Kabian’s eyes opened to notice that the sun was very low on the horizon. Slowly he stood, his eyes focused on the grass of the knoll as he found his strength again. He then raised his head to look at what was happening around him. He nodded glumly as he realised that his last memories of his father and mother and the rest of the clan were truly his last. He had no choice but to push past them and continue on. Otherwise he would follow the rest of the Clan.

Tomi raised her head from where she lay. She had laid herself down next to him, on the uphill side of the knoll. Possibly to stop the others from noticing. Whatever she had been doing his rest had not been disturbed.

She stretched herself forwards and then stood up quickly. She glanced up to the top of the knoll and noticed that Poi was back, and was speaking with Kamide.

“Come, Kabian,” she motioned with her head for him to follow her up the knoll, “let’s see what Poi has to say.”

The top of the knoll seemed much like the one that belonged to the Hot Sands Clan, with flattened rocks sitting in various places. Kamide was lounging on one such rock, resting on his paws and hanging slightly off the edge. His ears were standing up though, and twitching slightly as he listened to Poi tell him what he found.

As the two neared the top Poi stopped short and gave a little cough. Tomi just stared at him and motioned for Kabian to move a little closer. Poi looked down at Kamide as Kabian started to edge forward but Kamide just let out a whisper, “continue.”

Poi started from where he had finished, not giving the other the back story.

“It seems the young wolf is not completely without honour. At least he had the decency to bury his clan before he came searching us out. There are no signs of the creatures he described around there though, only a few ravens picking at what he didn’t bury quite so well.

It was more interesting once we got to the Hot Sands. As you said, we didn’t set paw upon it. We could see the heat rising from it. But we skirted along the edge ‘til we found what the pup had described. There seemed to be three corpses of some sort lying on the ground at the edge of the water. Ravens were everywhere here, but a quick bark scared them off.

The strange thing about the corpses was that they were blackened, and almost all bone. The ravens can’t work that quickly. It was almost as if they had burst in to flame as they died. Nothing else around them was burnt though. And we could see nothing else of interest. If it wasn’t that they were burnt I would have just assumed it was another washed up carcass.

Strange things are afoot, my lord, but they seem to have passed. We couldn’t catch a trace of the scent that would tell us the creatures were still around. It seems that they have gone to whence they came. But it is a sad truth that the Hot Sands Clan are all dead.”

Kamide raised his head and looked over at Kabian, he shook his head softly when he saw the young wolfs downtrodden look. “Tonight we hunt for the Hot Sands. And Kabian gets first taste of the kill. Then we will mourn the loss of the Hot Sands. After that tomorrow is a new day and we will see what it brings.”

Kabian felt better that Kamide was willing to honour his clan. He started to head back down the knoll to where he had stayed, waiting for the hunt to start when night fell. He could see from around the knoll wolves taking off in various directions to find something for them to hunt.

Tomi stayed at the top for a little while longer. She watched as Kabian made his gloomy way back down and then turned to Kamide.

“What is going to become of him Kamide?”

“I do not know Tomi. He is not part of the Oak Wood Clan. So he cannot stay here.” His voice was soft, with emotion.

“So? After honouring the death of his clan you are just going to sit there and let him wander off into the woods?” Tomi felt distraught, she couldn’t believe that Kamide was being so cold hearted about the wolf pup.

“Yes I am Tomi. And after he is gone we are going to take what land we can before the Crystal Glade realise it has no owner. The more we get the better off the clan will be, and the stronger we will become.”

“But he is all alone now, and he has done nothing to cause himself dishonour.”

Kamide stood.

“He is still alive, Tomi, that is a good enough reason for him not to be here. He is a coward that didn’t defend his land. We cannot risk tainting the clan with his musing and blood. We cannot risk having Hot Sands mix with Oak Wood. You will see the truth Tomi, one way or another.”

With the final word Kamide turned and leapt from the rock, going to confer with the other wolves and prepare for the hunt. Tomi started to make her way back down to where Kabian was now sitting and waiting. Her heart felt heavy with grief. But she couldn’t bring herself to tell Kabian.

