Dakar, A Wolf's Adventure

In the cool gray mist of the early Canadian morning, nine objects floated out of the heavy forest of western redcedar and western hemlock.  They blended into the surrounding scenery so well, a human would only be able to recognize their presence by their movement. They moved silently through the melting snow of early spring. Their colors were that of the winter landscape: grey, black, and white blending together in a pattern that was perfectly suited to their surroundings.

Dakar, one of the three cubs in the pack, looked at his mother, Tanya. How grand she was! He was so proud of the way all the pack members looked up to her. She was the female leader of the pack, the counterpart to Torga, her mate. By pack tradition, she was the only female allowed to have cubs. Dakar was only eleven months old, and he never ventured far from his mother's side.  He only felt safe when he could see his mother. She was almost snow-white, and her dignified attitude made all the rest of the pack respect her completely.  While the other adult wolves loved to play games with each other and occasionally act like little cubs themselves, Tanya never lost her noble bearing, and she would simply smile tolerantly and stand to the side when the others began their play.

Dakar thought that there could not be a more wonderful mother in the world than his beloved Tanya. Three months earlier  Dakar's sister, Miya, had died in a fierce winter storm; it swept over the entire northern range of the Rocky Mountains that the pack called home. Tanya had taken particular care to protect Miya; she had always been the frailest of the cubs. During the harsh winter Tanya had gone without sleep many nights to watch over Miya and make sure she had plenty of milk. When Miya died, Tanya had almost lost her composure. She howled for three days, almost constantly. Then, however, mindful of her responsibilites to the rest of the pack and particularly to her remaining three cubs, she got herself together and again assumed her duties as a leader and a mother.

It was snowing now just like it had when Miya died, and Dakar began thinking about how he had tried to keep her warm on cold mornings like this. He remembered lying beside her and trying to give her as much warmth as he could. Dakar had felt the loss of Miya as deeply as did his mother.  Dakar's brother, Tagar, and his other sister, Pika, had teased her unmercifully. Dakar had always been her protector and champion. He had felt immensely protective towards her and tried never to be far from her side. He wondered, Since I was so successful in protecting her from other animals, how could something unseen kill her so easily?  He was constantly being reminded how much of the world he still didn't understand.