~*Starlight Teachings...*~ (Private. Aiyu Only)

[Fiory]

[glow=white,9,000]Amidst a descending horizon line shone a dieing sun, stretching it's red and violet digits out, begging with the oncoming night to halt it's assent for just, a moment longer. The shadows stretched from the forest and darkened the land of List, including whatever inhabitants still active at this hour. Gentle lights in the heavens faded slowly into sight, and drifting slowly into view, the lazy eye of Tor gently began to rise. An owl woke from it's daylight slumber, fluttering it's auburn brown and ebon black feathers, before soaring off into the twilight on silent wings of down.

Standing proud atop a boulder, looking out over that dieing horizon of crimson and gold, stood a figure native to the surrounding forests and had nearly grown up in all their cranies. Golden rod auditories were foreward and soft sunshine hues glistened as brightly as the impending starlight from above. The figure gazed out at her territory, onlooking the vastness before the carpathian mountains and the ranges beyond. Fiory was deep in thought, anticipating the arrival of her newest charge, her Grand-Neice, Aiyu of Gryffin and Sudak. Aiyu would be granted the knowledge Fiory had gained over her years as Drappa, and as a kerl before List was formed. Every story, and every secret the stargazing storyteller knew, would be passed down to the kind and gentle hearted she-varg, and to no one else. Arias and Sora, would never attain this information, and neither would any other List varg of this age. Whether Aiyu wished to share Fiory's teachings, would be entirely up to the young she pup, but for now once she arrived, she would be sworn to secrecy. These were special and unique gifts the Drappa was to bestow; not even her own kin were granted them, so she hoped that her neice's daughter, would treasure her words for now and for always....

((Bleh, bad post, sorry hun....I'll be waitin for your reply anyhow hun....AS A REMINDER! NO ONE BUT AIYU AND MYSELF IS TO REPLY TO THIS THREAD! Thanks Much! )) [/glow]

[Aiyu]

In the pervading twilight that stretched out across the land causing all manner of shadow and shade to spring forth from where Fenris’ failing light still continued to touch down upon the ground, stretching out from the forest and beyond to cover the land in a seemingly unending veil of darkness. But even as the sun began to set there would still be a faint glimmer of light to illuminate the realm for those that would remain active throughout the night as Fenris’ mate, Tor, began her gradual ascent into the heavens to take her place amongst her children and watch over the wild, untamed varg of List. Even during the sunset hours there was life, crickets chirped softly from amidst the tall grass, breaking the awkward silence of the evening with their soothing symphony, fireflies illuminated the air with their soft glow, further off in the distance a fox emerged from its den in preparation for the its nocturnal search for potential prey. Within the depths of the forest a solitary figure gradually made her way through the vast domain of seemingly endless trees that had come to dominate the mountainside throughout the years, emerald eyes darting back and forth to follow each sound and glistening brightly as the last rays of golden light reflected off her retina’s. Aiyu had set out to join her aunt almost immediately after the gathering, not wanting to keep her Drappa and new mentor waiting. Yet despite her haste the night’s beauty was not lost to her and the timid fae found herself marveling at the wondrous sights that nature had placed before her, the rich hue’s of Fenris setting in the horizon accompanied by the gentle twinkling of the stars as one by one they flickered to life in the evening sky.

It seemed strange to Aiyu that even in a time such as this, the time of Wolfbane, when darkness was said to hold dominion over all until Fenris returned to banish him off once more, that light somehow always managed to be present. Whether it came in the form of Tor watching over her children or the spirits of those that came before her, light always managed to penetrate the darkness and find its way down to the world below to guide those in their time of need. It was mystifying, almost like magic. And Aiyu found that despite how she may have felt about the changes taking place in her life, in the lives of the ones she loved and in List itself, it filled her with hope. Hope for her family and for the future.