* * *

The rush of the hunt filled Kabian with vigor. The cold night air mixed sweetly with the warm blood to fill his nostrils. His muscles ached slightly from the running, but it was a dull ache overwhelmed by the rest of the night.

He had held back from the chase, this only being his second hunt. But he followed behind Kamide like a shadow, knowing that he would learn the most about hunting from him. He needed to learn to fit in with everyone else.

The Oak Wood clan had no pups. Though Tomi had told him they were due for some soon. Mariya had stayed back at the knoll so as not to risk injury. It was better to be safe than sorry. It seemed that a few wolves suffered injuries in the Oak Wood. Maybe it was because they hunted larger herds of deer and accidents were bound to happen.

The herd had been found grazing a small meadow, maybe ten or twelve deer. They seemed wary, as if somehow they knew what was to happen. Perhaps they did know, the stag at the centre of the pack raised its head and looked straight at Kamide before the chase had begun.

He had been told before they started that they weren’t there to kill all the deer. That would be wasteful. They would only take what they needed to feed themselves. They had only been after two deer as they had hunted a few nights ago. Wolves didn’t eat every night, because not every night would result in a catch. So rather they ate large helpings when they did bring something down. And over the next few days it would digest.

After the stag had been looking at Kamide for a few moments it bellowed its rage and edged forward. Kabian could hear Kamide chuckling beside him.

“The stag doesn’t give up. He rules the herds around here. And every time we hunt he tries to kill me. He might do it one day.”

Kamide stepped forwards from the tree line and stood tall before the stag. The stag was still bellowing and tossing its head from side to side, its great antlers making a slight swishing sound as they travelled through the air.

Behind him the deer were gathered into a bunch, trembling, heads darting left and right in fear. They were ready to run, but they couldn’t go anywhere without the stag. The stag stamped one of its hooves on the ground.

Kamide just stood calmly watching the stag. Out of the woods behind the stag two other wolves came into the clearing. They crouched low, ready to pounce, and their lips pulled back from their teeth as they snarled. They showed restraint though, and stood a little way from the deer.

The stag bellowed again, but with confusion mixed with its rage this time. It charged forwards at Kamide, who leapt deftly aside. But the stag had changed direction and headed for one of the other wolves, who wasn’t quite as ready. With head low the stag rammed into the side of the wolf as it tried to leap away. It tangled within the antlers and the stag raised his head, the wolf squirming as the antlers held it firm. Suddenly the stag twisted its head and hurled the frightened wolf off to the side and into the bushes.

As the wolf landed with a thud the stag took off down the cleared path, with the deer following very close behind him. The wolves at the clearing started to chase after them, Kamide following as well. But Kabian saw one wolf go and see what had happened to the thrown one.

Kamide noticed his look and spoke quickly as they ran.

“Few bruises, maybe a broken rib. Nothing serious.”

Then the focus was solely on the chase.

With a group of deer this large it wasn’t as easy to take them down as it had been when he had chased the three deer with Hakai. But the wolves had devised a way.

The deer bunched close together behind the stag as he led them on their wild run through the forest. From the trees leapt some wolves, not trying to hurt the deer, just to startle them. The stag turned in their direction, but some more wolves leapt from the other side and growled menacingly. The deer panicked and two of them moved away from the herd. The stag charged through the first wolves to leap out and most of the deer followed, but the wolves had done what they needed. Two of them were now separated from the rest and were easy picking. But as soon as the deer realised that, they bolted in another direction.

The wolves continued their chase, ignoring the bellows of the stag that was getting further away by the moment. The deer knew how to run, and they bounded through the trees as fast as the wolves could. The wolves just couldn’t seem to get a clear hold on either of them.

Suddenly they started running up hill and burst from the trees. The wolves were on them quickly as they struggled to make headway on the slope. They were soon both down, their blood gushing from the wounds to their throats.

Kamide stopped at the edge of the trees, and a panting Kabian stopped with him.

