CHAPTER 5

It was midnight when a howl was heard from up ahead, piercing through the sound of the freezing gusts of wind. The pack stopped where they were and her father howled loudly to inform the other wolves of their arrival before moving further on. Sapphire knew the different howls carried different meanings, but she was yet to be taught all of them. She was only taught the ones for 'help, a battlecry, and the howl of an alpha, usually for rallying the entire pack together.

She got off her father a short distance before entering the territory of all the wolves. Wolves were gathered all around in groups, furs ranging from white to grey, from purple to magenta, and from red to pink, all belonging to different species. Most were gathered near their own kind, the few intermingled groups seemed to be discussing something of great importance and sorrow.

There were growls of disapproval around as the Midnight wolves entered, all of them directed at Sapphire. Her father sensed this and was not pleased at the criticism, more so since they were not aware of Sapphire's situation. He howled loudly and the snow around him blew in a dust cloud, causing all the other wolves to fall silent instantly.

"No need for hostility Midnight." A white male wolf growled approaching them. He carried an aura of authority, but also of mild hostility. Sapphire wondered if she was the only one who sensed, or it was just directed at her.

"You should tell that to them Icicle." Her father growled, stepping between Sapphire and Icicle.

"Calm down you both." A bright red female wolf sighed slowly and harmlessly approaching the two, stopping to the side of them.

"I am calm, Rose." Both of them snarled in unison.

Rose slowly took a couple steps back from the heating situation, not wishing to get unnecessarily involved. That was the first time Sapphire saw a Blood Wolf, though this was the first time she saw a Winter Wolf too, she was not as interested in them due to their alpha's hostility.

"Just stop already, they have just arrived, let them rest for now." A greyish black wolf with a white zigzag on his side said calmly as he stood beside Rose.

"We have rested well not long ago, it won't be necessary. I'd prefer for us to get straight to the matter at hand," Midnight demanded.

"And that matter is why you brought a human here," Icicle snarled.

"That is no human that is my daughter you snow headed moron." Midnight snarled.

"Why is she in her humanoid form then, have you not taught her anything? How to behave in presence of other wolves? It is to be expected from you to not do such an important thing." Icicle growled stepping towards Sapphire as he bared his teeth, scaring her.

Midnight snarled and took a step towards Winter with a snarl, not wanting to let him get even close to Sapphire storm and Rose nodded to each other and howled in perfect sync, a howl similar to Midnight's but with a comparatively less authority. Sapphire felt a zap run through her body as she fell to the ground, her body not responding to her brain. Most of the other wolves also fell to the ground, the only ones still standing being the four alphas, a display of the power which makes them an alpha.

"I expected it to work on you both too." Rose shrugged.

Midnight quickly pounced to Sapphire's side and lightly nudged her, making sure she wasn't hurt. The moonlight reflected off her metal band, which was noticed by Rose.

"What is that thing on her neck?" Rose questioned curiously.

"I have no clue, the humans put it on her. She has been unable to transform back since. From what I understand it interrupts the energy flow in one's body and also alerts the humans of their position." Midnight explained.

"And you still brought her here?" Winter exclaimed, clearly not liking the idea of letting the humans know their location.

There was quiet chattering going through all the wolves gathered around on hearing that, even some Midnight Wolves seemed to agree with Icicle. It was to be expected, an alpha's duty is to protect the pack as a whole, for the protection of one the entire pack's safety shouldn't be sacrificed. The four species of wolves present here possessed more intelligence than a wolf species normally would, and hierarchy.

"I can't abandon her," Midnight argued back. "I know it is wrong to take such a risk but she is still my daughter, and it was not her fault that this happened. Even if it would have been her fault I would not have just abandoned her. Being the alpha it is my duty to protect everyone, and as her father it is my duty to protect her.

Winter growled before sighing and a calm expression returning on his face, though his hostility only barely reduced. "I apologize for my harsh words, It must have been hard for you, as an alpha you wish to protect the pack, and as a father you wish to protect her too, forgive me and let's just move on to more important topics ." Icicle apologized in a calm and collected voice.

"It is fine, you were also simply worried about your pack's safety," Midnight sighed forgivingly.

"But still, if that is the case we ought to do something about that band before trouble comes for us," Storm interjected, reminding everyone of the main problem.

"Is there anyone who would know how to remove this band?" Midnight inquired.

"I know someone who might," Another voice spoke from behind Icicle.

Icicle stepped aside and lowered his head to allow the owner of the voice to walk ahead. All the wolves lowered their heads as the person walked right in front of them, including even the alphas. The aura of authority and power surrounding this new person made Sapphire freeze in her place on impulse. Sapphire's mother slowly lowered Sapphire's head with her paw, not wishing for her to be scolded again for a minor mistake.