Catching sight of her mentor surveying her domain proudly from atop one of the numerous chunks of earth that lay scattered throughout the mountainside Aiyu reluctantly broke out into a slight gallop. She still wasn’t entirely sure why Fiory had chosen to mentor her over either of her siblings, she had neither the strength nor the courage to train to be a warrior like her sister, Sora, or the skill and cunning to become an emissary like her brother, Arias. Her Drappa hadn’t revealed anything to Aiyu save for the fact that she would begin her training with her this night, causing Aiyu to wonder as to what her aunt could possibly have planned for her. Not being one to rule out the possibility that she might be punished Aiyu cringed, lowering herself closer to the ground and taking on a more submissive stance. Perhaps Fiory had decided to punish her for not answering to her call to meet with the rest of the pack immediately and decided that she was going to make an example of her, Sora had said that List would become a cult of Wolfbane under Fiory’s rule. Aiyu had shrugged it off at first, knowing that her sister had a tendency to exaggerate, but after the changes she had seen in her once loving parents, a side of them that she had never even thought existed, Aiyu began to wonder if perhaps her sister had been telling the truth afterall. In which case she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps she had been chosen by Fiory to become a sacrifice for the Evil One, she let out a slight whimper, wondering whether her parents would really allow such a thing to happen to her. Tucking her tail tightly between her legs Aiyu stopped just short of her mentor, letting out a slight whine to alert the Stargazing Drappa of her arrival so that they might begin their training. If that was truly what she had truly been summoned for.

[Fiory]

[glow=white,9,000]A gentile whine reached the hearing of that ebony statuette. A golden rod ear shifted, and pointed momentarily at the exact place where Aiyu had planted herself, submissive and apprehensive. The light from the dieing Fenris sparkled across the ebony coat the Drappa was born under, a small shimmering effect as if dew had gentle caressed each folical. A caressing grin moved beneath that fur of pitch black, and slowly a golden hues glanced downward at the cowering she-pup near her feet.

"What fear do you have my little Trailing Star. Do you fear me? Or perhaps the impending excerises we are to endure through?" It was a question, given with the utmost of care and delicacy, a shining example of the she-wolf Fiory had been all her life, and would be until the day her soul left this earth to rejoin the stars above. Perhaps the wolven femme was a superb actress, convincing her pack of the vicious nature she seemed to aquire. Or perhaps she just loved her pack far too much to allow others their less then comical jests about them. A small wind kicked up from beneath her paws and billowed at her silk soft fur, the gray and blue markings lacing her spine gently coming in and out of sight.

"Aiyu, I have hand picked you for this, because you have what your siblings do not. You have a certain air about you deep within and streaming outward, that neither Sora nor Arias could ever duplicate...not with the hearts they currently possess anyway." For a moment, a call of a nearby sparrow seemed to interupt the Drappa's words, much to her appreciation. The call of the small song bird seemed to dance along the canopy tops of pines and sicamores, trilling along through the under brush to whisper sweet nothings to little ones in their beds, tucking them in for what would be a fairly tranquil evening.

"You are, unique against your sister Sora, who wishes for Wolfbane to come in all his fiery wrath..." The agile femme began again, once the trilling had silenced into a fading mist of nightly sounds. A brow creased momentarily at the thought of her statement. Indeed, Sora only seemed to wish a fiery death upon her enemies, and what was worse, she seemed to feel that the world in all it's glory, was the enemy of all time. "And Arias, is not different...But you Aiyu...You have a star in your eyes that I have not seen for many years...a star I sorely miss and a star that in time will shine as brightly as I know mine has." Her head turned to bow at the small female at her side, cowering in her pressence, even though nothing but joy and happiness shimmered in those aging golden hues. Their sparkle and that brilliant luster from years past gleamed brighter then any star could have possibly imagined; they even seemed to trade specks of light across each other in play or a dancing display of beauty. Fiory was a stargazer, one at heart and one taught.

