PRPG: Dark Wolf & Admin: Story of the Forest

"She did get excited, didn't she." Laughed Silver. "Her intentions were good, but I agree, more of a heads up would have allowed us to prepare." Silver conceded. Sasha's howl echoed in the clearing. "I guess that's them." Silver walked towards the entrance of the den. He looked back at Misty. "Ready?"
Ember had quickly gathered the rest of the leaders around the stump of the old oak. At least those that were there. Tortaro, Krix, Clover, and Stoneheart had yet to return. Ember's thoughts turned to Clover for a brief moment, then back to her task.
Barron commented his interest in the human's reaction.

As Clover lay helpless, a thought crossed her mind. It was a stubborn thought.'I Do have purpose. Soon visions began to form slowly around her. 'I AM dependable. I AM NOT useless!' "I am needed!" She shouted. Visions of Krix, of Ember, of Silver burst out of the void. The Spirit World began to feel warm as she saw the images of all those who depended on her, showing her that she isn't alone.

Sasha glanced back at Jack and barked before loping down into the valley. Jack hesistated a moment before putting his heels to Star’s side and urging her to follow. Sasha slowed as she saw all of the animals that had gathered and glanced back at Jack again, letting out a whine. Her eyes flicked back and forth searching for Silver or Ember, who had arranged this whole thing.

Krix’s croon rose to a slight crooning howl, calling Clover home to him.

Silver and Misty joined Ember and the other leaders. Each leader there took their place around the stump. The Throne took their places on top of the Stump. Silver in te center with Misty on his right and Ember on his left. They sat patiently and watched as Sasha came towards the center, her human not far behind on the back of a horse.

Sasha trotted to the tree stump, keeping herself between Jack and the animals, her eyes sweeping across all of them. She had never met any of these animals before and she didn’t trust them. “Silver,” she said, her voice slightly wary as Star came to a stop behind her.

Misty flicked her eyes between Silver and the human, her tail sweeping the kits closer to her.

"Welcome back, Sasha." Silver greeted. He noted the shocked expression worn by the human that followed her. Elmwood, Barron, Ether and Shadow had all took notice to. Barron found it had to surprise a hearty laugh.
Ember caught Sasha's eyes, her fur took in a light red color. "Thank you for coming." She said quickly to Sasha.

Sasha flicked back an ear and just nodded, suddenly shy and nervous as she moved closer to Jack. "Alright well I'm here," she said. "What's the plan now? I would hurry up because this situation would make any human a little jumpy." Sasha gave a pointed look to where Jack was eyeing the gathering of animals nervously, his hand straying to the gun strapped to his hip, his other hand tightening on Star's reins.

Silver stepped down from the stump, walking towards Sasha and her human. In a instant, Silver shifted. His stood slightly taller than the human. His silver eyes kept in contact with the Human's, demonstrating respect for him. Silver looked deep into the man's soul. While it was not without blemish, his soul was still good. "Welcome to our home." Silver instinctively reached out his right hand. At that Misty and Ember had both joined Silver in their human forms. "We are the King and Queens of this forest. The other four here are some of our alphas and most trusted advisors." Silver gave them a look to say, 'be respectful' upon which each of the remaining alphas nodded their heads in respect.

Clover walked through the warm temperatures. At first it felt amazing to her, but soon it began to get very hot. It wouldn't take long for her to find out why. Fire sprang up ahead. "Oh no!" Clover stated. With the fire, she heard the sounds of crying. "Someone is in the fire!" She exclaimed. She paused for only a second to muster her courage. She ran into the flames, searching for the crying voice.

Star suddenly reared, reacting less to the presence of the humans she was used to and more to Jack's surprise and sudden yanking back on the reins. After Jack had gotten her settled he slid off her back, dropping the reins to the ground to ground-tie her. He eyed Silver and the others warily but sucked it up and reached out to grasp Silver's hand firmly. Sasha looked up at Silver and spoke, knowing he would understand her while Jack didn't, "Silver, you need to come up with human names. You cannot use your pack name." Jack raised an eyebrow at Silver's statement, still trying to comprehend what was going on. He glanced at the girls then quickly looked away, his cheeks beginning to burn bright red and he cleared his throat. "It's nice to meet you," Jack said. "Though I'm a little unsure of why I was brought here in the first place to be honest. Sasha, my dog, was supposed to be leading me to a rabid dog we are tracking. It's not safe to leave it out there were it can harm people."

"The cursed hound has already been dealt with." Silver assured the human. "The forest has a way to deal with such matters. Come and sit with us, we have much to discuss." Silver motioned to the stump. He turned and took his spot around the stump, followed by Ember and Misty.
Ember caught Sasha's eye. Her face flushed a shade of pink barely noticeable to anyone but her. There was enough space around the stump with the other four alphas away in the Southern Sands.
Silver gave Sasha a glance at her mention of human names. He wasn't sure what to make if it. To him it seemed pointless, dishonorable. There wasn't really chance for him ask Sasha about her request. There was only one other problem, he didn't know any. "My name is Silver. What should I call you?" Silver asked the human.

