Dead Empress Backwater the distance in your eyes

Open to all the DEB and SC kids, backdated to about halfway through their exchange visit to DEB
Late at night, partly cloud,-10C/14F

Viorel had been enjoying having his children back safe under his pack’s rule, and the addition of the Cove pups had been smoother than he expected. It pleased him that his suggestion of continuing on the exchange had been a success. Having it go poorly could have ended in poor relations between the pack, or worse, one of the children could have gotten hurt. It was not that he did not trust the wolves of the Cove, it was that his children had a tendency to be putting themselves in dangerous situations without thinking. That, and there were presumably a lot of cliffs up there.

Still, they were reaching near the halfway mark, in just another week the three new faces who had been hanging around would be back where they belong. He couldn’t let them leave without at least one of the stories he had been told growing up on the coast. Sure, it was late, but what were the odds that all the children were in bed like they should be? It wasn’t like Viorel had ever been one to go to sleep on time.

Approaching the main meeting area with it’s signature broken empress trunks, Viorel chuffed to see if anyone was awake.

Kateri'd been having a lot of fun. It felt really nice to get away from the cove for a bit after having been cooped up recovering. While she'd been able to do some exploring of the backwater she'd also been careful not to reinjure her leg. She understood the importance of taking things slow cause the last thing she wanted to do was start the whole process back over again.

It was after a long day of exploring and learning that she found herself in the central part of the territory where she'd found herself a cozy little place to curl up for the night. This was the place she'd chosen the first night as her little home away from home so to speak. She did miss home and her mother and father but she still thought she was doing well. She lifted her head when she heard the chuff. Rising to her paws she made her way over to where the man she had learned was Viorel was. Once at his side she reached out and touched his shoulder with her nose.

Eros had been determinedly tearing apart the bones of a hare, the meat gone days prior but the marrow still morsel enough to work for. He made sure to get each and every edible inch from the meal, wanting to indulge but trying to work on taking less from the caches as he'd begun to grow conscious of how much more he consumed than the others. The older he grew, the more he began to see and understand the more subtle connections between himself and the others. Food wasn't limitless, and the more he ate, the less there was for the others. It was pretty clear and simple now, but these things had been so nebulous just months ago.

In short, he was starting to see himself mature, and it was strange. These thoughts crowded his head until his father's summons chased them away. Promptly dropping what he was doing, Eros trotted toward Viorel and Kateri who was at his side, eyes bright and expectant. If it was Dad's idea, it was usually pretty fun.

Given how late at night it was, Viorel was not surprised to only be joined by two of the children. One of his own, and one of the Cove’s. The leader gave each one of them a smile and sank down into a lounging position, ”I hope I didn’t wake either of you, Eros knows how much of a night owl I can be.” He gave his son a hearty wink, knowing that most of his children had taken after him in that regard.

Salt and pepper tail swooshed behind him a few beats as he continued, ”I thought you might want to hear one of the stories I was always told as a pup back at the coast.” Not the story of Sephrina which he knew Eros had heard at least a dozen times, he would need to come up with another one. He knew just the one, ”Back on the coast we believed that the world around us was made by dozens of wolves with special powers. One who made the oceans, one for the night, another for the moon, and on and on, more gods than we can count came together and made our world.” He wasn’t sure he believed it himself, but it was a nice thought.

That was besides the point, ”One day, a wolf named Neander who is in charge of time, his wife gave birth to a litter of 10 beautiful daughters.” He smirked a little, what a nightmare that would be, ten all at once, and all girls! He had always been a better parent to his sons, not intentionally but it was how it was. ”So Neander had an idea, he wanted to give his wife and his daughters a gift to show them how much he loved them. He knew just the thing, he was going to steal part of the sun so they could each have a piece of it. That way they would never have to worry about being in the dark.” Viorel paused then, letting the first part of the story sink in.

She was the first to arrive when Viorel had called. It was late but Kateri didn't mind one bit. She wasn't used to sleeping somewhere that wasn't the den with her mother she'd been having trouble going to sleep. Shortly after she met with the backwater leader another pup appeared. It was Eros, she remembered meeting him in the cove. He'd been the one to help her with the cache. She shook her head, "No," when Viorel said he'd hoped he hadn't woken them.

Her tail wagged when he asked about hearing a story. "I'd like to hear a story," she informed him. Kateri wasn't the type to pass up the chance to hear a good story. What was even better about this was that this story was being told by a wolf from another pack. She couldn't help but be curious. The Slayer settled in to hear whatever story was in store for them.

