Post by Kelly on Jan 1, 2011 12:01:57 GMT -8
Over Mt. Rainer clouds hung close overhead, weighted with snow. Thalia walked slowly through the deep powder, enjoying the cool feeling on her paws. She headed up a hillside, scrambling over the archs and lumps of rocks buried beneath the snow. The slopes of Mt. Rainer were covered the landscape smooth under the white blanket of snow, simplified.
A gray jay burst from the treetops and flew over Thalia's head, fussing loudly and angrily. She looked up at the bird and grinned, showing her teeth. A human gesture, a lupine gesture, communicating something in between. The jays were calling in the trees, alerting other wildlife to the presence of a wolf. Thalia lifted her nose and took a deep breath of the scents on the wind. While Alex and Crow's Ear were busy at the Wendigo Sept, Thalia was taking the chance to indulge in some wolf time. No hikers or tourists were around to hear the jays in this section of the park but neither could Thalia find any deer to hunt. She debated heading down closer to the Nisqually river: the taste of deer blood, fresh with adrenaline from the hunt, was delicious. There were more people likely to be in that area, though, the last thing she needed was to get yelled at by the Wendigo for a wolf sighting in Mt. Rainer National Park. Thalia wondered if it would be worth it to try to dig up fat, sleepy marmot from under the snow; but it wouldn't be the same.
Thalia speculated on the weather back in the Black Fury homelands. Along the coast the water would be crystal blue, the temperatures mild and the sunlight playful. Here on the mountain crystals of snow tickled against her throat as she breathed, the temperatures plummeted and the sun shied away behind heavy cloud cover. Her two homes, both very very different.
After cresting the top of the hill, Thalia sat down under a fir tree and stared off across the snowy ridgelines. The summit of Mt. Rainer was hidden in clouds. Thalia closed her eyes in concentration, deliberately triggering her spiritual senses, opening her minds eye. She called out to Volcano, a blessing, a thanksgiving. She thanked her pack's totem for his assistance in the recent attack on the caern, she thanked him for his continual guidance. Their totem was never far from them so calling to him here on Mt. Rainier allowed Thalia to feel Volcano as a physical presence. She felt the snow under her paws melting and the air around her shimmered from the heat radiating from her body.
Thalia threw her head back in a howl, it echoed across evergreens and bounced eerily off the rock faces of the mountainside. "Volcano!" She called out. "I call on you as my totem to witness my resolution." Thalia felt spiritual flames encircling, but not burning, her.
"I have been too quiet this year. I've been too much a follower. I have been reacting more than I have been acting and that will change. I am changing. I will speak more, tell more stories. I will let my voice be heard loudly and clearly. I will stand my ground and own my power. I am a Galliard of Pegasus and of Volcano and I will let nothing tame me or silence me!"
As Thalia let out a final howl to punctuate her words she felt Volcano's acknowledgment. Her resolution had been witnessed, and Volcano would be expecting her to uphold it. Thalia trotted back across the slopes towards where she was meeting Alex and Crow's Ear. She felt re-energized, and happy. She felt like she was glowing. As Thalia walked her paws left a melted trail of snow behind her.
A gray jay burst from the treetops and flew over Thalia's head, fussing loudly and angrily. She looked up at the bird and grinned, showing her teeth. A human gesture, a lupine gesture, communicating something in between. The jays were calling in the trees, alerting other wildlife to the presence of a wolf. Thalia lifted her nose and took a deep breath of the scents on the wind. While Alex and Crow's Ear were busy at the Wendigo Sept, Thalia was taking the chance to indulge in some wolf time. No hikers or tourists were around to hear the jays in this section of the park but neither could Thalia find any deer to hunt. She debated heading down closer to the Nisqually river: the taste of deer blood, fresh with adrenaline from the hunt, was delicious. There were more people likely to be in that area, though, the last thing she needed was to get yelled at by the Wendigo for a wolf sighting in Mt. Rainer National Park. Thalia wondered if it would be worth it to try to dig up fat, sleepy marmot from under the snow; but it wouldn't be the same.
Thalia speculated on the weather back in the Black Fury homelands. Along the coast the water would be crystal blue, the temperatures mild and the sunlight playful. Here on the mountain crystals of snow tickled against her throat as she breathed, the temperatures plummeted and the sun shied away behind heavy cloud cover. Her two homes, both very very different.
After cresting the top of the hill, Thalia sat down under a fir tree and stared off across the snowy ridgelines. The summit of Mt. Rainer was hidden in clouds. Thalia closed her eyes in concentration, deliberately triggering her spiritual senses, opening her minds eye. She called out to Volcano, a blessing, a thanksgiving. She thanked her pack's totem for his assistance in the recent attack on the caern, she thanked him for his continual guidance. Their totem was never far from them so calling to him here on Mt. Rainier allowed Thalia to feel Volcano as a physical presence. She felt the snow under her paws melting and the air around her shimmered from the heat radiating from her body.
Thalia threw her head back in a howl, it echoed across evergreens and bounced eerily off the rock faces of the mountainside. "Volcano!" She called out. "I call on you as my totem to witness my resolution." Thalia felt spiritual flames encircling, but not burning, her.
"I have been too quiet this year. I've been too much a follower. I have been reacting more than I have been acting and that will change. I am changing. I will speak more, tell more stories. I will let my voice be heard loudly and clearly. I will stand my ground and own my power. I am a Galliard of Pegasus and of Volcano and I will let nothing tame me or silence me!"
As Thalia let out a final howl to punctuate her words she felt Volcano's acknowledgment. Her resolution had been witnessed, and Volcano would be expecting her to uphold it. Thalia trotted back across the slopes towards where she was meeting Alex and Crow's Ear. She felt re-energized, and happy. She felt like she was glowing. As Thalia walked her paws left a melted trail of snow behind her.