Whitebark Stream the wheel of the year

@Dawn

Now that Whitebark Stream had been officially claimed, Daylily was full of ideas for how to contribute to her new pack. Dawn had seemed appreciative of her religious knowledge the last they had spoken of such things, and Day was considering asking the leader if she wouldn’t mind allowing her to open up the Wheel of the Year for others to celebrate. She wanted to ask instead of just going forward with a plan like that; after all, Dawn was the leader of Whitebark and didn’t seem religious herself, so Daylily felt it was necessary to get official permission. Tilting her head back, she howled for Dawn, trying to prepare in her head the words she would speak once her leader arrived.

she has an inkling of what is to come. the odd energy pent up in her limbs is not missed, nor is the restlessness, the need for something she can not quite place. but there are no distinct signs yet, no evidence of her season, and so she puts it down to excitement, happiness at their formation. she has time yet.

Daylily's howl comes as she leaps after a hare; a miss, and a frantic chase that ends prematurely when the creature vanishes into the earth. she does not stop, but veers towards the howl and lopes toward the call, limbs bearing her rapidly there. when she is near, she slows; when she comes within sight of the girl she adopts a trot. 

"you called?" the woman greets, auds pressed forward and tail wagging gladly. the girl's actions did not go unnoticed; she seemed to be active within the territory, to the leader's pleasure.

Daylily’s tail wagged at her leader’s approach. She’d been moving rather swiftly towards her, which caused her heart rate to increase for a few moments. “I did,” she replied. “Hello, Dawn.” She dipped her head in greeting and then cleared her throat. 

“I-I’ve been thinking,” she began, stuttering as she often did when she was nervous. “Now that we’ve officially claimed Whitebark, perhaps… perhaps I could introduce anyone who’s interested to the eight holy days I celebrated back in Oakstead?” She tagged on quickly, “The festivities would be optional, and no one would be forced to convert or anything. Mostly, the festivals themselves are just celebrations of the seasons, or the changing of them. For some, there are religious overtones but there were many in Oakstead who did not believe in the Lord and the Lady who still took part.” 

Nervously, she awaited Dawn’s answer, expecting her to say no; Daylily was often anxious and didn’t think very highly of herself, so even though her leader had been good and nice to her so far, she had a hard time believing that her request would be accepted.

the girl explains her reasons for calling, and the leader finds herself interested. it sounds similar to the festival that olive and her pack had hosted once; it had been a great success, then. packs had united, wolves come together. it strikes her, then, that this could be a way to forge stronger bonds between the pack wolves; in the least those who wanted to take part. 

her interest is betrayed in the angle of her ears, the cant of her muzzle. "tell me more - what do these festivals include?" 

I decided to break up the descriptions into multiple posts so i don't just have one giant like 1000-word-long post. Plus it'll give Dawn chances to respond or ask questions or whatever.

Dawn wanted to know what the Wheel of the Year festivals included. Daylily took a breath, trying to think of where to start. “Well… the nearest one is Imbolc, which is preparation for spring. We take this day to clean our dens, check caches, and just generally tidy up the territory. It is also a day of dedication or rededication to gods or to any projects one has been working on.

Then there’s Ostara, the spring equinox. I think I told you about that one briefly?” She looked at Dawn curiously, waiting for her to confirm. Afterwards, she continued. “The Lady has come into bloom on Ostara, and this is when we usually plant seeds for our gardens back home, since it’s usually warm enough by this day. Ostara is also a day to celebrate the sun, the Lord. It is spring now, and each day will grow longer as it gets closer and closer to summer. So some wolves may choose to watch the sunrise, or sunset… or—or both, I suppose.” As an afterthought, she added, “Imbolc, Ostara, and Beltane—the next holy day—are often saved as days to tell loved ones of pregnancies, mateships, or to ask a special someone if they’d like to become mates.”

she nods at the explanation, knowing it's unlikely that she'll remember much of the names, or details that Daylily outlines. still, the girl's knowledge and dedication to her beliefs are commendable. "from what you say, these celebrations have practical use, too. it would be a good way for the pack to come together," 

she thinks on it a moment longer, then nods. "this next festival - imbolc. find a packmate who will help you prepare what you need, if necessary; when you're ready, I'll call to invite the pack to participate if they wish." if it goes over well, she sees no reason not to grant her request, and make her festivities a reoccurring event. 

"I've been meaning to ask, Daylily - have you decided on trades you'd like to work toward?" it was a more polite way of asking what she intended to offer the pack; she seemed the type to have knowledge of plants, healing, perhaps; the woman would rather like to establish which of her packmates might fulfill some extra role within the pack.

Daylily’s nerves lessened when Dawn expressed acceptance of her practices. And when she gave Day the go-ahead to prepare for the festival, she felt she might cry. “I-I did some things with Kora… the other day. N-nothing big. We just… scouted out a place to maybe grow a garden in the spring. I-if that’s all right? Other than that, this particular festival doesn’t require much preparation. I’ll just need to prepare what I’ll say to the rest of the pack to explain how they can celebrate if they wish.” She looked around, motioning at the snow on the ground. “Normally there’s a feast of some kind, but it’s still winter. Perhaps we can do that on Ostara, when spring officially arrives.”

