Raven's Story: Black Blood Dogs

[Raven]

“Run! Run fast! Don’t look back!” The wolf howled. A gunshot sounded and I yelped in fright. The wolf was running quickly, barking at me to follow him into the woods. Another gunshot sounded and I ran, ran for my life. The wolf’s dark grayish black coat disappeared into the forest, and my black and white coat soon after. When we came to a stop I lay down in the snow, panting hard.
“You listened. I am surprised.” The wolf’s voice was broken by short gasps, his lungs searching for air. “Well, yes. Of course I listened. I know when to obey and when to stand my ground,” I answered, lifting my head from my paws. My bright, icy blue eyes shifted from the setting sun to the wolf’s graying face. He smirked and nodded. “Good.” He chuckled lightly and then sat down and licked his shoulder. He was merely washing the snow from his silken pelt, not cleaning a wound as I had thought.
“We will find a place to sleep for the night while I go into further detail about this…New pack as we call it now. Because even if we were to get more dogs gathered, they would be restless and only want to go home…” he growled as if this annoyed him. I almost laughed. “Come along,” he sighed, and stood up, then began to walk back the way we came, but on a slightly different path that led us parallel to the neighborhood beyond. I got up and shook the snow from my fur and followed after him. Usually I would be a tad bit cold, but the adrenaline was still pumping through my veins, so I was heated up as I had been next to the fire in my home. My family would not yet be looking for me, as I often disappeared at night sometimes. I smiled at this thought. I had as much time as I needed.
As I padded after the wolf, I didn’t think. My paws were sore and I only wanted to rest and here the wolf’s story for the new pack. Soon, he had found a small cave, and squeezed inside the entryway. As soon as he lie down, he looked at me expectantly. I wanted to lay next to him to keep warm, but I didn’t know if he would allow it. “Come, lay next to me, I won’t bite.” He smiled a wolf-y grin and I smiled back. The old wolf was truly unique. I silently walked over to lay against his side.
“I am Ristin… I used to be an alpha for a wolf pack around here. But I knew it was time to leave when I began to grow old. I came closer and closer to this neighborhood… Then, one day, I was talking to an eagle. He was a prophet, and was telling me something he had ‘seen’. He told me he ‘saw me’, creating a new pack. A new race of… “Super dog” he called it. He said that if I could find the right dogs, then this prophecy would come true. He told me only I could do it, with the help of him and a young she-dog by the name of…Raven, I think he said. I agreed to try.” His golden eyes were far away as he spoke, but then my voice pulled him back into the reality of the moment.
“My name is Raven…and I’m two years…” I murmured, caught in his story. My eyes flickered nervously, and my tail flicked back and forth. He shivered a little and looked at me, eyes wide. “Guess I’m on the right trail then, huh?” he asked, another wolf-y grin on his old face. I nodded and lay my head on my paws, eager to hear more.
“Oh yes, as I was saying, the new breed of dog. The eagle said they would be called “The Black blood Dogs”, and they would be the breed to save dog, human and all the other animals in the future. And now, I know he was telling the truth. Raven, will you help me find the Black blood dogs?”
His head tilted in curiosity of my answer, eyes on my face, and ears pricked. He was a magnificent sight, and he was asking me, ME, of all dogs out there. I nodded. “Of course I will Ristin.”
He smiled wider and then lay his head on his dust colored paws, sighing. His eyes almost closed with exhaustion. “Get some sleep, we’ll need all of our energy tomorrow,” he mumbled, and then his golden eyes disappeared underneath his dark lids. I smirked and lay my head on my paws, closing my eyes and letting my mind wander into the land of dreams.
* * *
I yawned, and stretched my rump into the air, claws digging into the dirt I had slept on. My eyes closed tightly as I yawned. My tail curled over my back, and then settled into it’s normal position as my belly fell onto the ground once more. I opened my eyes and glanced around the cave, and then stopped at the opening. The sun was farther up in the sky then I thought. We had to get going. “Ristin.” His eyes flew open immediately, then widened as he took in the sun’s position in the sky.
“Oh…we have to get going, huh?” he chuckled as he stood, stretched and then padded out of the cave. I smirked, flicked my ears, and then followed after him. I looked down at my paws as I followed him, watching them blend into the snow each time they became still. I wasn’t pure white, far from it actually. My head, back, and tail were pitch black with silver outlining the black. My eyes didn’t fit in with my personality or looks at all. They were an icy, hard blue, where my personality was soft and warm.
“Well, looks like you’ve found Raven.” A high, but obviously male voice, stated from the trees. I looked up and tilted my head at the eagle in the tall tree in front of me and Ristin. “Yeah I did. She’s very easy to live with to,” he smirked, and turned his head to wink at me. I giggled. The bird flew down to stand in front of Ristin, and his beak opened as he spoke again. “The next dog you will find will be not as willing to follow in this quest as Raven is, but I know you can convince him. Raven will be needed to convince him though, remember that.
“His name is Hero. He is a red Alaskan malamute. You’ll find him near the place you almost got shot.” I swear the bird’s eyes rolled. “Be careful,” he added before taking flight and disappearing into the clouds. I sighed, then my ears pricked as Ristin spoke. “We are going to have a hard time convincing him, as the Eagle said. Let’s get going,” he grumbled quietly, turning tail and trotting back the way we came. I rolled my eyes and bounded after him, tongue hanging out the side of my mouth as I ran. I passed him, and he began to run after me, his tongue also lolled out.

