Firefly Glen Reminds me of childhood memories

@Charon 

It was early summer evening - the sun had just set with the last rays of the radiant light disappearing behind the horizon, while the sky there was painted in bright oranges, reds and purples. On the other side atop the dusky blue blanket the moon was shining and the first stars that had appeared were scattered here and there like tiny pieces of precious jewels. 

Wraen had spent an eventful day hunting and had crossed paths with other wolves and was now quite happy to be on her own in this small and quiet valley. She had found a little hallow that would work well as her temporary home for the night, but before retreating to the world of dreams, her attention was caught by the tiny, bright lights that were scattered accross the grass. Now and then they would move, fly above the ground and disappear. 

"Fireflies!" she said joyfully and got to her feet to explore the grounds that served for the courting dances of these small bugs.

Sunset was one of Charon's favourite times of the day. He loved watching the beautiful colours as they danced across the skies and painted everything below. He had watched them with interest from the frays of Moonspear's territory but then started further into neutral territory, feeling the need to be accompanied by the fireflies, somehow, while he tried to wrap his mind around how much the pups had grown and while he tried to make decisions in regards to the smallest pup, Ran.

Ears piqued as he heard someone shout, the joyous tone in their voice evident. When he neared and saw a wolf there Charon was startled by who it was (or who he thought it to be). "Osprey?" he called out in surprise, but when he took another three seconds to really look at her he realised that he was mistaken and made ready to apologise for the mix-up to this complete stranger.

Wraen was not alone here this evening - there was another evening-dweller drawn to the magic of the little dancing lights. A tall, white and proud looking wolf was standing some distance away regarding her with a look, where recognition was mixed with confusion. He had called out a name earlier - one she had not paid attention to in her excitement about the shiny bugs - but she put two plus two together and guessed that he had mistaken her for someone else. 

"Hey!" she approached the man, keeping her posture low, ears drawn back, tail wagging happily behind her, while she smiled and regarded him with a warm look in her eyes, as if greeting a long lost friend. "Did you come to see the lights too?"

The way she responded was very reminiscent of Osprey too, but as she came closer he was for sure that she wasn't Osprey. Charon decided, since she didn't mention it, to simply smooth over the matter as though it hadn't really happened.

Even the way she greeted was so Osprey-like, warm even though they didn't even know each other. He couldn't help but smile warmly in return. "Yeah," he said, looking up at the stars demonstratively. The fireflies were such a part of the decor for him that he didn't even consider she might mean those.

Wraen followed the man's gaze, trying to figure out, what had so suddenly captured his interest up there - how else could the pointed glance upwards be explained? She tilted her head slightly to the right, then slightly to the left, seeing nothing of much interest - sky and stars and moon had already been there before. 

Feeling a little confused she turned to look at the wolf and asked innocently: "Did I miss something a second ago? What did you see?"

Charon blinked at her question, not really understanding where she was going with this. He lifted an eyebrow, looking a bit like he thought she might be a looniebin, and said, "... No? I was looking at the stars." This meet-up was getting stranger by the moment, really, and he wasn't so sure anything could happen now to salvage the meeting into something good. Mere moments ago he'd smiled at her heartfelt greeting and likeness to his friend Osprey, but now he found himself wondering if maybe she was just crazy.

"Oh... Ahaa...." Wraen shook her head, feeling like a total idiot and dimwit and at the same time there was smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She rarely got upset about her mistakes and unlike her sister Sarah, who was a perfectionist by nature and therefore any wound to her pride was survived in sullen silence. Wraen on the other hand always found a funny edge to the silly and stupid things she happened to do. 

"Sorry. I am not crazy," she said with a smile. "Though it might seem so. What is your name?"

The situation grew pretty weird, though Charon was forgiving considering she looked so much like Osprey. It might've been uncomfortable otherwise, though perhaps it was not that but the girl's seemingly unending optimism and, in some weird sort of way, confidence that kept things from becoming awkward.

"I'm Charon Ostrega," he introduced. "Connoisseur of stars and other shiny things." ... Whatever the fuck that meant. He looked around as though to explain the 'other shiny things' were the fireflies, but in hindsight that all seemed stupid as fuck. No taking back words now, though, so he just kept smiling confidently and hoped she wouldn't take much note of the idiocy of it all.

"No way," Wraen exclaimed surprisedly, right after Charon had introduced himself. She stood there for a moment with mouth slightly agape and eyes wide and full of wonder - as a kid, who can't believe the luck of having met a hero in person. 

