Watching the Morning Star Rise

[Ärï]

Rikki's limber ginger form loped along a mountain path, black dipped paws breaking the fresh snow. Everything around him was white except for the tree trunks, stripped bare of their bark by the harsh winds of a pervious storm. For now things were calm and the forest was quiet, the mountains as silent as gravestones. Rikki ambled along without much of a care, his scrawny orange form standing out against the white of the land around him. He looked like a cross between a fox and a wolf, one called a Maned Wolf for the dark ruff of fur running from the back of his head down between his shoulders. His body had the markings of a fox, a long narrower muzzle then most wolves and he looked like bone and fur though his muscles were actually hidden by his shaggy winter coat. Normally Maned wolves were southern wolves but not Rikki. No, this wolf was a storyteller following the steps of the four packs as they journeyed from their long-time home.

Through the day he ran or walked, depending on how he felt and how deep the snow was. Though Rikki was a southern-born wolf he had grown used to the cold weathers of these northern places though he couldn't say snow and ice were his favorite things. He kept himself warm by thinking of his steamy jungle home. Thoughts and images of poisonfangs kept his paws moving like they had in the jungle when the threat of being bitten had been very real. On his front right paw the pad was discolored from a poisonfang bite.

As night came, Rikki kept going, driven by his curiousity as always. Through the night he ran, finding the mountain nights surprising quiet for this time of year. Near dawn the sky cleared of most clouds just as a band of pink appeared far away. Rikki smiled as he stopped moving and looked up, standing in a small clearing surrounded by barren trees. His eyes found one star in particular. A bright star to the west. The Morning Star. Rikki smiled as he stood and watched it though in the distance he heard wolf paws. A loner or one left behind. Either way, Rikki was glad for company. Turning his head, Rikki waited for the newcommer to make themselves seen.

[eyesofgold]

a lone fae stepped out of the darkness, also looking up into the sky. She didn't seem to notice him at first, then suddenly stopped and looked at him. Surprised, she said, "I wasn't expecting company. What is your name?"

[Ärï]

Rikki looked at the fae and smiled his usual casual grin, white-tipped tail wagging slightly in a friendly gesture. "They call me Rikki but you can call me whatever you'd like." Rikki barked, smiling at the lone femmora. He had an exotic accent, proving his jungle roots. He grinned at the femme. "Come to watch the sun come up did we?" he asked.

[eyesofgold]

The fae smiled. "Yes, I did. It's so beautiful. My name is Morning Star, by the way. Maybe that's why I'm so interested in that one in the sky," she said, gesturing with her snout. "But anyway, you have a strange accent. Jungle wolf, are you?"
She was a beautiful white-yellow color with her eyes glowing in the morning light. She had a small cut on her front left paw but she didnt seem to be bothered by it much.

[Ärï]

"Ah so you know of my kind hm?" Rikki barked with interest, giving the fae an amused and curious look. "Well that is a rarety. I must remember this day." Rikki chuckled. "Not many wolves know my kind so I am surprised." Rikki stretched his lanky limbs and shook his fur, fluffing up his ginger canvas for a moment. Rikki sent another exagerated smile at Morning Star and sat back on his hunches, white-tipped ginger banner sweeping the ground behind him.

[eyesofgold]

Morning Star smiled kindly. She was a little shy, but happy she could impress Rikki. "I travel alot. Ive heard stories. In fact, I've met one other jungle wolf, which is how I recognize your accent. I've met quite a few odd wolves in my time." then she laughed softly. "I say that as though I've been around a long time. I havn't, really."

[Ärï]

Rikki laughed, wagging his tail. "Another wonderer? Oh this day fills me with surprises" Rikki barked, chuckling. "I tell stories to the younglings in the packs and bend the ear of other loners, even if they don't like it." Rikki winked playfully and smiled. He was a bright wolf, never much of one for fighting though he would if he had to. Usually his part as a storyteller was simply observe, speak to some and then vanish when it was all said and done.

[eyesofgold]

Wagging her tail, Morning Star said, "I haven't really been with many other packs.I wish to become a warrior, though. I've always been interested in stories," she added, "do you have any favorites?"
Morning star looked up again. She noted teh beautiful colors of the sky; the beautiful blues and reds, the striking oranges and yellows; morning and dusk were the best times of the day, she thought. Always so beautiful and cool. Then her gaze fell upon the wolf with which she was conversing, and noted now his ligher spots glowed blue and orange. She smiled to herself. He was lovely.

[Ärï]

"Ah now that isn't fair!" Rikki barked playfully. "Making a storyteller choose a favorite, I've never heard anything so unjust." Rikki winked at Morning Star, all in good fun. Rikki thought for a moment, sorting through the many tales he had heard in these strange northern lands. He decided on a tale from far north. "I say I like the Spirit Crossing from a lake pack to the north" Rikki decided. "Very sweet tale. Care to hear?" he asked, ears pricked hopefully.