The owner of the voice, was a young looking woman, who was a wolf, but currently in her humanoid form, which Sapphire found quite strange. She had long white hair braided behind her back and she wore an all-white robe with snowflake patterns here and there. Her eyes were greyish-blue in color, and in her right hand she carried a twisting wooden staff.

"A Midnight wolf with those blue eyes, I haven't seen one of those in very long." She gasped inspecting Sapphire.

At first Sapphire thought the woman was still far, but the voice sounded as if it came from right in front of her. She slightly raised her head and the woman was standing one step away from her, looking at her with gentle eyes, causing Sapphire to jerk back from shock and trip, falling in the snow and just sitting there with both her legs in front of her.

"While I know of someone who might be able to remove it, there is an issue." The woman answered turning to the four alphas.

"And what is that issue, elder?" Midnight inquired.

"That person likes to work in peace, and so he lives very far from any disturbances. Straight West from here, there is a tall mountain, going half around from the left of it and then going south will eventually lead you into a dense spruce forest. His house is somewhere in the forest, it shouldn't be hard to find as it is quite the giant structure. But that is not all," The elder explained.

"I am certain it will be an easy task, I will take her there right away." Midnight bowed before taking a step towards Sapphire.

"That is the problem, that person lives there only to be away from any disturbances, and you going there would be quite a disturbance to him. If he loses his temper, he won't even try to remove the band," The elder explained. "Yet, he is fairly fond of children, or used to be at the least, the last time I saw him he was, and so he would forgive if a child was to request assistance, he has helped many children in many ways in the years I knew him, but you going along is not possible. He is a complicated fellow." The elder said reminiscing.

"She can't possibly travel that far all by herself!" Midnight exclaimed.

"Indeed, she can't, and being an alpha we need you here, and we would rather have every wolf we can have. Moreover, since the humans can track her, they will know there is a Midnight wolf in Winter wolf territory. Her being here will raise suspicion among the humans, since they know wolves move in packs, it would be unwise to alert them that we are conspiring against them, and it can put the lives of others in danger." The elder pointed out.

Midnight looked around in confusion, not knowing just what to do. It was obvious he wouldn't want to leave Sapphire to travel alone such a great distance, but his paws were tied in this matter. As an alpha, even if he wishes to he can't possibly accompany Sapphire, and he has no one he could trust with protecting his daughter.

Taking in a deep breath Sapphire thought, guess another reckless thing won't hurt. "I will go, alone," Sapphire announced, receiving a wide-eyed stare from any.

There was a troubled murmur from all the wolves, they didn't wish to keep her as she would only bring trouble for them, but even they didn't wish to send a child on a dangerous journey all by herself.

"I refu-" Midnight commanded as he glared at Sapphire.

"Very well, do you remember the route?" The elder questioned.

Sapphire nodded as Midnight looked at the elder with an expression of horror.

"Worry not, dying anytime soon is not part of this girl's fate," The elder reassured.

Midnight let out a resigned sigh. Sapphire could tell he wanted to say many things but even alphas can't argue with an elder. Her mother also kept her head low throughout the entire thing, not saying anything.

"The sooner the better, follow me, I have some things that may prove useful in this journey, you all discuss about your next course of action till I return." The elder commanded as she walked ahead. "You can talk with your parents a last time before you leave, you might not see them again for long."

"As you wish elder., All four alphas agreed in unison as Midnight stayed by Sapphire, allowing the others to leave.

"Please, be careful, you are the one thing I don't want to ever lose." Midnight requested as Sapphire hugged him.

Her mother still did not say anything, even as Sapphire gave her a hug and prepared to leave. Sapphire could tell she seemed like she could burst into tears at any moment, but she did not for as long as Sapphire could see her.

"These should come in handy, they even suit you," The elder smiled at Sapphire.

The equipment Sapphire was given included many things, the main weapon being a type of sword called a 'katana'. The handle and the sheath were completely black in color, the handguard being a black disc with hints of blue swirls around it. The blade underneath was also black, but it possessed dark blue flaming patterns on it, and the blade was curved slightly, a detail Sapphire found quite cool.

The other thing was a black cloak which could help hide in the shadows, and could even serve as a blanket if the night got too cold, since Sapphire did not have her parents to rely on for warmth, and winter was just around the corner. The distance to her destination, from what the elder said, was very long, and might even take Sapphire a few seasonal cycles to complete, mostly depending on how fast she travels and how well she does.

Along with that, the elder handed Sapphire three small pouches, each filled with gold, silver, and bronze circular discs. "This is the human currency, they use these for trading items. With these you should be able to buy things from a human city or village as you will likely come across many of them, and might just need some basic necessities," The elder explained.

