Lost Creek Hollow down here all the fish is happy

It was official. The band of loners was no more; but instead a true pack. Luke's chest was swelled with pride, and he devoted himself to starting things off on the right paw. Even as thoughts of his paramour on the plateau danced in his head, he committed himself to seeing to the caches as promised. When he had taken care of his newfound responsibilities, he would be able to take a day or two for himself to travel west.

He had previously scouted a promising pool in one of the many streams that winded through their home. With a soft current flowing into it, a smooth pebble bottom and overhanging brush on either side, it promised to hold trout; and indeed, when he fished for his breakfast, he found it teeming with fish. Here, a short distance from the bank between the roots of a stately he tree, he worked to dig a cache.

His white paws stained brown as he dug, and across the stream and through the trees sang is harmonious voice. "Under the sea, under the seeeeeaaa.... darling it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from meeeee!"

Hey! :D
Mind if we forward-date it to present day??

It wasn't easy getting used to pack-life after so long being alone. She had to hunt with the pack, which was actually a lot easier (and safer), and every so ofted she would come across a friendly pack-mate. It wasn't bad at all, but it took time for the female to feel comfortable again.

Besides her tasks as a member of the pack, the female had taken her naturalist training seriously. She knew big deal about plants already, and she hoped that with dedication she could become not only a plant specialist, but a wildlife expert, which would be useful for her pack when the temperatures dropped.

The creek to which the land owed its name was an point of interest for the aspiring naturalist. The population of fish, of many kinds, was healthy and abundant. She knew for sure that trout made of this place their home, which was exciting news as it could be a good source of food during large-prey scarcity. Bella had been observing the fish from the siverbend for a while when a loud voice broke her focus. She got up from her sphinx-like position and followed the general direction of the singer, intrigued by his melodious voice.

Between the branches of a stately tree, and stained in brown earth, Arabella found one of her pack-mates, digging a cache, and singing a beautiful song out loud. She couldn't help but giggle, and decided to watch him in a sitting position a few steps behin him. He was a funny guy.

that's fine! :)

With his head tucked into an ever-deepening hole and his ears surrounded by his song as it reverberated against the freshly dug earth, the blue-nosed wolf was not aware he had company. So he kept working and singing. "Up on the shore they work all day, out in the sun they slave away, while we devotin' full time to floatin' under the seeeeaaaa!" He backed out of his hole then to inspect his work. Satisfied, he turned and "Oh!" he startled, coming to a sudden stop part way through his turn. "My dear you almost gave me a heart attack. I did not know you were there," he grinned.

It was one of their founding members, a fair young female whom he had yet to truly meet. Her name though he had caught, and he heard her sing with the pack. "Arabella, right? I'm Luke." His tail waved.

The sylph watched with a smile as the blue-nosed male dug deeper into his hole as he sang with his melodious voice. For a moment, she got lost in his baritones, they reminded her of her own father singing her to bed. Oh, how she missed her father and brothers. It was so unfair not being able to see them again. But that was something she was willing to give up to if it meant keeping them safe.

The tunes of Luke's song were so bewitching that Bella allowed her eyes to close for a second, but with a loud gasp her ears fell back, flat in embarrassment when the male turned around and startled with her prescence.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she said embarrassed, "I was just listening to your song... I must say you have a brilliant voice..." she complimented, and offerend a shy smile. But Luke didn't seem to be bothered at all by Bella's company, and kindly offered an introduction, already aware of who she was.

"It's really nice to formally meet you, Luke. You can call me Bella." And there it was again, that kind and charming smile of hers.

"No worries at all!" he hurried to reassure. He did not mind being surprised by pleasant company, and it was on him to have been so unaware of his surroundings. It was a fault, for sure, and bound to get him into real trouble someday. His life had mostly been smooth sailing and so he simply did not harbor the same wariness as some other wolves, and he was not known for being cautious either.

She complimented his singing and offered an alternative moniker to call her by, and he could not help but grin broadly. "Thank you, Bella," he winked. "Do you sing?" His head leaned to the side as he dared to hope she did.

Bella would have blushed, but she was a wolf. Wolves don't blush, so instead the pretty girl smiled shyly and took back her seat only this time closer to Luke. Just as him, Arabella often had trouble with being startled by others as her attention was usually focused on the colors of the wind rather than her surroundings.

The pale male asked whether Bella, too, had a liking for songs. For a moment, her shy smile became pure excitement, but then nostalgia took over and her eyes shifted down to look at her paws.

"I do," she replied, "But I haven't in quite a while." She forced her head up and smiled again, this time it was a faint smile, but it would do to conceal the fact that she missed her father, who had taught her all the beautiful songs she knew.

"I had never heard yours, however. Did you compose it yourself?"

"I do," she said, and the blue-nosed wolf's tail beat a bit faster, even though she added that she had not done so in a while. It was rare that he found others that would sing; and even rarer that he could convince them to sing with him. Many who did sing chose to do so in private, and while Luke did that too, he (obviously) had no qualms about doing so where all could hear. He was about to ask her if she would sing him a song, when she inquired about the one he had been serenading the hollow with.

