I was born into a pack of wolves that were considered perfectionists. Everything had a purpose and it was to be followed. All the females were all white with crystal blue eyes and all the males were a darker gray color with amber eyes. When I was born, my parents, Vera (my mother) and Wilcoa (my father) thought a curse had been placed on them by the wolven gods. I had blue gray eyes and a turquoise curly-q line that traveled up from the base of my paw to the middle of my leg. Also, the tip of my tail had been black with dots outlining it. So because of those simple flaws (I grew up knowing they were flaws) I was turned upon. But I'll get to that later.
My parents kept me a secret for years. I had a sister named Clasidia, or as I called her, Dia. She was "perfect", the regular white pelt and crystal blue eyes. She was sure to be the beauty of the pack. And then my brother, Zodiac: he was strong, and handsome. His gray pelt and beautiful amber eyes were sure to win over the faes.
For as long as I can remember, I was sent away to the deep parts of the forest during the day. I played with my shadow, pretending I was normal and I didn't have to hide. I pretended I had a family who wasn't ashamed of me and would long to have a daughter like me. When night fell, I was allowed to crept silently back to my family's den and sleep. Then my mother would wake me early in the morning and send me into the forest again. I learned to hunt by myself. And I learned to grow aloof.
One day I couldn't take it. I had gotten older and during my time in the forest. I thought I should talk to my parents. So I walked out of the forest and into the pack terrain. Little did I know, all the wolves had been summoned for a pack meeting. Dia and Zodiac had told me about the meetings when we stayed awake talking into the night. I had never seen the other pack members before and I stopped suddenly. The crowd turned to look at me and gasps and shrieks of terror were heard from them.
The pack was run not by Alphas. It was run by a single Elder. I saw the Elder, and what a horrifying sight he was. His pelt was terribly wrinkled. His gray fur was missing in some areas, leaving pink patches on his body. The nails on his paws were long and ragged. And his eyes were just empty black sockets, staring blindly at the world. Dia said he was deaf, but he must've heard me, because he called out, "Who enters?" I stood numbly as Vera, my mother called out, "It is a stray pup, one from the Beyonds."
The Beyonds are the places not in the pack's terra. They are places where other wolves come from. But I didn't think about that. I thought about how much my mother's words pained me. But instead of agreeing with Vera, I shook my head. "I am no pup. I am a yearling, and I am not a stray." The father shot me a daring glance.
But I just smiled. "I have parents, in this pack in fact." The wolves gasped and backed away. "What wolf would have this little demon as a pup!?" the Elder demanded. No one spoke.SPEAK." The Elder seemed to have silenced Earth with his terrible roar.
It was I who spoke at last. "Vera and Wilcoa are my parents, sir." Wolves backed away from my parents and my siblings. The Elder turned his empty sockets on them.
So," he said in an eerie whisper. "You have brought this…this curse into out pack? Well, Vera shall be sent into the Beyonds for carrying such a monster. Wilcoa, you shall be forced to stand Guard every night, making sure Vera and her pups don't set foot in this land ever again." Dia whimpered, but Zodiac said nothing. Vera looked like she wanted to tear me apart.
As for you!" The Elder turned towards me. "You shall be sent away from here, to the deepest part of the Beyonds!" I hatched a small smirk on my face. "Now, be gone!" the Elder cried, spraying his spit into my face.
I turned on my foot, leaving my brother and sister and both of my parents. I knew exactly where I would go. To the water.
***
I had heard about the water from the Sparrows and Jays as they flew about my head. I wanted to see the things called Ships, talk with the ones called Humans, and swim in the thing called water.
I had no idea what I was talking about.
I was almost two summers by the time I reached the waters. I stared ahead, at the vast, endless blue water that lay before me. I knew that this would be where I belonged. I dipped my white paw into the icy waters. Yes, this was how the water was supposed to feel. Smiling, I padded around in the shallows until I was too tired to paddle anymore. I lay down in the sandy beaches to dry. But soon enough, I fell asleep.
When I awoke, waves were crashing against the shore. The sky had turned an ugly black and thunder could be heard echoing across the land. I shivered. Suddenly, I was a huge black silhouette of some sort out on the water. I wondered if it was the Humans, so I raced out into the icy waters to ask for help. I was thrown around like a toy, going under each time a wave hit me. But I was getting closer to the silhouette. Each time a wave hit me and I went under, I saw the thing under water, drawing nearer.
