Chapter 5: Pack Mentality Part Two
Jake followed the pack long into the deep forest, stepping over strange flowers and unfamiliar roots as he went. The large black wolf spoke to him the entire way.
“There are many within our world who have such gifts, but I haven’t met any like yourself who has been able to communicate with us in an age,” the wolf jumped onto a large boulder that stood at the base of the cliff and began trekking his way up, Jake followed suit.
“The ones you’ve met, they could talk to you just like I can, right?” Jake grunted as he heaved himself up with one arm, relieved that some of the larger wolves were considerate enough to help him climb with his bruised body.
“Yes, as well as many more things.”
“Where are they now? Can you take me to them?”
The wolf stopped in his tracks once they had reached the top of the cliff and turned to look out at where they had climbed from. Jake witnessed it for himself then as he focused his attention to the scene before him.
In front of him lay the large open fields of the tree canopies, it expanded long and wide in all directions as far as his eyes could see. From here he saw the open space in the middle of the tree canopies where the lake was situated far off, he realised they must have walked very far, despite it not feeling long at all.
“They died.” The wolf said as he let out a large intake of breath. Then he turned away from the scene and continued to walk, Jake followed.
“What do you mean they died? All of them?”
“You have a very rare gift, Jake. Not all would deem it fair that you only reap of its benefits.”
“I knew of one once,” spoke large brown wolf, “who had let others into her mind to harness that ability,” the wolf shook its head as well, “they took from her all that she had and broke her.”
“It is a precious thing to allow another access into your own system,” the black wolf spoke, “many do not because of its untamed nature, you as the bearer of your own system know its limitations more than anyone. But if someone else were to use it, they would use it until the owner burnt out. This is why it is a forbidden practice.”
“I see…” Jake started. He remained silent for a short while after as he pondered over the words of the wolves that had saved his life. What were the people like in this world that would cause them to speak so badly of them?
Were they as evil as they were portrayed to be? He wondered if he would ever get a chance to meet other humans, then the fleeting thought crossed his mind that if they were truly as bad as the wolves claimed, he wouldn’t want to.
“And how would I allow someone access to my system if… if I ever needed to?” Jake asked.
The wolves stopped, and then stared at him for a long time.
“It would be the wisest thing you could do… to not let others know which system you possess.”
“Right, well, of course. But I just meant- should the situation ever arise…”
“Jake,” the black wolf said sternly, “I do not say this for your sake alone. There are things people like you can take from creatures like us… things you can make us do, if you so desired. Not everyone would use this ability merely with good intentions.”
“It wouldn’t just be you in danger,” the smaller white wolf said, “It would be all of us.”
“Oh. Right… sorry.”
The group was quiet for a long time after that, trudging through the muddy moors and beneath large canopied trees. Something rustled in a nearby bush and Jake’s attention was caught by a squirrel that sprung up one of the tree trunks.
“Hello there,” Jake called out to it, “by chance… have you seen any humans comes this way?”
When the squirrel didn’t respond, Jake turned to look at the pack of wolves that regarded him. Mischief and laughter seemed to dance in their eyes, and some even looked as if they were trying not to laugh.
“What?” He asked innocently.
“Are you… are you trying to ask that squirrel for directions?”
“Yes? Well I just thought-“
Then the pack really did burst out laughing, and Jake felt his face heat up in embarrassment. Then he quickly furrowed his eyebrows as he stuck his hands into his pockets.
“Right, silly of me to talk to a squirrel, how completely bizarre. Who could even imagine talking animals?”
Jake fell into step with the pack again as they began to walk off. Then a rumbling started in the forest and laughter died as quick as it had started.
He noticed the way the formation of the group had changed. Now the larger wolves stood on the outskirts of the group, the smaller ones closest to the large black wolf who had situated itself right next to Jake.
“There are many creatures that live in this forest, Jake. Some, like the squirrel, you will not be able to communicate with. There is something in this world that connects us all to a greater magic, humans experience this through their systems although not all are born with it.”
“Are animals born with system too?”
“No,” the wolf said quickly, “there are three categories of animals that exist. The first, like the squirrel, are wild and are connected to the most pure form of their animalistic nature. Ones like us, who are connected to the deeper magic, are able to co-exist with humans through some systems.”
“What’s the third?” Jake asked, but his question was answered by yet another low rumbling and he found himself stepping closer to the large body of the wolf.
The large black wolf, which Jake had learnt was named Amoux, continued to tell him about the forests and the creatures that lived there.
Amoux spoke of their home atop the cliff and beyond the lake where the rest of the pack lives and their reasoning for being so far from home. The pack of hunters had been sent out to scout the nearby areas for maddened beasts ravaging the area.
They had found out it had been one of the wolves from their own pack who had gone missing months before.
Their fight had led them into the cave where they had encountered Jake and the unicorn.
“There is a strange, maddened thing running through the forest Jake, it has fallen ill.” Amoux informed him, “Beast attacking beast had never been heard of before, we all stuck to our own territory, but now…”
“Do you know what’s causing it?”
“Some believe it’s in the water, some in the air. No one knows for sure, but it’s spreading hard and fast- and we don’t even know what it is.”
“Maybe I can help,” Jake suggested weakly, despite the doubt in his mind as to what his abilities would even allow him to accomplish.
Amoux seemed to have the same thought as he let out a huffed laugh, “Thank you, little human, I will hold you to your promise.”
“Well,” Jake muttered, “I didn’t really promise per se… I just offered help where I could…”
But Amoux and the rest of the pack had already taken off at a faster pace, forcing Jake to follow them as they howled into the slowly approaching dusk.