The Ballad of Earth

[Naca]

Come with me, morning spreads
Clouds are high in milky threads.
The moon looks like a white thumbnail,
Larks are singing up the dale.
The sun is up so follow me.
I'd like us to go secretly
Along the road across the hill
Where water runs and woods are still.

It was dusk. The conifers reared as shadowy silhouettes into the empty navy skies. The western horizon was formed by dark mottled peaks and brushed with the pink remnants of the sun. The traditional buzz of the night had begun with the melody of the wind rustling through the branches of the trees. A chorus of crickets rose into a crescendo from their hidden stages and the fading laments of the feathered sparrows dotted the measures of the opening phrases in the Evening Aria. The invigorating mountain air was thick with the dry perfume of conifer needles and sap which sat heavily in the nostrils of the creatures while during the obscuration of light life was stirring even as it slumbered on.

Naca crouched in the den enveloped by shadows peering out of milky blue eyes. Beneath her paws the earth was moist and cool; soothing to her tender pads. Still staring ahead of her the dark young whelp kneaded the soil almost wonderingly with her miniscule claws. It felt damp and grainy between her toes. Naca turned her face downwards to investigate and nosed the ground gently; the pleasant musty odor of the wet earthen turf flooded her nostrils fully. The essence of milk and wolf was driven back as she continued to snuffle up the worlds scent as if to learn it better. It was long moments where she sat doubled over; belly fuzz collecting the land. It was so cool in her refuge from the weather and so dim it protected her sensitive new eyes. Behind her lay Lithwen and Layl curled haphazardly on top of each other. They were still passed out from the hours of discovery and play just as Naca had been mere minutes ago. She had extracted herself from the familiar temperate bodies and smells to wander a few steps farther and soak up life as she had come to know it; and now she was gazing up the slope where the gateway to the world lay.

Above their shelter was a myriad of scents to baffle the mind. Above were innumerous textures and colors and shades and sights to take in. Above was where the wind blew against ones skin and where the sun touched the land. It was a world unlike her own trifling and simple one where sleep, food, and play was all that really mattered. It was terrifying and considerate; brimming with the new. A small part of Naca wanted to hide from it in her haven; but she was drawn to its millions of wonders like a fly. Only once had she set foot on the desiccated, debris strewn ground. It had felt like she had become blind once more because of the glaring sun and her head had nearly exploded with the flood of scents. But she hadn’t had time to decipher what it all was for she had been brushed back into the shadows with her littermates.

Now, however, she was alone. There was no sister to distract her or any adult to discipline her; Naca was free to do as she pleased. She gazed at the opening in the roof with clouded eyes, her mind obviously whirring behind her dark hued face. A moment later she was up and scampering forward clumsily, a light awoken in her oculars. Her long, wormy tail was forgotten and so it waved above her head almost as a statement. The dirt shifted beneath Naca’s feet as she stumbled, closer and closer, growing more and more excited. Her heart was racing as her blood pounded in her ears and a pink tongue lolled from a thick muzzle. And than, finally, she broke through the surface of the earth into the world and took a deep breath of the air.

She was instantly walloped by a copious amount of smells that sent her head reeling. The pine trees peppered the fresh night sky and the dry aroma of debris wafted at the base of her nostrils. A warm, sunlit scent turned her head towards the sparse bobbing leaves of the low ivy and other leafy flora. Wolven pores came with familiarity while other alien creatures distant scent marks opened the door of questions. Her black slits were working wildly trying to absorb it all; she had lost all ability over her body for she found herself with her face against the ground running back and forth yipping unconsciously at intervals. It was than that she noticed the way the flora rustled in a summer gloaming breeze. The last ballads of the birds prickled in her ears and the brown conifer needles crunched beneath her paws. That was not all that she could hear though. Something was breathing regularly and quite close. She took that moment to look up and saw Fernlick and Gryffin lying together, watching her silently. Naca wagged her tail once before marching onward like a seeker wondering where the stories go.

//for Gryff, Fern, Fiory if she wants, and Lithwen and Layl.//

[Layl]

Home is behind
The world is ahead.
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadow to the edge of night
Until the stars are all alight
Mist and shadows, cloud and shade.
All shall fade.
All shall fade.

