Near the base of the island’s snowy mountain, green grasses and vines overtook old, crumbling walls and once-shined floors. Trees had sprouted among doorways and crowded windows, and moss found a home among the crevices of gray stone. The woods had spread around that particular area, and in the sunlight, the temple was shaded from the heat. In the plains several miles away, the sun beat down on paler green grass that sprouted over the heads of the island’s inhabitants. While the more limber creatures could leap through the grass, the wolves called it shelter and cover during their hunts. Now, however, the grasses were frolicking with life, grasseaters and insects, birds and ground-burrowers light at heart. The sun was high, signaling the end of the hunting time. In early morning and late afternoon was when the wolves stalked, and they stalked well, in coordinated packs that worked together under the watchful golden gaze of the Prime Alpha: Kaiori.

The largest of the wolves, Kaiori oversaw the entire race of wolves residing on their unnamed island. Through the old dwellings and temples built by creatures long-forgotten, Kaiori wandered from one pack to another, speaking with other alphas of their day’s happenings. But he called one pack in particular home; it was rather large, consisting of fifty wolves total. It was a relatively lazy time of day---they rested for the hunt near dusk, which they hoped would be successful. While the wolves were, more or less, the lords of the island, they respected the creatures they hunted and didn’t take advantage of them.

Lying on a pedestal, Kaiori surveyed his surroundings. The area was a large, enclosed area, complete with a domed roof whose paintings long ago faded away. The walls were coated in heavy vines, the tiled floors chipped and littered with greenery and wolves mainly of gray, brown, black, and a combination of tones. None quite as silvery-white as Kaiori, though. It was rather rare to see a white wolf, even among the large population on the island.

His amber-gold eyes were half closed as Kaiori set his head on his paws. A couple feet below, the rest of the pack laid around, conversing in quiet voices, watching the young ones practice their pounces and stalking amongst their parents and older siblings.

He could sense a movement to his right. A suspicious movement, but nothing terribly worrisome. Indeed, he could hear light, yapping giggles coming from a few cubs, and that certainly gave more merit to his suspicion. But it wasn't negative, nothing that indicated danger, so Kaiori kept his eyes turned to the window across the room. When something hurled itself into him, bouncing then leaping off, it squeezed a huffing breath out of him and brought his head up at once, ears pricked to catch the slightest sound. The initial shock wore away when he saw who it was. Dakota. The young orphaned runt had never really shown much seriousness, and seemed to make it a point to entertain the younger ones with his antics. He'd probably never grow much more than what he was at now, Kaiori had seen it many times before. They often wanted to participate in hunts, but sometimes got trampled, crushed, or simply exhausted, then couldn't make it back to the pack as the hunters dragged their kill back. He glanced at the several cubs that had been giggling, and now they were falling over each other in the shadow of what they'd witnessed.

Kaiori stood and stepped off the pedestal. The cubs scattered, running back to their older siblings and mothers as Kaiori approached the scruffy runt. His larger-than-average paws kept his long legs and body sturdy and solid, and his black claws clacked on the slightly mossy floor. He stood straight over Dakota for a moment, and lowered his head, tilting it to the side. "Your spirit is a little too large for your body." He said, and nudged him up. "Come with me now, let's walk." He went forward, egging the young wolf along. They left the rest of the pack to their meandering and lying about. Through the doorway, a walkway stretched, overgrown with grass and flowers and pushed up a bit with spreading roots as it twined out of sight through the many trees. Kaiori sat, twisting his tail around himself and looking down to Dakota.

"When the pack found you, many wanted to simply leave you behind." Kaiori said. "You were tiny, thin, and didn't look as if you could survive another day. You've obviously shown a lot of improvement, but I doubt you'll ever be able to participate in group hunts. You're quick, you can catch small things, and you're quiet. You've ambushed me several times already, and I never hear you approach." He looked down to Dakota. "Being where I stand, I don't stay with a single pack for more than ten days. I can't watch you from such distances, and there are wolves in every pack that look down on the runt and make their lives as difficult as possible."

With a sigh, Kaiori looked to the left. Through the trees he could see the sunlit plains. Animals moved freely in the bright sun. "I can't change others' opinions of you, Dakota. There will always be some that dislike you for your size. Your antics. While you entertain the young pups, it does bother others. Unfortunately, you can't please everyone all the time." He looked back down to Dakota and nodded knowingly. "While some have challenged me for my place as Prime Alpha, they have all been met with a few supporters. While the majority disagreed and, ultimately, have made a lesson out of all of them, there will always be one or two. Now, I want you to come with me. While not everyone will accept you as a productive member of the pack, I can take you everywhere, and while you learn and grow stronger, you'll see the entire island, meet every pack and expand your knowledge." He bent down. "Would you want to do that?"

Kaiori, while the overseer of every pack on the large island, had always been a bit of a loner. When he disbanded from one group to go to another, he always did alone. But this scraggly little black and white thing could be something more than what he was initially viewed as.

Kaiori studied the young wolf while he spoke, and tended to see how Dakota reacted with each moment. His emotions fluctuated as his memories seemed to flow and pause, eliciting different reactions with each thought. Still, Kaiori thought Dakota would decline, so he was pleasantly surprised when the young one seemed more than eager. He stood and stretched his back legs. “I would be a terrible leader if I made a habit of lying, wouldn’t I?” He asked, leaning down to the black wolf. “Of course you can join me. Though I’ve been alone for many years, traveling between packs, I would love to share my knowledge of the land with one as eager and energetic as you.” He lifted a paw, nudging the young one into walking. “Come.”

They moved away from the old temple, through the trees and to the edge of the woods. From the shade they could watch the world move by as if they were simple spectators, and even at their presence, the other animals didn’t seem nervous or watchful; on the contrary, they looked toward the wolves and kept their eyes trained on them for a moment, going about their business. Nothing would happen until evening, and even then, both predator and prey were respectful of one another. “I’ve learned to feel the land. Feel the creatures upon the land, and befriend them, though they often fall to the wolf packs. We must not force the weak to fear us---without them, we wouldn’t be here.” Kaiori sat on his haunches. “I’ve met and spoken to many animals of the land. And while it’s true they fear they’ll be the next to fall, they respect our lives, so long as we respect them.”

Falling silent, he stared at the deer in the grassland. A herd stood to his left, and meandered about, mothers with their young, a few bucks watching over their land. Kaiori reveled in the way their watchful, dark eyes kept threats at bay but scanned over the two wolves in the shade of the nearby woods. “I am moving on tomorrow, before the sun rises.” Kaiori said at last. “If you’ve made your decision, I want to see you outside the temple before I depart.” He looked around to Dakota. “Do you understand?”