The Lakeside

Yuki sat on the water, looking at her on reflection.
"I hope I can." she murmered.

"They went to Moonriver" Silvermask landed hasitly.

Aria turned, confused, to the she-wolf called 'Silvermask'. She ignored the small voice at the back of her head saying she hadn't identified herself; they hadn't asked!
"'Moonriver'? What is a 'Moonriver'?" The white she-wolf asked.

"A Clan" Silvermask replied

Aria continued to look baffled. Was this she-wolf crazy? She seemed to be saying all kinds of nonsence!
"And what exactly is a 'Clan'?"

"A group of wolves" Silvermask looked confused.

"Just a group?" Aria took this to it's simplist meaning. "So we would be a 'Clan'? Or is it more specific than that?"

"A group of wolves that live together" Silvermask added

"They all live together? Even with those outside of their kin-line?" Aria shook her head, trying to make sence of these strange ways. How absurd!

"Uh yes. They hunt for each other, have mates and...I better get back to my clan" Silvermask rushed off.

"Ok. May the Lunic spirits light your night and the Solic spirits warm your paws!" Aria called after her. She smiled as the she-wolf left.

((Yeah, the Lunic and Solic spirits are just legends from the Kingdom.))

Yuki turned back.
"Your myths are different than ours," she remarked. "We believe that Kiyoku-no-utsukushii made all thingsthat provide light, sun, moon, stars and things." she grinned. "Thank you for your blessing. I'd love to hear more about your legends."
She sat down next to Aria.
A leaf fell from a tree and hit the water. Soft music poured from the strange leaf. Someone, or something, was listening.

((The laptops not being crappy again! YAY!!))

Aria smiled at the spirit, thinking. She’d heard countless myths in the time since Meraia had given up her freedom. Where would she start? Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the black fur-ball rolling her eyes.

Start at the beginning, moron!

Gathering her words, she watched the falling leaf as it floated down, towards the lake. As Aria watched, the first light of dawn shone through the sky, and her breath was stolen. Music filled her ears, and after a few moments, she realised it came from the leaf.

“Singing leaves? What an unusual place this is!” The patched canine barked to the spirit. Of course, it had not crossed her mind that it was anything but an ordinary leaf. To her, such a thing was more than impossible. As such, she ignored it and began with the first myth.

“According to our myths, it all started with the Light. There was nothing but the Light, and we guess that made the Light lonely, for as the first being, he had the power to do as he wished. And so he made a friend, who we call Nerezzoratta. It is said Nerezzoratta was a she-wolf who eventually fell in love with the Light, and together they made all that we see, and all we don’t.

“But the Light only ever saw her as a friend, and so was surprised when she told him that she loved him. He could not return her love, though she tried so hard to make him. Eventually, when she had given up, she walked into one of the caves they’d created, and the darkness, an invention of her own, brushed through her fur.” Aria sighed, and looked to the ground. This was the part of the myth she hated most.

“Nerezzoratta howled in that cave, unleashing all her anger and pain and love, and the rocks fell, crushing her, as she knew they would. A wave of her darkness washed through her, and she didn’t resist. She let the current sweep her out of her body, until it was empty.

“But she’d waited long enough for the Light to notice her disappearance, and he started to worry for his friend. When he heard her screams, he flew faster than you could imagine. But he was too late. Nerezzoratta was already dead.” Aria shook her head slowly at the memory of the myth. She believed very little of it, if she was honest, but that didn’t mean she found it any less of a sad tale. Every time she recounted it, her heart bled out to Nerezzoratta.

“But the Light wouldn’t accept this. They had not yet made all the creatures we see today; he was utterly alone again. One friend, just one, was all he wanted. So he took Nerezzoratta’s body, and he brought her life back into it. Unfortunately, this would be a mistake that would plunge his life into misery.

“For letting the darkness sweep over her had changed Nerezzoratta, so much so that we can say she was no longer the she-wolf the Light had made; no, she was Sionezawer, an evil wolf with hate in her heart. She no longer loved the Light, because of the pain she’d caused him. But she knew now, that though he had not realised it himself, he had fallen for her. And she told him that she no longer cared, wouldn’t try to reach out to him, because all that would satisfy her now was the pain on his face.

“So now, Sionezawer causes all evil and pain in the world, to hurt the Light. We see her in the shadows, in yowls of a mourning mother, and in the black of our deaths. And that is the first legend.”

((One can’t help but wonder if it’s obvious the change in Nerezzoratta was based on a song.))

(Nice tale. What song be it?)

((Crime and Punishment, by Hatsune Miku.

"If only you had the ears that I have, then I would
Sing you a song from the bottom of my heart, but would you hear me?
If only you had the heart that I have, then I would
Flood you with all of the love that I have, but would you feel me?

Hey
If you are predisposed to hate me, might as well just
Kill me now and save me from this misery
If I can't earn all of your love
You don't need me at all
At all
At all
Baah.

