Holding onto ties that vanished

*Chakra* · (This post was last modified: January 21, 2014, 01:10 AM by Chakra.)

Chakra had never known her father, for he had passed away shortly before she was born. If she had known Auryn, though, she would have revered him. Not simply in the way that a daughter adores her father, but in the way a warrior loves her leader, the way she would be quick and eager to throw down her life to protect his, much as he would be willing to wrestle the clashing universe down to his paws and tear open its very lifeblood to keep her safe. A worshipful love that not even gods or soulmates or children could touch, such was the power of the devotion she would've had for her sire.

For she was fully every bit Auryn's daughter, possessed of the lust for war and bloodshed, led by a bold heart, a will of iron, a clever mind well-versed in the arts and strategies of war, and an insatiable thirst for all that she could wring out of life. More. It was the very concept that drove her, the idea that the world was hers for the taking and she could be whatever her wildest dreams led her to believe she could be, so long as she had the courage and ruthlessness to charge forth and take it. And yet under it all, there ran a thread of refinement and softness that silvered her tongue, banked her fires, and kindled gentleness in her when savagery simply would not do. That was her mother in her, Salene's legacy to her daughter.

Endore blood was the only thing in the universe that could have mellowed that hot Feralheart blood, as Salene was the only creature who had ever tamed Auryn. Sometimes, Chakra wondered if there would ever be a wolf who could tame her. It was a thought that often brought an amused half-grin to her face.

Of course, much as the musings and ponderings that ran through Muninn's mind at the speed of thought did not register on his face or, really, at the forefront of his mind, the same could be said for these of Chakra's. What went on in the back of her mind, she was careful to keep there; it wouldn't do for her subordinates to think her anything less than full engaged in the moment and aware of everything that went on around her. Linger too much in her head, distracted and distant, and those ambitious few who lusted for her position might find themselves tempted.

"I wish I could say I grew up in such a place," she commented in reply to his own observation about the way this forest reminded him of his homeland. "But I was whelped in tundra and ice." It wasn't something that bothered her at all. She had been fond of her pack and the lands they called their home. It wasn't as if she'd known any better; she'd never been anywhere else until she left home to come here. It was only as she traveled south and the landscapes changed that she realized all she'd been missing. The rolling tundras of the far north would always hold a special place in her heart, but her preference was solidly rooted here, in these ancient halls of pine.

As they walked, Chakra occasionally pausing to refresh a marking, rub against a tree, or rake her claws over soft earth, she wondered about this wolf whom she had taken into her pack. He certainly possessed all the qualities that an Alpha wolf sought in followers: he was healthy, strong, young, clever of mind, had a good personality, and – perhaps less for the Alpha in her and more for the female – he was handsome. But there was so much more to him than that, and Chakra knew none of it. "What do you want to make of yourself here, Muninn?" she asked after a few moments, continuing to walk and work as she did so. Realizing it was sort of a nebulous question, she added, "Every wolf finds his place…his role in the pack. What do you aspire yours to be?"