Sun Mote Copse Story of how wren became the chief of all birds

@Epic - set right after the joining thread. Wraen takes him for a tour.

Wraen had happily bantered all the way to the Sun Mote Copse, which was not that far, where they had picked up Epic initially. Small talk, silly witticisms, brief stops at particular landmarks (one's she considered important) or to say "hello" to a random packmate that happened to pass by. There seemed to be no end of what she had to tell and now and then she cheerfully reminded him that he was very welcome to tell her to shut up any moment she felt like it. 

"This is The Nest," she told him, when they had come to the very heart of Firebirds' home - a communal den, detailed description of which can be found in "Firebirds-pedia" in the Pack forum. "Intended as a den to house us all, but if one has my sister Maia for a pillow, no need to seek warmth elsewhere," she remarked jokingly. "I don't think anyone will mind, if you take up a corner there, but - of course - you can seek a den of your own and matching your tastes."

His quest to see his friend Rennie once more had ended up with so much more; a new home. Truthfully the yearling was still alienated with the idea; he still had to grow on the idea of being homebound. Being part of a pack, belonging to a family. However the journey was short when he shared many laughs, jokes and light-hearted banter with his newfound friend. Somehow, they instantly clicked and had a true platonic connection. That was rare but something he would cherish.

The visit to his new home was exchanged with many "Oooohhhs" and "Aaaaahhhhss.." - his eyes feasted upon the scenery. And because of it being his new home; well it just became extra special. "The nest?" Epic said, looking at his friend. "That sounds ..hmm, a little bit dull." Looking at her and then back at the nest, Epic found his name questioning the meaning. Like the nest was rather plain, not buzzing with excitment. "What about the booster rooster? Maybe not quite it. But we got to get our name of this place. When nobody's around. It'll be our secret. What do you think?"

When Wraen mentioned her sister, he raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Maia? What's she like? Is she also a story wizard, like you?" Epic made a mental note to meet everyone of the pack and to gather information of everyone in it. It would take time but slowly but surely he'd meet everyone. "Thank-you for offering me a den. I do snore though, sometimes like a little piglet and other times like dragon Smaugh, guarding his treasure!" Ah, good old Smaugh. Who wouldn't remember him from the hobbit?

"You can propose the name change to Wildfire, I am sure she will take your idea in consideration," Wraen replied with a smile, but then he came up with a different offer. What if they name the place themselves? "I dunno," she shrugged. "I don't share the quarters here, so it does not really matter, what is it called."

"Oh, Maia is even better. She is The Wizard from the stories," she told him, pride evident in her tone. There was no doubt that she loved her sister dearly. "Well, I doubt that, when Wildfire decided this to be a communal den, she took in account that someone is going to snore. So, I think that it was better, if we looked for a plan B, in case you get kicked out of here for being too loud during your sleep," she said, her voice half-serious, because she had not the slightest idea, how deep was Wildfire's or anyone else's sleep.

"Let's find you another den, in case the worst scenario plays out and you are left to freeze during the night?" she offered. House-hunting should be fun.

Epic felt unsure whether him sleeping here was a good idea; if he indeed snored like the dragon Smaugh he was sure to scare off a few intruders or friends alike. It could sound like a bear hibernating and hiding inside, or to those who shared his level of fantasy; a true dragon. Either way, only the brave-hearted would dare to come inside. No, he didn't want to chase away anyone so he agreed with Wraen that this was not going to be his house. 

"Oh, is Maia radically awesome? I'm hoping to meet her soon then." Epic grinned, taking a liking to the idea to meeting Maia and making it a top priority on his to-do list. But still; Maia had to bring a whole lot of awesomeness to the table to live up to Rennie. "You're completely right. Let's go for option C. Or D. Or wherever--.." He nodded in agreement, finding it no problem to spend even more time with Wraen while learning more about the lay of the land. Two birds killed with one stone. 

"Where do you sleep, Rennie?" Epic asked genuinely, thinking about locations and preferences and not ..something else. His cheeks flushed red all the sudden when he realized how wrong that question may sound. "Ugh, I mean- I mean what other options do we..ugh I have?" How to get out of this mess?

