Wapun Meadow stars, they come and go

In preparation, he had feasted the night before--well, feasted might not be the right word for gulping down a few rabbits he had managed to snare alone. And he had slept the day away, rising with the setting sun, stretching his muscles and bones weighed down from slumber. He was ready.

Nyx was here.

As far as winter solstices went, this one was fairly inauspicious. Fengari was no more than a silver sliver in the sky, the asteria dimmed by wispy clouds overhead, laden with snow. It was cold, and breezy, the wind biting at his ankles with an enemy's ferocity. Still, he was ready.

Phocion stood in the midst of this meadow of dead and dying wildflowers, a thin crust of snow atop the ground that must be so verdant in the spring, and tipped his head back, letting loose a call to the heavens. Fengari, o, Fengari! he sang out, voice plaintive. Show your face and light our way, for it is Nyx, the longest night of the year!

Nyx was a time to celebrate, to spend time with friends and family and revel in Fengari's glory. It was the longest night. But Phocion, here in this land he once had known fairly well but now barely knew at all, was alone, and hollow, and had no one to sing to the moon with.

Nyx was here. Where was everyone else?

I saw he was in Silvertip! Not sure if Valette (Desna before) was in Silvertip the same time as him though!

Valette was inspired by her sister's work. Nanook did not only patrol the borders, she also went as far to check Fox's Glade to see if everything was still as normal as before. Valette wanted to do the same and went further into neutral territory today. Her charcoal coat standing out against the bleakness of the meadow. It didn't bother her. She had to live with it for all her life.

She stopped when she heard a howl. Her ears perked up and listened. It sounded like a song. It made Valette quite curious. Especially, since one of the undertones sounded not as joyful. Valette copied the tones of the song and responded to the other soul that was out here on these plains. Perhaps the other wolf only felt like showing off his song to the world but if he was willing for a more social visit the alpha female wouldn't mind meeting the wolf behind this song.

Fengari answered prayers in various ways--sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. Sometimes, upon praying for him to slake your thirst during a drought, he'd lead you to a hidden spring in the mountains rather than opening the heavens and sending rain. Or you'd pray for an elder to recover from an illness and he'd die, but soon after, an expectant mother would give birth to a similar-looking pup, a reincarnation.

Sometimes, however, Fengari was quite literal with his answers. Like tonight, when Phocion pleaded for friendship and found his call responded to--not by the moon, but by another wolf.

His ears pricking, Phocion bounded a tiny bit in place in excitement before rushing forward, white pelt streaking over the snow, both animal and surface gleaming in the sliver of light from the moon. A black shape was ahead, which soon materialized into a wolf, which revealed itself to be an attractive, dark-pelted woman, upon further inspection.

"Good evening, and blessings to you this Nyx," he greeted, with a small smile. Her brown-green eyes glowed even in the darkness. She looked faintly familiar, though he couldn't quite place her face. Perhaps if she spoke. . .

Valette was pleased to see that the other male was friendly. She dipped her head politely. Though, what he wished her she wasn't familiar with. Valette's tail was gently swaying behind her. She was usually friendly, today as well. Only when her family was threatened she wouldn't be as open as she was now. It seemed logical but for a long time, she had always been friendly to everyone, even rude wolves. Now it didn't seem to be the case though.

"Good Evening. Though, I have to admit that I am not familiar with the term 'Nyx'?," she admitted to him. Her tone was kind. It seemed like it was something of a well-wishing. He started with blessings which were usually good if she was right about it. She let her nose take in his scent. She wondered for a moment if he was in a pack if he was, he didn't smell like it. Unless he was traveling for a while.

He had taken her answering his call for knowledge of the night's wonder, and he bowed his head for a moment, feeling a sharp pang of sudden homesickness. Oh, to hear a Nyx blessing in return! He turned his blue eyes to her face once more, the smile slowly coming back to his face. 

"It is what my tribe calls the longest night, the winter solstice," Phocion explained. "As creatures of the night, all wolves should honor Nyx above all other evenings." He glanced ruefully at the dark sky, blanketed in clouds. "It is not as bright as it could be. Very unfortunate."

Phocion dipped his head to her, suddenly remembering his good manners. "I am Phocion, recently settled in a valley to the north of here. Is this your home?"

Her voice had not helped solve the mystery of her familiar face. Perhaps she simply bore a passing resemblance to an acquaintance of his, or maybe she had walked through his dreams.

Valette smiled at the wonderful explanation. She didn't know of its existence but the idea of celebrating the longest night of the year sounded great. Her tail started to wag more. "Well, then I will return those blessings to you as well," she spoke in a friendly matter. She almost wanted to know more about these celebrations and how she would know what night was Nyx. "Very unfortunate," she agreed.

"Nice to meet you Phocion. I'm Valette, and yes, my home is a bit further east, called Easthollow," she introduced with a smile. "But before that, we were Silvertip Mountain. But after the relocation that name didn't quite fit anymore," she hummed. She didn't recognize the wolf though. If they had been in the same pack there could only have been a small overlap.

