I can't remember closing my eyes, or the landscape turning to white. It was like a dream; you can never remember the beginning, but always the end. Like a dream, it didn't feel real. Unlike a dream, it felt more than real. As if I was in a dream before, and an unknown part of myself awakened. A part that I was mildly aware of, but never really gripped the concept of it; like a beating heart.

That part of me, like a hungry, alert beast, roamed through my mind. I could almost imagine a large, perplexing animal, searching for something. Something that it wanted, but it seemed confused.

I felt confused. My entire being felt as if bonds that kept me safely secure to something had been severed, and all that was left was a searching animal.

But amongst the endless plains of white, I could almost see a technicolor silhouette of something. Like after staring at something for too long, and you close your eyes. As a young pup, I would often stare at a bright scene, then look somewhere else and try to chase the purple blob my eye was casting. Or in the dark of night, when I was afraid of the hooting owls in the woods, I would close my eyes and try to pick out the colors that danced in my eyelids. The white before me felt as comforting as my eyelids, and as desolate as a cloudless sky.

The colors bounced across the white like fire. Hazy blobs clarified to the outlines of playing wolves. I didn't hear anything, but the crisp tune of wolfish yips rang through the endless white. Howls of musical quality rang through the air, and colors flashed above.

The howling turned to sharp barks and yips. I couldn't tell what was happening, but it seemed like the wolves that were once playing were tousling together fiercely, fighting for something.

The colors disbanded, and begun to fill the white. The colors intensified, and trees and shrubbery made themselves from the surreal shades. Thousands of colors I had only seen once before moved slowly across the scene, giving it an underwater effect. A black sky filled with stars and colorful nebulas hung over my head, and a dark cloud carpeted the clearing floor. Trickling tunes filled the air, as if a river was nearby.

In the middle of the clearing, a crystal clear pond with color shifting cat tails around the edge. The pure black sky reflected across it's surface. Ripples danced across the top softly, causing the stars trapped on it to flicker. If you looked past the black surface, you could see whispy fish leisurely swim. The pond looked as if it went downwards into the ground for a hundred tree lengths. Whatever was down there seemed to be an unknown mystery.

I turned around, feeling a breeze across my pelt. A starry aura cascaded in light waves from my pelt, which looked slightly foggy, as if the actual colors on my fur decided they didn't want to stay where they were supposed to. The normal lightings of before that normally drank the bright copper tones from my fur were non existent. My pelt shined like fire.

To see myself clearly, I padded to the edge of the pond. Clarity crisper than any other water's surface reflected a perfect image of myself. My pelt was a much brighter orange, and it looked as if it was made of tightly packed nebulas. Two glowing spots the colors of my eyes settled in dark eye sockets. Stars twinkled softly in my fur. I was a surreal, alien creature made of thoughts and emotions.

The sound of paw steps mixed with the wind, and I looked up suddenly from the water. The tall, male wolf I had seen before and another white she wolf with yellow eyes entered the clearing. They both resembled disbanded colors, but the male a little more.

I tried to speak, but I couldn't. It was like my muzzle had been partially. . . erased. As I thought the words I wanted to say, they rang through the clearing. Am I in the starry pelt? Am I dead? The voice that spoke was not my own. It sounded like the more mature voice that rang in my head as I thought.

Dear pup, all of you questions shall be answered soon, if we have time. The white she wolf answered. Her voice was light and girlish.

What do you mean if we have time? I asked. I must be dead! Won't there be plenty time to talk?

The male wolf shook his head. It's complicated, and we can't explain it all with the time we have. He neared me, moving wistfully over the cloudy ground. Leopard, you must listen carefully and try to understand. I can only tell you once. His voice was rushed, but calm.

There is Earth, and there is the spirit world. Before anyone went to Earth to receive bodies, they all lived here together as friends. There was a plan in which all the spirits would receive bodies and go to Earth, but some became angered at the plan for various reasons. We call them the Adversary. They who opposed the plan retreated to a lower, darker part of the starry pelt. They never received bodies, and for that, they want revenge.

The white wolf stepped forward. A great force will come to the Earth, and the Adversary does not want it to come. You play a great part in the coming, which is why you were removed. It was cruel, and unruly of them to murder a pup in order to gain an advantage. You were stolen from life, and you have a crucial part to play.

We are offering a second chance, if you accept it. The male said. While we urge you to return to Earth, we can not force you. If you stay, you won't be able to return later. If you do, your Earth life shall be harder than before. Temptation and evil will be around every corner.

I could stay in the starry pelt? But the weird thing about the offer, was that I could return back to Earth. If I wanted to, I would have to decide now.

A longing for my family and my pack churned in my gut. I would miss them terribly, and feel extremely guilty knowing that I was allowed to go back home.

But what about my life being harder than before? My life had been so short, so I didn't know what most of life was like. What if it was too hard for me?

No. I had a life to live, and a position to fill. My family was down there, waiting for me. They must have been worried sick. And I had a part to play in this plan.

Looking up at the colorful sky, I inhaled deeply, then exhaled a starry breath. I will go back. It took a great deal of effort to say those four words.

Good, The male said, now you must swim to the bottom of the pool. Your body will be waiting for you.

Wait, I can't swim! I've never been in water before, let alone swim in it! I exclaimed.

In the Starry pelt, all things are possible. The she wolf said cooly. Things you didn't even know were possible are common here.

Gathering my courage, I took many deep breaths to clear the panic from my lungs. Fear gripped my heart as I stared into the bottomless pool of inky water. Every nerve stood on end, edging me to back away from the water. A deep sense of dread coursed over me when I reminded myself I had to go into the water. There was no way I would be able to make it!

Leopard! You must swim now! Hurry! The male said.

I scampered away from the water like a rabbit being caught. I can't do it! I can't! I'll drown, I won't make it!

You must leave now! The male barked deeply, covering the clearing in three swift strides. He tugged the scruff of my neck towards the pool. I could see tendrils of bright, psychic color stuck to the cloudy ground like anchors, holding me down. My wolfish instincts were holding me back.

The wolf tugged harder, trying desperately to get me unstuck. A tense, booming sound filled the clearing as the wolf pulled me, gripping my starry fur.

Suddenly he let go, then reared back. You are going back, and I won't let cowardice hold you here! He roared with determination. In a split second, he rammed his shoulder into my side, breaking the colorful bindings and sending me over the edge of the pool.

Down I went into the pond, but it didn't feel like water. I could breath perfectly, but it was terribly cold. The male had fallen in with me, and now his cosmic fur was intertwined with mine. I wanted to exclaim something, but I couldn't think aloud or talk.

As we descended faster and faster, stars fell around us. My home became closer, and the older wolf seemed to disappear. I fell at a breakneck pace, pain tingling through my pelt at the strain.

Then suddenly, my fall stopped, and I could recall nothing but black.