Log: Shadows on the Wall
Zane opens the door half asleep and half naked. He blinks, wondering who's knocking at this late hour.
Only mother could show no remorse at all for waking him at this hour. "Care for a run?" She's wearing a coat but she doesn't look as if she needs it.
Zane rubs at his face and steps out into the snow, pulling the door closed behind. He is wearing pants but no shirt or shoes and his hair is all mussed up but he smells very clean. "Mother?" Blinking back the sleep, he nods. "Of course I'd be happy to accompany you."
"Two feet or four?" The question seems to make no difference to Danica. Her nostrils flare in the dim silver of the moon. "Are you drinking to dull the senses or to promote them?"
"We were celebrating with a friend." Zane rolls his head from left to right and then his shoulders around before falling forward and taking a four legged form.
No immediate transformation for Danica, she looks up to the moon in her human form and then down to the large wolf who is her son. "I could keep up with you in this form." His grants him warmth.
Zane takes it as a challenge though, "We'll see. You've been hiding Mother, maybe beneath that coat you've grown fat and lazy?" Before she can retort physically, he's away, bounding through the snow.
Springs after him with a speed that is almost unnatural, graceful, and after the first few steps leaves virtually no tracks behind her. Anyone casually watching would see only that one set of wolf tracks in the snow. Worse yet, she is untiring and she laughs in delight under the silvery moon entirely unaffected by the cold. Running could do that.
Zane will suffer little frozen patches on the pads of his paws but not straight away. For now, he runs as fast as he can, flying free through the woods beneath the moonlight.
*RPG: Danica compares her Grace and the gifts STY-LL SKL-EM SKL-TT SKL-EN against Zane's Force and PHY-ST. Danica is at a moderate disadvantage to Zane, and should take 1 consequence.
The warrior is built for burst of speed, quick powerful movement through the snow. She may express both shock and bewilderment a he pulls ahead of her in the race. Danica is built sleek and thin and made for running, but her power is distances. The power of Zane's forward burst gives him a clear advantage. She's not laughing now.
Zane looks back over his shoulder at some point because he cannot see his mother ahead of him. Danica should be there, in front, not behind but he knows the Spire and its immediate vicinity a little better and perpahs that gives him an advantage. When he spots Danica a small distance behind him, he slows down and stops, haunches lowering to the ground as he waits for her to catch up.
Danica skids on a patch of ice and uses her right hand to brace her fall. Perhaps four feet is better for running long distances. "I have grown lazy and old." Her lips curl into a smile and her eyes go up to the moon. "I'll have to run, harder and faster." Her breath comes without strain. The only visible step behind her is the long skidding halt.
Zane's tail wags back and forth and his teeth show as he grins, wolf-style. He whuffs and launches forward towards Danica, sending little patches of snow up into the air with his powerful strides.
They melt of course, but the cold has yet to affect her in any significant way. She rubs her wrist and straightens to two legs. "I haven't found my pace yet, let's keep running. Take me somewhere interesting."
--[ Headwaters of the Oisen ]------------------------[ Amber Countryside ]----
Silver streams and icy creeks converge into a small lake before
flowing away to the south, forming the headwaters of the Oisen. The
mountains slope down towards the western countryside of amber, making
rough, beautiful terrain, marked with pools and waterfalls at every
turn.
The main body of the Oisen widens downriver, leading to civilization,
and a faint trail leads up into the mountains.
Zane trots across to the river and paws at the thin ice which has been thawing. He breaks through and bends his head to drink, lapping at the icy water beneath.
Danica kneels at the river placing her wrist in the water. She is not yet fatigued but seems lost in thought. "Amber?" Her tone asks, how is that interesting?
Zane sniffs the air and backs up a few steps away from the river. "It isn't Amber I care for, I like the water here and the many streams." His nose points towards a waterfall, "And the hidden caves behind the falls."
Danica follows Zane's look, scenting the air. Her wrist remains in the water for now. "I don't see a hidden cave. Is that why they call it hidden?"
Zane backs up even further and then runs towards the water, leaping towards it and changing in mid air so that he dives through the surface as a man not a wolf. He swims strong before disappearing beneath the water where the falls fall.
Danica breaks through the surface wet and shaking out her head. She is still in human form but ditched her coat before jumping into the water. "That would explain why it was hidden."
There is a large cave hidden beneath the falls and Zane stands upon the ledge that leads into it, dripping wet and shivering a little. Supplies have been tucked away in here, blankets, pillows and provisions of food and the necessary kindling for a fire. He grins at Danica, "I used to come here a lot with Lilith."
Danica pulls herself out of the water. She flings water around still trying to get comfortable. "And now you come here with Faelin?" Her voice is soft in the dark, the question is natural and not judgmental. "Have you seen Roman?" She pulls the fingers of her left hand through her wet hair.
Zane shakes his head, "No. Faelin's not as fond of swimming as Lilith was and it wouldn't be right to bring her to a spot I shared with another woman." He shrugs, "Roman's probably watching the Cave of Initiation, mother. Did he tell you about it?"
