Chapter 11

I blinked awake, my head pounding and my feathers damp and ruffled, making me shiver as a cold wind sliced through me.

My first thought that flashed through my mind was, Great Glaux, wheres Cai?!

Then I looked around and the thought was swiftly replaced with, Where in Glaux's name am I?

It looked to be dawn and the land around me seemed to stretch on forever, looking barren and lifeless. Red light shone in the distance and when I squinted I could make out the outlines of five peaks.

Suddenly there was a soft noise, imperceptible to most owls but I was half Barn Owl and we had excellent hearing capabilities. I whipped around, fluffing out my feathers with my wings flared, ready to fight despite my haggard condition, praying that I looked more fearsome than simply a scared, ragged young owl.

A rather small Great Gray owl stared back at me, great amber eyes wide and unblinking as he gazed at me.

When he spoke, his voice was youthful but gruff, a low ominous rumble, "Who be you young'un?" There was a gentleness to the coarse roughness of his tone and I could see he wasn't even that much older than I was, a few moons at the most.

I hesitated a few moments before replying in a horse, cracked voice, "Tur of Tyto Forest sir."

The Great Gray gave a slight nod, "Sebastian." he grunted as he hopped around me, eyeing me appraisingly, "What you be doing in these parts Tur of Tyto Forest?"

"I got lost. A storm blew me off course." I explained, feeling uncomfortably embarrassed as I asked in a tentative voice, "Would you mind telling me where I am sir?"

"Thats Sebastian to you missy, just like everybody else in these parts," the owl muttered, "As for where you are, this be the Beyond the Beyond."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as I strained to remember the old stories and legends my father had told me, sifting through for any mention of the Beyond.

The memory came, swift and painful as I remembered my father's smooth voice, oh-so-perfect for storytelling.

"In the Beyond the Beyond Tur, there live the Dire wolves, the most majestic creatures on four legs. Eyes of flaming green, beautiful and mysterious, bigger than the biggest normal wolf and twice as smart. But beware daughter, for they are a strange folk, with many customs and ways that we of the sky do not fully understand. We must always remember to respect those different from ourselves. After all, they are of land and we are of sky." Da explained, his gave voice pulling my younger self into the story.

"That's right Da!" young Tur replied, her voice cheerful and bubbling with excitement at the prospect of another story, "Someday, I'll meet a Dire wolf Da! I will!"

I cringed at the memory of my younger self, so happy and carefree, content to dream the nights away, innocent and unaware of the horrors that lurked right outside the hollow.

That wasn't me.
Not anymore.

The memory continued to play out in my mind, tearing at my heart despite my attempts to block it away. I didn't want to remember Da, not after watching him die.

"And then Tur, there are the Watch wolves."

"Ooh, Da, what are they? What do they watch?" my younger self chirped, eager curiosity tearing at my heart.

Da chuckled, smiling warmly at the younger me as he continued, "The Watch wolves are the ones who stand sentry around the Sacred Ring of volcanoes, guarding the Ember of Hoole."

"What's that Da? It sounds exciting!" young Tur squeaked, eyes round with wonder.

Da smiled, patting her head with a broad wing, "That's a story for another time darling."

I winced again. I had never gotten to hear that story before the owls had come.

"The Watch wolves are the most honored of wolves though they start as the lowest ranking, as gnaw wolves. Gnaw wolves are malformed pups who, if they can survive being left in the open as newborns and return to a clan, have a chance to join the Watch."

"Why are they left in the wild?" young Tur wailed, eyes wide, "That seems awfully mean! How can a pup survive alone without it's mum?"

Da sighed, forcing a smile as he continued, "Hush Tur, some do manage to find their way back to their homes. If a malformed pup is born they are taken to a certain spot where they are meant to die, to prevent anymore 'bad blood' from being passed on through them. Even the mother is driven from that pack and forced to find another to accept her."

"That's mean!" little Tur pouted, scowling at her talons.

Da sighed again, patting Tur's head gently, "Remember daughter, they are different from us. That has been their way for generations and we are not to criticize it, understood?"

Younger Tur nodded, still looking put out at the thought of the poor malformed wolf pups left alone in the cold.

Da continued, apparently hoping to get my younger self back into the story, "It is also said that, when a Watch wolf dies, they have a chance of returning for a second life when the king returns and the Ember of Hoole is claimed by him. They return once more and are allowed a second chance at life as reward for their lives of servitude."

"That's nice." my younger self murmured, her eyelids drooping as she yawned, "I'll meet one of them one day Da, you just wait."

"I know you'll make me proud Tur, you already have."

I blinked, confused. Da had never said that in my memory! I swept my gaze around and saw a misty form in front of me.

Tears gathered in my eyes as I recognized the familiar face in that fog.

Da! I called though my beak never really moved.

The misty shape smiled, dipping it's head, Hello daughter.

I heard the words yet, at the same time, I didn't as they seemed to simply appear inside my head.

The words seemed to pour out of my mind, tumbling over one another in their haste to be spoken.

Da I'm so sorry, I tried to save him-

Hush Tur, you didn't fail. You've survived this far and you've made me so proud already. But there is something more important you must know. Be careful of yourself. Things are coming that will test you greatly. Beware one called friend!

Then he was gone and I was left staring at a very annoyed Sebastian.

"Hey, kid! Great Glaux, pay attention already!" he growled, flapping his wings in front of my face, "I said, if you need a place to rest for the day, you can come to my hollow but I expect you to have moved on by First Dark tomorrow if you do!"

I dipped my head, feeling bewildered and confused but grateful to the Great Gray for having offered, "Thank you Sebastian, that'd be lovely."

((A/N- Yay, an update of a goodish length! Sorry its a bit of a late update, I actually wrote this down like a week ago but I was too lazy to type it out until now. Anyways, hope you all liked, sorry it wasn't that eventful, bit of a low muse right now but I'm doing my best to keep updating for y'all! Hope you all liked this and stuff, took a long time to write at like 1;30am and I wanna go to bed XD I feel so proud since I've gotten like four or five updates up today! Anyways, I have a pole up on my profile for which story people want me to update most frequently so if you want, go check it out and give me your votes! Reviews are appreciated and whatever so yeah, hope you all enjoyed!))