by J. S. Skye
At last they reached the valley filled with all of the cherry blossom trees that the cubs had gazed upon from the peak above. Wolfhroc traipsed through seemingly endless curtains of grass that stood well above all of their heads. However, this was not a deterrent for the wolf; her nose had already picked up the scent of her kin.
It was not long until they reached a clearing where Flurry, Fall, and Caboose disembarked. However, Flurry was not sure that their venture was such a good idea any longer. He began to have second thoughts when they found themselves surrounded by other wolves that growled and bared their teeth at the young cubs.
“It’s okay! They’re with me!” Wolfhroc informed them with her authoritative tone.
As Wolfhroc spoke, an enormous canine emerged from the foliage behind the other wolves. This wolf had more of an imposing presence than all of the others. This beast looked dignified, commanding, and strong. He wore iron plates upon his head that cascaded over the crown of his head right down to his snout. The armor had decorative markings all across its surface with various nicks and scratches that conveyed extensive use or battle damage. The artwork on the armor had three ornate wolves in the midst of knotwork and spirals.
His neck was adorned with a stone necklace held together by red chords. At the center of this elegant piece sat a large, crimson gemstone. The ornament looked much like something from the ancient Mayan culture Flurry had learned about from his mother in Middleasia.
The wolf was also marked upon his fur, just above each leg. These designs were of a different tint of gray than the rest of his coat. It appeared as though his fur had been bleached purposely to create such patterns. The other wolves had similar designs, but theirs were darker than their natural fur color.
It was clear that this was the leader of the pack. His voice was deep, and his words resounded when he spoke, much like the aftershocks of striking a gong. It was uncertain to Flurry if the wolf spoke with sincerity or sarcasm when he replied to Wolfhroc’s statement, “Well, in that case, a friend of yours is a friend of ours. Isn’t that right, boys?”
When he glanced at the other wolves; they each smirked or chuckled. Some of them replied, “That’s right! … Friends!”
Fall pulled her brother aside to voice her concern. “Flurry, I have a bad feeling about this.”
“What’s there to worry about? They told us that they’re our friends,” Flurry responded.
“I don’t think we should trust the word of strangers until they’ve proven they can be trusted. Especially not the word of a wolf.”
Her speech fell on deaf ears as she watched Flurry rush up to the wolf. “Hello, I’m Flurry! What’s your name?”
“Flurry, stop!” Fall shouted.
The wolves all turned their attention to Fall. “What’s with her?” the leader asked.
“Who? Her? Oh, she’s nobody. Don’t mind her,” Flurry answered.
“Nobody? Nobody? Flurry! I’m your sister!” Fall was furious with Flurry’s unscrupulous behavior.
Flurry grinned uneasily at the wolf and continued. “Yeah, she keeps saying that. I think she might be a little crazy. I don’t have a sister.”
In an outrage, Fall shouted, “What?”
“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Sibling rivalry! How cute! Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,” the towering wolf replied with a wink. The wolf sat down and motioned with his paw for Flurry’s presence. “Come here! I like you!” The wolf put his paw around Flurry, and rubbed the cub’s head as he laughed.
“Very well. If you must know, my name is Isangrim. I’m the leader of Pack Isangrim.” Then, as he pointed to himself, he continued in a very smug tone, stating, “Obviously named after me.” Isangrim turned his gaze at the other cubs and then back at Flurry. “Welcome, Flurry and … how shall I address the other two?”
“That’s my friend, Caboose, and the ‘other’ one is named Fall,” Flurry responded.
“The ‘other’ one? I’m not just an ‘other’, Flurry! I’m your sister!” Fall was even more enraged over Flurry’s treatment of her.
“There now, no need to fight. We’re all friends here. Wolfhroc, take the others to our camp. I want to have some time to talk with Flurry,” Isangrim ordered.
“As you wish,” Wolfhroc replied with a bow. She then escorted Fall and Caboose through the grass and on up to the pack’s campsite amidst the cherry blossom trees that enveloped everything in sight throughout their valley.
