FSE

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Intro:

I sat, hunched over, in the midst of the ravine that used to house a great and powerful wolf clan. That was before the stranger arrived. He came, seeking shelter and healing. Both of these were under my power to give as the she-wolf who was apprenticed to our healer. He arrived with the symptoms of a simple cough and a light fever but it was so much greater than that. As the days progressed, his condition rapidly declined and the incessant coughing had spread the disease. The overhang under which I lived and worked with our healer, Saum, was cramped to a breaking point with the whimpering wolves. Soon, even Saum had succumbed to the sickness and in his age was unable to fight it off. He was the first of our clan to die of this mysterious disease and I was left to fight it alone. Soon after him, the stranger succumbed to the disease. Only his youthful strength had kept him alive so long but even that had its limits. Though we all feared the disease, there was still a glimmer of hope that we could pull through and survive. Then our leader, Macrius, fell ill.

Fear began to spread through the clan. Disorder was rampant until Onis, one of the stronger warriors, took the lead in the stead of Macrius. Things began to look better for a few days. Though a few warriors had passed into the other realm, the core of the clan was still preserved. I thought that I had been able to, if not cure, at least quarantine the disease in one place. I offered myself a small bit of respite. That is when things took a turn for the worse. I allowed my eyes to close for the first time in days and the result was disastrous. When I awoke, it felt as though I had only slept for a few minutes but to my dismay, it had been several hours. In that interval, Macrius's condition had worsened. He was no longer conscious and never would be again. He passed later that same evening.

One by one, all wolves in the clan, strong or weak, fell prey to the sickness and I was helpless to stop it. In the end, it was only my mother left with me. I sat in the central clearing, spent and cradling my mother's burning head as she shook through endless coughing fits. Between one of the fits, she told me "You are the last of our clan. You must survive so that we may survive." after she forced down another coughing fit, she continued, "Leave this place, for it is cursed. You must always remember though: even though our souls may walk in the realm above you, we watch over the lives of the living." Through the night, I sat there and held her as she slowly relaxed and became still. I fell asleep to the feeling of her body as it cooled in my arms.

I awoke with my beloved mother's corpse in my lap as I thought back on what had started the demise of my clan. In any other instance I would have broken down and cried but I was too exhausted for even that. I slowly rose and left her behind. My clothes were rumpled and caked in dust so I picked my way over to the area where the death of my clan began. Under my old overhang, I found new clothes, what few herbs and berries that we had left and a scattering of more of my passed clan-mates. I didn't even look to see which of them would not be given a true ritual of passage. I gathered what little that we had left in a blanket and returned to the main clearing in the middle of which my mother now forever resides. I took one last look around the desiccated home of my childhood and remember my mother's words. "You must survive so that we may survive." I repeated to myself under my breath. "I will mother. I will survive and I will build up a new clan. It will be powerful and it will honor those who have passed in this clan. That is my promise to you mother. That is my task."

With this final statement, I slowly walked out of the camp. I knew fully well that I would likely never see this place gain but still, I strode into the woods, alone. I chose to go south as I knew that only ocean lay far to the north. I walked for days, quickly eating what little food I had brought and realizing how poor of a hunter I really was. I survived though. I managed to catch some small prey and when that wasn't possible, I knew the berries of the forests and which I could eat. A wolf cannot like off of simply berries for long though. Quickly my body was stripped of any fat that may have existed and I could see myself gradually becoming skinnier. It was nearly a full moon before I saw another soul. He was the one who saved me.

Chapter 1

I had been walking through a small corpse of trees when I saw a flash of red flit through the right periphery of my vision. I turned my head in its direction but the flash was gone. I shrugged and blamed the sight as a hallucination caused by my hunger. Only...a few minutes later, I saw it again. This time though, it was off to the left. I decided that a hallucination wasn't likely to be this detailed to I went off to examine where I had seen the latest flash. I arrived at a small clearing in which I believed that I had seen the flash. I sniffed and could detect a scent. It was strange though, not a scent that I had ever detected. A branch snapped behind me and I swiveled my ear back and just caught the sound of laws retreating along with a muffled curse. "You can come out you know. I'm alone and harmless."

After a few minutes, the footsteps slowly returned and from behind a bush emerged a small red fox clothed in a simple loincloth. As he approached, I turned to face him and held up my paws to symbolize the face that I as unarmed and not dangerous. He tentatively approached and when he finally stopped, a few yards away, he paused and looked as me curiously. We stood there, just observing each other for what seemed like an eternity. I admired his well-toned body that was stripped of all fat, the result of a hard life in the wild. At the same time, I watched as his bright green eyes took in the poor condition that I was in. The little clothing that I had worn from the remnants had worn and torn through the weeks of traveling. The bright hues that my mother had so lovingly woven in had faded to the point that the cloth had to be closely examined to see the old patterns. My body under the torn clothes had fared little better. The few curves that I had claimed were wasted away, replaced by weak muscle. Even my breasts, the pride of my body since my childhood, had waned in size. My brown fur was matted with the grime of travel. I was in no condition to meet a new furry, much less create a good impression. I could try though.

