With a flash of light, the summer months had come to an end. The days were growing shorter and the nights colder, but that wasn’t all the autumn season brought. Halcyon watched the lightning flash in the distance as the dark clouds creeped slowly towards the plains. Though he had been trying to ignore the feeling, it seemed that even the weather was forcing him to face the fact. This was going to be a rough winter. He had started noticing the dwindling number of prey several weeks ago.
The large herds of bison had migrated somewhere far away from the deadly teeth of the wolves. Some too old to travel had stayed, but even Halcyon wondered if it was wise to hunt them down. Even the smaller animals seemed fewer than the beginning of the year. With a sigh, the alpha wondered if it might be time to ask for help from some of their allies. Perhaps Orion would let them hunt within his lands if the food became too scarce. Maybe it was time for a second trip to Diveen.
What had been a distant rumble now became a loud blast. The red wolf only had a moment to recover from the bright flash of light before his world was drowned out by the violent thunder. The storm had arrived! Gazing up at the dark clouds, Halcyon stood up from his perch and began moving home. But, a thought came to him that made him pause. There was no rain. His heart sank as he realized the plains were at risk of a massive fire if the lighting chose to do it’s worst. While he wanted to be with his family, the alpha knew his duties needed to come first and so he turned away and trotted towards the center of the pack.
The ground seemed to vibrate with each bolt of lightning that streaked across the sky. And yet the wolf did not stop. Only when he was sure he was in an area all his wolves could hear him did he lift his muzzle and howl as loud as he could. It warned his pack to stay low tonight and wait until the storm passed before leaving their dens. Once he was sure his message had passed, he began making the rounds to ensure everyone was safe.
However, when he rounded the corner of a large hill, he noticed he wasn’t the only one out on such a frightening evening. Seeing a figure in the distance, he moved quickly to make sure that everything was alright before finally heading home to his young family.