"Do you also run by the name Sir Knight Starchaser?" she asked with tail wagging. "Or "Dragonbearstarchaser" - 'cause you chase bears out, chase stars for their stories and chase dragons for fun?" Wraen cited her mother's tales about her best adventure buddy word by word. She had a very good memory, when it came to names, people and events.

"... No way?" Charon repeated in question after her exclamation, not really sure what was strange with his name. Or perhaps it was his affinity for the stars that pleased her; perhaps she was a lover of all things stars too.

But when she mentioned 'Sir Knight Starchaser' he was taken back to a time long, long ago — a time when he was still a child, when he still used his imagination. Drake the troll buddy was long, long gone, dead and buried. He was an adult now. But somehow he longed back to that time when she mentioned his nickname. And suddenly she looked like Osprey all over again, though he'd dismissed the thought before. There was a look of shock on his face as he realised the possibilities. "Is..." He frowned, feeling like an idiot for asking, but he had to, "Are you — Is that you, Osprey..?" He couldn't imagine it was, but she looked so much like a younger Osprey, and maybe the time away'd done her well. It almost had to be; what other explanation was there?

"I take it as a compliment, but - no," Wraen said laughing at his erronous assumption. She did look a lot like her mom in youth - acted like her too - but the Osprey Charon was referring to had aged quite a bit, since he had last seen her. More white hairs amidst the grayscale pattern, leaner form and look in the eyes that spoke of years and wisdom. 

"I am Wraen and Osprey is my mother," she explained. "And I have heard so much about you and your adventures together! It's truly a pleasure to meet Sir Knight or Charon - right? - in person!"

He grew even more confused when she said she wasn't Osprey, even though it would've been very strange if she were. But how else could it be explained that she knew so much about him? Yet soon she explained, and suddenly everything fell into place. Of course — How could he have forgotten that Osprey had daughters, too?

"Wraen!" he exclaimed with a happy smile on his face, now remembering. "You're Terance's sister!" Of course. He had forgotten all about that. "It's so nice to meet you!" As it was to meet any of Osprey's children.

"You happen to know that bulky beast of a brother of mine too?" Wraen asked, her turn to be curious now. She quickly put two plus two together and deduced that Charon must have met Terance at some point, otherwise he would not know of them being related to each other. 

"He left quite a while ago with my sister Sarah, but they got separated along the way. She returned home and I sort of hoped that he might do that too," she explained. "Did you meet him? Was he well?" 

A wall of questions followed, one that he hadn't expected but should have anyway. Charon let her finish all the questions first, not able to get a word in until she was done talking anyway. He smiled, then said, "Yes to all of that — he lives with my pack." He was dying to ask her if she wanted to join, too, but he waited to see her response first. Surely she was looking forward to seeing her brother again.

"Would you look at that - I almost have to believe that you are not only my childhood hero, but a magician too," Wraen replied with a happy smile, feeling excited to meet Terance again. She hoped that talking with him might set some things right and in perspective. 

"Could you take me to him, please?" she asked. "And I can answer any questions about my mom along the way. Since you are her dear friend, you probably have many." It did seem like a fair trade and she hoped that Sir Knight Starchaser would accept her offer.

Charon grinned somewhat sheepishly at her next words. Then, when she asked to be brought to her brother, his answer was of course, "Of course! It's actually not very far at all. That mountain over there's where we live." He gestured at Moonspear and then without announcement turned towards the mountain, leading the way there for Wraen.

There was so much he wanted to know, but he couldn't instantly find the questions. About half a minute into the walk he started. "How is Osprey?" he asked, the question feeling weird and foreign to the touch. But the last time he'd seen her she had said she was going to die and though he refused to believe her -- were she here, he'd tell her I told you so! -- he still wondered and worried for her.

"Another miracle," Wraen remarked and offered the loveliest smile of gratitude in her arsenal. She still could not believe her luck that in a few moments (probably longer), she would see Terance again. Boy, had she missed him. 

"She is busy - my parents figured that, if the first three kids turned out to be so awesome, then why should not another batch," she told him and chuckled. "There are two younger sisters and a brother. And the last time I saw mom - she was tired, but quite happy," Wraen did not tell that there were still days, when Osprey did not feel well and was rather distant. She did not like the idea that her mother was a mortal being and therefore stuck to the optimistic belief that all would be well. 

"I can't speak on her behalf, but I am pretty sure that if she had known I would run into you, she would have passed on well-wishes to you. So... in a way - great to see you on her behalf."

It was weird how much Wraen was like Osprey. Talking to her was almost like having a miniature version of Osprey right here. He nodded as she spoke of Osprey and told him all about her and how she was doing. He chuckled and smiled at the stories, tail waving at the sort-of-well-wishes. "I'm glad she's doing well," he said with a content smile. He'd always worried after she had left, and he had been happy after Terance had come over. To hear it confirmed Osprey was still doing well from Wraen was great.

