Changing Skies

Ryeth had stared at the fireplace with wide, wondering eyes. Would she be able to do that someday? Her earth power seemed to balk at the very idea and since it was the stronger power of the two seeing as she'd never trained her fire gift, the Fae found herself losing interest quickly and went upstairs, Syl following behind. She agreed with him about the house and smiled, opening her door and peeking inside, stepping in only after Sylvester did.

The Fae looked around with interest at everything, her fingers running over the smooth wood of the dresser and her eyes drawn to the window. When she saw the trees a sense of ease came over her, knowing that the forest was near, and she relaxed again, searching the room with more interest. Opening the closet showed her a selection of clothing that surprised her. Had someone come to Aiden's house to supply her with things? Curious, she next tried the dresser and found her eyes widening at the clothes there, too. Taking another look around the room, Ryeth saw a brush on the nightstand and the colors of the room were greens and brown with dashes of yellow and light purple mixed in.

Someone HAD put effort into this room.

It made her happy to realize. She WAS welcome here.

The Fae grinned at her werewolf and dashed to the bed, climbing in and bouncing for a moment before flopping on her back and into the pillow, curling happily into the comfortable quilts with a content whine in her throat. {I feel like I am home, Syl.} She reached out and touched his nose gently, letting him feel just how important that was to her. She who no longer had a home.
 
He watched her walk around the room and walked over, putting his chin on the bed when she settled into it. He wagged his tail slowly at her hand and licked it gently. {I'm glad.} He sighed, letting her feel how tired he was. He walked over to the rug in the center of the room, walked in a couple circles, and laid down. He was happy. His fae was happy so she was happy and that was all he wanted in the world.

Aiden stepped through Emily's fireplace and walked up to her, sitting down on the couch next to her. "You...look absolutely adorable, you know that?"

She rolled her eyes, bundled up in a bunch of blankets and holding onto a jar of blood like it was a teddy bear. She put the blood down and crawled into his lap, put of her blankets. She put her head to his chest and closed her eyes, listening to the beating of his heart. "Thanks for coming over..."

"You know I can't say no to you...and those two will be fine..."

"I know...I'm just...it's terrifying..."

"Being at the bring of war?"

"It's almost too much..."
 
Ryeth wasn't sure what what had woken her at first as she stared into the dark room, nothing but the moonlight shining through the window. It hadn't been a nightmare. She would have woken up screaming if it was. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for any kind of danger, but she found nothing and the Fae sat up slowly, her hair tumbling down her back and shoulders, awry and wild. She paid it no mind, though, as she scooted to the edge of the bed and let her bare feet touch gently on the floor. Her gaze was drawn to the window slowly, as if something beckoned her and Ryeth watched as shadows emerged from the forest, their fur gleaming in the moonlight and their eyes glowing as they seemed to look right through the window at her.

She didn't feel any fear as the call rang through her mind, a howl that shook her to her very spirit, drawing the thread of her very being toward the pack that waited outside. Ryeth didn't even think about resisting as she started for the door, passing Sylvester on the way and touching his head gently to wake him. The gray of the pack, their threads might be pulling her outside, but her cord with HER werewolf was stronger still and she wouldn't leave without him.
 
Syl woke with a start, and not from her hand. Something was screaming at him. Territory. Someone was in his territory. He was on his feet just after she past, his tail up, his ears forward. He let out a low growl and took off out the door before Ryethke could do anything to stop him. He stumbled a little down the stairs and jumped the last few. He upturned a rug in the living room as he skid to the back door and was really mad when he found it shut. He growled and let out a howl, one that said this is my territory and you need to leave.

He then turned and whined. Ryethke with her stupid door turning thumbs was being so slow!! He howled for her to hurry up. He had trespassers he needed to chase off!
 
