Story

Ch.1 Whispering
Darkmist trotted along a small path in the forest. Snow was falling all around her. Soon she saw a pond up ahead. As she came out to the clearing, Darkmist thought she heard a wolf whispering behind her. "Who's there? Friend or foe?" she barked. "Ha..." the voice chuckled. "Neither, young one. Ancestor. I am one of the lost spirit of Snowpack." "Snowpack?" Darkmist asked. "What's that?" "You will know in time, young one. All you need to know is that there is ancient Pack blood in your veins, and a great Dark will make clear the light. New snow shall fall in the Land, and strong Ice shall form..." The voices were fading, as if the speaker was being dragged away. "What?" Darkmist barked. "What does it mean?" howling, Darkmist ran toward the receding voice. Suddenly she halted in the center of a clearing. She had found many voices, all whispering her name. One voice rose above the others."From this day forward, you shall be known as Darkhowl. May you guide us to restoration and peace." said the voice. Now Darkmist-no, Darkhowl could see shapes of wolves in the falling snow. One stepped forward. "I give you the power of silent feet. May it help you guide the Pack forward." It gave her a lick to the forehead, stepped away, and then like that
     they were gone.

Ch. 2 A New Friend
Darkhowl was running. Running free like all wolves should. It was cold in the snowy winter, but at least she wasn't pent up in a cage at the zoo like how she had been for so long. Having escaped, she knew adventure was in store for her, but no imagination could have prepared her for this. Talking snow? An ancient Pack? She had Pack blood? What did it all mean?
     Shaking her head, Darkhowl proceeded down the little path. Then she stopped. Another wolf was nearby. Squinting, Darkhowl could see the 'pile of snow' the had seen was actually the shape of a crouching wolf. "Who's there?" Not another 'ancient spirit'. That was for sure. "Who are you?" she asked. "Who are you?" The strange wolf retorted. ~Well, I guess i'm probably in her territory,~ Thought Darkhowl. "I'm Darkhowl. The ancestors sent me."
Instantly the other wolf gasped. "You, too?! The weird snow wolves?" the wolf came bounding up. "They appeared to me too! Oh, and i'm White...Ice..."
     Then it was like clockwork: In unity, they spoke the chilling words: "A great Dark will make clear the light. New snow shall fall in the Land, and strong Ice shall form..." The pieces fit together. But what does it mean?


Ch. 3 To Camp at Last
Darkhowl and Whiteice had been traveling along a the path for some time until they came to a river. They kept following the river and eventually came to a fallen tree across the river. The bark had all been worn away from the trunk, leaving a smooth walking place. Familiar-shaped clawmarks were scratched in many places. Many stale wolf smells drifted from the other side of the river; it was clear many wolves had lived here. "This must be the camp," Darkhowl whispered. Whiteice nodded. it was as if talking too loud would scare away the last remains of smell in the camp. Sniffing, Whiteice's eyes grew big. "There's another wolf here!" she grunted. Darkhowl smelled it too. "Let's check it out." They crossed the log carefully, then began to sniff out the strange scent. The camp was big. There was a tall rock wall on the far side of the camp and a river on the other side that served as perfect barriers. It took awhile, but they eventually isolated the smell to a big cave near a big rotting tree stump. As they entered the den, they heard a voice mumbling: "Hm... i wonder if this is edible... No, it smells pretty stale." As Darkhowl and Whiteice pushed their way in, they could only make out a sleek white shape on a ledge a little up the side of a rock wall. "Hm? Who's this? Snowpack survivors? No... your smell is different, but similar at the same time..." *gasp!*
     "You're Dark and Ice! Hailhowl told me about you!"

