Blackfeather Woods Sing the Songs of Legend and Myth

Chronicler Thread to eventually gain Bard. Let's make some new songs, sing some legends, or what have you! All welcome.

Spring was starting to make many flowers bud and the air to change. Even the sunshine felt different. It felt warmer, and more alive, than before which was a welcoming feeling. Even as Allana's winter coat had begun to shed, she could feel her energy returning with the spring. It was so nice to not feel half asleep most of the time, even though she truly wasn't. Winter had brought her energy down so much that it was depressing. And because of that energy change, Allana had broken out into song as of late.

"A field of lavender I gaze,
With the wind and the morning haze,
The wind blows soft my hair,
With the fragrance of the morning air"

The song itself, aptly named "Liquid Sunshine", was a sort of bouncy tune that reflected the joy and energy of the day. In general, the love song spoke about the soft droplets of rain while the sun was shining. The droplets are so light when they fall, it's as if it were liquid sunshine. While it wasn't necessarily raining at the moment, there had been times where it felt just like that. They were moments that Allana missed greatly.

"Gently I stroke your cheek,
A tender touch of electricity,
And the petals glow soft on your face,
With shadows of silk-spun lace"

It didn't bother Allana who heard it really because she was in a rather good mood. Perhaps she could teach them some other songs, poems, and myths that she knew. In fact since she was in a pack now, there was no reason that she couldn't become some sort of... story teller or bard for them, right? Perhaps they would get some enjoyment out of it.

Akari was full of joy, and not only for the arrival of Spring and the sight of life flourishing everywhere. She belongs to a pack, now, against all odds, after a year of solitude. She was so grateful.
She readily tried to get to know her new home, and it turns out the forest is one of many secrets.
She inhaled the sweet air and sat by the woodland's outskirts, gazing at the grasslands that stretched till the horizon. She liked that place: it was silent, peaceful. She let her senses be flooded with the colors and scents of the new season, her mind sketching a portrait of Blackfeather Woods. 
As her thoughts rush, her mouth recited the words to the breeze.

There is a forest, a land of old

That Winter painted in white gold

It hides shadows that only welcomes the bold

And a rose that managed to bloom in the cold

The line between worlds is thin

And the dead still lurks within

The creatures' fate is one and the same

A part of their souls is for the woods to claim

Allana continued to hum the remainder of the song to herself as she walked through the territory of Ivory Rose, seeing the different plants beginning to bud up as well as checking the borders. There wasn't much to do in the way of maintenance with her den or some of the territory yet since snow still covered some portions of the landscape, but at the very least everyone would be busy later on. Breeding season would soon be in full swing, and pups would be born some time in the season for those that had already been with child for quite some time. So long as there was plenty of food and water to go around, the pack would thrive. 

As Allana continued to walk through the trees, another voice could be heard on the air, almost like the whispers of a ghost. Who else was singing? Allana began to look around her until her green eyes spotted a cinnamon colored wolf with eyes and rounded ears. The wolf's ears caught her attention the most simply because Allana's had been so pointy, and she hardly ever saw anyone with that particular shape of ear. In any event, Allana thought she would go say hello anyway.


The words that were gifted to the wind helped Allana to imagine the scenery it painted, a mysterious land covered in snow and where a rose seems to bloom, while holding a bit of mystery for those that walk beyond its borders. It made Allana wonder the story behind that particular song and whether or not it was a legend. "Good morning." Allana greeted softly so as not to spook the other.

The sunrays were warming her coat and tainting it with golden hues while the wind was blowing against her snout, warm and with a caress' touch.

Then, a voice addressed her, soft and unknown. Akari turned her head to see a female of mesmerizing green eyes approaching her. They shared the scent of the forest, the scent of the pack.
Though Akari didn't know anything about that female, she felt at ease. The mood of a sunny day may have helped as well...
"Good morning!" Akari greeted with a smile.

"And a good morning it is." Allana replied as she met Akari. "I couldn't help but noticed you were also singing. I like the sound of your voice." Allana smiled. She came to sit next to Akari. "What song was it? It's not one I've heard of before." Allana said. She went on to mention that many of her songs were from stories of old, some she made up, or better yet ones passed down to her from family. It was more like a duty than an obligation, not to mention that she liked knowing all the stories, legends, and songs to boot.

"You... heard me?" Akari blushed, her eyes darting between the wolf and the ground. "Thank you..." She had never heard such a compliment before because she had never sung in front of anyone! She was so happy to hear it her tail wagged furiously behind her, further betraying her composure.

Then, Akari's mind became uneasy and recalled one of Allana's lines. I couldn't help but noticed you were also singing.

Her voice! It was the same beautiful voice Akari heard singing between the leaves!