"No," Danica says. "I haven't seen your brother recently. I've been elsewhere. I didn't leave much of an impression on your sister and her chosen mate." She drops to the floor of the cave and curls her legs up under her. Wet. Ewww. "I've been assigned to the blood pack."
Zane's first reaction is pride; his mother has been assigned to the blood pack! His next response is to ask in curiosity, "What's the blood pack?
Danica says, "A pack assigned to Prince Benedict of Amber. I thought...well," Danica continues to pick at her hair with the fingers of her left hand. "I've been walking in some old places. Studying. But after my encounter with Arianne. My heart is frozen, Zane.""
Zane moves to build a fire, he cannot ignore the cold for long. Once the flames are burning safely, he moves closer to his mother and tentatively reaches an arm out to wrap around her shoulders. "I cannot know your pain mother, I can only imagine and compare it to what I suffer. I miss father greatly and dare not think of the ache you bear."
Danica shakes her head but does not struggle away from her son's arm. She is not shivering, but she is unpleasantly wet. "No, Zane." Her smile is lit by the dancing flames. "If you cut me open and expose it you will discover that it is frozen that blood moves like sludge until it course more firmly to to the distal parts of my body."
Zane isn't sure he understands the metaphor his mother uses. "Because your heart no longer beats the way it did around father?"
"No," Danica says, "And yes. I've walked in ancient places and I've come to an understanding with the Ice Zane. If I let it, I believe it may consume me fully and I'm not entirely sure who will be left when I do."
Zane heard tales about such things as a very young boy, stories told to him by his grandfather, Tyrus' father. "The ice has never called to me mother, I wish it had but other things did." He smiles, "But you are not afraid, that I can see."
"I am not afraid, but I'm not sure how far I will have to go on this journey or where it might call me." Danica smiles again at Zane but there is a hardness to the edges. "I do know that I'll need to push myself harder to achieve my goals. A little ice is not much better than no ice at all."
Zane presses his brow to Danica's, just a close gesture showing his affection and respect for his mother. "If I can do anything to help you in your journey, I will. I can make you armor or weapons."
"I want to call weapons of ice," Danica says looking to her son and then to the flickering flames of the fire. "I chase them. They whisper in the crispness of the wind to me. The ritual is painful and if if it doesn't kill me, I may wish that it had."
Zane lets out a soft whistle, that's a thing of very distant legend. "Do you believe you will be able to, Mother?"
Not always the most pleasant of topics. "I'm not sure, Zane." Danica smiles at Zane with confidence that is familiar. "I'm going to try it. I would like you to be there to pick up the pieces, if things go badly. Should I ask Roman instead? It is a lot to ask of you with everything that has happened this year."
Zane sits quietly for a moment and there's a gentle radiance emanating from him, a sense of calm and acceptance, strength. "Mother, I would be honored to be there for you and to bear witness to your success and valor. A lot has happened but I have accepted the trials and I believe I've made it through to the other side."
"I have accepted a trial of my own." Danica's smile softens and the relief on her face is visible in the shadows of the fire. "If not of fire, of higher calling. It could mean nothing, I could be chasing one false hope after another. But I'll chase it the way I run, son. Tirelessly and without stopping."
Zane smiles and shares something of his own, "I've learnt the secrets behind harnessing silver, the moonlight and the forge. I've made gauntlets that can turn a wolf's teeth and claws into silver, Mother. I am working on other ways to harness the power but so far I've had little success but I am not giving up."
"Teeth and claws of silver," Danica muses not entirely pleased with the rediscovery. "I'm proud of your success son, but that burden comes with a high responsibility. Think of that power grasped between the wrong teeth."
Zane nods, "I know, I have only made enough pairs to gird one pack. The pack I have formed to dispense justice throughout the Icemane territories on behalf of Kazimir and the Regent."
Danica looks to the fire. Her clothes are less soaked. "Will you need to explain to Faelin why you ran away in the night?" She seems willing to drop the topic if Zane is. The weight of it settles onto her shoulders.
Zane looks down at his pants which are drying slowly, "I won't, no. If she asks, I will tell her and she won't mind." He thinks of a way to explain it, "I have accepted that she is not my mate and may never be, Mother. But her arms welcome me when I seek her out and she does not turn me away. I make her smile and when I am with her, I know a joy greater than anything else. For me, that is enough. I can't explain why, it just is. I think it is having lost father and seeing how happiness can be easily stolen that I would rather treasure the moments I have than regret that which I do not."
Danica says, "I won't lecture you, Zane. I won't tell you what worked for me because you aren't me. I will not say ill about her." Her right wrist is swollen but she picks at the drying tangles of hair with her left. "But it is more than open arms that make a mate.""
Zane nods, "Mother, I know. It is easing another's pain and holding them when words are not enough. It is sharing your last bite of food with them because there is nothing else to eat and neither of you would starve." He looks to Danica to see if he should continue, "It's knowing that you would do all within your power to save them from harm."