Ryethke knew what Sylvester's instinct were telling him and she knew this was going to be VERY hard for him, but she couldn't let him attack these wolves. She approached him slowly, but a power seemed to build about her and when she looked at him it was with glowing gray eyes and the thread between them snapped tight, alert and vibrating with a new kind of power. {Be still, my Blessed One.}

The quiet was instant, almost as if the werewolf didn't have a choice in the matter and the Fae came closer to the door, looking down at her werewolf with a kinder expression, but no less commanding. {These wolves are not here to fight, Sylvester, and so you cannot fight with them. They are here to talk and they will be gone soon. Will you let me speak with them?} She smiled in sympathy when the wolf whined, but took it as submissive agreement and pet his head gently before opening the door and exiting.

Her bare feet padded across the porch and then across the field, growing closer to the wolf pack who shifted and paced nervously at her nearness, both wanting to run to her, greet her and yet unsure about what they were feeling. No one like her had ever been in their land before. They didn't know how to react and they KNEW this was another wolf's territory even if that wolf was a captive-wolf and not worthy of their time. They watched the red-head approach them with uncertainty, but when she stopped, the pack stilled, too, ears back and then forward, their fur standing on end but no teeth showing as the Dragga finally spoke.

{Why have you called us, Bright One?}

The Fae shook her head. {I did not summon you.}

{We felt the Earth wake!} stated the Drappa, her voice a growl. She turned her gold eyes to Syl and there was a hesitation in her demeanor as she extended her nose toward him. {We felt the awakening of a powerful wolf, a connection that is strange to us.}

{We feel you and this wolf in our pack thread. We do not understand why.} the Dragga clarified.

Ryeth smiled, her glowing gray eyes not the only thing that seemed to be changed about her as her voice became more growled, her body more wild, her movements wolf-like. She never left Syl's side, though, showing where her loyalties lay. She had a pack already and as that sank into her mind, it seemed that the answers she'd been missing came to her, too. {A war comes, a danger to all that dwell on the Earth. You are loyal to the Moon, but you need the Earth and the Moon has bonded you to me. It has been this way for thousands of years. It is the Earth and the Moon who has picked the wolf who will lead you into battle when the time comes.} At the end of her words, the Fae settled her hand on Sylvester's back and every wolf - six in all - turned their eyes to him, surprise in their faces.
 
Syl was honestly quite surprised as well. Her words and her demeanor calmed but worried him. He looked at the others. He had awakened? Awakened how? Surely they felt who he was, where he had come from. He was ashamed now, to have walked out of the house. To have slept in a human dwelling. His eyes slowly darted between the six wolves. A shiver ran down his spine at Ryethke's hand.

He quietly stilled himself against her, keeping his thoughts to himself for a moment. He was to lead them? He had never lead a pack before. He had been the cub and then the omega. The one the pack picked on and tormented to ease their own stress. An important position, but not one he had wanted. The Cursed One. The Child. The Human Lover. Eater of Human Things.

No. He was not that anymore. He was Gaia's Blessed One. She had said it herself. It was something the wolf was suddenly realizing to be quite the big deal.

Bones started cracking as he shifted forms, rising up to his hind legs in his war form, his fur soaking up the rays of the moon. Standing at his height of 9 feet, he stretched out his arms and howled a loud, long howl. A howl that said he would lead them. He was Gaia's Blessed Soldier and he would lead any wolf to war that wanted to protect her.

Alcmene stepped away from the bed she usually shared with her brother, brushing her hand against his forehead gently. She stepped to the window and slid it open, climbing out to perch on the ledge. She spread her wings and changed, taking the form of a large white bird. She pushed off from the window sill and went in search of the one giving her such praise tonight. Her wolves were near. She could feel them. Wolves hadn't been near in so long. The land had seemed so dead...But now, such hope had returned to everything the moon touched. But still...still something was missing...
 
Ryethke felt her wolf's howl flow through her with power and a smile came to her face, laughter spilling from her lips as she felt him accept his place with the pride he deserved to have. She stood tall at his side - though, he completely TOWERED over her - and tilted her head back, letting out a long, haunting howl of her own, a call to all wolves. It reverberated through the air, to the moon, but another call was sent through the earth, a call just as potent that would summon any wolf who might not recognized the verbal one. It was a call to war, the call of the very Earth for protection from those that threatened them harm.

The wolves around them felt it keenly and they raised their voice with her own, with Sylvester's, NONE of them daring to go above him, respecting his new place in the pack. His place as the Earth's Chosen One, her Blessed One.

