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You've Made It
She stood with her eyes closed. She didn't want to just know her new tribe's central territory simply just by its looks; she wanted to make sure she knew every small detail about it. What it sounded like, smelled like, felt like, everything there was to it. The dainty love songs of birds fluttered through the air, and beyond that, the gentle susurrus of leaves swaying in the breeze. Beyond that, she could hear the trickle of a stream, and the movement of the forest animals as they made their way home for the evening. They were too far for her to hear much of the tribe's citizens in the valley, aside from the occasional shout of playful pups. But what she couldn't hear of the tribe, she could certainly smell. Auberon was right: his tribe certainly knew how to cook. The smells were so varied, and yet everything fit together perfectly like one giant barbecue. She could smell everything from miles away; the sweet freshwater fish, savory game meat, and the tanginess of vegetables and fruit. It took her up until now to realize just how hungry she had become during their last day of traveling, and she licked her lips at the thought of digging into their delicacies. The breeze brought not only more delicious scents, but also a cool breeze she so very welcomed after the warm day. She dug her feet into the soft grass underneath her. This definitely wasn't the jungle anymore.
Aricia felt Auberon's hand as he grasped her shoulder and hugged her from behind, and she blinked open her eyes. The valley was nestled between large hills of green grass and towering trees, glowing golden with the setting sun. The valley itself was more suited as a meadow, she mused. Few trees were scattered amongst it, and while grass was the main foliage, dozens of orange, yellow, and red flower fields also populated the meadow. The tribe's town seemed to move with the land, blending in so well that at points, she couldn't tell what was land and what was building. Some buildings looked as if they were carved into the hillside, while others simply rested atop them. But the town took up a fairly small portion of the valley itself, mainly resting against the eastern side, where the hills were large enough to be considered mountains. They would get beautiful sunsets, however, their sunrises would be shady until the sun had risen in the sky a bit. But that was all right, she thought. She didn't get sunsets or sunrises in her old tribe, and sunsets just meant she could admire her new tribe's beauty later in the day.
Auberon lit a lantern for them as the sun dipped gently behind them, and she watched as dozens of lights illuminated the town below like fireflies. They danced around the town for a bit, until clustering together slowly. Her mate smiled and raised their lantern higher in greeting, and soon, the ones below began to slowly walk in their direction. He led down the hill and she followed, appreciating the plush grass under her feet with every step. The ground of her home tribe was dirt, dirt and mud and nothing else. Everything about this place she loved already; the scenery, the smells, the crisp, fresh air. And most importantly, it was where her Auburn was and loved too.
The tribe met them midway between the bottom of the hill and their town. Everyone was full of joy, hugging and kissing on cheeks and cheerful tears. They embraced her as equally as Auberon who was one of their own, accepting her as a tribe member right away. She got just as many praises and "congratulations!" as he did, perhaps even a bit more seeing as she was the first alpha female they've had in their tribe. They led them back to the town, chatting away with both them and each other. Aricia laughed lightly, still amused by their strange accents even after traveling with Auberon for over a year. The rest of the town was joyous upon their arrival, insisting they threw a feast in their honor. She couldn't deny, of course. Nor would she want to, given how badly her stomach was growling in hunger. Auberon agreed as well, and soon everyone was running around to accomplish it. Those who were in their houses were awoken, pups were kept out past their bedtime for celebration, and cheerful cadences cut through the chill air. The valley soon smelled as it had when they had arrived, and Aricia licked her lips once more.
The feast was grand. The food was placed on a long table carved out of one of the trees from the forest, centered perfectly atop a tulle tablecloth that trailed along the center of the table from one end to the other. Lanterns lit the valley almost entirely, leaving only the hills and mountains in the distance dark. They ate, and she had never tasted anything so good before. It made sense that the secluded, secret tribe should have its own secret recipes, she mused. They allowed her to sample everything first, out of kindness as she had never had any before and due to her newfound position as head of the tribe. Just as it had when she smelled it from a distance, every item of food on the table blended together so incredibly well she wanted to just eat it all at once. Upon taking her full share of the food, the rest of the tribe dug in. Even if they had already eaten dinner, there was no passing up a feast, Auberon explained. It was considered rude, and it's not like anyone actually minded eating more as long as they had enough to go around. But the best part of the feasts, he explained, was after they had finished eating.
