!? What are you doing here?!”

”I live here, you dork! I was about to ask you the same thing!” Shiver laughed and rushed towards him. She butted her head into him. Her smile was wide and welcoming, almost relieved.

”I’m looking for someplace to live! You’re the alphess?!”

”No… but I’m sure she’ll let you in! Calypso’s here, too!”

”Really?!” This was perfect! Surely, his sisters shared his despise for Fjord. Shiver had even left to search for him. With them supporting him, there was no doubt in Tiago’s mind that he’d take control easily.

”Yes! You’re even an uncle! Come on! We have to clear your entry with Piala.” Shiver bounded away, joyfully, and Tiago followed. His sister quickly led him into a copse of trees when dens seemed to be under nearly every tree. An orange pup’s head poked out of one as they passed. Her pale red eyes tracked to two adults rushing past. Tiago wondered if it was one of the nieces Shiver had implied he now had. Shiver stopped by a somewhat larger den. Tiago spotted the wolf inside. There was a strange smell coming from it. ”This is Piala’s den!” then she turned to the den, ”Alphess Piala! This is my brother, Tiago! He was on the border. Could you let him into the pack?”

There was no response.

”She’s just asleep,” Shiver explained and rocked the body with a paw, ”Piala, wake up.” Tiago poked his head inside the den and touched the Alphess. The body was slightly chilled and there was no movement of breath.

”Shiver… I think she’s dead…” Shiver’s smile faded and her eyes widened. She rocked Piala, again, as if to double check, but there was still no response and no breath.

”Oh… no… but… she doesn’t have an heir. I don’t even know if she has a beta. If she does, I’ve never met them. What are we going to do…”

This was even more perfect! He didn’t even have to dispose of the Alphess or challenge an heir. There was nothing stopping him from taking the Alphaship. ”We have to deal with this. We can’t let your… our pack fall apart. We can handle it… together.”

”You think I… we… should become the Alphas?!”

”Who else is going to take the position? You said she has no heirs and no betas.”

”Maybe… Striken?”

”Who?”

”Calypso’s mate. He’s responsible and a good wolf.”

”Perhaps… let’s give Alphess Piala a proper burial before we approach him about it…” Tiago had no intention of giving up this opportunity to this Striken fellow. However, he wasn’t opposed to temporarily sharing power to gain the pack’s trust. Keyword: Temporarily.

”Alright… We’ll take her to the Tombs…” Tiago gently picked up the corpse. Shiver led the way to the aforementioned Tombs.

The two siblings dug a hole where Piala could rest beside her ancestors and laid her inside. They sat beside her grave for a while. Shiver’s mind ran in circles. Piala was dead and that left Eternal Snowfall without leadership. Tiago had said that perhaps she and he should fill the void. Would Shiver even want that? She had been hoping for a better position in the pack, but not Alphaship! Tiago had shown a desire for an Alpha role, but he’d barely joined the pack! Could she even ask the other members to accept him? She was sure he was a good wolf. He was her brother and she trusted him. Maybe it would be good for him to take the Alphaship. She and Calypso could vouch for him. Maybe Striken would be better.

Finally, Tiago spoke. ”Shiver? Should we go find Striken?”

”Yes… of course…” Shiver was still a bit in shock. She’d known that Piala was old, but she’d grown comfortable with the Alphess’s apparently unchanging, stability and paws-off leadership. She hadn’t ever expected something like this to happen. Shiver and Tiago made their way back to the Copse.

Shiver paused beside Calypso and Striken’s den. ”This is their den, here.” She ducked inside, expecting to find her sister and her mate. A young grey wolf huddled, alone, inside. ”Kokem?” Her niece looked up. Her usually energetic face was gaunt and worried. ”Where are your parent?”

”Nobody knows… They’re missing…”

”What?!”

”How could you not notice?! They went on a hunting trip and never came back!” Kokem seemed angry and turned away from her aunt. Her body language was clear. She did not want visitors. Shiver didn’t know how to comfort the younger wolf, so she ducked out of the den, new worries blooming within her.

”They’re missing?” Tiago’s voice was also worried, ”Shiver, I promise we’ll find them, but we’ll need the whole pack… We need to step up.”

”Okay.”

-End-