Brothers and Sons

It was Kilu who saw the young wolf first walk from the jungle. He was sitting close to the edge of the village whittling away at a twig to make arrows for the next hunt. His thumb pressed against the blade of his knife as he pushed up the narrow piece of wood. When he looked up though, he stopped short of a stroke and his eyes opened. He had not seen a wolf like this young man for some time. He was nearly snow white with a dusting of hair cropped short between his ears. His hair was brown, which was an odd color for a Wolf. Most of the village had ebony hair that went well with their smoke-grey fur.

Kilu got to his feet and slowly walked over to the man. The hunter looked this newcomer over. He was narrow of frame though muscular. He wore a simple tunic with leather pants. Thick moccasin-like boots were on his feet and were lined with rabbit fur. A long and narrow sword made of bone was slung over his back. Kilu knew right away that he had come from over the mountains to the West.

“Hail, friend.” Kilu said, raising his right hand in greeting. He realized that he was still holding the knife and pulled it from his right hand with his left. “You look like you have come a long way.”

“Thank you for your welcome.” The white wolf said. His accent was easily recognizable as foreign. It was clipped and short. He didn’t accentuate his vowels as much and he appeared to speak less through his nose and more from his mouth. The clear sign of a Mountain wolf.

Kilu thought that they had migrated far away. Over the last forty years, Wolves had spread across the west of Southamer, with some going north to the strange cities that were rising in the South of the Land Above.

He had even heard rumors of wolves leaving the world entirely. That concept had always made him laugh. Leaving the world! Where were they going? To run with the Hunters of the Stars?

“I apologize for my appearance.” The white wolf said at once. “I have come a long way on foot.”

“Indeed it seems you have.” Kilu nodded. The traveler was stained with mud, and a few streaks of red crossed some of his forearms. “Harpies?”

“More than I would like to admit.” He nodded. “Please, I must see your chieftain.”

“Why?”

“You have to trust me.” The wolf said. “I’m here to deliver a message, and to ask a question.”

Kilu was suspicious of this man. He did not state his business, and he looked mangy. For a hunter, that would be considered a plus. Kilu worked hard for his meals and respected those who put their hands into the earth and threw aside modesty and cleanliness for the sake of the hunt. However, in this case, he was wary, and the newcomer knew it. Kilu had narrowed eyes, perked ears, and flared nostrils, but he kept a cordial smile. The white wolf had drowsy looking eyes, which he now noticed were just darker than a field of grass. His ears were neutrally positioned, and his mouth was clamped shut. The Mountain wolf was not presenting any hostility.

“I will discuss my business with your chieftain.” The white wolf said.

“Fine.” Kilu resolved. “I will bring you to her. But first, may I ask your name?”

The newcomer sighed. “Fine. If that’s what it will take to bring me to your leader, then I will entertain you. My name is Kit.”

Kit? What sort of name was that? Kilu had never heard something that odd before. ‘Kit’ was close to the word for a water bug – ‘kittak’. It made very little sense either that a Mountain Wolf father would name his son after a bug that could only be found in valleys. Kilu raised his eyebrows and sighed. “Fine, water bug… I mean… Kit… follow me. Make no change in your path.”

“I will follow.” Kit said.

Kilu left his arrows sitting on the stump where he was at. He at once moved back into the main settlement. Electricity from the generator given to them by the creatures known as Humans hummed confidently as it had for twenty years or so. Wires spread out to the stone and wooden houses that were placed in streets and alleys. When Kilu was a child, these streets were unpaved. There was no electricity and no pure water in the village. They lived in glorified hovels made of twigs and thatch. Now, he lived in a small but comfortable house made of stone lower walls and planks of wood. His roof was also made of slats that had been machine-engineered. The difference between his village from two decades ago and today seemed several thousand years.

He had been grateful to the Humans for their help. They didn’t want payment or a gift in return. In fact, something like a generator, a water purifier, and construction material for three thousand wolves may not have been very much use to Humans, for they could sail the stars.

At least this newcomer could speak their tongue. It was strange. His accent was different, but his pronunciation was excellent. Almost as if he had lived here at some point, which was impossible. He was seeing this man for the first time.

Kit glared at things like the lights that hang from doors of dwellings, cobbled streets, wells, and well constructed homes.