“Now, tell me, what brings you all of the way down here? You’re a long way from Christopher Kringle’s protection.”
Flurry began to ask, “How did …”
“I know?” Isangrim completed Flurry’s inquiry. With a chuckle Isangrim continued. “There’s a lot I know, little bear. Where else would a living, breathing teddy bear come from, if not the land of Mezarim?”
Being surprised by this, Flurry asked, “So you know Santa then?”
“Santa?” There was a brief pause while Isangrim contemplated Flurry’s question. The wolf grinned and answered, “Is that what you call him? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Yes! Yes! I know him! I mean, who doesn’t?” As Isangrim said this he winked at the other wolves that stood nearby. Isangrim’s subordinates laughed and snickered.
Isangrim continued. “However, wolves aren’t allowed that far north. Christopher’s … excuse me … I mean ‘Santa’s’ elves make sure of that.”
“But Mrs. Kringle has a wolf of her own. They let him be there. He’s really nice!”
Upon hearing Flurry’s reply, the other wolves were enraged. Isangrim acted quickly. He stood tall and raised his voice. “Calm down! Calm down! All of you, calm down!”
“But, sir! We wouldn’t be in our current situation if not for that traitorous beast!” one of the other wolves argued.
Questioning Isangrim was a detrimental mistake. Isangrim growled, quickly turned to the other wolf, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed his face into the sod. “I told you to let it go! This isn’t the time or the place for that conversation!”
Flurry was concerned. He rushed up to stand between Isangrim and the humiliated wolf. “Maybe it’s all just a mistake. You’re so nice. I don’t see why you wouldn’t be welcome.” Flurry was so sure of his own reasoning that the squabble he had just witnessed did not faze him at all. Nothing struck the cub as suspicious, though it should have.
Isangrim’s gaze turned from his subordinate to the cub. “Well, not everyone is as understanding or as clever as you are.”
Isangrim quickly steered the conversation back on track and continued. “However, we’ve digressed. What were we talking about? Oh yes! So, why are you down here?”
“Well, Caboose and I found this map to the land of sour pies. We’re hoping they have other goodies there, too.”
A smirk came to Isangrim’s face. He looked over at the other wolves who chuckled in response. “Indeed they do, young one! However, there are far better goodies in the island city of Tikalico.”
“Like what? Cookies? Cake? Ice cream?”
“Yes! Yes! I’m sure they do. However, nobody can enter that city; they have it well-protected. This protection prevents even their own brothers and sisters from entering.”
“I can understand that,” Flurry said with a nod of agreement.
“That’s right! You know what it’s like to have a sibling take what’s rightfully yours, don’t you?”
“Uh huh!” Flurry nodded again.
“The Tikalico nation was so rude to their own brothers and sisters that they split off from them and banished them to a forsaken land after giving them the name ‘Sourpie’.”
“Oh, so that’s why their pie is sour,” Flurry reasoned.
“Why, yes! Of course! Now you see!” Flurry nodded in agreement, and Isangrim continued. “It’s such a wonderful thing that you’ve arrived. You could help the Sourpie and the others by your bravery and cunning.” Flurry felt good about what he heard. He imagined himself as the hero that saved the sour pies from going t
o waste. Isangrim had a crooked grin on his face as he went on. “You see this necklace I wear around my neck?”
“Uh huh!”
“Well, this is one of two necklaces that I once possessed. I was going to give one to the Sourpie in order to break the curse, but their enemies from Tikalico stole it. If you could retrieve the necklace from Tikalico, it would finally make things right. Think of it, you could be the one to lift the curse from the Sourpie. They would be so grateful that they would probably make you their king and give you all of the tasty treats you can imagine.”
Now, it would be clear to most individuals that Isangrim was up to no good. However, he said the things that Flurry wanted to hear and that aided in his deception. Flurry imagined being king and no longer having a need for his parents’ love or attention. As king, he could do anything he wanted. He could stay up late, eat nothing but sweets, and play games every day.