Warmth was all the young faemme felt. Warmth and security as she snuggled happily against her sister, Lithwen's side. The trio of sisters had had another eventful day of squabbling, feeding and playing in their home - the only thing that they had ever known besides their father and aunt Gryffin. They knew nothing and no one else. But tonight would be an evening to remember in all their eyes...

Restless she became, and thrashed out wildly in her light slumber, only to accidentally kick young Lithwen in the gut. With a snort she threw her head back and woke up sharply, smashing her small head against the soft Den wall. Yelping out in shock at her stand-still attacker, Layl scrambled to her paws and backed away, her dusty, ivory lips pulling back into a a pathetic excuse for a snarl, her floppy tail tucked firmly between her legs. Perking her large, broad auds, Layl realised that it had been of her own making and let out a little giggle of embarrassment, lowering her head and looking around her, hoping that no one had witnessed her mistake. Luckily, Lithwen was still recovering from the kick Layl had inflicted upon her and had not even noticed - to Layl's knowledge at least. A strange scent, unknown to the ivory and blue flecked youngster, came to her flaring nares. Bobbing her head up and plonking her backside firmly onto the soft earth, Layl swiveled around in the dirt and looked around their musty home frantically. A scent was faint and familiar, but the one who it belonged to had disappeared. Where was Naca?

A short whine passed Layl's lips and her head fell, blue tinged auds pressing back against her scalp in worry. Her icy blue puppy hues glanced back to Lithwen before peering back to the entrance of the den. What had happened? What if she sat here and did nothing, only to let Naca get herself into trouble...or worse...get eaten by a monster?
A short yelp pushed the gangly legged faemme from her moping position and drove her to the very edge of the den's entrance, her knees quaking and tail trembling between her hind legs. A blue splattered muzzle poked out from the shadows and into the moonlight, icy hues following on suit, darting back and forth franticly searching for her sister.

"Naca? Naca!"

She squeaked out in a hushed voice, in hope that no one could hear her - which was silly indeed, yet the cub was still young and had a lot to learn. But just then, the ivory and dark blue hairs which covered the scruff of her neck suddenly stood on end. Eyes. She could feel the presence of ever watchful eyes upon her prone form. Lowering her body swiftly, she drew her head back further round the corner of the den's entrance, waiting several more moments before peering out into the world beyond. The two large forms of her father and aunt lay there, watching her with broad grins on their muzzles.
Relief took over Layl and she stood up, limp tail perking up and wagging above her small form as though fear had never consumed the youth in her whole life. Padding out of the entrance and onto the fresh new turf, Layl slowed to a halt just before them and looked down at the blades which sprung up beneath her toes. Quirking a brow and cocking her head in confusion, she lowered her head and licked the grass with curiosity, pulling her head back quickly and peering up at Fernlick. It tasted of nothing.

"Does all this stuff taste boring?"

Layl asked her father curiously, tail lowering now as she'd forgotten all about it. The scent of her sister once again came to her nares - along with an assortment of many other new scents. Turning her small head round, she saw the approaching figure of Naca and she let out an excited yip, bouncing on the spot in a clumsy manner before her gangly legs flew in all directions towards her darker pelted sibling.

((Sorry it's a bit all over the place...trying to get into the mind of a cub...and also trying to get back into the posting ways of Lyft >.< ))

[Lithwen]

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you.
Remember your loyalty from birth.

Lithwen let out a muffled grunt as something banged into her gut. She curled up even tighter into a ball, afraid to see what it could have been. The young whelp felt the barren emptiness surrounding her fur and she realized she now lay alone. Lithwen opened one apprehensive light blue eye, afraid to see what was happening but to curious to resist. Seeing that the den was deserted, she let escape a nervous cry and scrambled to her feet. They slipped from under her as she fell down with a thud. Taking a deep breath she rose creepingly, revealing her other eye shadowed beneath her lid. It was filled with such a soft blue it was almost clear.