“They don’t have these up in the mountains?” Kilu asked.

“No…!” Kit said aghast. “I’ve heard stories of it though!”

Other wolves stopped to look at him. Some stood in their doorways. Children stopped playing in the streets. One was sitting on a horse and watched him as the white wolf crossed his path. The horse whinnied, and Kit backed off, somewhat nervous. The pair passed a fire-pit, one of the few original pieces of construction that remained from before the Humans changed their world. It was still well-used by the village as a meeting place.

Soon, the pair reached an ornate house. It had a flat roof, but the windows were round and there were charms hung from the awnings over the doors. It held the sign of the tribal leader

“Did you come here alone?” Kilu asked as they approached the house. “Surely you didn’t make the trip all on your own.”

“I did.” Kit nodded. “My brother did not come with me. He is still in the village up on the peak of Gwaza Taznitza.”

That mountain was almost a month’s journey on foot. Kilu shook his head in disbelief. It was close to the Western coast. “No horse?”

“The village had no use for them in the mountains.” Kit explained. “They freeze in that air.”

“Why don’t you people live somewhere sensible, like on the ground?”

“It’s what we are.” Kit shrugged.

Kilu knocked three times on the door. “Chieftain, I present myself to you. I have brought a visitor who wishes to speak to you!”

There was silence. Kit shuffled in his place and realized he was breathing quickly. His hand absentmindedly went to his pocket where he carried the reason for his arrival here. His tail was still, and his ears were perked. His eyes were sharp and he swallowed quickly in anticipation. Could this chieftain still be the one?

The door slid aside. Standing there was a well-built woman, a wolf of great stature. Her body was lean and strong; her face was small, but at the same time full. Her eyes were large and her nose was pointed. The long braided black hair stretched down past her tail. The robe she wore was much like the tunic that he was wearing, but in a deep blue unlike the earthy tone that the Mountain Wolf wore. Small facial paint markings covered spots under her eyes.

Her gaze was serious, but welcoming. She did not mean to harm anybody that came to her door.

She said nothing at first as she looked at the young snow wolf. Her eyes opened and a small smile of amusement crossed her face.

“I have not seen one of your kind for quite some time.” She said. “A wolf of the snowy mountains comes to my village. This is unexpected.” She crossed her arms. “Had I known one of your kind was on its way here, I would have prepared a meal.”

“Thank you for your graciousness.” Kit said, hand over his heart in greeting a wolf chieftain. “That will not be necessary. I’ve had a meal already at a… trading post a few hours walk from here.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “And I suppose he gave you that horrible ale that he calls drink.”

“Well…” Kit said sheepishly shrugging.

“Kilu, you may leave us.”

Kilu opened his mouth to protest, but knew his place as a hunter and left the chieftain’s house. He made his way back to his stump and continued to whittle, muttering about outsiders and their apparent worship by the tribe nowadays.

The woman watched Kilu leave. When she was confident that he was out of earshot, she introduced herself to him.

“I am Lupe, chieftain of this people.”

Kit’s ears fluttered. That was the name he had hoped to hear. He found himself dropping to his knee, looking at her feet.

“My glorious chieftain.” He said, “I am not worthy to stand before you, she who has united the tribes of the valley.”

“To your feet.” Lupe said placing a hand on the snow wolf’s shoulder. “That was fifteen years ago.” She said. “Today there is no conflict between the wolves of the valley, only with us and the Ornnokohom.”

Kit’s eyes flickered at the mention of the Harpies. He had memories of several nights when they attacked him along the road. The sword made from the great beasts of the mountains tasted blood over the course of his journey.

“Come,” Lupe said, urging him into her home. “At the very least I must give you some tea.”

Tea. He had not tasted that before. There was very little opportunity to grow food like that in the mountains. His people were fond of the cold, but the valleys were not unpleasant in comparison.

Lupe brought him into a dining area. A Human may not consider this a kitchen, but it was a decent enough place to have a meal. A simple round wooden table sat in the middle of the circular-shaped room. Stools sat around it.

“Sit.” She offered.

Kit nodded, bowed slightly, and took his seat. Lupe brought a stone kettle off of the fire. It was whistling as she placed it on a folded cloth that sat on top of the table.

