#abaise

It had started with a wail from Husa, who’d gone to wake up Phesniza, her adopted mother, as she did every morning.

Except when she brushed into the small bush that Phesniza had her den in, Husa had immediately known something was wrong, which had been confirmed at the first touch the her mother’s nose, her skin ice cold, and no matter how much she shook her, she wouldn’t wake up.

Abaise had been expecting it. Phesniza was far from young, but the loss still hit the pack hard. While it wasn’t their first death, Chasmu having passed about a year before, Phesniza had been in the pack since the beginning, and many of the pups that had grown up in the pack she had watched.

Abaise watched Husa from her spot on the rock she used for announcements, the young herbalist sitting in front of her den, staring towards the entrance to the camp, near where they’d buried Phesniza, near the spot Chasmu had been buried.

She knew it was hitting Husa hard, as Phesniza had found her on the river bank, abandoned and nearly dead, and brought her into the pack, defending her right to be there, and raising her.

Abaise just sighed, laying her head down on the rock, hoping this would be the last tragedy for a time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abaise’s hope seemed to go unheard, however, as the next day, when she got up to go speak to Pihyaa about what her three pups would be best at doing, Abaise came to a halt outside the goldens pupsitter’s den. She could smell the faint smell of death, but at first brushed it off as lingering from the day before, until she walked in and nudged Pihyaa.

The she-wolf was cold and stiff, probably having passed early the night before.

Abaise sighed heavily, laying her muzzle on top of Pihyaa’s head. The only thing she could feel thankful for, was that both she-wolves had passed in their sleep peacefully.

She still remembered Chasmu’s panicked expression as he’d laid dying, Abaise having decided to sit with him that night, as she had been able to tell he was not going to last the night. He’d woken up, and had obviously been slipping away when he did. The look of fear in his eyes would stay with her for the rest of her days.

But now... now she’d have to tell Pihyaa’s pups. The poor darlings had only just become adults, had just had their ceremony to welcome them into the pack the day before.

Abaise’s tail drooped slightly at that thought. She’d noticed that Pihyaa had been less energetic and much weaker lately, but hadn’t thought anything of it. Now, she realized she had just been holding on to see her pup’s ceremony.

Abaise whined softly. She wasn’t looking forward to this, but she knew she had to tell Cardinal Flight, Swaying Oak, and Forest Shadow before anyone else knew.

Next piece of the Soft River Pack timeline! Through winter and the first couple days of spring!

Got Abaise some customs decors, and she is looking amazing.

My first pack timeline! It perfectly fit to where I am! After this, will start doing updates based on seasons, as long as enough happens to warrant a new update. If not, I’ll probably do every two seasons or so, we’ll just have to see.

Please ignore some wonky icons, it kept doing the stupid snap to object thing and I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off for a bit XD

Sun Shower glanced up from where she’d been gnawing on an old elk bone, looking up at her grandmother.

“Of course.”, she said, dropping the bone from between her paws, and standing up.

Abaise just nodded slightly, and turned and headed for the way out of camp, Sun Shower following along behind her.

They walked in silence for a short ways, until they reached the riverbank, a place Sun Shower knew Abaise liked to come to speak to wolves in private.

She sat down next to her grandmother, feeling a little nervous. Had she done something wrong? She couldn’t think of anything, but maybe it was something she didn’t even realize was wrong.

“You can relax, you’re not in trouble.”, Abaise said with a warm chuckle, looking at her granddaughter. “I just wanted to speak to you, about Cracking Ice.”, she said.

“I- what about her?”, Sun Shower asked, tilting her head slightly. She wasn’t Cracking Ice’s pupsitter; that was Daka’s job.

“I just want to make sure that you’re not upset that she came along. In all fairness, if she hadn’t, Fallen Pine probably would have been a contender to replace me.”, Abaise said.

“Wh- no, of course not! I do think Fallen Pine would have made a good leader, but of course I’m not upset that Cracking Ice was born. Besides, that decision is no one but your’s.”, she said. “You could choose anyone to lead after you, and we’d all respect your decision. We know you’ll pick a wolf that will make a good leader.”, she said, her tail thumping against the ground a few times.

Abaise smiled softly at that, her own tail wagging against the ground slightly. “Thank you.”, she said softly. “I do hope to make the right decision as to who will lead us. I do hope Cracking Ice will be able to take that position, but if she does not seem fit for the role, then it will go to someone else.”

“And we all know that.”, Sun Shower said. “You started the pack, we know you wouldn’t want it to disintegrate as soon as you’re gone.”, she said.

Abaise just nodded slightly, but sighed. “I just worry. The nights are getting colder, and I can tell my joints are getting stiffer.”, she said. “And losing so many wolves the past few months has been hard.”, she said.

Sun Shower nodded. They had lost three of their oldest packmates, wolves who had been with Abaise and Kotsim since the beginning of the Soft River Pack.

