##&§*:~:.. ..:~:*§&##
###&§*:~:. .:~:*§&###
##&§*:~:.. ..:~:*§&##
#&§*:~:... ...:~:*§&#
&§*:~:.... ....:~:*§&
§*:~:..... # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ # .....:~:*§
*:~:...... : The Wolf pool Exists : ......:~:*
:~:....... : In A Stale Timeline, : .......:~:
~:........ : Branched Way Back : ........:~
:......... : When Kirugu vargir : .........:
.......... : Was Almost Barren, : ..........
.......... Comprised Mostly Of Rock And Arid Soil, ..........
.......... And Plants Were Only Starting To Grow, ..........
.......... : At All... : ..........
.......... # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ # ..........
-,,,,..,.. ..,..,,,,-
«-...¨..¨. Misplaced Explorers Traverse The .¨..¨...-«
†-~.,,,,,. Landscape, Searching For A Way Back, .,,,,,.~-†
^†«,¨,.... Finding Instead Only Stone And Dirt And ....,¨,«†^
£§;=~,,,.. Roots That Are As Hard As The Ground. ..,,,~=;§£
@§=/~-.,,¨ It'S Getting Dark, They Are Thirsty, ¨,,.-~/=§@
#@%*:=,¨,, And About To Find The Wolf pool. ,,¨,=:*%@#
###£*=~.., ,..~=*£###
###¤%§=-:, .#¨ ,:-=§%¤###
##&£=^~,¨. .¨,~^=£&##
@£¤§/-:..¨ The Pool Lies In A Small Meteorite ¨..:-/§¤£@
£%%:~,.¨¨¨ Impact Crater, Sixty Meters Across. ¨¨¨.,~:%%£
*^=«-,..¨, It'S Surface Is Pitch Black And Even ,¨..,-«=^*
%:-~¨..¨¨¨ Though It'S Not Well Protected, It Is ¨¨¨..¨~-:%
:»:¨..,,.. Undisturbed By Wind. ..,,..¨:»:
«:,..¨,,., ,.,,¨..,:«
-.¨¨,.¨¨,. ,#¨ .,¨¨.,¨¨.-
¨,¨,¨,..,. .,..,¨,¨,¨
¨,,,¨...¨, As They Stumble On The Pool, The ,¨...¨,,,¨
.¨,,.¨..,¨ Explorers First Believe It To Be Water, ¨,..¨.,,¨.
¨.¨.¨,.¨¨¨ Which Is Something They All Desire ¨¨¨.,¨.¨.¨
.¨¨¨.¨¨¨,. Greatly At This Point. They Fail To .,¨¨¨.¨¨¨.
:,,¨,.¨.¨, Notice That The Stars Do Not Reflect On ,¨.¨.,¨,,:
~-¨,.¨,,.. Its Surface. One Of Them Crouches To ..,,¨.,¨-~
*-~,..,¨.¨ Drink, Forms A Cup With His Hands, ¨.¨,..,~-*
§\-^,,,,¨, Lowers The Cup Into The Pool. ,¨,,,,^-\§
@%\~^.¨,,, ,,,¨.^~\%@
¤$%\«-,..¨ He Tries To Resist At First, But Is Too ¨..,-«\%$¤
##£§/~,.¨. Close, And He Quickly Gives Up As The .¨.,~/§£##
#@£*%:-,¨. Liquid Flows Into His Mind. The Others, .¨,-:%*£@#
####$*/«-, » Not Understanding The~Danger, Move ,-«/*$####
##&£*=«-.. Closer To Help Their.Friend. ..-«=*£&##
#£¤=†=.¨.. ¨ = ~ ^ , ..¨.=†=¤£#
§@**~..,.. And,Then¨The¨Pool,Announces¨Itself ..,..~**@§
*§*~~.,... To,Them¨-.Sudden,,¨Thoughts,Of¨ ...,.~~*§*
$:-~,,.¨.¨ .:=Dark»Wolves=,Climbing:Out,Of:-:~ ¨.¨.,,~-:$
;-,¨,...¨¨ ---The=Pool,~Surrounding=Them†-\*/ ¨¨...,¨,-;
«:¨.,¨¨¨., *Sudden:Thoughts^Of«=*Climbing\=^ ,.¨¨¨,.¨:«
-.¨.¨¨,.¨. Into*The=Pool,*Their%Thirst^Flaring§ .¨.,¨¨.¨.-
,.¨.¨,.... %%*Bright*-†%A$Sudden¤%Awareness# ....,¨.¨.,
¨.,¨¨¨,,¨¨ #§Of§&Exactly&¶How¤They¤Had£Traveled,%# ¨¨,,¨¨¨,.¨
,¨¨¨.¨.¨,. #@Of¤The#Way@Home£@To¶The#Time@From#@ .,¨.¨.¨¨¨,
,...,,,... #£Where#They#Came,##@##@@And#Then#### ...,,,...,
.,.¨,,..,, #####The#Feeling#Of#This$Knowledge/~ ,,..,,¨.,.
,.,¨..,... «-Being » Stolen =~ From «»» Them. . ...,..¨,.,
»^.¨..¨¨,, «~ , ««~ . ~, -» ~ ,,¨¨..¨.^»
/=~¨,,¨,,¨ , ., ~ ¨ ¨,,¨,,¨~=/
*†~,.¨,¨., ¨ . , % ,.¨,¨.,~†*
¤*/~,,..., ,...,,~/*¤
@%*;«-,¨¨, ¨#¨ ,¨¨,-«;*%@
#@%%/=,¨.. ..¨,=/%%@#
#@¤$%†»^¨. And, .¨^»†%$¤@#
###£%%/-^. .^-/%%£###
##@§§^=,,, Now The Reach Of The Pool Has Widened. ,,,=^§§@##
#@¤%*=.¨.¨ Now Its Wolves See Further. ¨.¨.=*%¤@#
@*^;~,.¨¨¨ ¨¨¨.,~;^*@
$%:=~.¨.,. .,.¨.~=:%$
%:--¨.,,,. .,,,.¨--:%
=~:,.¨,¨.¨ ¨.¨,¨.,:~=
=.¨¨¨,.¨,¨ ¨,¨.,¨¨¨.=