it was midnight, as custom dictated. the full moon shone overhead - a good omen, for any occasion. malena had never been more proud than she was as she stood by the moon stone, the tiny trinkets hanging from her helmet jingling gently. the pack leader's storm grey pelt shone as he carried the tiny pup - her daughter - forward, and placed her on the pale, faintly glowing stone. lifting his wise head to the sky, the leader howled to the moon, first a low, unvarying note, ascending to a soaring melody as the other members of the pack joined in. malena took a deep breath and howled with them, their voices rising to the stars. just as the song reached its peak, the pack stopped as one, letting the air fill with silence once more, save for a few fading echoes. the leader raised his voice, letting it ring through the night. "i offer this pup as a new member of the pack of howling wind. do you, our ancestors, accept her?"
there was silence again as the whole pack waited for something - a sign, a symbol, to show that the new pup was accepted. the night was empty. perfectly still. then, slowly, quietly, a drift of sparkling smoke floated down, seemingly coming from the stars themselves. it rested on the moonstone, wrapping around the sleeping pup like a blanket. like a whisper, a snippet of a song, a single word could be heard...
"velvet."
YOU ARE READING
a story of flight
Fantasya story following a story. this is the story of the north, the windblown mountains where there are more beasts than men. this is the story of the storm-king's palace, of the airships and wind-vipers, and a young wolf named velvet.
