Another spring song {Forte}

It was not the bright sunlight that woke Yiska today, but the birdsong. The loud, piercing, beautiful birdsong. He rolled over on his bed of fir branches and groaned. Ever since spring had started that sound had awoken him every morning. Not that he hadn't expected it: they'd had birds in his old pack's territory of course. But after a long winter in the mountains he'd gotten used to the silence. He imagined when all the birds left later in the year the quiet would be unnerving.

After a few more minutes of attempting to go back to sleep, the wolf gave up, stretched and exited the den. Oh man, it was louder out here. He blinked in the light. Somehow morning sunlight was brighter than any, especially with all this snow to reflect it back into your eyes. He yawned and looked around to see if anyone else was up. He saw Placid lying in the entrance to her den, and he made his way to her. "Good morning, Placid," he said, lying just outside, and touched his nose to the underside of her muzzle in greeting and respect for his alphess.

The brown wolf's tail beat on the ground when he noticed Placid's smiles. She hardly ever looked happy, so today was a rare day indeed. He had often wondered why she smiled so little, but refrained from asking in case she didn't want to think about it. "Splendid," he replied, looking out into the dark forest downhill. That forest was his favorite part of the territory. He loved the mountains too, of course, but the tall trees and shadowy forest floor was so like his old home, he felt more comfortable there than anywhere else. It was home to large, antlered creatures called elk, like moose but smaller. He found their meat much more savory than that of the goats he and Placid hunted so often. Perhaps, with the arrival of spring, more elk and other prey would arrive in the forest and he would have more opportunity to venture into it. "What should we do today? The store is so full, we shouldn't need to hunt for weeks."

"That sounds good," he smiled as she stretched. In truth it did not sound very good at all. Yiska had hoped for adventures, and if taking a walk was the most exciting activity that was left, the mountains were very disappointing in that aspect. True, getting to know Makato and Placid had so far been very interesting and fun, and now that he had grown attached to both of them, he couldn't imagine how hard it would be to leave them if he wanted to again take up his journey across the world. Then Placid surprised him by bounding down the slope with a bounce in her step. She sure seemed playful today. Yiska took off after her, grinning, easily keeping up with his long legs.

Yiska stayed close to the smaller wolf, letting her know that he was letting her win, but his plan backfired. With no warning she spun around and pounced on him like a cat, very knocking him to the ground. "Oof." He squirmed beneath her while she worked on his ears. He could have thrown her off but he didn't want to hurt her. It was too easy for one to land funny and sprain an ankle or impale one's paw on a sharp rock. Plus he very much liked this playful side of Placid, who was usually so...placid. Luckily he didn't have to endure her onslaught for long: in just a couple of seconds she was up and running and disappearing into the forest while Yiska recovered. He followed, yelping excitedly.

He entered the forest. It sounded so different in here. It wasn't exactly quieter, but the constant background noise of the wind over the hills was absent, so he could hear the birds more clearly. The fir trees smelled wonderful. He would have loved to enjoy the peace and quiet, but he had a wolf to tackle. "Oh, Placid, where aaaaaare you?" He called, letting a hint of creepy malignancy into his voice. "I'm going to find you, deary." He continued walking, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any sign of her.

A growl from directly above him drew his eyes. There was his alphess, falling from a tree onto him. There was nothing he could have done; Yiska just took the attack full-on. She was surprisingly light and the larger wolf hardly staggered at all, but he fell to the ground anyway with a loud grunt. The carpet of years of fallen fir needles made the ground like a cushion. "Oof. You're so heavy and strong. Have you been working out?" He grinned at her, then sprang up and pinned her to the ground, mouthing the back of her neck while he made gnawing noises. Hopefully she would think he was drooling all over her.

He chuckled, making talking-like noises through her fur (he wasn't actually saying anything), but he let go because he wanted to see her smile some more. He kept her pinned, though. He wouldn't want her vanishing again, and he might enjoy lying on her while they had a calm, philosophical talk if she ever simmered down. These hopes were, of course, dashed when her ears perked up and she started wriggling like a worm in a beak. Confused by her sudden excitement, he hesitated before letting her go. "A waterfall?" he muttered. "I don't hear anything." And what's the big deal about a waterfall anyway? But Yiska had to humor this bubbly, excitable, lively new Placid. Besides, she was his leader. She would lead him. He stood, ready to follow her.

Yiska followed the more enthusiastic Placid at a quick trot, trusting that she wouldn't get too far ahead. She had some sense. He was still relishing the scent and sound of the forest. The birds sounded different from the ones up on the slopes and there were so many scents here. Scents of prey, of predator. Squirrels, raccoons, deer, bear, bobcat. Most were no real threat to a wolf, although you had to be careful with the bears.

Now he could hear the waterfall. It sounded larger than he had imagined. How had Placid not known about it? Wasn't this her territory? Suddenly her sharp cry reached his ears and his pace immediately switched to a sprint in the direction it had come from. He reached the stream in just a few seconds and in a few more he had spotted Placid, but those seconds had been enough to carry her quite a ways downstream. A ways further, the stream disappeared. Yiska's heart dropped into his chest for a moment before he burst into action again, racing downstream toward the waterfall. The stream was not very fast-flowing or wide, but it looked deep, which must have been the reason Placid got caught up in it so easily. He caught up to her and shouted, "Don't worry, Placid, just stay calm!" He himself was the opposite of calm.

A falling log up ahead, just a dozen yards from the falls, stretched over the stream. From the bank he leaped onto it and reached down with his paws, ready to catch his alphess. Suddenly he heard a crack and felt a shiver in the rotting wood beneath him. The log broke right in two and Yiska plunged into the freezing water just as Placid was washed past. He reached out and grabbed the fur on her neck and refused to let go. They would die together, at least.