"If only you had", it won't get me anywhere now
I wouldn't go anywhere even if it could be

"Let's do it" + "How do we?" + "Ready go" = Suicide
It's just not my kind of game, but I do not have a choice
'cause if I were to decline, I'd be cast aside and worth
not a thing to you, in your eyes

Hey
If I agree to try and hate you, won't you try and love the
Me that's beyond caring about your feelings
She that needs you now is gone
She's not here anymore
At all
Hey
It hurts
You know.

If only you had the ears that I have, then I would
Sing you a song from the bottom of my heart, but would you...
If only you had the heart that I have, then I would
Flood you with all of the love that I have, but would you...

Today I don't need to reach your deafened ears and
I don't need to try and fill your empty heart, 'cause
All I need now is the agony I see upon your face,
That's good enough for me
In the end..."
(English lyrics)

And that's one of the many AMVs for it.))

((I watched Flightfootwarrior's AMW with that song. Why do all the good animators love Ashfur? No Mor spam here plz))

((Mura prefers Hatsune Miku's Ievan polka... xD))

Yuki smiled. "That is an interesting tale indeed." she looked into the darkness. "How different it is to the one of our world. I could understand how sad the light would be. If it were me, I do ot even think I would've been able to stay alive." she gave a light laugh.

"In the beginning, there was nothing at all. Not even the light you hold sacred." she looked at the leaf that had fallen, oblivious of the soft music drifting around it.
"From the nothingness emerged six presences. They were nothing, mere thoughts. But they all came together in one place by sheer chance. They decided to create a world amidst the nothingness." she paused and looked at the trees.
"The first created the land, the plants, the waters - the solid foundation of the Earth. The second decided to create time, so things on the Earth grew old. The third, inspired by the second, created alternate dimensions and powers. The fourth created blood and death. The fifth, disgusted by the fourth, created love and peace to go alongside the fourth's prospect of blood and war." she looked up at the sky and pointed her pale spirit paw. "The last created the light, the sun, moon and stars. That is how our legend goes."

((They all love Ashfur because Ashfur is awesome. *Has started to pity him*

It's not a bad song, but I still prefer Crime and Punishment.))

Aria listened to the words Yuki had said with great interest. The myths she had heard back in the Kingdom differed strongly to this, and had been said as if there was no other explanation. The white canine had disliked this, because she had thought that if the Light was truly a caring creator, he would not allow the birth of the daemon-less, or the cruelty they caused and suffered.

“You’re right; your beliefs are very different to mine. I would much rather believe that your six created the world than the Light and Nerezzoratta. I guess...” She paused, and turned to look at the lake.

“If you have heard of the wolves of the Kingdom, the ones with the deamons outside of their hearts, have you heard of the daemon-less?”

The legend of the first daemon and the first daemon-less rang clearly in her patched ears. One of few that Aria was willing to believe, it was a dark tale, one she hated most.


((... I hate this post.))

(Ah laiks it!)

Yuki smiled. "I can sense another wolf listening to us." she said, softly.
A white wolf covered in mint and pink pastel markings with irridecent dragonfly wings appeared on the surface of the water.
"Bravo, Yuki. You told the story well." Kaiti said, with a small smile. "I have come to end your suffering. Your brothers have finally managed to become spirits. They are no longer trapped in living death. Do you wish to find them?"
Yuki's eyes widened. "My brothers have finally died?" she said, her face lighting up. "Their suffering is over..."
She vanished in a flash of white light.
Kaiti padded over to where Aria stood.
"I like your stories, you know," she began. "You're really good at telling 'em. I'm Kaiti, by the way. Uh, better not say any more for now..." she chuckled. "Can I hear some more of your legends now Yuki's gone?"

Aria smiled sadly.

“The best storyteller has enough creativity to come up with their own tales, and put them into words. I can tell stories, and I can imagine, but placing my own ideas into words? Impossible.”

White canine shook her head, and glanced at the sun. The sky burned golden as the blaze graced it’s way through the dark night, chasing away the icy stars.

With a shake of her snowy fur, Aria turned her attention back to the pale wolf next to her, Kaiti.

“Well, after the one of the Light and Nerezzoratta, there’s the one of the Lunic and Solic spirits. You know what the funny thing about our legends is?” The canine laughed bitterly. “Somehow, they all end in tragedy. Well, nearly all.”

Glancing back at the sky once more, Aria began to recite the tale.

”After Sionzawer swore to oppose the Light, he left, grief stricken but determined. His first, failed attempt to take away from his loneliness would not stop him from trying again. Just because one tree made bad fruit didn’t mean all would.

With the shape of his beloved Nerezzoratta in mind, he created two Kingdoms that to live in the sky. Until he was sure any of his creations could live without his assistance, he would not make any others. These were to be his favourites, he was sure.

For each Kingdom, he created a species. One had golden and red fur, with strength and joy and fiery, glorious passion. These declared themselves the Solics.

The others had white and silver fur. The Light gave these intelligence, a calm mind and a gentle way of thinking. They agreed upon the name Lunics.

Each had many gifts and weaknesses. Their greatest weakness had yet to reveal itself.

