Redhawk Caldera u r b a n i

She loved the smell of fallen leaves so much, she had taken to sleeping in a pile of them every night. Getting up each morning was a rather crunchy business, though all the noise helped wake her up properly. Plus, the movement seemed to release that scent she loved so much.

Today, her bed of leaves barely rustled. When Shenanigans—who’d begun to express a preference for her nickname, Ani, since it sounded a bit more mature—sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she soon realized everything was rather damp, herself included.

When she looked around a bit more, she kept blinking, trying to clear the cobwebs of sleep from her eyes. But nothing really helped. It slowly dawned on Ani that her vision wasn’t the problem. A dense white fog had risen off the caldera today, cloaking everything.

Bouncing onto all fours, Ani tried to grab at it. The mist swished visibly and she giggled, the noise sounding strangely muffled in the chilly air. Wondering if a cloud had fallen out of the sky, the youth began to frolic about in the brume, admiring the way it swirled and twirled.

assumpsing she gets accepted back, lololol

The girl didn't exactly blend into the leaves, but it frightened Lilitu anyway, lost in her own thoughts as she was, when the damp pile of fallen foliage moved upright. She caught her breath, bristling a few paces away, then peered into the fog and smiled as she realized it was a young lady, captivated by the atmosphere.

Hallo, she said, chipper. Well, that sounded formal as all hell. Had Akashingo turned her posh? She shook out the dew from her pelt, brow furrowing for a moment before relaxing again.

I don't think I know you, Lilitu went on, and moved closer to the girl. The coloring reminded her a lot of Maia. Was this one of her aunt's new litter? I'm Lilitu. I just got back from Akashingo, our neighbor pack. But I grew up here. Maia's my auntie.

A voice called out from the mist and Ani froze, one foreleg dangling in the air and mouth twisted into a moue. Her imagination began running wild, conjuring up images of ghostly specters, though the appearance of a gray she-wolf dispelled her creative notions. Well, she looked solid enough, anyhow. Either way, Ani wanted to befriend her!

The woman offered a cheerful introduction and young Ani spun to face her properly, all smiles as she replied, Maia’s my mama! I’m Shen—I’m Ani! It’s nice to meet you, Lilitu! It was such a lovely name and she meant to say so, though she got distracted and said instead, I didn’t know we had neighbors. Did you say Aquashinglow?

Her suspicions were confirmed, and she smiled wider, for this made the chipper young wolf family. That means we're cousins, she noted, before breaking out into a grin at Aquashinglow.

Akashingo, Lilitu repeated, slower this time. It's a kingdom, led by a Pharaoh and full of princes and princesses. You know about those, right?

She was sure Maia had told her children plenty of stories; like Wraen, the Auspex had a gift for weaving tales. But Lilitu enjoyed that same pastime, and hoped to bring it to the young of Brecheliant.

It would be healing, to dissolve into fantasies for short whiles.

Her tail had already been swaying to and fro, though now it picked up speed. She had a cousin! Ani was delighted to discover a new relative, especially one with manners as lovely as her name, and already a fascinating backstory.

Yeah! she quickly replied to Lilitu’s question. Well, is a pharaoh like a king? Ani paused to let her newly discovered cousin answer that before wondering, What were you doing there?

Lilitu nodded. Yes, exactly, she replied. A Pharaoh is very much like a King. Except he had his own religion and gods. . .it was complicated. She grinned, a little awkwardly, eyes sparkling.

As for that question— Lilitu ducked her head away slightly, smile fading.

I was a princess there, she explained. Married to a prince. But it didn't go as planned. So I'm back.

It was impossible to explain, and she knew the girl would likely have follow-up questions. She braced for them now, putting on the bravest of faces.

Ani knew the terms “religion” and “gods,” though they were no different to her than the stuff of any other fairy tale. Speaking of which, she forgot to ask any questions about what made it all so complicated when Lilitu said a much more magical word: “princess”!

Oh, the young lady breathed, her eyes going rather comically wide.

A thousand questions wanted to spring off the tip of her tongue, yet she realized what Lilitu had said and her brow furrowed. She didn’t understand much about romance, though there was a shadow that passed over Lilitu’s face ever so briefly. Ani sensed sadness in these thwarted plans.

But you’re still a princess! Right? Ani pressed. Princess Lilitu, she added reverently, smiling and curtsying.

She managed to crack a smile again, and laughed at the bow, but her face remained drawn. Technically, yeah, she replied. But just call me Lilitu. I don't really feel like a princess, and it seems kind of snobby of me to have others call me that.

She'd never gotten used to it, back in Akashingo. Better to just be plain ole' Lilitu.

Aren't the leaves cool, Ani? Lilitu jumped in, changing the subject. She sent a small pile fluttering with a flick of her paw, admiring the way the colors danced and twirled upon the air. I wonder if the trees are just like us—well, except instead of growing a coat for winter like wolves do, they shed theirs.

Hmmm. That seemed like weird logic?

Her smile dimmed a little when Lilitu insisted she no longer wanted to go by her title, though it didn’t disappear. She opened her mouth to insist there was nothing snobbish about it but clapped it shut when her new friend changed the subject. Now her smile brightened again.

Oh my gosh, I love the leaves! Ani replied, immediately following suit by bounding into her discarded bed and rolling around noisily.

