Malah and the Prophecy

Malah receives a prophecy that changes her life forever

       Malah was thirteen and on a roll. It was her first hunt as part of the northern wolf-demon tribe. She'd already broken the record for prey on a first hunt, with two deer and three turkeys. In fact, it was a pretty big catch for any wolf demon. Sniffing the air, she crept slowly towards her next catch, a wild goose. She crouched and stalked stealthily towards the feathered feast.
She sprung, knocking it into the air and caughting it by its feet, and then killed it with a swift but unpracticed bite to the neck with her sharp, white fangs. The goose had made a slight honking sound, but that couldn't be helped. Malah stared at the setting sun, a somewhat pretty orange-pink color, bored, and decided it might be about time to head back. She listened keenly for the sound of her pack's feet moving across the forest floor, a sound she'd become used to during this hunt. She instead heard a howl; the signal to come back to den had been launched. She hauled her catch in her bag she'd been carrying with her and ran on all fours back to her pack's den.
Inside the large cavern her entire pack lived in, her close family, her mother and brother, waited patiently for her. She strode in at the back of the pack; last, but defiantly not least. Not wanting to be called weak or any such, she carried the full weight of her catch, even though it would most likely make her sore tomorrow.
She began to pull her catch out of the bag, slowly, starting wtih the deer and ending with the single goose, putting the catch on a pile of food brought in by that hunting patrol. There were many gasps at her catch and she smiled slyly. She sat awaiting the compliments she was sure to get, and couldn't wait.
" No! " her mother called out, stricked, looking at her catch. " There must be some mistake here! "
Malah was puzzled. " What's wrong? "
Her mother would not stop sobbing and the cave was quiet with her heavy grief. Her mother, barely audible, recited from an ancient rite.
" A girl, first kill,
Goose caught with a bill,
She will capture turkey three,
Before she becomes a servant of me.
Listen closely and you will hear,
She has also captured two strong deer.
A mother will sob in due time,
As a child calls a home no longer mine. "
She listened carefully, and tried to find meaning in what her sobbing mother is saying. It was garbled and hard to understand at first, but then she got used to it and it was simple to follow. Malah had done most of those things. But she'd hadn't disowned her home. Why would she?
But her mother wasn't done.
" A dream will come,
And the child will go,
Before first winter's  snow.
Meeting him,
A thief unknown,
She to pieces will be blown. "
Malah shut her eyes and sat back.  This would continue.
" Before she does so,
She will go
On an Epic Quest
That she thinks, is for best. "
Malah opened her eyes. A quest. Such a thing could bring her lots of prestige. Enough to form her own pack. She could be an alpha. She leapt up. " See ya, suckers! " She screamed gleefully and ran out into the night, taking one of the deer with her.
Her mother sobbingly watched and recited another line or two of the never completed, and never would be completed, prophecy.
" And away she will spring,
Before the birds sing. "

   

Author's Note

Malah is just one of many characters... each chapter will be from a different character's point of view