Cloud Pack

The next morning, Ice began to follow Drogo's scent trail down the mountain. He hoped the Chinook made it out all right--he didn't want any dog to ever suffer again by Midnight Pack.

His dream with Snow and the mysterious she-dog was all he could think about as he made his way down into the valley. Find the clouds... Drogo said something about a Sky Pack. Does the sky have clouds in it?

Ice found himself looking up at the sky; it was clear. He growled and shook his head to clear it. There was no point wondering about it. He had the distinct feeling that dreams like those weren't even supposed to make sense.

After a few more days of traveling, Ice smelled the distinct scent of a scent marker. It was faint, as though it hadn't been marked for a long time, but the sharp, wispy scent was reminiscent of Drogo. It also held a small taint of sickness.

Ice hesitated, one paw poised to cross the border. If the land was rampant with sickness, then he might die if he continued. But then, the Sickness could also have passed and this was only lingering. He put his paw down and shuffled them uncertainly.

Stop thinking about it and DO IT! a voice snarled in his ear, unmistakable. Thorn!

Ice's head snapped straight up. The last voice he expected to be hearing was his father's--especially since, deep down, he blamed him for what had happened with Blood. "Would you all stop bothering me?" he growled, half-expecting Frost to start speaking next.

With a huff, he stalked over the border and sniffed the air. The best way to find out whether or not this place was diseased was by hunting. If the prey was healthy, then that would be a sign of the Sickness passing. It was long before he caught a whiff of something small and tasty.

Hare, it smells like, he thought. This ground was a bit rockier and icier than he was used to, but the cold season was very long in his home territory so he was used to hunting in the chill. He crouched and crept forward, remembering Thorn's instructions on blending in with his surroundings.

Up ahead, past a small stretch of rocks, a hare crouched, nibbling on tough grass. Its coat was mottled brown-and-white, just beginning to turn. The warm season was only just ending, but it was already snowing in the mountains, so the hare was morphing into its white coat.

Ice tensed and slowly drew closer, then launched himself forward and dove for the hare. It shot up immediately and made a break for it, but Ice cut off its escape and steered it towards a large rock. Cornering it against the rock face, he dove before it could kick and quickly snapped its neck, ending its life.

He lowered his head and sniffed the prey. It smelt warm and fresh, with no trace of disease. It was even a little plump. Feeling pleased and relieved, Ice leaned in to take a bite.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Ice nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around and saw a silver-and-white Alaskan Husky standing behind him, her hackles raised and her lip curled. He let out a gasp, unable to stop himself. This was the she-dog in his dream!

"I, er, I was..." he stammered. Why did dogs always catch him off his guard?

"I'll have you know, that's Cloud Pack prey," the husky growled. "You seemed to notice the scent marker. Or did you just not care?"

Ice swallowed uncomfortably. "You've been watching me?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." The she-dog narrowed her eyes, relaxing a little bit. "You don't seem hostile, whoever you are. What is your business here?"

"I was, ah, seeing if the Sickness had passed," Ice replied truthfully.

The she-dog flattened her ears, visibly slumping. "I see," she murmured. "Are you like the others, come to join the packs?"

"Well, yes," Ice barked. "My name is Ice. You said this was... Cloud Pack?"

The she-dog masked her grief and stood tall, a proud expression on her face. "Yes. I am Cloud, its leader. Dogs like you are already arriving. Two have joined my pack. I will take you, if you are interested. You have proved you can hunt, after all."

Ice's fur tingled. Certainly this was what Snow meant by finding the clouds! "I would be glad to join your pack," he said, his tail wagging. 

Cloud smiled, her hostility vanishing completely. "Excellent! Follow me, I will show you our Central Clearing, where the pack stays. Oh, and bring your hare."

Ice obeyed, taking the hare by its scruff and trotting after Cloud into the sparse pine forest. "There are other packs, right?" he asked through his prey.

"Correct," Cloud replied. "Three others, by the name of Sun Pack, Sky Pack, and Moon Pack. Sun and Moon are all right; they are mostly peaceful. Sky Pack is the one you would have to worry about--they're constantly spoiling for a fight and have no remorse for killing. My pack has not been on good terms with them lately." She curled her lip, showing off glistening white fangs.