"Oh, you will see, when you meet her. I have to warn you though that there is a very strict and serious Awesomeness Test to pass, before you are welcomed in the family," Wraen teased him light-heartedly, remembering her conversation with her sister about choosing boyfriends and the criteria they had to fit. But, since Epic was very similar to Maia, she had no doubt that they would find a common ground.

"That's not too far from here. A nice hollow," she explained, wondering, if she should extend hospitality and invite Epic to stay with them, but postponing that idea. She had found a kindred spirit in him from the get-go, liked him a lot, but it was too early to ask him to share the apartment yet. She did not want to find out his flaws all too soon.

"Don't worry, we will find you the best man-cave ever," she tried to cheer him up, mistaking his sudden embarrassment for worry that he would have to sleep under the starry sky and have his feet and tail frozen off.

Wraen informed him that he had to pass a certain test in order to meet her sheer level of awesomeness. "Oh, are you raising the bar?" Epic wondered out loud, with a good-natured approach to the situation. "Do you have some tips, then?" Giving her his best 'pretty please' smile, he smiled from ear-to-ear, his leathery lips opening up until it start to hurt at the corners. It was hopefully all worth it though, maybe if he got some hints. A cheat sheet would do as well. But he also took into account that Wraen would not give any tips at all. Tough teacher. 

A moment later he was looking away, trying to ignore the question of living together. He liked Rennie a lot but he also enjoyed his private time and getting to know her better; if he also had his alone time. His time to socialize with others or explore the world. He had no intention of sharing a home (with anyone yet). Besides, who would want to deal with his silly sneazels and loud snores? Hopefully silence would allow that socially awkward question to pass. And actually, he was buzzed by her next words. 

"Man-cave? I - I quite like the idea or the thought of sleeping in a cave or an open crevice." Epic spoke out loud while looking at Wraen. He was curious whether the Firebirds territory would offer such a place. He didn't want a cave that he could get lost in, with many tunnels. But even still, the idea of hiding from the elements inside a cave was much bueno. "Wraen, how did you end up with the Firebirds?" Another question he was curious about.

"Sorry, you will have to face it like Heracle did his 12 labours," Wraen told him, though in reality she had not invented the Test could not have hinted him about the tasks, even if she had considered helping Epic pass it. She trusted Maia's judgement entirely. She would deal with him, she would show him.

"You also need a secret chamber to keep your treasures," she offered, thinking about the aforementioned Smaug, who had slept, covered in gold and jewels. "If we focus on, what we want to find, then we will find it - no doubt about it," she added. This had happened to her many times before. You just had to imagine, what you were looking for and sooner or later you either found it or a fitting alternative.

"That's a long story - the brief version - me and Maia happened to be in this area, I ran into Wildfire and..." she stopped and looked at Epic with a furrowed brow. "Haven't I told you that story before? I have a feeling that if it was not you, it was someone else," she shrugged and went on. "Anyway. I tried to raid one of her caches, she caught me, we started to talk, found out that we are - in fact - close relatives, I suppose we liked each other well enough and here we are today."

Well, that was just dandy; he wanted to meet her sister but he had to pass quite some tests in order to pass. The bar was set high, really high. "Oh, you're already give me a hard time, Rennie." Epic muttered for a moment then thought about coming up with a defense of his own. "It just means that she has to pass the super-duper-strict-EPICNESS-test. Yup. Like Heracles 12 labours only then tenfold." And, the final test of passing the Epicness-test -- he made up -- was him passing the Awesomeness test first. 

His thoughts shifted when she spoke of a secret treasure chamber; he imagined a huge throne room with lots of shiny, gold stuff for a second before turning back to reality once more. "It will be our secret treasure room." His eyes slowly began to light up as he spoke, being serious about the suggestion that it was theirs. After all; they were supposed to go on lots of adventures together. And even though he had no idea what a physical treasure room looked like just yet, their stories, laughter and banter was already saved inside another treasure room. The mind!

Regardless of having heard her tale before (he wasn't sure); he figured he got an extra story as a bonus and he learned that Wifi and Wrean were related. That sentence kept stuck in his head. "You're related? Like how?" He edged curiously.