"Aiyu, my Trailing Star, Will you accept the teachings of One from a Clan of Star Gazers, who worshipped Tor until their dieing days, and looked to the heavens in harmony with this world and the next that awaited them?" Fiory was offering, not ordering. This was something Aiyu would have to accept, not be forced to undertake. The elegent ebony femme knew Aiyu was different then her siblings and therefore unfit to learn the ways of the warrior or the emissary. But a Stargazer like her aunt....that was a matter of an entirely different color... [/glow]

[Aiyu]

Still crouched low to the ground the ivory and tangerine sikla waited anxiously for Fiory to acknowledge her presence, lowering her gaze submissively as when she felt the Stargazing Drappa’s golden gaze settle upon her and shuffling her paws awkwardly beneath her. Doubt still weight heavily on the young pups mind and should couldn’t help but wonder what her mentor saw when she looked at her, did she see what her siblings saw, a useless runt with no way of contributing to the needs of the pack, or was she just simply disappointed with what she saw like Gryffin. A soft whimper escaped her maw as she recalled the look she’d seen on her mother’s face during the gathering when the tri hued wolf thought she wasn’t looking, it had been one of complete and utter disappointment in her daughter. Ashamed with herself over the fact that she had somehow managed to invoke such feelings from her mother and somewhat in bittern that been expected to reach some sort of standard Aiyu found that she felt more alone then she had ever been. With Gryffin apparently ashamed of how she had turned out while both her siblings despising her very existence the young fae had no one to turn to, Aiyu didn’t dare go to her father for support, he had changed from the loving varg that she had once knew into something that similar to the cub killers affiliated with List ancestral roots. Simply put, he frightened her.

Unaware that she had drifted off into her own little world Aiyu was taken by surprise as Fiory finally spoke, realizing that she was being address Aiyu immediately leapt to her feet to listen to what her mentor had to say, pinning her ears and lowering her emerald gaze to look at her feet in shame at Fiory’s question. “Both I suppose.” she admitted softly. “I fear what is happening to this pack and I fear for what it will eventually become and what that will mean for me. As my siblings have both repeatedly pointed out I am neither strong enough to become a warrior nor brave enough to take up the path of a scout, what good am I to List if I cannot contribute to the pack. Already the varg I know have changed, Sora and Arias grow more malicious with each passing day, father frightens me, and mother…” She stopped, trying repress a whimper and wondering whether she should continue. It was bad enough that her family seemed to think little of her but would Fiory think of her if she began speaking ill of her mother, whom was not only beta femme of List but Fiory’s niece as well. Most varg already seemed to think Aiyu a weakling, she had no reason to believe the Stargazing Drappa would be any different. However lifting her head slightly to look up at her mentor Aiyu was surprised at what she saw, instead of seeing her mentor scrutinizing her through harden golden orbs like she had expected she was greeted by the sight of the black Listern Drappa smiling down at her. “You saw how she looked at me.” she finally whimpered, losing her composure and hanging her head limply between her forelimbs once more. “These are not the varg I knew. My siblings hate me and my parents wish I were something I‘m not.”

Becoming silent Aiyu raised her head as Fiory began to speak, explaining why she had been chosen to train under the Stargazing Drappa as her apprentice and how she differed from her siblings. Despite her dour mood the ivory pup couldn’t help but smile softly as Fiory spoke, allowing her tail to wag slightly as she listened to her drappa’s words of praise and pinning her ears slightly in embarrassment. A Stargazer? Her? That sounded nice. Even more so was the opportunity to become part of something special and prove her worth to both her family and List at the same time filled Aiyu with joy. “Yes, I accept your offer. I want to learn the ways of your clan and bring honor to their memory, to follow the ways of Tor and look to the heavens for guidance. I want to be a Stargazer.” she barked, emerald eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. She would train under Fiory and do her best to learn the teachings of Star Gazer clan and make her mentor proud. For she was Aiyu, the Trailing Star of List.

[Fiory]

[glow=white,9,000]A smile stretched across that ebony muzzle and her long feathered tail began to sway with pride. Her goldenrod ears flicked foreward and those shining golden hues glistened ever brightly at Aiyu's decision. She couldn't have looked more prideful.

"I am glad you accept, and honored aswell." Slowly, as the moon brightened the world of darkness in Lists' vast hills and valleys, the ebon female began to move up the slope, as if she wanted to try and get as close as possible to the twinkling stars that were beginning to show. The call of a horned owl sent mice scurrying into their burrows and small birds fluttering through the trees in fright. No part of Fiory, even stirred at the chilling sound. It wasn't to say that she was fearless against the flying putnar, it was just another sound made in the dark of night.

