After a day of meeting pack members and learning about their culture, Ignatius was exhausted. He had made a promise though and these wolves were looking forward to the night’s performance. The butterflies in his stomach had already started fluttering and his nervousness gave him the energy to keep going. He walked along on all fours, heading toward New Dawn’s den and gathering spot, still getting used to using his lupus form.
Just as he thought, it was easy to pick out and follow their scent to where it was strongest, at the den. He arrived just as the moon was beginning to rise over the horizon. He took his place in the middle of the clearing, sitting down as he waited for the pack to join him. As he waited, he pondered over what story to tell, perhaps a love story or a scary story. Both would work well in the moonlight.
Shadow arrived shortly after Ignatius and he gave the man a simple and kind nod of the head and smile. He had been tasked with the duty of watching and helping the wolf and it would seem that his task was almost complete. Shadow looked around as his tail lightly started to move behind him. He wondered who would come and what stories would be told. Shadow knew his mate Insomnia really wanted to go to this story telling and that she would be bringing a friend along.
Shadow was waiting with anticipation of the nights coming activities but of course if he was needed else where or if he was told to check on the boarders while the stories were told then he would do so. He had duties as an Epsilon and he would carry them out without fail and if it meant missing out on some stories he knew he would be able to survive. He mostly just wanted to spend more time with his pack and with his mate. Everyone had grown so close except for of course Shadow and Augustus and of course Noah plus anyone but for the most part the pack was strong and there was happiness in the air and tonight would bring them all together again, under the light of the full moon.
The strange luperci that he'd seen had come to share stories. Tharin wasn't huge on tales, but he was curious about what it was Ignatius would share. He was very different from what he was used to, driving him to see what would happen. Tharin had listened to tales as a pup, even if he lacked the ability to tell them. His nature was very much straight forward, seeing what was before him and describing it factually. He had heard that other members would be going out there, and even if he didn't know them all yet, he was eager to see more members, and maybe get to know them better.
He spotted Shadow there, tail wagging as he spotted the friendly dark wolf. He moved closer, nodding his head courteously as he took a seat. Others would be coming, some he knew, most he wouldn't. Tharin needed to see his pack mates more, expand past the small circle that he had. Would Fayne come? He hoped she would, knowing how much she loved such things, eyes lighting up as she talked about the wonderful things out there. Maybe Shandom would too. He hadn't seen him in a while.
Insomnia was adrift, wandering aimlessly through the land she knew so well by now. Her body was reluctant to move towards the gathering. Her eyes threatened to close once more. Insomnia made haste towards the main den. There were few wolves gathered before the storyteller. Only one face did she recognize, and immediately she withdrew. Shy by nature was Insomnia, and, as she spotted Shadow she had realized she never truly told him about her other friends. Although she had not regained much of her memories, if it wasn't for him she would still be lost out there, below the stars, caught between worlds in a purgatory of fear and uncertainty. Insomnia abruptly realized her legs were shaking. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, but it clouded in the air. Finally, the omega realized she was nervous. She had no idea though why she was. Insomnia slowly made her way to settle down in a spot close to the story telling brute and smiled at him. She was sitting away from Shadowfang though. She wanted to see if Jiva would come, she hadn't spent much time with him these past few months and she wondered at night if her awkwardness had something to do with it. She sighed to herself and looked around at the other faces.
Adonia scent had been fading slowly, her heat was coming to an end. Still she wanted to make sure to cover it up as best she could. Hearing about the storyteller she really wanted to be there, and really wanted to see other members. She bathed herself in the small river and rolled around in wild flowers and other various strong smelling, but pleasant scented vegetation. Satisfied that she was well masked she made her way to the gathering near the den, hoping she wouldn't upset anyone.
As she arrived her tail dropped, afraid her more relaxed stature would be seen as rude. Her ears rolled back and her head lowered, tail dropped as she came to the few that had gathered. A gray dog catching her eye. He must be the storyteller. She didn't seen any others she had met, except Tharin. Her heart skipped a little. Their meeting before was intense and she was very sure it was all because of her cycle. She looked around more...no Ookami. Her heart sank and she moved around to be on the outer side of the pack gathering, and down wind of everyone, this was in hopes that her masked scent wouldn't drift too much toward them, and blow away. A precautionary measure that was probably unnecessary for her already dwindling cycle.
She focused on the storyteller, not sure how awkward it would be around Tharin. She wanted to come up and say 'hi' but wasn't sure she wanted to get that close to everyone else. If he wanted to come to her, he could, and if he wanted to talk to her afterward, he was more than welcomed to..but for now, the storyteller was all that she tried to think about.
