Elders Alders
Rolling clouds paint the dawn sky, lighting the hollow before you. The brightest light peeks through tangled alder branches, revealing wolf-cleared dirt paths weaving across the forest floor. Your eyes trace the winding trails, connected to several above-ground dens dug into slopes or cleared splits between rocks. Their luxury stuns you - each is spacious, pelts hanging from the walls and hunting trophies arranged neatly against them. Some are even decorated with feathers. You're surprised how well maintained this area is.Underpaws—the adolescent wolves of the Phoenix Tribe—are blinking sleep from their eyes while carrying new bedding, tip-toeing around elder wolves with thick grey muzzles and tending to their dens.
The Tribe elders rest here. Once wolves reach 6 years old, they can choose to retire and nest in this hollow. Many are respected hunters who still ripple with muscle from years of hard labor. Some choose to become mentors to teach the new generation, while others choose to relax and do whatever they want with the rest of their time on earth.
The final resting place of the Tribe's wolves is down one of the winding trails, where the forest opens to a vast open clearing. Sprouts of all sizes grow here, with stones placed before them. As you lean down, you notice names and stories of the past are carved on each rock. Many elders spend time maintaining the clearing, placing flowers against the stones or ensuring the growing trees are healthy.