Arirang: I try but it’s hard. How long has it been since my last update? Three months? You’re probably gone by now. Either that or cursing me to death. Well, I hope this is a little longer, even though I put in a bunch of weird stuff.

Oh, and by the way, Damandav got lame and changed to Xakinera. I’ve got W.I.T.C.H. and Harry Potter stories there for anyone who likes either.

Disclaimer: YES!!!!!! I finally own something. Any idea how annoying it is to make up fancy (I mean, random) disclaimers on fanfiction that end in me erupting in tears because I’m not rich, famous, or any of that?

Arethusa: Actually, you don’t.

Me: Don’t what? Erupt in tears?

Arethusa: Noooo. Own anything.

Me: Why?

Arethusa: Because it’s mine. It’s my idea.

Me: D’arvit!

Arethusa: Stop swearing in Gnommish, it’s really annoying.

Me (sticks tongue out): D’arvit.

Arethusa: You are so childish.

Me: I think I got THAT idea from you too.

Arethusa: What, to be stupid?

Me: Yeah.

Arethusa: Ha! You just called yourself stupid.

Me: No, you did.

Arethusa: I called you stupid? Yeah, I guess I did.

Me: No, you called yourself stupid.

Arethusa: I did not! You filthy liar, why I ought to-

Me (YAWN): God, for someone who doesn’t exist, you sure talk a lot.

Jaguar was speechless. Was Alastor with her? Did he know? Why was he so interfering? He should have never trusted him. Never. he should have gone to the assistant archiver instead.

Really, this is getting interesting, Leila commented. She headed over to Xia to exchange some small talk, pointedly ignoring Jaguar.

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” he snapped at Alastor, “standing alongside one of her kind.”

“And I suppose you shouldn’t be ashamed at all,” Alaqua replied in a steely voice. “After all, you do owe me your life.”

“And you’ve twisted the minds of these sacred Daquanor animals!” Jaguar roared, unable to contain himself.

Sacred? Leila repeated, whipping her head back to face him. You never called me sacred, she said with a pout.

“I was only telling the truth,” Alaqua replied. “You were rather rude earlier.”

Ceremony! Xadrian shrieked out loud, though only Alaqua and the other animals, who didn’t bother translating, understood. Alaqua glared at him, annoyed.

“Fine,” Alaqua retorted. “We’ll go.” She nodded to Alastor briskly. “I suppose you know where to find me,” she said dryly before walking off, her hawk flapping beside her.

“So,” Alastor said with a slight smile on his face. “You almost got snagged by a werewolf, eh? Tell me, old friend, what was it like?”

Jaguar glowered at him and didn’t answer. He took one look at the lynxes and sighed. He supposed he’d have to bribe another clan leader to train them. He walked out of the forest, wondering if he could ever hope to untangle the erratic web of his life.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thanks to Jaguar and his ungallant manner, Alaqua was no longer in the mood for celebration but determined to put on a congratulatory face for her sister.

Alanna’s face was glowing from excitement as Aylah stepped towards her and began the traditional verse. It never grew old and no one tired of hearing it. Aylah was also a gifted orator.

“Beloved, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the divine branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made your life and music led,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
There the Loves a circle go,
The flaming circle of our days,
Gyring, spiring to and fro
In those great ignorant leafy ways;
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the wingèd horses dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care:
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.”

She placed a garland of cherry blossoms in Alanna’s hair, who beamed. Alaqua did also, with all the pride she could muster. She treacherously let her thoughts wander from her sister’s ceremony. She was pondering more about the poem’s words. Were there really wizards? Were the myths of winged sandals and snake haired hags true? She had always had a sense of adventure. It would be wonderful to go on an expedition much like in the old stories.

