Blackfeather Woods Sing the Songs of Legend and Myth

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.