“Wow!” Flurry shouted. His ego had just been further inflated by Isangrim’s words. The young cub now had even greater delusions of grandeur than what was typical of him.
While in the middle of his daydream, Flurry was abruptly interrupted. “Don’t listen to him, Flurry! He’s lying!” Fall shouted as she stormed out from the grass.
“What’s this? You’re our guests here, and you come out with baseless accusations against me?” Isangrim snapped at Fall.
Wolfhroc rushed out after the cub. The she wolf matched her gaze with Isangrim’s and froze in her tracks. Wolfhroc cowered down. “I’m so sorry, master. She just ran off. I apologize for her intrusion. It won’t happen again.”
She picked Fall up with her mouth and carried her back through the grass, though Fall kicked and screamed the entire way. “No! Stop! Put me down! Don’t listen to them, Flurry! Don’t listen! They lie! Don’t listen!”
As Fall’s screams faded away in the distance, Isangrim turned back to Flurry, grinned, and then said, “Wow! I see what you mean. She really is crazy!”
“Yeah! At least you understand. Nobody else seems to believe me,” Flurry replied.
“Oh, dear Flurry, I understand how you feel all too well. However, to show that I’m really your friend, I shall help you reach the land of the Sourpie. It’s very dangerous, and I’m putting my pack at risk, but it’s the least I can do to show you that you can trust me. However, once we arrive, we shall need to part ways. It wouldn’t be safe for my kind to enter that land.”
Flurry nodded with approval. Isangrim stood up and strolled toward the little bear. “Let us go gather your friends and be on our way. Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today? If we move quickly, we can reach the mountains in a couple of days.”
As Flurry ran off through the grass, Isangrim looked at the trio of wolves that stood close by. “You three! Journey on ahead of us. Scout out the land and lay low. Wait for our arrival.” Without hesitation, the wolves took off through the grass. Then, Isangrim turned to the others, “As for the rest of you, be prepared. This could be the moment we’ve been waiting for after so many years. Stay alert and follow my lead.”
Isangrim rushed off through the foliage to catch up with Flurry. “Flurry! My friend! Wait for me! I’m right behind you.”
As Flurry and Isangrim arrived in the clearing where Fall, Caboose, and Wolfhroc sat, it was clear that Fall had been crying the entire time. She continued to sob and sniffle while she rubbed her eyes. Upon Flurry’s appearance she ran up and hugged him. Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded with her brother, “Flurry, let’s go home! I want to go home! I don’t like it here! I miss Mama and Papa!”
Flurry was about to answer, but Isangrim quickly stepped between them. “All right, let’s go! Flurry, you may ride with me. You two, ride with Wolfhroc. Let’s be off!”
“Huh? Wait a minute! What’s going on?” Fall shouted.
“We’re going to the land of sour pies, silly,” Flurry answered.
Flurry climbed onto Isangrim’s back while Isangrim lifted Caboose onto Wolfhroc. The female wolf did the same with Fall, regardless of the cub’s wishes.
Fall was still determined to persuade her brother. “Flurry! Listen to me! You can’t trust …” She was cut short when Isangrim ran off with Flurry on his back.
Before Fall had a moment to think, she, Caboose, and Flurry were all in transit upon the backs of wolves. The rest of the pack followed. She could not help but feel a sense of fear sweep over her. She worried for her brother’s safety. Fall knew how easy it could be to stoke his ego, entice him with tasty treats, and make promises of glory. Though she had only just met her brother, her mama and papa had told her all about him, both his strengths and his weaknesses. If she were to get through to Flurry, she would need to come up with something that would rival anything that Isangrim might have offered or promised to her brother. Fall would have to tap Flurry’s strengths if she were ever going to save him from this mess.
Flurry was not a bad bear; he really was not. The bear cub quite often meant well. He was not being mean to Fall for the sake of being cruel; he simply felt replaced and unloved, despite how ridiculous of a notion that was. Isangrim made Flurry feel wanted, needed, and valuable at just the right time — when Flurry was most vulnerable.
