Chapter 15 of Hearing Howls

The Hooded Loner of Tale

A loner stood before me. It was night. She would not lift her hood. "Will you lift your hood?" I asked. "No!" She replied. I called a pack meeting. "Wolves of The Peace Pack we have a lone visitor. She will not remove her hood. Shamara! Onlyone! Hold this loner down. Any guesses on what kind of creature she is?" I asked the wondering pack. "A cat?" "A small leopard?" "A dog?" "A coyote? "You two. Pull her hood off." I want to see this loner." I said. They pulled her hood. It was not a cat or a small leopard or a dog nor a coyote . It was a fox! Her face was beautiful! She was white with a black moon-shaped splotch on her forehead and feather earrings. (How many have those?). "I am Eclipsed Moon the Storyteller of The Noplace. They took me away," She built a fire and her story erupted in the sky. The pack gathered around. "It all started with a snare. A fox kit was going with me to learn to tell stories as I. The kit fell into a snare that an untruthful male leopard that was living in the Noplace. The leopard told the leader to ban me from the Noplace. And she did. They live very close. That means you are my only hope to keep me safe! Please let me stay! " I thought. A dense howling among the crowd. I scrunched up my nose and barred my teeth. I tossed my short mane (Unkempt at that time) of silver hair. "I do not think so. I will keep this wolf pack wolves only. You may visit any other time." I said. The pups of the pack whimpered. "PLEASE leader!" A scraggly blonde wolf pup said flapping her wings. I sighed. "No. She is no wolf!" The young storyteller bowed her moon-cresent head. Just then a cloud of rainbow-colared stars came and whooshed around Mella and me. It swirled around us. Mella's paws crunched up. The rainbow shot up and came back down. . Then we alighted. The storyteller was a fox still! I expected it to make Eclipced Moon a wolf or something. But my face felt funny. I scrunched up my nose again. "Mmmph..." A nearby voice sighed. It was the blonde wolf pup. She was stuck under a tree branch. I lifted it up. "Leader... What happened to you?" She asked. Nothing seemed to have happened, and she ran to her mother. I looked at myself in the lake. My leader mark was still there. So was my mane. Then there was a whoo sound. I narrowed my eyes. There was a difference in my paws. My claws were longer! So was my mane. I was very happy. I flew into the air. I gazed at my wings. Not only were my claws and mane longer, but so were my wings. They were longer as a regal king's. I was very very pleased. "Eclipsed Moon you may join The Peace Pack." I said, bowing my head.