Jiva had been in the den nearly asleep when he heard the commotion, lifting his head he looked to see if he could just see them outside the den but it was far too busy. Slightly frowning the one year old got up and stretched, front first then back and shook himself before trudging to the front of the den where the commotion was. There were many gathered around but not much talk. Jiva had been out of the loop for a while, trying to do his duty to his pack and he couldn't..... He missed all his marks, he couldn't catch even a rabbit. Tobias was far more sucessful and Jiva would never pass of the birds kill as his own. That would be low, far too low for the young man to ever do and because of his shame in not being able to catch much he kept away from much conversation and did not eat much more than what could keep him alive, because he knew he was a hunter, and he would do whatever it took to catch his pack a meal. It had been so easy during the winter time, why not now?
But being caught here near the midst of the wolves, he froze, though he was not scared of them, he didn't feel anything he had to say was worth talking about, but it didn't seem any but one was the center of attention and this sparked his curiousity, was there some kind of meeting that he didn't know about? Well the young wolf wasn't going to miss out, but he would keep himself to the back of the crowd. Attention wasn't something he wanted at the moment.
Three silken ivory paws and one mismatched silver made soft plodding sounds on the loamy forest floor as the young Alphess padded towards the pack's den. Her spirits were high and it showed in her countenance; standing tall, tail curled and wagging unevenly, ears pert and forward in reception of the sounds that came from the gathering. At first the news of New Dawn's unexpected visitor sent her hackles skyward, but once she learned of the dog's intent in the pack lands and of Zalen's approval of his stay her innter turmoil was quelled. Upon nightfall this night they were to gather to hear stories. She did not know of what, and the anticipation set her heart afire. She had grown up with so many wonderful, wild adventures told by her very own mother, some new, some old, but ever since she found her independence and moved away from Orin the tales were far fewer and far between. The Alphess often prodded her members to tell the stories of their lives, but there was a unique excitement about being offered a tale.
The light from the clear, starry sky filtered down through the trees and Titania knew that in a few steps she would be in the small clearing of trees that enclosed the den. When she emerged into the moonlight, her eyes lit up as they gazed upon those who had already arrived. Pausing for just a moment in her steps, she took in each member in turn, looking at most of their backs but recognizing her pack, her family, at once. Jiva, her own cousin, she noticed first, and a wide smile spanned her muzzle. When she started forward again, her gaze had stopped upon the gray form near Shadowfang, the dog that she knew must be their entertainer for the evening.
Trotting up next to her cousin, her tail flicked with a wag and she bumped her shoulder into his. “Has he started yet?” She asked in a voice that made it not matter if he had, for she was ironically speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. She realized her folly and glanced around, then said in a more hushed tone, “Did I miss anything?”
OOC: Hope you guys don't mind me jumping in. WC: 400
Ciara was truly and surely depressed. She had been keeping to herself for the past two weeks, avoiding her packmates and choosing to stay close to the borders, scouting and defending as was her job. Her reasoning for being upset was complicated and hard to determine. She knew that Augustus had something to do with it. Even though the two had mated, they weren’t close. She’d barely seen hide or hair of her salt-and-pepper mate except for when they curled around each other in the den at night. When the pack was called together there would be the occasional nuzzle or happy whine against her ear, the subtle return of the affections she gave. But they never talked, not really.
It pained her that she felt so distant from him when they were supposed to be so close. So she ran and ran to clear her mind, worked hard to keep herself busy, waiting and waiting for him to open up and tell her what was bothering him. She couldn’t tell if it was because he was unsatisfied with her as a mate, frustrated because they had not physically mated yet, or angry with himself for some reason. Her sides heaved as she sighed, picking her way back through the lands towards the den. She definitely needed a distraction this evening, before the thoughts, and insecurities put her into an inescapable rut.
When she got closer to the den she recognized the scent of a strange canine and snarled lowly, breaking into a full-out run. He was close to the den, where Sky’s puppies, the young ones she’d only seen in passing, would be. Her teeth gnashed as she thought of this stranger harming them, paws digging into the ground to send her propelling into the clearing. Then her claws dug in to stop her onslaught. She skidded, managing to stop in a crouch a few feet outside of the circle of her pack-mates. Upon the sight of Titania, she instantly relaxed. She stood and shook her fur out, licking at her lips before moving over to lick beneath her Alphess’ chin in greeting, letting a happy whine spill forth. Everything seemed to be alright. The atmosphere was calm, and she could tell her pack-mates were anticipating something.
