“Can you please take care of our guest while I am away? Apparently the poor thing was attacked.” Attacked? Kakurendo tried to remember what happened last night. As he sat there he tried time and time again to remember that encounter. To him it was a dream, but to others it was reality. “Sure thing.” Izhee sat there with a straight face to her mother, but as her mother left she turned to Kakurendo with a giant smile. “Hiya there buddy! Oh, that’s right, you cannot speak. I am truly sorry.” With every word she said, she expressed it with her face, and actions. This was found amusing to Kakurendo because he has never met a funny thing like this before. So, he just laid there smiling and attempting to laugh as Izhee kept expressing herself. “My name is Izhee, it’s spelt I-z-h-e-e, but not I-z-z-y. That is the incorrect way to spell it, so I am known as Izhee!” Her friendly personality was a thing on its own, but her smile could brighten the dimmest rooms and lift the saddest spirits. Kakurendo thought to himself how lucky he is, because he has never really mingled with others, but for the time being he just enjoyed the idea of not being alone anymore.
As the days pass, Kakurendo and Izhee started to become great friends. It was almost like a fairy tale. Kakurendo’s health became better, faster than the shaman had thought. As their time together grew, he’d sometimes fall asleep out in the moonlight after an exhausting day, playing and doing errands for the one and only Akuma. Kakurendo even got to live among their den and help out with finding herbs and becoming Akuma’s assistant in training. All was well, but not many seemed to like Kakurendo’s presents. While making his was to clean the drinking whole, that night still taunt him. Since that night he has not been into the middle of the pack, he does not know how far this ordeal would go. “There he is!” One of the wolves pounced on him and pinned him to the earth. Others of the pack surrounded Kakurendo for closer examination. Among the crowd you can hear wolves saying things like, “He doesn’t look like a demon.” Or things like, “He will destroy us if we keep him here.” This didn’t look good for Kakurendo, but today was his lucky day. “That’s enough!” Gahero, oh thank the wolves spirit it was him. The wolf pinning Kakurendo got up and backed away with tail between legs, not daring to disobey his Elder’s orders. “That’s him alright.” An all too familiar voice quieted the crowd. It was yet again the nuisance, Jahiro. “What’s up Kaku? Or should I even call you that?” “What is this about Jahiro? I have no time for your useless junk you intend to talk about.” Kakurendo was unhappy with how far Jahiro is going with this. It is going too far, so far that he has now involved everyone in the pack. “Is it true what Jahiro has told me about you? That you can control one of the four elements?” Gahero, standing there, was attempting to read him like a book. Kakurendo didn’t know what to tell him. What should he tell him? That he was outraged and blew fire attempting to murder Jahiro? This could mean death to Kakurendo, even worse; he would be forbidden to return to the pack. He will be forced to leave Izhee. “No, I cannot control one of the four elements. I have only heard of such things in fairy tales.” Jahiro stood there bursting out laughing.
Kakurendo attempted a confused look Izhee had taught him. It was supposed to draw attention away from him. “When I get back from hunting today before sunset…” said Jahiro with a smirk on his face, “...you better not be here. Or else I’ll crush you like a bug.” Kakurendo pushed passed the crowd and took faster steps to the watering hole, for Kakurendo, doesn’t know how to fight, but he could learn. So, he changed his path back to the shaman’s den, only to find Izhee inside, as usual, playing with her rock called Jack. “Oh, what am I to do with you?” Kakurendo smiled as he leaned on the wall, he had startled her. “Very funny Kaku. It’s not very nice scaring a woman like me now a days.” She almost acted as his mother. It was weird really because he didn’t have much contact with his mother. She had died while giving birth to him, and his four brothers. He was the only survivor. The others died off from lack of milk, but Kakurendo only needed heat to keep him alive. Weird really. “You’re such a fun killer Izhee, why don’t you go back and play with Jack.” Kakurendo smiled. He fell to the floor laughing, but as he got up he was greeted with a paw to face. “Ow!” He whined. “Serves you right.” She sat down to the wounded Kakurendo, still laughing at his pain. “I have a question for you.” Kakurendo finally settled down enough to ask her the question and answer why he was back so early from his work. “Would you be willing to teach me how to fight?”
