An Audience With The Alphess [Piala]

[Stormy May]

Mist made her way through the dense trees, attempting to avoid pockets of deep snow. The harsh winter had set in during her journey back from the mountain. By some grand luck, today had been a rather calm day for the weather, but the sky was clear, and whatever snow that wasn't cast away in the shadows of the bare trees glinted in the sun, nearly blinding her.

She yelped as she fell into a deeper hole of white. Both of her front paws were trapped deep, and her hind legs weren't providing enough leverage to help her escape. If her Power was strong enough to stun small prey, then surely she could blow some of this snow away from her paws...

She had to work in thin layers, blowing away thin chunks and wrestling her legs from the tightly packed ice, thanking the White Wolves that more snow wasn't falling around her. The light blue linework mark on her shoulder shined, casting an almost unnoticeably dim light on the ground beside her.

When she finally pulled herself free, she sat next to a tree to catch her breath. She liked winter, just not being in winter. The snow was pretty, but slogging through it wasn't, and though her fur was thick, being outside was permanently cold.

No matter, she thought. I've already made use of my power, so that's a plus. She had one last task to accomplish now that she was back in pack territory. Mist let out the loudest howl she could muster, seeking an audience with her alphess.

[Rykett]

Piala:

Piala's gallop to the copse was interrupted as she slipped in a pocket of deep snow. There were too many of things. They posed a danger to the inhabitants of Tranquil Meadows, but Piala couldn't get rid of them anymore than she could stop the sun from rising. She pulled herself free after some moments of struggling with the freezing powder. Luckily the hole that succeeded in trapping her was not as deep as others that Piala She shook the snow of her white pelt which easily camouflaged her in the surrounding snow save for the red star and flecks on her muzzle. The skeletal trees loomed above the alphess as she continued on more carefully.

The silver wolf that had called came into view. Piala identified her with a friendly bark of recognition, "Mist! Is that you?" Piala drew closer until she stood in front of the other she-wolf. Her posture was comfortably dominant as she scanned Mist's form. Her thick fur, well-groomed fur covered her form but it was evident that the small she-wolf was no longer starving. Instead, the young wolf seemed to be thriving within Eternal Snowfall's borders though perhaps that was just the facade that Mist's thick coat created. "I see you have found the shelter and food that we provide nourishing," Piala said her tone caring and cheerful, "Why did you request my presence?"

[Stormy May]

Mist found a little humor in the fact that Piala had found herself in the very same predicament that she had, though in a less troublesome manner. She was like a snowball tumbling into a pile of her own kind. She decided not to mention it.

She bowed her head in greeting as Piala stood before her, asking what her buisiness with the young wolf was. Mist took a deep breath.

"I'd like to th-thank you again for providing m-me with food an shelter s-so kindly. I've regained my st-strength and trekked the mountain to r-receive a power, and now I ask th-that you assign me a role w-within your ranks so that I can repay y-your kindness." She spoke slowly, but all in one breath, afraid that with her ever-present stutter, Piala wouldn't be able to understand a word of her speech.

Her real fear, however, was that of being unable to fulfill any role. Even with a power, she was weak and quite untalented, and often clumsy. Having some sort of place within the pack was the only thing that could possibly fulfill her need to belong.

[Rykett]

Piala:

Mist's stuttering speech was fearful but not difficult for Piala to understand. She requested a rank and had a power to boot. Piala knew the strength of powers. Many wolves had sought powers. Some had been refused the gift, while others returned successfully and bearing a mark of their new advantage. Piala's orange eyes quickly picked out the light blue shape of one such mark on Mist's shoulder which told of the air element. No doubt whichever role Piala chose to assign to Mist, she would find opportunities to use her power.

A rank... Which role would Mist best fit into? She was definitely a quiet wolf whose personality wouldn't fit the role of warrior. In fact, she seemed not to have much motivation to attack anything at all which Piala admired. She was a good wolf to the core who wished never to inflict pain. Despite her thoughts of this shy, kind wolf, all Piala had were impressions of Mist. She hadn't found much time to examine the young she-wolf's behavior since the alphess had been patrolling to border much too often in hopes of recruiting new members to the pack. Mist knew herself better than the alphess did, though Piala did have a good sense of character.

"Of course, we can find you a role, immediately," Piala said as she was sizing up Mist, "Which do you think you'd be most effective in?"

[Stormy May]

Piala's question had thrown Mist off gaurd. The very last thing she'd expected from her was a request for her very own opinion.

