Melisande had regathered her senses, and decided not to regret what had happened, or to think about who might be lost in the fire. She hadn't seen Laruku... in fact, she hadn't seen a lot of other wolves yet. But she wouldn't think about it, because it wasn't going to help them now. The oddest thing that she found was that she really missed Ceres' gravestone as much as any of the wolves she had ever known. But then, she was relieved that it could no longer beckon her.
She looked up at Fatin as she entered the center of their home, the Glen itself. It was a beautiful place. There was no familiar misty lake, and there never would be again, but that was okay. She had to regroup, for them, for herself, for everyone. They all had to keep going, and use this opportunity as best they could. Fatin was a great leader, she already knew that. It would probably be her role in this to be the main one to structure, to be respected and truly followed. Melisande was still too young, she thought to herself, too inexperienced to be like that yet. But she did know that she could motivate the others, and give them her own attitude. Follow the sun, my dears.
"Labyrinth Glen has wolves and a home, but now we need ranks. Did you ever look through the human book, the one with the faeries?" She assumed her aunt knew where she was going with this, and looked expectantly at her. She only remembered a few of the names associated with the magical race, but perhaps Fatin remembered more.
[html] The first day that she had found the Glen, a 'Fairy Ring' had sprung up made of mushrooms. Bemused, the red wolf had rested there, and dreamed up her recovery to be accelerated. Logically, it was her brother's fault for not letting her move for more than an inch or two at any given moment. When Melisande approached her, Fatin smiled warmly, her tail even giving a few happy beats. The question she'd been given wasn't too unusual, people who knew she could read often asked her about different things but this one, this question had special meaning that Fatin was inching towards. "Fairy names? I know a few things....not a whole bunch though." She crossed her legs, inviting the other girl to sit down.
"Like...if you find a ring of mushrooms, you've found a 'Fairy Ring' it's a place they consider magical, and it's a placed they've blessed. The Seelie court is made of the Higher Classed Fairies, like they're royalties. And there are a lot of different races for them.....do you know any?" She tilted her head curiously, intrigued by the conversation. She was always eager and happy to cross wits with someone and learn something, and, if her guess was right, this was going to end up being important to them for ages to come. [/html]
She was glad when Fatin was interested, and sat down next to her, as though preparing to have a long and important discussion. She enjoyed being taken seriously, and wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste. "I know a few." she said simply, then looked up at the sky as she wracked her brain for what they were. "Ellyllion are elves, I think, and Gwyllion are... mountain fairies? I was hoping you would remember the pretty ones." At that, she smiled brightly. She liked learning French, but that was as far as her languages went, and Fatin was probably more adept to learning, remembering, and pronouncing the other ones.
She pondered for a moment just how pretty the names were. Most of them were hard to say, and Fatin was lucky she had a background in a pretty and unique language to guide her through the difficult names. "the Sidhe are a race of fairies....the Aos sí are guardian fairies...the Aes Sídhe are peaceful, respectful fairies, and the Sluagh Sídhe are unhappy fairies sort of...unpleasant souls." She turned the idea over in her head time and time again, a smile resting on her face as she considered different things. "Labyrinth Glen has a mystical sort of feel to it....but then again, I'm biased. Lead with me." She said simply, a smile on her face as she waited for the response. Some people might not agree with her bold idea, but who better to lead at her side than her niece? It was all about family, after all.
Melisande nodded at the names, turning them over in her head, repeating some out loud. They were pretty, and mostly fun to attempt to say. She agreed that Labyrinth Glad had the magical feel to it, and opened her mouth to say that, of course, that was why she'd brought up the fairies to begin with. But before she got anything out, a request, almost a command, came from Fatin. She had almost expected to be an assistant leader of some sort, but not...
She looked at the ground, pondering, turning things over in her head. Follow the sun, Melis. She looked back up, and shrugged, smiling widely. "I can do that. In fact, I might love to do that." She just hoped that leading didn't kill her, like it had so many others.