Clover searched the fire. Her fur was singed, skin felt hot, and her lungs filled with smoke. She searched for the source of the crying. She was shocked when she came upon the source. It was a human. A young human female. The rags draped on her were burnt and torn, like Clover, her hair was burnt too. Clover stood in the flames staring, confused as to what she should do.

Sasha huffed out a breath at Silver's real name. "Right cause that won't seem weird at all," she muttered. Jack kept his eyes steadily on Silver's, avoiding looking down or at the girls in any way. "My name is Jack Buckly. May I ask what you believe there is to discuss?" he asked, his tone curious. "Besides the obvious questions of where did all of you come from? I haven't heard any mention of you at all." His hand reached down to pet Sasha for comfort, his pam sweeping down her back and head, playing with her ears.

Silver gave a short look of confusion. Of course this human had never heard of any specific beast of the forest. They never pay attention to more than what directly affects them. "We have always been here." Silver stated. "Generations of our ancestry were here long before you humans showed up. Humans don't seem to care too much as a whole about our forest. In fact, a war is coming between the humans and this forest."
Ember sat playing with her hair. It wouldn't stop glowing and caught her attention easily. She still heard and processed every word ofvthe conversation, but her attention was mostly on her hair. Occasionally Ember would look at Silver or Jack, and every so often a quick glance over to Sasha.
Barron sat up in his haunches. He scratched his belly with his enormous claws. "Our King and Queens found a way to communicate with humans, it has me curious, what is it like?" He spoke quietly to himself.

The flames continued the dance a firey waltz around Clover and the human female. Clover went to approach her, but the human seemed almost as scared of her as she was of the fire. 'Do I leave her to die?' Clover thought to herself. 'You have to face your fear.' Clover thought. Even though the human couldn't understand, Clover spoke out loud to her. "It is okay to be afraid. It is not okay for either of us to die here. Clover stepped closer. At first the human moved away from Clover, but soon Clover was close enough to grab the human's clothes. She tugged on the human, printing her to move. The young woman soon found herself clinging to the wolf. Clover pulled both of them to safety. Then the flames disappeared. The human female spoke. "You liked everything for someone you owe nothing to. You have passed the second test. You have one more to pass if you wish to return home."

Jack sat silently for a second as he processed this before he looked up to meet Silver's eyes. "So what are your intentions... Silver?" he asked. "It is my job to protect the humans you are supposedly going to war against so I hope you know I cannot let you kill those I protect, same as Sasha here would do her best to protect them as well." Sasha lifted her muzzle to lick Jack's hand as he said this and he continued to pet her head.

"I would expect nothing less from you." Agreed Silver. "As I will do all I can to protect my family and my home. My intentions are to stop this war before it begins. We are under the impression that you can be trusted. Are we correct in this?" Silver asked Jack. He avoided eye contact with Sasha, not wanting to reveal her. Also because his negotiations were with Jack and not Sasha, taking his attention off Jack during this time would have been disrespectful.

Clover walked as the human disappeared. She held her head up high, even though all she wanted to do was break down. 'One final test.' She thought to herself. 'Whatever it is, I will make it through.'

Jack held Silver’s gaze, his eyes steady. “Well I guess that depends on what you are trusting me with,” he replied simply. Sasha’s eyes flicked between the two of them before settling on Silver, though she kept her eyes up. Jack glanced down at her for a second. “Sasha, down,” he told her, immediately Sasha dropped onto her stomach, her eyes returning to him to await his next command. Jack looked back up at Silver. “You say you wish to avoid this war but you have still not explained who you are warring against, or why,” he said. “Nor how I can help you with your endeavor.”

"There are many secrets of the forest that no human has been allowed to learn. The Spirits chose each of us as leaders of the forest and bestowed each of us with gifts in order to protect the lives here. I am able to see into an other's soul. This is how I know you can be trusted. However, like many individuals in the forest, some humans have tainted souls. Two human males just the other day are examples of such. They were willing to bring harm to their own kind, cowards seeking pleasure by bringing harm to a human female." Silver continued to protect Sasha's secret. If Jack knew she was involved, it could raise suspicion. At the same time, he did not wish to lie and take any credit for himself as Sasha had taken the human down before he struck. This was something that impressed him a bit. "Ember here was instrumental in protecting that human female." Silver chose his words carefully. "Barron," Silver motioned to the bear who was still scratching an itch, "has a gift of foresight. He sees the outcomes of any decision that is made, by anyone. It is unfortunate that he has foresaw this war that will be started by humans with tainted souls. They will enter this forest and take more than their share, more than what they need to survive. This I cannot allow." Silver spoke with a steady and strong tone, but his concern for his home was also evident.