"Are you staying in the area?" he asked; "You should come live at Moonspear with Terance, and me and my family — we could make space for another competent individual. I bet the pups would love your stories." Charon smiled at her, hoping that she'd take him up on the offer. Yeah, he wanted to hear more about Osprey, but he also wanted Wraen to be somewhere safe and anyway, having her on Moonspear would be like having a little piece of Osprey back.

"Uhm... I came here just recently," Wraen replied, feeling even happier for the fact that she had decided to wander up North and not return to South as she had initially planned. God knows, where she would have ended up in that case.

"Really? That would be lovely," it was a very tempting offer and it would be great to belong somewhere again. There was a part of her that was a little cautious though - apart from the fact that Charon was her mother's dear friend and Terance lived in the pack, she knew next to nothing about the group she was about to join. 

"So you have kids too?" she asked.

Charon was glad that his offer was received positively. He was sure that Wraen would fit right in at Moonspear and she'd be a lovely addition to have to the pack. There wasn't a doubt in Charon's mind that she might even consider not taking the offer, especially after she had said that it'd be lovely.

As she asked about his kids, he nodded excitedly. "I've thr— four daughters from last year. They're around your and Terance's age, a bit younger. And three this year; two daughters and a son." He purposely left out Ran, because she wasn't really a part of the litter and she would unlikely survive long anyway, if he didn't help her first. "The youngest are a lively bunch, they're a couple of moons old now, so they're just getting to the talking stage. The perfect age to start with adventures and stories." And he hadn't as much time for that nowadays, so it'd be perfect to have Wraen around.

"Yeah... my siblings are probably the same age... ma-a-aybe a tad bit older," Wraen thought about her own set of three younger siblings and wondering, how were they doing. She had no doubts that with her parent's and Sarah's asistance they had no other path as the one that led to greatness. Other packmates contributed too and it still hurt to think that she could not be there with them. She should be sharing stories and adventures with her own little relatives rather than with the kids she did not yet know. What if they were all brats and she did not like any of them?

Of course she did not say any of this to Charon, plus, her good nature and belief in the best and the most positive in people won the doubts easily over. After all... stories were meant for kids as a whole and did it really matter, whether they were related to her or not?

"What is their names?"

It was nice to think that their children lined up so well, Charon thought. He might not be getting Osprey back here, but at least they had good memories and he was happy that Osprey's children had found Moonspear. It was like having a little piece of her anyway.

"Hydra, Alya and Lyra all look the same," he explained when asked for names; "And then there's Korei Julia." He spoke a little less fondly, perhaps, when he spoke of Julia — not because he didn't want to, and truthfully, he didn't even realise that he did at all. It was a subconscious thing, a thing he'd always had. He really wanted to love her equally, but unfortunately, his children just weren't that equal. "That's last year's.

"And then there's Vela, Galaxy and Jarilo as this year's. Jarilo's the boy."

"That is one hell of a lot of children," Wraen chuckled - 7 in total and he remembered all of their names. It reminded her the story about her grandparents and the very, very extensive family from the Osprey's side. And even she - now after years spent away from them - did not remember, how each one of them were called. Would the same thing happen to her mom after litter nr.3 and 4? Would she forget Wraen? Nah... did not seem likely. 

"And they have quite extraordinary names too - are they so-called family heirlooms or were you inspired by stories?" she asked, thinking about Hydra in particular and the multiple-headed monster from the Greek myths Dante had shared with her.

He looked up with a smile and said, "The stars." That's what they were inspired by, mostly, even though the names were quite differing. "Korei Julia was named after our ancestors." Ironically, his least favourite child was the one named after his heroic dead mother. "Korei is something of Amekaze's, and Julia is named after Julooke, my mother. She died when I was very young protecting us from a bear." Julia was nothing like Julooke, he thought sourly; he'd sure learned that names meant very little when naming your children.

"A-haa... so Alya, Hydra and Lyra are all stars... hmm..." Wraen had never been as talented in star-gazing as her brother had been and, while she was pretty sure that Lyra was part of something she had heard, the first two still sounded more from the Greek myth book than from the one about astronomy. 

"I am glad that my parents did not call me after any of our ancestors - it is always nicer to have a new name and make, well, name of it during your lifetime rather than trying to live up to the expectations of someone great and wonderful that has long since been gone," she voiced her opinion. Though Terance's name was bound to Dante's sister Tarin. 

"But Korei Julia is still a very nice name," she added, when she realized that by speaking her mind so openly she could have appeared to be rude.