A Gift For Shantsa

(Kinda OOC and IC, just felt like doing this since I couldn't sleep)

Kemo padded toward the castle, having left the pups back at the dens where they were sleeping peacefully. He had been thinking and worrying about Shantsa ever since the pups had been rescued by the human, resulting in many sleepless nights. He didn't know where she could have gone, how far away she was right now, or even if she was still alive or not, though he still had a hope in his heart that she was. That was the thing about love. Even though life is telling you there's no chance it will ever happen, love always finds a way.

It was with that thought that he had decided to come up here this full moon. Upon reaching the castle, he stopped for a moment, looking out at memories abound. It was only right that it would be placed here, as the beginning of his life, the loss of his mother and father, and the return home from a life filled with many adventures to settle down with a mess of pups all occurred within the sight of this ancient and crumbling building. The forest had begun to take the castle back and in the end he wasn't sure if he should return this building to the grandeur it once was.

Perhaps in the future when he didn't feel so depressed, when he didn't have the pups to worry about, or he didn't have anything else to do, but for now he would let the building age in peace, with a brand new addition to it. Selecting a large piece of stone that had been chipped off of the castle in a battle that seemed an eternity ago, he set to work on his gift for Shantsa. As he worked with a chisel and hammer, knowing that was the way it should be done, he remembered the life he had shared with Shantsa.

He remembered saving her countless times from trouble which always seemed to find her no matter what she did. He laughed as he remembered the aliens, tearing them apart without so much as a second glance in order to return home. He remembered saving her from the evil god, Kerion, whose name sounded suspiciously like a dead carcass. Flashes of the horrors committed there went through his mind, but he pushed the thoughts away, not wanting to spoil his slowly rising mood. He remembered the first day he had met her, a scared little wolfess off on her own in the forest. He had had a thirst for blood when he came upon her, but instead realized she was related to him, telling her she was his sister because she had all ready been mated to another. The months passed and they had stood beside each other as family, her having no idea how much he really cared about her. Could it have been love at that point? One can only look upon the memory and wonder.

They had shared many adventures back then, meeting new friends, matching up mates, though they remained only related as far as brother and sister. Over time he had become so attached to her that he couldn't bear to keep his secret feelings about her any longer, but held on to them for dear life for fear of interfering with her and her significant other. One day however, fate would step in and bring them closer together. His own mate at the time disappeared without a trace, hers shortly afterword. Was it destiny calling to them? Was it fate demanding that they both see the light? Regardless of whatever it was, he had told her his true feelings about her, and they had become life-mates that very day. He remembered presenting her with the necklace, the excited look on her face as she remembered her true identity, the confused looks on Temo's and Jace's faces when they had seen them for the first time since they had become mates.

A brother and sister, becoming mates? Was that morally correct? But it was explained and all was well, with the two lovers happy to be together at last. From that point on, life had been happy for them. They shared even more adventures, mostly involving him saving Shantsa from trouble and performing his duties as beta, making more friends and matching more pairs up. Life had been a dream for both of them, with each other to share and friends to share laughs with. Even when his old mate had returned, he had never lost his love for her. Sadly his old mate left, heartbroken, but it wasn't his fault. How was he to know?

Kemo chipped away relentlessly at the stone block, still looking back on the fond memories. Still, life continued and yet more adventures were had, more members joined in, each with different likes and dislikes, though all were still very much their friends...until one day an empty soul showed up to throw a wrench into the gears. Trouble was caused, wars were fought, and one day the old pack split, his own supporters vs the other's supporters. Their numbers were greater, though it had been an unfair match, and so he had decided to leave, knowing they no longer wished him to lead them. Ties were cut, the pack was split, and nobody ever recovered, even a litter of pups conceived by the two lovers couldn't put a stop to the madness. It was then that he had returned here for a fresh start, with a decent number of followers, though all were very good friends, family even.

The two lovers never faltered in their love for each other and shortly after they returned to the home they rightfully belonged in, a litter was born, and the two lovers were as happy as can be. Time passed and the pups grew little by little, the lovers devoting all of their time to their pups and little time anywhere else, though that was to be expected. He was sorry for his absence from his other packmembers, but he didn't know the right way to tell them. Tragedy struck as an evil being stole 2 of his pups, forcing him to leave his home, his life, and his family behind to chase after them. Several months passed in his absence and he had tried to keep as much communication as possible with his family waiting for him at home, but little did he know this would mark the slow dwindling of members, though a litter of pups from his brother and sister had raised them.

Upon his return, he could not remember who he was, his fur bleached white, his memories erased, though the two pups were still happily returned. A flip of a stone and was back, and all had been well again. Slowly however, he had begun to see less and less of his beloved Shantsa, fate stepping in and taking her away from him more and more. As the months passed, he began to see less of her, the pups still growing and his brother and sister still going from day to day, steadily falling more and more in love with each other, leaving him to feel lonely and sad. Word came one day that he would be leaving again, though he did not know when he would return. Finally, one day, his lifemate disappeared, and now he doesn't know if she will return. With a broken heart and a couple of tears, he stepped back from his finished work of art.

