Pure Moonlight (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Kreston, he needs to study hard." Selena scolded as he admitted that he had distracted Ruben from his studies. "And Ruben, you know that you have to work hard to make something of yourself one day."

 

[KieranSoares]

As night fell and Ruben was tucked away in bed at Volgo and Dayja's house (as Kreston's own home only had one proper bed at the time from his living alone before), Kreston sat with Selena out under the stars near his home. The valley had fallen silent and only the wind stirred. Many were still awake, but they were doing just what Kreston was doing: watching the night set in. Selena had known, from the first werewolf she'd ever met and up til now that werefolk were people of nature, and they spent the beginning and end of their days reflecting on the earth and how they might better themselves for the mutual benefit of the earth and their own lives and loved ones. Few humans were so in touch with nature. In fact, the only real human nature-lover Selena knew was her eldest brother, who often had trouble sleeping inside a house and would rather be out under the sky or in his nomadic ger.

Kreston's deep amber eyes reflected the nearly-full moon's light, and even if he wasn't terribly young or old, she could see the wisdom of his kind and the understanding of how the night sky and the world around him worked, despite how utterly mystifying it could be.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Are you happy being home?" Selena asked her mate, watching him intently as he stared up at the moon that they both loved so much. "You waited a long time and were so patient with me along the way."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Of course I'm happy, love," Kreston smiled as his deep amber eyes turned to her. "I've got everything I could ever want now, and neither of us will have to worry about being away from family once we're settled up north. Ruben is fitting in perfectly well and I know our families will get along well now that I've met your parents and you've met mine."

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena leaned her head against his shoulder as he told her that he was happy. It meant a lot to her that he was happy with the way that his life had turned out. She wanted him to be happy above everything else that they went through.

 

[KieranSoares]

The days began to fly, until just as the snow began to melt, the tribe was on the move. Slowly but surely, they'd packed up what little they required and, just before they left, there was a last celebration and farewell between those who would go north and those who would stay. Those who remained would keep the Golin name, but those who left for the north would now become the Gol Dun, a name which had long been debated amongst the tribe. It was werefolk custom to change the tribal name of those leaving if not all the tribe was going away from their ancestral lands.

The Maliar family, especially Kreston and Ruben and Selena who knew the way best, led the new Gol Dun forth and the slow journey took them a full month to allow for old, young, and sheer numbers. A few children were born on the way and given names to reflect the words 'traveler' or 'wanderer'. When they finally arrived in the open lands between Inverness and the eastern coast, it was the Ghis family themselves who welcomed the Gol Dun, as well as a neighboring tribe called the Roka Jun who were mostly werecats and foxes. Selena was met by her loving brothers and sisters and mother, and Brogan went above and beyond to extend a hand of friendship to the new arrivals. Dayja and Kitty got along immediately, and Volgo was quite content to sit and chat with Vincenzo and Durban and he was particularly fond of Gabriel.

 

[heartofcourage]

It felt good to be home, Selena thought to herself as she sat next to her mother and Dayja, watching Ruben play with his cousins. This was how her life should have always been. If it hadn't been for her stubborn pride and her father's insanity, she might have been able to stay closer to home.

 

[KieranSoares]

The days remained as such for a fair while and the Gol Dun settled in quite well. It wasn't long before the people of Inverness thought nothing of having werefolk neighbors, and though there was great curiosity on the humans' part, there was a general consensus that the only thing that had changed was that they now had new neighbors. A few new jobs were found for teachers of English, and a few humans gathered to learn Lunar. The Gol Dun had just finished their hardier, but still-temporary homes when trouble finally struck.

Selena was at the Gol Dun's small market with Kreston when a small werewolf man by the name of Temu came racing into the village crying out for the warriors. His silvery-grey fur was stained with blood and he was clutching a torn cloak. Selena couldn't understand a word he said even as he spoke in English to the warriors. Kreston was the first to step forward and make him slow down.

"Peace, brother," Kreston said softly, and Temu's eyes filled with tears.

"There is no peace... they took Alim."

"Who?"

"The hunters... they followed us." Temu outright collapsed and passed out then, and Kreston barely managed to catch him. To say he was alarmed was an understatement. He let a warrior take Temu, and the others looked to him as if he were their captain. Since his incredible military performance at the side of the Ghis, he'd gained quite a reputation. Kreston looked at them all in confusion, but realized he needed to guide them. He began doling out orders in rapid-fire Lunar. Even when the Captain himself arrived, he stood back and took orders rather than gave. Soon warriors had surrounded the village and a party was sent out in the direction Temu had come from to see if they could find his son, Alim. Once everything was running smoothly, Kreston took a breath and looked to Selena with obvious fear in his eyes.

