Silvertip Mountain A Starry Night

This is my first thread started by me. Anyone is welcome to join

 

Close to the mountaintop, a grey wolf gazed at the starry night sky above. Chaska was lost in the stars, and he felt as if his worries and troubles were behind him. He was living the good life so far. He had found a pack, and even though he had not met them all personally, he felt accepted. As he watched the stars, he remembered what his mother used to say. "Behind every star, there is a story." Hearing her voice once more, he felt a sense of happiness. But also, sadness. He missed her so much, and the same with the rest of his family. His eyes moved down to the scar on his shoulder. It was a reminder. A reminder of that dreadful day. More sadness came, but he would shed no tears. That was a promise he made to his father. He looked back to the stars, recalling the stories his mother told him.

Hope you don't mind me popping in!

FitzDutiful was out, on this fateful night, trying to make sense of life. It had been a stressful few days and his beta was injured, his mate mad with him and everything in the world appeared to be falling down. It seemed to be spiralling further and further out of his control and he needed some semblance of order again. As he walked he noticed Chaska staring at the sky. The grey wolf a sharp contrast the black of the night's sky.

"Hi, what do you see in the stars tonight?" he asked, careful not to make the other male jump. Ever a naturalist it didn't occur to him that a wolf would look at the stars just to gaze. He assumed that others were always looking for meanings too. 

Not at all! I was someone would. 

Chaska was deep in thought when he heard someone nearby. He believed it to be a passer-by, so kept his eyes in the sky. He was proven wrong when that someone came close up behind him. "Hi, what do you see in the stars tonight?" he heard Fitz ask. 


"I do not see much" he answered without turning his head. "My mother used to tell me that behind each star, there is a story. I'm trying to remember one" he said, keeping his words to a near minimum, but also making conversation.

FitzDutiful found CHaska rather intriguing. He had never come across a wolf who said no little and yet, somehow, communicated so much. It had been this that had partly secured his place in Silvertip Mountain when he had come searching for a home. The light coloured wolf considered Chaska's words carefully. He considered making conversation - of asking to hear one, but wondered if that would interrupt the male's train of thought. He though about taking the pressure off, of asking Chaska if he planned on becoming a Chronicler - the pack could use one - but didn't want to change the subject too much.

And so FitzDutiful sat, looking out at the stars too. He changed his mind - yet again- and decided to broach the subject before letting the silence continue. "If you can remember, I'd love to hear one." Assess the potential before asking Chaska to pursue the trade.

Chaska turned his face towards the white wolf. His neck hurt a bit from being still for too long, but not too much. When Fitz asked for a story, he thought back to the stories his mother told him. Then, he found the perfect one. It was a short one, but was one of his favorites.

"Long ago, in a land far from here, lived a large pack of wolves. All the creatures lived together in peace, and harmony. Then one day, the darkest of the wolves felt that he should lead. So in an attempt to take over, he set the packs against each other using his devious ways. A war between them began, and he sat in a dark cave in the center of the land. He waited, and waited until there was silence, meaning one side had won." Chaska paused, letting the rest of the story come to him and to take a breath before continuing.


"But what he saw was nothing but a barren land. The war had killed off all the creatures and the forests, leaving nothing. Nothing but the one wolf. His greed led to him destroying all life, and he was forever in despair. Seeing there was nothing left for him, he left, never to return, and swore he would never let the greed take hold of him again. He continues to roam, leaving destruction in his wake, for he could never hold back his desires. And he never will." He took a long breath in, having expelled much of it with the story.

He listened with bated breath while Chaska told his story. One dark wolves amongst a sea of white, death and destruction forever following him. It was a terrifying story and one that almost made FitzDutiful shudder in the darkness. He found himself looking around just in case the dark wolf happened to be close by. When the story ended, FitzDutiful waited for a moment before saying anything, hoping there was more. It appeared to be at an end but it was effective enough that he wanted Chaska to go for the chronicler trade.

"Wow." he said, in a way that sounds more like air being expelled than an actual word. "What a story. Would you fancy trying to learn the Chronicler trade? The pack could use someone with your storytelling abilities and I'm sure my pups would appreciate being told stories like that." He paused, waiting for Chaska to agree, decline or umm and ahh over the option in front of him before saying anything more.

"Do you know any others you could tell me?" he wanted more.

Chaska listened intently as Fitz suggested the chronicler trade. He thought about it, and was interested by the idea. Perhaps he would try to achieve that trade. "I may have a try at it. I have many more stories to share" he said. 

When the white wolf asked for another, Chaska was more than happy to comply. He was glad that someone appreciated the stories he knew. He thought of another, and then remembered the last he was told by his mother.

"In a valley, far from here, a small pack of wolves lived. These wolves had plenty of food in their lives, and were happy. But one day, when the alpha of the pack was going along the border, he found a lone wolf. It looked injured, and hungry. It asked for food and shelter, but he turned it away." He paused, then began again after taking a breath. 

"The next day, the same thing happened, except the wolf had more cuts, and his skin was stretched over his bones from being starved. He asked again, and this time, the alpha threatened that if he returned, he would be killed. The lone wolf left, but before he did, he warned the alpha that if he was to be turned away again, bad things will follow. The alpha ignored, and the next day, he waited for the lone wolf, ready to kill." He paused again to take yet another breath before continuing.

