Chapter 23- Frozen Land

The darkness of purgatory surrounds me, enveloping me in nothingness. My pain and anger is partially washed out of me. I am left with nothing but questions.

Why did Mica kill me? Why was she able to communicate without speaking? Just what is Mica? Who were those two mysterious men? Are Rhea and Lucarus going to be killed also? Did some of the slaves escape safely? Why did Aarushi have to die?

[Pain]

Pain isn’t a damn game… the pain of Aarushi… it still hurts… Why wasn’t I strong enough to protect her?

[Hugh? It’s that voice again, It sounded almost muffled…]

Wait is there someone else here?

[Die]

What? No fuck you!

[I’m already dead, why did it tell me to die?]

[Nothing]

[Is this voice talking to me? Does it even know I am here? What is going on I don’t understand!]

[Dream]

Those voices… both of them are… mine… I remember last time I was stuck in purgatory, when I came so close to dying during Suzaku’s test. There has never been any one else here… it has always been me, and only me. Maybe I am going crazy and just hearing voices of the past. Maybe somehow all of it is connected. What is purgatory? Why is all of this happening to me?

…

I can feel myself begin to fade… I am being reborn.

[Deadra]

Wait no that was Aarushi’s voice…

…

I violently rip into the consciousness of my new body while trying to pull myself into purgatory, mentally reaching toward Aarushi’s voice. To no prevail I am reborn and purgatory is nothing but a faded memory. Why did I hear her voice at the last instant calling my name? Was it my longing to be with her? Is it my own ego trying to replace the emptiness in my heart? I have no way of finding out nor do I have the time, I must focus on my new life since there is no going back.

This body is blind and weak. The world is muted due to my small ears. Smell is practically non-existent. The only thing I can do is taste the supple milk from my mother’s teat and feel around my surroundings. Several small warm and fuzzy creatures are contently rolling around me. I presume they are my siblings. I have trouble telling time for I am usually sleeping or drinking milk with very little other activity. I can cry and whine but due to my deafness I am unable to know what I sound like.

…

Today I was able to open my eyes and my hearing is beginning to develop. Although my vision is clouded and I can mostly only pick up colors I believe I am starting to learn what creature I am. My fur is grey. I have small paws with tinny little claws. At the end of my snout is a wet black nose. My tail stays curled against my body. I am some type of wolf pup.

…

I have been gaining weight rapidly. Pains come from my mouth as my teeth break through the gums. My mother still provides me with milk but now father has begun bringing meat back to the din. My mother will eat some of it before regurgitating it to allow my siblings and I to eat. My siblings and I eat several times a day. Standing and walking around for the first time I explore our din.

We live in the side of a mountain in a cave. The entrance is a three foot tall circle that expands into a small room as you go deeper. Grass and straw cover the floor in the back for my siblings and me to rest and play.

Due to my continuously improving vision the darkness of the cave does not bother me. My siblings often cuddle for warmth to stay alive. For some reason I do not feel the need to do so because I do not get cold like they do, however this does not prevent me from cuddling with the adorable baby wolves. Rubbing my face against the soft fur of my ken and rolling around in a flood of cuteness fills me with joy and happiness. Living with these adorable creatures helps quell the anger I felt from the last few moments of my last life.

Growling, Squealing and Whining resonate though the cave as my brothers, sisters and I try out our vocal cords. As I attempt to howl a high pitch squeak rings from my throat. I can’t wait tell I am old enough to howl at the moon.

…

“Rur” I release a small baby growl. I pounce at the side of one of my sisters and nibble on her ear. She rolls over kicking and scratching at me as small cute roars echo from her mouth. One of my brothers pounces on top of me pushing me off my sister and nibbling at the side of my neck. A moment later another sibling nocks him off me as we continue to play and wrestle with each other.

One of my sisters beckons me to chase her so I do. We get to the edge of the cave before we stop. She makes a small whining and hurries back inside away from the bright white scenery. I follow behind her in pursuit tackling her deeper into the cave.

…

A wolf’s senses are completely different than that of humans. Raw meat tastes as good as my favorite dishes from any of my precious lives yet any vegetation tastes bland and unnatural.