“Hurry and bring them back to the trees. They can drain at the knoll.”

The wolves watching over the kill suddenly realised where they were and a number of other wolves came to help, dragging the carcasses into the forest as quickly as they could. This confused Kabian, and he looked across to see Kamide scanning further up the hills towards the mountains.

“There are creatures up there almost as good at hunting as we are,” he said as he noticed Kabian watching him, “if they see us here they will attack for sure.”

In short order the deer were back in the trees and being carried back to the knoll. Kabian turned to follow them, and slowly Kamide turned as well.

A strange roar echoed from the mountains, and Kabian’s ears perked up. Kamide twisted around to see what was there but noticed nothing. The two then followed the other back to the knoll. Kabian could see Tomi helping with one of the carcasses while Poi helped with the other.

* * *

The knoll was quiet as all the wolves in the Oak Wood Clan gathered around the top. Kamide was up on one of the flat rocks, overlooking the rest of the clan, the deer carcasses lying before him on the grass. Kabian stood slightly behind him on the rock, and was nervous around so many grown wolves.

Kamide took a step towards the edge of the rock and spoke to his clan in a soft growl.

“It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of the Hot Sands Clan. They have been strong for many years. They were wisely led by Hakai, and the old wolf Mitsui before him. Tonight we will wish them well as they travel the halls of Monok, and feast on their behalf. Let us call out to them quickly before we eat.”

The clan followed Kamide as he gave a short howl into the moonlit sky. It didn’t last long. They looked away from the knoll afterwards as some wolves in the distance also howled in mourning. It seemed the other clans would hear of the defeat of the Hot Sands this night and join the Oak Wood in praying to Monok for them.

Kabian stepped forward when they all turned around, as Tomi had instructed him earlier. He looked around below him and found her. She was motioning for him to step forward more, and so he did, ‘til he was beside Kamide.

“Being the last of the Hot Sands Clan we let the young wolf Kabian take the first portion of this feast.”

Kabian stepped down from the rock slowly, a little unsure. But he moved over to one of the carcasses and sniffed at it. The blood had drained on the way here, but the body still smelt warm, and the meat would be flowing with juices.

He closed his jaws around a portion of the stomach and tore at the soft belly, exposing the entrails of the deer. He quickly devoured a small piece of meat he had torn away and then pulled at its intestines.

From above he could hear Kamide give the order to eat to the rest of the clan and soon he could feel bodies moving around him. A muzzle came down next to his and started pulling at the intestines as well. He started to pull his lips back in a growl until his nose caught the scent of Tomi. He relaxed and allowed her to eat it with him.

Soon they had all eaten their fill and they pulled back in a circle around the carcasses again. Kamide stayed down with his clan this time, and Kabian stood next to Tomi as they prepared for the next bit of the ceremony.

The wolves just started howling their prayers at the moon. Other wolf clans started howling in the distance as well, making the sound form one note throughout the whole land.

Clearly he could hear Kamide as he called out the chant that made up most of their prayers.

“Run wolf warrior, through kingdoms chaos, run wolf warrior to ends eternal.”

Eventually the howling died down. Many of the wolves looked solemnly at Kabian and then turned away; ready to head off for some rest. But Kamide spoke quickly before they could leave.

“Kabian, it is time for you to leave. We have sent your clan off to Monok’s Halls. Now you must leave us.”

Kabian was shocked; he stood there shaking as he tried to think of something to say. But Tomi stepped in front of him.

“Kamide, I know you said this would come. But there has to be some way.” She pleaded with her lord.

Poi stepped forward from behind Kamide and growled at Tomi and Kabian, his front shoulders arching high and his hackles standing on end. As he spoke his words dripped venom and spittle arched towards Kabian.

“He is an Outcast! He is a Coward! He doesn’t deserve to be part of this clan! Nor any other clan!”

Kabian backed away and Tomi turned around to walk over beside him. She ignored Poi and looked towards Kamide.

“Surely there is some other way?”

“Poi is right, Tomi. He is an outcast. He is not of this clan and that will not change.”

