I am not often given to pause and wonder over the features of the lands I travel, but never before have I seen something like this. A large expansive crater lays before me, the likes of which I have only ever heard about. I am on the most westernly side of it, looking down to spot tiny trees and even smaller creatures. I am a large male - one of the largest from my homeland - and it is not very often I am made to feel small. It is a wonder then as I stare out over the crater, that I should finally see myself in the perspective of the world. I am but a dot, a small cell in the organism of the universe. I am a star in the night sky, indistiguished in my insignificance, but still as bright and shining as I ever will be. Why then, would I think of this? I have known wolves to be cocky, self-assured of their existence here; knowing that even when they go to where ever our final destination is, they leave behind more to continue on our species and to grow. But, when it truly comes down to it, every wolf on the face of the lands I have traveled will eventually be dust and also insignificant. So let us be cocky, innocent, cruel, smart, ignorant. It matters not. And it is with this liberating discovery rolling in my mind that I set off into the crater, letting myself dip down over the edge of the large depression and easing through thick foliage.

Smaller prey animals scurry out of my path, massive paws leaving prints behind me, marking my path and making me easier to find. I am amazed at how little I care about such a thing as being found, I would rather like to meet one native to the lands. Learning more about my surroundings and how such a large pocket was made in the face of this land. I am simply amazed that there are not more scents of wolven kind here, as if this is a less traveled area. Perhaps it is, maybe I am simply in the wrong area to be hoping to meet any fellow travelers. I smirk to myself, light ashen grey lips pulling back to reveal the tips of blunt fangs. The mask over my face wrinkles as I make the gesture, the dark brown fur there standing up a bit. I amuse myself with my thoughts some times, and I often seek to entertain myself with them. It is not difficult to see then, what I am or who I am.

I come from a family of normal starts, from a pack where it was customary to be ruthless from the day you were born. Under constant threat of usurpation from other wolves seeking our mother's position. My father was the alpha of the pack, my mother his mate and my eldest - only by one hour - brother his heir. My elder sister and I were not interested in ruling as he, and as such were simply royal children. Despite our origins, each of us remains just as carnal as the rest of the pack was; more like savages than royalty. Really it was a simple life for wolves who had a better understanding of the world, each of us born with an innate passion for war. We had to be cautious growing up, watch our backs and keep hidden at all times. Until we were able to run - to know the difference between a friendly face and a cruel one, to see threats and to escape them - we were not allowed out of the den without supervision and protection. The world I learned in was the same as the ones that deer grow up in, under constant threat of predation. We learned early on to fight, and to respect, even when we did not find anything to respect in a creature. Maybe it is the direct result of my upbringing that resulted in my revelation.

I wonder what breed of character lives in these areas, what kind of wolf must be hardy enough to reside in the depression. And so here begins my quest for company, as all wolves are want to do from time to time. It is not very often that I want the company of strangers, but when I do I like to seek out multiple conversationalists. I like intellectual company, it assures me that the wolven species does truly have what it takes to survive this world. I am not partial to the less...intelligent. No, I do not mean the stupid, I mean the less intelligent. No creature is stupid, but there are certain levels of intelligence. Some are more inclined to be brutish and as such do not entertain very many intellectual ideals. More are intellectual and as such do not entertain the brute strength that the others do, and there are those who blend brain and brawn in the same manner as myself. I can be quite calculative, and surprisingly strong. Many underestimate my intelligence, something I honestly enjoy. It is not often that wolves approach me, and the more I wonder the more I realize why they do not. I do look rather intimidating, and it is only through recent discoveries that I came to figure this out. Perhaps someone could get over their fears, and actually speak with me.

"Speech"