She didn’t hear Lilitu’s comment over the sound of all that crunching, though before long, Ani sat up again. Crumbled leaves clung to her, as did their singular scent. She beamed, then motioned toward the fog that still hovered.

And this, I love it too! What is it? she wondered, leaping out of the pile to swish her foreleg through the mist again.

As she thought, the subject change was an immense relief. She let her smile grow and bloom with Ani's clear enthusiasm, and she pondered the wispy air around them at the girl's question, eyes wistful.

It's called 'fog', she explained. Some say it's spirits, walking among us. I'd like to think that might be the case.

She suddenly felt Ibis nearby, and her fur prickled slightly, her heart warming.

I lost my Mama, some seasons ago, Lilitu went on. Maybe she's here with us now.

Fog, Ani repeated in a marveling tone, still swishing her leg through it.

She listened to Lilitu’s explanation, though she only turned to look at her when she mentioned losing her mother. Ani’s lips pursed as she thought fleetingly of Tytonidae, before her mind moved on to the other maternal figures in her life. With a smile, she remembered that Mama Maia was Lilitu’s aunt.

What happened to her? the young girl wondered softly.

She glanced sweetly at Ani, and replied, She died—I was away. I think she was sick. That's what they told me.

Lilitu moved to sit close to the girl, settling upon the leaves with a sigh, her breath and movement sending the fog stirring in her midst.

My mother was a princess, and my father a prince, she explained. He rescued her. It was like a fairy tale.

Why would she spin such tales in a girl's head?

It wasn't true.

None of it was true.

Ani chewed thoughtfully at the inside of her cheek when Lilitu mentioned losing her mother to sickness. It made her think of Papa Eljay. Little as she knew about the field, she understood that her foster father was a medic. Had he cared for Lilitu’s mother?

More talk of royalty certainly snagged her attention. The hint of a frown on her face instantly brightened back into a smile. She wanted to hear more about what sounded like a proper fairy tale.

But something moved out there in the mist, grounding Ani in the here and now. She squinted at the apparition, a strange phenomena happening to her fur: it all started standing on end of its own accord!

A smol spook in honor of Halloween night. :}

She saw it, too. The movement.

And her own fur rose against her volition, cresting along her spine, her tail bristling out wide and thick.

Maybe it's my mother, she whispered, though to herself, not intending on Ani to hear. Her voice grew louder, then. I was a princess, then, married to a prince. But things don't always work out.

The strange shifting in the fog remained, and her  gaze was trained upon it.

She blinked, and it vanished.

Mama.

I think—maybe when others die, they don't go away forever, forever, she remarked, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

Ani turned to look at Lilitu, her mouth a moue. She was at that age where she clung to the magical and mystical, even though her maturing brain told her that such things were the stuff of make-believe. Anyway, it was one thing to tell fairy tales and ghost stories, it was another when someone expressed such a sincere belief in the afterlife.

She wasn’t quite sure what to say to Lilitu’s conjecture, though Ani tentatively moved toward the former princess. Telegraphing her movements in case the other she-wolf objected, Ani went in for a light, reassuring hug because it just seemed to her that that’s what Lilitu needed right now.

She was caught in that strange middle period, in-between child and mother. Both and neither, at once. When Ani came to her in embrace, she clutched the girl tight, her tears running freely. Memories of her childhood and of her potential motherhood rose up together, and. . .

Thanks, Ani, she managed in a choked whisper, murmuring the words into the girl's ruff. But let's talk about the leaves again. Aren't they pretty?

Lilitu sniffled hard, blinking to cast away the tears, and pulled back, bending to lift a crimson leaf and twirl it between her teeth at the stem. She laughed and let it fall, watching its descent to the ground.

Anything to banish her failure.

Isn't it pretty, lately?

You’re welcome, Ani said, voice bright and soft as they pulled apart.

Lilitu turned their attention back to the leaves. Ani’s tail stirred, swirling the fog around her haunches as she watched her pack mate pluck up a particularly bright red leaf and twirl it in her teeth. She wondered if she could do that too.

Yes! I love the leaves, she repeated her earlier statement. How come they changed colors and fell off the trees? Ani wondered.

That was something she couldn't answer. She regarded the fallen colorful leaves, and the ones still above them.

I don't know, Ani, she admitted. All my life, they've changed colors right before the snow. You know, right before our pelt grows thick? Maybe that's why.

The cold of the north beset her, suddenly, and she resisted a shiver.

We always change with the seasons, Lilitu said. Even our coats are different.

Lilitu spoke of things Ani had never experienced, though she’d heard tell of them. Well, she’d heard of snow, though she didn’t recall ever being told their pelts would change. She supposed it made sense. If it grew colder, they would need extra fur to keep them warm.

I can’t wait to see snow, Ani shared, and grow in a fuzzier coat. I hope I get really poofy! the girl declared with a giggle.

She suddenly remembered something else she’d been told to expect when wintertime came around: ice. Ani couldn’t remember who’d told her but she did remember what they’d said about water freezing solid and becoming slippery to the touch. It was hard to picture, just like snowfall.

I bet winter is so much fun. I bet it will be just like a fairy tale. I can’t wait, Ani said breathlessly. Hey, do you wanna go to the lake and get a drink? I’m pretty thirsty, she added now that the caldera was top of mind, feet already weaving in that direction.