As their howls created chilling and breathtaking music in the night, Ryeth slowly tapered hers off and looked into the distance, feeling the approach of another power, a power she was connected to so intimately to tonight that it would have been impossible for her to not be aware of it. Aware and excited as a shiver made its way through her body and she waited impatiently for the arrival of the Moon. Tonight she was not scared.

Tonight she was the Earth. She was the Speaker of the Wolves. She was the Moon's equal.
 
Alcmene flew overhead, large white wings glowing softly. She circled the moon as the wolves howled and slowly started her descent.

Sylvester visibly shivered again, feeling his moon approaching. He felt he was in his place now, head of...maybe not a pack but of something. He turned do look down at the wolves. {The humans want to go to war. To fight each other. It will ruin them. It will ruin them and it will ruin the earth. The sun and the moon have come down to aid her, for what purpose do they have without her? We will need to fight for her as well.}

Alcmene landed in her human form gracefully, her wings tucking back in at her sides as she walked up to the group, glowing just as brightly as the moon above. "We are still missing one. A powerful ally." She cast her gaze around before letting it fall to Ryethke. "We are missing your twin. Your counterpart. The moon has the sun but you have someone as well...where is your brother?" She spoke calmly and softly but the power behind her voice would not go unnoticed. But, she was speaking with Ryethke as if speaking to an equal. The moon knew the earth, knew her shape and her form, and the power she held, and how she fed from the sun. She knew.
 
Ryethke didn't flinch before the power of the Moon, the force of her own power all around her, tangible in the air as the wolves around them remained absolutely still and quiet in the presence of the two powerful beings. They were tied to these two more tightly than they were to their own kind and they now knew what was expected of them. They would fight any enemy the Earth or the Moon directed them at and they would obey an command even if it went against their nature. Such was their loyalty now.

The Fae knew all this absently as the knowledge flowed through her mind, background information as she focused on what Alcmene had said, feeling a sudden ache in her chest, a deep longing woken by the Moon's words. Ryeth had never known what she was, the power she held and now....now she did - or at least one part of her consciousness did - but it had never occurred to her that she was missing someone. At the Moon's words, however, the knowledge came to her and with that knowledge came a deep call, a deep pain that made her ache inside. She was missing her brother. Maybe that...maybe that was why she was so unstable, switching from child-like to powerful to fearful all at the drop of a hat.

Where was her brother?!

Ryeth felt the hot tears that slipped down her face as if from a distance as she stared at Alcmene, not knowing how to answer, not knowing the answer. When one of those tears splashed to the ground, though, she froze, her eyes changing from gray to gold in a heartbeat as something became clear to her, as the puzzle in her mind started to make sense.

"Ocean." she barely breathed the word, but instantly it felt right. Her brother. Ocean.
 
Alcmene nodded slowly. "He has awoken as well. Both of you woke when we came down. You awoke and slipped into the body you now possess. Your brother did the same. We need to find him."

Syl looked between the two of them. {Surely he has been found by The Network...}

"I'm afraid not." She sighed, smoothing her clothes. "We will find him when we need to find him. That time is not right now. There is nothing we can do at the moment. He will show up. We have called to him. We are waiting to hear him call to us. Keep yourself open, Gaia. Listen for him. You will know when you hear him."
 
Ryeth nodded slowly, closing her burning gold eyes and quietly stilling the pain that had woken deep down inside her. It was not yet time. She would have to function as she'd been doing just a little while longer. The Fae sighed. The Moon was right. She HAD woken, but Ryeth knew that Alcmene was a little off on HOW. Yes, her power had truly woken and started expanding seventeen years ago, but she'd always been in this body. She'd been born into it. The Earth had always been within her. It didn't possess her. It WAS her. Still, it wasn't all that different and it didn't need to be argued about.

The Sidhe opened her eyes again and she smiled softly at Alcmene. "Thank you. I will listen for him. I will keep reaching out to him. He is upon the Earth and I will find him just as he will find me."