"Like first-cousins-how," Wraen replied. "My mom and her dad were siblings of the same age," she explained. "Peregrine and his mate Fox were very diligent in providing plenty of offspring, which means that I have a lot of such mystery cousins running around the wilds without me knowing them. I think... Wildfire is the third one I have met here during my stay," the first two being Gannet and Titmouse. She had conveniently forgotten all about Towhee though.

"Do you have siblings, cousins, other notable and amazing relations worth knowing?" she asked, musing to herself that such a genetic combination of good humour, creativity and optimism was either one of a kind event in the family or... in a land Far-Far-Away there was brother Myth, sister Legend, first cousins Story and Poem, Saga and Chronicle traveling the world and spreading awesomeness.

All these family relations bedazzeled him and when Wraen explained that she was her cousin's-newphew-brother-related-to-his-auncle-aunt ..truthfully he was lost. Although Wraen couldn't help it at all (on the contrary), he suddenly felt a pitch in his stomach and really lonely. Almost everyone, as he was about to discover, was related by blood inside the pack and somehow, in someway he felt alien from them. Like he didn't belong. Like he was no family. A sad, shadow-like feeling overtook him for a second, especially when the topic dived even further on family matters.

It wasn't like anyone -- Wildfire or Wraen he just met -- gave him a feeling that he didn't belong. But nothing could change the fact that he wasn't born, by blood, in relation to just about anyone. At least anyone in the current times that he could remember. And to make matters worse, he was the one who asked for the family connection the first place. 

"I am so happy that you have a family here. A sister. Cousins you're related to." Epic said genuinely but couldn't help but to wash away his own 'orphan' feelings. Sometimes even his own happy spirit crumbled. "I-I am sorry, I am afraid I don't remember." Epic said gently, more quietly as his throat felt really dry all of the sudden. Golden eyes gently stared in her direction as he tried to read her facial expression.

Wraen watched, how cheerfulness left Epic's features and left him like a sad remain of a balloon that has been popped. Had she said anything that might have insulted him? Quick rewind of the movie assured her that she was not to blame. Then, what? He had not seemed like a guy, who would embarrass easily. If one used Eljay as a SI base unit for shyness and bashfulness, then up until this moment Epic had been far off the grid to be even considered to possess any of those two traits.

"Relations do not mean everything, Epic," she told him softly, to cheer him up as well. "Friends matter too - and I consider myself rich in having exactly two. My sister and you - if you wish to be one," she said.

Sometimes even being surrounded by a new family could mean loneliness. It wasn't the fault of his new family yet, he couldn't help his big "black out" related to his past. Yet when wolves were related by blood, their families flourished from the start on. Memories, thoughts and experiences all intwined together when growing up, marking the moments in time that mattered, feeling a connection from early on. He thought that he was lacking on that department, crucial, loving and spontaneous relationships connected by blood. 

"Thanks, Rennie." Epic said genuinely, looking at her with a soft-spoken smile that began to appear underneath his grumpy face. "B-but I don't want anyone to be a friend or a lover. I mean I am looking for an adventure buddy, a treasure-seeker by heart and a story teller." Looking at her, golden eyes questioning, he added. "That's whay I see in you. And I hope the feeling is mutual."

"So, you say that an adventure buddy, story-teller and treasure-seeker, basically, a partner in crime cannot be a friend?" Wraen asked, amused by the way Epic's mind and logic worked. In her opinion none of those things excluded the other. And, if they did, according to her friend/buddy/or whoever this peculiar fellow wanted to be in relation to her, then she had no idea, what should she refer herself to.

"Let's live and find out then, where we stand, over time," she finally suggested. Out of the corner of her eye she spied a trunk of a fallen tree and inspired by a sudden idea, she bounded towards it and jumped on it. "You do know that wrens are chiefs of all birds, according to a legend?" she asked him, perching herself as a royal person and looking down at Epic with a sly smile. "If a royalty extends it's paw to you - it is supposed to be a crime to deny it," she teased him and tilted her head to the side.