“You’re not serious.” Izhee looked at him in a puzzled type of manner. Why would he want to know how to fight? Is it because he is the only wolf that cannot defend himself? “No, I’m pretty sure I am.” Kakurendo smiled painfully, trying not to tell her about the encounter in the main land. Really he just wanted to get back at Jahiro for all the grief he has caused him, but he also wanted to protect the ones he cared about. For this was the only family in a short time he knew. He didn’t want to be left with humility on his back and be remembered for what seemed to be a magic trick. “Fine, I will teach you the way of kicking ass by mistress Izhee herself.” She stood up doing a few Kung Fu moves. Jumping on everything while doing tail whips and jaw snaps, pouncing. Recalling all the old pup tricks he learned in youth. Until she made the wrong move and fell right on top of Kakurendo. “This will be fun.” Kakurendo laughed along with Izhee at the fail of her fighting.

Practicing for the past three days with each other allowed them to bond; they talked about what they liked and what they are interested in doing. It was fun hiding from the other members of the pack, including when Akuma had to go to pack meetings. Pulling jokes and pranks on Jahiro and annoying Gahero was extremely good practice with stealth and speed. Every afternoon they would go to the top of Mountain, Seamlessly practicing without any disturbance from other wolves. Finally, Kakurendo trusted Izhee enough to tell her his darkest secret. This is when the story begins.
“Hey Izhee, can I tell you something and you promise never to tell another soul on earth?” Kakurendo laid on the edge of the mountain with his paws crossed and his tail to the side of his body. Izhee walked from behind Kakurendo, lying next to him. The month had grown cold, and mating season has ended. The rude weather allowed Kakurendo to get close to Izhee to keep warm. “I’m all ears.” Izhee's fur danced in the wind like a wild party. It was almost like she was painted into this world by a creator of intense skill. As they lay there, Kakurendo told her about his mother, his father, and how he was ever so lucky to meet her. How she changed his life forever, and how she actually got him to open his feelings to her. It was a very nice day for Kakurendo. He could speak freely without the fear of judgment or gossip. They talked for hours until sunset, where the sun touched the earth, allowing it to sleep. Izhee had a secret of her own though. She had not told anyone, not ever her mother what she had done. “I have a confession to make.” Her voice went from a cheery, friendly personality; to a dead serious tone. “I saw the fight between you and Jahiro.”
Kakurendo’s heart dropped, his body grew cold, and his muscles froze like ice in a freezer. “How?” Kakurendo, the new arrival on that day had been followed. Izhee had followed him to the sleeping quarters by the Elder’s Resting Area. It was all out of curiosity, but she found a liking to him. Someone she could relate to. “What Jahiro said about you breathing fire is true. You can control the element fire.” In defeat once more by the all-powerful and very good persuader Izhee got him to talk. She is known throughout the pack as the trickster and twister of words to hear what she needs to know, or wants. “I have been able to control this….curse…ever since I was a young pup. After my family had died I was left alone, defending for myself at an early age. Sunlight would warm me to give me energy. The day Reina found me was the day when I walked through the forest. There was not enough sunlight to keep my energy up. I thrive on fire.” Kakurendo just told his darkest secret to her. Not knowing how she would react. Would she not wish to be friends anymore? How could Kakurendo live with that? “I cannot believe it.” Her body shook like a leaf hanging off a dead branch in the wind. Tears ran down her muzzle and onto the rock under her paws. “When I was born, I showed the sign, the signs that no other wolf could show. My mother saw me as a demon; A creature, born to destroy all living things.” As the mouth spoke, and the tears ran, the emotions in the air were unbelievable. Her story started to make Kakurendo tear with sorry and hate. “I was left under a dug out hole under a tree. I was alone, cold, tired. Until one day I was found by my ‘mother’ Akuma. She took me in as one of her own. Treated me as if I was normal. She showed me how to control what I have been born with, without having out bursts. This, power, I can work with is water.” All turned silent, the tears had stopped, and so has the sobbing. They both seemed to settle down a little bit more, but not as calmed as they hoped. Their bodies still tense and cold, it was time to return to the den.
As they walked down the mountain, Izhee’s head was low. It was like she was counting every pebble, making sure not to miss one. Kakurendo looked up and peered into the night sky. Beautiful. The stars twinkling like lightning bugs and the moon as clear as a picture. Without warning, due to his failure of attention, he tripped and face planted the ground. That seems to break the silence, and the bad mood she was in. Izhee was laughing so hard that tears were forming and running down her muzzle like a pair of joggers at the Olympics. With his dignity crushed and humiliation over his head, this couldn’t turn out better, but the sight of Izhee’s enjoyment of the act seemed to brighten his mood. After a good fifteen minute walk the reached the Shaman’s den and proceed to enter, only to find Akuma, sitting in the middle of the den facing where the two came in. Like she knew that we would enter at this exact time, the exact moment we would arrive. Then, with her body frozen in the howling position like a stone statue, her eyes, once a beautiful sky blue, is now a pure white, like snow. She was lost in the middle of the universe, connecting herself to the souls that dwell within it. “Uh, Izhee…..what is she doing?” Apparently Izhee was more shocked than Kakurendo was. She knew that her mother does this regularly but on a meditation rock near the drinking creek. “She is connecting herself to the universe; using the souls of the dead to tell her information. Almost like a massager, she can tell them to send reports to other Shamans. Oh, no….” Izhee’s voice grew lower, softer, almost like a mouse. Finally she added, “…she knows.”