“It’s been hard on us all. It reminds us that life is not forever or guaranteed.”, she said softly, looking down at the ground slightly.

Abaise stayed silent at that, both she-wolves knowing exactly what Sun Shower was referring to.

“We’ll pull through though.”, Sun Shower said, perking up slightly, refusing to fall back into hole of despair.

Abaise hadn’t noticed anything off when she’d woken up in the dead of night in camp, curled up with her back pressed against Kotsim’s. She had merely stood and left camp for a short walk, what she always did when she woke in the middle of the night.

It wasn’t until she noticed that she’d passed a rock a couple of times that she stopped, looking around. She stood in a spot she knew well, a small meadowy clearing only a stone’s throw from the edge of the grasslands, a place she’d taken Singwe and Anpa to practice stalking many times.

What was different though, was that instead of seeing a sparse band of trees that separated the clearing form the grasslands, and the grassy hills beyond, she only saw mist. It obscured her vision, closing the clearing off from the rest of the forest.

Abaise bristled, looking up to see the night sky and stars shining down on her, unease creeping over her hide.

She heard a soft whine, turning, but seeing no one, another whine echoing in the night from behind her. She whirled to face that direction, but saw no one again. She was about to snap out for whoever it was to show themselves, when a chorus of whines and pain-filled howls filled the air around her, coming from all directions, no wolves visible.

Abaise flattened her ears to her head, sinking down into the soft grass of the meadow. As she did, the grass transformed, pulling at her fur. She looked to her side and yelped, jumping away from the skeletal remains of a wolf, looking around frantically, the beautiful meadow now replaced with charred and black earth, the remains of wolves scattered across them.

Beware what will come to be.

Abaise winced at the sound of the voice, the noise seeming to come from her head, seeing no one to speak the words. She tried to call out to the being, ask what it meant, but found that even as she opened her jaws, no sound came out, no words formed.

