In a forest not too far from civilization yet not too close to see constant travel, a small family of wolves had just grown as the newest litter had been born. The forest was loved by every species and called home by many, whether they be the smallest insect to the most humble dragon, this was the beginning to life as they had known. Within it life was what one would expect in a forest. Some species worked together whether they had a mutual understanding, no reason to fight, or cared too much on their surroundings to begin a fight with each other, which would undoubtedly lead to massive damage. There were also the species who hunted for survival whether it be for themselves out of hunger or for their cubs / young. However unlike an average forest, every species, whether they be insect, avian, feline, lycan or draconoid followed two laws.
1) If a cub is left without kin, the most capable family / pack / herd / troop must take care of said cub and treat them as blood until they are capable of surviving for themselves.
The only law made by the progenitors themselves before their passing as they had wanted the forest to still be place for the fittest but also fair for all to have an opprotunity to flourish. However after time a new species had evolved and over time proved to be a danger, not only to themselves but also to nature, and so it was deemed necessary for the oldest and strongest of the current leaders of the most intelligent species to confer and make a second law which was unanimously accepted.
2) If any biped is spotted they must be watched and if proven to be a threat they are to be eliminated and left outside and as far as possible from the forest.
because of this in times of peril or a disaster is predicted to befall them all the forest had been declared a safety zone for all and a location a council would have to be prepared unless those criteria were met it would remain a neutral zone.
These laws had kept the forest safe and the species within numerous, and because of this species who may have had high mortality rates outside of the forest could flourish alongside others. And it was in this forest where a couple of wolves could be heard howling to celebrate the birth of a new litter.
This species of wolves**** on the planet they were on "Astrium" were called "Eclipse Wolves" at a shoulder height of just over a meter and a half for the male while the female was two meters tall they both had pitch black fur, Black eyes with red iris' and midnight claws. On Astrium a majority of female species were the larger of their male counterparts this had been one of the first evolutionary traits mammalian animals would share which would allow the female to gain an extra organ near the uterus that would help stimulate their muscles to push out their young, make childbirth faster to allow them to recover sooner and to be able to protect and hunt for their young.
The Eclipse Wolf was aptly named as their first ancestor was born on a eclipse and gained the cosmetical and magical properties of the event*** they were capable of "Manifesting"** a mixture of "Elements" but the element that every eclipse wolf was guarnteed to manifest was Darkness, Thus making them mostly nocturnal hunters but they could hunt anytime they wanted or needed to. Every intelligent species would name their children either based on their manifested element/s, passed generations, or achievments / events that defined them and who they would be.
The father had been named " Martiq "* his name had come from his water and air elements which when he hunts will use to either create a slipstream to increase his speed , or to manipulate the air to speed up his evasion , while using his water and air element to create a mirage to lure prey into an area / intimidate / or lower the temperature. While mixing his water / air / and darkness elemnents to shroud himself making him lose his scent and make him invisible.
Meanwhile the Mother was named " Losine " * at a young age before her manifestation of her earth element Losine had been seperated from her pack and confronted with a "Splinter Owl" a avian species capable of shooting their feathers at prey these feathers were hard as bark and before these feathers made contact they triggered a small explosion which would pelt the prey with their shards giving them the name of Splinter Owls. She had held strong for 30 minutes opting to getting close to prevent the owl from sending its feathers as shrapnal and killing it before rejoining her pack with the owl as a trophy despite her various wounds. Her name of Losine was to pay reverence to her not only survivng the encounter but retaliating and killing the would be predator.
As their howls neared the end the low yelps of their cubs could be heard as their 5 pups went to their mother for milk to soon fall asleep as a new pack.
After a few days had passed a small dispute had broken out between the 2 parents. What was it about? Well let's start at the beginning. In the den the light of day was beginning to fall and the orange light of the afternoon was slowly turning to black. If one were too look further in they would notice the various vines and flora that grew out of the furthest wall, was being used as a bed for a mother Eclipse Wolf that lay with her pups. The litter of five had been sound asleep despite their parents hushed bickering.
(???) " I said you don't have to hunt today. Just stay right there and relax with the little ones. "
(???) " You've hunted all day and night. Just because i've given birth that does not mean i should just stay in one spot and let you do all the work. "
(???) " Oh come on Sile. You still need some rest. It'll do you good. "
(Losine) " Martiq, if i stay here and do nothing but care for our children i will go stir crazy. Do you honestly expect you can stop me from going if i tried? "
Martiq adverted his eyes and slowly started to back away. Losine narrowed her eyes and shackled Martiq's legs, stopping him from running away.