“It has been hours. When will she finish this meditation of the universe thing?” Kakurendo, laying there on the wool covered bed, staring at the wall of the den, thinking how the possibility of this is true. Izhee seemed frantic, unease by what her adopted mother seemed to accomplish by connecting herself to the dark matter of the universe. There are consequences to opening up such power. If you fail to respect what you are able to do, your statue body will crumble to dust. “She will return back to the world around her again in time. Hopefully she will be unharmed in her journey…” Izhee sat in the only corner of the den with her head resting against the wall and her body trembling. She must be hiding something from Kakurendo, but what? “Do you know why she would do this?” Kakurendo turned his body and looked at Izhee. Her once beautiful gray fur is matted, tears made the shorter hairs stick together like glue, making it coarse. Her once care free world turned to stress, unable to find peace. “Information. Her world revolves around information. The knowledge she learns, she will use to help others. Mother might be trying to find out why you have come.” Izhee’s head retreated off the wall and turned to face Kakurendo. “If she finds out that there is more than one wolf that has the ability to control the elements, she will stop at nothing to find the others. In the stories mother has read to me, she explained that there was once a power hungry wolf named Argetlam who used the powers of the four elements to destroy and take over the world.”
Izhee swallowed to quench her dry throat. Kakurendo laid there motionless, listening to every word Izhee had to offer. “My mother was obsessed with these types of things. I was blinded by the actions of kindness she had done until one day I found her journal….” Izhee pulled out a ragged looking journal that looks like it has been weathered for years. It’s once tough rabbit skin shrunk, leaving the book to warp in shape. On the back was a design of what looked like a bear standing on its hind legs. Kakurendo recognized that type of book. It was crafted by the Elders of a Bear clan from hundreds of years ago. The book was covered with the essence of magic. Once connected to a host it acts like a parasite, connecting to your brain, taking your thoughts and placing them on the paper within it.
Izhee continued, “…she started writing about how the need for power was to be used to take over the pack and use everyone to do her bidding. I hide the book from her, to update myself on what she is attempting to do. Hopefully she only knows that I can control the element water. She must never know that-“Silence broke once they both hear moaning from the statue of Izhee’s mother. Izhee quickly slid the book under the bedding and sat on top of it. “Oh…. Hello dears. How long have you been here?” Akuma looked around, trying to remember where she was for the moment. Kakurendo stared at the Shaman, so did Izhee.
Terrified if she knew what Kakurendo is capable of. Kakurendo finally spoke up. “We actually just walked in. We came to ask if you have any….. Uh….” Kakurendo paused for a second, but Izhee completed his sentence. “Herbs!” Akuma stared at them both for a second, confused by what they meant. “Kaku isn’t feeling too well. It must have been that hare we ate the other night.”
Kakurendo gave Izhee that confused look but caught on to what she was trying to do. He nodded, and as Izhee got up he laid down on the exact spot on where she was sitting. Kakurendo looked at Akuma and said, “Wasting body heat is like wasting food. There is no need for that.”
Izhee turned around and gave Kakurendo a worried look, then walked out of the den as calmly as she could while her mother was looking at her. Akuma returned her attention to Kakurendo. “I need to go out for an hour or two. I hope for you to rest and recover from your illness.” Akuma ran out of the den like she was being chased, like cat and mouse. Kakurendo knew where she was going to though. Akuma took the same path as Izhee and Kakurendo did when returning from the mountain. Akuma was sensing a disturbance all right; a disturbance of power. She found out.

A few minutes later Izhee ran back inside the Shaman’s den to check on Kakurendo. The sight of Izhee made Kakurendo stand up and wiggle the book out from his bottom. “We must hide this.” Kakurendo picked it up with his jaws and made his way out the den hole with Izhee by his side. Izhee then continued with her lecture. “Like I said before I was interrupted, she must never know that there is another wolf that can control a different element. If she does, she will go on a mission to hunt down the others. I cannot let that happen. For both or our sakes we should keep this quiet, never to speak of it in public.” Understandingly Kakurendo nodded his head. With his mouth filled with book, he slowed his movement until he was aligned behind Izhee, following her lead.