The other thing was a wide-brimmed conical straw hat with a pointy top, it was close to flat but the pointy top made it conical. Its purpose was to mainly to help hide her ears. Blue eyes were not very rare in humans so they won't notice it that easily, but leaving her ears in view was the equivalent of carrying a banner saying, 'I am a Midnight wolf, come and capture me'.

A black colored pouch supposed to carry water was also given to her, as she might not find water that easily. It was already filled with water so Sapphire did not need to worry for a while. Along with that, five throwing knives and a roll of a soft white fabric were handed to her.

"This is a bandage, its coated with a medicinal herb so it would help heal the wound quicker, just wrap it over injuries and it would slowly help with the healing," The elder explained.

The elder blew a whistle and after a moment a raven descended and landed onto her shoulder, crowing curiously at Sapphire as she stared in awe without saying anything.

"Ravens are the friends of wolves, if you ever need to send back a message to us just tell a raven, they will carry it back here," The elder explained.

"Huh? That will actually work?" Sapphire questioned, never having heard of this from her father.

"Wolves trained the ravens for this purpose back at the time of the war, and still the ravens relay messages when they are asked to by us. Though many of these are quite intelligent and know how to bargain for their price, which would usually be some food." The elder explained as she allowed the raven to fly away. Sapphire nodded her understanding as she watched the raven fly high into the sky and slowly disappear from view.

"Now, this is farewell." The elder sighed with a wave of her hand.

"Do you really think I will be able to make it all by myself?" Sapphire inquired, second guessing her earlier choice.

"I am confident this journey will help you grow stronger, and surpass many as you do, but worry not, there is nothing you can do to change fate, just let it follow it's course," The elder answered in a soft voice.

Sapphire bowed slightly before turning and heading westwards, the direction she was supposed to go. She steeled her resolve and bid a final farewell to her peaceful and cheerful life, having no clue how things will change now.

The elder sighed, "Even the 3rd of the immortals is helping you, Creator, if your plan fails, many will turn against you. They might not be openly hostile even then, none would wish to directly confront your power afterall, but they will start to target your very daughters in their own ways, which will certainly spark greater conflict."

Sapphire heard the elder say something as she still wasn't very far away, but she wasn't close enough to be able to clearly hear what the elder said either. Sapphire shrugged and increased her pace, hoping to get as much distance as she could 

She already rested well the last few days and her injuries had already almost completely recovered. Wanting to not get lost she decided to go through the barren tundra instead of turning to the forests to the side instantly. This left her exposed to the eyes of others, but getting lost and and wandering aimlessly would be much worse was her opinion.

Some time before dusk she entered the forest of cone-shaped trees. The trees were covered in a thin layer of snow, a cloud of snow falling on her head whenever she accidently touched a tree. She walked through the forest towards the west, trying to not have completely changed the color of her clothes and hair by the time she did.

The sun slowly dived under the horizon right in front of her, a beautiful view, the sun setting and turning the white snow into a golden-white dust path. Sapphire was someone who admired beautiful things, flowers and scenery like these were things she loved. The scene would have only lasted around for some minutes however. The sun quickly disappeared beyond the horizon and the forest quickly turned dark, giving it a dangerous look. The temperature rapidly fell lower and Sapphire's breath started leaving a visible trail in the air.

While she did wear the cloak to ward off the cold, she still didn't use its hood. Her long hair was an obstacle in putting it on, and after trying for five minutes during the day she gave up and let it be as is. She did adapt quickly during the past day and it was already a lot less cold than she felt in the first few hours of being in the tundra, though the temperature was just lower if anything.

As she travelled through the woods, she noticed a faint smell lingering in the surroundings. The cold and stormy breeze that blew through the trees had covered any tracks left by the time Sapphire got to it, if there even were any left by whoever the scent belonged to. The scent slowly got stronger as she moved ahead. It was then she realized, the scent was being carried to her by the wind, meaning whoever the scent belonged to was upwind, a neat trick taught to her by her father. It had also gotten strong enough as she walked ahead for Sapphire to recognize what the scent belonged to.

Humans, and 4 of them, she realized. I doubt I can put up a fight, and if father was right then I won't be able to hide for long. Think, think, what can I do here? Sapphire wondered as she raised her hand to her chin. Deception, she finalized with a smile.

Taking a couple of the red berries from her inner pocket she crushed them onto her stomach. It stained her shirt red, making it seem as if she was bleeding heavily. Wiping away the excess Sapphire spread it to make it look like a slash, even creating three distinct bloodier lines to be extra convincing. After being done, she lied down with her back to a tree.

Now to alert them, she thought with a smirk.