Ice's mind flitted back to what Drogo had said: "...slaughtered by Sky Pack." He shuddered and chose not to say anything, pushing away the image of a blood-red husky.

Cloud shook herself, as though she didn't want to talk about Sky Pack either. She cleared her throat and asked him, "Where have you come from, Ice? Did you have a pack?"

Ice tensed, unsure if he wanted to let Cloud in on his past. "Just my family," he mumbled. "We've been... separated. I decided to come here."

Cloud nodded. "The word has gotten out about us. Apparently, the leader of Sky Pack told some mutt that we were accepting new members to rebuild ourselves. I was unsure at first, but I see the sense in the idea. We can't be leaders if we have no pack to lead."

"True," Ice said, nodding and shifting his grip on the hare.

"Ah, here we are!" Cloud rounded a boulder and trotted up a beaten path to a hollow surrounded by more rocks and chunks of ice and snow. "This is Cloud Pack's Central Clearing."

Ice entered and looked around. It was large enough to accommodate a pack, obviously, but it looked starkly empty except for two dogs: a black-and-white Siberian Husky with a blue eye and a brown eye, and a small black-and-brown German Shepherd puppy. The husky rose and came forward. "Cloud! Did you catch anything?"

"Not prey," Cloud replied, beckoning to Ice with her tail. "We have a new packmate."

Ice stepped in after her, feeling somewhat awkward. He was glad there weren't many other dogs; he almost felt like he was put on display. He set down the hare and dipped his head to the two dogs. "Er, hello," he said. "I'm Ice." 

"I found him catching this hare," Cloud barked. "He said he was looking to join a pack."

The husky smiled at him and wagged her tail. "Welcome to Cloud Pack, then. I'm Misty, and this is Blossom."

The shepherd puppy looked up at him shyly. "Hello," she said quietly, quickly averting her gaze.

Ice smiled down at her and then looked back at Misty and Cloud. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm very glad to have joined."

Cloud nodded, looking pleased. "You're just in time, in fact. I was going to wait until we had eaten, but we have prey now and I don't see why I should put it off any longer."

Misty pricked her ears. "We're going to do it now?"

Ice frowned, confused. Do what now?

"Yes." Cloud leaped on top of one of the rocks and looked up at the sky, which was beginning to darken. "It is I, Cloud, leader of Cloud Pack, and I call upon the great dog Khazan to look down at this young dog, who is willing to serve her pack as beta." She looked at Misty. "Is it your will to become the next beta of Cloud Pack?"

Misty stood tall and proud. "It is," she replied.

"Then by the power of the trees, the streams, and the great dog Khazan, I pronounce you beta of Cloud Pack." Cloud leaped down and stood tall above Misty, then lowered her head so her muzzle met Misty's head. "The ceremony is complete."

Blossom grinned and wagged her tail. "Congratulations!" she yipped.

Ice cocked his head. So these packs had betas, a second-in-command. Where he came from, packs usually were ruled by family members. He wasn't foreign to the concept of betas, but it would take a little getting used to. Then, realizing that he should probably say something, he said quickly, "Yes, congratulations."

Cloud's eyes gleamed. "We are truly a pack now. Khazan has blessed us greatly."

Ice felt a rush of excitement. He had begun to think that he wasn't alone anymore, and it was true. He was a member of Cloud Pack.

Yahoo, another chapter!! You can probably expect more updates now that I have a roleplay to go off of, and since DarkshadowWriter updated Leaders of the Wandering Forest, that also gave me inspiration. *whispers* Go read that book, it's awesome. And Ice and Blood are both in it!

Since I'm now using other people's characters, I'll make a credit chapter after publishing this. And to members of Wild Dog Packs RP who are reading this, know that this story might go in a very different direction that what the RP did, and there will probably be a lot of changes, both major and minor. It will definitely be paralleling Darky's book as well. All right, I'm done rambling. Hope you enjoyed!