They made their way to the other end of the pack. The lake. When they were there, Izhee and showed Kakurendo a hiding spot she made a while ago in case of an emergency. The hiding spot was so good that they had trouble finding it in the first place. Nudging the book inside the bone dry dirt, Kakurendo’s attempt not to sneeze was unbearable. The dust was horrendous from this small little ditch.
They backed away from the whole and covered it up. Once there they walked together and rested back at the Shaman’s den. Kakurendo rested on a patch of hay, while Izhee would lie down next to him. Kaku looked at Izhee in an almost uncertain way. He tried to say words but he would mutter them. He was nervous, shaken, but he tried not to seem that way. Izhee looked over to him, “Are you okay? You look like you seen a ghost.”
Kaku nodded, “I’m….okay.” Izhee rested her head on her dirt covered paws. Kakurendo on the other hand, was timid to do any action. For he, had a crush on the female. What could he do? He didn’t want to move or else he would make Izhee shift her body away from him. So, he gently rested his head on her neck and closed his eyes.
Izhee blushed and dug her muzzle under her paws. The two fell asleep on the hay, satisfied with the presence of each other.

The next morning, Izhee cracked open one eye and looked around the room. She shuffled her body into the colder part of the hay, it was more comfortable, but that was where Kakurendo was supposed to be. Both of her eyes opened and she picked up her head, yawning. Her teeth as sharp as razors returned back into hiding, and Izhee looked around the den franticly.
The fire wolf was nowhere in sight. Izhee walked to the back of the den and sat down. She looked down to her paws and started to sob with her friend, her companion, gone.
Tears ran down her muzzle as if gravity was ten times heavier. The wind blew into the den and made the room feel cold, Izhee felt lonely. Suddenly there was a crack of twigs and chattering of leaves. Frighten, Izhee went into a submissive position in her corner and waited. Finally, the sun striking her eyes, a wolf carrying a hare walked in. She could tell it was food from the scent of the blood dripping on the floor and the fur of the animal.
The hare was dropped on the floor but the wolf was still unknown. It walked closer and closer until it was right in front of Izhee. She closed her eyes and began to cry again, only this time in fear. The wolves scent was masked by mud and grass.
The wolf licked Izhee’s cheek, whipping the tears. “Why are you crying?” The voice was known the second she heard it. Izhee leaped forward, tackling Kakurendo to the den floor. She then sat on him. “You arrogant pup!” She nipped his muzzle, “You scared the hell out of me!” Kakurendo, defeated, rested his paws on his muzzle, “I’m sorry! I wanted to get you something to eat before you woke up.” Kaku spoke but was interrupted by Izhee crying again.
“I thought you left me…” She sobbed between each word spoken, inhaling deeply. “…I thought you wouldn’t…” Kakurendo cut in, “Come back?” Izhee got up from sitting on Kakurendo and would lie back onto the hay, on her side. Kaku followed and would lie in front of her, picking up her front paw to get closer to her snout. “I would always come back for you. I would never leave you behind.” Kakurendo nuzzled her and groomed, trying to comfort her.
Once he lapped up the rest of the tears, Kaku licked her nose in affection. By now she could tell that he had a crush on her. “I love you, with every breath I take; it is one for me to keep living, to see you.” Kaku sat up and stared at his paws, dancing a strand of hay in them. This made Izhee smile; she picked her body up and sat in front of Kaku. Izhee licked his muzzle, “Thank you.”
He smiled and got up, “Come on!” Izhee looked at him confused, “Where are we going?”
Kaku smiled, “Anywhere you want. We will keep on walking. We will experience things no would could ever. We can do amazing thing.”
Izhee got up with him, “Maybe…” “Come on! You couldn’t possibly like it here. Akuma has you trapped. We can run away.” Kakurendo was determined, but that was soon laid to rest. “I know, but this is the only home I know. If we leave we would be labeled as loners and we could be attacked by other opposing wolves. We are surrounded by enemy territories. That is probably how you got here.”
He looks to the ground and thinks, “I’ll protect you with my life. I promise that I’ll bring a brighter future. Akuma would kill us anyway. We have her book. Once she finds out, we are dead.”
Izhee sits and thinks. Scraping at the den floor, she looks up and nods to Kaku. The two then run out of the den and run to the forest. They disappear into the sunrise, not knowing, they were being watched.

“Ouch!” Izhee yelped. Kakurendo, who was in front of her, quickly turned around to find that she had caught her tail in a thorn bush. Pushing past the leaves and thick brush he managed to reach her. Kakurendo wedged his neck under her body; he would then walk a few paces back to tug her fur from the claws of the evil bush.