A smile formed on Poi’s lips as a light started to shine in his eyes. He clamed down a little and turned towards Kamide.

“Milord. There is one way. If he managed to beat someone from the clan in a fight he would be allowed in. The wolf code says it is so.”

“Ever the one to quote laws aren’t you Poi. If you wish it so, then it will be. Tomi, if the pup manages to beat Poi in a duel then he will be allowed to stay.

“That is unfair lord!” Tomi raised her voice to more than a growl this time as she turned to face Poi. “How can you expect a pup to beat Poi? The only one in the clan who can beat Poi is you! This takes the law too far!”

But Kabian stepped around Tomi with his head held low.

“If it’s what I must do, then I will try.”

“It seems the pup has made his decision, Tomi, now I get to rip him to shreds. He should never have come here in the first place.”

Kamide turned to walk away from where the fight was about to take place, already knowing the outcome. He called to Poi as he walked away though.

“Do not kill him, or you too will die. It will never be said that the oak Wood Clan killed the Hot Sands Clan. That would bring us too much dishonour.”

* * *

Tomi quickly moved out of the way as Poi started circling around Kabian. Other wolves had gathered in a circle around them when they had heard the news of a fight about to start. They stood there quietly, knowing that only Poi could win, but wanting to see how much of a fight the young wolf put up.

Kabian lifted his head and turned slowly to follow Poi who was still circling. Even he knew he had no chance to win.

“You do not have to do this Kabian! Just leave! Save yourself!” Tomi called out, but she was pushed to the back by the crowd that had gathered.

There was no way out for him now. All he could do was continue with the fight.

“Come on pup. Make the first move.”

Poi started taunting him. Turning his head away to look at the crowd. Standing tall before them. Kabian was already sick of him. So taking the bait he leapt into the air, front paws forward to try and knock Poi over.

But Poi deftly moved out of the way, and he fell to the ground and sprawled there. Poi kicked some dirt over him as he moved away.

Slowly he got back up. He wasn’t going to go out by injuring himself though. He turned and faced Poi again.

This time Poi leapt at him. But as Poi flew through the air he leapt forwards himself to meet him. Together they collided in the air, paws hitting shoulders and knocking both off balance. They tried to bring their jaws around to grab at the others neck but to no avail.

Poi landed perfectly, but Kabian landed stomach first. When he stood up again he could feel some blood in the fur under his chin. So Poi had managed to nick him. At least he hadn’t gotten a good bite.

Poi leapt for a second time, and again he leapt forward to meet him. But Poi had seen this coming, knowing that one so young would use the same move again. 'Whatever works once has to work again' was the viewpoint of the young, but it hardly ever worked when fighting your own.

Poi twisted slightly and knocked Kabian’s paw away with one leg. The other struck him squarely and he twisted to the side, exposing his throat to Poi, who took the chance and grabbed it. They span together as they clashed. He started flailing with his legs but Poi’s grip was too tight and he would not let go.

Poi landed on his feet, Kabian going limp in his jaws as he slowly tightened his grip. A whine escaped Kabian’s lips as the pain increased. Poi remembered what Kamide had said a moment before he crushed Kabian’s windpipe and quickly threw him to one side.

Kabian hit the ground and rolled. Then he lay still on the ground. His breath came raggedly, but it was still coming. Poi looked at the pup triumphantly and turned to the crowd.

“Take him to the Hot Sands knoll! Then leave him there. I don’t think he will last long in the wild.”

Some wolves started going towards Kabian to lift him and take him away. Poi grabbed one of them by the scruff of their neck.

“You are not going anywhere Tomi. Not this time. You are too kind to those that should be killed.”

Tomi looked at Poi for a second, and then bounded to the other side of the knoll, so she would not see Kabian’s body taken away.

Poi let out a triumphant howl then called out for all at the knoll to hear.

“Tonight we have mourned for Hot Sands! Tomorrow night we will take the land that is now rightfully ours!”

More howls went up in triumph at the thought of expanding into new territory.