Fall contemplated how to get through to her brother, but she continued to come up empty-pawed. She had to think of something, but what? She did not want to lie. She had been taught that lying is wrong. A lot of thought would have to be put into this, but at least she had Caboose to keep her company while she plotted and planned a way to expose the wolves for what she knew them to be — predators.
CHAPTER 5
THE SOURPIE
After the long journey, one which took a number of days, the wolves, along with Flurry, Fall, and Caboose, arrived at the edge of a tree line. “This is where we part ways,” Isangrim said to Flurry and the others. “Good luck with your mission.”
“Thanks!” Yet, Flurry was uncertain what he was expected to do next. “What am I supposed to do again?” he asked.
“We’re at the border of Sourpie territory. We don’t venture into their land. You may go in, but we shall stay out. When you retrieve the necklace from the nation city of Tikalico, come to the edge of this forest and call my name. One of us shall be nearby at all times.”
“Okay!” Flurry answered and waved goodbye to his wolf friends, as he, Fall, and Caboose entered the jungle together.
Now that Flurry was out of sight, Isangrim turned back to the others. “This is our moment! All of you, be ready! If he succeeds in getting that necklace, their defenses will be down and we’ll have a feast. Be flexible. If he isn’t successful in retrieving the necklace, his presence alone may still open a window of opportunity for us to exploit.”
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking …” One of the subordinate wolves spoke up. “Why can’t we just make a meal out of the Sourpie now? They’re quite exposed. These cats don’t have a protected city like they do in Tikalico.”
“Do you not know of the curse? Do you really want to partake in that curse with them? If so, then by all means, go make a meal out of them. I, however, have my sights set on greater things that don’t involve coming under a curse.” Isangrim snarled as he walked away from the other wolf.
Back in the jungle, Flurry struggled to push through the dense vegetation. This jungle was vastly different than the other forests they had been in before. Everything was damp, and the air felt moist and heavy. The vegetation was very thick, and Flurry could barely see beyond only a few feet ahead of him. The trees looked very different, with many of them not having branches low enough that he could grab ahold of and climb. At the tops of some of the trees were large brown spheres and in other trees were different types of fruits. Caboose spotted a number of banana trees along their path. The polar bear found every bit of their adventure fascinating.
The climate was very hot, and the water bubbled and steamed. They made certain to steer clear of the geysers they happened upon from time-to-time
. Flurry had never been in such scorching heat before, and it was not a pleasant experience for him either. In fact, Flurry was quite astounded at how high the temperature was since he had not experienced geothermal activity before. The mountains that enclosed the region created a natural barrier from the outside world, which kept the cold out and trapped the heat in.
Darkness approached, and Flurry knew that they would soon need a light source. This time they were more prepared than before. The morning after their stay in the foreboding woods, Wolfhroc had given Flurry flint stones in order to make a fire. Little did Flurry realize how valuable of a skill she had imparted to him. “We should make a torch,” Flurry informed the others. “It’s getting dark, and we don’t want to get lost.”
Fall did not show any sign of having heard him. She was still immensely upset with her brother. During their time traveling with the wolves, Flurry spent most of the trip with Isangrim and ignored his sister. Fall chose to remain silent and watch as her brother pulled out his flint stones and struck them over the branch he had fashioned into a torch. Within moments, the branch was ablaze with radiant, orange light. Flurry was quite pleased with his first torch. He lifted it above his head and continued to lead his party through the thick jungle as the darkness settled in all around them.
While they traversed the foliage, Flurry noticed stone structures in the distance. Some of the structures were very tall and towered above the trees while others were only slightly larger than Flurry himself. The further they traveled, the more the jungle opened up, and a path became clear to them.
When they drew near to the monolithic structures, they discovered statues and stone carvings in the rock face. Everything had a feline aesthetic to it. “Look!” Fall exclaimed, as she pointed to a magnificently large stone head with its mouth open. This rock structure was at least four times their height. If they had wanted to, they easily could have crawled up and into the open mouth of this decorative stone head. “It kind of looks like a cat, don’t you think?” Fall asked.
