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I've decided what to write! Yipee! The story of Ahnai Windhunter (Former Alpha Female of the Shadowed Fang Wolf Pack which I still miss...) starting at the very beginning with her mother Sunny Sil... [10.19.02]

November's here, and my word count is still very low. I sincerely believe that I will not be reaching the 50k mark by the 30th, as my workload for my classes has suddenly doubled. I've two novels to read this week and next (and not short ones), a 4-6 page paper due Thursday and a 20 page paper that's going to take me weeks to write... Yikes. I will write Ahnai's story, whether I 'win' nanowrimo or not.
Also, Cindy (Rijia&Ruark of SFT) has drawn a fantastically cute picture of Ahnai, which can be seen to the left. Talk about wow! :)[11.04.02]

November is so long gone, it's coming up again. I never finished Ahnai's tale in 2002 -- Being under as heavy a workload as I was and being diagnosed with severe depression did not help the creative process in the slightest. I hope I do better in 2003. [9.26.03]

~ TyGryph ~

Words Written: 4001
Words Left: 45,999

There have been curious people taking a peek at this page!

Novel Excerpt!

From Part 8 - Dreams of Shadowed Fangs
© Anne aka TyGryph

Snow lay in bright drifts among the towering trees, reflecting back the moonlight in a bright and eerie glow. Her white paws compacted the snow where she stepped, but the sharp chill of winter�s precipitation did not reach her feet. Traveling was easy in the brightly lit evening landscape, too easy. The wind that tossed the large snowflakes about in glittering swirling eddies did not even move one small hair in Ahnai�s gray-silver pelt. It was very clear to her then, if not before, that this was a dream. Curious as to why she was dreaming this, she pressed on.

In not too long, she came upon a large clearing that the full moon shone down upon. A few humans moved about in the trees on the opposite side, not seeming to care, not to mention notice the wolf that entered quietly, bringing a subtly sinister element to the serenity of the space. A stream gurgled pleasantly through it�s snow-covered midst, clear and sparkling and all-together out of place in the winter environs. Nevertheless, Ahnai was thirsty, and it was present.

Though she knew she was wrapped in a dream, the skeptical wariness that had been her lifeguard for so long would not allow her to drink without a close examination of the liquid water in the realm of ice and snow. Colorless, odorless, and without any miniscule floating bits, the water ran swiftly along its course, sweeping over pure white stones that glittered with shiny bits of quartz where the moonlight struck them. It was, unsurprisingly, overly pure in an obviously unreal and dreamlike way.

She drank from the crisp clean water, ears swiveling slowly listening for even the softest footstep. She was on guard, wary of her pristine surroundings even if they were a dream, lest something take her unawares. As the soothing liquid eased her thirst, something small in the back of her mind began to nag again. Did real wolves dream?

She swallowed that bitter thought down with a large mouthful of water that was suddenly as cold as ice. There was no way she could ever ask a true wolf if they dreamed, without giving away her bitterly held secret. Deep inside, she knew that she would never find acceptance, and slowly the dream world around her grew cold and fierce. The wind ripped through her coat and chilled to the bone. What a miserable existence this was.

A new figure came into the clearing then, a white wolf so large Ahnai�s head only reached his shoulder. Granted she was on the small side, but the wolf was huge and carried himself with a regal air. The wind did not bother him, and the snow sparkled around him in a celestial halo. �Little sister.� the great wolf said, hailing her as though he intended to say more. His wide blue eyes sought hers, and in a display of equality that would not have happened in the waking world, met them.

A chill ran down Ahnai�s spine, followed by a return of warmth. He�d called her sister.

�You are welcome to join my pack, Little Sister.� The great white wolf said, and licked her face. He hadn�t moved from where he�d stepped into the clearing, and neither had Ahnai, but they were side by side.

�You don�t know me�� Ahnai protested, her dark amber eyes wide with hope and fear alike.

�Honor the ways of the pack, Little Sister, and all will be well.� The white wolf said.

�But I�m�� Ahnai began again, stepping towards the great male.