In this, she was like a child. Though she lives practically and is a leader, she is only seventeen. She fully allowed herself to have dreams. When she was young, her mother had told her all the stories of the long forgotten times and point out constellations such as Arethusa, Daphne, and Zyrhia in the night sky. Alaqua had been fascinated in the stories, while Alanna paid more attention to the stars. She often brooded over the heroes who triumphed over mighty beasts and how she would dream of riding on a winged horse, soaring in the plush night sky.

It’s over, Xadrian said suddenly with an expression of disgust. Your mother would be ashamed.

Alaqua pushed the guilt away and summoned the energy to glare as she left the chamber.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

That night, Alaqua was restless. Something about the ceremony had awoken a fierce longing inside of her. Longing for her mother. She was the strong one. Alanna was the sister who mourned for days on end, and she, the one who vowed revenge. She was almost ashamed to admit it, but it had never crossed her mind to miss her mother.

Yes, she would feel a hollow emptiness or a small twinge every now and then, but was that missing her? Her people have been left with cold hearts for so long, they no longer knew the meaning of such things. But tonight, on the night of Alanna’s sixteenth year, Alaqua yearned for her mother.

She saw that Xadrian was roosting on the oil lamp he had taken to. She dressed herself, and went out.

The night air was soft and inviting. She let the breeze play with her hair and brush against her cheeks. She walked up to a tree, tapping on it lightly with her knuckles, pressing her ear to the trunk, listening for dangerous noises. She had to be careful at night. The enemy may have already been out. She had slipped a knife on her in case. Can’t be too careful.

After finding nothing unusual and convinced the trees were safe, she was satisfied, and set about climbing it. She gripped onto the rough bark and hoisted herself into the air, then clung to a low branch. Slowly, she made her way to the top. Sitting comfortably in a crook in the tree, she rested her head on a branch, and tried to recollect all the constellation names.

She quickly spotted Arethusa, the Huntress, her favorite, sighted easily by the bright star at the tip of her arrow. Arethusa was followed by Cieran, the Peregrine Falcon and Scyllia, the Maiden. Droplets of saltwater collected in her eyes as memories flooded her mind. She kept her head forward, willing the tears to stay put, yet they swam in her dark orbs.

After a few hours of gazing into the distance, drifting in and out of sleep, she decided she ought to head back before the enemy appear. Without Xadrian, it was perilous. She tried not to remember that that was how her mother had fallen in the face of werewolves. She shut her eyes and leapt out of the tree. A second too late.

The trees shuddered menacingly as their branches shook. A few leaves fell. Ghostly shadows appeared from the tree trunks. The primavera have arrived.

SOME THINGS YOU MAY BE WONDERING ABOUT

1.) Arethusa is one of my favorite A names and my current muse. Actually, she is a huntress in Greek mythology (which I have borrowed for this story) who got turned into a spring by Artemis because some loony River God was after her.

2.) The poem is called The Two Trees by Yeats and I changed a few words here and there so it doesn’t sound completely random. :) See? I’m so thoughtful.

3.) No, I didn’t die. And I’m not going to lie to you. I was walking home from school one day and someone with a strawberry on their forehead jumped out from behind me and shot me in the…uh…scratch that, they hit me on the head with a fishing pole they plucked from the street and I was in a coma for months. Actually, I just got really, really stuck. :D

4.) Those constellations are totally made up but the people may come up. Not sure. They are going to be people in…Xiophaeran Mythology (:D), which is a mix of Greek Mythology and some random names I like strung into tales that come into my single-celled head.

5.) Gnommish is from Artemis Fowl. Which I am totally in love with! No, not Artemis Fowl himself (bleh), just the book and any others by Eoin Colfer I can get my hands on.

6.) The primavera are…I’m not going to tell you. Not this time, anyway. Maybe next chapter.

By the way, you have Internet to thank. It broke down on me a few hours ago so I’ve been spending my time that wasn’t put to my online journal working on this because I suddenly had a stroke of inspiration. Unfortunately, I can’t post it yet. Which may sound weird because by the time anyone reads this, it will be posted but whatever.

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