Nipping the rest of the thorns out Izhee looked at Kakurendo who was sitting in front of her with his head tilted to the side. “What?” Kaku snapped out of his daze, he was lost thinking about how beautiful Izhee was and how his life could have been different if he never met her. Kakurendo had something to fight for, he could fight for her. In a quick response, “You don’t seem to like the forest that much.”
Izhee spit the thorn out of mouth “Well no duh. I am not a hunter. I am meant to practice my magic with my mother, not to deal with the arrogance of the woods.” Kaku rolled his eyes and got up, walking to Izhee. He pressed his snout on hers, “You didn’t need to come. It was an offer.” Izhee leaned away from him and plucked the last thorn from her rump. She looked evilly at Kaku. Muffled, “You didn’t need to come back, but you did.” She poked Kaku in the muzzle. Kaku yelped and pawed the pain, as Izhee rolled on her back, laughing.
Kaku smiled and tackled Izhee, pinning her. Izhee stopped laughing and looked into Kakurendo’s eye. Kaku did the same, but as he went into complete the moment with a kiss, the bushes rumbled.
Looking up and stepping off of Izhee, “What the hell was that?” Izhee sat up, “I don’t know, but we should keep moving.” The two of them ran through the forest, looking for a clearing. Kakurendo was in front taking the hits from the leaves and Izhee followed close to him unfazed by the environment.
The sun was setting, they have been walking for hours, and now they are running. Panting, flea covered, and ticks in every part of their body, this couldn’t get any worse. Panting, “We are almost there!” Kaku turned his head to shout and look at Izhee. She was done, her energy was sucked out. Izhee slowed from a run, to a jog, to finally falling on the ground. She'd lay on her side, gasping for breath. Kakurendo stopped and ran back for her. He nudged her with his snout but she would not move. Desperate, he looked around frantically. He could not find an opening. The snapping of twigs got louder and louder. The wind was blowing and the clouds grew dark. Kakurendo had to think fast, and fast he did.
The last thing Izhee saw was Kaku running away from her, leaving her. How could he possibly do that? A tear rushed down the side of the panting female. Izhee gave up, closed her eyes, and waited to be slaughtered.

Shadows hovered over her, whispering to one another. Izhee cracked open her eye to see three figures. One of them leaned close to her and sniffed, recognizing her sent. The shadow jumped back and looked at the others. Then, he lashed forward to bite down on Izhee’s neck. She yelped and kicked. It was almost over until another figure ran in, tackling the wolf biting Izhee.
Izhee picked herself up, but she could not walk. Trying to look up was painful, so she watched the blood drip onto her gray paws. She could just see the four wolves fighting. It was three against one. Lightning struck and rain began to pore, but in that quick flash of light, she could see the wolves. “Jahiro.” Izhee muttered to herself. She crawled into a bush and lie down, hidden, but was able to see the fight.

The three wolves backed away and looked at the opposing side. The only color she could see was red, but she guessed that was from the blood. The three wolves she could see were colors of Black, Brown, and tan. The brown leaped forward, and so did the red. The red was pushed back and landed on his back with the brown wolf on top of it. The red wolf bit down on the throat of the brown and rolled back, was smashing the face of the brown wolf into the ground. Izhee heard a yelp and then silence, which was shorten with another lighting strike.
Izhee could see the brown wolf trying to get up, but it could not. It would stumble with every step. Finally, the tan wolf jumped onto the red when it was looking at the yellow eyes behind it. Once the red wolf was tackled again, it was launched back, and landed on the ground. The tan wolf walked over the red and slashed it with its paw. A dying yelp was heard.
Izhee could not bare to watch the fight. She closed her eyes and dug her face into the blood covered fur. She heard a roar which sounded like water rushing down a river at high speeds. The air grew extremely hot and the sounds of flames were everywhere. Izhee did not want to pick up her head in fear she could be injured again. She began to feel light headed. Finally the sounds stop and the air grew cold again. Rain rushed down her fur once more. Izhee could not keep herself awake anymore; she would fell asleep, with her wound still open.

The next morning, Izhee woke up. Surprised to be lying inside a quickly made dirt den which was dug from when the water loosening the earth. She could tell that the wolf was in a rush because the claw marks were still in the sides of the cave and not spread out smoothly like the others. Bruised, she could not move her body or neck without a stabbing pain. She slowly looked around the moist den, in search of another wolf. “Where is Kakurendo?” She wondered.
At the entrance of the make-shift den, she peered out to the open. It was noon. Apparently she had been asleep for a long time now. She wiggled herself out the small den entrance and looked into a puddle. She could see the wounds on her neck, but the blood was gone from the rest of the fur. Izhee looked around, any sign for Kakurendo. None.