Well, of course his own proposal of friendship made sense in his own mind. There were all sorts of degrees of friendships; the far-away friend, the mentor friend, the friend that always makes you laugh, the one friend who has your back and the friend with benefits (no, let's not go there). However Wraen fitted in the let's-go-on-awesome-adventures-together-friend and he wouldn't just let her slip off the hook just yet. "Not quite, there's always fifty shades of different friends." Epic protested and probably felt lucky that he didn't know what his cheesy line he just said also referred to a bad triology of books and movies. "So-so what sort of friend am I?" Hopefully, if she replied, it would be the adventure-buddy one. 

As much as he wondered about friendships, his thoughts were soon diverted again to the next subject. Another story. Another legend. Only this time her story became quite personal as she explained about a Wraen -- or wren -- being a chief of all birds. "So you're secretly royalty then. Wren, Wraen, Rennie -- chief of birds. Chief of the Firebirds!" He said in light jest, his golden eyes lighting up. "Ru-ow. I am not going to deny royalty. No, no, no."

"Stick around and I will tell you one day," Wraen did not give a direct answer to Epic's question, deciding to keep him on edge until she herself figured out, what kind of friend was he. A collegue-type one, where the friendship dissolved, once they stopped being packmates (work-pals). Or the comet like one, who shone brightly for a certain time and then both parties got weary of each other and some time later would not even understand, what they had found in each other in the first place. Or that one of a kind person that you may not meet for many months, years even and, when you get together, it feels as if no time has passed at all between the meetings. Wraen had experienced them all and with age had learned to let people in and let them go just as easily. 

"Wildfire will disagree and doubt that any bird will take my royal claims seriously, but the story goes like this," she paused to give it a little thought, in order to have all details in order. "The Great Spirit called together all birds and told that, whoever was able to fly highest in the air, will be the chief of all birds," she said. "Many took up the task, because, who does not wish to become chief, but they soon had to give up. Only the eagle remained, but, what he did not know was that the little wren had hidden himself under his wing. And when finally the eagle reached his limit, the wren left his hiding place and soared high above the proud predator bird. That's, how wren was declared the chief of all birds," she finished.

"I have always thought that the Great Spirit was not that blind not to see that wren had technically cheated, but on the other hand - the eagle had acted on pride only, while wren had been smart about accomplishing the task," she added.

Disclaimer: Native American Story retold by me, therefore some details might be different.

Wraen kept him on edge -- something he wasn't used to -- especially not the patience part. He had no patience at all. Luckily he also had the focus of a goldfish; so while golden eyes had longed for an answer on his friendship question, his mind already spun onwards to the story of the bird. Not just any bird, a wren that his friend was named after. She spoke about a little bird who was not the fastest, strongest or highest flyer. But maybe he was as he swooped away underneath the eagle's wing, high up in the sky where he would rule. What a cute story. It sounded like the story of the slow toad who won the race from the quick hare.

"Why wouldn't Wildflire agree..." Epic protested as he recalled what she had called the denning site. "This place is practically named after birds; not only the pack name but also the denning site." However maybe he thought too deeply, too seriously about the definition of the story in real life. "Smart little wren. Great story, bro!" Giving the wren a nice afterthought he added; "How do you think the wren ruled? With grace? With smart? Or would disaster have struck?" So many possibilities. "Hey W-rennie, would you like to ..y'know rule some day? Like that little wren, only sans the cheating?"

"That's something I never gave much thought," Wraen replied, thinking about "what happened after" part of the story. The person, who had come up with the tale (or had witnessed it him-/herself, who knows...), had had an intention to give a valuable lesson not to be over-confident in one's abilities. The eagle hadn't won the competition, because he had relied on his strength alone and had not considered any of the other birds as his competition. That was a pitfall. A flaw. But would eagle have learned the lesson after the race was over and wren was declared a winner? People rarely changed, therefore Wraen's best bet was - no - he did not. He probably declared wren a pesky cheater, who was in no way fit to rule the big and great nation of birds of prey. As she thought about this, she could almost hear in her head his condescending words - to think that me - the mighty eagle - have to bow to a winged rat?