"Please, come with me Trailing Star. We'll begin your teachings this evening..." That old charm of mystery beckoned within the gentle sounds of Aiyu's great Aunt's voice. Like a waning shadow the figure moved easily without a sound coming from her small agile paws. Unaware if Aiyu was at her heels or at her side, Fiory began to speak once more, in a calm and entirely gentle sort of way. There was a sadness that crept within that mysterious vocal sonate, just in a small way, hardly detectable to those untrained to it's sound. Deep within the casms of her very heart and soul, Fiory dreaded this special teachings that she would undergo with Aiyu. It wasn't for the fact that Aiyu wasn't the perfect femme for it, oh no hardly. It was the fact, that her own cub long gone from List and quite possibly the living world, Denisha, would have fallen squarely in the same pool as Aiyu did now. The widowed mother, stripped of her offspring, yet alpha to a strong and prideful pack, secretly would have rather teach her ancestory to her own bloodline, instead of Aiyu. Of course, this did not matter in the least bit. Even if Denisha were around or alive, Aiyu would still be gaining this special expertise, she would just have a partner in her class instead of doing in solitarily with Fiory.

"Long before you were born, when List had yet to become what it was and what it is, beyond the mountains along our borders and past casms and valleys alike, lived a very odd pack close to both the forest and the beckoning shallows of the sea." Silent she was as Fiory continued onward, sharing the story of her own heritage with the young female who was to be her charge; her student. If Aiyu was to learn of Star Gazing from Fiory, then the young ivory femmora would need to learn of Fiory's past first. "The summits nearly touched the sky, and on all but one side the miniscule pack thrived. Ocean and mountain flanked three sides, while a small valley between North and South separated and welcomed both friend and foe. This pack was small, just beginning as packs usually do, with but two adults and their newly birthed five offspring. There was only one other, an elder who could not hunt herself, but told stories to the pups and even to their parents..." Fiory stopped near the top of the small hillock they had found themselves on. She waited for a moment to allow Aiyu to catch up or ask questions. The memories of her puppyhood hit hard and it was soon clear to the younger female, that her aunt didn't have the same smile she had had before on her ebon muzzle. Quite the contrary, that face seemed to have vanished and a newer, more repressed and saddened face had taken it's place. Reminising on the grassy knolls and breezy salt filled gusts of air wrenched knots in Fiory's gut, but before long, the grin returned, smaller then before, but still visible.

"She told me many stories, of Tor and of Fenris, of Zostar and Wolfbane. But my favorite, is the one I will share with you tonight Little Star." Fiory had begun to move again, but only a few feet now to the very top of the hill they had been climbing. It was a most beautiful vantage point. Clearly not as tall as the mountainous peaks nearby but just as stunning as them. List was calm and tranquil, nay stirring if it had to, say for a passing breeze. The view from here not only showed List, but the skies above in the dense navy sky. Little twinkling lights danced and sparkled here and there, glowing brightly upon what appeared to be the only two moving beings in the whole of the mountainous territory.

"She told me of a story, of Lunar the Speedy Star, said to have lived near a thousand years ago. She was born under Tor's watchful eyes and throughout her life, she looked to Tor for strength and for comfort. Lunar was not the only one of her litter, she had to brothers by the names of Solar and Eclipse, named for being born while it was still daylight out and for when Fenris finally decended beneath the earth. Lunar was the runt of her litter, picked on by her older brothers and mocked for her beliefs. They told her nasty things, how Fenris would strike her down and how Wolfbane would eat her weak little soul alive." Quietly, Fiory lay down upon the softened tufts of grass beneath her paws. Her agile spine splayed itself out on her side, a welcoming smile on her face, beckoning Aiyu closer if she felt the nerve to. Fiory was Drappa of List, but she was first and foremost, Aiyu's Aunt. A second one, but an aunt all the same.