Ryeth turned to the wolves then, her eyes seeping gray once more as her bond to them took precedent over the Earth inside her. {You are free to go or stay as you please, but know that if you stay, you will respect and bring no harm to those who come here if I mark them as my own. You will not attack without receiving permission from myself or my Blessed One if you stay here. Others will come. More packs will come to this place and you must not attack each other.}

The Dragga dipped his head, ears down and tail near his leg, submissive as he looked between the Moon, the Earth and the werewolf they'd chosen. {We understand. And if we choose to leave?}

{Then you must be ready to hear and heed our call.}

The werewolves growled their assent, their understanding and each and every one of them approached Sylvester cautiously, licking at his fur before they left, running back into the woods and into the night.
 
Syl was calm as the others came up to him, accepting their submissive gestures and watching them leave. He didn't move until he was absolutely positive they were gone, and when he was, he shifted down to his wolf form and started almost vibrating with excitement. A wave of emotions crossed the bond between him and his Fae, his Gaia, appreciation and thanks being first and foremost. Next was pure, unadulterated excitement. He was absolutely thrilled. He was the leader not only of a pack, but of every werewolf on earth! He was Gaira's General, The Chosen One! He was so excited, he...he actually peed a little...

Alcmene let out a short, surprised laugh before bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. She turned away from the wolf and to Ryethke again. "I'm glad you woke up. We need to speak of the state of you. Of the world. Hatred and fear are running rampant across the globe. The normal humans are scared of their evolved brethren and, as you well know, sell them in an underground slave trade if they aren't killed on the spot. This is causing great hatred to grow in the hearts of those special humans. Either towards themselves for being different, or towards the normal humans for their fear."

"This will end in only two ways. A war that I fear will wipe out all life on the planet, or peace and understanding. You know the humans. You know them better than I know them, but I have only seen hate and anger. Robbery, arson, genocide, theft...these are things that happen when I am awake and watching over you. I fear for the worst. Ciro will give you a different answer. He sees the good. The families playing in parks together, neighbors helping neighbors, flying flags, having picnics...he sees only the good. He thinks there is a chance for peace."

"But you, Ryethke...you know your people. What do you think they will do? What should we prepare for?"
 
Ryeth snorted with Moon at Syl's reaction, sending a wave of affection toward the werewolf that she truly felt. She would have picked no one else to be her Chosen. He was perfect in every way and she loved him dearly. Even if he was silly on occasion. He would make a good general regardless and she trusted him. He would grow into his role and she had faith that he'd be the greatest werewolf she'd ever met in time.

The Fae turned her attention to the Moon when Alcmene began to speak and very suddenly she felt the weight of the world - or was that technically herself? - on her shoulders. Ryeth sighed, looking away and truly thinking how best to answer. As the simple Sidhe who'd lived all her life in Scotland among her own kind, she didn't know how to answer. She'd been happy there....and then she'd been taken. If she were to answer from that side of herself, the answer would be unfavorable toward the humans. But as the Earth...she could look through the layers, the memories of the ages and it was that side of her that needed to decide, that needed to answer.

She stared at the trees in the distance, eyes a gold hue again as she looked at something only she could see, speaking slowly after a time, cautiously for the Earth knew the ever-changing moods of the Moon. "I have seen all of what you speak and more. I see what the sun beholds and I see the horrors the Moon witnesses. I feel the pain inflicted on me by careless humans and Abnormals alike. I also feel the desire for peace, the care and tenderness of many. The scale has always been balanced, light against dark, neither winning, but I fear what you fear; I fear that shadow might yet gain the upper hand and desolation shall come upon the world."

Ryeth met Alcmene's pale blue eyes with her dark brown-gold ones, calm, but sad and so very weary. Still, despite that, there was hope in her voice. "The humans will call for war. They are a hasty race and do not like change. They fear what they do not understand, what they can not control. This does not mean they are incapable of learning, however, and not every human is alike. The Abnormals are guilty of cruelty and wrongdoing as well. If I were to condemn the humans, I must also condemn their brethren."

The Sidhe shook her head, straightening her shoulders and nodding, making a decision. "War will break out on the Earth, this is certain, but how it can end is not. We must try for peace as we have never tried before, but we must prepare ourselves for destruction as well. We will be the first to offer a hand of understanding and peace to the humans, but we cannot be at their mercy when we do so or they will never listen. We must be, at the very least, equals with them and they must know it."
 