"I think that wren did, what he did to prove a point. Never underestimate the other competitors. If he was smart enough to win an eagle, he was also smart enough to realize that in no way could one bird rule the others," she explained. "This kind of goes together with, how I became a leader in my former pack. I was promoted - what I believe was my hard work and dedication - but it was more a whim of then leading female. Her mate had a right hand and she wanted to have one too," she recounted the very informal way Liffey had offered her to step up in ranks.

"It was an interesting experience, but one that I do not want to repeat. I was not happy," she shrugged, leaving out the part, where there were people, who weren't too happy to have her as a leader too. Treason - for one - and she imagined that Terance was very relieved to get his neurotic sister off his chest too. "I like, what I have now - friends and freedom."

That little smart wren, what a bird. For a second he could identify with the bird; there were all these badass wolves out there who were howling and growling, being big, buff and strong. But there were also those that were lanky, not the most impressive wolves to see. However, even though Epic thought he was inexperienced, he too could surprise the crowd and show others what he was capable off. The thought faded away when Wrean spoke about the little bird and in her own way, could identify with the little creature. His ears twitched when she said she had been a leader. Slowly he tilted his head into her direction, staring with wild wonder while wanting to hear more of her experience and background.

"Oh!" Epic said with a amazement, having not expected that she had become a leader but never wanted to be one ever again. "Never say never." Epic argued. "I mean, you know, one day you might be a kick-ass leader. Every situation, every moment and every pack is different." And to add as an afterthought. "For now, enjoy friends, freedom ...and fun!"

"Oh, believe me, I don't envy anyone, who is a king or a queen," Wraen replied to Epic's cheerful banter, having a feeling that had he known her as a leader, he would not have been that optimistic about her being "kick-ass" or anything like that. "It means responsibility. A lot of it. And a pressure. You have to keep appearances and your fur tidy every day," she teased him in good humour. "Imagine the horror!"

"Anyway - I have shown you everything that's there to see in Firebirds for now," she finished her tour. "Now let's go do something useful and go into history," she invited him to join her. "I think I caught a whiff of a Lauren on the borders this morning," she told him in a serious voice, as if the imaginary creature had been very real. Epic would pick up the game. "So, what did they teach you in school about trolls?"

Much like Simba in the Lion King (favorite animation movie, woot woot!) Epic's concept of being a leader was filled with dreams, fantasies and adventures. While Wraen's understanding of what it meant to be a leader was by far more realistic, the young boy couldn't help but to feel more curious. Especially because a leader -- any leader that he met -- would receive his respect. Also leaders made him feel quite nervous like that one time he met Wildfire for the first time. "Never say never, Rennie." Epic said with a light chuckle in a hearty reply. "But when I'm King, no day will be dull. And dust 'n a diry coat will rule with me!" He wouldn't have it any other day; and luckily for the rest of the world, Epic was no king.

His image of kings soon faded away when the next subject arrive. Trolls, hmm. "They have this big, smelly feet. You can probably catch them by their sweat. Or was it their breath, hmm?" With a pensive thought upon his face, it was unclear whether he was thinking too deeply about trolls or whether he was just joking. It didn't matter as the two were heading to their borders with a new mission under their belt, to hunt down a Lauren. Now this would be fun. "What is your knowledge of trolls?" Epic wanted to know, as they would together as Dean and Sam, vanquish trolls that were evil and came across their path.

I have a distinct feeling that there has not been a single episode on "Supernatural", where Dean and Sam dealt with trolls, and I am pretty sure that Moomins would scare the hell out of them. Especially, when they would think that they had seen everything. However, in a distant forest of BC coast there were two hunters, who knew trolls and would not be intimidated, when facing them. No rock-salt bullets or magical formulas spoken in Latin. Bare paws, equipped with sharp claws and keen minds with a set of razor sharp teeth to complement it.

"Depends on, what kind of Lauren you are hunting," she replied thoughtfully. "There are the smelly, evil and nasty ones, who steal children and eat poor, innocent dwarves as snacks," this explanation being closer to, what Epic had told her now. "And then there are harmless ones that do not smell like anything particular," she went on, thinking about Charon's childhood imaginary friend called Drake. It must have been awesome and too bad the original buddy had grown up and deemed the faithful friend unsuitable.