The two Kingdoms were to live in peace among eachother, but each species to their own. They would choose a leader, who would organise the Kingdoms how they wished.

The Solic leader decided his kind needed to be close together, and so they formed at camp in the sky, and only ever left it to get prey or to converse with their neighbourhood Kingdom. The Kingdoms were, of course, at peace at this point, so he didn’t worry about the Lunics.

The Lunic leader saw him keep his kind close together. She understood his reasons, but knew her’s wouldn’t need it, would thrive in the opposite way. So she scattered them, not too far away from eachother, but at a fair distance.

And the Light saw that his creations would be ok, and left for a while, to create the creatures of this world.

He had already forgotten about Sionzawer.

She hated the way the two kinds looked like her, hated that she was no longer unique.

She loved, on the other hand, the chance she had to cause chaos.

The Light wouldn’t know until it was too late. They were not like him; they could easily fall into his trap. And she could have them all dead.

So, she spoke to the two leaders from the shadows. They didn’t realise it was her; she was very good at disappearing. And she spoke to them.

She told them about how their Kingdom was superior to the other. They could enslave the other kind.

They believed her.

And so, each declared war on the other.

Many years the war had raged on for. The Light had no returned; if he had, it would’ve been stopped. Lives could have been saved. But he was busy, and blissfully unaware.

Now there was one Lunic who was amongst the closest to our world. Her name was Flor Apacible Que Enciende La Noche. She feared the war between the Kingdoms, and escaped to our world often.

During the war, she met a stranger on our world. His name has been sadly forgotten, but we do know that his father was a Solic and his mother a Lunic. To avoid having to choose, he fled to this world.

Now, the pair fell in love. Too quickly, it seems, because just two moons after they met they were mates. A moon later, Flor was expecting his pups. And of course, the Lunics wouldn’t let her out of their sight, for they couldn’t risk one of their expecting being harmed by a Solic. She never saw him again.

Now, when she was giving birth, the final battle of the war came. It stretched all the way across the sky, and every member of each Kingdom fought if they could. And each one, even if they didn’t fight, died. Every pup, every elder, everyone. Except for Flor’s pups, though their mother did. She tried so hard to bring back the peace after loving that cross-Kingdom wolf. All in vain.

The pups cried. Their mother couldn’t make milk for them, but they didn’t know she was dead. They were too scared to notice. But their wails did not go unheard.

The Light noticed that no one was responding to their cries, and went to see what had happened. Surely his wolves hadn’t grown merciless?

As soon as he saw the dead bodies, he too wailed. Using one of his strange abilities, he looked into the past to see all that had gone on since he left. He was shocked, and furious that Sionzawer had gone so far. But he did not punish her. It wasn’t like she hadn’t warned him she’d always seek vengeance, in every possible manner.

Besides, punishing her would not bring back the Solics and Lunics. No, what mattered now was making sure the pups survived. But not in the sky. The sky was the two Kingdom’s realm, and he would do what he must later.

So the Light placed the pups on our world, and helped them grow up. Once they were able, he created others like them, but with a spectrum of different pelts and wings and powers.

One of the pups had power she couldn’t handle herself, and so he took part of her heart out, and made a being that was separate enough to have the rest of the power, but still of her. Some of the others he made like this, too. The others, he told that they had no need for those beings to be outside of them. They were creatures of the heart, and in the heart they must lay.

These wolves spread all around the world, and some were suited to each territory better than others. The Light saw that he could not leave these creatures for long. He’d already made that mistake with their ancestors, and he would not do so again. But he did have enough time to return to the sky.

He did not bring the dead bodies back to life. He knew now that once the shadows had claimed your life, if your soul returned to your body, it too would be overwhelmed by shadows. This he learnt from Sionzawer.

Instead, he took the souls of the Solics, and placed them all in their camp, and creation he’d once made known as the Sun. From there, they shine on our lives during the day and warm our fur.

Then he turned to the Lunics. There were as many of their bodies as there were stars, and he placed one soul on each. This way they could protect their descendants during the night, and light it so we can see.

But when he looked at Flor, he realised that her fight against the war was valiant, and also saw that she had often stayed on the Moon. The Light knew she would be most comfortable there, and would want to watch over her mate and pups closely. So he placed her soul on the Moon, and there she stays.”

(By the way, parts of the legend are based off of an rp done with Gabriel. For example, the Solic and Lunic hybrid was one of her characters, Chance. There was more, but I can’t remember what. You’d have to ask her.)

He had an opportunity to land. Kasi took it. His wings ached from a long flight. He stumbled awkwardly into a tree and let himself slump by it, breathing heavily. After about a minute, he straightened himself up and began to walk towards the borders, unknowing.

The new smell of Kasi intriguied Meraia, who bounced along toward it.

A few, strange sounds left her, but she appeared to be greeting him.

Kasi stopped in his tracks.
What is that? he thought, spinning round.

Meraia made a sound that may have been a giggle, and hugged the mysterious stranger.

'And Aria wanted me to stay where I was, like a good girl.'