"It's knowing that they belong to you entirely, body and soul and spirit." Danica's passion and fanaticism for Tyrus is buried beneath all that ice. "That no living creature could pull them from your arms. It's feeling that way after a century or two."
Zane has always admired the way his parents felt about one another, hoping that he would one day find something that might match it. "I've only known Faelin a little while compared to the time you and father spent together."
"I would be presuming too much to say she is 'not' the one," Danica shifts to turn differently; a partially dry Weir is still a wet one. "The question will rear its head in time and you will have to answer it as you see fit. But, Zane. Tyrus and I didn't raise you to seek the middle ground."
"She is not the middle ground, Mother." Zane doesn't argue, just states how he sees it. "When my year and a day has passed, I will declare my intentions again. She shares so many views in the traditions of our people, that I know she understands me more than anyone else ever has."
"Zane," Danica replies softly, stating it the way she sees it. "You were the one that said you didn't know if she'd ever be your mate. If she will not be your mate through trial and failure on your part or refusal. Then she IS the middle ground."
Maybe she is but in his eyes, Danica can see that Zane only wants Faelin. "It has hurt," he admits, "To see others chased and caught."
"Don't you see that that affection-- that love--will turn to pain and disappointment if she does not become your mate? If the moons pass to years and defeats continue...or even if she rejects your challenge. That possible future of failed pursuit pains me for you." Danica frowns and says, "Or as my father might say, "You are chasing sour grapes". I have nothing against Faelin. I do not listen to gossip and do not care about the jealousy of women. But a woman, who refuses to mate, refuses to take only you. If not in actuality, in spirit.
"I cannot give up. That too is something I learned from you and father, Mother. When the day comes, I will declare my intention again and if I fail or do not win the right to chase her, then I will know." Zane looks a little pained to say that out loud but having done it, he cannot take it back. "I may have rushed my decision to chase her when I did. Declaring myself out of fear that the Regent himself was going to do it."
Danica nods, "You have time to figure things out," she turns her head to look to the pool of water and the exit. "A Weir should not declare himself from fear but in strength and he should run and fight with that same passion in his heart. We don't love like others, Zane. We love with a passion that threatens to consume us. It will consume you eventually too and it will weaken you if you don't have more than just a woman who welcomes you into your arms and her bed but a mate who takes pride and strength from her commitment to you."
Zane curls up and lays his head in his mother's lap, seeking a little bit of comfort from old familiar days as a child. "You might think I'm blinded by desire, Mother or have my emotions confused but you are right. I do have time and when I declare my intentions again, they will be on my terms only."
Danica's fingers stroke at Zane's hair lightly, "My son that is all that I could or would ever ask of you. That you love deeply and without hesitancy to sacrifice. Love consumes us. Our emotions, it is more than what we are. It is who we are. If Faelin is the one, you will find what you seek in your union with her." Her nails scritch through his dark hair. "But these feelings need to be fully reciprocated or over time; the madness will call for you. It's always on the edges of our sanity. The darkness we call home."
Zane smiles as he listens to his mother's words of wisdom. "I have missed this, being able to speak with you, Mother. Sharing my triumphs and failings." Zane isn't ashamed to admit when he does fail at something, often discussing it with you or Tyrus to learn where he went wrong to ensure success the next time.
"We will have to run more often," Danica smile is missed in the shadows though their figures dance against the shadows on the cave's wall. "Before you know it the year will be over and you'll have your next challenge to meet. We also have my ritual. I've been lost in the dark, Son. That's what it means to be consumed by something you love. But I've started looking for exits."
Zane sits up and pulls Danica to him in a bear hug. He isn't his father but he does have big strong arms to wrap around her and offer some reassurance. "If you ever think you're lost, Roman, Alexis and I will come looking for you. We won't let you slip so far away next time."
Danica relaxes into Zane's hug. Her laughter is brief and echoes in the cave as a reminder of happier ties. "Yes, but can you save me from myself? This might be too much to task any of you with."
Zane boasts, "Our father is Tyrus Icemane, Kazimir's most trusted advisor in days gone by. Our mother is Danica Icemane, the swiftest of foot that our village has ever seen. We are their children and their children can do anything."
Danica's laughter rings throughout the cave, melting some of the ice from her heart. "Zane, do I need to remind you that I failed to keep up with you? Perhaps my swiftness is a thing of yesteryear. I'll have to find something else."
Zane grins, "You said yourself, you've been lost in the dark and looking for exits. Give it time and regular running and I'll be left in your wake."
"I may," Danica is silent. There is the snapping of logs in the fire, the lulling soft wave of the river against the entrance to the cave. "Or you might find that you have significant motivation to make sure you aren't outrun."
Zane grins and lets Danica out of his embrace to fetch some pillows and blankets for them. "That is what I am hoping, mother."
Danica accepts the blanket and pillows, saying, "Time will tell." She doesn't seem tired or in need of blankets but she smiles indulgently and continues to watch the flames in silence until the fire dies and there is only the darkness and her thoughts: one chasing the other for dominance over the runner.
Zane does lie down and curl up, getting comfortable and letting sleep claim him.