Whatever it was might prove to be the distraction she was looking for.
A big thank you to Bria for giving me the idea for this story!
Still as a statue, he waited. Only his golden eyes moved as he followed the motion of each wolf who took a seat around the clearing. The first to arrive were those he had already met. Shadow, who had been tasked with watching him while he was here and his bubbly mate, Insomnia. He had spent the afternoon with Tharin, seeing the territory and getting to know more about how to live the way New Dawn did. He smiled warmly at the male as he took a place among his pack.
Those that arrived after were wolves he had not met. He felt more of a stranger now then he had all day, surrounded by those who did not know who he was or why he was here. One even thought him an intruder and came into the clearing ready to attack before she saw the rest of her pack gathered around him. His ears pressed back against his head and the smile left his face. He felt so vulnerable in his lupus form. If these wolves decided that he was a threat to their safety he would not be able to defend himself. He was half their size in this form and neither as strong nor as fast as they were. Once he was amongst wolves, he realized how truly different he was from them.
His fear overwhelmed him then until he was suffocating in it. His breathing got heavier and his eyes flicked around the clearing, watching the wolves he did not know with a frightened stare. The voice of another broke the hold the fear had over him and reminded him that he was there for a reason. These wolves were waiting for a performance, not gathering around to hunt him down. They were all watching him because they were waiting for him to begin. Why would they want to hurt him? It had been a ridiculous thought that led to his fear and he shook it off. How stupid of him to freeze up at a time like this.
A story was what he needed, one to captivate these traditional wolves. Not a tale of humans nor of Luperci, but of wolves, packs, and families. Suddenly, he knew what story to tell. His ears slowly perked up again and he looked around at the faces of the pack one last time before he began. He had barely gotten to know any of them and already his time here was almost over. He would return though, he had already decided it. He would see the rest of what Nova Scotia had to offer and then he would be back to tell his stories and sing his songs again. He nodded his head once and began.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Some of you have met me already but for those who have not - I am Ignatius.” He dipped his head in respect before going on. “And tonight I will tell the tale of how the first wolves got their howl.”
“A long time ago, when the world was just beginning, the wolf did not know how to sing.
Before the wolf learned to howl, he had no way to communicate with his brothers and sisters when they were far from the pack. Without the song of their pack mates to call them back home, many wolves got lost in the wilderness and never found their way back to their families. Puppies had to be kept close so that they too would not disappear and lone wolves could not call out to the packs they wished to join and thus they lived their lives in solitude when they longed for the companionship of their brothers and sisters.
Tired of living life in constant fear of getting separated from his family, the wolf set out with his brothers and sisters to find their song. The birds had earned their song when they flew up to the sky and snatched up drops of sunlight in their beaks. The coyotes had stolen their song from the little girls who liked to play in their woods, taking the voices to use as their own. But the wolves could not fly and they did not know how to steal voices. So they wandered the earth, looking for a way to get their own song.
The wolf walked with his brothers and sisters across the first grass to push through the ground. This new grass was greener than the leaves when they first start to bud in the spring and always smelled like fresh rain had just fallen upon it. The wolves ran and laughed and played in the grass, rolling in its fresh scent until they too smelled of the earth. But still, they could not sing.
They splashed in the first rivers and creeks that wound their way through the land. The water was so transparent that they could plainly see the perfectly round pebbles that covered the bottom. They drank and danced and swam in the water until their fur was heavy with it and they smelled like the fish that made their home there. But still, they could not sing
.
So they shook the water from their fur and continued on into a forest. The trees in that forest were so tall that they reached all the way up to the sky and their trunks were so big that a hundred wolves could sit around them. The wolves hunted and ate and slept in the woods, and when they were done they smelled like the bark of the trees and the blood of the animal they had hunted. But still, they could not sing.
And so the wolf began to climb the tallest mountain. It took him all day to reach the peak and when he finally rested at the top, a full moon greeted him in the night sky. He sat on the peak, too tired from his climb to do anything else. As he sat there he heard a voice talking to him as if from a great distance. He looked down the side of the mountain but saw no one. Finally the voice said to him, ‘It is I, the Moon.’ And the wolf looked to the bright moon hanging above him.
The wolf did not know what to say and stayed silent until the moon spoke again. It said, ‘Brave wolf, you have journeyed far and done many things. You have done all that the wolf was made to do and so I give you the gift of song.’ When the moon was done speaking it sent down drops of moonlight that fell upon the waiting wolf and all of his brothers and sisters. Finally, the wolves could sing and they raised their voices as one to give thanks to the moon who had given them their howl.”
