-Freedom'sWarrior-
Wolf, and proud.
Part I
Day 1, Year 2001, Age 10. Behind the Buckwallow Cycling Centre.
I walk along the grassy pond-side. In front of me a forest looms. Behind me, civilization and humans.
I sing a song to myself as I stop dead, my eyes to the ground in front of me. I stop singing, and pounce, grasping something in my hands. I hold firmly but gently, a frog.
For a moment, I scrutinize the frog, opening its mouth with a thumbnail, then releasing it into the muddy water.
“You’re alright, little guy. ‘Not sick,”
I walk about four more feet, and stop again, this time rigid with fear. No less than ten feet from me stands a wolf.
He is not bristling, nor is he showing signs of aggression, but I read his expression clearly; ‘This is MY territory. What are you doing here?’
I take a deep shuddering breath, recalling the book I’d read recently; ‘Wolf-Woman’. I knew what I had to do.
I take a couple steps forward, careful not to look into the Alpha’s eyes – to do so would be to challenge his authority – and then I get down onto all fours.
The great wolf saunters slowly over to me, and I can hear him smelling me. A moment later, I feel his hot breath on my neck, and I do everything to stop from crying out.
Instead, I control my fear, sliding onto my belly, than rolling over, exposing my soft side. The white flag of truce and total submission.
The wolf looks at me, cocking his head to the side. He sniffs my heaving chest, then turns around, spraying me with ansomnia; the hormone that each wolf rubs onto another pack member. I had done it!
The wolf stalked away, stiff-legged. He stopped short, and looked over his shoulder at me.
I slowly got to my feet, then followed him to the woods, to his pack.
Meeting the pack.
Fear pumps through my veins as I gaze at the pack. They are wary, but they all come up and rub me with their tail where the ansomnia gland is. I am shy and afraid of doing something to set them off. I must be VERY, VERY careful.
I kneel down on my knees, and offer the she-wolf that seems to be the alpha female my hand. In it is a bit of a pretzel I’d been eating. She walks nervously up to me, and sniffs. Then she wags her tail once, and snuffs it up. Her cold, wet nose and whiskers tickle me.
She looks up at me when I laugh, and she bares her teeth. I am taken aback, and recoil. But her forehead is not wrinkled. She is smiling. Her smile is crude and looks like a threat, but her eyes are laughing with me.
I smile myself, and laugh again. I slowly stretch my hand out and touch her snout. She allows me, but as I reach to rub her back, her hackles raise, her eyes narrow, and her forehead wrinkles. She means business.
I pull my hand back sharply, and widen my eyes in astonishment and fright. Then I realize. She’s putting up barriers. She’s the boss.
I smile forgivingly, and she grunt-whines, lowering her hackles. I stand up, and turn to leave. Time to get back to the human world.
Day 2, Year 2001, Age 10. The Naming.
I trot back along the path behind the wood shop, a happy song about my lips. I can’t wait to see the wolf pack. Today, I name them.
As I lope closer to the forest and the pack’s territory, the great wolf that brought me to them and spared my life stands waiting patiently. He knew I was coming!
He waits for me to catch up to him, then he begins to run, me running my fastest to keep up with his speedy pace.
As I run with him, power and mystery washes over me, and a name comes to mind. Ashok.
Ashok would be his name – meaning the Great Passionate Leader.
“Ashok…” I murmur, barely audible.
Yet the great creature’s ear flicked and he looked over his shoulder at me, eyes expectant.
I cleared my throat. “Ashok. That’s your name. Understand?”
Ashok slowed his pace, and he growled playfully. I don’t know if he understood, but I grinned, repeating his name for the animal.
Finally, Ashok comes to a halt, and I am facing the pack once more.
“Time for names…” I mutter. I gazed at the alpha she-wolf, and her beauty and elegance stuns me. She watches her pups with worried eyes as they play. Shula – the Graceful and Blissful Mother.
Then I turn my eyes to the beta male. He is powerful, and Ashok’s brother. He is the caretaker of the pups, and he is a great hunter. Kalasin – the Loyal Warrior and the Friendly Playmate.
My eyes rest next upon three adolescents. The first is female. Her eyes fill me with love and warmth, yet she seems naïve and innocent. Karuba – the Sweet and Innocent Sister.
The second is a male. He is burly, and snaps at the pups dancing at his feet. His eyes flash angrily, and he growls a lot. Yunaba – the Angry Sulker.
Last is a rather obese male. He appears lazy, and allows the pack to do his share of work. When the pups pounce on him, he emits a short growl, but other than that, doesn’t seem to give a care. Arr - the Lazy One.
I next look at a thin male wolf. He is shunned by the others, even the pups. He is last to feed, and always lags behind. But a defiant side emerges when pushed. His eyes are cold, heartless as he glares at me. He has a permanent snarl, and ribs show through his lack-luster coat. Zit – the Defiant Scapegoat.
Finally, I decide names for each pup. It is a small litter of only three, showing that it had been a hard year.
One pup is devilish and mischievous. He nags his sister and brother constantly, and when he’s not doing that, he’s picking on Zit. Hassan – the Little Devil. Next in line is a bright little female. She is perky and alert. She seems innocent and harmless, but I watch her have a go at Hassan when he pushes her too far. Zeki – the Intelligent Avenger.
Finally comes another male. He is smaller than the others, but is brave, curious, and as gentle as his bright fur. He is the first of the pups to come to me and sniff my hand. He enjoys it when I rub his belly, and he’s constantly smiling. Zaal – the Happy and Gentle One.I smile to myself, and rehearse the names in my mind. Yes, this was perfect.