We soon found the place we had been shot at. There were a couple bullets lying in the snow, and the smell of gunpowder was still on the ground. I wrinkled my nose and slowed to a walk. Suddenly, Ristan froze, nose twitching, ears pricked and tail straight up. I sniffed the air and realized that beside the gunpowder, the smell of male dog was thick in the air.
A wild frenzy of barks, then a low growl, coming closer still, sent me back to stand beside my old wolf friend. Ristan quickly changed his posture to one of friendliness and I did the same. As soon as I had straightened out of my defensive stance, a red husky with light orange around his face, chest, legs and stomach came around the corner of a wooden fence. His hackles were raised and his fangs were bared at us. I flicked my ears back, then spoke softly. “Please, we mean no harm, we actually wish to talk to you…Hero,” I tacked on his name at the end to show we knew him, and didn’t mean him harm.
The dog stopped, head lowering and nose quivering as he sniffed the air. “I recognize your scent…you live in this neighborhood. But why do you travel with a wolf? Does he even understand us?” Hero growled, head tilting. I giggled lightly. “Yes, he understands us, very much. And I travel with him because we are trying to unite the dogs around here to make a greater pack…” my voice trailed off as I looked at Ristan. “He tells the story much better…if you’ll here it,” I murmured, sending my blue eyes back to Hero. Hero bared his fangs. “Greater pack? Story?” His gaze turned hostile.
I lowered my eyes, and thought of what to say, then spoke. “Yes, a greater pack. Ristan, will you tell the story to Hero?” I asked in my small, soft voice. Hero seemed to be calmed by my voice. His hackles lowered and he sat down. His eyes however, remained hard. “Of course, Raven.
“You know of the birds, how some see the future, correct?” Ristan looked at Hero, his golden gaze very wise. “I do. I’ve talked to one recently…a small raven.” His brown-eyed gaze went to my face and I think I saw him grin a little. “Ah, well I’ve also talked to one. An eagle. He told me the story of the greater pack, and how this pack would save the humans, the dogs, and all living things in the future. He said with the help of Raven,” his eyes flicked to me for a moment, a smile spreading across his warm face. “We will find the dogs around this local area and create this greater pack. They will be bigger, stronger and faster then the regular dog… he said, they would be called the “black blood dog”. They will be very important.” As he finished, Hero didn’t look as mesmerized as I had. He blinked and huffed. “And you think he’s telling the truth?” he began laughing now. “Now I’ve seen everything!” He laughed harder.
“I KNOW he’s telling the truth. If he wasn’t, how would he have known my name? Your name? How would he even know where to find us if he had lived out in the wilderness without ever seeing this ‘new world’ before now?” My voice wasn’t as soft as it had been, but I wasn’t snapping at him either. He blinked, and tried to come up with an explanation. He couldn’t. He slowly moved his gaze back to Ristan. “And you want ME to be a part of this greater pack?” I couldn’t tell his emotion. His voice was almost monotone. Ristan nodded. “It’s your choice, but we do insist. Without every dog the greater pack will not work.” Ristan’s reply sounded hopeless already. The old wolf was sitting, gold eyes on the snow around his paws.
Hero looked at me. “And your in it?” I simply nodded. His brown eyes never left mine. “And you left your family?” I nodded again. “Alright. If you can do it, I can. Besides, if it will save all our lives one day, being in a greater pack wont be so bad.” He smirked and walked over to stand in front of us. “You convinced me,” he said in a soft tone, smiling at me. I smiled back, but then looked at Ristan. “These collars are going to get us mistaken for house pets,” I growled. “Well we can’t take them off or the humans will think you’re a wolf, then they’ll be shooting at us again,” he replied wisely. I rolled my eyes and nodded. “Ok, we’ll keep ‘em…for now,” I growled lowly.