At first the story kind of reminded her of the story her uncle Chan had told. As Viorel went on she could see how different it was and immediately she wanted to know how this wolf was going to steal pieces of the sun. She looked over at Eros for a moment to see if he was as interested as she was it was a really sweet thought, the reason the dad wolf wanted to steal the sun. She smiled at the sentiment, "What's going to happen to him?" She asked a little more excited than she probably should have been to hear what was next.

A story? Eros knew the routine, and settled in beside Kateri as though she were one of his sisters. He leaned shoulder-to-shoulder with her, and watched his father begin to spin the tale. The beginning of it all was certainly familiar, but then an unexpected twist was taken and the young Valle visibly perked with bolstered interest.

The story went on, and he began to ponder another difference between himself now and when he'd been just months younger. He'd used to take the words literally and without question, and now his mind began to pick certain things apart. He knew now, however, that these were myths, and therefor meant to be unrealistic. Still, he couldn't help but pity Neander's wife and the rest of the world - he was going to take the sun apart, letting every other living creature go into darkness just for a gesture? That couldn't go well...

What's going to happen to him? Kateri asked, and Eros awaited the answer.

(This post was last modified: Aug 07, 2022, 11:13 PM by Eros.)

Viorel could see the children settling into the tale, his own son perking up and Kateri smiling and asking questions. He had always enjoyed this part of fatherhood, and discussing with his children about where they may have come from. He did not necessarily consider himself a spiritual wolf, but the stories had always entertained him as he grew up and he was thrilled to share them with the next generation.

The father smiled knowingly and continued with the story, ”With his plan in place Neander waited until the dark of the night when the sun would be asleep. He snuck to the top of a nearby mountain, and as the sun came up he used the sharpest rock he could find to cut a piece of the light away from the rest.” It was silly sounding, how could someone use a rock to cut the sun?

He took a breath, ”Neander was very happy that he had his own little sun now, and returned back to his wife and children who were thrilled with their gift, sunshine all of their own. He had done what he had set out to do, they would never need to be afraid of the dark now.” From here Viorel switched into a quieter tone, as if telling a secret, ”But what he didn’t know was how angry the sun would become about losing a piece of himself. He wanted revenge on Neander, so he started to grow the tiny sun piece larger and larger and larger until it was big and too hot to be contained. It sparked the nearby trees and grass and started the first fire the world had ever seen.” The father stopped there, he would let them process what he just said before finishing the tale.

Kateri was eager to hear more of the story and Viorel didn't keep them waiting. She listened closely to what happened next to Neander. She was so happy to hear that he accomplished the mission that he set himself. He had gotten a piece of the sun. Her tail swept the ground behind her. She bumped Eros shoulder in her happiness for Neanders accomplishment.

Then the bad part came. Viorel went in with the story explaining the anger of the sun. How the little piece grew bigger and bigger until the forest was on fire. Kateri's eyes grew wide. Her tail stopped its motion. "Are they going to be okay," she whispered. She couldn't take this she had to know what happened next.

Ahh, Eros thought as the flow of the story revealed that this Neander only wanted a small part of the sun. Still, the boy was right to feel bad for the soulless entity along with the rest of the secondary characters. He felt Kateri jostle him, and his peach eyes jumped to meet her bicolored gaze. She appeared happy that the protagonist had achieved his goal, and while he didn't feel the same the young Valle found himself mirroring her smile all the same.

... but what he didn’t know was how angry the sun would become about losing a piece of himself.

Eros' attention jumped back to his dad, and he sympathized with the sun. Hopefully this resolved in a way that made everyone content once again, though he had already learned that not all stories ended in a way that was fair, or even good at all. The only way to get the answers to their questions was to keep listening.

Final round!

Watching the pup’s eyes widen in anticipation brought Viorel so much joy. It was interesting, how just a year ago everything had been so different and now here he was, telling stories to pups both his and visiting. But, he couldn’t get too distracted getting wrapped up in the nostalgia and wonder of it all, he had a tale to tell.

Falling back into his role of storyteller he continued, ”Neander was doing his best to get his family to safety, but the fire was growing quickly and he was losing hope. Thankfully, the sun - though still very angry - felt bad seeing how scared Neander’s mate and children were, and knew that it was not their fault that the piece had been stolen.” He paused again, shit, it had been a long time since he had heard this story, and he was almost forgetting how it ended.

Then it came to him and the father lit up, ”So the sun made a deal with Neander, he would stop the fire and save the family, and all wolves, but Neander would have to give up the life he knew. He happily agreed, anything to save his family, and the sun turned Neander into wind, which he still is to this day. Wolves say that this is why sometimes, when the wind is coming through the trees just right it sounds like a howl, it’s Neander telling all the wolves that he still loves them.” And that was it, the end of the story. A bit bittersweet, but certainly not the horror it could have been. Looking on the children he questioned, ”Well, what do you think”