LONE

Time shuddered… reality quaked… creatures tumbled off their feet.

The old one rolled quickly into a stable crouch to challenge any threat. He had not encountered this strangeness before… but he had before encountered strangeness.
No threat appeared. He rose slowly to sniff and listen. The younger ones in the pack saw him standing and crawled into his shadow… seeking shelter in his strength.

The fear did not abate… but after a while it became boring. The pups began to aggravate one another in an effort to shed their fear. Soon they were growling and snapping and wrestling aggressively with each other. The fear was effectively distracted.

The old one melted into the brush and moved up the rise as if he were one of the shadows growing longer in the dusk. He paused at the edge of a clearing to sniff and listen again.
He began to feel more at ease as he noticed reality, and all he required, yet continued. There was still sufficient shelter, food, and darkness to sustain him.
He no longer acknowledged fear… but felt the empathic impact of the fear still alive in the young ones.

He moved into the clearing as Mother Moon parted the clouds and demonstrated once more that she still loved him. He perched on the peak of the hill and sang his song of love and gratitude to her.

Small creatures scurried to shelter from the haunting melody. They clung to their gathered family for security and comfort.
The pups relaxed when they heard the old one’s voice. It meant that all was well and reality unfolds as it should.
Their fear was not gone… but it was less. Some of it no longer belonged to them. It now belonged to the old one and his song.