“I like to do things traditionally sometimes.” She said. “Humans use special heaters to make their food warm. They call them stoves.” She said this last word in a Human language called English. She was fluent in this language and spoke to many Humans in it. She could even speak a language called Spanish which her own language took a bit of influence from.

“Stow-ve?” Kit repeated. He was not familiar with the nuances of this language.

“Something like that.” She shrugged. Lupe poured a measure of hot water in a cup for herself and for the mountain wolf. She pulled out a bowl of tea leaves and sprinkled them into the cups, stirring them around with a small wooden stick she used fox mixing the flavor into the water. “Breathe it before you drink, pup.” She said. “These herbs are said to help reinvigorate travelers.”

Kit took the cup that was offered to him and took a whiff of the mixture. The smell was strong as it passed through his nostrils and into his throat. He could taste it as he breathed in. It made him shake his head as if he caught a draught.

“My grandmother grew this herb, my mother did, I do, and my daughter does now. How do you feel?”

“Good!” Kit said at once.

“Now drink.”

Kit bowed his head quickly again, blew slightly on the hot tea, and took a sip. It was hot on his tongue, but not scalding. It was strong. He wasn’t sure if he liked it, but once it was down his throat, he could feel warmth in his belly and a bit of strength return to his tired limbs.

“How is it?”

“It’s… fantastic!” he admitted.

Lupe nodded in appreciation. She then leaned back in her chair. “Now, you come from the mountains to the West. What news of our kin comes from there? How does your tribe fare?”

Kit made a small gesture with his hands. “At the time of my leaving, my tribe was well. We were all headed West towards the land of Sile to settle in the mountains overlooking the sea. I do not know how long we will stay where we are at.”

“Are you in danger of losing you way again?” Lupe asked with concern.

“No.” Kit said. “I know those mountains, and my people have searched in advance for better places to live as time goes on. There is talk that our tribe will settle permanently in Sile.

That was interesting to Lupe. The Mountain wolves were not a ‘permanent’ people. This was a change in their repertoire. A thousand years of nomadic lifestyle appeared to be wearing thin on this particular tribe.

“And what of the wolves in the valley? Are there any in Sile?”

“Not many.” Kit admitted. “But we get along fine with the peoples that live in the lowlands. I am not sure how things have progressed since I left my mother and brother back in the village.”

Lupe decided to press that issue. It was the reason that this young man had come several hundred miles over the mountains, across several rivers, and through many valleys infested with Ornnokohom.”Why do you come to me, pup? Do you seek wisdom?”

Kit was silent. He had been thinking about his next questions for months, and now that he was finally here, the words were stuck in his throat. He finally got them out though.

“Great Chieftain, I seek answers to riddles I have been wondering about my whole life.”

Lupe felt flattered that she was considered a font of knowledge. Children came to her for wisdom, but never had a person come this far to her for help in… quite some time.

“Speak, and I will answer what I can.”

“Great Chieftain, do you know what these are?” Kit thrust his hand in his pocket and pulled out what he had brought with him over the mountain. They were cold in the snow and hot in the sun, and every night he had looked at them wondering what they meant. He brought it up before her and let it hang from a string of small steel beads. Two oval-shaped pieces of metal hung from the string. They hung twisting in the air as Kit held them before Lupe’s eyes, which went narrow as her memory races, then wide as she recognized them. Her mouth fell open and she got up slowly.

“Where did you get this...?” She reached out and grabbed the string and the ovals. She brought them close and read them. Letters were engraved onto the metal. The clean letters and numbers were ones she could read easily. She read the name, and her eyes went wider, this time in anger. She locked her eyes on Kit and stood from her chair. She took a slow step towards Kit, who began to instinctively back up. The mountain wolf was suddenly afraid of the chieftain. What was it that he had brought with him and why had it made her so angry?

“Where did you get this?! Who are you?!” Lupe said, close to a roar, as she grabbed Kit by the shoulders, forcing him to his feet and against the wall. “Thief! Thieving vagabond wretch! You do not know what you give me!”

Lupe’s teeth were bared. Her ears were folded, and her eyes were shrunk to pinpricks of black against her bright blue eyes. Kit tried to say something, but could not. He could only stare at the woman whom he thought would help him. She was strong. Lupe was around sixty, but her appearance was more of a woman nearly half her age. Her strength was that of a female warrior in her prime. Beneath her grey fur, tough muscles still pushed and pulled tightly.