"D- do you speak?" I asked tentatively, my voice cracking from lack of use. He flashed me a white-toothed smile and replied with a chuckle "Yep, I was beginning to wonder if you would." I sighed and wish wistfully that I could match his frankness. "Yes, I speak. It has just been a long time since I've had to." With this statement, his grin slowly faded. "What happened?" he asked. I sighed slowly sank to the ground, motioning for him to join me there. As I relayed to him the tale of the demise of my clan his demeanor changed. His jovial manner was quickly replaced with a sullen look of hunched shoulders and a grim face. As my story drew to a close, I lapsed into silence and we simply sat there as the day slowly waned to night. When the sun began to sink below the horizon, he once again stirred from his silence and stood. In a final break of the stillness, he asked me "Do you have a place to stay for the night?" To this I replied "No, I have yet to find a suitable place for the night and it is now dark. I may as well just stay here in this meadow until dawn". He stood as if contemplating a dilemma for a moment. "Would you like to come with me back to my clan?" he asked after a short pause. I sat there, speechless at his kindness. It had been a long time since I had met with another clan. I wasn't sure how they would even take me, being as that I was a wolf and they, foxes. I debated for a few moments but the lull of a true bed, the company of others and the vague possibility that they knew more of my kind overpowered my reserves. "Yes," I replied, "if you will take me." He immediately broke into another of his grins. He turned around and set off into the woods, motioning for me to follow him. As I chased after him, I called out "Wait, what is your name?" He looked over his shoulder and called out "It's Tharus. And yours? My name? What was my name? I had a name in my old clan but it seemed old, outdated. But, it was the name I had been born with and had grown up under. My mental dilemma raged for several seconds as to what exactly my name was. In the end, I did decide to go with my old name from my dead clan. "My name is... it was Kamuana." It had been my name, but it wasn't anymore. I had changed since I was Kamuana. I was no longer the young and happy she-wolf. Too much had passed since I had truly been Kamuana. Though my name seemed foreign to me, I tried to accept it as I followed Tharus.

We ran out of the corpse and through one of the surrounding fields to another larger forest. As we entered the trees, Tharus slowed down to a walk so that I could catch up. He explained to me that their camp was set up in a hollow that was created once when a great old tree had been blown over years ago. It had pulled up the dirt and roots around it to create a roof over the area. He warned me that there were guards constantly watching the hawthorn tunnel that guarded the entrance to the hollow. These guards were on a constant watch as there were other clans nearby that envied them for their protected position. He told me that he would come up to them first to explain the situation before I appeared so that they wouldn't attack me preemptively. To this I agreed and followed him to a low bush that he motioned for me to lay under. As I lay under the bush, I could peek out from between the leaves and watch as Tharus walked up to what looked like a solid wall of thorns and started to talk softly. I could only pick out a few words but what I caught consisted of "Found someone... alone...homeless...stay?" I heard a deep rumbling reply that was too low for me to make out from my position before Tharus continued "...harmless...a healer" At the word healer, I saw a large russet shape move and talk loud enough that I could hear most of what he said. "A healer you say? Perhaps she could be an asset to the clan." With this, Tharus motioned for me to emerge from my hiding place and after a short hesitation, I stirred and moved out toward where he stood. As I approached them, Most of my appearance was obscured to the guard by the branches of the bush that he hid in. It was not until I was rather close that he could make out that I was not a fox but in fact a wolf. At this realization I could see him move into a much more defensive stance as he growled out, "What is this Tharus? A joke?" Tharus, looking ashamed and frightened by the anger of this hulking fox was only able to quiver out, "No, it's not a joke Maynahn. I found her stumbling through the trees over by the Silent Creek. She is harmless and I didn't lie about her being a healer." "Ahh, But you failed to mention that she is a wolf!" the fox I now knew to be Maynahn retorted. "YES, she is a wolf! I realize that!" Tharus cried in a burst of courage, "What matters though is that she has experience as a healer." As they argued away, the two foxes began to generate more and more noise.