Lithwen thought for a moment, trying to talk herself out of going beyond the earthen sanctuary where most likely everyone would be. She did not really want to be with everyone; only with her Aunt Gryffin, snuggled safely at her side. Her littermates were so energetic they were always pouncing her and leaping at her (especially Naca) and it always gave her a horrible feeling in her stomach that she did not like. But after moments crouched in the traveling shadows of the hole she was decided in that doubtful kind of way. It took her many more numerous seconds to gather up her scattered nerves, but finally the timid little she-cub was prepared.

Lithwen walked cautiously up the damp, sloping turf to pop her head out into the light to see where all her company had migrated to. There she saw Naca running back and forth and Layl eating grass, or at least that was what it looked like from Lithwen’s point of view. Alien smells filled her nose; ones that she recognized and others that she did not. She snuffled around rapidly, gazing at all the bright scenery that filled the sullied landscape. She attempted to smell a leaf that sat in front of her, reaching her head down to inhale but as soon as did so she felt as if she was dropping her guard which would make her a perfect target for her sisters. That always happened to Lithwen when she began to investigate or relax; it was all harum-scarum play for them. The babe brought her head up and stood stiffly trying hard to resist the urge to sniff and explore everything in reach of her curious nose. So as an alternative she pointed her muzzle upward and was nearly flabbergasted to see crawling, open, never ending space above her.

The darkening sky was filled with luminous stars that dotted the dark mass up over her head. The ambience of nature surrounded her as the great trees lifted towards the sky and the dull debris seemed to smush beneath her feet as she nervously stomped the ground with large, awkward paws. A slight breeze arose, bristling Lithwen’s reddish brown fur and making her give a little shiver. This was all so new to Lithwen and all she wanted to do was explore; but what if Naca pounced her again- or Layl? She took a step further from the den so to see more and looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to her began sniffing interestedly at all the new smells.

She decided she loved all of the glorious perfumes of the fresh pine trees and the breeze that carried so many more things to her nose. They all smelled so good and clean. She abruptly jerked her head as she heard footsteps padding across the ground up in time to see Layl flying at Naca. As a result of their wild play Lithwen then lost her courage and bound over to Gryffin, snuggling into her side and reaching her head in to suckle, her stomach feeling empty.

When the cub felt more at ease she cuddled even closer, getting comfortable and then looking around once more at everything. Her optics finally rested upon Layl and Naca’s scuffle. She watched, drooping lazily even though she was hardly tired at all; she just liked the contenting feeling of fur against her own. It always made her feel unassailable and secure. Lithwen began to wish as she lay there that she could just remain like that for forever and never have to worry about anything again. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but finally she just couldn’t hold her heavy lids up anymore and slowly they slid over her eyes and she gently rolled off into a peaceful sleep.

[Fernlick]

[glow=red,2,300]Once again the sun had slipped beyond the tree swamped peaks and precipices of the vaulting mountains. Descending shadows were swirling around the rugged spruces as the sky above grew brighter with the inky blue of nights infancy. Fall was pure in the air and across the clear, cloudless heaven, stars began to mottle the onyx void. Enveloped in the fading dusk, blending into the deepening dark, Fernlick lay across the forest floor with only the bright, untouched expression of the wild wolf brushed across his facade.

His silky raven ears twisted in unison with the falling night and his pink orbs sucked in the starlight, tainting it a sickly yellow green. Lithe and carved from the winds of the seasons, he let the shadows take him.

Inside his shell of a body ripples were stirring the pool of his thoughts. The tremors of the cold, hardening earth and the whistle of spreading night were padding through his veins, tickling the very tips of each black hair, and blowing brittle breaths slowly into his muzzle. He could hear the heart of List grumbling in the back of his mind; telling him things and awakening forgotten memories.

“First amongst the Putnar” sighed the jostled pine needles from above his head.

“No Sikla’s here, no breath of fear” hummed the weary, frigid earth faintly beneath his physique.

“To breed the strong we all adhere” whispered the very essence of the descending night.