(Martiq) " Sile... Ummm, please? "
(Losine) " I'll be hunting tonight. That's final. "
Martiq squirmed and tried to cut the shackles of earth yet his struggle was in vein. Losine had made her shakles as strong as she needed in order to keep Martiq grounded. They both knew he wasn't breaking free from them.
(Losine) " I'll be back by daybreak. Be a good father and stay with our cubs. "
(Martiq) " I knew i should've run before this happened. "
(Losine) " Oh well. Too late for that now dear. Have a good time and "Relax" I'll be back before you know it. "
(Martiq) " Yea yea. Bring back something tasty for me please. "
(Losine) " We'll see. "
And with that Losine left the den and ran off into the night in order to hunt and saitiate her growing discomfort of not hunting since the birth of the new litter. And just like that, two years had passed. The five cubs had been reduced to three as the youngest pup had undergone a forced manifestation*** of the air element in their sleep creating a small vacuum draining the air from the area preventing the pups from breathing leading them to die of asphyxiation.
Due to this event Martiq was forced to keep a closer eye on the pups in the event another cub manifested the air element so he could help them control and guide their element safely while Losine had become more worrisome and overreact incase of any form of danger to her pups as she would hunt for food she would always try to hunt and bring back as much as she could for them, on occasion they would switch places to have Martiq hunt during the day and Losine hunt at night while the other stayed with and helped the pups for when they would be capable of hunting for themselves.
In these two years the forest hadn't changed. Currently it was spring, leading to an abundance of fauna and beasts to be found in the forest which would make hunting for Martiq easier as during the day there would be more to hunt and bring back while the cover of night and the fauna made blending into the enviornment easier for Losine despite her size.
The forest was massive, in order to have species that were close to or even bigger then Losine, the forest itself had been said to be far larger and wider then two hundred square miles, yet without any way to accurately measure the true size of the forest it would never be known how large it truly was. The forest wasn't the only enviornment that creatures called home in it's domain. This included two mountains, a massive river which connected the mountains to the center of the forest and ran underground aswell, the river was connected to the nearest ocean, which kept it flowing unless something had blocked it off in which case the elder would survey the situation and rectify it.
The trees themselves varied on size depending on what they were, fruit trees would average around ten meters with their fruits on both low and high hanging branches, in which case the fruits up top having the richest flavour and texture. Normal trees would be thirteen meters high but their leaves wouldn't block the light only the densest part of the forest would block out the light.
In a relatively clear portion of the forest one Silver tree that stood over thirty meters tall with branches that spanned over that portion of the forest this tree was what gave the forest its name as this tree was fed with the lives of the progenitors as it was the site of their graves and the place used as a council for the elders of the most intelligent species in times of need.
--------///----Beginning of the story----\\\--------
~ Mama said it's been two years since we were born so that means all of us will end up manifesting our elements soon! i'm still clumsy with my darkness but papa said i'll get better with it in time... That's easy for him to say, he's awesome with his he always wins hide and seek. Mama is amazing too she always brings back the best food i love them so much! Im getting close to papas height but im still only a meter by my shoulders, my fur is as dark as mama and papas i have my claws and teeth all grown out and mama said my eyes are red just like theirs. ~
while i'm lost in my thoughts mama nudges me seeing how im spacing out.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
(Losine) " Little one are you ok? "
(M.C / Little one) " Yes mama i was just thinking about things "
when i said that mama just tilts her head at me to elaborate mamas head tilts look cool, shes so big and normally intimidating but when she does it she looks like my little sister, when i don't speak up mama just asks me about why.
(Losine) " What's on your mind Little one?"
(M.C) " I'm wondering what element i'll have, mamas element is strong but dads elements are so cool i don't know which ones i'd like more"
~ Mamas said that we could have a range of elements because of the forest since everything in here has every element even the fruits have elements!** Even if she said that i don't know a lot about the other elements only that they exist since i haven't hunted yet and seen them used before. But that changes today! She said my elements close to coming out so mama took me with her to hunt while papa has my brother and sister at home they said since i was born first my element should naturally come out first. Tommorow she'll take them out to hunt to manifest their elements if mine comes out today ~
(Losine) " Whatever you manifest you must be sure to take your time to learn how to control it. If it's my earth element i can help you control it and if it's one or both of your fathers elements be sure to ask him for help even if he's going to do it anyway. if you have a mix of mine and one of his then we will take time and have one of us hunt with you so you can get a start on them with experienced element users. "
(M.C) " I know mama but what if i get a bad element "
(Losine) " Oh little one there are no bad elements. They all have their uses whether they be offensive, defensive, or for utility, they are all capable of being mastered giving any element the chance to be powerful "
(M.C) " Mama how do you know so much "
After asking that mama just smirks at me and looks at me like i asked a easy question
(M.C) "Mamaaaaa what was that look for?"
