Golden Glade Born of fire, bound to nothing

for @Mictec

The glade reminded her of home in fleeting ways, though Xochimikan’s vibrant chaos was leagues apart from this golden serenity. Aitana couldn’t decide if the stillness here was inviting or suffocating.

Either way, she wasn’t staying still for long.

She pushed onward, weaving through the trees with a practiced ease. The faint trails she’d crossed earlier hinted at wolves, ones that might be gathering.

Ahead, the sound of rustling leaves caught her attention, and she slowed, lowering herself instinctively.

She had once been told that when one was in conflict with themselves it could often manifest in pain. Mictec would have preferred a wound, something that she could see that had reason to hurt. Instead, she had found herself at a crossroads where she could follow the ideals planted in her by the unfeeling and calculated madre or perhaps something more meaningful.

When the first snow fell was when she had first stepped foot into the glade, awestruck how differing it was from her birth pack. She did not know how many days she had spent exploring the area and found no desire to leave given the multitude of visions that have come to plague her dreams. But she had begun to find solace, begun to let herself bathe in the moon light once more as she felt renewed energy returning to her hunt in the shadows. 

Mictec unknowingly begun to embark on a spiritual journey, the one her bloodline deemed to be her destiny. Her exile had convinced her that this would no longer be her path and yet she found herself with new purpose, one all in dedication to her abuela. The result was she decided to place her first marker, she would prove the madre wrong, and for the first time, excitement made her wag her tail, rustling the decaying leaves into a chorus of acceptance that seemed to drown any sensation of pain she felt.

Her ears pricked forward, and she lowered her head, amber eyes narrowing as she caught sight of movement through the trees.

Aitana stilled, her curiosity immediately piqued.

The other wolf’s tail wagged, rustling the leaves around her. Aitana crouched lower, her silver-streaked coat blending with the frosted shadows.

She watched as the wolf set a marker, her movements almost ritualistic. The way her tail swayed with genuine excitement was so odd, so out of place, that Aitana found herself smirking despite the cold.

What kind of wolf got that thrilled over marking land?

Mictec had to admit, she felt ridiculous about the next part but if she did not abuela would have smacked her. The thought brought a small smile to her face and she sat by the marker and bowed her head. With eyes closed gently she spoke aloud in the ancient tongue that only the Tlacuilos, the pack elders, spoke, a tongue that was dying in place of their more common speech of Spanish.

"Ompa huehuetihuan in techixiptlahuazqueh, tlehuitzintin ompa itech citlalmeh, ma titechpalehuiz in tloqueh itlacameh huan ma chicahuaz in tocuauhtli." ( "To the ancestors whose spirits guide us, shine as stars above our path, that we may honor your legacy with every step and allow our roots to grow strong.")

As her tongue washed over each spoken word, she felt a strange sense of pride, one that made her begin to believe in the value of the prayer.

She didn’t move, didn’t dare interrupt.

Her amber eyes tracked the wolf’s every motion as she lowered her head, speaking what sounded like some sort of ancient prayer. Aitana’s tail flicked behind her, the faintest rustle of leaves giving away her position before she could stop it.

She would hunker down further, and pray she wasn't heard. But, if she were seen, she’d simply use the opening to satisfy her growing curiosity.

Her ears were quick to flicker at the sound of the rustle and narrow on the nature of its origin. As much as one would ignore a sound for the skittering of prey, Mictec had always been one to be suspect of all, especially as the soft breeze begun to carry a foreign scent.

Quick was her smile to drop, her muscles tensing in preparation for an ambush and tail freezing in place. She gave a low warning growl before saying, "If you have malicious intentions, I am not the one to be messed with."

Slowly, deliberately, she rose from her crouch, stepping out from the shadowed underbrush with an almost casual ease. Her amber eyes locked onto the wolf who had spoken, reading the tension in her coiled muscles and frozen tail.

She cocked her head, her voice laced with feigned offense. “I’m hurt. Do I look like the type to be trouble?” She gave the other wolf a once-over, her grin widening ever so slightly. “No, don’t answer that.”

She kept her distance, careful not to encroach too much on the space around the marker.

Her grin softened into something more measured. “Relax, amiga. If I wanted to make trouble, you wouldn’t have heard me at all.”

Mictec rose from her seated position so that she can match the voice to the one it belonged too. She gave the other woman a look over as she appeared to be of similar stature to her. These lands truly have strange wolves she thought to herself only to then admit that she was now one of them. She took note of her spanish cadence, another who carried a tongue from the homeland which she had to admit spark her curiosity.

