Longest Winter, Part I
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I.
The wind is howling. The snow is piling.
A gathering of wolves, all brothers. Their parents, long gone. Lost to time, lost to the abyss.
The pack is now led by the eldest, Lichen is his name. The brown wolf climbs a tall rock. He makes himself look important. He knows that he is. His siblings look like ants.
He opens his mouth, and seals the fate of the entire pack with just a sentence.
“Every man for himself”.
The murmurs stop. The wolves all go quiet.
This winter has been so unkind. The prey is gone. Competition arises, as hunger grows. Lichen decided he has had enough of sharing, and that the only option going forward is a path of selfishness, and loneliness. The path all wolves avoid.
But not this time.
Pebble stares at his older brother. He knows that he is a goner, his death has been prophesied the moment Lichen stopped talking. His brothers are all stronger, they`ve lived longer. They have much more experience than he had in his slightly shorter life. He barely stopped being called a pup by his brethren.
It doesn't take long, chaos erupts. As if the starving wolves have been waiting for permission to maul each other. Teeth clash against teeth, fur flies everywhere as brother bites brother. Pebble sneaks out, his tiny frame slipping away from the hell Lichen has unearthed.
He has little faith, but somewhere, deep down in his heart, he wants to survive the incoming days. He is curious how long he will live. He is not ready to give up yet. A part of him wants to grow old. To have a family. Countless futures flash before his eyes.
He wants to live.