Fernlick’s ears twitched backwards restlessly and a frustrated twinge ran through his blood stream and pulled his lips back irritably. Those ancient sayings made his heart pound and his tail flutter upwards; it brought back to him a sharp, tangy scent of his father. Leohlic the Great, Leohlic the Fighter, Leohlic the Feared, Leohlic the First of the Balkar.

Leohlic had been malign and fierce, he had never wavered from the old ways of the Balkar. The lithe red wolf had sunk his pearly fangs into each sacred ritual; he had yipped and howled and killed in Wolfbane’s name. He had been as proud as the other wolves of olden day List when hero’s and legends stole across the granite of the mountains. Now, however, the past had been stripped almost out of memory, and the ground the ebon wolf now lay spread across was crumbling beneath his padded paws. List was wandering astray from Shatocwnn and Leohlic; and the true children of the once mighty mass of forest were lost and scattered across the sloping hills.

The male felt a rumble stir the very base of his chest, but it died down beyond all feel as he counted up the last of the Balkar blood who still stalked amongst the whimpering omega’s in List’s mighty shadows. There was Gryffin and himself, even that white Beta Sudak showed some backbone. Than there were the cubs and whelps; Arias, Sora, Aiyu, Layl, Naca, and Lithwen. Gryffin’s offspring were developing nicely, but his own were still helpless and plump from his sisters nutritious milk. Still, they would grow, and perhaps even survive.

All three of the femmes had a chance at life, even Lithwen, born sick and weak even though she had been bulky at that time of her birth. They did not really need his aid to battle the raging seasons of life. They had Gryffin, and they had the pack. Fernlick did not truly belong anymore beneath this sky, his duty lay in the gnarled world of the Balkar; and it was time he was returning. He did not expect to be welcomed without punishment, but at least he could feel the rendering of his flesh as they clawed and nipped at his hide. It would take the place where Mantic had once been, it would give him the opportunity to forget the brave, cream colored she-wolf from the far off lands to the east. Fernlick was certain that when he once again took his place in the ranks of the Night Hunters he would be able to live on in peace. Yes, he had no business in his mother’s old pack; and his whelps belonged to a different chapter in his life.

He had decided it, and Fernlick found he was beginning to relax into the blackening night. Suddenly, from the den he picked up the faintest tremble of movement and rested his eyes upon chocolate covered Naca. She was looking out at the world, examining it, testing it, getting up the courage. He watched her, not moving for many moments, until finally and uncertainly, she broke into the world. Fernlick was satisfied; she had set out first from the den; that was a brave thing to do. Fernlick amused himself by watching her run back and forth, erect and excited until he narrowed his eyes at Layl’s face peeking over the ground. Her inquisitive, pale eyes twisted in fear for a moment, but than she too came scampering over the wave that had laid between herself and her littermate. Fernlick’s tail twitched but he did not answer her when she chewed up the sparse grass. There was not really time anyway, for she was charging towards Naca. Good, he thought, she is spirited. And than he waited for the last pup so that he could judge her and know what traits she possessed. But he did not have high hopes; she was the last one to leave the den, she would probably be meek and skittish. She was; he silently looked on as she buried into Gryffin’s side and tried to suckle. Fernlick stared down at her without expression, feeling nothing for the mottled youth. She was undeveloped; she would always be behind. But Naca and Layl? Why they were frolicking in the worlds bounty. He approved.[/glow]

[Gryffin]

The night curled and wrapped its claws around he haven of List. The mountain air was crisp and fresh as autumn settled in, yet winter nipped at her heels and soon wolfbane would blow his cold icy breath across the lands and turn this haven into a hellish ground of ice, snow and hunger.

The sky was clear and the moon cast a whicked light across the cold as if it were sucking the warmth away from the mountain range. Under the forest pines a dark shadow stirred. A raven black pelt curld around his bodice. It was Fernlick. From the depths of the den emerald orbs watched the obsidian coated he wolf. Silence unbroken except for the soft mewlings of the pups.