Fatin grinned impishly, feeling a surge of the youthful vigor she was so known for blazing through her veins. "So fairy Queens we shall be...but I'm no Titania of Avalon....I think simply calling ourselves the Sidhe would be good...like...a common theme that carries all the way down the pack. Your Gwyllion..the mountain Fairies? They'd be like our supports...so maybe what the old Gradituers were. Tristan would make a perfect Aos sí, and Sedition could be the Aes Sídhe." Already there were members of Labyrinth Glen that fit perfectly into the ranks. Like so many other things involving the pack, it all had just fallen into place and she was grateful for that fact. " There are other names too, like Tuatha Dé are just another race of fairies, but they're more like the commonwealth fairies...maybe the subordinates?" She turned the ranks over in her head, flipping some spots and changing some things out. "As for the puppies....maybe the Ellyllons?" Looking to her fellow Sidhe for guidance, the redhead waited patiently for input.
She laughed at the idea of fairy queens, and then again at the idea of puppies being known generally as elves. It was amusing to think of the meanings now, but she knew that as time went on, she probably wouldn't think of the meanings very often at all, and some of the pack members would never know them at all. The words would become ranks, jobs, serious but somehow mystical at the same time. Being able to laugh felt good.
"I am glad to be here with you... and this pack, too. I thought everything was lost when I ran from the fire, but maybe things are just getting started." For every bad thing, there was a good one, and vice versa. She had a feeling that life was going to get far better, far worse, and generally more complicated as time went on. But that was alright, she had a few good wolves, and although she didn't know the others too well, she could tell that they were not likely to give up anytime soon.
Fatin knew how the younger woman felt far better than she wanted to admit. Sighing softly, Fatin nodded. "I spent all of winter wondering why I was even around...I didn't have the guts to leave my pack and family, but I was miserable. Maybe the lands heard me and decided I needed to start over, even if I didn't want to." She said quietly. "That's probably horrible of me, but it's true..." She brushed a section of her hair out of her eyes.
"I'm just worried that we left behind far more than we're thinking of now...like, when Hymn showed up and asked about her mother Phasma, I hadn't even though about her grave until right then. Or my brother Mercido's out in the Sanctuary. The little memories, they're going to be lost forever I figure....but maybe it's just time to move on, and none of us realized it." There had to be some rhyme and reason to the way the world worked, but Fatin hadn't found it yet. Even with her age, she was still wrapping her brain around the way the world worked and doing her best to understand things as they came.
Melisande still had a hint of a smile on her face as she listened, nodding in agreement. But there was sadness there, too. They'd both wished for this, in a way. And they probably weren't the only ones. You couldn't have your cake and eat it too. "I wonder if Laruku is still alive..." she blurted out suddenly. "He wasn't fit to be a leader, and he basically told me he didn't want to go on anymore... I just wonder if he found rest, or if he's still alive..." She wondered if Fatin had ever met him. If she did, she probably didn't care anyways. No one else seemed to think of him like Melisande did.
Fatin always cared, even if she hated herself for it. That Skoll idiot? The one who had attacked the Lykois? He needed to sleep with an eye open to save himself from their eventual revenge. Fatin cared that he would die someday, but she did not bother herself with worrying for too long. "He's got a lot of fight in him...he's seen Clouded Tears through much." She said quietly. "I'm sure, underneath it all he's got something to live for, even if he doesnt know what that is yet.' After all, hadn't she missed so much? She was kept in the lands by something, even if she had no clue what exactly it happened to be. "I haven't met him, but I know he's been around a long, long time. That says a lot for who he is."
Melisande nodded, smiling. It was the first time she'd heard someone speak truly positively in a while, about anything, let alone about Laruku. Things were brighter here, on the other side of the world. "I think this place is going to do a lot of good for many." was all she could think of to say. And it was true. The other lands were the same, in a way. There was grass, trees, lakes... everything was the same. But yet, it was so different here, with the new start, with new hopes and dreams. There was sadness and loss, but at the same time, puppies like Esme got to grow up here, with her and Fatin watching over her. And that was what made it great.
|
