Willow lumbered her way out of the forest, she could feel the cold wet drops of dew brush up against her fur. She walked into a clearing, the sun piercing down onto her fur. Upon leaving the forest, a long thin stream separated the woods from the prairie on the other side of the water. A border between the lush green woods and the soft yellow meadows that stretched across the other side of the river. The sound of racing water soothed Willows senses, and she automatically felt more relaxed. She sauntered over towards the water's edge and knelt over to take a drink, when she froze.

Across the other side of the stream, was a wolf. She didn't want to alarm it, so she decided the best thing to do was just to pretend like she didn't see them. She continued drinking slowly, making sure to keep an eye on the wolf at all times.

The wolf eyed Willow carefully with a curious look in his eye.

“You’re blonde,” he said from across the babbling stream. “I’ve never seen a blonde bear before.” Willow was startled and she froze at the sound of the wolf’s voice. After a long pause she slowly found her words.

“I’m surprised you noticed”, she playfully responded sarcastically. “It’s my best feature!”

“That’s a nice feature. I only have this!” he exclaimed. The wolf tilted his head forward to reveal a long gray stripe of bristly fur that started from his head and stretched down his back to his large plume of a tail.

Willow admired the stripe from afar and smiled to show her appreciation of his fancy coat. “That's pretty cool! I like it.” She stated politely.

“Thanks!” the wolf said. “What's your name? My name is Stripe!”

“Oh my name is Willow.” The small wolf's eyes lit up with curiosity at the sound of Willow's name, almost as if he had just remembered something.

“Willow? That's interesting. Wolfs receive their names based on defining features about themselves. I have a stripe down my back, so my name is stripe. Another packmate of mine has a patch of his fur missing, So they call him patch!” stripe smiled widely “If you were a wolf, They would call you, Goldenpelt!”

Willow smiled at the young wolf's tale, She had never really talked to a wolf before, much less a wolf that was alone. Speaking of alone, where was his pack?

“Say, where is your pack?” Willow asked. She could see the dogs smile falter in reaction to her question.

“Well, I was banished from my pack. I was a bit of a trouble maker. So I'm headed north!” stripe proclaimed Proudly, his tail wagging gently up and down.

“Where are you headed off to?” Willow pondered for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say. “Oh! Have you heard Of Bristle Bear?” Stripe interrupted Willows thinking.

“No, what's that?”

“Its A bear clan up north!”

willows ears pricked up in curiosity and partal confusion. “But bears don't form Clans.”

“I know! That's what's so cool about it!”

Willow shook her head in doubt.

“Where did you even hear about this?”

“I heard some other bears talking about it near the river!” Willow wasn't really sure if she should believe Stripe, after all, she had just met him that day.

“I don't believe you.” Willow stated. Averting her gaze back to the stream.

“What! I’m telling the truth! Here follow me, I have a bear friend who lives down near the river. He can tell you all about it!” Stripe barked enthusiastically, hoping playfully and beckoning Willow to the other side of the river. Willow hesitated for a moment, considering the possibility of this whole thing being a trap. She quickly dismissed the thought and began gingerly stepping into the stream, she could feel the cold water on her feet as she stepped onto the stones that were shallowly set into the water.

Once she made it across she was greeted by Stripe bowing down playfully and darting in circles around her.

“Come on! Come here! Follow Me! Let’s Go!” Willow began trailing behind stripe, still contemplating whether or not this was a good idea. Little did she know that what Stripe would show her would change her life forever.