01-23-2010, 02:25 PM
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  Also, a little tidbit one of my other friends found funny...the coyote Nikolov doesn't call Skoll captain because it was his actual rank...Nik got the name from the crappy old sci-fi novels he reads >>├Jantus and Jefferson sat quietly in back. The sisters stood off to one side, not wanting to speak themselves but glad that they had come. The kids sat front and center, while the coyotes sat to their right. As Skirnir came back among them, it seemed clear that Aivyr or Nik would be next to speak. Eventually, the white wolf decided that he would take his turn now. Skoll had mattered more to him than he had to some others, certainly. Aivyr was the only one who had actively sought to walk the path of Skoll's apprentice, if only for a month or two. When he had lost his family in the war, he had learned the value of peace and of loved ones, and afterward had been unwilling to further pursue the art. He had cooled down a great deal since then...it had been his anger which had carried him away from their defense. He had grown up a lot through the war. Upon hearing of Skoll's death, it had been more pertinent to carry the story northward, to the bronze wolf's family, than to go out and fruitlessly seek revenge. "I met Skoll during the War of Shadows, the same way many of the rest of you did. I bothered him after the mass lessons he gave us for advanced instruction, and he obliged me. He was my mentor and my friend. He told me of his misgivings, and the mistakes he made along the way. His path wasn't always the bright one we knew...the Skoll we met was already five years old, and the product of four years rife with battle. He had spent six months with his own mentor, though he told me that the training was far more intense than anything we could afford in the middle of war. He had walked gray paths which he warned me--and others--against following. Though it pains me, I think that a path of vengeance against his killer is one of those he would have warned against. Skoll took many lives, but I think that all here can agree that he brought mostly good to the world. I just hope that wherever his spirit has gone, it is a place that celebrates heroes as much as we do here." There was a general nod of agreement amongst the adults, and Aivyr left the mound. A long period of silence stretched out after Aivyr's departure. Just as some were wondering what came next, Nik finally approached the stone himself, facing it and not the others. "Goodbye, Captain. Maybe you should've lived for yourself once in a while. Anyway, I know it was your goal and all, so I think all of us want to say: you made a difference. I bet you're making a difference in whatever place comes after, too." He looked back at Tanya, the two of them being the oldest members of the group. "We'll be joining you sooner or later. Maybe we'll show you how to take a breather." With that, he departed the mound, and he and Tanya began to vacate the grave site altogether. A few moments later, Mala and Ranya ushered the children away, too. Aivyr and Skirnir lingered...they would be here for a little while longer, it seemed. Jantus turned to the alpha of Phoenix Valley. "Thank you for this, Jefferson. You have the gratitude of the Snow-capped Pine. You'll be welcome there if ever you come across it. It meant a lot to these people to be able to come here and do this. I'm glad Phoenix Valley has you for its leader." He bowed his head in respect. The departing wolves wouldn't go far, and congregated a short ways away, within site of their host. When the four remaining parties left the grave, it would be over. They'd be on their way back to the border. There, they would spend a few idle weeks exploring the area and getting a feel for the land Skoll had loved so much, and then they would part ways, each of them heading to their own respective homes. |