(Losine) " Little one, over time as we grow we steadily become smarter and more capable to speak, figure out things we would not have been able to years before, and more attuned to our elements whether we practice them or not have you stopped to notice how many new words, how you know about elements despite not having seen them used before and how we are capable of being stealthy despite our size "
After she says that i stopped and actually thought about it
~ Actually i've never thought about it like that... I just thought it was normal. But how do i know about things like the metal element? i don't even know what metal is, how do i know what i am i've never asked mama or papa but i know im an Eclipse Wolf... wait... Whats an eclipse?? ~
Mama must have seen the look on my face because she just laughs and tells me she'll talk to us after we've manifested our elements. After she said that, i noticed that i tilted my head like mama does when'd i do that?
(M.C) " Mama what do you mean we get more attuned to our element and why should we practice if we get more attuned to it / them anyway? "
After i ask that mama gets a sad look in her eyes for a moment before it's gone
(Losine) " As we grow older our bodies grow along with our element lets take your father for example hes small for a male of our species normally a male would be a small bit closer to my size this is due to his air element making his body smaller to help him with his speed and evasion. His water element also makes him more flexible making him able to evade at angles not normally possible "
(M.C) " Ouuuuu then what does your element do for you mama? "
Before answering mama smiles until something cracks a twig and she looks in that direction
(Losine) " we will pick this up later Little One i've found something you should be capable of fighting while it will not be easy it will not be able to fatally wound you it'll be the perfect challenge to manifest your element/s "
After she said that i can't help but run up to her and try to look the way the sound came from
(M.C) " REALLY WHAT IS IT WHAT IS IT??! "
(Losine) You'll see when we get there.
She looks at me and smiles at how im acting before she grabs me by the scruff of my neck and brings us close to my first hunt. Even though mama did it suddenly, her fangs didn't dig into my neck at all. After mama picked me up and ran towards whatever she saw i went back to thinking about what she told me and why things are the way they are but before i could get too deep in thought she caught up to whatever it was and slowed down to drop me.
~ she still hasn't told me what im supposed to be hunting i want to ask but if it's close then it'll hear us ughhhh i should've asked again before we got here ~
looking around i can see some tracks but i can't tell from what. is it some kind of deer?
~ but if it's a deer why would mama call it challenging? the grass eaters are usually weak? ~
I couldn't keep myself from asking so in the quietest voice i could i asked.
(M.C) " Mama is it a deer? "
(Losine) " Yes little One it's a species of deer "
(M.C) " But aren't deer weak? "
After i said that mama just shook her head and lead me to where the deer was i couldn't understand why she did that but i decided to wait till after my first hunt to ask her about it.
As we stalk towards the deer I can tell its around 30-40' away eating from a vine that's growing on a tree it has massive branching antlers that look just like tree branches, it has brown fur covering its body with a tail that has a blue tinted tip, the hooves are brown with blue stripes and it's smaller then papa at a meter and a half tall.
i look to mama and she gives me a nod telling me it's the only one theres no herd around to come and back it up so its safe to hunt.
~ it'll be perfect there'll be enough meat for me to share with my siblings now i see why mama wants me to hunt this i'll make mama proud and show her i can do it! ~
As i get closer to the deer, it flicks it's head up and starts looking around, i quickly stop moving towards it and quickly move into the nearest bush that can hide me and wait for it to to stop looking around but it doesn't, instead of going back to eat it looks to the shrubs and bushes until it lands on mine and starts to stare at me!
~ Theres no way it knows im here i haven't stepped on anything that'd give me away and i made sure to keep quiet before hiding here. ~
But to prove me wrong the deer snorts, smirks, and then for seemingly no reason, CHARGES AT ME! AND IT HAS THE NERVE TO LOOK ME IN MY EYES WHILE IT DOES??!
Before it can reach me i jump out of the bush and to the right but before i hit the ground it must have used it's water element to soften the ground and turn it into mud because my paws get stuck in the ground but before i have the chance to try to get out it shoots water at my snout and splashes into my eyes forcing me to blink as it keeps getting closer.
~ How is it so good with water? Papa rarely uses his for attacking is it just better at using his?? ~
After thinking about that i use my darkness element to corrode the mud from my paws and get out of the trap to avoid it from charging into me. If those antlers hit me then i know that i'd feel that for days but for now i have to worry about how im going to handle it today, by now it's stopped charging and is keeping it's distance from me it's avoiding being near any shrubs or bushes so the only way i might be able to get the jump on it is from finding a way to get to the trees and making it lose track of where i am.
As i move towards it i keep my body low and keep checking the ground for more mud i don't want to get caught in more mud but i might find something that can help me. currently there are trees on all sides some have vines like the one it was eating from earlier but i don't see anything that could help me.