The forest was dense and it was hard to see far ahead. Izhee sniffed the ground hoping for a sent, but the rain washed away almost all of it. The most she smelt was char or burning sticks and wood. Around the area where she was sitting was burned, and a skeleton of an animal lay on the ground, next to a burned tree.
Izhee went to examine the skeleton but she could tell right away that it was a wolf. “Ka….Kaku?” Izhee mumbled to herself, her eyes watered. Could the heat last night be from Kakurendo burning up the place to save me? Could he have used too much mana that it caused him to self-destruct? All of these could have been true, but there was one way to be sure. Izhee walked back to the puddle and sat down. Allowing her tears to fall into it. The puddle shook and waved, “Show me…..everything.”
The puddle itself turned into a flashback, allowing Izhee to see what the rain saw. She could see where she hid in the bush and the wolves fighting again. The heat source was still unknown due to the water evaporating before it even hit the ground. Finally the blur went away and Izhee could see only one wolf. That wolf was digging the hole she slept in. On closer examinations, the unknown wolf walked to this puddle to dip his teeth in it. She could see the steam rising when it did.
“Show me its face.” Izhee demanded. The water rippled, it could not. That steam was where the water was holding that close flashback of its face. “How?” She muttered to herself. Izhee continued to watch as the wolf walked away to drag Izhee out from the bush. She could tell that it did not want to touch her in fear of burning her. So, it nipped and quickly pulled her into the den.
Izhee turned to see the back of her neck. Small burns showed that breached her skin. She returned her attention back to the puddle and sped up the flashback to the point where the wolf was walking out of the small den, little blood was dripping from his chops. “It…..it cleaned my wounds….” The figure ran into the woods, leaving stained paw prints in the ground.
Finally she took her gaze off from the puddle and looked around. There were no other skeletons. She got up and searched for the paw prints. “Gotcha” She said under her breath as she sniffed the prints. “I will find you Kaku. I will.” Izhee’s belly growled. “Well….” She slightly giggled, “..maybe after dinner.”

A day since Kakurendo has vanished. Izhee was felling quite alone. Her companion missing; she lost in the woods with unanswered questions. All was going wrong for the young wolf. Izhee licked her chops to clean the blood of the hare off of them. Her belly filled, she returned to the burned paw prints. Keeping her body low, she would be able to see them clearly.
The trail that the paws walked was burned. Burned leaved and branches, and worse of all a trail of blood. The blood seemed to burn the ground as it touched seeing how there was a crater under every drop. The path also looked shaky like it couldn’t keep its balance. Rub char marks on the trees proved that true. The trail mostly followed a nearby river going up a mountain, the tallest mountain known to wolf in that area. Snow covered the top of it like powdered sugar. Since it was spring, it mostly rained, but the paw prints were heated to such a point where it turned to almost stone. Fighting through the rain and the wind, Izhee the tracked for hours.
Finally, she found what seemed to be smoke coming from the clearing ahead. Izhee ran through the bushes and made it to a small clearing. “Kaku?” She whispered to herself. The smoke hung low and the mysterious heat Izhee could not find the source of making it humid. The rain eased to a drizzle but she could still hear the sizzling sound of water touching an extremely hot surface.
Izhee kept her head low, she could just see under the smoke. Izhee saw fire, but it was controlled. It was in a shape she could not make out. As she got closer, the heat intensified, so Izhee got the little rainwater she could find and make an almost armor type item out of it. This ‘armor’ kept her body cool so she could continue to move in closer. Once close enough she could see the figure, it was completely engulfed with flames.
“Kaku…rendo?” Izhee said hesitantly. The figure looked at her with sadness in his flaming eyes. “What have I done?” Kakurendo returned to looking at his paws. Tears of Flame dropped to the ground, leaving a hiss.
Izhee gathered more water from the ground and the sky. She added it to her ‘armor’ and sat next to Kaku. “I killed a fellow wolf, what have I done? I never killed any wolf before, but they were going to kill…..” Kaku paused and looked up at the sky. The rain falling on him created smoke, which blew behind them. “You protected me, and for that I thank you.” Izhee leaned on him, the hissing sound screamed like a rabbit when being hunted. Kaku looked to Izhee and nuzzled her. “I would never want you hurt, or be in pain. I feel, what you feel, emotionally.”
The flames on Kaku went away. The sky started to clear, and the smoke went away. They could now see where they were. The two of them looked around. “Amazing.” Izhee said as she scoped the landscape. They were on the edge of a cliff and out in the distance was a bed of flowers, the rain made them sparkle like stars in the clear night sky. “Indeed you are.” Kakurendo replied licking her cheek. Izhee smiled and got up, “Come on.” She encouraged, “We have work to do.”