She waited, thinking it would offer some kind of explanation to the ruin she saw before her, but all she heard was the now distant chorus of whines and pained howls.

~~~~~~~~~

Abaise was about to try to walk closer to them, when she snapped awake, shooting up, hearing a pained yelp, thinking she was still stuck in the dream, until she whipped her head around to look around her den, seeing Kotsim rubbing his nose on his leg.

“What was that all about?”, he asked his mate, turning to look at her, bristled slightly, his eyes a bit wet from the hit he’d taken directly to the nose by her skull. “You were thrashing and murmuring in your sleep, then you smacked me in the nose with your head.”

Wowasi sat in her nest above them, staying quiet, but watching, looking a bit concerned.

Abaise just breathed slowly, calming herself down, before she stepped forward, burying her face in the fur of her mate’s chest.

Kotsim looked surprised, as Abaise usually was very proper and put together, but she seemed terrified. He just sat down, leaning down slightly and started licking her shoulder comfortingly, as Wowasi gliding down to land on her back, dragging her beak through her fur in her way of petting.

“What happened?”, the dark scout asked softly, feeling Abaise trembling.

“I don’t know. A horrible dream.”, she said softly, finally calming down enough to speak, sitting back slightly, but leaned into Kotsim slightly. “I was in the clearing by the grasslands, and I could barely see anything, and then I just heard... dozens and dozens of wolves, whining and howling in pain, but I couldn’t see any of them. And then...”, she started, and broke off.

“And then just death, and destruction. Burned earth, wolf bones.”, she said softly. “I don’t know what it was.”

Kotsim listened quietly, leaning down and nuzzling her slightly. “It was just a dream, Abaise. Probably worry. This is our second winter, and our first here. We don’t know what this forest holds for us in the cold yet.”, he said.

Abaise just sighed softly, nodding slightly. “You’re... you’re probably right.”, she said softly, as Wowasai swooped back into her nest.

Kotsim just nudged Abaise, and yawned slightly. “Come on, let’s lay down. You don’t have to sleep, but at least lay down and rest. It’ll be better than nothing.”, he said.

Abaise just nodded slightly, laying down and curling up with Kotsim, tucking herself into the curve of his stomach, laying her head on his side after he’d settled down.

Of course, so was the rest of the pack. Fallen Pine had the advantage of the entire pack willing to defend him, as he was Abaise and Kotsim’s first great-grandpup.

Sun Shower still remembered how excited her mother, Anpa, had been to meet her grandpup, but it had been nothing compared to her own mother.

Abaise had doted on the little pup since the moment he was born, often bringing Sun Shower and Fallen Pine the best pieces of prey the hunters brought back. They still had a leg bone from a bull elk tucked in the corner, gnaw marks from the two of them, as well as Crowley, Sun Shower’s mate, and Fallen Pine’s father.

Sun Shower wagged her tail slightly as said he-wolf walked over to where Fallen Pine was wrestling with a stick, Crowley nudging his son, until he turned his attention to his father, and lunged at him with what was probably supposed to be a fierce growl.

Sun Shower just chuckled softly, standing up and walking over, Crowley rolling onto his back as Fallen Pine crawled on top of him as she did.

“Careful, Fallen Pine, you don’t want to rough up your father too much.”, Sun Shower said with a soft chuckle, earning a huge grin from the pup.

“I won’t, Momma! Just showing him who’s boss!”, he yipped, wagging his tail.

Crowley chuckled slightly, and rolled over onto his side, Fallen Pine tumbling off onto the ground with an indignant squeak.

“If you were showing me who’s boss, I’d be much more unable to move.”, Crowley teased his son, wagging his tail slightly, earning a growl from the little pup. 

Sun Shower just chuckled, walking over and laying down with her paws resting between Crowley’s, Fallen Pine in the middle of the loop made by their paws and tails.

He walked over and curled up next to his mother, Sun Shower smiling and leaning down and washing one of his ears, the fur having been a little dusty and out of place, her tail wagging, smacking against the ground as it did.

While she’d had three pups, Fallen Pine was the only one who had survived, her other two having passed not long after they were born. She knew it was more than likely to result of the lean winter they had had, food having been scarce to find, and even harder to catch, more often than not her mother, aunts and uncles coming back emptypawed. 

Her mother Anpa had tried her hardest to keep Sun Shower well fed, but Abaise had strict rules for who got food first in winter, and while Sun Shower was family, she knew she had broken Abaise’s rule of she-wolves not being pregnant during winter, though she hadn't meant for it to happen. 

Even still, she’d been a bit down the list of wolves that were fed first, and as such hadn't had the best or the most food, some days going hungry with most of the pack. 

She knew that was one reason Abaise was so doting on Fallen Pine, as she knew she felt bad about the loss of her other two pups, even though they obviously didn't know if they would have survived even if Sun Shower had ate first everyday. 

Sun Shower just sighed, shaking herself out of her thoughts. Crowley had laid his head down on their paws, now that Fallen Pine was more interested in gnawing on a stick he’d found near Sun Shower’s leg. 

“We need to talk.”

Phesniza glanced at Abaise at that, and stood up from where she’d been watching Snowswept Stone and Husa play.

“Is something the matter? Are the other pups alright?”, she asked, her tail bristled slightly, worried something had happened, as Abaise did not look happy.

“Walk with me.”, the pale she-wolf said, just turning and heading towards the way out of camp.

Phesniza stood and followed, Pihyaa seeing her and walking over to watch the pups.

Abaise led Phesniza out of camp and towards the river silently, the russet pupsitter a bit uneasy now. Abaise was rarely this cold, and Phesniza hadn’t seen her like this since Tasaka had become pregnant last winter.

Phesniza almost ran into her leader as she stopped, scrambling backwards a bit to avoid bumping into her as Abaise turned to her.

“I understand why you did what you did, but you need to be prepared for the fact that Husa is your responsibility.”, she said. “Winter will be here soon, and we do not know what these woods hold for us.”

Phesniza sat down, lowering her head slightly, her ears tilted backwards a bit. “I know.”, she said softly. “And I know it wasn’t my place to bring another mouth to feed here, but I couldn’t just leave her.”, she said. “She would have become something’s meal.”

Abaise sighed softly. “I said I understood why.”, she said. “I would have done the same. But we have many more wolves this winter than we did before, and we have lost pups in the middle of spring. You just need to prepare yourself to take care of her. I’m not asking you to hunt for her, but she is not blood, and she is too young to pull her weight yet. Food will go to those with duties first.”

Phesniza nodded. “I understand.”, she said, flicking her tail slightly. “If all else fails, I can always try to catch rabbits or squirrels.”, she said.

Abaise hummed slightly at that. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”, she said. “If my younger three were still pups, I would implement the same rules for them.”, she said.

“But they’re going to be adults soon.”, Phesniza said. “Hunters. They need to gain muscle and strength. We all know that.”, she said.

Abaise sighed, and nodded. “I wish they were ready now, it would definitely make it easier for us to hunt in winter. But for now we must just prepare ourselves for what’s to come, and make sure we’re ready to face what winter holds for us here. I pray it’s kinder than our winter in the other camp.”

Phesniza nodded. They’d camped in the woods to the east for awhile the previous year, including throughout the winter, and it had been a bit of a struggle, their hunters rarely coming back with more than a rabbit or beaver, even once spring had started. Abaise had moved them back closer to the grasslands they’d first called home, into the deeper, dryer forest, and they’d had much more luck, regularly feasting on elk or buck deer.

“Let’s hope.”, Phesniza said softly.

Abaise just sighed, and stood, the reddish pupsitter standing as well.

“We should head back to camp. I just didn’t want to put you on the spot in front of the others, or in front of Husa.”, she said.

Phesniza dipped her head slightly at that. “Thank you. It would have been a bit too much for her.”, she said.