Kyle and Kari *Dedication*-Chapter One
*Well, this is the first of the story series that I am doing for my new friend Kohaku Nightfang. Mostly, I posted this short little snippit so that you (Kohaku) could tell me what you think, and to establish the beginning of the story. I'm still concepting the story, but I have a good idea of where I'll take it.
So, read it, tell me what you think I should do :)
Kari stood atop a windswept hill that gave her an expansive view of the forest that lay far below, by the river. She took in a deep breath, feeling the chill wind blow through her thick coat as she opened her mouth, tasting the scents that were swept towards her.
The scents were rich and varied, the scent of prey, of water, of trees, of earth, and of plants. They were all familiar scents, all smells that belonged, though there was one scent she was searching for earnestly. Her ears perked forward, her mouth opened wider, and she stepped further into the wind, checking for the scent.
Kari's eyes feral, light green eyes blinked open finally. She closed her mouth and sat down, a feeling of dismay coursing through her. It was not the presence of an unfamiliar scent that troubled her, but rather the absence of a scent. A beloved scent...
Kari could not scent Kyle...She could detect others she knew, the smells of his friends and family, and the scents of the other animals in the forest. Kyle was not there..And that frightened Kari more than she thought it would. He was likely somewhere in the forest, safe, comfortable, and happy, but she was still worried. He could be hurt, alone, lost...
No. He was not in danger. Kyle could take care of himself. She felt a small tweak of shame that she would be so concerned about being unable to scent him. She was only a wolf; scents could evade even her extremely sensitive nose. And besides, Kyle could care for himself. He was strong, young, able, and he knew the land well. He was safe. Kari let out a relieved sigh and looked around at the sky and the forest.
The sky was calm and cloudy, a soft, dark blue and gray that foretold of a storm. Kari's ears twitched as she focused on the winds, on the stories they told. The storm came from the south, she could feel, and it was likely to be only a soft, yet cold rain. The clouds were heavy and dark, rolling across the sky like a pack of ravenous, shadowy wolves, with the forest and the river as their prey.
The forest was large and lush, populated by evergreen pines, standing tall and proud like an army of wooded soldiers. The hill Kari sat upon led downwards to the tree line, with about a hundred yards of open track that was spread out between the end of the decline and the first pines. The river curved its way around the forest. From her vantage point, the female wolf could see the dark, wide river, swelled from the recent rains. The river had gorged itself upon the rainfall, and it was now twice its normal breadth.
Tuning into the flow of the air, Kari could feel the wind that ran through the forest. She could sense familiar presences within the woods, her friends and Kyle's, as the wind meandered through the trees. The female wolf closed her eyes again and steadied her breathing before searching one final time for Kyle. If she could not smell him, then she would find him with the wind and the air.
Kari was a dark furred timber wolf. Her fur was predominantly black, with chestnut brown under shades and highlights along her body. Small pockets of white fur showed on her chest and underneath her jaw, above which was a mask of dark brown fur fringed with black that met at the back of her neck and her back. Her paws were graduated black form the tip to about the ankle, more so on her rear paws than her front. Her ears and paws were slightly larger than the size you'd expect for her frame, though they were not unwieldy or awkward. She was young, though not a child. She was not tall, nor short, not as thin as a stick, nor as wide as a trunk. She was not ordinary, but she was not exotic. She was Kari, a female wolf, a beauty in the eyes of those who beheld her, though a natural, respected beauty, not a subject of glamour and stares.
While her body lacked extraordinary features, Kari had one significant characteristic that set her apart from any other wolf. This distinction was her alignment.
Since she had been a pup, Kari could feel a greater affinity for the wind than she thought she should. She could feel things through the air, and sense changes in the wind. Now, as she searched the forest for Kyle, she could feel herself leaving her body, joining with the blowing winds. Her heart left her, soaring through the sky, and then, just as effortlessly as she had left, she was returned...Though without reassurance.
She could not feel him. Though she tried to tell herself that he was safe, something was wrong, she could feel it in the wind. She had never been unable to find Kyle in the wind, and his absence worried her terribly.
'Where are you, my mate?' Kari thought as she returned to her senses. She found her paws leading her towards the forest, bounding quickly over the earth towards the tree line. As she neared the woods, she noticed a line of smoke rising from the river. She was beyond worry now; she was afraid. Afraid for her mate, afraid for Kyle.
'Smoke? In the forest? It can't be...' Kari told herself as she broke into a run, dashing into the tree line. She had to find him. He had to be safe. She had to protect him...