As the two wolves walk down the cliff face, and make it to ground, Kakurendo runs and dives into the flowers, disappearing before Izhee. “Kaku?” She called out, trying to search through the daisies. The flowers shook, and Kakurendo snakes through the grass and behind Izhee. Then, Kakurendo leaps from the earth and tackle-hugs Izhee from behind. The flowers broke Izhee’s fall and he was sitting on top of her, gently biting on her nose.

“Get off!” She shunned. Kaku replied, mumbling, “Om, nom, nom, nom.” Izhee pushed him off, tackling and pinning him. “Warned ya’.” Wiggling out of her claws, he stood up and quickly nipped her nose. Kaku then ran back to the cliff, through the flowers like a rabbit being chased by a fox. Annoyed, Izhee ran after him.
Kaku ran under the cliff, but to his surprise, there was a small cave, large enough for him to fit inside. Once in, he tried to find the back of the cave, but it was too dark, so he stayed by the light, and waited. Izhee peered into the entrance of the cave and yelled, “Kaku?!” Once she stuck her head in, Kakurendo was waiting for her by the side entrance of the cave. Once she was far in enough, he jumped in front of her, yelling, “BAH!!” Her first reaction was to leap forward like she was trained to attack the attacker. Izhee lunged and tackled Kaku. They both fell back and rolled to the dark side of the cave, once they stopped, Kaku was on top of Izhee and the force of gravity pulled his head forward, making their lips, or chops, meet.
After a few seconds Kaku lifted his head. He had his tail between his legs and his ears folded back, he was embarrassed. “Sorry.” He said shyly. Izhee didn’t know what to say, so, she lay there, thankful for the caves darkness that Kaku couldn’t see her blush. In the darkness she pushed her head up and nipped at his neck almost as encouraging, Kaku looked back and nuzzled her. Night feel, and the two spent the night in the dry cave, as the rain poured outside.

The next day, Kaku woke up early and peered out into the rain covered flowers. The sunrise was beautiful and everything glistened in the light. Izhee came behind him and licked his muzzle. “Why are you up so early?” She said leaning her body on his playfully. “Just thinking.” Kaku replied gently nuzzling her. “Thinking of what?” She said as she sat down next to him. “I’m thinking about, what if we start our own pack? This land is used by many loners, or outcasts. Mostly runts of the litter, males and females, just trying to find a better life.” Kaku would lie down, still watching the sunrise. “Well, come on then…” She got up and walked outside, looking back to him. “..Better to get started now. Plus, it’ll be a good idea to bend in so it’s harder for Amara to find us.”
Kakurendo got up and followed Izhee, brushing his fur against the moist grass. As time passed, Kakurendo set up the inside of the cave so it lets in more light, by heating the rock to such a point where he literally drilled holes in the cliff. This created beams of light leading into the cave. Kaku also created a fire pit for the two to watch the sky at night. Izhee, on the other hand, was doing the hunting and keeping the grass from growing on the dirt pathways they made, but, Izhee was also hiding something from Kakurendo at the same time.
One night, while they were lying under the stars with the fire pit burning, Izhee looked over to Kakurendo. “Hey, um, can….can I tell you something?” Izhee turned to her side and looked at Kaku. “You can tell me anything.” He replied as he turned to her. Their noses touched. “Do you promise not to freak out?” Izhee said worried. “I promise.” Kaku sat up and looked at Izhee, who was staring at the ground. “I have been keeping this from you for about a month, but I want to tell you that I’m...” Izhee was cut off from the sound of the base of a tree braking. Kaku looked up and saw where the sound came from. A tree started to tip over the two. “Watch out!” Kaku yelled, and he jumped forward and pushed Izhee out of the way, just in time before the tree fell and landed on the spot she was sitting at.
“What is going on?!” Izhee stood up and looked around, checking the area. Kaku was still looking up at the lip of the cliff. “Amara.” He mumbled. Kaku looked to Izhee. “Come on! We need to move!” He ran to her and encouraged her to run inside the main den. Izhee ran inside and Kaku followed, but just after Izhee ran in, the cave was blocked by the collapsing rock of the cliff. “Izhee!” He yelled out in fear that she was hurt. There was no reply so he backed up and looked at Amara. “What the hell do you want?!”