"We are not their equals and we are not their lessers. They used to worship us as gods and now they take us for granted." She took a slow, deep breath and turned her pale eyes towards the moon. "They forget us. They forget our power. They use the cover of darkness for evil and the light for good." She turned to look at her. "They poison the earth and the seas and the skies...I do not understand how you protect them so."

She gave a shrug of her light shoulders. "This is a conversation for another time, however. You've had a long day, no doubt. And you deserve a good night's rest." She smiled softly. "Do not mind the sun when he comes into your window in the morning. Roll away and get more sleep."

And with that, she spread her wings and took off again, heading back to the house she shared with her twin.

Sylvester shifted to his human form and scooped up his Gaia into his arms. He turned and started back into the house. "Thank you, Gaia, for what you have done for me tonight." He said as he walked inside, shutting the door behind him. "I will not forget it...I will do my best to grow into the being you deserve fighting at your side." As he spoke, he carried her upstairs and into her room. He put her down in her bed and climbed in next to her this time, holding her close. "But you need to sleep now..."
 
Ryeth had known what she would have said to Alcmene, but she agreed with the Moon, it was time for sleep and the conversation was for another time, for the light perhaps. The Earth loved the light, but she cherished the darkness, too and as the Moon-child left, the Fae smiled after her, sighing softly. I protect them, fierce light in the darkness, because without them I have no purpose. You understand this, even if you will not admit it right now.

The Sidhe didn't know if her silent message would be received or not, but she didn't let it bother her either as Sylvester picked her up and she focused on him. She felt a smile pull at her lips at his words and she curled into his chest, happiness flowing between them. When he set her in the bed, she stretched and then curled again, into a small ball because some habits died hard. She felt safe, though, and whispered quietly into the glowing room.

{You are a great wolf, Vester. You didn't need me for that, my Mutt.}

She said nothing more, growing quiet as she drifted off to a sleep of no dreams.
 
The moon had indeed heard her words and was mulling them over through her short flight home.

With the next day came new lessons. An invigorated Aidan made breakfast and had them eat, but very soon after started her on her lessons with fire. Since she had never built upon them before, he started with the basics. A very important lesson being how to stop it once it's started.

The next day followed in the same way. He was strict in his teachings, but calm and light-hearted with everything else. He was teaching her to the best of his abilities. Even if she was the earth, she needed control of her other side as well. And Emily helped him when he became stressed.

About two days later, Syl pranced up to their lesson, holding a dead mouse by the tail in his mouth, tail and head held high in victory. He had finally hunted something and caught it all by himself! He dropped it at Ryethke's feet and sat, panting happily, almost grinning. {Look what I did!}
 
Ryeth was more than grateful for the distraction of Sylvester as she turned to face him, smiling proudly at his catch. She picked the mouse up without hesitation and looked it over carefully before setting it down again and the proceeding to gush unabashedly at her wolf. {I am so proud of you! See? You are a good wolf! You'll be catching rabbits and deer in no time! Very good!} She took his head in her hands and jerked it back and forth playfully before letting him go, avoiding the sharp teeth that were known to snap at her when she did that sometimes.

The Fae gave Sylvester another pet, but sighed when she looked back at Aiden who was waiting. He'd learned not to tell her to not talk to Sylvester during training because the wolf himself always repaid that in some way that drove the Pyro crazy, but her teacher had restricted their interactions to a minute or two while training. She knew it was time to get back to work and didn't have to wait for instruction as she attempted to focus, knowing what he wanted.

It was hard, though. So very hard for her to get the fire to come into her hands and then STAY there. It wanted to become small, gentle tendrils that wrapped around her fingers and then fade into nonexistence. Her fire was at odds with her earth power and if Ryeth was completely honest - which she hadn't been...or at least she'd not said it out loud as no one had asked her - she was scared of her fire.

Still, when the fire came into her palms in a decent sized ball, she only flinched slightly and concentrated hard on keeping it there.
 