Ignatius let his last word fall into silence before he slowly lifted his muzzle to the sky and let his own howl pierce the night air. Though his was not the true howl of a wolf he hoped that the others would join him in his song to give thanks to the moon for giving it to them.
Shadow listened to the story. It was a beautiful one and one that he was proud of and knew that his brothers and sisters would feel the same way. He noted Titania and gave her a big smile and nod and even worked his way over and gave her a gentle lick to the chin and he did the same to his sister Ciara. Once he gave his welcomes to the new comers he headed back to his spoke and listened to the story closely. As he listened he was slowly filled with a pride, and it grew and grew while Ignatius told his tail. Shadows tail was moving now as the wolf in the story got to the top of the mountain and then when the voice came out of no where he knew the moon was the one to grant the wolf the gift of song.
He waited with excitement as the wolf in the story howled and then there it was. The stranger howled and without waiting to see if it was the right thing to do he stood tall and raised his head high and let out a powerful howl like the one he had given when he first joined. His howl mixed with the strangers and the song of the wolves began. He closed his eyes and pretended that he was that wolf on the mountain top and he made sure to howl loud enough so all could hear him. He had been that loner in the story without a pack, he had been the one that traveled. Shadow had been that wolf that climbed mountains. In a way that story had sounded like it might have been about him and the power of his howl showed how happy he was to have a pack and family like he did now. If the pack of New Dawn all were to howl then they would be heard for miles and there song of pack and family would be beautiful and proud.
So much better than my version. Tempted to rave about it XD
A mild scent of fear rose from the dog, surrounded by the pack of wolves. The pack's strength washed over Tharin. They could tear him apart easily, but there was no need. They were here for another reason. They would listen to his story. The words of the young alpha brought a smile from Tharin, one that he quickly tucked away. Adonia was there, a fact that he ignored as the story began to rise up. The struggles of those old wolves beat within his heart, living on in his veins. As Ignatius spoke he found himself back there, among the wolves as they worked to find their song.
There was so much of the world through there, so many that already had a voice. Tharin's heart ached with each failed attempt, silent with no way to cry his pain. The last wolf, alone, rising up the mountains rose his hopes. Perhaps this time they would find something. When the moon granted the howl, his tail went crazy wagging behind him. That was right. The moon was their friend. To be gifted the howl felt amazing. His tail was wild behind him as the story ended, voice raising in a howl. Tharin lifted his head back, his own deep voice mingling with the others. Power, longing, joy, and triumph all sang through there. This was what he'd been searching for. Those to be with, to call with.
Tharin ignored her existence, and she put her ears back, and before she could feel the full sting of being ignored a wolf came charging toward the group in a fury. The wolfdog didn't notice the storyteller freezing and fearing for his life for a moment until Ciara had slowed down. Adonia didn't know why the wolf had came in such an angry manner. In truth, the wolfdog never had to fear another, had never been in a dangerous situation, part from being abused by her mother, but she had never feared her...not that bad anyway. As the wolfdog got older she told the woman off, laid it all out for her, and that was that. Adonia spoke up, and when she spoke up, that was when the bad things stopped. It wasn't that hard...why would the female need to storm out of nowhere teeth gnashing? Really, it made her look like a fool. Adonia turned back to look at the dog, and saw the fear in his eyes, and realized how scared that made him. Maybe it should have been mentioned more about the storytelling. It was surprising that it wasn't circulated through the pack.Adonia managed to find out. Maybe that was because the wolfdog made it a point to know what was going on, despite her hiding around the pack land. With a light sigh she kept her eyes on the dog, almost wanting to let him know he was safe. The female wasn't a fighter, but if she needed to, she would defend the dog.
The dog finally found some resolve within himself and he began. The story was interesting, it was about song, and finding your song. It was inspiring and it was sad. When the wolves tried many things to find a song, and yet never gained one, her heart ached for them. When they began to scale a mountain, and sat down, she wondered. Something spoke to them and her ears perked high on her head, her bottom lifted from the earth as she tensed. It was the moon! The moon spoke! Adonia was at full attention, and she listen to what the moon had to say. Her tail wagged furiously as they were gifted with song. Maybe Adonia had known somewhere in her heart the moon was the one to have gifted the howl, that was why she loved it so much! The dog howled, and then shadow, then Tharin, and with all the excitement Adonia too joined in the howl. Her soft, loving howl cut through and mixed into the others. It was a happy, excited howl as well. Despite being without her mate, Adonia sang with joy. The story a welcoming distraction from her heartache and the fact she was in heat. Luckily, she remained a little ways away from the others.
