Kelsy
Legacy Name: Kelsy

A Hidden Treasure

The trees of the massive forest had never felt the bite of a chainsaw or been ripped to lumber by jagged rows of steel teeth. Kelsy lived in the days when men worshiped the sun and moon and ventured out of their caves only during the warmest three months of the year. Fire was an accident of nature and the furthest northern reaches of the vast, untamed lands did not thaw even in the direct light of the sun.

Kelsy bent to lap the clear water of the stream that ran between two rows of massive oaks, ears pricked to take in the vole grubbing in the leaf litter and the hungry cries of the fledglings in the nest above. Her sire had taught his pups that wolves were the greatest predators in the forest, entitled to the best prey and most ideal caves. If it had not been for her first taste of the outside world, perhaps she would have been another young she-wolf with the arrogance of an alpha wannabe, her hopes soon crushed by an unforgiving world.

She was on the small side from the day of her birth, though by no means a runt. Perhaps that is why the great owl selected her for an easy target. Her mother's snarled promise of revenge did not scare a bird of prey that could just as easily carry off a calf.

Kelsy found that crying and struggling to break the grip of those powerful talons was a useless waste of energy. Though she was only a few moons old, she had the wisdom of a much more aged wolf. She let her body go limp, waiting to see what sort of destination awaited.

Her captor gave a great screech of outrage at the sight of a nest containing only scattered down feathers and a few pools of blood. Only one chick had survived the attack, huddling in a mass of broken twigs that the weasel could not break through with time enough to escape. The mother dropped Kelsy without a second thought, streaking in pursuit of a shadow slinking over the ground.

Noemy tottered the length of the nest that had once seemed a sanctuary. The great owl returned to find she-wolf and owlet huddled together. Not even the master of the skies was heartless enough to take away her only chick's source of comfort. The great owl hunted for both her own child and the strange land creature she had accidentally adopted.

Kelsy and Noemy invented a language all their own that would allow them to communicate. Though she lived in confinement, Kelsy never grew bored. The great owls were not only formidable hunters but learning enthusiasts, teaching their chicks the acquired knowledge of generations. Kelsy learned the art of astronomy, the legends of the world's greatest flights, and the art of using healing herbs to tend wounds of the flesh. She never tired of learning about the world around her.

Noemy soon realized how desperately her furry friend missed the land. When the chick shed her down feathers and left the nest at last, she was all too glad to return Kelsy to the ground far below, following the wolf's progress through the trees. Kelsy's sense of direction proved no less impressive than the power of her nose as she sniffed out the old family cave. She lifted her muzzle in a bitter howl on finding that it had been abandoned many moons before. The path her family had taken was too faint for even her powerful sense of smell to detect.

She did not know the favored living quarters, having never accompanied the pack on a tour of the territory. She did try to follow a scent trail, stumbling onto an old loner wandering through who growled and chased her away from his half-eaten rabbit. Noemy's quick thinking and flashy white wings prevented Kelsy from losing the tip of her tail that day.

It took her almost a year to locate what was left of her family. Her mother had died on a hunt, taking a kick to the ribs at the hoof of an old moose. Her brother Kutor had wandered onto unclaimed territory with his two sisters. It was Kutor that told her of their father's new mate with a snarl in his voice. Their sisters had both wandered away in time to seek mates of their own. He did not speak to them now that they had formed rival packs. He warned Kelsy that none of the females would take kindly to a stranger, no matter how grand her adventures may have been. He dared not irritate his own mate, heavy with pups. He advised her to try the lands across the muddy river, as it was said no wolves lived over there and prey was plentiful.

She knew from the strength of border markers she passed that his advice was good. With a heavy heart, she carefully crossed the mossy log that served as a bridge to the unknown lands, terrified of the prospect of leading a lone wolf's life. She could not contain her joy when Noemy left her own birth land behind with a flash of white wings, yipping a word of thanks to her friend. Noemy shrugged, glad to go where prey was plentiful. The idea of a pack had always been foreign to a bird known for fierce independence.

She could hear the gentle scrape of Noemy's claws on the bark of the branch above her head. Noemy fluttered her feathers, a signal that she had found something very exciting. Her series of hoots and clicks was a sort of counting system, alerting Kelsy of the distance the wolf would need to travel on foot to reach this new sight. It was only a day's journey, not far past the boundaries of her lands and in an area with few creatures.

Kelsy stared at the rippling surface of the water, thinking the matter over. Any journey presented dangers that a wise wolf would avoid in favor of good hunting and naps in the sun. On the other paw, there could be value in this strange sun Noemy claimed was trapped beneath the canopy of the trees. She huffed and gave her head a shake, an invitation for Noemy to lead the way.

The tree cover was thick enough to keep most of the falling rain from reaching the forest floor, though Kelsy did shake the occasional drop from her nose. Every now and then Noemy would dip below the canopy, scattering drops without remorse as she checked on her friend's progress. They each took the time to hunt around midday, Kelsy munching on a vole while Noemy enjoyed a plump rabbit.

Kelsy could hear the river current long before it came into sight. She laid her ears back with a little whine. She despised the muddy bank that marked her own northern border and had no desire to get her paws wet. This new river was fast-paced and large. Noemy had given no indication that they would have to cross a body of water. The great owl shrugged her wings. The sight she proposed would be worth getting a little wet.

Noemy had never had to lick scum from between those talons. With a resigned sigh, Kelsy judged the distance to the first stepping stone and launched herself into the air.

Her crossing was almost perfect. The slippery surface of the stones caused her to misjudge the final leap just a bit. She curled her lip at the feeling of cold water creeping down the base of her tail all the way to her rear claws. At least the sun had come out at last. She shook herself as dry as she could manage and took the course Noemy pointed out, a narrow dirt trail that followed the river east.

The volume of water gradually reduced until it was halted completely by a massive mound of sticks and twigs. Two furry brown bodies took to the water with hisses of displeasure as they caught Kelsy's scent. She was as foreign to the beavers as they were to her but they had known enough of lynxes to realize a threat to the kits when they smelled one. Kelsy wrinkled her nose at the oversized squirrels, not at all liking the stink that rose from their soaked pelts. She was quite glad she'd eaten well in the morning. She had no desire to wet all her fur and hoped better prey would present itself if she would be spending any time in this new land.

They located Noemy's mysterious sight as the afternoon sun was starting to turn the rim of the stone walls a deep shade of red. Noemy fluttered her wings, hoot-screeching her delight as she pointed just inside the vacant cave with a wingtip. Veins of gold were lit by the setting sun, sparkling and creating thousands of dots of light that cast pretty colors on the surrounding faces of the rocks.

Kelsy tilted her head in curiosity. Her attempt to lick the stone gave her no flavor other than plain rock. Scraping with a claw caused a few flakes of the strange substance to fall to the cave floor. The stuff was not good to eat, nor did it give off warmth like the sun. She could not imagine what possible use it could have.

Noemy's theory seemed quite silly to the wolf. The great owl insisted these odd golden lines must be some ritual of mating among rocks. It was common for great owls and even the silly little songbirds to attract mates by the brightness of their feathers. Wasn't it possible rocks could do the same?

Kelsy could not begin to guess the true purpose of gold, but something buried deep in the wolf's instincts warned her this new discovery could lead to sinister things. She asked Noemy to help her hide the cave with branches and great lumps of dirt. A thousand years before the reign of man, there was one creature in the world clever enough to hide her gold, not for its value, but for the false promise it proclaimed by trying to rival the glory of the sun.

Story by Pureflower
Profile by Ringo