She first howled loudly enough to alert any humans of her whereabouts before screaming at the top of her lungs in a pained voice. Sounds of rustling of bushes signaled the success of her plan, at least the of the first stage of it.

"What happened here?" The man who burst through the bushes first questioned as he laid his eyes on her.

There were four of them, just as Sapphire predicted. All of them wore leather armor and carried a sword along with a bag on their back, not the most protective gear. All of their hair was hair and their eyes brown. It seemed like they were brothers since their scents were somewhat similar, and they even looked similar, but Sapphire couldn't tell for certain.

"A girl with black hair and two weird ears on her head came out of nowhere, slashed me and then ran away when you all were almost here," Sapphire groaned, "if you didn't arrive in time I might have been dead."

"Which way did she go?" The person at the front, supposedly their leader, asked commandingly, having missed how child-like Sapphire looked and sounded, or asking anything about her.

"That way," Sapphire groaned while pointing west.

"Thanks for the assistance," The leader bowed as he and his men ran in that direction.

Sapphire smiled at how well her plan worked, surprising even her. West was the direction she needed to head in, and the direction she directed them in, the reason being simple, she didn't plan on letting them off the hook, and she didn't want to delay herself for too long. She would kill all of them and then keep going ahead like nothing happened.

The leader of the group gestured to split up and search the area. All of them headed in different directions, one returning in the direction where Sapphire was when she directed them. The leader went west while the remaining two went north and south.

As the man returning to check on the wounded person passed under a low hanging branch, Sapphire let her body hanging upside down, her legs holding onto the branch as she swung her katana in a horizontal arc, decapitating the man before he could even make any sounds.

One down, three to go, Sapphire smiled.

She headed first to the man who went north, and as she watched him she saw a better opportunity than killing the man herself. As the man searched through the forest he glimpsed Sapphire running through a bush. Without any delay he gave chase, not knowing what was waiting for him.

The man run straight through the bush and felt the ground beneath his leg give away. He slid down a slope, falling right into an icy cold river, a cruel way to die. There were screams as he was eaten alive by freshwater eels, an even worse way to die. Sapphire looked down in horror before moving ahead, knowing he must have suffered, though she barely felt any sympathy for him.

Sapphire shrugged from her spot on top of a branch right above the bush. Jumping off she went south, to kill the second last guy before the leader. This guy carried his crossbow in his arms with a bolt loaded and ready to fire. Picking up a rock from the ground Sapphire threw it in a faraway bush. The man shot at the bush in an instant with an incredible reflex speed, and the bolt landed a hit, just not on the right thing.

Sapphire stepped out of her spot in the bush and waved at the man, her hat in her arms and her ears in clear view. She even moved them a little to make sure the guy saw them. He hurriedly pulled out a bolt and loaded it into his bow, smiling as he noticed Sapphire didn't even attempt to stop him. Just as he was doing that a large woolly mammal charged out of a bush and rammed into him, sending him flying into a bush. Several others ran out of the same bush, and together, they stomped him to death. Sapphire beat a hasty retreat as they did so, not wanting those things to turn their attention to her.

Last one.

As the leader walked through the forest searching for her she burst out of a bush right beside him. She was by his feet, her katana in her hand and to her right, ready to be slice off anything in its path. The leader hurriedly pulled out his own sword and swung it at her, but Sapphire ducked under the sword and stepped behind the leader, from there she jumped into the air and spinning her body, swung her katana in a wide arc, slashing the leader's back and creating a deep wound.

He almost instantly fell forwards dying just as quick. She figured that she possibly sliced his spine, killing him fairly quick, something she hadn't planned on and didn't know was possible. Her guess was the katana somehow went through the backbone, a highly unlikely possibility but one which can be considered in such a case. While she did have pity for all animals that were prey or were dying, she felt absolutely nothing as she killed the four humans. If anything, what she felt would be much closer to fun than pity.

She decided to check the leader for anything worth taking and she found a few items. Most of it being some more of the human currency with the leader, but nothing else much worth taking. There was some sort of pass on which things were written in bright colors. On the very top it said 'IMPORTANT' in bright red. Sapphire didn't know what it meant but she knew it must be worth taking as it looked important.

One gold, some more than thirty silver, and about half a hundred and thirty bronze, Sapphire counted all the coins she got from the leader. Taking her pouch she decided to count the total quickly before moving ahead. Six gold, around a hundred and a half hundred silver, and around five hundred bronze, Sapphire counted. While her father did teach her to count, he only taught her till forty-nine, as Sapphire was less than interested at the time.

Putting all the coins back in their respective pouches Sapphire secured them to her belt before moving ahead. Strolling towards her destination through the cold dark night.