Alara rolled and rolled and rolled until her gut clenched and her head span with incessant dizziness. On the final roll, she dug her front paws into the river bed and hugged it, dropping her muzzle into the water. It was shallow enough that her nose remained above the surface. Her gleaming, amber-gold eyes followed the other wolf as she barrelled about through the shallows, throwing showers of sparkling liquid into the air. What did you call a waterfall which flew upwards? Brief, shimmering rainbows followed the wolf wherever she splashed.

Out of habit, Alara shook the worst of the water off when she stood, not noticing the clumps of moulting white hair sailing away down the river. She crowed with delight when her new friend leapt into the deep, cheering her on. Another wave of water splashed out in all directions as soon as the other wolf hit the surface of the water, the tiny droplets refracting the dappled glow of sunlight through the canopy of trees. Once Alara had clambered back up over the river cliff onto the wet, grassy shore, she had to shake herself off again.

At the wolf’s assertion, Alara laughed – with delight, not at the absurdity of the thought.

“They say if you catch the light and swallow it, you’ll grow wings like a butterfly.” She jumped about her new friend in arched, upwards motions, as though she were an arctic fox stalking prey in the snow. “Your wings will fly you far beyond your dreams.”

She bounced in a full circle around the other wolf and slowed to a stop, panting, tongue lolling from her mouth. The river had washed away most of the mud and the entirety of the frown Alara had awoken that morning with. Her face was clear, open; eyes bright; tail thrashing from side to side like a common dog. She leant forward and touched the other wolf’s nose lightly with her own before leaping back, lowering her head.

“I am Alara.” Her eyes glittered, reflecting the lights. “I would chase the lights all day if my legs could keep up with my dreams.”


FOUR YEARS . WHITE . WANDERER