�Be true to the pack, Little Sister. That is all that matters.� The great white returned, refusing to let her speak a word of her own unworthiness. He accepted her, and that was what counted.

Ahnai shifted in her sleep, and the dream dissolved. The snow that had covered over her reflected her own warmth back to her, and she was as cozy there in the icy wilderness as she had been with her former pack. Perhaps even more so, as the unconditional acceptance of that nameless great white wolf had reached her very core, and ran through her veins, warming her from the inside out. How very nice it was!

Ahnai slept quietly for several more hours before she stretched out her right hind leg and kicked a hole in the white icy coccoon that had formed itself around her while she rested. The relentless winter wind which had been rushing over and beating on the powder white shell throughout those long and short hours quickly found the flaw, and rushed inside, displacing the happy friendly warmth that had wrapped around Ahnai�s silver-gray form while she dreamed of future times. Savagely it ripped through her pelt, mercilessly stealing every miniscule shred of warmth the might have thought to linger there. Ahnai�s dark amber-gold eyes opened slowly, regretting leaving the bliss of sleep behind. The wind pitied her not, and from its unkind fingers, Ahnai rose. Out of the snow she came, reborn into the world, a heavy weight lessened, but by far not removed.

There were a scant few hours of daylight remaining, not that it mattered much to the nocturnal wolf, and Ahnai promised herself that she would try to sleep again come dawn, if she made it that far. With the afternoon sun shining warmly on her back and right side, she traveled south, white limbs moving in a rhythmical, easy loping stride. Though she was out of the old packs territory by some days travel by now, the young wolf had no desire to stay in the unclaimed lands that they could by rights possess if they felt the need.

Travelling was easy enough, though it required far more effort than the running in her dream had, but that was understandable. Ahnai�s life was no dream. As she moved, the past few days replayed again and again behind her dark amber eyes, the sudden change of heart of her beloved pack mates, those she considered to be her family, even though they did not carry a shared drop of crimson blood in their veins. As their words and hateful expressions flashed across her mind, they chased her onwards, further and further from the lands that had always been her home � at least until she and they found out the truth, one so painful Ahnai refused to admit it even to herself. She could not, would not admit that she was not a true wolf.

Day turned to night, and one by one the stars appeared in the sky in their brilliant patterns, lighting the night with their icy glow and decorating the inky velvet overhead. Ahnai ran on, as snow continued to fall in irregular flurries, and dropped from overburdened limbs in muffled thuds and soft splats. The glitter was both more and less intense on the snow cover now, depending on where and when she looked. Each flake that shone brought her hope, and each patch of snow that didn�t brought her sorrow. It was with a heavy heart that she pressed on. What would she do without her pack?

The words of the great white dream wolf came back to her - �You are welcome to join my pack. Honor the ways of the pack, Little Sister, and all will be well.� Just the thought of those words began to heal wounds left in her spirit by the scathing remarks and shunning from her former pack, and rent her fragile being anew. Who would accept a stranger so blindly and so fully into their midst? What good would it do them to take in the unknown? Ahnai wanted to howl in pain and anguish and heartbreak, but did not. Instead, she swallowed it down and kept right on moving.

The night was cold, and the light from the slim crescent moon was harsh and cold. With each step, the run became less pleasant, less fulfilling. The woodlands were far from silent, with mice and squirrels and nocturnal birds chattering and chirping as they went about their nighttime business. From time to time, even that would stop, as a hawk passed overhead, or a silent owl found her dinner. It wasn�t long before a distinct feeling of discomfort began to creep in under Ahnai�s silver-gray pelt. There was something watching her � tracking her every move in such a manner that she could not, even with her hunting prowess, find where they hid. It was unnerving, to say the least. With such a distraction on top of everything else she�d been through, it was unsurprising that a stone hidden in deep shadow caused the young wolf to stumble and fall down a steep and unexpected hill.

Ahnai tumbled head over tail, white paws scrambling at icy and snow-slick turf trying to stop, or at least slow her headlong descent to the unknown forest floor below. As was sure to come to pass, one snowflake too many lay between her and her goal, and with wide eyes, Ahnai crashed into the brush and snow at the bottom of the hill and lie still.