Piala was asking her, and she had no clue how to answer. Mist sized herself up- she was small, agile, and quick, but also quite weak. She had almost no social skills, and couldn't fight even if she tried. Could she be useful at all? A huntress wouldn't do- a rabbit was more likely to kill her than she was to kill it. A warrior of any type was out of the question. She thought for a moment longer when an idea sparked.

"I-I'm not quite sure, m-myself," she said slowly. "But I'm s-small and quick, and I'm not quite s-sure my traveller's soul h-has left me. Perhaps th-there's something that would r-require quick travel long d-distances?" She felt proud of the idea, and was sure it was something she'd be happy doing. She knee the area well, and the most important thing- she'd be able to look for her brothers while carrying out pack duties. One would never interfere with the other, they'd simply be intertwined.

[Rykett]

Piala:

The alphess thought over Mist's qualities. As Piala had already gathered, no fighting or hunting for this wolf. Piala had considered giving Mist the rank of caregiver, since she seemed to be a gentle wolf that may be more comfortable caring for pups rather than harming anything. That position would cause Mist to remain within pack territory, but she was a traveler. Perhaps a diplomat to other packs? No, her stuttering speech showed her nervousness about conversing with others. Piala finally thought of a position that may fit.

"Scouts roam the valley, patrolling for oncoming danger. They report to the Gamma with news of the other packs' movement. Since the pack currently has no Gamma, you would report to the Alpha. Would this position suit you?" Eternal Snowfall was mostly made of subordinates, currently. It'd be a relief to start filling the empty ranks that were basically nonexistent at the moment. Piala hoped that after she placed Mist is her proper rank, she could help the other members find a position that fit them.

[Stormy May]

A wide grin spread over Mist's muzzle as Piala offered up a position. The rank sounded absolutely perfect to her, and it was a wonderful way to protect her new family without causing harm in the process. She nodded happily.

"That sounds just w-wonderful!" She said, standing and dancing around the alphess like a pup. "Th-thank you!" She skipped around Piala a bit more, when ker-thunk. Mist dropped straight into a snow pocket, right up to her white stomach. She flushed, full of embarrassment. She twisted and struggled, trying to get out without any help. She was blowing away snow chunks furiously. When she finally freed herself, she looked at Piala, awaiting a rain of laughter, and noticed a heavy powdering of white across her snout. Mist fell in the snow, rolling in her very own laughter. One of her snow chunks had found a target!

She remembered a time long ago when she'd play with her brothers, all trying to bury one another in snow. Her mother had dropped a lump of snow on her her head from a branch, which had started a long, snowy war. She couldn't help but be reminded of it- a time long ago when life was nothing but laughter.

[Rykett]

Piala:

Piala smiled as Mist accepted the position. The rank seemed to fit the she-wolf perfectly. So perfectly in fact that Mist was bounding around like a pup. As Mist paraded around, Piala thought over the next step. It was time she organized the ranks. Eternal Snowfall was slowly growing with new wolves joining quite often. Perhaps she should call a pack meeting or maybe it'd be better to arrange one-on-one audiences such as the way Piala had given Mist a position. As she planned for the reestablishment of the other positions, the sound of Mist's happy, skipping pawsteps suddenly was cut off with a ker-thunk! Piala looked over to see Mist half-buried in the snow. The alphess couldn't help but laugh at the surprised look on Mist's face.

Her light, good-natured laughter drifted through the surrounding forest airily. She padded towards Mist to help her out of the predicament. The branches of the skeletal trees rattled as Mist summoned the wind. Piala wasn't too startled to see the power mark glowing on Mist's fur though she stepped back as the breeze whipped through her white fur. Mist had said that she'd received a power though she hadn't specified. Now it was revealed that Mist had chosen Current. Piala's soft laughter had diminished to just a smile when a clunk of snow as it plopped onto her muzzle and splattered across her face. Piala crossed her eyes to look at the mound of white that sat on her muzzle before shaking her head and sending most of the snow flying. Her smile, which had dissolve for a second as the snowball surprised her, returned as she joined in laughing with Mist. It'd been far too long since Piala had relaxed for a second to have fun.

[Stormy May]

Mist gathered her wits, shaking the snowflakes from her silver fur. It'd been so long since she'd felt so carefree.

She felt like her life was coming to a second wind. New beginnings, new opportunities, she felt completely new, almost stronger somehow.

She reminded herself that she was, in fact, in the presence of an alpha, and she probably had important buisiness to tend to.

"I-I'll be going, then," she told her. "T-travelling to d-do. I suppose I'll v-visit Treason. She m-must be wondering ab-bout me."

She had been reminding herself over and over to visit Treason and let her know that her journey had fared well, but now she had an excuse.

"Th-thank you again, Piala." And she was off with a respectful dip of the head.

-exit Mist-