11-08-2008, 02:15 AM
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Sorry about being late in replying. 700+ It was the noon before All Hollow’s Eve. The air was cool and crisp, crackling with silver tones and sighing with the soft laughter of a brooks gurgle. The fire of the turning earth had begun to die, and the world lay in a golden glory dulled by time. The damp earth was black and the sky a deep blue. The high contrasts of lights and darks set a pestiferous mood upon the lands. Yet, it was due neither to the weather nor the mood of the pack itself, but to the nature of the day itself. This night was the night of the rising spirits, where the living may reside with the dead, where divided lovers may embrace, where eternal enemies may live in spite. And, for Cwmfen nic Graine, this night was the turning of the new year. There stirred a nostalgia within her gut, for this day brought memories of her childhood. Because the moon of her birth had been nearly three moons from this day of rising souls, she had experienced her first All Hollow’s Eve relatively early. In the comfort and protection of her mother, she had nothing to fear from the crow-wolf. Yet, in retrospect, he had never been openly unkind to Graine before her—that she had been aware of. His authoritative air and silent, lugubrious tendencies had intrigued her as a pup, even as they continued to do so now... His presence had always been an enigma. Black, woad-marked aurals erected as the crania rose sharply. There was a cry upon the wind, calling with near-desolate tones. The voice was familiar to her, though she had never heard the voice upon the wind as such. It was the Rosea Cercelee who called, and so Cwmfen automatically rose, setting off in a swift, light sprint towards the beckoning call. The she-wolf’s movements were effortless as she loped upon four legs, knowing that two would not be efficient for the travel of such a distance. Yet, in the time since Ember Pheonix had discovered with her the luperci form, Cwmfen had become quite adept with that new body. She discovered a way of fighting the required more than the simple movement of the body, and the ease with which her body moved with the rhythms frightened her, for she knew that it was the Corean crow-wolf from which she had inherited it... Ahead, the sharp, white eyes found a light in the darkness, and she soon realized that she neared the town square. A light smile came to her maw as she considered the circumstances. It had been the town square that she had first encountered the Rosea, and it was the town square once more where she would meet the white leader. The silhouettes, she found, were erect. The swift, black paws slowed. Perhaps she should shift too...? She frowned slightly. The Shift still required a good amount of time, which would only make her late, but, reluctantly, in the cover of the trees, the woad-marked female shifted. The Shift proceeded smoothly, but it took a good quarter of an hour. Afterwords, the female lay upon her back as the focus of her energy receded back into the recesses of her mind. Then, rising, she proceeded to the meeting. She saw Cercelee and Haku sitting near the fire—they were the only ones she recognized. There were two other females and a male, their scents the only thing she recognized. There was an air of amicable confidence as she entered the ring of light, but hints of quiet warning were present too. Yet, there was a timidity about her as well, and it was this that possibly brought on the warning. When she had first met Haku and Cercelee, she had felt relatively safe for their position as the leaders of the pack, but with the other pack members, she felt somehow more exposed. Social situations were simply awkward to her. Her gait was slow and measured as she proceeded. Pausing, she acknowledged both leaders, showing respect with averted eyes and humbled form. Then, quietly, she took a place on a bench on her own, elegantly flicking her marked tail behind her. She enjoyed the heat from the large fire, and, as she took a quick sweep of the place, she was intrigued by all the human things she saw, and impressed by their uses and display. But she remained silent and reserved, for she new this must be a gathering, but she knew not the nature of it. |