While im checking my surroundings the deer is checking me out i can tell it's been constantly checking my claws and fangs but aside from that it looks like it's just standing there waiting for me which is annoying but i can't do anything about it without making a possible mistake.
(???) " What's wrong young pup? Can't handle a little old deer? How sad. To think a wolf can't take on a deer. "
I felt my eye twitch at that, but how was i supposed to take that in any other way but as an insult! That stupid deer had the nerve to taunt me!
(M.C) " Shut up! I'll make you into dinner! "
The deer snorted and started to make some water coat it's back as it started to make its move. At first i can't tell why but after a second look i can see he coated his antlers with droplets of water too! Before he gets close he pulls a hard stop sending all those droplets at me using the momentum from his sudden stop and their SHARP!
i jump to the left but im not fast enough as some still hit me making small holes in my front and back right legs they aren't deep but they still hurt. I felt some of them go a bit deeper but despitte that i knew i would be fine but not if any went really deep or even into my eyes.
~ But shouldn't deer be weak how is it managing to keep the fight in it's favor?! ~
After the hard stop the deer stays where it is, only moving back a small bit using this time as a make it or break it moment. I rushed the deer, despite my wounds being bad, hurting and slowing me down. Seeing this the deer starts using his water element to muddy the ground again but i won't let it catch me with that trick again! As im about to reach the muddy area infront of the deer i jump and use as much momentum as i can to leap towards the deers throat and clamp my jaws around it. I made sure to squeeze as hard as i could until i tear it out making the deer fall limp to the ground. As im laying there exausted and happy that my first hunt ended with me winning and getting a good amount of food for my siblings, i couldn't help but think about the actual fight.
~ I wasn't expecting it to be that hard it was just a deer but... thinking back didn't mama say something about all elements being strong? ~
As im lost in my thoughts i didn't notice mama coming up to me untill she nudged me again bringing me out again.
(Losine) " So little one what did you learn from this? "
(M.C) " Learn? ... well at the start i thought that the reason you wanted me to hunt this was because it was a deer and it was enough food for us to share. "
(Losine) " And now? what are you thinking after having fought the Trick Deer? "
(M.C) " Now? Umm... I'm thinking it was for something else... It was a deer but because i thought it would be easy i got hurt alot more then i should have. I thought that i would be able to easily take care of it... But after this... I can tell i looked down on it... "
As i say that mama leans in to me and licks my cheek.
(Losine) " Exactly, to answer your question from earlier yes deer are weak but at the same time they are not. Physically yes they are weak they have no fangs or claws incase they are confronted from up close they will lose, their antlers are blunt yes they can hurt if they charge into you but they are easy targets to break off and by making them unaccustomed to the lost weight making a fight easier. But deer are also strong when it comes to how they use their elements."
(Losine) " Lets use the Trick Deer as an example they are given their name on the ways they use their elements and for their behaviour they are crafty, earlier when he was standing still he was coating his antlers with water making sure to do it slowly so you wouldn't catch on until you were in range, they trick their targets into thinking they have the upper hand by seeming like their doing nothing.
However when he taunted you he tried to manipulate you into doing what he wanted. If you had charged him first, instead of using the water as pellets he would have condensed them into solid spikes to impale you with in that case i would've jumped in to stop it. "
After mama said that i couldn't help but look at the deer and see there were still droplets on the back of his antlers which he could've used just like mama said. Seeing me do this mama nuzzles me telling me to grab onto her back and grabs me by the scruff of my neck for me to do so while she grabs the deer to drag back home. On our way back i decided to ask mama what she wanted me to learn and to that she tells me.
(Losine) " I want you to learn that even if something is physically weaker you musn't look down on it treat it as your equal because a hunt may turn into a fight for your life from a seemingly weak opponent if the Trick Deer had a different element like Earth your fangs may not have fully pierced it's hide or it may have made the ground incase your paws instead of just temporarily trap you, or shot rock shards instead of the water droplets. Remember what i've told you earlier there are no bad elements depending on how they are used depends how much of a difficult fight you will have "
After that we get home and i tell my siblings how i beat a super strong deer and make it sound as cool as i can so they look up to me as much as i can, meanwhile mama tells papa how it actually happened. After we ate mama tells me what should happen tonight.
(Losina) " When you wake up tommorow be sure to tell us what you dreamt of, manifestation naturally happens when your asleep you'll see your element/s alongside of your darkness element you'll know what kind of element they are and how best to use them when you wake up "
(M.C) " Ok mama Goodnight "
(Losine) " Goodnight little one "
From the other side of our den papa shouts out
(Martiq) " Do i get a goodnight?? "
Which prompts me and mama to look at each other and then tell him goodnight after a small laugh.