Forest's Journey

The place suddenly became a chaotic mess, with dogs sprinting out as quickly as possible and the humans scrambling to grab equipment to catch them or just trying to catch them with their bare hands. He clawed the bare leg of the human he was just playing with moments ago, and he cried in pain. He rushed around the yard, helping as many dogs who were caught by humans as possible. To his surprise, many larger dogs did the same. Maybe these many of these dogs aren’t really selfish loners, Forest thought. When Forest was sure all the dogs had escaped, he leapt over the fence in one, easy bound. He followed the dogs to the place where most of them were going, hoping to make sure that they were all alright. He found them gathered together in one large, abandoned alleyway. He guessed that these dogs had formed a bond when they were trapped together, and that they didn’t want to leave each other just yet.

“Does everyone know what they should do now that they’re free?” asked Forest.

The dogs shook their heads.

“Most of us haven’t been in the alleys for so long that we have forgotten many of the survival techniques.” called out one dog.

Forest tilted his head to one side thoughtfully. What if each dog used the skills they remembered to help each other? That’s it, they could form a pack here in the alleys.

“How does everyone feel about living in a pack?” Forest asked.

His question sparked much discussion, and suddenly the place was alive with debates and arguments about whether or not they should become a pack.

“Anyone who wants to be in a pack please stand on the right, while anyone who doesn’t stand on the left.” direction Forest, raising his voice above the others.

Most of the dogs, including his friend Shawn, stood on the right. There were about 30 dogs who wanted to be in a pack, which was enough.

“Those who don’t want to be in a pack, you’re free to leave at any time. Those who do, stay here.” instructed Forest.

After those who wanted to leave had left, Forest turned to the remaining dogs, nervousness and excitement tumbling around in his belly. He had obviously never created a pack before, but this was good practice for when he needed to actually form a pack of his own from the ground up.

“First, you need to find someone to be the Alpha of the pack. Who do you think is suitable?” asked Forest.

“Shawn, he and you came up with the plan to escape, and since you’re not going to be here, Shawn should be our leader.” suggested a dog.

Murmurs of agreement reverated around the group. Shawn was stunned, looking at Forest with bewilderment in his eyes.

“I can’t be a leader! I have very little experience!” exclaimed Shawn.

“There’s a first time for everything, and hey, these dogs trust you a lot, so there’s no other dog more fit to be a leader.” assured Forest.

“I suppose I can give it a go.” Shawn mumbled.

“Now everyone needs to pick a second-in-command, called the Beta, third-in-command, called the Delta, a head guardian, called the Epsilon and a war general, called the Zeta.” directed Forest.

The selection process for these roles wasn’t so clean-cut, as many dogs wanted the roles. However, they eventually picked out some dogs for these roles that the group was more or less happy with.

“If this were a pack in the forest, someone here would know about herbs and other treatments for wounds and illnesses, but there aren’t-” Forest began.

“Who says there aren’t?” someone interrupted.

Forest scanned the crowd to see who it was. To his surprise, he found that it was a she-wolf who had just joined the group along with a he-wolf he assumed was her mate. He thought they resembled someone he knew, and something clicked in his head.

“Are you Flower, Violet and Thorn’s parents, by any chance?” Forest asked.

“Yes, how do you know?” asked the he-wolf.

Forest explained how he met Flower and her littermates, as well as their mission. The she-wolf and he-wolf were named Blossom and Flint, and that they were going to go to a pack in the forest to retire, but couldn’t find one so they stayed on the streets.

“You said you could become the Theta and Iota of this pack?” Forest asked the two wolves.

“Yes, if they’d have us.” replied Blossom.

“Of course we’ll have you. I’m Shawn, by the way, the Alpha of this pack.” said Shawn.

The pack chose a Kappa, Sigma and Omegas as well, and finally it came down to sorting the remaining wolves into either being an Eta or a Lambda.

“Who here knows how to hunt prey?” asked Forest.

Around half the dogs raised their paws.

“Good, you can be the Lambdas, the hunters of the pack. The others can be the Etas, the warriors of the pack.” decided Forest.

During the next few days, Forest taught them everything they needed to know to maintain a functioning pack. He told them about things like the order of each rank in the pack, making and protecting borders and the common rules. He helped the pack come up with a name, the Pack of Flames. When Forest was finally satisfied that the dog pack was ready to stand on their own, Forest decided it was time to leave. It was quite an emotional goodbye, because he had become quite attached to the dogs he helped save. The dogs were attached to him too, not wanting to leave the wolf who had helped them form their pack.

“See you around, the Pack of Flames, and good luck on becoming a stronger and more prosperous pack.” Forest farewelled.

Calls of “see you Forest” and “we’ll miss you” echoed around the camp. Forest blinked back a tear. When it came time to leave, Blossom and Flint said they knew exactly where their pups were living, so they were able to lead him there. When they got there, it was already evening, and he was welcomed by his friends. Flint, Blossom and their pups and grandpups also had a warm reunion. It was an evening full of joy, love and peace, and Forest shuddered when he thought about what the alternate outcome of the situation could’ve been.