Made from the stone of the castle his entire clan had ruled from was a statue, taller than himself, roughly hewn with a chisel and hammer, though the detail was still quite visible. This statue depicted 2 Lycans in each other's arms, a male and a female, him and Shantsa. The Lycans' faces were lit up with smiles, laughing at a silent joke that was heard back in the golden days, back when she had been with him every day. Around the Lycans were 11 small fluffs of fur, caught in permanent stillness as they chased and laughed and rolled and played. He was never a sculptor in his life, but he felt he had done a pretty good job with the details of each wolf and pup. Those that looked upon this statue would see that true care had been taken to capture this moment, and then they would notice the small inscription he had carved on the front of the base. Small letters reading thusly, a poem he had once made for his beloved so long ago:

"Every second I'm with you I count as a blessing, and every second I'm away from you I count as a curse. The moment I leave your side I think about the times we spent together, the fun we had, the laughs we shared, the hard times we've been through, but I wait patiently for the time that we can be together again, and it makes me happy to know that you will return to me. I know that you dread the time we spend away from each other, but just know that I will always be here when you return, never leaving without you, as I can't stand the time apart without the other half of my heart, my life mate, the one who completes me."

"Kemo and Shantsa, Life Mates for Eternity."

"Dedicated to Shantsa Bloodmoon, Life Mate to Kemo Bloodmoon and sister to Jace and Temo Wolfe. A loving and dedicated mother, a wonderful and beautiful mate, and loved by all of her family, who miss her terribly. May you return to us safely and with peace, and if you are not able to return to us, then may you live the life you deserve, with peace and happiness abound."

Kemo, Jace, Temo, and your loving pups, nieces, and nephews.

With his task done, he sat back and stared at the statue, waiting until dawn would arrive for his family to see it.

Jace padded silently up behind Kemo, a small candle cradled between her forepaws. The pure white candle had been lovingly carved and molded into the shape of a Swan with outstretched wings, a symbol of hope and peace within her birth pack. She moved past Kemo to the foot of the statue and set it down upon a small outcrop. She created a spark to light the everlasting candle, which burned with a white flame. The scent of freshly fallen snow, and of the north permeated the air coming from the candle. As quickly as it melted and the wick burned it regenerated itself meaning even if the world was plunged into darkness and was cast to the far corners of the universe, the candle would stay lit.

Jace moved back a step from the statue and dropped down to one knee, her right fist clasped in her left hand, her head bowed down in solemn silence before she began to speak in the language of her people,

"De Llainywa, Anicha du volnwen succufa natala. Te Drokinnen trukna eiiliqua sio ghaitcha ellits broganna tokala. Hyen tu calla; tookacha, anayni ey illayetr."
-Dearest sister, although you cannot be with us now. I hold hope this spirit candle will light your way back to us. For the people; strength, grace and beauty.-

As per custom at a remembering, Jace pulled out a short length of her mane fur and twisted it into a circle, the symbol for ever lasting life, and laid it next to the candle. She moved up off of her knee and touched her index finger claws to her temples and whispered, "Toochana" before stepping back to join Kemo. The light of the candle flickering and throwing shadows and light over the statue.

Feeling the sadness and loneliness in the air, Temo makes his way to the dilapidated castle that Kemo showed them when they first arrived. Stopping just inside the forest and watches Jace perform her ritual at the base of the statue that Kemo had carved. A tear comes to his eye as his sadness deepens, not knowing what to do. He didn't have any rituals like Jace for remembering the lost.

As he stayed hidden in the trees, His eyes wandered the landscape, settling on the apple trees that marked the secret graveyard. After a few moments of staring at the graveyard, deep in thought. Then turning and quietly slipping back into the forest, another tear rolling off his muzzle unnoticed.

Aimlessly walking, Temo's hand started to finger the crystals on his necklaces. Remembering, one connected him to Jace and the other to Kemo. Thinking about the necklaces and the adventures they all been on, an idea begins to form. Finding a quiet place to settle down with his back against a large tree, he closes his eyes and slips into a trance, focusing his mind on the crystals.

Deeper into the trance he gets. He can see Jace and Kemo's minds, but not Shantsa's. No matter how hard he pushed his mind, no matter how far his mind reached, he could not find Shantsa. Refocusing onto the crystals themselves, seeing their makeup, their inner workings and embedded powers. Parts he didn't recognize, some he did.

Temo found what he was looking for. Similar to teleportation, the communication waveforms also had a time component. Pulling his mind in and injecting energy, he changes the time wave function. Tweaking it so that his crystal communicated with Kemo's crystal of a few months ago. Going through to Shantsa's crystal, he uses his mind to prod her subconscious, getting it to show snippets of her memories until Temo had the information he needed.

Coming out of his trance, drained of energy, Temo absorbs some from the surrounding flora. Teleporting to his den, he gets a small leather bag and teleports to a distant mountain that he remembered finding quartz crystals. Filling his bag with crystals, he returns.

Quietly walking up and standing beside Kemo, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I grieve with you, for your loss, for our loss." Then proceeding around the statue, Temo places the crystals on the ground, encircling the statue with them. With the last crystal in hand, he kneels at Jace's everlasting flame.

Closing his eyes and holding the crystal to his forehead and using what he gleaned from the necklaces, entwined the memories he got from Shantsa along with some Ancient magic. As he stands up and joins Jace and Kemo, Temo tosses the crystal into the flame. As it touches the flame, the base of the statue is encircled in a flash of bright light.

When the light faded, encircling the statue are a number of small crystal figurines. Made of clear quartz, slightly glowing with the light of the candle that is still burning, each figurine a different wolf. Some recognized by the three, and some not, but all would be known to Shantsa as those that were most dear to her.

Behind them, at the edge of the forest, the bowing foxes and other citizens of the forest gathered in silence to pay their respects. In a quiet, barely audible voice, Temo says "You are no longer here, but you will forever be with us in our memories." His voice seeming to echo in the quiet stillness as the world seemed to be mourning Shantsa's absence with them.