She relaxed her muscles and allowed for herself to shake off some of the snow that begun to cling to her obsidian pelt, like stars on a moonless night. At the others statement, Mictec allowed her usual perplexing vacant expression falter by allowing a small half smile, intrigued by the possibility of the challenge put forward.

"If my attention wasn't elsewhere, perhaps you may be surprised by what I can hear."

Mictec's nose twitched slightly, taking in the other's scent to see if her pelt carried more, an indication of another pack. If Mictec were to embark on this new expedition it would not be a good idea to set up a camp so close to another pack. Luckily, she detected none leaving her to assume that she was alone.

"I take it you are not from here as well."

Progress, however slight. The comment about hearing drew a soft chuckle from Aitana’s chest, and she tilted her head, the motion casual yet appraising.

“Maybe you’re right,” she replied, her voice carrying the same teasing lilt.

At the observation about her origins, Aitana gave a slight shrug. “I take it neither are you, unless wolves in these parts make a habit of offering prayers in weird tongues.”

The ancient speech had caught her attention as much as the wolf herself, and Aitana’s curiosity burned too brightly to ignore. She stepped a pace closer, though still careful to leave enough space to seem nonthreatening.

“So, what brings you here? A new claim? A pilgrimage?"

"A promise."

Mictec felt that best summarized what had drawn her to the glade, and why no matter every attempt to go elsewhere, her feet brought her back. She had found peaceful sleeps after having spent many nights terrorized by nightmares of two legged monsters. But she found a feeling that she was now closer than ever to the one person she had lost.

"Mi abuela, she told me to never let go of my roots even if our people were ignoring our traditions and losing faith in our gods. So after my exile I have come to the conclusion of how to honor her wishes."

Every time Mictec spoke in the ancient tongue, she felt the ethereal gravity her abuela once held, how intoxicating, how mesmerizing it was to see the balance that surrounded her. It gave her purpose after being constantly feared for being the living vestige of death.

"How did you know it was a prayer and not a curse or nonsensical babbling?"

Aitana’s grin softened into something closer to a thoughtful smirk as the stranger woman continued. There was conviction in her voice, the kind of devotion Aitana herself had abandoned long ago. It was admirable, in a way. Foolish, maybe, but admirable nonetheless.

When the question came, Aitana’s grin returned, this time tinged with mischief. “I didn’t,” she admitted with a shrug, her amber eyes glinting with amusement. “But curses tend to sound a little… angrier, don’t you think? And nonsensical babbling usually doesn't go anywhere.”

She took a step closer, her movements fluid and unhurried, as if testing the waters of how far she could push.

“Besides, whatever you were saying sounds like it mattered.” Her gaze narrowed slightly, her voice dipping into something softer, almost thoughtful. “That’s the kind of thing you don’t fake.”

As if scorned by her own random show of sentiment, she coughed. Awkwardly.

“Sooo,” she kicked leaf litter about with her paw.

There was no malice in the statement, it was honesty, something Mictec valued since leaving words unspoken haunted her. Perhaps we are not so different she though to herself perhaps this stranger is just as lost as I am. She had been roaming the wilds and had encounters with other wolves who had extended hands of hospitality and now she had the chance to extend her own.

"My name is Mictēcacihuātl, Mictec for short. I may not have much to offer now but you are welcome to rest here. Winter is a trying time for all."

Lifting herself, Mictec nodded her head, offering for the other woman to follow her towards the small clearing. "It would be nice to know what your name is so I don't have to keep calling you stranger in my head."

Aitana’s grin sharpened at the invitation, an almost lazy amusement lighting her amber eyes. “Mictēcacihuātl,” she repeated, eyes washing over the woman. “That’s a mouthful. Mictec, huh? Easy enough to remember.”

Something about her sparked interest—not quite admiration, but close enough. But Aitana wasn’t one to attach meaning too quickly.

“Aitana Tecuani-Calderón,” she offered smoothly, a smile upon her face. She recognized her name was just as much a mouthful as hers. "But Aitana works." She tilted her head slightly as she fell into step beside Mictec.

The offer of a place to stay was heeded with a preppy twitch of her ears, and a sway in her walk.

She kept her steps deliberate, never fully dropping her guard but making an effort to match the other wolf’s pace. “Generous of you,” she spoke breathlessly. "I'll help out in any way I can, chica."