Clover soon found herself surrounded by blinding light. At first it was brilliant and radiant, but then everything went dark. This dark was not like the void before. This dark was inescapable.

Sasha laid her head down, letting out a sigh. Jack had realized she had been about to bark, he knew her that well, which is why he told her to lay down. Jack looked down at her again and played with her ears while he thought, causing Sasha to swish her tail in response. “And you believe yourself an accurate judgement of us.... humans?” Sasha huffed out a breath in soft laughter as Jack echoed what she had talked to Silver about.

"Do you not have those among you willing to take more than they need?" Questioned Silver. "Is greed not a problem for some individuals? There are even some wolves who find pleasure in the pain of others. Every species has their faults. If my judgement could not be trusted, the Spirits of the forest would not have called on me to become the King. Just as you would not be a protector of your kind if they could not trust your judgement." Silver's tone did not waiver. He ignored Sasha's reaction knowing she had not yet walked with the Spirits of the forest, something he thought would do her some good, to unlock her inner wolf.

A voice echoed in the darkness. "Find your heart." Clover found that all her senses had been stripped away. She started missing the void of the first test. The only thing audible was the continuous echo, "Find your heart."

Jack watched Silver for a long minute before nodding. “Alright. So what do you propose to do?” he asked. Sasha smiled, she knew from that sentence alone that Jack liked Silver and he already had decided to back him.

"Elmwood, is the Prince of the forest." Silver motioned to the large buck. "He is responsible for the deer and the other prey species. If any population is over hunted by any species, he intervenes. If you have had any hunters attacked by a large deer that won't die, it is Elmwood. His gift from the spirits is that he can only die from age. This insures the prey will always have a protector. When a situation arises, he informs me. There have been cases in the east of human hunters taking more deer than needed. This takes away from our ability as a forest to sustain ourselves." Silver paused. He would introduce everyone present. "Ether, is the leader of the skies. He, along with one of our wolf packs provide the intelligence and the events going on in the forest. We are alerted of any humans that enter, their location, and their intention. More and more Humans have entered the forest with guns. I'm confident you can see how this would become a problem."

Jack raised an eyebrow. “And you are not the only ones who have tried to combat these problems,” he said. “But we cannot just kill those who break the law. And you cannot stop everyone who wishes to do harm. So, what do you propose to do about it and how do you believe I can help you with this problem?” he asked.

"We have already done all-new can peacefully. We have patrols in every territory. If any human becomes a problem, we deal with it as peacefully as possible. You human's tend to run when you see a skunk." Silver laughed a bit "Even when they die, they don't smell pleasant. We are not familiar with human law, only the Law of the Forest. Even the humens that enter are subject to that law. Sometimes the innocent are caught in the crossover. As was the case with the child not long ago. The serpent responsible has been dealt with." Silver paused. He took Ember and Misty by the hands. "I am curious what have the humans done to protect this forest? And what more if anything can be done? If you could see souls, it would be easier for you to know the threats."

"Our government has enacted laws to protect the forest and its inhabitants," Jack replied. "But laws can only go so far and unfortunately many do not care about the environment as much as they should, and we do not get enough funding to do all that we need to do." Sasha whined and licked Jack's hand again. "I would love to do more but the majority of our populace feels the human race is more important than all else."

Silver frowned slightly. "I'm not sure what you mean by funding. We have no such term in the forest."
Ember spoke up. "I guess we will have to visit the human camp. Learn their ways." She suggested. It would be good for us to exchange our customs if we are to work together." This remark prompted looks from Silver and Misty. Silver thought about it for a moment.
"I agree. Tell us more about your government and your funding. I would like to arrange for us to visit and observe your way of life." Silver stated cooly.

"Find your heart." Echoed the voice. Clover was lost. "What does that mean!" She yelled, but no sound came from her. She felt a sense of panic. She didn't want to disappear.

Sasha glanced at Jack really quick before speaking softly, "Funding is basically like payment Silver."  Jack followed it up as he replied to Silver. "It's how much my... leaders, per say, decide to give me in order to make sure their laws are carried out. How much help I am able to receive from them," he stated. "Unfortunately, we do not get much. I was lucky enough to be able to get Sasha the training she needed to thrive in our department." Jack glanced over at the three forest leaders again. "I can show you around our camp but you'll need to um... change first," he said, his expression turning thoughtful. "Actually, there's a girl named Sasha in our camp that could help you get settled. I can try contacting her. She mostly comes once a week or so though everyone seems to like her. She's a nice enough girl."

Krix swished his tail through the dirt on the bank of the pond before letting a long, low howl emerge from his muzzle, calling to Clover, hoping it would reach her.

Ember started playing with her hair. It was draped to one side. "Change? You think it wise we enter your camp as wolves?"
Silver laughed. "You want us to dawn your false fur."