Amara walked down the cliff and past the fire pit. “You thought you can just….just…run off with my daughter? You didn’t even allow me to find my damn book, but, you are not too cleaver, are you?” Amara talked with a smirk. Kakurendo knew she was aiming for a fight. “Leave us alone. She isn’t even your daughter. You are nothing to her.” Kakurendo stood in a fighting pose, locking eyes with the Shaman. “That is what you say, but that is not what I think. I know you are the cause of burning down half of the forest and I also know that you can control an element. Therefore, you are my child as well.”
“You need to get your ears checked because I just said that you are nothing to her. Same goes for me. You crave power and you want to use us for your own needs. How did you even find us?” Kaku was scared, but he couldn’t show it. “Ha! You two create an amazing flow of mana, but that was increased about one month ago. Once that happened, I was able to track you like a hare.”
Kakurendo heard enough, he jumped forward to attack the rival female. She jumped back and quickly tackled him, sliding him back. “Know your place mutt!” Kaku was angry, extremely. His eyes flared, flames were burning from his paws. “You do not intimidate me. I am greater than you.” Amara looked to sky and howled. Souls of other wolves rose and came, standing by her side. “It’s not good to bring back the dead...” Kakurendo’s voice was deeper than usual. “…time must move forward, not back.”

Kakurendo leaped forward, leaving flaming paw prints behind him. There were two souls on each side of Amara the Shaman. One on the left jumped forward as well and tackled Kaku, mid-air. One Kakurendo landed on the ground he jumped and bit down on the neck of the soul. Once done, and he knew he crushed it’s ‘neck’, the soul disappeared. The rest of the souls ran forward, Kaku used the fire pit behind them to set them ablaze. Amara backed up and summoned even more souls that filled up the plain of flowers. “Say hello to my army Kakurendo.” The army charged, rumbling the ground like an earthquake on each step. Kakurendo started to fight them off by the hundreds, but it was no use. The more he re-killed, the more that came back. Finally, he was over powered. The army jumped on top of him and held him down. Amara came and looked at the wolf in his blazing eye.
“And you thought you had a chance? Such a pity. I hope you enjoy the underworld.” Amara backed up and the souls started to pull Kaku into the ground. Kakurendo could see Amara walking to the cave. “Izhee….I’m….sorry…” He closed his eyes and waited, but a crumbling sound was heard, the cave holes that Kakurendo made were flowing out water. The distraction made the souls pull Kakurendo up.
“Amara!!!” The sound was fierce and it made even Amara back away. “Izhee?” Kakurendo questioned. “The liquid stopped flowing out of the holes and Izhee rose out of the puddle. “Amara, how dare you!” Izhee was angry. Her body was cut and bruised. “Now darling I didn’t mean...” Amara was in a panic. She was never confronted by Izhee before. Amara didn’t train herself to deal with water.
Izhee sucked the moisture from the earth and created a spike of Ice under every soul, killing them. Amara was too focused on Izhee to create more. “This is the end of you. You shall not continue your greed anymore…” Izhee stepped forward and stared Amara dead in the eye. Amara froze and stood there, motionless. Izhee walked next to her and places her jaws around Amara’s throat. Mumbling, “Good bye, ‘mother’. “ With a quick twist of Izhee’s head, it was over.
Kakurendo stood up and walked to Amara and Izhee. He placed a paw on the body and it turned to ash. Licking Izhee’s nose he then picked up the only thing in the ash, the skull. Kakurendo melted the top of the cave enough to stick the skull in as a symbol that there will be no evil here, but only peace.
Izhee walked and sat next to Kakurendo who was gazing at the skull. “What I wanted to tell you was that….” She looked down at her belly, and Kaku did the same. She picked up her head and so did he. She smiled and Kaku licked her nose. “I love you.” He said, but she replied, “I love you the most.”

And then they went to rebuild what is now known today as Mystic Wolves.” Takashi sat there on his log, looking down at the pups. He smiled. “Still telling that story huh Takashi?” Dakota was now four years old. His left eye was blue, and his right was orange. He had a gray coat and his tail had a green tip. “Did I forget to mention that they named the pup Dakota?” Takashi said, laughing. All the pups turned around to look at Dakota. All together they asked, “Where are Kaku and Izhee?” Dakota smirked then looked to the fire pit. “They went to find the other wolves who can hold the power of controlling an element, but that is another story for another night. Now, you should all run back to the main den and look at the skull that rests there. That's where our life was started.” Takashi stood up and walked past Dakota. He looked over his shoulder and said, “We should tell the next story together. Then, we can howl.” Dakota nodded and nudged the remaining pups to the den. Once the pups were gone, he put out the fire pit by using water magic his mother taught him.
“Yeah...” He said. “It will be the Howl of the Wind.”