The Pale Wolf

A pretty short story about a strange pale wolf.

The Pale Wolf

Once, there was a pale white wolf. His limbs were long and accented with black as night markings. His long elegant snout was also marked with darker fur. In his pack, the other wolves had duties. Hunting, watching, cleaning, marking, and digging. The pale wolf could only watch with pale eyes as each member did their part. His pack was above him. He was below them. Some gave him angered looks with wrinkled and snapping snouts. Other gave him helpless looks, fluffy tails wagging slowly in encouragement. The pale wolf took both, giving expressionless looks towards the encouragers and submissive glances towards the angry ones.

One day the pale wolf decided to wander a little away from the pack, towards the stream that provided them tasty water. He leaned down to drink, pale eyes almost open. A flash of silver caught his sight and his eyes open wider. The pale wolf lifts his head watching silver flash in the water. He isn't entirely sure what he’s seeing but it brings him little flecks of happiness and his bushy tail flips in excitement.

The pale wolf watches the silver swim through the water, down the stream and he takes a few steps to follow. After a quick glance back towards where he knew his pack would be, the wolf trots along the small stream. His nose was down and his eyes following the silver in the water.

A while has come and gone before the pale wolf found himself trotting and nearly running along the small stream that seemed a little bigger than before. The wolf stopped and watched the water. Before he could hear the soft trickle of the water along the ground, but now the water was louder and faster. Excitement couldn't help bubbling inside of him as he thought of the possibility of the stream getting even bigger and even louder. The thought to follow it further crossed his mind very briefly before a long distanced howl reached his ears. The pale wolf pointed his nose towards the sound, blinking a few times before trotting back towards his pack.

Each day went by and the pack hunters went out to find food.  Each day went by and the pale wolf went out to follow the stream, going only a bit further than the day before. None of the males cared or noticed. Most of the females questioned his absence with their watching glances. The pale wolf could feel their gazes, but he would push against them and meet with the stream again. The silver flecks still danced in the water, but the wolf’s focus was more on the water than what moved inside.

On the final day, the pale wolf was scolded by one of the males. It wasn't made clear whether it was for leaving the pack too many times or for trying to drink all the water from the stream. The pale wolf couldn't question, only submit. Hurt pulsed in the pale wolf’s right shoulder and he licked the blood from his fur, but the desire to meet with the water again still burned within him and he awkwardly trotted towards the stream.

Despite the hurt, his tail still swayed happily as he trotted along the stream, watching the silver and listening to the rush grow. The pale wolf reached the last place he left the stream and heard the return call of his pack. Pale eyes glanced back, but his long limbs didn't move quite yet. The pale wolf watched the stream, now wider than the entrance of his den. Wider than three wolves standing nose to tail. Perhaps wider than the clearing of his camp. The pale wolf’s tail gave a happy swish and he continued along the water.

The water was louder than the pale wolf could ever imagine and he came to a stop at a steep cliff. Cool wind brushed through pale fur and peach sunset light shone in his eyes. The forest ended and the pale wolf watched the large stream as it flowed on and off the cliff down to the bottom. The pale wolf followed with his eyes to see that the stream continued even at the bottom, and even the trees returned.

The pale wolf gave an excited yip and his bushy tail whipped about. He followed the stream all the way from his pack. He watched it grow, both in size and sound. He knew it would change again after flowing off of a cliff. The thought brought him happiness. His pale eyes followed the water once more and he leaped after it.

-end-

Author's Note

It's short and maybe weirdly formatted, but I just wanted to see how it would form into writing.
I also feel like the song My World by Florian Bur could fit and put a little atmosphere into the story.

Reviews

[L.P.Greene]

I really like this but you do seem to have a little tense issue, switching from past to present throughout the narrative. It makes the story a little more confusing when reading. But, other than that this is a good read. The narrative aspect is interesting and well explored and the description is fantastic.

Over all a really good read, just address that tense issue. Decide if your wolf is remembering or experiencing in the present. Keep writing!

[wordsofheart]

It's very interesting and nicely-written. Gives the feeling of a rebel. Well Done!