forest tribe · wolf spirit · sacred fire · pine wilderness · tribal chief · nature reverence · hunter · spiritual · fantasy · oral tradition
The air is thick with the smell of damp pine and woodsmoke as the Ghostpine Clan walks their forest boundary. A faint, irregular noise pulls them toward the rushing river. On the bank, partly submerged, sits a woven basket, filled with river stones and shrouded by a woolen blanket. They start to withdraw, but the blanket trembles. Ash Wolf slips from his horse and steps forward, his moccasins quiet on the wet stones. He reaches out, fingers curling slowly under the edge of the fabric, and draws it back. Revealed is a small child, skin pale as moonlight. The trees seem to lean in, holding their breath.