"... Don't let Ruben go off on his own... Or any child, for that matter. We need to talk to Brogan."

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena had settled into her new role among the Gol Dun nicely. She took an active role in building their home in a glen on the edge of the woods. It reminded her of the little cabin that she had left behind to come with Kreston. Their home was larger than the one that they had left, more rooms for visiting family. And, Selena had kept the secret that she was expecting yet again from Kreston. She was nervous to tell him after having such a difficult pregnancy the last time.

They were in the market that day buying fresh meat and other supplies when a commotion happened and suddenly Kreston was pulled into action as Temu swore that they had taken his son. She waited for Kreston to finish and she nodded, ready to go and find her son.

"I'll gather him up and take him to the keep to speak to my brother." She said softly as she kissed Kreston's cheek and then moved to find Kreston at the local school.

When she entered the building, the teacher was just finishing up the lessons for the day and all eyes turned towards her. "I'm sorry, Kovo, but there has been an incident. All of the children need to go home immediately."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kovo looked up from his book that he was reading aloud in Lunar and he nodded to Selena. "Alright, everyone, we're going to walk back to the village center together. No running off, no falling behind, understood?" He then looked to his oldest students, "I want you lot to stay in a group and run ahead, spread the word that parents are to pick up their children in the square." The older students hurried on ahead and Ruben came to Selena.

"Ma? What's wrong?" He asked softly as the others filed out. They'd been using an old Invernessian barn, long left unused, as a school house until a proper one was built. It was good enough to keep off the weather and provided enough room.

 

[heartofcourage]

"There are hunters in the woods, Ruben." Selena said softly as she touched her son's cheek. "And you are going to stay with me while we go to your Uncle Brogan."

She then took his hand and held it tightly, knowing that it was a dangerous time for any wolf as they walked from the school building in the direction of Inverness Keep.

"Your Da is taking care of some things while they search for Alim." Ruben was bright enough to know that there was incredible danger out there. "So until it's safe, you have to stay with me or your father."

 

[KieranSoares]

Ruben kept close to his mother's side, only daring to let go her hand when they got away from the village and onto the path leading to Inverness. There was about two miles between the town and the village, and that two miles was led by a trail through a thick forest that crossed a tiny stream with a little stone bridge. It was the safest stretch of woodland in Brogan's lands, being surrounded by farmer's fields and homes so that no strangers could venture unnoticed in or out of it. Ruben and Selena had no reason to suspect danger as they came to the tiny bridge that was hardly necessary. One long stride or a hop could cross the little stream.

As Ruben's footpaw hit the cool stone, an arrow shot out that just barely missed them both. He froze in fear, thus giving him no time to react when a man Selena recognized bolted out and threw him to the ground. He lifted an axe over his head, and if Ruben hadn't squirmed away, he would've lost his head instantly. Instead, the blade bit into Ruben's shoulder and broke straight through his collarbone. The boy yelped more in surprise than pain and bolted away, pausing by a tree to gaze back at his mother in terror before he darted behind it to avoid another arrow. The hunter turned to Selena, and she would see that it was the same man that had confronted her back near Edinburgh. From the forest came a white werewolf with no tribal tattoos, obviously the archer. He looked oddly similar to the werewolf Kreston had killed. They must've been family. He had another arrow nocked, aimed at Selena.

 

[heartofcourage]

Everything happened around the two of them so quickly that Selena had little time to react. She saw Ruben scamper off into the woods and hoped that he had enough in him to run home for the others. She turned towards the man with the ax, recognizing him from the encounter at her cabin. The other wolf held an arrow notched and ready to kill her.

She said nothing as she suddenly moved, the arrow striking at her feet where she had been standing. Running as fast as she could, she suddenly bent at the waist and tackled the man with the ax, a shoulder driving straight into his stomach. She could fight with the best of her brothers and knew that if she didn't take this man down, he would kill again.

 

[KieranSoares]

The hunter growled viciously when she rammed into him and as the air was driven from his lungs, he shot a look to his werewolf companion. The werewolf dropped his bow and bolted forward to grab Selena away, his nails digging cruelly into her waist. The hunter had dropped his axe and he reached for a dagger at his belt, fumbling to unsnap the small strip of leather that kept the blade from sliding out.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena felt the wolf grab her about the waist, his nails digging cruelly into her skin. She watched as the hunter dropped his axe and reached for his dagger, fumbling to unsnap it from its sheath. Selena kicked backwards at the wolf, stomping down hard on his foot paw as she twisted and fought to get away from him.