Gryffin shifted her weight as her paws scraped the floor of the comfortably lined whelp den. Her ebon nose twitched drinking in the scent of pups and milk. Her tail twitched as she caught the scent of another she wolf. One that Gryffin did not come to know. It was the scent of her lets say sister in law, Mantic. The lithe beta stirred uncomfortably. Hr eyes moving to rest onto the three scaps of fur. They would never come to know their mother. Gryffin felt a pang of sorry for them, the thought of her own mother still scarred her deeply. Such a weakness love was. The beta sighed, her eyes drooping int oa close before the sound of Naca awoke her. Gryffin lifted her head starring at the energetic pup. The propect of going back into the den frustrated Gryffin emmensly. She had problems staying in the den for such a long time when she had her pups early that spring. Now that her pups were older and training already she was free, only to be condemned back into the den.

The only thing that kept the tri hued she wolf interested in mothering another she wolfs whelps were the fact that these pups had a part of her blood in them too, through her brother Fernlick. And with the knowledge that her family line would live on through her brothers blood was enough to convince the beta to return to a motherly figure.

Gryffin looked over to Naca and Layl, they were more lively then the more subdued Lithwen. The tri hued aunt noticed this, as Lithwen resembled her own daughter Aiyu. A timid and shy cub who Gryffin knew would tremble if she ever fell under the silhouette of a balkar. This trait reminded her of her kin... Jade. The orange hued she pup of Shatocwnns litter of four. What ever happened to her sister baffled Gryffin. Though she had taunted her sister since the first time they had opened their eyes, the tri hued she wolf couldnt help ut wonder where she was now. But with a simple flick of her tail, she swept the thought away from her mind.

Her eyes watched Naca as the brown youth crested the entrance to the den before scampering out into the dark unforgiving woods. Gryffin let out a mufled growl before letting the pup go as she watched Layl hesitate at first before scampering after her littermate. Gyffin huffed, perhaps this would be a chance for her to get out of the cramped living style of the whelping den. She turned to Lithwen waiting for her to run out before she too followed them into te night but before the tri hued she wolf could get up the small form of Lithwen crashed into her side. Gryffin growled, her ears flattening as the pup cuddled into her trying to suckle. THe she wolf's eyes narrowed at the little scarp of fluff that had seemed to swipe the key of freedom away from her. But Gryffin began to settle again, her bodice showing calmness once more as she allowed the pup to suckle. Looking down Gryffin watched Lithwen's sides heave up and down in the soft breath of sleep. Eyes blinking Gryffin rasped her tongue over the pups small body, erasing the scent of fresh pine and mountain and replacing it with the scent of puppy and milk.

[Naca]

The cub flew back and forth beneath the still shadows of the unwavering evergreens. Night wrapped its tail around the small gathering of wolves like a mother shielding her whelps. Beyond the bows of the conifers the stars traveled along a rode paved of the blackest silhouettes; and the brilliance of the waning moon outshone their light, cutting a silvery blue avenue through the crystalline air. On Earth the ground was frozen, the mountains erect as winter arrived. Already the peaks and chasms of the lonely monoliths were powdered with snow. The days of fall were numbered; to touch the air was to touch the sunless night.

But the young whelp was not concerned with the mottled heavens or the luminescent orb in its blanket of shadows. She was tasting the scent of the birches and feeling the smell of the soil. She was watching the wind on her fur and listening to the noises her surroundings emanated. Instinct took a hold of her limp, pudgy young legs and she darted back and forth, sticking her black nares into the very crevices of each object.

Naca was a baby in the world, helpless and blind. Her muscles were as strong as a hatchlings damp wing; her knowledge was as vast as a small, barren den would allow it to be. She didn’t know of meadows or oceans or summer, she barely understood the forest around her. But as she violently nipped up the debris littering the ground she learned. It would be quite a few seasons before she could call earth wisdom her own, but no one was born with something; they could only become it.

She was having fun even though bitter cold pressed around her thin chocolate bristles. Her tail trailed above her ears and her cloudy blue eyes glowed bright. Suddenly she noticed Layl charging her from across the clearing. Her lips went up and she leaped backwards and away from her wildly flailing sister. Somehow the action sent her body twisting against her control and she landed on the earthen floor in a heap, snapping her teeth together as she twisted onto her back, legs kicking violently.