Ch. 4 A Lingering Spirit

Whiteice and Darkhowl stared at the wolf for what seemed like forever. Finally Whiteice spoke. "Um, who are you again?" The other white wolf looked puzzled. "You mean you don't know? Oh, right, Hailhowl said Tigerstep was coming, so he didn't get to explain fully, did he? I'm Spiritsong. I have spoken with the snow spirits for longer than you can imagine." her explanation only made them more confused. Seeing this, she said, "Hailhowl and Tigerstep are two of our ancestors. Hailhowl was leader at the time The Great War happened. Snowpack and the other Packs, Sunpack, Rainpack, and Cloudpack, were all warring. Prey was scarce when many Rockthrowers (those are Twolegs btw) came and took away many elk and caribou and some wolves too, killing with their fastrocks (bullets) and dragging their bodies away. Tigerstep was deputy of Snowpack, but he betrayed them to Cloudpack because Hailhowl wanted to unite the Packs temporarily to defeat the Rockthrowers, while Tigerstep thought that it should be every pack for itself. They became like rivals. Even though both have died, they still battle in the falling snow."
Darkhowl and Whiteice were in shock. How could all that be true? It seemed like a fairy tale, but they knew it was true. "So, we're... chosen? Chosen by the snow spirits? To do what? There's no way we can get enough wolves to start another Pack! You are the only other wolf we've seen so far!" howled Darkhowl. "Oh, no, you'd be surprised. There are many other rogue wolves around here like me, plus a few survivors trying to slowly build up the Pack. The other Packs were all but wiped out too, and they are trying to do the same thing." assured Spiritsong. "I'm sure some of them would warm up to the idea of a Pack." "Wait, you're not part of Snowpack? I figured you were, since you were here..." wondered Darkhowl. "Well, i would join, but the few wolves already here don't really like bringing in strangers." barked Spiritsong. Whiteice snorted. "Well you're no stranger to us! Join Snowpack as a hunter!" ~Heheh, it's just as Hailhowl said, they're naturals at this!~ Spiritsong thought. "Thank you. I hope the Wolves of Prophecy can make my coming a little smoother."

Ch. 5 The Other Half
"What are you doing in my den?!" said a wolf that ran in. "You're not of Snowpack! Are you stealing my herbs?" the wolf smelled of herbs. "Don't worry, we're not. Er... Hailhowl sent us." said Darkhowl.
Then it was like they were talking to a different wolf! She was staring at them like they just fell out of the sky. "What...? Hailhowl is dead! Unless..." the gasped. "You're the wolves of prophecy!?" Darkhowl and Whiteice hesitated, looked at Spiritsong, then nodded. "So... you're the ones supposed to revive Snowpack. And she's the first to join?" the wolf said, nodding to Spiritsong. "Yes," confirmed Whiteice.  An awkward silence continued until the she-wolf said, "Well, I'm Bloodsnow. Nice to meet you. I suppose you three can sleep in the Howling den for now, until you get used to camp, then maybe the new Alpha can move into her den." Darkhowl was hesitant. What if the wolves didn't accept her as alpha? Then again, she didn't even know any of the other wolves. "How many other wolves are here? We didn't recognize many fresh scents..." Darkhowl asked. "Well, just me and my apprentice, Starpaw." Bloodsnow shuffled her paws nervously. "WHAT?!" the three said in unison. Unsure, Whiteice whispered, "We may have to take in more rogues than we thought." All nodded.
"So, this is the Howling den. Make yourselves comfortable, although that may be hard. With the lack of wolves in the Pack, not much seems to get done. Especially getting new bedding," she said with a hint of bitterness.
     It was quite dark by then, and so, they slept. And all four had dreams.
     Awareness seeped into their dreams, as well as two cold, snowy shapes. Before them they saw two young pups, scuffling over a tiny rabbit. "It's mine, Hailpup!" "No, it's mine, Tigerpup! Mother gave it to me!" Then they morphed into young wolves, barely done with training. "I can't wait to become Alpha!” said the one recognized as Tigerstep. “How do you know you’ll be alpha?” said Hail…howl…? “Because, Hailwind,  im going to kill Stonehowl when I’m deputy, then…” Everything started flashing by, images and memories, battles fought, scars earned, emotions between others, all in less than a second everything made sense. Then their deaths. The last regrets in their eyes as they fell, killed by the same enemy, no matter how much they fought over different ways to defeat it. The Rockthrowers. Stone cold, they became one with the snow and continued their never-ending battle over a matter long resolved. Then, somehow, beyond the present they flew, into a time where the brothers’ fading spirits realized the new era ushering in, and instead of battling, Howling rang through the forest. A song of spirits. A song that would penetrate the hearts of distant descendants, drawing them near to reform that which was once lost. Time began to drag back to the now, and the here.

     The four became aware of each other, how breathless they were, where they were, and who was standing in front of them. They were very breathless, in a misty field, and Hailhowl. “Hello, everyone. Now that you’re all educated, I have a message to relay. Time must alter course, following a Song full of spirits. When Blood stains the Snow, only then Stars can light the night.” He let out a long, chilly howl deserving of his name, then vanished.

     Oh, great. Another puzzle.