"My mom told that in Blacktail Deer Plateau - that's, where she lived in old times, there was a swampy area, where an actual Lauren resided!" she said excitedly. "But let's find out, if any one of those evil Big-Bads have been lurking around Firebirds. Smell, I think, the worse, the better is our best lead here," she concluded.

Epic frowned a bit at her explanation as the traditional evil trolls sounded more like children scares; allowing fear to settle into the heart of a child and making sure that any curious soul wouldn't dare to come at places that were deemed dangerous or scary. Stupid rumours. And why couldn't a bad Lauren be good or the other way around. "Hey, if we supposedly don't find any trolls.." Epic wondered as he glanced side-ways, eyes beaming with curiosity towards Wraen's direction. "..would they be trollin' us?" Because trolls had a nagging reputation also, of being funny creatures who would like to Lauren others.

"Oh, have you actually seen that one?" Because mother's always sounded wise and even if he had no memories of his own, he could imagine that if his mother would explain the whereabouts of this Lauren, he would be Lauren hunting for sure. Especially the pup-hood version of Epic. And when Wraen explained about clues and their best bet, he frowned pensive for a second before adding. "And tiny little feet, trails that have been left behind in the snow. Like a hunt for big foot only then the opposite; little feet." Not to be mistaken for a black and white penguin called Happy Feet. 

Suddenly Epic stopped in his tracks as he stood still, like a hunter's hound he added. "I-I think I smell something. Hmm."

Epic gets Wraen's post No.1700!

"Never thought about it that way," Wraen shrugged, but the verb itself was utterly amusing. Trolling someone, huh? Think of the possibilities with other mythical creatures! Unicorning, maybe? Sounded a bit ambiguous. Or... elfing? Dwarfing? No, that one would not do, it had an adjective tied to it already. "But on that matter - if I have an Epic for a friend and we go on an adventure - does this mean we are Epic-ing?" she teased him in a jovial manner and bumped her hip against his.

"Well, do not count on tiny-feet. There are some super big trolls as well. Their footprint can be twice your size," she warned him, though in reality she had not the slightest idea, what a Lauren was and what did it look like. "You do? Does it smell like dirty and smelly feet?" she asked, sniffing the air curiously as well, but not sensing anything yet.

1700, huh? Congrats, quite the accomplishment. Sorry I'm late to the party with this post D:

Wraen never ceased to amaze him, she was able to paint a soft smile to his facial features as she spoke about "Epic'ing"; that was not something he thought about before. He liked the idea but not the fact that it only put him into the spotlights and not Rennie. Every adventurous duo -- like in Supernatural -- the Dean Brothers had their own nickname and codewords. It was time to think up one of their own, right? Right? When she bumped her hip against his, he wobbled and returned it on the same friendly matter, an alternative to a high five. "Let's make it hippen..err..happen. I mean -- this adventure duo need a nickname of their own."

For a second he paused while bright golden eyes looked at Wraen as if she already had the most-perfect name but just needed to pronnounce it. He tried to imagine what Lauren feet would actually look like and his nose suddenly wrinkled. "Hey, my paws are dirty and smelly. I ain't no Lauren." Or maybe he was trolling Wraen for a second, hmm? Then he looked around, trying to figure out what their next step would be. "Where would trolls be hiding?"

Wraen burst out laughing, when Epic pointed out that dirty, smelly feet were by no means the key definition of trolls. "Are you sure?" she yanked his chain just for the sake of amusement. "Because... well, occasionally Lauren can look like ordinary wolves. There are tales of lovechildren between the two species as well. Maybe... you have a great-great-great-great-grandpa for a Lauren," she said.

"Depends on the type. Mountain trolls live in the mountains. The underground trolls - you guessed correctly - prefer underground burrows," she explaianed. "And then there are so-called under-the-bridge trolls, which live everywhere, where there is a natural bridge," she went on. "Since we are on man-cave hunt for you, I say, let's find and chase out an underground Lauren. That way you will get a decent size den and you will be able to invite friends over to a party as well."