My hearing is improving at an alarming rate. I can start to hear birds cawing in the sky. When my dad leaves to go hunt I can hear his footsteps in the snow if I concentrate.

New and unusual smells fill my snout every day. I am starting to differentiate each of my siblings by not only the way they act and look but also their smell.

…

My head and feet are becoming disproportionately large compared to my body. Actually I have noticed that my paws are slightly larger than that of the rest of my ken and I am gaining weight at a slightly faster pace.

My tail moves around uncontrollably showing my emotions. When I am happy it will wag vigorously in the air. When I am scared it hides between my hind legs.

As I get older and stronger I become more adventurous as do my siblings. Following our parents on a hunt proves to be entertaining and educational. I learned through example of how to hunt, and about the animals of this world. This winter wonderland has a variety of creatures similar to that of earth. The two I have been able to examine the closes would be what I call a viper rabbit and a reindeer.

The viper rabbit looks exactly like a normal rabbit. Beady red eyes that stick out from its head watching for prey. White or grey fur and long thin ears help camouflage it in the underbrush and snow. The only difference is their saliva. Viper rabbits have acidic spit, and any organic material that they bite melts into nutrients in a matter of seconds. I learned this one day by playing with one of the dead rabbit my dad caught for me.

The reindeer looks like your typical deer with giant antlers. However they are less timid and can use magical. Usually a deer would bolt at any sound made within earshot, but not reindeer. Using their magic to turn invisible they go to inspect the noise. I have learned if you watch the snow they still leave tracks allowing you to know their movements.

There are a variety of birds and smaller animals as well, but they are not worth the hunt. On the other hand some creatures are bigger and stronger than us wolves so we always avoid them with our heightened senses. I have not gotten a chance to learn about these creatures yet, but maybe one day when I am stronger I will face one.

The techniques for killing in a wolf’s body are pretty simple. All I need to do is run up to my prey without them knowing and then lunge at their vitals. Usually father with snap his jaws closed on the prey’s neck then jerk his head snapping the spinal cord, or ripping open an artery.

At four months old my father decided it was time to take my siblings and me out of the cave to hunt with him. This time we are going to learn to catch our own prey. For my species this seems to be normal. My mother will also follow and help us hunt.

The reason we must learn so young is because of what we are. We are white winter wolves. A proud and noble beast. Our speed and strength are outstanding.

As I step out of the cave I look up at the snowcapped pine trees. The stars twinkle between the needles of each tree. The snow radiates a small light from the bright white moon. The moon is similar to the one from my first world; however it is about twice the size. The smell of frozen water mixed with pine fills my snout. A small breeze shakes snow from a nearby tree having it land with a slush. As I release a deep breathe a cloud of white precipitation forms in front of me.

My mother notices my hesitation and rubs her snout against my face. She takes a few steps forward and ushers me to move forward with her head.

I take a step into the cold wet snow with my paw. A wolf print becomes indented in snow. The cold does not bother me in this new body. My mother gives me a pleased look and takes off in a run.

After a while my family comes across a small bundle of viper rabbits in the distance. My father and mother look in our direction. They want one of us to attack the group and capture a rabbit. I step up first out of all my siblings. I crouch down lowering my head and slowly approach the rabbits. I try to be as quite as I can but still keep a steady pace. When I am within lunging distance of the rabbits they notice my presence and scatter in every direction.

I pounce on top of the nearest rabbit putting my paws on both sides of it stopping its movement. I can hear the pattering of its tiny heart beating fast enough for it to leap from the rabbit’s chest. My jaw wraps around its neck. Warm metallic and salty liquid bursts out and into my mouth as the rabbit squirms in my grasp. I jerk my head and hear a snap as the rabbit becomes motionless and the rapid pattering stops. I carry it back to my family in my mouth. My father and mother both come up and lick my ears. They do not try to take the rabbit but instead ushers everyone to continue moving to find their own prey.

After several hours all my siblings eventually catch something however some of them required help from our parents. We get home to the cave when the sun begins to rise. After this I will be able to hunt for my own food.