“Speak! Or you will never see the mountains again! I haven’t seen this since…!”

She tried to say the rest, but couldn’t find the words.

“Since…. I…”

Lupe’s grasp on Kit loosened. She backed away, suddenly changing in expression. Something rose in her voice like a choke. She looked at the ovals in her hand again and her voice was faint. Her eyes began to grow wet.

“How old are you, pup?” was what she managed in the end.

Kit was confused, but answered. “I have seen the snow thin twenty times.”

“Twenty.” Lupe said. It clicked, and a memory finally shone in her mind. Lupe then gave a cry and tears rolled down her cheeks. “By Aurora! By the sun and moon! A beautiful day!” She cried out. “Bless you, pup! Bless you, son of Maya!” Lupe wrapped her arms around the young man and held him tightly. “Welcome home, child! You and your children’s children will forever be welcome!”

Kit was aghast. “My mother! You knew her?!”

“You don’t know how happy I am, pup! Your mother lives! She’s alive! She made it over the mountains by the Goddess’ grace! She gave birth to a beautiful son!” She touched both sides of his face and looked at him for a minute. “Two sons! You said that you have a brother! How?

“Yes.” Kit said. “My… brother. My mother was always quiet about him. She says that he is my twin, but I do not believe her.”

“Why, dear child?”

Kit sat back down and looked at the floor. “We must have found him when he was a baby. He has to be a foundling.”

“Do you have an image? A likeness of your brother?” Lupe asked, heart now in her throat. She was overjoyed with the fact that Maya was still alive that she couldn’t think of anything else.

“Yes.” The mountain wolf said. “The elders made a likeness of him.” Kit reached into his pack just behind his sword and pulled out a leather roll. It was small and firm as he put it on the table and unraveled it.

It was a face that Lupe had not seen in twenty years. The curve of the boy’s jaw; the cheeks, the brow, and the face were almost exactly the same as his father.

“Twins!” Lupe said, chuckling to herself as she made the realization. “Maya had twin baby boys! One wolf, the other Human!”

“What?” Kit said, thoroughly shocked. “I don’t understand.”

“You have no idea who your father is, do you, pup?”

Kit only shook his head. Lupe stood up and asked him to follow her.

The pair left the chieftain’s lodge and made their way to a small home on the edge of the village untouched by the modernization of the Humans. It was exactly as it was left for twenty years if not more, cared for by a wolf that would make sure it was swept and kept standing as a memorial for Maya Fair-Mane, the White Wolf of the Mountains who left one day and never came back.

“What’s this home?”

“Your mother’s.” Lupe said. “And for a time, your father’s.”

“My father lived here?” Kit said, suddenly bright. “You knew my father?!”

“Yes. He stayed with us for a time.” Lupe smiled. “He sought my counsel, just like you did.” The old chieftain laughed. “How funny fate can be some times.” Lupe unlatched the door and stepped in. Kit followed her slowly.

The inside was peaty with a bit of an earthy tinge. Many homes from before the Humans arrived smelled of this. Two decades after she was gone, it smelled as is Maya Fair-Mane still called this place home.

Kit walked around. He could still hear the birds calling from outside as well as wolves talking in the streets. His heels touched the slatted wood of the floor as he looked around the modest home. He noticed the collection of pictures on a shelf. There was nothing else on neither the walls nor the counters. Kit saw the pictures and fell to his knees. He saw his brother. That was impossible though. He saw a man, what Lupe called a Human.

He stood in strange clothing colored blue with buttons and ribbons on his breast. A white hat of some sort sat on his head. Kit picked up this picture and stared at it. His mouth went dry.

“This is…” he stuttered. His hands shook. “This is my father?”

“He was a beautiful man with kind soul. He had a good heart, and he loved your mother dearly.”

Kit looked at the picture with a feeling of revulsion in his stomach; not closure. He put the picture back on the shelf. “I can’t be this… man’s… son! I can’t believe it! I won’t!”

“He is your mother’s mate! She took him forever!”

