X-Wolves War - Annica R. (best book clubs .txt) 📗

Mist filtered into the den as Riola opened his eyes and got up and stretched. “Tali you can stop it, I’m up already,” Riola called out the trailing stems at the entrance to the den. A pale grey she-wolf padded in and narrowed his eyes, her mouth forming into a small grin. Riola shook his head and slipped past her out into the sun-shine. Tali followed him out and continued walking until she reached a small puddle and began to drink from it. Tali lifted her head and smiled at Riola, who had a scowl on his face.
“I was only practicing; you don’t have to get mad about it.” Tali said and in a more serious tone added; “besides we have to keep moving. Maybe we can reach Frost before night falls, the more of us we can gather the better protected we can be.” Tali sighed and headed up a small hill not far off and scented the air.
“Fine, fine but you could be nicer about waking me up, but if you’re really that worried about then we can go. Follow me.” Riola barked at her and headed towards the mountains. Tali caught up and kept pace with him, following at his shoulder. After they had reached the edge of the trees Riola heard Tali’s stomach growl and he turned towards her. She was sitting, looking down at her paws.
“I know I made a big deal of getting to Frost as fast as we can, but……” Tali began and looked up at Riola her stomach growling again, “I was hoping we could maybe eat?” she asked and Riola sighed, and nodded, immediately Tali was up on her feet and scenting the air for a chance of prey. Riola started to look as well and soon found the scent of caribou, and called to Tali. Tali trotted over and followed Riola throughout the trees to a small clearing with a small herd of caribou and crouched down behind a clump of bushes, Tali following.
Riola scanned the heard and quickly picked out a frail and old looking buck limping along at the back of the herd. Riola touched Tali on the flank with his tail and flicked his head, Tali followed his gaze and nodded. Tali silently crept toward the other side of the clearing and Riola held his tail up ready to signal. Riola whipped his tail toward the ground and both wolves erupt from the bushes pounding towards the buck.
The herd immediately began to run but Tali had already leaped and landed square on top of the buck’s shoulders. Riola ran beside it nipping its legs to weaken them while Tali tried to get a bite down on the buck’s spine. Riola kept nipping at its hind legs and eventually the crumbled beneath him sending him plummeting to the ground. Tali bit down hard on the bucks spin and it immediately went limp. Tali jumped off its back and landed beside Riola.
Riola licked his lips and began to tear at the bucks flesh hungrily, Tali began shortly after him. Tali licked the blood off her lips and lay down next to him and looked out into the trees, “So, have you found your power yet?” Tali asked casually without looking at him. Riola narrowed his eyes and thought about it, nothing special seemed to happen to him that couldn’t be explained, and he didn’t feel special in any way either.
Riola shook his head and stood up, “no,” he growled and walked toward the scent of water, “and I don’t think I will have any power either, so don’t ask again.” He finished and found a river and waded in the shallows until the scent of blood was washed from his fur and got out shaking the water from his pelt.
Tali still lay by the half-eaten buck looking taken aback. He ignored her and faced the mountains, “let’s go,” he said and started heading that way without looking back if Tali was following. He kept up a brisk pace and all the while, his mind was fixed to what Tali had said. Would he have a power? What would it be? What if he never found his power? What if when his life depended on he couldn’t find it and then he would die! He shook his head to clear it and started to imagine what would happen if they couldn’t find all of the X-Wolves.
More than likely they would die, but if they did find them all they would be safe. While he was focused on his thoughts he hadn’t noticed that the air began to become more chilly. Snow began to fall on the ground and crystals started to form on his pelt. Soon his breath came in billowing clouds of fog around him.
After hours of trudging on up the mountain he began to notice that he could not see anything in front of him and after all the hours of traveling he looked back to see if Tali was behind him and froze. Tali was nowhere to be seen, and panic rose up inside of him. “Tali! Tali? Where are you!?” He howled out into the blizzard and waited for a reply. But no reply answered.
“Who goes there?” a soft growl sounded from all around him and didn’t know what to do, “who goes there?” the voice asked and Riola answered.