Syl nipped at her happily when she praised him, but when she got back to work, he went off to eat the mouse. He did kill it, after all. And he was the alpha wolf, so he always got the best of the kill! Which was good. It was such a small kill. Maybe he'd go try for a rabbit now. He bounded off into the woods, knowing Ryethke needed to concentrate and learn even if she was teaching him too. He'd let her. She needed to be more powerful!

When the fire went out, Aiden stared at her hands. What the hell did he have to do to get through to her! "Why are you so scared of it?!" He shouted suddenly. "Because it burns the trees and the grass?! Because it can hurt?!" He ripped his shirt off over his head suddenly and turned around, showing off burn scars that covered his back. "Yes. It hurts." When he was sure she got a good eye-full, he turned around. "But pain is temporary, Ryethke! You should know that by now! And the fire is a part of you! Buried deep in the earth! What do you think lies at the core?" He poked her in the chest. "What is in your core, Ryethke, but fire?! What is it that clears out the underbrush for new growth? Fire! What sits in our hearts, urging us to move on, to ignore the past and whatever happened in it and forge ahead? Fire!" He stepped back, smoking a little as his skin took on the appearance of glowing embers.

"Have you been burned before, Ryethke? Have you felt the flames lick at your skin? Burn your clothes?" His eyes grew black with the same red flecks of dancing red light that played across his skin. "Singe the flesh from your body? Tell me how you learned of the fire in your heart."
 
His words scared her at first, she could be honest about that, but then the power of the earth started to rise in her, wanting to face this challenge and Ryethke realized that if she didn't stop it now...she never would. Her eyes flared a deep, dark gold in defense, but when the grass under her started to grow taller, she gritted her teeth and stopped it, pushing the earth power back down for once, commanding it to be still. It did so reluctantly, churning inside, but she did her best to ignore it.

And as she stared at Aiden, felt the ache in her chest where he'd poked her, felt the burn of his stare as he waited, no, demanded an answer, it became easier to tune the earth out as her ire rose within her. She shook her head at the Pyro, biting her words out. "Yes, I've been burned. I burn every single day. I have been whipped and beat and cut in this form, but it is nothing, NOTHING compared to the agony I feel from those that walk upon me. They cut me deeply and do not care! They burn me and think nothing of it! The poison me and tear me down and yet I am to live for them, provide for them! Yes, I understand pain, I understand the flames!"

Her fists were clenched now and she shook with anger, such deep-seated anger that turned her eyes black as ebony and the heat inside her body built in such a familiar, deadly way. "I hate them! I hate them as much as I love them. Do you know what that is like!? I want to cradle them and comfort them and tell them they are safe, but then they hurt me and I want to burn them. And I do! I reign fire down upon them, ash and dust and they scream! They beg me to stop and I won't! I won't stop because I am ANGRY! I am so furious I could kill them all!"

The flames burst out on her skin as she screamed the words out and this time they licked at her arms and down her back, burning away her clothes and springing out away from her like vipers searching for prey, hot as the magma in a volcano.

And Ryeth let the fire burn, no longer holding it back.
 
"THEN PROVE IT TO ME!" He shouted. "PROVE TO ME YOU HAVE FELT THE PAIN OF SOMEONE WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO LOVE YOU AND CARE FOR YOU AND NURTURE YOU! SHOW ME YOU HAVE BEEN PUT TO THE TORCH, PUSHED INTO THE FIRE!" He erupted into flames as well. "I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE EARTH! I'M TALKING ABOUT THE HUMAN SIDE OF YOU! THE HUMAN SIDE OF YOU THAT HAD PARENTS! WAS BORN ON THIS EARTH AND NOT SLID INTO A BODY! A PUPPET FOR WHICH TO PULL THE STRINGS!"

His fire died suddenly. "You as a human know nothing of the burn of the flames. You know nothing of the beauty of her destruction. You fear it. You fear your own power. You fear what you can destroy. But destruction is beautiful. Destruction clears out the old and the stagnant and makes way for new life."

He reached a hand back to kinda rub at his own back. "Only beauty ultimately comes from the fire. New life from the old death. It is needed. Every bit of it is needed."
 
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