If this was true, than why hadn't she discovered a pack yet? Her paws itched with curiosity to find these groups and learn about them. Something told her that they wouldn't be so open about themselves as she would hope. Annoyance ran through her veins, causing her to growl-roar at a little raven that was pecking at a fruit. It flew off, sounding an alarm to all the animals around her. Great, she thought, now they'll all be gone in their holes. Pandora stomped the ground with a single paw, snarling with her hunger. Lately, in the past few days, she had gained weight, and her fur got shinier. Back to her prime.
Hollow padded along through the fields, enjoying himself, head at a proud tilt, tail relaxed, he was happy, and calm for the moment. He reveled in his strength, enjoyed the solidity of his frame. He was a strong wolf, he was proud. He saw a black shape silhouetted against a growing dawn sky, Hollows pace didn't slow, his nose told him she was a female a little older than he. He heard her growl at a distance, and saw a raven flutter away. Even from here he heard the frustration, he approached as she stomped on the ground and snarled. He sat down and gazed evenly at her,
<b>"Rough night?"</b> he gave a little growl of laughter. He saw hunger in her movements so he sympathized with her, he was hungry once too.<b>"Seems the prey doesn't like to run the fields here this early, any that does is usually small anyways."</b> He realized had not yet introduced himself,<b>"My name is Hollow by the way"</b> he gave a respectful nod to the other.
"Seems the prey doesn't like to run the fields here this early, any that does is usually small anyways." The younger male tried to tell her nicely that she wasn't going to catch anything. That she was so dim-minded and weak that she couldn't catch her own meals? He thought she was weak. That's when she decided that he deserved payback. To his words, Pandora said nothing. She had nothing to say to him. "My name is Hollow by the way." The other individual murmured, dipping his broad head. Pandora scoffed. "Pandora." The dark she-wolf's voice sounded cocky, and it resembled the quality of dark, tainted glass. She stayed silent and un-conversational.
Hollow, she thought, that reminds me of something...someone... The she-wolf narrowed her eyes and studied the wolf's features. He had a pitch-black pelt. The few patches of brown and gray were noticeable if she watched enough. Her eyes flickered with interest. Hollow was the name that her old parents had dearly loved. While her mother was curled in a den, pregnant with a small litter that wasn't even expected to live. Her real parents, ones she barely remembered. She blinked a few times. No, that couldn't be. It wasn't. This bastard had a relation to her! I mean, look at his eyes, she thought as she tried to comfort her disturbed self.
"Hah! What am I thinking?!" The black woman growled a chuckle, horrified with thinking about the bittersweet truth. Had her parents really moved on without her, lived their lives and had that litter without even looking for their lost daughter? A sore, bitter anger filled her bones. Why me?
<b>"Didn't mean to offend you Pandora"</b>, Hollow said, dipping his head low once more. he flicked his busy tail and shook off some of the dawn chill settling upon his broad shoulders. His eyes grew dark as the journey he had taken from his first home attacked him once more, as it did when he saw hungry, or weak, wounded wolves.<b> "The prey stay off of the plains until daybreak, I know what going hungry is like, I would never deny anyone better knowledge of where to catch the fattest mouse."</b> His tone light, his words fumbled slightly he didn't see much hope in brightening Pandora, his mind had recessed into itself again he was thinking, why is this wolf so familiar. The journey south... it was screaming at him but he couldn't hear it in the deepest recess of his ind a memory was awakening, but he just couldn't catch it.
He gazed one more at Pandora, pitch black pelt, green eyes, the scent, her age they all meant something. Then a full blown flashback flared in his vision.<i> Hollow was very young curled at his mothers side, and listened to her talk to his father in sorrowful murmurs."I still miss her so, do you think she made it somewhere safe?" His response low and just as laden with sadness as hers, "We can only hope my dear, that she made it to some kind of safety." Little Hollow rolled over against his mothers belly, "Momma who is lost?" he panicked for a moment and made sure his brother and sister were both still safely next to him. Her gaze softened as she gazed at her little cub, "Your sister Hollow, she was lost in the snow up north, we waited until we couldn't for you and your brother and sister would not have survived the winter." We miss your sister Pandora dearly.</i> Hollows eyes snapped open wide, and he asked tentatively, <b>"Pandora, where are you from?"</b>
Maybe it was because she felt like a storm was coming. That was her only instinct: to run and brace for the incoming floodwaters. Her heart raced, and she seemed to just ignore everything Hollow seemed to gobble about after that. He seemed to space out as well, leaving silence in their wake. She backed away slowly and watched him look into the distance timidly. Time seemed to pass like a snail. But as soon as he asked the question, she knew the storm was approaching quicker than she pondered. "Pandora, where are you from?"" This inquiry left the maiden fairly lost for words. Her dark, murderous eyes averted to Hollow. It was obvious the discovery they just made, like archaeologists searching for fossils in the deepest ocean with no equipment but their memories.