Tears fell from the white wolf’s eyes. “I’m not a wolf at all! He can’t be my father! He just can’t! Maro, my brother is actually… my…”

“Pup, I’m going to give you some honest words.” Lupe said. “You came to me for answers, and you got them. You may not like them, but the truth is rarely kind. You can accept it, or you can deny it and live your life denying it.”

Kit fell onto the bed, sitting there in silence. He looked at all the photos. Photos of this man. He saw writing – the script that seemed too familiar to be ignored.

“You were his gift to her.” Lupe said. “He loved her so much, and he loved you both even before you were born.”

Kit wept into his hands. It was almost too much for him to bear. The truth that his father was not of his kind and that Maro was his twin struck him hard. When he sniffled though, he caught a scent on the air; a stubborn smell that was sweet to him.

“Mama.” Kit whispered. It smelled of his mother. He lay on the bed and breathed in the smell. He felt like a child again hugging her on top of the mountain. “I’ve treated Maro so badly. I didn’t believe her. I’ve made fun of him, fought with him, and when the others attacked him, I did nothing to stop him.” He rolled over and looked Lupe in the eyes. “But you’re right! I have to believe it.” He started to cry again, but this time he was happy.

“I have a father!” he said with a smile on his face, but that faded. “But… where is he?”

Lupe had to think about this, but there was no easy way to say it.

“Pup, your father died almost twenty years ago. He never found your mother. She never came back. She… had you two.”

Kit wiped his eyes and gave a laugh that was spiteful, and he shook his head at the cruelty of it all. But a feeling had now sparked in his heart. He touched a photograph of this man and smiled. He had bright green eyes and a head full of brown hair – just like him.

Maybe, just maybe, he could indeed think of this man as… father.

“What was his name?” Kit asked.

“In the village, he had several names. He was known as the Star-Sailor, the Maneless Wolf, and Marine.”

“But what was his name?” Kit asked. “I want to know my father’s name. Do you know what it was?”

Lupe smiled. “His name was Christopher.”



On a tall peak of a mountain overlooking the sea, a young man stared down at the ocean far below and away to the West. The sun was setting over the water and the air grew cold. The wind bit his cheeks and his nose. Maro stood alone covered in a fur coat. He had not been born with one, not like Kit had been. He huddled it around him as he stared at the far distant coastline below him.

“Maro!” one of the older wolves called to him. “Come here and carry some of this wood, boy!”

“Yes, Uncle Otam!”

Otam was not the boy’s actual uncle, but he had found both Maro and his bother Kit when they were babes, newly born with their mother as they were huddled together in a storm. Otam loved Maro, but never believed him to be a wolf, no matter the circumstances of his birth.

“What are you waiting for?” Otam asked as he handed the bundle of chopped wood to Maro. “Your brother?”

“I miss him.” Maro said. “It’s been months.”

“He’ll be back one day, lad.” He patted Maro on the head. It was one of the few tufts of fur on his body, Otam noted. It was colored like a cloudy day, but his eyes were as blue as his mother’s. “Maybe today!” The old wolf looked down the summit of the mountain and saw a solitary figure walking up towards the village. Maro noticed him instantly.

“Kit’s home!” he said. “Uncle Otam!”

“Yes, I see him!” the wolf said bundling up his fur jacket and standing tall. Otam noticed that the smile had dropped from the Maneless’ face. He knew that look well. Kit did not treat his brother as a brother and never had, the rumors that he was a half-breed had driven him away from Maro. Kit couldn’t stand the accusations.

“Uncle!” Kit called when he was close enough. “Uncle! Is that you?”

“Yes, it is, lad!” Otam said waving. “Come and help your brother carry this wood!”

“No, it’s OK, Uncle.” Maro began as he pulled the wood up. “I can bring it back to the village. Kit’s got to go and get an ale with the other hunters.”

“Foundling!” he called to Maro.

At once, he dropped the wood and shouted, “I hate it when you call me that!” he clenched his fists and turned to face Kit who trudged up to him.

“Would you prefer ‘freak’?”

Otam gave Kit a look.

Maro looked at the earth and then out to the ocean. Then up to the village near the peak. The wooden houses were easily made and easily taken down. One day they would move from here and go somewhere else. “I haven’t seen you in months.” Maro said. “You’re the only young wolf who talks to me, and when you do, you insult me!” He turned to face Kit. The skin around his eyes was red and tears dropping to the frozen ground. “You hate me!”