The walk to the clearing was not far being that the foundation for the pack needed to start small so that as more joined, it would make easier for expansion. It stayed relatively in its natural state with the exception of the den she had begun to create in the rock formation that was free of the falling snow.

"It's not much but one day it will be."

The road ahead would not be an easy one especially as winter was the toughest season. Still, the offer of assistance was much appreciated and gave her ideas of allowing others to build a home that involved everyone's participation so that they had ways to find connections to the land they now call theirs.

"Tlalticpac. That's what this pack will be called. It means 'on the earth' and grounded in traditions that my birth pack has neglected for so long."

Aitana let her gaze sweep across the clearing as they entered, taking in the rough beginnings of what Mictec clearly envisioned as a future home. Her steps were unhurried, her expression unreadable save for the faintest arch of a brow. The place had potential, she’d give it that.

The natural shelter of the rock formation, the way the trees formed a protective embrace around the space—it was practical, grounded. A good start, though nothing that would keep the cold at bay without effort. She tilted her head at Mictec’s words, the faintest smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Ambitious,” she said.

Her gaze lingered on the half-formed den, then flicked back to Mictec. The mention of a name caught her attention, the weight of it settling in the air like a stone dropped into still water. Tlalticpac. Aitana mouthed the word silently, testing its cadence, its feel.

Aitana’s smirk widened, her head tilting slightly. “Ah, invierno,” she mused, her tone slipping into something playful, almost mocking. “It doesn’t care about prayers or promises. You’re going to need more than good intentions when the snow piles up, amiga.” She shifted.

"Good thing you've got me around."

"You do have a point there. I did not have nieve back in Mictlān, we had ash that fell from the sky." Mictec padded over to the side of the rocks where a meticulously placed slab of bark had been dragged over a hole. Gripping it on one side, she pulled the bark back to reveal that the hole was not entirely empty but had a few carcasses placed carefully inside.

"Prayers may not always get answered but sometimes la suerte está en tu lado." Luck had been on her side on a few of her solo hunts, managing to catch a few gophers and hares. It was not much, days worth at most, but it was a start.

"Feel free to take what you need, amiga." Mictec offered a small smile, she never had called someone a friend so for the word to come out of her mouth felt off yet pleasing. Balance she thought to herself, Aitana appeared to have an outgoing personality quite opposite to Mictec's more quiet nature whenever she was not getting snippy with her sharp tongue. But there was a balance that complemented each other, someone who was not afraid to tell it as it was.

"So, what is your story?"

I finally got the icon art for the pack to update on the post! We getting more official now hehe

Her smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as she watched Mictec pull back the bark, revealing the small cache of carcasses beneath.

“Mis dioses,” she repeated softly, unable to hide the soft widening of eyes. “Sí, luck is on your side, chica. Un verdadero cazador.” She stepped closer, inspecting the cache with a quick glance. Small game, but it was cleanly kept and carefully stored. Respectable, considering she’d done it solo.

At Mictec’s offer, Aitana tilted her head, feigning a moment of exaggerated deliberation. “Gracias,” Aitana huffed in mild amusement, thoroughly impressed. “But I wouldn’t want to take from your hard-earned stash, amiga. We will need it when the ash turns to ice.”

She turned and watched as Mictec made to change the subject, quickly asking about her backstory. Stepping away from the cache and back into the open air of the glade, she swished her tail, almost as if wracked by nerves to recount her tale. “I was raised by a bunch of heréticos who thought the gods had all the answers. Left home a while back. Too many rules, not enough... freedom.” She shrugged, doing her best to brush it off.

"Besides, what is family, eh? Just blood. There is more to life than servitude and silence."

Mictec nodded in agreement, the yellow piercing on her ear was a daily reminder of the betrayal of her own kin. She pushed the bark back over the hole, dusting off some of the snow that managed to fall onto it.

"I carry a similar tragedy, I was exiled by the madre." She never once acknowledged her mother as her own, deliberate in setting the divide between them.

"My people, they used to believe in the gods, followed the traditions religiously but they grew meek. Our ancestors were far more gruesome but had such intense passion that they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the clan. Now, they are soft-bellied so famine and pride will be the death of them."

There was not once morsel of remorse in her statement, all attachments to where she came from snipped. If it weren't for her constant hunting they would have gone hungry sooner and yet they said she was the problem. 