It wasn't long until an elderly but wise looking fox crept out from behind the hawthorn. "What are you two arguing about? You are waking up half of the clan. Also, if you didn't notice, it's night." As the fox spoke in his quiet but authoritative voice, the two younger foxes stiffened. Tharus was the first to move as he slowly turned around to face the older fox. "Umm... well I was talking to Maynahn here about who I found tonight." "Ahh so then tell me what is your story? I see that we have a wolf in our midst that I'm assuming you are referring to as the one who you found" The old fox gave me a courteous nod as he referenced me. "Umm, yes... You see, I was in the corpse through which the Silent Creek runs and as I was out, I saw her wandering through the trees. I stopped and we talked for some time as she told me the story of her travels and the terrible thing that led to it. But, she also mentioned that she was a healer and had nowhere to stay so I asked her if she would like to come back to the clan so that she could stay here for a time." As Tharus's story came spilling out, the elderly fox stood there and listened attentively, periodically nodding with the story. " However dangerous and frankly stupid your decision to bring this young she-wolf here, I will support your decision to do so as I believe that she is in fact harmless and could possibly help our clan." With this, Tharus sighed and relaxed in his relief and I even permitted myself a small grin because I wouldn't have to sleep alone for at least that night. The elderly fox motioned for us to follow him through the thorns as Maynahn returned to his hidden position.

I emerged from behind the hawthorn gate and was greeted with the sight of the interior of the camp. There were sheltering lean-tos on either side of the main clearing under which I could see the sleeping forms of many other foxes. Straight ahead, at the other end of the clearing, stood a tightly woven cropping of roots, interspersed with small pieces of wood where there were holes in the roots. I assumed that this was the home of the clan's leader. Slightly off to the side was what appeared to be a path that led away from the clearing but I couldn't tell where it went as my sight was obscured by the other shelters.

We were escorted across the center of the clearing by the elderly fox and stopped in front of a small opening in the tangle of roots. The elderly fox motioned for us to stay there as he proceeded to walk into the shelter that was created by the roots. In a voice barely above a whisper, Tharus explained to me the workings of the clan. "That was Seyan, Our clan's shaman. He is our healer and is a spiritual second in command to our leader, Firan. This is the personal den of Firan." We stood in silence once his explanation was finished, listening to the muffled murmurs that leaked out of the hole in the den. It was several minutes before Seyan and the fox that I assumed to be Firan emerged from the roots. Firan had the look of a tiredly aging fox. His fur showed the tinges of grey that hinted that he was getting on in his years but the way that he carried himself showed that he was still a strong soul, full of dignity but at the same time kindness. He looked over me quickly before signaling us to follow him down the path beside his den. As we followed the path, I began to smell scents that brought back memories of my old clan. We emerged into another smaller clearing that contained one small roof that was wedged snugly against the wall of roots. Emanating from the clearing was the scent of many herbs. I could place nearly all of them from my days as the healer and apprentice healer in my own clan. We walked over to the small shelter and stopped. Firan turned around and began to speak in a kind but authoritative voice, "Ahh, now that we are safely away from the other sleeping members of the clan we may talk in peace. From what Seyan tells me, you have been through a lot lately." I was surprised by the kindness and sympathy of his voice. I had expected some resistance to my coming into their clan but he seemed to be willing to accept me. It took me a moment to realize that he was still waiting for a response and in my stupor, I stuttered out "y-yes, I have." He chuckled "Ahh, a little shy I see. You are save and among friends here. It is ok for you to talk freely. So, I'm sure that you are waiting to hear me ask you if you would like to join our clan, at least for a time. Before I do this though, I want for you to tell me what your motives are for wanting to come here with Tharus." I had not expected this so I took a few moments to gather my thoughts. My wish for company and the possibility of a warm bed were comforting and would be easily accepted. On the other hand, my deeper wish to find more of my kind may not bode so well. He may fear that I could leave and eventually lead a pack back to them. Though he seemed kind enough, I was not so ready to trust him with such a trusty subject. "W-Well, as it seems that you have heard, my clan was destroyed by a horrible disease. This was over a moon ago. Since then, I have been on my own, walking south. When I met Tharus, His offer had in it the possibility of company and a warm, sheltered bed. These are things that you grow to miss when you are traveling. I guess that the allure of others drew me." I left out my deep motive of the search of more wolves. Through my speech, Firan stood silently, slowly nodding. As I became quiet once again, Firan seemed to contemplate me. Perhaps he sensed that there was a deeper motive to my coming to their clan. Luckily, the moment quickly passed and Firan opened his arms to embrace me and said, "Well you are free to stay here for as long as you need to. Our village is well stocked and has room for more." I accepted his embrace and as he pulled away, I spoke up, "There is one thing that I'd like to add. As you know, my name is...was Kumuana in my old tribe. I am starting over now in this new clan and I wish to take upon a new name." Firan pondered this for a moment but quickly affirmed my choice, "Yes, I do believe that this is a good idea. From now you shall be known as Kumara. It is a name from the tongues of the ancients. It means: the survivor." The survivor. This was a good name. It had the representation and memory of my old clan but it was a new identity. I was no longer Kumuana, the naïve girl who wallowed in the grief of her dead clan. I was now Kumara, The strong survivor who looked back at her past with respect but continued on with strength.