"Oh... it was you!" She said, round eyes staring at the female's green gaze. "It was you the one who was singing a while ago, right?" A rhetorical question: the more her mind replayed Allana's quotes, the more Akari was sure it was the same voice that she heard singing! "I loved your song! It was a celebration of spring!" She smiled. "It inspired me to sing, actually." She admitted. "I haven't sung for a long time. I guess I have to thank you for it! I had almost forgotten how good it feels!"

"This song describes how I see Blackfeather Woods at the moment. It's a shadowy place: nothing like the sunbathed plains, don't you think?" She gazed through the grasslands that were getting greener by the day. "Besides, this forest conceals more than it meets the eye: do you believe me if I say I saw a ghost wandering around our borders a couple of nights ago?"

Allana chuckled brightly as Akira realized that Allana had been singing earlier. Allana felt good knowing that she could inspire others into singing. "My songs and stories are passed down from generations before me. And some I've made up on my own." she said. Allana looked out to the scenery before them. "Singing is like expressing the soul. It can also heal many wounds should you let it."

When Akira asked about ghosts and whether or not Allana would believe her, Allana gave a cheeky grin. "Oh, I believe in Faeries and ghosts, so it would be a surprise if I didn't believe you." she said. "There are even some songs about them too."

Singing is the expression of the soul. Akari couldn't agree more. And to find that there were wolves passing songs to the next generations was beautiful! Akari loved to sing, ever since she learned how to howl. Only her parents were a bit too pragmatic to see any 'use' in singing. They both deemed it as a waste of time.

So Akari repressed it for many moons. When she sang, she did it to herself, in seclusion, almost in secret: with all the mess involving her family, with all traumas and wounds imprinted in its wolves, including herself, singing became her escape, her way of seeing the bright and beautiful side of things, of distancing herself further and further from her pack of birth, until one day she felt courageous enough to break free from the shackles of her uncle's reign.

"I'd love to hear those songs." She smiled at Allana. "In my former pack, singing was seen as a useless thing. It was a sad point of view, but I was outnumbered in the matter. That's why I am used to singing alone. You can't imagine the joy I felt for hearing you sing as well!"

Oh man... being promoted up in work and suddenly my workload increased. So sorry!! Lyrics of "Stolen Child" by Loreena Mckennett.

It disheartened Allana to hear that her previous pack had suppressed singing, making it for a not so fun pack! Allana looked outward as she tried to think of a song about fairy folk and their legends, but one eventually came to mind.

Where dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water-rats
There we've hid our faery vats
Full of berries
And of reddest stolen cherries

Come away, O wolfen child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand.

Allana could picture the island in her mind, seeing the woods, the lake, the flying of the herons. She could even feel the coolness of the air as she spoke, feeling the wind coursing through her fur. The smell of the berries and their rich colors, the flavor of the edible ones, and even the cherry trees that grew nearby. In the air was magic, a sort of electric tingling sensation, one that you could almost taste on your tongue. It was similar to feeling the electricity of a thunderstorm in the air, but this was much more pleasing. It was the kind of feeling that Allana could get high off of, and where she ran away to whenever she was not feeling like herself.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim grey sands with light
By far off furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles
Whilst the world is full of troubles
And is anxious in its sleep.

Come away, O wolfenchild
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand

The bright moonlight filled the dark expanses of her mind, a gray, sandy beach that was danced upon by its light. She could see herself dancing an ancient dance, one taught by her families during a ritual she performed. It was a dance that only the very close and important would see -- unless of course she was performing said ritual. Most of the time, she kept those kinds of things to herself. Dancing for her was a way to shake of the anxiety, much like this song was telling about, to move and let go of all the troubles one saw, and instead, enjoy the inner child of self.

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.


Come away, O wolfen child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand

The next imagery reminded Allana of her home with the running creeks full of fish, and the deer that would sleep among the ferns of the sparse forests. It allowed Allana to feel young again, remembering the family she left behind and all the play she would have. Allana wasn't the only pup that year to be born. Besides her brothers, others had given birth to other young boys and girls. Together, they were raised as one unit by all and not just her parents, thus it resulted into knowing as much as she knew now. There was always more to learn, but that would come overtime.

Away with us he's going
The solemn-eyed
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.

For he comes, the wolfen child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand.

Allana continued and finished the song, allowing the story to sweep the mind of Akari, helping to picture the fairy folk leading a wolfen child to better places and happier memories in a world so of darkness and peril. The fairy folk meant well, but sometimes, taking a child wasn't always the best thing. Whenever a pup went missing, you always first consider the fairy folk. After Allana finished the song, she turned to Akari, wondering what her thoughts were.