Luke shook his head. "I heard it from a crab on the beach," he said, charading as usual with a serious face before he chuckled. "I kid. I am not sure where I heard it first, but it's not my own invention." He paused, before seizing the chance to ask her for a song of her own. "How about you sing me one that you know?"

The sylph tilted her head to a side when Luke told her he'd heard the song first from a crab at the beach. "Oh..." she exclaimed, trying to figure out how a crab could even sing, but when Luke chuckled, revealing that it was a joke, she joined the laughter She enjoyed his silly, but mannered behavior, and could already tell that theirs would be a warm friendship. Perhaps, if every other member was like this, she was somewhere not only to call home, but to finally let go of her painful past.

Luke asked Bella to sing a song of her own, and for a moment she hesitated. She hadn't sung in a very long time, and perhaps the words had gotten lost on her forever. But then, Arabella realized that she knew just the right song to sing when sadness threatened to darken her day, one that she could never forget.

"Well... If you insist..." she smiled and cleared her throat, "I think it goes like this..." she said, and when her voice opened to let out a set of notes, the birds seemed to go silent for a moment. And then the words flowed from her mouth like pure velvet.

"With a smile and a song

Life is just a bright sunny day

Your cares fade away

And your heart is young


With a smile and a song

All the world seems to waken anew

Rejoicing with you

As the song is sung


There's no use in grumbling

When the raindrops come tumbling

Remember, you're the one

Who can fill the world with sunshine


When you smile and you sing

Everything is in tune and it's spring

And life flows along

With a smile and a song..."

When her lips closed, and her eyes opened, she looked at Luke with a shy smile. "My mother used to sing it to me when I was sad... When I sing it I know everything will be okay..."

The song is from Snow White
Classics are beautiful...

Yes!

She held his attention entirely as she prepared to sing for him. His ears cupped forward, and his mouth held an unwavering grin while his tail (ever happy thing that it was) swept back and forth excitedly. He did not know what to expect of her, but he expected to be delighted either way for it would not matter if she squawked like a dying bird he would have been thrilled to hear her sing at his request. But what he heard caused his jaw to slacken; he was stunned. She had an incredibly melodious voice.

"Woo!" he barked enthusiastically when she finished speaking, lifting up on his paws "Bella, my dear, you are amazing!" He shook his head. "Ya blew me away," he winked. After a moment of grinning like a fool he shared with her what singing often meant for him. "I started singing as a way to cope with sadness," he said. "It really lifts the spirit. I think more wolves should sing."

Sorry if I'm being too slow :s

Once again, a moment for blushing came as the Male complimented her singing. Bella smiled and looked down for a moment, not sure she was feeling quite the right emotions after that specific song. She looked down for a second, still smiling awkwardly, and lifted her sight just in time to catch Luke's wink. "Thank you..."

The male shared with Bella his own reasons to sing, which although she agreed with them, came as an absolute surprise. It was hard imagining Luke other than absolutely happy, but there were dark days in everyone's lives and singing was, indeed, the best way to lift the spirits then.

"I agree... Although it's hard to imagine you being sad..." she smiled, somehow trying that to come off as a compliment and a joke at the same time. "Will I have to find a singing crab myself to get that effect?"

You're fine! I've been a bit scarce myself. Quite busy here lately!

He chuffed softly at her words, an amused but understanding smile lifting his mouth. She was not the first wolf to tell him that they could not picture him sad. He recalled a similar conversation with Peregrine, and he wondered briefly about the dark alpha, whom he had not seen for quite some time. Perhaps a trip south was in order.

"No no," he answered. "But if you do find a singing crab, please let me know so I may sing with him," he chuckled heartily, before shifting to offer her a bit of insight. "It's just a way of being, about living in the present and not letting the past ruin your day or worrying too much about the future. It took me a while of living in the dark to realize how much more fun it was to live like this." He flashed her a beaming grin, his tail wagging to emphasize his point.

Loved this thread <3
feel free to fade with one last post

"I would love to," she said joining Luke's laughter, "we will have to make a trip to the beach someday..." she suggested with a smile and even more heartily giggles.

As Luke spoke, Bella immediately felt identified with his every word. Sadness haunted her, followed her every step, and made her life an endless drama. But it was all in her own head. Luke was right in everything, from one being its own grey clowd to not letting one's past ruin the present. Bella's heart felt heavy for a second just to think what Luke could have been through to be saying what he said, but following his wise advise she closed the door on sadness before it got her.

"Life is beautiful with a smile and a song..." she added, smiling at her new friend. "So..." she said, as an attempt to drive the conversation away from what could be a topic too deep and touching for Bella, who still didn't feel ready to share her spirit with anyone but herself, "will you sing again for me? I would love to learn the words..."

thanks for the thread!

With a smile, the blue-nosed wolf could not help but oblige the girl's request. He sang the song in its whole, and then taught her the lyrics word by word. Amid laughter and grins, she eventually learned his silly ditty, and the day passed by in merriment, until such a time that both wolves happily parted for a rest.