Kit looked at Maro. There was nothing but the blowing of wind on the summit.

“I did.” The white wolf admitted. “I hated you, I mistreated you, and I thought you were an embarrassment to me.” He shook his head. “No more.”

Maro’s mouth fell open. “What?”

Kit looked at his brother. He remembered when he first saw their father. Maro did look like him, just as Kit looked like his father. He grabbed Maro’s shoulders, looked him square in the eye, and his ears folded.

“You do look like Papa!” He brought Maro close to him and hugged him tight. “Baby brother! I’m so sorry!” he said in a soft voice. “I’m so sorry for everything! Maro! My brother!”

A smile went across Maro’s face and a joy erupted in his heart unlike anything that he had ever known. “I don’t know how or why, but you’re my brother, Kit, and I love you!”

The two bothers, Man and Mobian, stood alone on the mountaintop. Otam smiled. He knew that Maro loved Kit, but now the feeling was mutual. Otam came and clapped them both on the shoulder. “Sons of Maya, perhaps you should see your mother?”

“Mama!” Kit said. “Maro, come with me! I want you there too!”

“What’s going on?”

“Just come on!” Kit said.

Maro fell into step behind Kit, keeping behind him as the jogged up the incline to the village. They crossed the gate to the settlement. Wolves of all statures were building or preparing food. All of them had thick jackets, coats, and cloaks draped over them, and nearly all of them had snow-white fur and deep blue eyes. They reached a small house near the peak which they entered at the same time. Standing in front of a fire was a slender figure clad in fur clothing. Twenty hears had barely done anything to Maya Fair-Mane, Hunter of the Wolf Clan and the Mate of the Star-Sailor. Their mother turned to face them. Her blue eyes shone in the light of the waning day.

“Mama!” Kit said.

At once, Maya was overjoyed. “Aurora bless me! My son returns to me!” She kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m coming back to both of you!” Kit said. “Which reminds me…” he grabbed his brother and gave him a kiss on the brow. “You deserved that.”

“Did you need to kiss me?” Maro asked. “Freak.”

Maya was quizzical. “What was that for?”

Kit drew out the oval tags and held them in front of Maya. “I needed to know what it meant. I found him.”

She couldn’t help herself. “You’ve found him!?” She began to swoon and caught herself on a wall. “By the high moon! Where is he?!”

Kit looked at the floor. “Dead.” He said. “Papa died twenty years ago. The wolves of Felidae said he died in battle.”

Maya just stared. A small cry escaped her, but a feeling in her heart told her that it was true. In a way, she had always known. He would have come looking for her. She knew that he would have. She still loved him more than anything in the world and would take no other. That was her promise to him.

“Isti.” She said, taking the tags from Kit’s hands. “My beautiful Isti… gone forever.” She wiped a tear from her eye and looked at her beautiful strong sons. “He loves you, you know. He must be looking down from the stars, watching over us. I love both of you, fur or no fur. Holding you two in my arms for the first time was the most beautiful gift he ever gave me.”

Kit remembered, he brought something back.

“Mama, I have something for you.”

He pulled out a small rectangle. Maya saw it and shuddered. “Oh Kit!” she said.
Kit had brought back the picture of his father with his ribbons and medals. His mother took it and just stared at it. She started to laugh and then sob. She had not seen this photograph in twenty years. She remembered the night on the mountain, and the runs through the forest she shared with him. She kissed the photo and held it to her heart.

“Ti amo, Isti.” She whispered. “Wherever you are.”

She smiled at her sons. She was proud of them both. She didn’t even need the picture. She saw him in their faces and in their hearts. Isti had never left. He saw the world through these two boys.
Kit was overjoyed as he hugged both his mother and brother. “Papa must have been a great man to have met you, Mama.”

Isti would forever be in her heart, and so would these boys. All she could say was “I love you.” And held both of her sons, with fur and not, to her before the last light of the sun disappeared far over the ocean to the West.

A single bright light appeared in the sky, and soon there were thousands. Kit saw it, and knew his father sailed the stars forever now and kissed his sons on the breath of the wind and would wake them on the break of the dawn.

He saw this and smiled.

“Good night, Papa. See you in the morning.”