“Riola, who are you? Show yourself!” he snarled and a pure white she-wolf padded out of the blizzard and glared at him with blue eyes that looked like they were made of chips of ice. Riola glared back and tried to remember what he had heard Frost had looked like. This wolf certainly looked like he had been told she looked but she had three long slices down her neck.
The she-wolf sniffed him and narrowed her eyes, “you certainly smell like an ‘X’ follow me.” She turned and flicked her tail and the blizzard calmed and began to clear. Riola followed reluctantly and then remembered Tali.
“Wait, I have a friend, she’s lost and I need to find her!” he wailed but the she-wolf didn’t turn but kept walking.
“We’ll find her later, but for now your coming with me.” She growled and Riola followed, he knew he couldn’t go looking for her by himself, he would surely get lost. But his thoughts were elsewhere, could this wolf really be the famous Frost? Surely, Frost never was described to be this ill-tempered, or have such bad scars.
They finally neared a small cave hidden behind a snow drift and the she-wolf lead the way in and flicked her tail towards a clump of dry moss and he sat down watching the she-wolf carefully. After a while she finally settled down and lay on the skin of a caribou. “I suppose you have some questions but let me start out by telling you my name.” She stared at him closely, for a while and continued.
“My name is Frost, I am an X-Wolf,” she paused and looked him over, “But I can tell by your expression that your one too.” She chuckled softly and smiled at him, “So, what do you want to know, and why are you here?” Riola relaxed a little, and began.
“Well my friend and I are traveling trying to find all the X-Wolves including you, so that maybe all of you may be able to help us.” Riola started and continued his heart getting heavier with each word he said, “ We need the help…well because, we are being chased by the humans who made us like this," he said and looked up at Frost who had suddenly froze and was staring at him with narrowed eyes.
“Are you sure it’s the humans that turned you?” she growled and Riola nodded, Frost got up and headed toward the entrance then stopped, “I’m sorry but if you say the humans are chasing you I’m going to have to create another blizzard, more wild then before.” She turned to him and held up her tail, “But if I do this it’ll mean that your friend will be in terrible danger,” Riola stiffened, “she might just fall off a cliff and die or seriously hurt herself. But as I make the blizzard I will send out and Ice Minion to search for her and report back.” As she said this she waved her tail from side to side and a wolf of Ice began to appear and headed away.
“But we need to find her! She can’t die she’s the last!” Frost glared at him.
“Last what?” she growled and Riola dipped his head,
“I’m sorry I didn’t mention this before, I know she doesn’t do well in cold weather but we had to come here. She’s the last descendent of the Mist Bloods.” As he said this Frost turned and ran into the Blizzard she had created calling after her,
“You stay here; I have a better chance of finding her than you do!” Riola sat watching the entrance for hours when he finally couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. He lay and rest his head on his paws and close his eyes. And the world went dark around him.


Riola opened his eyes and Frost was back in the cave, hunched over a figure in the corner. As Riola padded near it he realized it was Tali. She was still her fur frosted with crystals and her breaths low and barely audible. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked Frost and her ears pricked,
“I think the humans hit her with a gun to try and catch her,” Riola stiffened and Frost turned her eyes filling with sympathy, “Don’t worry, they used a sleeping gun. It only makes her fall asleep for a while, she’ll be fine.” Her gaze hardened and with a flick of her tail, all the crystals on Tali’s pelt melted and Frost got up. The white wolf padded over to the caribou pelt and sat down.
“Now, what do you mean the last descendent of the Mist Bloods? That race has been along for as long as I have.” Frost shook her head as though she was remembering how young she had been when the race had begun. Riola was suddenly curious.
“Are all five of you, immortal?” he asked and she looked up and nodded. Riola knew who the five were, the original X-wolves. Frost, Steel, Leaf, GreyMist, and Heat. “Well she’s the last one because GreyMist was killed a long time ago, and all her children were killed as well. One of Greymist’s children had Tali, but Tali has had no teacher.” Frost dipped her head and padded to the entrance and looked out.
“As soon as she is awake, we will, travel to where steel is and start collecting all the X-Wolves we can so we may be able to eliminate the humans once and for all.” Frost growled and Riola nodded.