When I came up for air, it was directly over me. I waved my paws around and howled, hoping it would get attention.
And it did. Two faces appeared over the edge of the thing. They looked nothing like wolves. Their faces were pink, they had front-ways eyes, ears on the sides of their hands and they stood on two legs. Normally, if I had been a regular pup, I would've heard stories about the Two-Leggers, about what villains and tyrants they were. But my parents never had me around, remember? So I was never told these stories.
Aye, lookit there, Cap'n," one of the Two-Leggers said. He had a shaggy face, missing teeth, and a sun burnt nose. "It's a li'l white wolf!"
The other Human nodded. He had a huge hat on his head with a giant black feather, a patch over an eye, and missing teeth. "Haul the thing on board. We'll take a look at 'er."
So I was brought aboard. I let them poke me and stroke my fur until someone noticed my eyes. "Lookit her eyes!" I winced, waiting for an insult. "Ain't they pretty, lads?" A chorus of "aye's" murmured through the crowd. Someone noticed my tail and said it was rather dashing on me. Then someone spotted the curly line on my leg. "Unusual. But it suits 'er fine." More ayes' then the Human that rescued me earlier took off the bandana around his great head. It was black with little white skulls on it. "'Ere you go, lass," he said, tying it around my head. It was a little big, for the ribbons keeping it together trailed behind me. "A little present for ye, from me, Thomas." I thanked him, by licking his cheek.
Then the Human with the great hat whom everyone called Captain stepped foreword and said to me, "Welcome, lassie pup, to the great ship, The Wolf. Seems a bit strange that you're aboard a ship named after yer kind, don't it lads?"
What'll we call 'er?" Thomas asked, petting my head. "How about, Aoku? 'Cause port Aoku is just a mile away from 'ere." "Aye! So be it, li'l lassie pup. You'll be called Aoku from now on!" There were cheers and I stood tall, howling.
I had done it. I had swum in the sea, was aboard a ship, and met with Humans. And even though I heard horror stories about Humans, these creatures seemed nice enough. In fact, the Humans were nicer to me then my parents had been.
Days turned into months and months turned into years. I was sure I had been on the ship for over two years. I had slept in Thomas's quarters, on his floor. Captain had given me a black skull tattoo on my left shoulder. Yes, it hurt quite terribly, but I must admit, it did make me look fierce. I loved being a pirate, as the Humans called themselves. It was great.
But all too soon, happiness ended. The Wolf met a rivaling ship one day, and my home was blasted into smithereens. I watched Thomas die and saw the Captain hand over the treasure we had work all those years to collect. Then I watched my brave captain go down with his ship. Then, it was just me, alone in the ocean.
I paddled towards land and gasped for air. I remembered this beach. This was where I had been all those years ago when I first discovered the sea. I sighed. Then fell asleep.
Do you notice that everything goes horribly wrong when you go to sleep? Like when you drift off, everything is fine, but when you wake up, there's a new danger? Well, once again, I opened my eyes the next morning, and there I was, face to face with my sister Dia. I should've smiled and offered a hello, but I didn't. Dia was snarling at me.
Dia! Dia! It's me, Aoku!" I smiled, but she snarled more. "Dia, I'm your sister."
Oh, I know who you are. You're my stupid sister who got us banished because of your stupid actions!" I looked at her. She was dreadfully skinny, missing fur, and her pupils were dilated. "Because of you, I'm not myself anymore!"
Where are Mom and Zodiac?" I asked franticly. Dia chuckled.
Dead! They couldn't survive without Dad." Then Dia lunged for me. I dodged out of her way. "Come back here!" she screamed as I dashed into the forest.
I sighed, once I was in the deepest part of the forest. Life had spun out of control for me. I didn't have anyone anymore. I looked towards the sky, panting. It was then I decided that I would travel the world, looking for somewhere to call my own. I decided, I'd be a traveling, land-locked pirate. I didn't need anything or anyone anymore. I looked at the trees and the bushes and I smiled. Hardening my heart against the world, I took a step into my new life.