Day 1, Year 2001, Age 10. Behind the Buckwallow Cycling Centre.
I walk along the grassy pond-side. In front of me a forest looms. Behind me, civilization and humans.
I sing a song to myself as I stop dead, my eyes to the ground in front of me. I stop singing, and pounce, grasping something in my hands. I hold firmly but gently, a frog.
For a moment, I scrutinize the frog, opening its mouth with a thumbnail, then releasing it into the muddy water.
“You’re alright, little guy. ‘Not sick,”
I walk about four more feet, and stop again, this time rigid with fear. No less than ten feet from me stands a wolf.
He is not bristling, nor is he showing signs of aggression, but I read his expression clearly; ‘This is MY territory. What are you doing here?’
I take a deep shuddering breath, recalling the book I’d read recently; ‘Wolf-Woman’. I knew what I had to do.
I take a couple steps forward, careful not to look into the Alpha’s eyes – to do so would be to challenge his authority – and then I get down onto all fours.
The great wolf saunters slowly over to me, and I can hear him smelling me. A moment later, I feel his hot breath on my neck, and I do everything to stop from crying out.
Instead, I control my fear, sliding onto my belly, than rolling over, exposing my soft side. The white flag of truce and total submission.
The wolf looks at me, cocking his head to the side. He sniffs my heaving chest, then turns around, spraying me with ansomnia; the hormone that each wolf rubs onto another pack member. I had done it!
The wolf stalked away, stiff-legged. He stopped short, and looked over his shoulder at me.
I slowly got to my feet, then followed him to the woods, to his pack.
Meeting the pack.
Fear pumps through my veins as I gaze at the pack. They are wary, but they all come up and rub me with their tail where the ansomnia gland is. I am shy and afraid of doing something to set them off. I must be VERY, VERY careful.
I kneel down on my knees, and offer the she-wolf that seems to be the alpha female my hand. In it is a bit of a pretzel I’d been eating. She walks nervously up to me, and sniffs. Then she wags her tail once, and snuffs it up. Her cold, wet nose and whiskers tickle me.
She looks up at me when I laugh, and she bares her teeth. I am taken aback, and recoil. But her forehead is not wrinkled. She is smiling. Her smile is crude and looks like a threat, but her eyes are laughing with me.
I smile myself, and laugh again. I slowly stretch my hand out and touch her snout. She allows me, but as I reach to rub her back, her hackles raise, her eyes narrow, and her forehead wrinkles. She means business.
I pull my hand back sharply, and widen my eyes in astonishment and fright. Then I realize. She’s putting up barriers. She’s the boss.
I smile forgivingly, and she grunt-whines, lowering her hackles. I stand up, and turn to leave. Time to get back to the human world.
Day 2, Year 2001, Age 10. The Naming.
I trot back along the path behind the wood shop, a happy song about my lips. I can’t wait to see the wolf pack. Today, I name them.
As I lope closer to the forest and the pack’s territory, the great wolf that brought me to them and spared my life stands waiting patiently. He knew I was coming!
He waits for me to catch up to him, then he begins to run, me running my fastest to keep up with his speedy pace.
As I run with him, power and mystery washes over me, and a name comes to mind. Ashok.
Ashok would be his name – meaning the Great Passionate Leader.
“Ashok…” I murmur, barely audible.
Yet the great creature’s ear flicked and he looked over his shoulder at me, eyes expectant.
I cleared my throat. “Ashok. That’s your name. Understand?”
Ashok slowed his pace, and he growled playfully. I don’t know if he understood, but I grinned, repeating his name for the animal.
Finally, Ashok comes to a halt, and I am facing the pack once more.
“Time for names…” I mutter. I gazed at the alpha she-wolf, and her beauty and elegance stuns me. She watches her pups with worried eyes as they play. Shula – the Graceful and Blissful Mother.
Then I turn my eyes to the beta male. He is powerful, and Ashok’s brother. He is the caretaker of the pups, and he is a great hunter. Kalasin – the Loyal Warrior and the Friendly Playmate.
My eyes rest next upon three adolescents. The first is female. Her eyes fill me with love and warmth, yet she seems naïve and innocent. Karuba – the Sweet and Innocent Sister.
The second is a male. He is burly, and snaps at the pups dancing at his feet. His eyes flash angrily, and he growls a lot. Yunaba – the Angry Sulker.
Last is a rather obese male. He appears lazy, and allows the pack to do his share of work. When the pups pounce on him, he emits a short growl, but other than that, doesn’t seem to give a care. Arr - the Lazy One.
I next look at a thin male wolf. He is shunned by the others, even the pups. He is last to feed, and always lags behind. But a defiant side emerges when pushed. His eyes are cold, heartless as he glares at me. He has a permanent snarl, and ribs show through his lack-luster coat. Zit – the Defiant Scapegoat.
Finally, I decide names for each pup. It is a small litter of only three, showing that it had been a hard year.
One pup is devilish and mischievous. He nags his sister and brother constantly, and when he’s not doing that, he’s picking on Zit. Hassan – the Little Devil. Next in line is a bright little female. She is perky and alert. She seems innocent and harmless, but I watch her have a go at Hassan when he pushes her too far. Zeki – the Intelligent Avenger.
Finally comes another male. He is smaller than the others, but is brave, curious, and as gentle as his bright fur. He is the first of the pups to come to me and sniff my hand. He enjoys it when I rub his belly, and he’s constantly smiling. Zaal – the Happy and Gentle One.I smile to myself, and rehearse the names in my mind. Yes, this was perfect.