"But it never came. The alpha felt glad the wolf hadn't returned, and went back to his pack. Then it started. First, the food began to disappear. Then, the water became poisoned. The winter came early, and the pack was starved. One by one, the wolves started to fall. In the end, only the alpha remained. He had turned to cannibalism to survive, and the pack turned on one another. But they were all killed. On his last day, he was visited by the lone wolf. But the wolf was much different. It was no longer injured, and looked well fed. Aside from the glow, he was normal. The final words the alpha heard, were these: 'I warned you, and now, because of your greed, your pack has ended, and now, so will you.' With that, the alpha saw a white flash, and breathed his final breath." Chaska took a deep breath, having finished the story.

Chaska seemed open to the idea of taking on the chronicler trade. He was well on his way to gaining it for FitzDutiful would allow this session to count. He would only need to prove four other instances of learning stories for FitzDutiful to award the trade — and that would give Chaska a step up in terms of being higher ranked than other wolves. The alpha was fast approaching the considering that those with trades would be automatically ranked higher than those without. He wanted skill wolves in his pack.

But now was time for another story. At the first pause, FitzDutiful was thinking about other wolves that had come to his border. He had never turned a wolf away, there had been no cause to. As the story went on, this lone wolf kept coming back. Time after time after time. He naturally wondered what he would do in this situation. He would have only turned the wolf away the first time for good reason. When the story reached its apex, he was glad for his reasoning. Insta-killed by a lone wolf. A nasty thought.

"Did the lone wolf take over the pack?" he asked, wondering what came of the pack whose alpha had been wiped out by a singular wolf. A single, magical wolf.

Chaska shook his head slowly at the question. 

"The lone wolf was a spirit, and had tested the pack leader. Since the leader failed, the spirit did not see them as worthy, and so killed them off. But I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, if it were true. You showed me kindness, and no doubt you would show kindness to him as well." Chaska smiled at his leader, recalling that day. Then his mind shifted to a deeper question inside. 

"You know so much about me, yet I hardly know anything about you, except your name and rank, besides a few other basic things. How did you come upon this place?" Chaska asked. "Were you always an alpha, or did you come from another pack?" He wished to know as much as he could about his alpha. Then he would at least know one of the wolves he lived with.

Would he? Chaska seemed to have more faith in FitzDutiful than he had in himself. He smiled fondly at the newcomer, glad that he was starting to feel comfortable in the pack. "Thank you." he responded, sincere in his words. He was grateful that he came across so.

Chaska turned the conversation onto the pack and FitzDutiful and, scratching at an itch on his ear with his hind right leg, FitzDutiful thought about the question a little. Lowering his foot he began to answer the male's question. "I wasn't. I started off in the Teekon Wilds at the pack across the river - Blacktail Deer Plateau." he paused, deciding whether to give the long, or abridged version.

"When the alpha of that pack announced he was leaving I followed them. It was a while away but they became the alpha pair of Redhawk Caldera and myself a founding member. I stayed there a few months and learnt a lot from the leader, Peregrine. Eventually - a few moons ago - I decided I wanted to lead my own pack. I talked to Peregrine and Fox and got their blessings to leave. Raissa wanted to come with me and so we headed to Firestone Hot Springs where we had first met."

He remembered that meeting fondly, how instantly attracted he had been to the wolfess. How times had changed. The attraction was there but it was tainted by lies and deceit.

"Along the way we came across Bindi and an ex-pack mate of the Caldera, Tempest. We decided the mountain was a safer place than fighting over the ever-popular hot springs. So we established the boundaries and began storing what we good catch. It was a hard winter but we made it."

A trip down memory lane. And god help Tempest if she ever returned. He wished he could discount her from the founding members for her desertion once again - but that wasn't true to the pack's history. And a Chronicler should know the history of the pack they served.

This is my last post, unless you want to continue more.

Chaska listened intently to the light grey wolf as he told his story of how he came to the mountain. As he learnt more and more about the wolf, he felt more comfortable around the wolf. He felt he would soon learn to call him friend. As Fitz came to the end of the story, Chaska was intrigued, expecting there to be more. But when there wasn't, he felt no disappointment.

"That is quite a story. I wish my story was like that" he murmured. He looked back to the stars one last time, then felt that it was time to head off to rest. "If you'll excuse me, I feel the need for rest. It was nice chatting with you." Before leaving, he bowed his head low to his alpha and left quietly, heading to where he slept.

Chaska mentioned needing time to rest and FitzDutiful nodded. He had wanted to learn more about his Eta but it appeared that would just have to wait. And that was okay. He hoped Chaska would stick around. It was nice to have loyal members. Bindi, Copper, Raissa - they had stayed from the start. They'd had a fair few wanderer and deserters but Chaska seemed made of a material that would stay.

Wearily, FitzDutiful turned and headed back to his own den. He, too, needed rest. As much as he was hating the current situation he didn't doubt that it would all be worth it when the children arrived. All of them - the plentiful amount that he was sure he would have. Dreams eventually engulfed him where he played with them for hours on end.