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"Desolate soul...withering in seclusion... Time festering and decaying the hollow that has become your heart. Lift the anguish that has clouded your vision for so long. Moons have come and gone, yet you show cold indifference. Tainted moments spoiling the life within. It is time to wake, my beloved sister... It is time. Time to live once more."
"Channon..." The softly spoken name was lost to the growing wind. Tired eyes blurred in and out of focus. Then she was up, frantic and frenzied. "Chaaaannon!" The howl was ripped away as soon as it left her muzzle. A storm was fast approaching. Lightning split across the sky, thunder cracking in the distance. Tala shrank back, dazed and confused. Channon had spoken to her. But Channon was dead... Memories danced spiteful circles through her mind. The bear, the blood, the yelps... She was being swallowed once more by the flashbacks. A clap of thunder shook the sky and she was back. A gust of wind blew through her fur. It seemed to whisper to her: "Tala... Sister... Live..." Then, it was gone.
"Channon..." the ebon wolf whimpered. She lifted her golden eyes to the sky, searching, but knowing that whatever had spoken had departed. A lone raindrop spattered on her raised muzzle. In seconds, the whole forest was in a downpour. Tala raced along the edge of the forest, searching for cover from the sheets of water that beat at her eyes and nose. Wet and weary, she finally slipped into an abandoned den underneath some rocks. With nothing else to do, she pondered back to the past. How long had she been lying there before that dream? Hours, days...? Time seemed to be skewed in her mind. There was only before and after. Before Channon's death, after Channon deaths. Nothing else mattered. Yet now, something had been awoken in her. After being lost to sorrow for so long, her spirit was back. But it was pulsing with something she had never felt before: loneliness.
The storm lasted all morning. By the time it ended, Tala was itching to set out. The sun was shining brightly now, and the heat was rising. In fact, it was much warmer than what she was used to. While the storm blew itself out and the rain started to dissipate, the female realized that she was not in her old territory. How far had she traveled while wrapped in despair? Crawling from her hole, she sniffed the air tentatively. None of the scents were familiar. Had she traipsed into a packland? Pack...how she craved to be in one of those. She did not know much about other wolves, but her soul was calling out for them.
Tala ran for many, many miles. As she went, the forest grew sparse, and then finally ceased to exist. At this point, she stopped short and stood rooted to her spot. It was as if an invisible line had been painted on the ground. A powerful scent ran along it, marking out boundaries. This was the edge of someone's land. It was both a thrilling and frightning discovery. She had finally found others, but how would they react to her? She paced the invisible line, pondering her options. She had come too far to turn back now. This was what her heart had been searching for. If death awaited, then so be it. With that thought, she crossed the boundary and walked on, black pelt against bone-dry earth. It would not be long before she was spotted.
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