Entry for Misty Copper! Name: Ark Gender: Female Species: Wolf Backstory: She shook her misty, long fur out in the sunlight. Ark bounded through the long grass, relishing the sun and feel of the wind in her fur. She'd been so young when she'd been transported by sea to this new island. Usually, pups would have to wait until they were 6 moons old to find out their element, and then they could travel through their element to the Mainlands. But Ark had found out earlier. It was an accident. She was playing with her best friend, Leaf, and they were pretending they were on a pirate ship. Ark was the monster who summoned the waves, and Leaf was trying to survive. "DROWN HER! DROWN HER, MY WAVES!" she had shouted, not knowing that she could actually do that. Suddenly, she was swept up into a torrent of waves. She couldn't drown, because her element was water. The water subsided, and she looked around, dazed. Then she saw Leaf. Her poor, bedraggled body was limp on the ground. Ark cried. Cried so much, until her tears wouldn't come. Then, the next morning, she was travelling, through the sea, to the Mainland. (BACK TO PRESENT) Ark wistfully reflected on that story for a second. She still remembered Leaf, her ashen grey fur, always embedded with twigs. She lived with her mate, Hurricane. "Ark!" Hurricane called. She guessed it was time to go back to the Hollows, her home. She padded back slowly, taking one last look across the sea, to her Island. "Hurricane!" Ark cried, "where have you been?" "Looking for the perfect place. Follow me." Hurricane bounded off, and Ark struggled to keep up. "Here we are," Hurricane announced, glancing at Ark nervously. He plunged through a small crack in the rock. Ark followed. It was a long, winding tunnel. As she padded through, flashes of her old life started to come back to her. Playing with Leaf, going to pup school, learning about the elements and wondering which one she would get. It all seemed so peaceful at that time, like nothing could go wrong, she thought sadly. Finally, she approached the light. Hurricane bounded through, looking excited. Ark cautiously followed. Suddenly, she felt enveloped in a cocoon of sunlight. She opened her eyes, and found herself in a land of sunlit plains and warm forests. Hurricane glanced at her. "So... do you like it?" "Oh, Hurricane, I love it." Ark's gaze followed a bird flitting through the sky. "Ark," Hurricane began, "I was thinking... how would you feel living here?" "Oh, Hurricane, I would absolutely love to! It's perfect!" She joyfully tackled him and they rolled and tussled in the sparkling, setting sun. "Hurricane... I was thinking, could.. could we go and visit our old home, sometimes?" As they settled down on a soft patch of grass, tails twined, Hurricane said, "Of course." She slowly drifted off to sleep. She opened her eyes. She got up, but suddenly realised... Where was Hurricane? She looked everywhere for him, before realising that the grass was sparkling with stars. Oh, I must be dreaming, she realised. Then she saw her. After years and years, she saw her. Leaf. "LEAF!" Ark cried, bounding towards her long departed friend. "Ark..." Leaf's voice sounded wispy, like an echo, but still with the same, warm tone. "You look so grown up now! Look at me, I'll stay a pup forever!" "Oh Leaf... I'm so, so sorry..." "No, don't be, I was joking!" And with that Leaf ran away. "Catch me if you can!" She shouted gleefully. Ark ran after her, their laughs echoing in the night. "Gotcha!" Ark cried, "Now, it's my turn! Catch me!" Ark bounded away, and Leaf followed. They played for so long, bounding, tussling. Ark, although having fun, felt on the verge of tears. They were happy and sad tears, though. They could have been doing this for so much longer, and they could still have been doing this, in real life. They had always dreamed that they'd travel to the Mainland together, and find a nice home to settle down in, maybe get mates, and become one family. They'd dreamed that they'd both have pups with their mates, and their pups would play together, virtually siblings. But she was also so happy that they could see each other like this. It brought back so many memories. They collapsed on top of each other, in a heap. "Leaf... I'm so sorry for what I did," Ark had been waiting to tell Leaf this forever. "I-I just... I feel you, in my heart, in my spirit, every day... but I miss you, Leaf. I miss you so mu-" her last word dissolved into a sob. She leaned into Leaf, crying, sobbing, telling her everything she never got the chance to tell her. "Ark... stop... everything's okay, alright? I know I'm gone, but this dream is real. I'll come back and visit you sometime, okay?" "No, Leaf! Don't go yet! NO!" But Leaf was gone. As Ark's regained her consciousness, she could still feel Leaf beside her. "Ark!" Hurricane's piercing shriek sliced through Ark's ears. "H-huh?" Ark sat up, dazed. She still felt Leaf's spirit dancing around her (+)
(+) heart, just out of reach. "Ark, you were thrashing around in your sleep! Are you okay?" "O-oh, it was nothing, just a dream." Ark recalled her nighttime meeting with Leaf. She remembered joyfully playing with her, and their 'talk', where she mainly just sobbed. Ark stretched her back in a graceful arc (loll) and finally registered to her surroundings. "Come here!" Hurricane exclaimed, seeming eager. Ark followed him to an outcrop of rock overseeing the ocean. "Watch this!" Hurricane cried, and he leaped off the rock. "HURRICANE! NO! I CAN'T LOSE YOU!" Ark shouted in despair. "Relax, relax, Ark, I'm right here! You try! It's fun!" Ark pondered for a second, before thinking, 'If Hurricane can do it, so can I!' She leapt off the rock, and, for a second, she felt like she was in the stars, with Leaf. Ark could swear she even saw her, drifting through the clouds. Then she plummeted, downwards. It was so exhilarating! Then she splashed, into the cool, rippling ocean. Bubbles drifted around her, and she felt at peace, drifting through the water. She saw Leaf's silvery outline drifting with her, and Ark almost let go, of everything, to be with her, at peace in the stars. But suddenly, a strong paw yanked her upwards. "Ark! Ark, are you okay?" Hurricane seemed petrified. What had happened? Then she realised. She'd almost drowned herself - but wait, she couldn't! She could've stayed there, half dead, half alive, but soul in the stars. But of course, Hurricane was not going to let that happen. "Hurricane, I wasn't going to drown, you goof! My element IS water, after all." Ark batted him with a paw, playfully. "But seriously, I actually never asked you, Hurricane, what's your element?" "Oh... well... that's a good question, actually. Haven't you noticed how I always go off, wandering?" Hurricane looked at her uneasily. "Of course I have, I'm your mate, silly!" "Okay... well... I go and explore.... new places. I always try to find new animals, new plants, new fish... It's because my element's nature." Ark was flooded with this new realisation. "Of course! That's why you always seem drawn to nature! Tell you what... in case you didn't know this, water and nature are the strongest element combo, didn't you know?" Ark wondered if it was only her school which taught element combos. "No, I didn't! But, let's try!" With that, they both bounded out of the water, onto the grassy plains. Ark felt at peace, with Hurricane by her side, and Leaf in her heart, and her soul with the ones she loved, with Hurricane, on land, and Leaf, in the stars.
