Long ago, in the vast mountains up in the north, a different pack of wolves, who called themselves the Windozi, lived in harmony with the rigid territory of rock, and had made their home in a large stone ravine the mountains split. They thrived, with many pups and hefty prey.
Nebu was one of the dozens of pups born, and made friends with Alzali, the ebony black melanism princess heir to thethrone, a lucky privilege that started Nebu off quite popular. She trained in adolescence to be a scout, but always found time to chat with Alzali.
Nebu, on one of her patrols, came across Gelu, a rebellious, childish rogue, who had been hiding within their territory, as he was lost, but could not join the pack. Nebu couldn't help but feel sympathetic, and often visited him to give him leftovers, even if it was an high offense she could get in trouble for. They chatted a lot, as they both learned about each other, they had fallen in love.
But, Nebu had to eventually choose between her pack and her crush, and she chose her pack out of loyalty. She told him he was on his own- and didn't want to see him around anymore. It was painful for both of them, but he obeyed, and left for the forest below, telling her that if she ever changed her mind, he would he there.
She grew and became one of the packs top scouts, and Alzali was able to take over the throne after her mother mysteriously disappeared...
However, it seemed... as soon as Alzali took her place, a curse settled among them. Pups suddenly died off, prey became scarce, rockslides more frequent, and worst of all, an unknown fatal disease spread mad between pack members. It had gotten so bad that wolves were starting to leave, while others attempted to get Alzali to move to a safer place– it was clear the mountains no longer welcomed them.
Alzali refused. In fact- she did not speak. She had become silent, moping in her den wearily. She wouldn't even talk to Nebu, her best friend. Nebu, though a normally wise, respectful wolf, seemed short tempered with her best friend, yelling at her and lashing out about her being a terrible leader, in front of every other wolf. She wanted her friend back, not the shell she had become. That set Alzali off, and they started to grapple with each other, tooth and claw.
Suddenly, a terrible thunderstorm caused a flash flood within the ravine, causing the two to break up in a rush.
Wolves ran for their lives, but in the end, only a handful survived, including Nebu. They had rushed out just in time. Alzali, was not lucky.
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