"Blood may run thicker than water, pero la sangre maldita nunca poder ser limpiada."

“You’re right. Some blood stains too deep. Better to leave it behind than drown in it.”

She shifted her stance, her tail flicking lazily behind her as she considered Mictec’s words about her people. “Soft-bellied wolves don’t last long, especially when the gods stop listening.”

Aitana’s smirk returned, a hint of sly admiration in her expression. “Exile might’ve knocked you down, but you got back up. It's gutsy, amiga. I like it.”

She glanced toward the clearing, then back at Mictec, her amber eyes glinting with a mix of curiosity and challenge. “So, tell me,” she said, her voice slipping back into its usual playful cadence, “are you trying to prove them wrong, or is this just for you? A big middle claw to the madre, eh?”

Mictec looked out towards the distance where she had once seen a ghostly shadow hidden in the fog that had blanketed the glade one evening. She was normally a skeptic but lately, far too many coincidences have made her begin to question many things.

"Mi abuela. She was the only one to ever see greatness in me, the one who took the time to teach me as much as she could about the old ways. She believed I was to be the salvation of the pack. I thought I was never going to get a chance to fulfill the wish she had for me, but by doing this, I think I am achieving something far more greater."

Mictec gestured for Aitana to follow her towards the largest tree surrounding the clearing whose roots could not be contained underground. The roots ran in horizontal stretches that trinkets could easily rest on. Though empty, there laid one peculiar rock, a stone with a reflective surface that was as black as her own pelt.

"Our Moonlit Trial had for us to trek up el volcán. At the top, we would find these stones, obsidian as they are called, and bring them back to show we had completed our trial. We would set our stones on our ofrenda so that on Dia de los Muertos, our dead can come visit us. I had tossed mine into the middle of the lake but before my exile, I took the one that belonged to my abuela."

She stepped closer, her sharp eyes following Mictec’s gesture to the great tree whose sprawling roots seemed to grip the earth with a quiet power. Aitana’s gaze drifted to the obsidian stone resting among the roots, its dark surface catching the light like a shard of the night sky. It stood out against the emptiness around it.

“You tossed yours?” She paused, a wry grin tugging at her lips. “A little rebellion goes a long way, no?”

Her gaze flicked back to Mictec, curiosity glinting in her amber eyes. “You are keeping your Abuela here, even when the rest of them turned their backs.” She searched Mictec's face, eyes settling against her eyes. “It says a lot, amiga. About her, and about you.”

As she made to sit beneath the great tree, tail swiping at the snow decorating the roots and ground, she heaved a relaxed sigh. “You’re building something here,” she paused, “Something that matters. Not just for her, but for you. Eso es grande. And if it’s worth that much to you, well...”

Her smirk shifted into something warmer. “I'll stick around long as you'll have me. Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t bury yourself, eh chica?”

Her marigold eyes were glazed over but a mischievous smile spread across her lips.

"Oh that wasn't the only rebellious thing I have done."

The soft flutter of snow fall had paused as a stillness begun to settle around the clearing. Mictec lifted her head towards the clouded sky, the sun slowly being snuffed out by the scattered clouds as off in the distance darker clouds had begun to grow in size. Winter was upon them and had held at bay it's true nature but the bliss could not last forever. Hardships were to come, but that did not scare her instead it would prove resilience.

"I would appreciate that, there is a lot of work to be done, amiga."

Aitana’s amber eyes sparkled with amusement as she caught the mischievous twist to Mictec’s smile. “Oh, I don’t doubt that for a second,” she replied.

Her gaze flicked skyward, following Mictec’s line of sight to the shifting clouds. The darkening horizon.

When Mictec spoke again, Aitana’s grin grew, wider and more genuine, as she stepped closer to the other wolf. “Work, huh? Lucky for you, I’m not afraid to get my paws dirty,” she said, her voice carrying its usual teasing lilt. “Though don’t get too used to me being this helpful. I’m more of a ‘help with flair’ type than a workhorse.”

Her grin returned, sly and confident. “I’m curious to see just how rebellious you can get.”

fade?

Mictec turned towards the clearing, optimism starting to infect her like it had never done before. Esperanza is what is was, it was infectious and gave her vision of what the future now held in store for them. She returned her gaze to Aitana curious to see how much she will thrive in helping to build such a place.

"Perhaps first steps should be finding a good spot for your den."

my thoughts exactly. such character growth XD