Sunset Valley King of the Valley

The temperature was warmer: Amaguq could feel spring at bay.

But the forest was still covered in ice blue, in all the trees and shrubs, frozen and asleep, waiting for the season to arrive. The golden-orange clusters of mushrooms with velvety stems shone against the cold tones, marking the trees that will never bloom again. Amaguq liked those slimy caps and had been eating them for some time.

The wolf stopped in its tracks to look into the depths of a tunnel, formed by the trees and their branches, so densely intertwined that the ground was cast into the gloom. The gale stirred the wolf's thick mane, and then he heard a voice, soft and delicate, one with the wind.

"Beware, white wolf, for there is a monster within these woods." Amaguq's ears twisted, searching for the voice's source, to no avail. "You're the one who howled a few days ago, weren't you?"

"Quite an acute hearing you have. Yes, it was me." Amaguq replied with increasing curiosity.

"Good. The creature has heard you, too, and has been restless ever since."

"And what would that creature be?"

"A boar: a big, vicious, smelly boar!" The voice intoned with disdain. "It arrived a few weeks ago, and it has been tormenting the forest ever since. His gluttony has no match: he feeds on everything - and everyone - that stands in its way, even its own kin."
"And why are you so concerned about a fat boar?"

"I couldn't care less about the boar; it's the critters that are fleeing this place that concern me. I am a predator, just like you, but I rely exclusively on small game."
A predator, yet too small to be seen...

"I've been watching you, white wolf." The voice continued. "A predator that feeds on mushrooms to satisfy its hunger must certainly long for something more... substantial. If your might is as high as your howl, stride forward: let the destruction lead your path to the beast's lair, and kill it."

"Is the beast alone?"

"A good question: such ruthlessness would imply so, right? However, the truth is that the beast is rarely on his own: there are always others watching his back."

That changes the tide...

"How many?"

"Last time I've counted, there were six boars in total."
Amaguq smirked. "I am flattered by such faithfulness, but there is no way I can hunt six boars alone."
"Hunt down the beast, the biggest of boars, and the others shall flee for sure."

Amaguq huffed. "Okay, I'll do it. But if you play any tricks on me, I'll be haunting these woods until I find you, owl!"
"An owl I am indeed, yet too small to fight alongside you. But I'll be watching... for all that's worth."

Amaguq howled at the wind once more, a call for arms for every predator nearby. There will be competition, no doubt, but also the promise of six boar carcasses at the end of all this. It is worth the risk.
Come, those with fangs, claws, hunger, and spirit! The moon rises broken in half: one side is silver, the other is blood!