Erasthais Across Time

4 - Meet and Greet

The Blue Moon Pack had just over 400 pack members, with about 300 comprising of wolves and the other remaining 100 consisting of "non-wolves" such as magic folk (voodoo-hoodoo practitioners, druids, witches, fae, elves), dwarves, centaurs, sirens and a family of ogres who sought refuge. Those who were considered "beasts" were able to use "glamor" or a spell to change their form or appearance to seem like a normal human to outsiders but appear like their true selves to those of us in the realm. I watched as maybe 100/150 pack members settled into seats while others lined the sides. Those who opted to stay home, or couldn't attend the actual meeting, were able to listen on the mind-link that Alpha Konrad - and I - would be providing. I made my way down the rows of people and onto the stage. There were nine seats on the stage: on one side were the five elders and on the other sat former Alpha Klaus and Luna Ada Meyers, Alpha Konrad and myself. I sat in between Ada and Konrad as the room began to settle down. "Everything alright D?" Konrad turned to ask me. "Yes. I was saying hello to Gregor," I said. Konrad nodded his head in understanding, and stood up to begin the meeting. The room quieted down immediately and the doors at the back officially closed. "Good evening everyone. We want to thank you all for attending or listening to this meeting however you can. I know some of you are working or are otherwise busy but we appreciate your ability to listen as much as possible. For any questions or concerns, you can reach out to myself, my parents, the Elders...or our Guardian," Konrad said, while addressing the pack in front of him and everyone via the midlink. "Now, before we begin there is something to address. As your Alpha, at no point during or after is anyone allowed to discuss, disclose or communicate anything that is shown or said during this meeting unless it is with another pack member - or - cleared by me," Konrad stated with his Alpha command. The intensity of the room got even more heavy as everyone was recognizing the severity of the meeting as well as accepting what was said by the Alpha. When it comes to non-wolf pack members, in order for them to be accepted as a pack member and able to mindlink with the rest of the pack - they have to have a blood-pack ceremony with the Alpha/Luna and respectfully the Elders as well. This ensures that situations like this also include them. "That being said, I will pass the floor to your Guardian, Danielle, and she will continue the meeting from here," Konrad said, walking towards me and helping me stand up and leading me towards the front of the stage. Are we sure about this? Xena asked. No, but we might as well suck it up and get it over with, I said. Konrad asked for my other hand and pressed his forehead into mine, connecting me to the entire pack for this meeting. Woah! Head rush! Xena said. It felt like a wave of voices crashed into my head all at once. "You okay?" Konrad whispered. "Yea. Just took a second to get used to," I said. Konrad turned around and sat down. "Good evening everyone. For those who are not as familiar with me, my name is Danielle and I have been this pack's Guardian for a very long time," I said. With that I heard a few scoffs in the crowd - I guess it was hard to believe due to how old I looked. "I hear some disbelievers amongst you and that's alright - I don't look my age in comparison to some of you. But why don't we start there? I was born on May 12th...1724," I said, looking into as many eyes as possible. For those who took it seriously, I heard a few gasps. For those who did not, I heard some chuckles. "Right, okay. For those who aren't quite there yet - anyone know how old that makes me?" I said, hoping this Q&A would offer a light-hearted attempt at a soft-blow. "300?" one of the centaurs shouted from the back. "Yes, thank you. This year was my 300th birth year, and I've been protecting this pack for roughly 5 generations. Going all the way to Alpha Konrad's great-great grandparents. I was here to help build this condominium and make sure it was ahead of its time as I watched trends come and go," I paused for a moment to let that new information sink in. I started to see more and more faces look at me with genuine curiosity, and I decided I could drop more heavier truths. "I have asked Alpha Konrad and his family to keep my identity a secret as long as they could in order to protect themselves, and this pack, but also to protect myself as I come to grips with a hard truth from a long long time ago," I paused again and was met with more silence. "My real name is Danielle Luminara, and we are a Lycan," I said as Xena's voice overlapped mine, making my voice huskier and deeper. As she pushed through, I knew the silver from her eyes was forming a ring around the hazel in my eyes. I watched as those in the audience gasped as they felt Xena's aura push through. An alpha werewolf's aura is powerful - say its numerical value is '8' and a typical lycan's aura is '12'. But an Alpha lycan like I am, has a value of '16'. So when Xena pushed her aura through, I could feel she