[eyesofgold]

"Why of course. Another tale to add to my small but growing collection." Morning Star lay down at the base of a nearby tree, settling in to listen to the story. One more glance at the sky, then at the beautiful orange of his fur gradually changeing back to its normal orange, and she settled down to listen. She'd loved stories, since she was a pup (although she wasn't much older than one as it was), and though she'd never heard many, she enjoyed hearing what she could.

[Ärï]

Rikki to settled down to tell his tale, happy to be able to share his knowledge of the other lands he'd seen. Morning Star was a young one, not much older then younglings that enjoyed his simply sleeptime stories but still, a curious mind was a welcome mind in Rikki's eyes. "Far to the north, far beyond these mountains I met a pack living around what they called the Mirror Lake" Rikki began, remembering the pine forest valley and perfecly clear lake that suited its name quite well. "I stayed there a while and learned the tale of Spirit Crossing." Rikki laid on his belly, in a sphinx pose.

"Thousands of years ago in that valley, spirits ruled or so they say. Two packs divided the valley, one fire and one ice. Their souls were cold as these mountains and as hot as my jungle home. They fight many times, each time neither win and both loose. The Mirror Lake was their boarder and each had an alpha, a single alpha that would take no mate. This was because both already had a secret mate." Rikki winked. "They were called Blackfang and Freya, Blackfang living in fire and impatient soul while Freya of ice with a heart harder then diamond. Neither pack knew about their alphas until Freya bore pups to an unnamed father whom was Blackfang. Once a year Freya would take the pups to the Mirror Lake at the time when it froze solid. Neither could set foot on the lake for it was frozen, Blakfang would melt it and Freya freeze it so it would burn Blackfang's paws. What to do? They could do nothing more then see each other from a distance."

Rikki shook his head sadly. This was a sad tale and he usually didn't tell it often though he did like it well.

"One cold cold winter night the packs met in battle, each beta of the pack going against the orders of their alpha. They fought a bloody fight. When the packs stopped, the two alphas and three pups of Freya were missing. Where they go? To the Mirror Lake. The packs found their alphas, each dead, one on one side of the frozen lake, one of the other, the pups laying beside their mother. Each was dying though no one remembers who attacked. At the same time the two reached a paw out and touched the ice. It grew cold then hot and exploded. A crack broke right down the middle and ice peaks formed along the crack for the heat made the ice expand and shrink too fast to keep up. Now once a year they say the two meet on the coldest night and the lake breaks exactly at midnight."

[eyesofgold]

Morning Star sat, transfixed on the story. "...and the lake breaks exactly at midnight." finished Rikki. he gave a slight smile that was both happy and a little sad. Morning Star blinked, and smiled at him. "That was beautiful," she said softly. "It almost makes you sad," she growled. "Do you believe it, Rikki?" Her smile grew a little. "It makes me think of my parents. They were of two different clans, which ones, I don't remember exactly. But my father was a herb healer and my mother a proxy. They met once while their clans were passing the same area, they said." she looked down, remembering her parents and wondering if they missed her as much as she missed them. "Anyway, they kept meeting every few nights and then my mother became pregnant with me and my brother, Dark Eyes. No one knew who our father was at first, then they found out and chased my mother away because he wasn't in their pack. My father's pack accepted her for a while, but then she got hurt and they fell behind. Then they just traveled with me and my brother."

[Ärï]

Rikki smiled sadly at Morning Star. "I've seen it. I stayed long enough to see the Spirit Crossing. It was an amazing sight, truly worthy of whatever spirits created us." Rikki listened to her sad story and sighed softly. His own family had been a small one. Maned wolves lived alone or with their family until pups became old enough to go off alone. Rikki had three brothers and a sister somewhere in the south if poisonfangs or fangfish hadn't gotten them, plus his elderly parents. "My life is a quiet one, curiousity drives me on north and I see with eyes unclouded by prejudgment."

[eyesofgold]

She smiled at him. "Yes, being unjudging is always a wonderful thing. You don't really know who you are judging. It may be someone dangerous," she winked at him in a mysterious comical way.

[Ärï]

Rikki chuckled. "I just let the insults come. I'm actually growing bored with them. You would think northern wolves would have more imagination? Fox-wolf, fox-breath, scrawny, jungle rat, the list goes on and on but it's running short." Rikki shrugged. "The dangerous ones are often dangerous by nature. All wolves hold a demon. Even me." Rikki laughed, bringing up his right paw and licked it once or twice to keep it from going too numb.