Valette grew interested in which pack he joined. "Which pack did you join, if I may ask?," she wondered. "Where is its location?" Maybe he joined her brother's pack, though that was southwest of this meadow, not North.

LMAO I totally thought Bearclaw was north of here. Here's to trying to do WOLF navigation without the map. *edits post*

He was about to explain to her what Nyx was when he froze, stunned momentarily at the words that had dropped from her mouth. Silvertip Mountain. He knew her face had been familiar, and her name--Valette--had been given to him by Grayday just days before. This was Steady's mate. Her pack was the legacy of his old home.

"I. . .I once was a part of Silvertip," Phocion said, feeling slightly ashamed to be standing in the presence of someone who had built up that group from near ruin. He had, after all, abandoned them in their time of need. "I left two summers ago, but I missed everyone very much. Zeke. . .Krypton. . .Steady." He felt another pang as he voiced the name of his old friends, especially Steady.

He looked at her curiously, with a smile. "I do remember your face, though I did not have a name to put to it. But I ran into Grayday at his border, and he had mentioned you," he remarked, marveling at how fate had brought them all together again, at least in some small way. "Uh, I'm not quite sure what the name of my new pack is. . .but it's led by a man named Alexander."

Hahaha! No worries! <3

Valette looked surprised when the other told her that he was in Silvertip. Her eyes roamed over her but she could not remember him. When she joined Silvertip she had been in a bad shape, sad and alone. She didn't want to make friends. Perhaps that was why she couldn't remember him. But it was clear he remembered her. "That is alright. I joined that summer you left, I believe. I wasn't the most social wolf as a teenager," she admitted. She slowly nodded. "Steady became my mate, unfortunately, he passed away last spring. I still miss him very much. Krypton was in my pack for a while, my beta even. Though she left recently I don't know why. Ezekiel is still in Easthollow though, but he has been keeping to the background lately," she explained.

"Grayday is still a dear friend," she smiled and nodded. Valette chuckled softly when the other told him about Xan's pack. "Oh!! That is my brother's pack! Bearclaw Valley. Only it is south of this meadow," she admitted with a kind chuckle. "That means you can visit us! You are welcome at our borders if you want to rekindle with old STM members," she offered. Valette liked this male and especially his philosophy about this Nyx. "Xan is lucky to have you Phocion!," she smiled.

He felt slightly embarrassed when he realized he had fudged the direction a little, but shook it off. Her good nature was too infectious to let a tiny detail get him down. "Ah, so Alexander's your brother," Phocion responded. He thought of what she had called him--Xan. Likely a nickname; he wasn't keen on using it on his new alpha for a long time to come. Best stick to formality.

He was displeased to hear Krypton had vanished, but perhaps he'd seek Ezekiel out one of these days. "I was sorry to hear of Steady's death," Phocion said, dipping his head sadly. "He was a good man. I was glad to call him 'friend.'"

Finally, his tail wagged as she gave him the invitation to visit the borders of the new Silvertip pack--Easthollow, it was called. "I would love to see old faces, even if it is just Zeke around now," he said, laughter in his voice. "Where is your territory from here?"

Valette nodded when he confirmed that Alexander is her brother. It felt weird hearing that name as she always just used Xan. Valette wondered if he was going to use his full name from now on. She would like that. She didn't realize that the other was just being polite towards his future leader by using his full name.

Valette nodded sadly. "I still miss him but he wouldn't want me to sit still," she spoke. She really tried her best to run the pack as well as he would have done it. She would do anything to make him proud. She liked to think he was watching from the skies.

"It is too the east. Not that difficult to find, see that forest over there? It is fox glade, you can already smell our borders from there," she spoke with a smile. "You are welcome to visit. My brother and I have no rivalry so I don't mind him settling so close to my pack. Especially if he has members that I knew from the past and have friends in my pack," she hummed. "I'm sure Zeke would be happy to see you again!" She wasn't entirely sure about that but at least it was a polite thing to say.

It was good to hear the siblings had such an amiable relationship that their packs could settle so close to each other. They could be allies, banded together against whatever enemies popped up in the valley, or elsewhere.

"Perhaps I'll drop by soon," Phocion said to Valette, smiling. "Fox glade. I'll remember that."

He sat quietly for a moment, icy gaze returning to the stars. The asteria surely had brought him here, to be so close to a group of wolves he had once called packmates--or some of them, at least. He was curious to see the old and new faces at Easthollow.

Valette dipped her head when the other spoke that he would come and visit. "It shouldn't be too hard to find," she hummed and looked very pleased. It was good to meet old acquaintances. She liked hearing where the wolves went to and if they had a reason for going. "Thank you for learning me about this, Nyx. I will tell my pack members about it. It is nice to celebrate the night," she returned to him with a nod.

"I should get back to my pack. I don't want to leave them alone for too long," she admitted. "Like I said you are welcome to visit our borders." Valette turned towards her home with a smile. "Have a pleasant, Nyx. I will see you around," she wished and then moved back to her packlands.

Lets have another thread soon!!