Daylily was so preoccupied thinking of Imbolc and Ostara that Dawn’s next question took her by complete surprise? “What? Oh…” She hummed as she gave it some thought. “Well… most of my skills are directly related to my religion, you see… I can hunt small game—fish, rabbits, that kind of thing. But other than that… everything I know is plants and crystals and moon phases… Nothing very practical.” She glanced at Dawn and looked away, her ears splaying in embarrassment. “I know basic healing with herbs but most of my herblore is related to their spiritual uses, not medicinal.” She floundered for a moment, trying to think of something practical that she knew. “I-I like pups,” she said. “I mean, I know how to, you know… keep them entertained. Teach them things. Maybe that would be useful later? If—if anyone here has pups.”

she nods, as the girl names another. the prospect of some great feast interests her; despite the winter, there are whisperings of life that signal the end of the famine, and one day's hard hunting should provide enough prey for a feast of some kind. "a garden could be useful," she muses. certainly, healing herbs could be planted there, to avoid having to search for them in times of need. she knew very little about plants, however, and so it was quickly decided to allow the wolves that did to sort it out. 

she listens carefully as the woman outlines what she knows, considering what she offers before nodding. "in my old pack, we had a healer who started off much like you. she wanted to learn more, and so we found her a mentor in another pack, one who taught her to be a proficient healer. we could do the same for you, if you're interested." she offers, suddenly very keen on the idea. if the girl desired a teacher, she would find the best one she could. "a sitter, too, is a useful trade - I do not imagine we will be without pups this spring." she answers, small curve etched onto her muzzle.

Daylily sighed in relief that Dawn wasn’t angry about the garden idea. In retrospect she didn’t know why she had thought that she would be; Dawn had always been quite accepting of her beliefs. She grew excited thinking about being able to garden in the spring. 

Day listened attentively to Dawn’s small story about a healer in a previous pack. When asked how she felt about having her own mentor from another pack, she gave it some thought. “It seems very romantic,” she admitted. “Not—not like, love romance, but… it seems like a beautiful thing.” She scrunched her eyebrows, trying to find a way to explain what she meant. “The idea of allying with another pack, or even one member of that pack, in order to learn how to help others. Allying for the good of mankind. That kind of romantic.” 

’A sitter, too, is a useful trade…’ Dawn continued.

“Yes,” agreed Daylily. “Obviously the children will remain close their parents for the first few months, but I imagine they might want a break from their pups after a while.” She smiled. “To sleep uninterrupted while someone else entertains them…” She looked around, admiring the view. “I’ll give both options some thought. I’m not sure which I’d like to pursue. And, well…” 

Day turned back to look at Dawn again. “I’d like to have time to continue the practice of my faith. Those skills could also be useful to Whitebark. I know how to cure insomnia with lavender, how to do spellwork to help with wolves’ spiritual needs, how to put up protections around people and territories. Not all believe in such things, but… you’ve always seemed accepting of my practices.”

her romantic rambling earns a smile from the leader, a glint of mirth in her gaze. she was really growing rather fond of the girl, and felt a familiar spark of something thought lost long ago as she regards her. 

the conversation moves on, and Dawn nods. "they are a handful." she agrees, though in retrospect would never had let her children go alone for an instant should she have known what was to come. "your help would be much appreciated." 

Daylily continues to talk further about her beliefs, referencing things that Dawn's never heard before - spellwork and spiritual energies are utterly foreign. for a moment, she considers. "I won't pretend to understand what you practice, Daylily — but as long it doesn't harm any packmates, I see no reason to stop you or any other from practicing your beliefs." it could turn out to be useful, perhaps - she was made doubtful of things she'd never before heard of, but willing to give them a chance to prove practical.

Daylily listened to Dawn speak about her religious beliefs with tense muscles, expecting the leader to dismiss her wants out of hand. That did not happen. While Dawn admitted to not understanding all of Daylily’s beliefs, she would not prevent the girl from practicing them as long as she didn’t harm anyone. “Oh, thank you,” Daylily breathed, feeling light again. Her legs felt a bit like jelly from relief, and having kept them so stiff beforehand. “I promise, my beliefs do not include any kind of harm to any creature, outside of hunting for food, of course. The people of Oakstead are gentle and loving, not known for bloodshed.” 

She wanted to go on, to explain more—ever more—but stopped herself. The people of Oakstead also were not necessarily known for proselytizing. Indeed, Daylily had asked permission to create festivals from her holy days, but she had no intention of forcing anyone to participate, or converting anyone to her religion against their will. She did not think the Lord and Lady would approve of such behavior, let alone her family, were they to discover her doing such things. 

“You have given me much to think about,” she said to Dawn. “About my future in this pack, I mean. About my role here. If I may, I should… go and think on it some more.” She stood and bowed her head, awaiting Dawn’s permission to leave, unless the leader had more to say.

she dips her muzzle as Daylily further explains her beliefs. the girl has an easy sincerity to her that allows for a certain level of trust right off the bat, and the huntress in content in allowing her to do what she would. when the girl offers her goodbyes, intent on thinking further on her roll within the group, the huntress smiles easily as she makes her own farewells, taking her leave then.