 

[KieranSoares]

The wolf yelped as the snap of small bones in his footpaw crackled in the air, and just as the hunter unsheathed his dagger, a small flash of black barreled into him and knocked him off the bridge. It was Ruben, and he stole the man's blade away, leaping back up onto the bridge to sink his teeth into the werewolf's arm before he could react. In that same moment, Ruben pressed the handle of the blade into his mother's hand. He didn't know how to use it correctly yet, but he knew every Ghis could handle a blade or axe. The werewolf's grip was broken as he drew back his arm and back-handed Ruben clean off the bridge, and the boy fell in a dazed heap in the five-inch deep stream.

 

[heartofcourage]

The handle of the dagger pressed into her hand had Selena pulled back into reality. She spun quickly as her son was knocked over the bridge, the dagger digging deeply into the flesh of the wolf that held her tightly. She twisted it to cause the maximum damage possible to save herself and her son.

 

[KieranSoares]

With the blade sinking into his lower chest, the wolf's breath caught and he silently fell from the bridge beside Ruben. The boy lay, barely lucid as the hunter began to rise after shaking himself out of the stupor caused by hitting his head. The hunter fled, seeing his wolf companion dead. He ran for his life, but he didn't get far before a couple warriors who'd heard the scuffle on their patrol apprehended him down the path and Selena heard their struggle before one came running ahead to see what happened.

 

[heartofcourage]

The moment her attacker let go, Selena collapsed to her knees. She panted for breath, looking around in a kind of daze. She then pushed herself up onto her shaky legs, hurrying down the stream to help Ruben sit up in the water that was rushing around him.

"Love..." Selena said softly as she hugged her son tightly against her chest. "You should have gone for help. You could have gotten yourself killed."

 

[KieranSoares]

Ruben's small hand clutched at his mother's shirt and even against his black fur, she could see blood coursing from the awful wound in his shoulder. Quietly, he protested, "But they would've killed you instead..."

The warrior who'd come to the sound of the commotion turned out to be Taqu'un, and he didn't hesitate to hurry down into the stream to his brother's family. He knelt by them, taking a close look at Ruben's shoulder. "Need to get him to Inverness," Taqu'un murmured. "Closer from here." He lifted his head to look at Selena, as if wondering just how much in shock she was. Ruben had never suffered so much as a broken bone, and suddenly he'd taken an axe to the shoulder.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena looked up as Taqu'un made his way down to them, looking at the wound on Ruben's shoulder. SHe knew that he needed care and Vincenzo was the only man around that could give it to him. She nodded to her brother-in-law and instantly handed over Ruben into his care.

"Take him as quick as you can to Vincenzo. I'll be there shortly." Selena said softly, her legs feeling so weak as the adrenaline left her body.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ma..." Ruben whimpered as Taqu'un took him. holding the boy carefully against his chest, Taqu'un took off at a quick trot, but not too much so to jar Ruben. Selena was left alone with the dead form of her werewolf attacker until Taqu'un's partner, who'd apprehended the hunter and handed him off to someone else, came along the path. He could smell the blood as well as the evidence of Taqu'un leaving with Ruben, and he came to offer his help to Selena. He didn't speak any English, so all he could do was come to her side and offer her his hands to help her stand.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena took his hands, standing as he helped to steady her. She needed to get to Inverness, but she needed to tell Kreston what had happened. She was torn between going with her son and finding her mate. She kept looking down the trail that led back towards town and then back to Inverness. Before she knew it, she was pulling her hands from the wolf and hurrying off down the trail to follow behind Ruben.

 

[KieranSoares]

The wolf followed close behind her, intent to keep her safe even though he didn't really know what had happened. Upon their arrival, Durban was outside waiting for Selena having seen Taqu'un bring Ruben. When he saw his younger sister, Durban didn't stop her. Instead, he followed her inside to the small infirmary where Valentina was trying to stop the bleeding from Ruben's shoulder.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena's breath caught in her throat when she saw Valentina trying to stop the bleeding. Ruben looked pale, his eyes wide with fright as Vincenzo entered the room with a mortar and pestle in his hands. He was mashing up a thick paste of herbs, no doubt to dull the pain.

"I'm here, love." Selena said as she moved to Ruben's uninjured side and took his hand. "Your grandpa and aunt are going to fix you right up."