…

I go hunting more often than any of my other siblings. I eat nearly twice as much as them and am growing at a frightening pace. I am already the same size as father while everyone else is about half his size. I wish my family could communicate and tell me why this is happening. The thing I miss the most other than the people I loved would be the ability to have a conversation. I long to hear someone talk to me or to be able to talk to someone else. The most I can do is howl at the moon.

Rabbits are no longer enough for me; they are merely a tasty snack as I hunt for my next prey. I have started taking down reindeer single handed. Normally it takes two or three wolves to best these creatures, not because they are stronger than us, but because they outwit us. A deer is large enough to feed three wolves, but for me I can eat it all alone.

…

It has been over a year since I was reborn. Our family has left then den and gone back to the pack. I decided to take my own path and become a lone wolf. Not only was my family sad with this decision but the rest of the pack was as well. If my assumptions are right I was a rare wolf that should have been placed as the leader. I am the alpha wolf. I don’t know how often a rare species like me is evolved but I could tell that the other wolves respected me. Before I left the pack the men would often bring me food or follow me on my hunts. The females would often crowd around me. They rub their faces against my own and often cuddle with me as I slept. I believe they wished for me to fornicate with them but I never felt the urge to do so. Because I knew I would not be able to be a good leader and I would not help them reproduce I left to go live on my own.

One day everyone was sleeping I traveled far away for many miles escaping from the group. Because I am faster and stronger than them I easily out run the pack. I was able to run for an entire day and night without stopping. Several times I would cross rivers and streams to hide my tracks and sent. I know they are better off without me, but I still feel bad for abandoning them.

I do not wish to be tied down by those responsibilities. I want to be free and do as I please. In this world I will carve my own fate.

…

Wondering the mountain side aimlessly and alone starts to hurt me deep inside. Even though the wolf pack could not communicate with words or have any intelligent conversations and ideas, they would still provide companionship. They gave me someone to react to and play with. They gave me warmth at night and provided something to bounce my emotions off of. Now all I have left are my own thoughts.

I often think of my memories of Aarushi. The times we laughed and played as kids. I remember all the strange accidents that happened to us such as her kissing me half asleep and then freaking out. The time I accidently groped her but instead of getting mad she egged me on to keep going. When I realized I was truly in love with her and we stayed up talking all night hits home really hard. I remember the bad times as well. The time my brother died. The test that Killed Cecelia. When I blacked out and murdered the prince of Twin Trees my whole world changed. The hardest memory of all though would be when she died in my arms. As I think about it tears fall down my face getting encrusted in my fur and whiskers.

I wonder aimlessly in this world trying to find purpose. I kill and hunt as I please, but I never stop moving forward. I move west continuously. I don’t know if anything exists that way and I don’t care. I just want to keep moving forward, and never look back again.

…

One day while I was drinking water from the river the smell of smoke wafts toward me. The smoke reminds me of a campfire that I would often make in my last world. Due to my highly sensitive nose I am able to detect the direction it’s coming from as easily as a person would detect the direction of noise. Hoping a forest fire didn’t break out I follow the scent rushing over to the location. As I get closer to the origin of the smoke new smells begin to envelop me. The syrup from pine trees and freshly cut wood mix together. I smell cotton and fresh linen being washed. Food simmering in a pot almost being ready to eat causes me to drool. Why do I smell so many familiar things?

The Forest pine trees begin to dwindle in number as I gallop through the snow. When I reach a large clearing I find the answer to my question. A small village lies before my eyes. This town is the answer to my loneliness I know it. Now all I need to do is find a way to integrate myself in without causing alarm. I stare up at the rising moon, the night is still young. With my deep and booming voice I release the loudest howl I can muster crying into the night sky.

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I will now slow down a bit on the posing since I have caught up to and passed what I had post on Fiction press. The rest is still unedited and I will be making changes to the future. for the next few weeks the speed will be at slowest one chapter every three days. but could be as fast as a chapter or two a day. I depends on RL and how inspired I am/ how the small details flow together to keep inconsistency low. any ways welcome ot volume 2, ark 1, chapter 1/ chapter 23