"Well, Lunar did not believe her brothers. 'Tor will not let that happen to me!' she said, as her brothers laughed and joked. 'Tor is not worthy of being a god, she is weak compared to Fenris of the Sun and Wolfbane of Flames. She wouldn't care for a runt like you' Solar would counter, each time. One twilight evening, while Solar and Eclipse were teasing their younger sister, she made a bold statement, one that kept their muzzles closed for quite a time while she said it. 'I know Tor Loves me more that your gods love you. And I can prove it! Tor loves me so much, that she will give me speed and agility, and I will run so fast that Tor will welcome me into the stars.' Neither Solar nor Eclipse thought to get shot with this, so they continued to tease, telling poor small Lunar that she was no were near as fast as she would need to be. She was weak and tiny, how could she run clear to the stars they thought. So Lunar got up her courage and ran as fast as her long limbs would carry her. She ran so fast, she leapt off of trees on her way up their nearby mountain. Bounding and running from branch to branch, Lunar seemed to fly, and as she neared the very tip of the mountain she leapt clear off with her paws pointed skywards....." There was a quiet pause, a glimmer of stardust sparkling in those bright golden eyes. Golden rod auditories continued to stay foreward, flicking once or twice as if making sure there were no little critters sneaking around nearby. Once sure the silence was enough, Fiory began again with the end of her tale, a smile of glee on her face.

"And Tor sent a beam of light for Lunar to run upon, leading her up into the heavens with a welcoming light. To this day, Lunar is still there in the skies, nestled close to Tor and running amongst the stars...Solar and Eclipse however...well...They never doubted a weaker varg from that day onward."

((Blah, long drawn out....kinda cruddy too...sorry hun...My muse decided to die in the middle of that..x.x'))[/glow]

[Aiyu]

Upon hearing her decision Fiory rose to her feet, beckoning for Aiyu to follow her as she began her steady ascent up the slope. Aiyu couldn’t help but admire how gracefully she moved about the craggy mountainside, her lithe paws scarcely making a sound as she glided further up the sloping landscape like a shadow. Realizing that she would be left behind if she didn’t catch up Aiyu broke out into a slight lope, the newly apprenticed stargazer following her mentor up the slope before she could disappear from sight. By the time she caught up Fiory had already begun to speak, reciting what Aiyu determined to be her first official lesson under the Stargazing Drappa. She spoke calmly in the same gentle tone she had used to address Aiyu earlier, however Aiyu noticed that a hint of sadness in her mentor’s tone despite Fiory’s seemingly normal perky behavior. Curious, she briefly considered questioning the ebony drappa over her sudden emotional state but decided against it, knowing that it was not her place to ask such things and not wanting to risk invoking Fiory’s wrath so early into the lesson. They walked in silence for a moment, Fiory reflecting on how her life had gone and Aiyu continuing to contemplate her mentor’s distressed state as well as what the future held for her and List. Soon Fiory resumed her tale, describing the land of her birth as well as the each member of her childhood pack, focusing particularly on the packs elder and storyteller which she seemed to have been clearly fond of. Again she spoke Aiyu noticed that Fiory seemed to become saddened though now the young apprentice had a better grasp over what was troubling her. Fiory led them further up the slope until they finally stood atop the hills peak overlooking the whole of List which lay strewn before them like a beautifully painted canvas, a moment later found the Stargazing Drappa stretched out across the soft grass as she made herself more comfortable in preparation to continue on with the lesson. At a gesture from her aunt Aiyu came forward and lay herself beside the Listern Drappa,, her eyes shining brightly at the prospect of being told a story she craned her head forward eagerly, her ears perked as the Legend of Lunar was passed down to her. Aiyu smiled as she listened, enjoying every moment of it as Fiory told her of the trials and tribulations Lunar faced from her brothers whom constantly picked on her, instantly feeling a stab of sympathy for the young sikla. Her heart soared as her aunt concluded the story, tail wagging furiously behind her as the story reached its climax, still a question that had hung in the back of her mind since her aunt had taken her in still nagged her and kept her from enjoying the story completely. “Aunt Fiory?” she asked suddenly, looking up towards her mentor and pinning her ears slightly. “Exactly what will my training entail?”