Skaoi

Howls fill the night air, blessings to the stars for the gift of the Umbra wolf. 'Great Lupus,' They cry, their heads tipped to the moon, 'We give thanks for a pup so strong to join our pack, so like the servants of you looming shadow.'
They celebrated over the cooling corpse of a Death's Head Stag, offering the liver to a tiny Mirror whose markings matched that of their ethereal cousin. She wasn't very big and strong yet, but they knew that she was old enough to understand what they had been saying. She had been raised by them, and would rejoin her siblings someday, unless the wolves could convince her to stay. Freki, a brother much older than her, was only a fellow clan mate. But he too had been raised by the wolves, and thus was like family to her. She wasn't of BlackPearl's blood, but she most certainly was a Prowess Dragon. Her mother and father had been part of the clan since it's beginning. She sniffed the liver inquisitively, eyes shining with love for her pack-the one that had raised her.

Suddenly, from the shadows leapt a live Umbrawolf. His fur was wispy like the spirit, and his teeth were sharp as the crescent moon. He snarled at this disgusting display of ignorance. Couldn't these wolves see that this dragon pup was no Umbrawolf? They let him pass them on his way to the kill, where the hatchling stood alert to his presence. They would not fight him, because to them, he was like royalty. A wolf that knew the shadows more intimately than any other, only he could determine the true value of the Dragon pup. It seemed, as his violet hued eyes bored into her, that he did not deem her worthy. He snatched away the liver, and chased her jaws snapping into the tangled wood.

Through the forest they ran, over gnarled trunks and through twisted brambles, pushing past thorns and treading the faintly glowing waters of the creeping creek. She was deeply attuned to this forest, but the Hatchling simply couldn't outrun a fully grown Umbrawolf. She fell, and twisted her forepaw. Her wings would have been good use to her, but now it was too late. He fell on top of her and began tearing at her soft flesh. She screamed defiantly, and pushed him away. Just barely his size, she had at least this advantage that though she was but a pup, she was still the Pup of a Dragon. They circled, the periwinkle laced ichor slipping over her toned muscles reflecting almost blue in the light of a nearby shroom.

"You dare to pretend to be Wolf?" He snarled in the dragon tongue. "You bring shame to wolves... wolves and Dragon!"

"My name is Skaoi." She replied cooly, though her body shivered from the shock of his previous blow. "I made no claim to be other than what I am. Being a part of this Pack however, does not bring me shame. It brings me pride, pride that I will carry boldly on my shoulders when I return at last to the Matriarch, Black Pearl."

The Umbrawolf howled with rage, and attacked again. That was when a bolt of bluish ice stopped him in his tracks. The Fae Idunn had magic enough to do this, and stop the wolf from killing her daughter. His surprise was great. What a tiny dragon!
Then came the others-Lykaonia, Freki, and finally Bluehawk. They surrounded the wolf, their terrible expressions daring him to try again. They advanced, and the Umbrawolf wisely retreated, hackles raised and ears slammed forward. He had almost killed one of their own, a hatchling who had been entrusted to the pack and lawfully admitted. They would first tear him apart, but then they would hide his remains from the moon, that he may never see Her again.

"No!" Skaoi rushed forward and prostrated herself before the furious Dragons in a very wolflike fashion. Her violet eyes however met theirs, and she was able to still their fury for the moment. "You musn't kill him. He doesn't deserve to die."

"Oh?" Lykaonia, daughter of Nimbastra, shifted her forest-green wings in impatience. "Was he going to give the same mercy to you?" Her question was a rumble, coming from that deep place in the chest.

"By law you were free to live as a wolf with the Pack." Freki explained. "If this Umbrawolf wishes to treat you as a dragon, then we will defend you like dragons."

"Please." She begged them, ignoring the wounds she had to stand straight and tall. "No thoughtless killing."

The Umbrawolf bowed his head, and bent one knee. Something had changed about him, something most of the dragons couldn't really make out. "Forgive me, Dragons of the Shadow Flight. My name is Cireno, I was under the impression that it was she who had tried to take advantage of the Simple Wolves in this forest. I now see that she couldn't have possibly done such a thing. Skaoi will never fear of me again. I should like to protect her from now on, should she, and her hornorable clan deem it pleasing to them."


Some time later, on another moonlit night, Skaoi rested by the river with her friend. She had now doubled his size, and was strong enough to fight and kill other dragons who trespassed on her territory. The Umbrawolf Cireno laid beside her, ears pricked for the sounds of prey scrabbling among the reeds. She tilted her head to look at him, a question threatening to drive her mad.

"Cireno, you are free to go. I am a dragon now, more than ever. You shouldn't let your honor get in the way, because it no longer binds you to me. You should return to the other realm, and be happy."

The ethereal wolf sighed through his snout before replying. "I have no desire to return there. I wish I could hide behind my honor, but I do believe that I have never met a dragon like you, Skaoi. You speak in the language of the wolf, even now. I know you want me to stay, so I plan to. I plan to fight by your side until the day I die."

And the river glowed faintly with the reflection of their peaceful, contented expressions.