Do I not feel peace?

I am entirely sure I feel the opposite to peace within this vile woodland that is surely awash with heaven knows what diseases, the chance of my ruining the utter perfection that is my pelt significantly greater amidst this mud ridden, tree-invested, pelt-ruining shrub infested area then the safe and open plains that so mark my home. What, might I ask, is peaceful about the chance of having one’s grooming work destroyed by a falling lead or branch or misguided and poorly aiming bird as it passes over head. I think my handsome features may well have formed a scowl at the very thought, violet eyes meeting her own in this moment. She really was a lovely thing, significantly more desirable in looks then my original imprint and yet, even for Cat Eye I had apparently been willing to die, to let my mate burn in hells fire along with my sons simply to save my own soul. Selfish, perhaps and yet there is no choice in those moments. Fate is cruel, truly and yet I suppose, for much of my life Fate and I have had rather a delightful agreement that involves my getting everything I want- simply when I desire it. Even if the price for a life so long lived has proven to be…higher then it was I had believed. I suppose, at least, if my soul must be ensnared once more by another, given the privilege of stemming the pain of the wound Cat had left at her death from age then, well, at least she’s pretty. A girl always does look best in white. As for her words, well, I saw fit to reward them with a chuckle of sorts, tail flicking momentarily as I moved to adjust myself beside her, my sides given to brush against her own with each breath, my soul soothed into contentment in this moment. To be near an imprint, truly, is the only balm for such a thing.

“Darling, I find nothing about trees even mildly peaceful. They possess a myriad of dangerous to the pelt-conscious amongst us. Fields I like, cliffs I like but forests I find….over-done. Trees annoy me.”

I offered a shrug of sorts all the same, my infamous hate of trees having stemmed right back to my own days as King and the early days of Isola’s rule in which I do remember having spent several months attempting to remove shrubs I found unsightly. What? There’s nothing wrong with having an eye for detail and a flare for landscape artistry now is there? Her comment about my size merely sees one eye lift though I remained content to seat myself beside her, much of the…energy from our last meeting seeming to have ebbed. Hmm, perhaps her…peacefulness has managed to infiltrate me a little. I hardly like where I’m sitting yet I suppose I can tolerate it- for now. My tattered left ear flicked slightly, head tilting down to look at her paw placed beside my own, smaller and yet just as white, her comment earning her a snort of sorts as I allowed my paw to press deeper into the earth- leaving a clear imprint upon it as I moved to lift my paw upward once more- examining the print a moment in what I suppose appeared a thoughtful manner before returning my attention upon her.

“I am the perfect size, I will have you know, designed for speed, strength and agility in equal measure, my bloodline designed upon those very principals. I produce perfection because I am born of it. You Chicka- are to light.”

My lip pulled back into a smirk of sorts, a teasing chuckle hissing through my teeth, tail waving slightly in what I might admit was some sort of amusement.

“Oh I assure you, I am very much amused as it is. If it is fun you desire however we simply need to locate a bird. Have you ever feasted upon dove, Natu? It is a traditional food of my bloodline, my culture and it truly is a delicacy. It is also rather delightful to attempt to catch- hence the amusement.”

I have not had a dove in…some time now, my own form somewhat reluctant to leap as it once did so very easily, features shifting slightly at this realisation before I simply brushed it away, unwilling to allow her any hint of my dissatisfaction within myself in these moments. My mind still desires so many things and yet….my body simply no longer can and that is to…pathetic for my to dwell on. It is fortunate perhaps that her words turn to that of politics, a subject upon which I excel and yet really given that I am rather considered the greatest of all leaders, the king of kings amongst Moladion I think it would be rather a shame were I not to excel in such an area.

“This…Dany as you call her, is of old blood. I knew her Mother and her grandmother before that. Boneclaw. We were….very good friends, for a very long time. Perhaps the mountains of Spirane are beautiful to your eyes Natu- but you did not see Solveion before it. That was kingdom to be envious of and for a long time, the mountain was my ally as it still is. Old blood is powerful, a true heir will always attract followers, leadership is inbuilt. It is a feeling, a desire, a knowledge above all else and it is fitting perhaps, darling, that my imprint should feel such ambition within herself. There is a reason I think- fate made such a tie.”

A smirk of sorts moved to trace my features once more, violet eyes finding hers with more interest now, that desire within herself one I had known before, one I still knew- one I bathed my own children within. I knew what it was to leader. I made leaders. Moladion itself had been mine in those years, my pack far more powerful then any that had come before or after and I suppose some part of myself may be willing to impart some knowledge to my imprint.

“When I was King, Natu, my pack was over eighty adult wolves strong, Trenus was the greatest force this land has ever seen, my bloodline the most potent to ever exist upon it and yet when I first took those lands as my own I was childless, mate-less and had three wolves within my pack. One of which still lives today.”

I allowed myself a smile of sorts at the thoughts of Moth, a creature whom for so long had walked beside me.

“Leadership is obtained by those whom are ambitious enough to desire it and yet bold enough to take it. Pack must come first, come before anything else and all others. You must live and breathe for them. A leader is nothing if no one will follow him. I must make yourself worth following. Confidence Natu, is key. If you believe it- they will believe it. Even in times in which you are unsure- never allow that to be seen. Act as if the whole damn world is yours for the taking, act as if you fear nothing. Make every step bold and you will be worth following. Do not hesitate. Not ever and yet remember respect cannot be commanded or demanded. Respect is earned, Natu. Respect your wolves for who and what they are and in time they will respect you. Do not be afraid to show your teeth, you will find you will rarely have to use them if this is done correctly and most importantly off all-.”

I paused now one paw moving to press against her own, to slide her right paw over until it rested within the print I had made earlier, her paw sitting neatly within the print of my own, not near so large and yet resting comfortably within.

“Learn from those whom came before you.”

Old blood thrives because father teaches son, mother teaches daughter and leadership is based from one to the next upon an already proven formula.

“I will help you have what you desire. No soul of mine deserves to bow to another.”




h e y e l
The Original Angel