"You don't think-" The evil-spirited she-wolf spat sharply, breaking off and floating away like glaciers in the Arctic Ocean. No! She would not submit to this. All of the REAL siblings she knew of were south...long gone. "Look, Hollow, sorry to burst your over-sized bubble for a brain, but I don't like openly talking about my past."
The angry and almost violent look in her eyes, told him tenfold what she had already spoken. But something inside Hollow almost wanted to say, <i>sister?</i> but he knew she would only berate him further but his mind began backtracking, maybe he was wrong, after all who was Hollow but a lone wolf, he had seen his parents bleed. Pandora was nothing but a memory he couldn't even be sure existed, maybe it was a coincidence this wolf shared the same name. All Hollow wanted was that companionship, of knowing you had blood kin that would be there for you. His eyes and ears fell, <b>"I'm sorry Pandora, I... I thought you were someone else, I must be going insane out here alone, I bet my damned parents never lived up north anyways."</b> He thought for sure that all of it had been true but it could have been nothing but a lie if Pandora didn't even entertain the idea in the least.
don't know why I'm always letting you in.
Pandora Roman had never felt so brash in her life. She wanted to bite his face off. It was an odd feeling, the knowing of something that you could no time to worry for. She simply could not afford another piece of the family to care for. She had killed the lunatics that took her in and molded her the way she was. Uptight. Hostile. Wrong. Assertive: all traits that they had somehow passed down to her. In that same moment, she couldn't help but wonder what her real parents were like. Were they soft-spoken, loving, supportive? Something told her this could be true, seeing Hollow so calm and soft.
Her eyes did not bother to watch the other wolf, who was standing as well. She could see his bright white fangs glint in the sun out of the corner of her eye, but her emerald-surrounded pupils unfocused spacily. The world from the mask of hatred that was Pandora eased for a few moments while she took this all in. So, it was easy as that? You wander into a blackberry field and meet your long-lost brother? Small world, she guessed.
The black wolf's head shot a look at Hollow and her eyes finally adjusted to the brightening lights. Her tail thumped the ground once and she finally replied with a dry throat, "I guess not, Hollow. You must be wrong. Because my real parents that raised me from a pup are dead. I killed them. And the people that you think I biologically came from are probably dead too. Aren't they? Are our parents dead? Do you have any other siblings?"
He had much more information to give but he couldn't find words, his mind had slipped back to memories once again, they were beginning to fade, the bad parts were hazy. only his warm den and their parents memories remained clear. <b>"I never knew our real last name either, or their first name, just mine. They were wonderful parents, and they always told me how our father spent weeks pacing the snow looking for you. They always told me that mother Howled for you for 3 days at dawn, noon, and dusk, when we left she howled her sadness until we were born.</b> He didn't know how Pandora would take it but he hoped it would soothe some part of the dark she wolf. <b>"I could always see the sadness when she talked about you Pandora'</b>
She laughed blissfully and then turned her attention to Hollow, who seemed to be getting emotional. She scoffed. Pandora tuned in to what he was saying "I never knew our real last name either, or their first name, just mine. They were wonderful parents, and they always told me how our father spent weeks pacing the snow looking for you. They always told me that mother Howled for you for 3 days at dawn, noon, and dusk, when we left she howled her sadness until we were born. I could always see the sadness when she talked about you Pandora. The male version of herself spoke about her parents with such a realism that it made Pandora almost wish that she was there to see her parents face-to-face. That brought her to wonder how much Hollow loved his family. "So...Hollow, if you could talk to your parents one more time...what would you say to them? Ask them?"
The question she posed caught Hollow off guard, he had never thought of that, what could he say if he could see them once more. At first there was nothing but the sound of wind, the breath of his copy stirring the air. If only she had known their parents maybe she wouldn't be so angry at everything. Still Pandora hadn't and she was the way she was and the more he thought the more it didn't matter. Hollow was very tired of running away from it an now that he had found Pandora and knew his bloodline would not be lost it was an easy answer. "All I would tell them is that I am happy they were my parents, they were good parents, and to tell mother that I found her lost Pandora and not to worry anymore. My only wish is that they are resting well." As he spoke his heart felt a weight come off of it as he knew he would be able live a full life even without his parents.
{Fade out}