In the still of night, the winds blew a chilly breeze into Shi Bai's coat.
It was clear now, that death did not want our dear failure. He did not know of this, however, and accepted everything as it came. Perhaps it was a natural fate to him.
This time, he was a wolf. A grey wolf born to a large pack travelling across the barren snowscape, hunting elk and deer for food. He was a mere juvenile, barely a year old, but old enough to partake in some of the responsibilities of being a male wolf in the pack. Wolves generally did not hunt alone, as chances for a successful hunt were slim if they went alone against these prey.
His duty tonight was quite simple. He had to keep guard over the pack as they slept, and if he saw any signs of danger, he was to howl at his loudest. This was an instruction baked into him since he was younger, and he never once slept on the job.
The tigers and leopards here were quite resilient, and often stalked some of the members of the pack. They could even kill one and take them up the tree as quick as lightning struck, and by then, it was too late, and nothing to be done.
Shi Bai took pride in his work. He was the only wolf here who could go day in and day out without sleeping much. His sleep schedule consisted of a few hours when the pack settled down and some of them went off to hunt. After that period, he would be awake again, and then on the move.
Shi Bai's eyes scanned dutifully in the darkness, determined to let nothing happen.
The memories of his past life still replayed in his mind, over and over again. The blood spurting out of his neck in large gushes as he looked over as his mother, who had already perished. He did not want to lose to negligence.
Thankfully, this night, everything was calm. Apart from the occasional chirps in the distance, there was no noise at all. His duty was over as soon as the sun rose, and a large wolf rose up, slowly.
He looked at Shi Bai, as if to greet him. This gigantic specimen towered over every other wolf, and could intimidate a leopard just by staring at it. This was Shi Bai's father in this life, and the leader of the pack.
Shi Bai knew that he could rest easy now. He had no more need to guard the pack when the sun hit the skyline.
The days passed by quite slowly, and Shi Bai could feel the frost on his paws, the cold getting unbearable by the day. It was time for the cold winter, and it did not come unannounced. This year's winter would be as harsh as the last, and many animals would not survive. This was part of being alive out here in the tundras.
He was also born last winter. He would not have survived it had it not been for his mother's brooding insistence on coddling him. Quite luckily, the hunts last year were sufficient to feed every single cub, and so Shi Bai could somehow survive. But he didn't know if this year would be the same.
Shi Bai's eyes then turned towards the hill over the caves. He had always felt something unknown, unseen, but unsettling there, and his instincts flared. But he could never prove them. Hopefully, it was just a false alarm.
He turned to his pack, sharing in the feast of an elk they'd hunted just the night before. It was a huge meal, and they'd have to finish it before it went bad. Shi Bai had no concept of taste; food was food.
More time passed. By now, Shi Bai was almost two winters old. He had grown from a juvenile, into a thing almost reaching his old father. By this time, Shi Bai's father was starting to show signs of aging, and it was clear that as the largest wolf of the pack, Shi Bai would someday take over.
But not today. Shi Bai still had lessons to learn. The winter of last year was evaded by burrowing into the caves and sleeping most of the time, and this year, they had planned to do the same. For as long as he lived, Shi Bai wasn't planning on leading his tribe to doom. His mother had passed on the summers of the last year, as her old injuries caught up with her. But wolves don't mourn for long.
He reckoned he had one more winter to learn everything he had to learn before the old man left this pack to him, and he wasn't going to waste it.
In the distance, faint murmurings could be heard, but only to the trees. Strange creatures, wrapped in thick fur, glanced from a a distance at the pack sleeping, and the lone wolf keeping guard.
The oldest of the figures turned to the other, signalling with his eyes, and pointed with his hands towards the lone wolf. It seemed to be saying to target him first.
The oldest then took out a bow, and aimed it slowly towards the wolf. Just a second after he fired, the rest fired theirs as well.
Stealthily, without sound, they struck. Bows with loaded arrows launched one after the other, with perfect aim.
It was clear they weren't new to this.
The first arrow came and struck Shi Bai in the eye. Blood spurted out of him almost immediately, rendering him blind. He then woke and howled with terrifying volume, but it was too late by then.
Hordes of the strange ape like figures came scrambling down from the hills and into the caves, holding long pointy things and screaming to each other. They carried with them a firey light that only existed when lightning would strike a lonesome tree. The old trusty alpha wolf died without so much as a sound, as the perfect arrow hit his brain, killing him instantly.
Shi Bai couldn't even get time to mourn. He tried with great effort, amidst the howls of all of his family and pack members, to bite back at these invaders. However, cunning creatures, they were. They evaded and jumped back at the perfect moments, taunting Shi Bai with their spears, and poking fresh holes into him.
This dance lasted a few minutes, until the blood loss got to Shi Bai's head, and he felt himself too weak to stand. He had not managed to injure any of these creatures.
In indignation, Shi Bai lay down, once more, his vison fading. Why did he have to die, once again? Why could he not enjoy his time without dying? Who would answer these questions for him?
Goodnight, failure. We will see you again.