was only at a '12' which was more than enough for a majority of the pack to feel. After 30 seconds or so, she pulled back and retreated. It had been a while since I used that much energy so even myself felt a little faint, and stumbled backwards a bit. "Danielle!" Konrad said as he rushed to my side. "I'm okay, I'm okay. I haven't done something like that in a while. I just need to sit," I said. As I said that, Klaus rushed my chair up and Ada grabbed me a water bottle and they all stood by me as I regained composure. "Is she okay?" "Did she say lycan?" "What's going on?" I heard a few of the voices say in my head. "Ms. Luminara needed to sit down for a moment. She is alright," said Konrad. "I can continue Alpha Konrad. I'll be okay," I said with a soft smile. Konrad squinted at me with disbelief but nodded to his parents that they could sit down, as he stood behind me in the chair. "I know some of you have thought Alpha Konrad and I would have made a lovely pair but the truth is, I have known Alpha Konrad since he was a pup in Luna Ada's womb, as was she in her mother's womb and so on. I've even known Alpha Klaus' family as well. As well....I am already mated, I have already found my erasthai," I said with mild pride. This earned me a louder gasp in response. I can understand if accepting one lycan was a lot to take in, but to know there are two, possibly more in the world is a lot for anyone to take in. Especially since when Damien and I left our family, we lost all connection with our kind when we were running away so we have no idea if we are the last of our race or if there are more of us out there. "I understand if this is a lot for everyone to take in, and I apologize for keeping you all in the dark. I did not want to expose you all to a truth that may endanger your lives, however I have been made aware that knowledge can be useful nowadays rather than a hindrance and so with that it was decided to have this meeting and make you all aware," I said with a nod to show I was basically done with explanation. "Now, I can take a few questions for the moment until Alpha Konrad, or the Elders tell me my time is up," I said with my hands folded in my lap. For a moment, no one said or did anything. Shit! They hate us! This was a bad idea! Xena said, pacing in my head. Then slowly I saw a hand raise up in the middle of the room. It was a young girl, maybe 10 years old. "Yes, sweetie. What's your question?" I said. "Umm, what's your wolf - I mean lycan's name?" she asked. Oh! Let me answer! Xena said, running in a circle. "That's a good question. What's your name?" I asked. "Lara," she said. "Well Lara, my name is Xena! And it's very nice to meet you," Xena said, pushing forward. "It's nice to meet you too, Xena. I don't have a wolf yet," she said, a little disappointed. "Oh, that's alright. It'll happen when the time is right for you. Not everyone gets their wolves at the same time. Study hard in other areas to strengthen yourself in different ways, while you wait and this way all you'll have to focus on is training when you have your wolf," Xena said with a smile, avoiding the fact that she came to me when I was 10 years old. "Thank you!" said Lara. Another hand quickly shot up, this time a young boy maybe 14 years old. "What's your name?" I asked him. "Uri," he said proudly. I smiled a bit, as some soft chuckles were heard across the room. "Okay Uri, what's your question?" I asked. "Can we...can you...Can Xena come out?" he asked, more timidly. The room got quiet once more. "Oh, um. She would love to but I'm not certain if now is a good time. You see, not many people were still aware that our kind still existed and are still trying to understand what that means, and I don't want to scare anyone off while they're figuring that out. So...I'm sorry but maybe next time?" Awwh, Xena said sullenly. "Oh, okay..." Uri said with a frown while sitting down. I heard some murmurs throughout the room and was uncertain about my response now. "It's alright if you want to, I'm here," Konrad said. "Are you certain? We just told them who I was. I don't want you to lose pack members because of me or if I did something too soon," I said. "I am here and I give you permission. Besides, I think the world needs a reminder of what a lycan looks like," he said with a wink. Alright! shouted Xena. Listen! You MUST keep it together! No matter what! There are pups in this room and innocents. We are here as a peace offering, not to start a war. Understood?? I explained to her. Yes, I understand completely, she said confidently. As I stood up, I called out for Uri. "Hey Uri?" I asked. "Yea?" he said with some hope. "I just got the 'ok' from the big Alpha so I'm going to shift okay?" I said, as Alpha Konrad moved my chair away. "Yea!!!" Uri shouted. "But can you promise me something Uri?" I asked him. "Anything!" he exclaimed. "Can you promise to give me, to give Xena, a chance while she shifts? Her shifting looks different from your packmates'. Can you do that for Xena?" I asked, more so asking the rest of the room. "Absolutely!" he said with such enthusiasm I thought he would bust. "Okay, then Xena can come out," I said.