Chapter 2

     Stormbird and Seasong watched as the rest of the elemental wolves emerged from their resting places. Like Seasong, they were all invisible to all the surface dwellers. Stormbird waited patiently for the rest of the pack to get comfortable, only when Shadowfire, Stormbird's beta, took his place at Stormbird's side did he silence the pack of their eager mumbling. They all looked up at him expectantly.

     Stormbird scanned is his pack to make sure that everyone was quiet and looking up at him. "I'm sure that you are all well aware of all the trouble that has been going on down on the surface," he began. "Once again my anger has gotten the best of me and I thought that the best way to make me feel better was to take it out on the surface dwellers. My beautiful mate rose from her position in the sea and talked to me. I learned that taking anger out on everyone is not the right thing to do. She also told me that I should feel more empathy towards the Earth wolves. But I did not call you all here to talk preach about what is right and what is wrong. No, I called you all here so we could set an agreement. Do you think that it is time for the Elemental Wolf pack to pay a visit to the Earth wolves so that we may try to understand their position?"

     Suddenly the pack spoke in a series of hushed voices as the wolves debated on Stormbird's request. Shadowfire murmured in Stormbird's ear.

     "Are you sure that the higher beings will agree to us becoming Earthbound?"

     Stormbird turned to his beta. "No, but if the pack agrees then they'll have to at least consider the possibility," he responded matching Shadowfire's tone. "Do you think that it is a great idea?"

     Shadowfire turned away considering the thought. "If you believe that it will help us understand our Earth brethren then I will go along with whatever you do," he said plainly.

     Stormbird nudged him. "Thanks, you are a loyal beta and you will one day make a legendary alpha."

     Shadowfire turned away to try and hide the embarrassment on his face. Shadowfire could control the power of fire and when the pack wasn't meeting together, he would be on the Hawaiian Islands monitoring the volcanoes there. Shadowfire's power marks were more complex than Stormbird’s and Seasong's. He has a big charcoal black stripe that started from his forehead and ended at the tip of his tail. The red markings that surround the stripe are similar to the markings on a Husky dog. The rest of his body is a light shade of yellow. Stormbird turned and looked back over the pack; they were all looking up at him expectantly.

     "We have come to a decision," Soulseeker, the pack's elder, said when her and Stormbird locked eyes.

     "Good, what does the pack think?" he asked.

     Soulseeker stood and shook her shaggy brown coat. "The pack agrees with going Earthbound so that we can understand the Earth wolves."

     Stormbird pricked his ears and wagged his tail slightly in excitement. "That's wonderful! Tonight we will ask the higher beings what they think of our decision," Stormbird announced.

     At that, the pack joined in a howl that sang silently until sunset. That night, the pack joined and formed a large circle around Stormbird; each member sensing the other's eagerness. Stormbird sat down, his proud body casting a long shadow. The rest of the pack mimicked him. They sat in silence for a long time, waiting for the moon to reach its highest point in the sky. The moon slowly slid into place. The cloud the pack was gathered on cleared away like mist, revealing the sacred ruins that lay underneath. It was at that moment that Stormbird and the rest of the elemental wolves laid down and slept.