It came so suddenly, Aricia was genuinely surprised. All at once, the lanterns' fire was whisked away, and one by one, the others in the valley followed suit. She hadn't noticed a few toskals leave the table, but they were soon rejoined by those few that had. Her eyes needed a moment to adjust to the sudden darkness. For a while all she saw was the fuzzy black and purple static in her eyes that had come from the disappearing light. But she slowly adapted to the pitch darkness, only to realize, it wasn't pitch dark at all. The sky danced with stars; so many stars she had ever seen in her life. The valley was illuminated as well, although this time, by the starlight rather than the toskal-made lanterns. She stared at the stars, never having been so transfixed by the night sky. The moon was nowhere to be seen, hidden completely behind the mountains to the east. Not even its light shone past the mountains. There wasn't darkness either; their entire valley was lit by the night sky. They had the stars. The stars would never wax or wane or disappear completely, nor would they devour and leave everything dark. They were simply there, dancing over their valley in ways they could never for other tribes.
Aricia leaned back against Auberon, still gazing up into the sky. Her home was here now. No stinky jungles, no mud, no terrifying swamp creatures threatening her every move. Just the valley, the forest, the lakes, and the serenity that came with it all. She closed her eyes, and smiled.
All The Things That Made Me
"Aricia."
She lifted her head up from her books, startled. She hadn't even heard Auberon come in, let alone tell that he was standing right beside her. Her mate laughed, and set a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry to disturb you from your work, but the elders want you. I think they're going to officially induct you into our tribe," He smiled.
Aricia rose from her seat, and looked at Auberon. Was it really time? She had spent so much time trying to get them to like her. Of course, they all accepted her. They were ecstatic, even, that Auberon would return with a mate outside of the tribe. And an alpha female, not only the leader of their tribe, but also the leader of their religion. She spent so much time observing, studying, and sketching the stars in the night sky. Was she really ready? Surely the elders could continue for a while until she really felt ready. But they had already given her a grace period before she took over their leadership to learn about their customs and what it meant to be the leader. She had doubts that she was ready, but if they believed she was, she had to oblige.
She was led to the top of the East Mountain by Auberon, and following after, the rest of the tribe. By the time they'd neared the top, the sun had set, and the dimming atmosphere now held a cool blue hue with stars splintering through. The peak of the mountain was still just out of sight, and Aricia lifted her chin in an attempt to see. Auberon smiled and told her to wait here, and then continued on up with the rest of the tribe following, murmuring words of encouragement to her and some even close to tears, claiming they 'never thought they would see this in their lifetime.' Aricia watched as everyone vanished behind the mountain but her, and then waited.
After the last of the light fled and the sky was illuminated by only the light of the stars, she heard footsteps slowly shuffle down the mountainside. It was Brisan, the current elder in charge of their worship of the stars. He smiled at her and then turned, leading back up the mountain without a word. Aircia followed, watching as his body vanished over the peak of the mountain and wondering what her eyes would behold upon doing the same. Light danced gently on the horizon of the mountain, but it was cast like no lantern she had ever seen.
There was starlight like she had never seen it before. Every member of the tribe was atop the mountain, from the eldest of the elderly to the smallest newborn pup. Every one was adorned in small diamonds, catching the light of the stars and scattering it until it fell into another diamond and the process was started over again. The artificial stars were so dazzling that she didn't notice the main source casting the starlight until Brisan shifted at an angle where the light was cast into her eye. She blinked and shifted, and then stood staring at him and the starlight staff in a trance. He gestured for her to come forward, and after a long while of just staring, literally starstruck, she headed toward the center of the flat mountain peak. The elders adorned her own body with the small diamonds, using sticky sap to stick them directly onto her skin and then necklaces and bracelets and other jewelry until she felt nearly every corner of her being was covered with the sparkling gemstones. Across her shoulders, they lay a necklace with tulle shawls that trailed to the floor behind and in front of her. The elders stepped back and smiled.
Brisan stepped forward, and raised the staff sideways toward her. She stared at it, mesmerized at how it not only collected the starlight, but seemed to radiate light itself, before taking it into her own hands. There was a diamond encrusted into the end of the staff, and she was almost too scared to touch it to the ground as Brisan had. But before she could do anything, he lifted her arm holding the staff up, and raised his voice to the tribe. "It has been countless years since we have had a true leader of this tribe and of our stars. Not even in all my time have we had one, until now."
He lowered her arm, and stepped forward. "Aricia is the first female alpha we have had in ages. She will lead us not only in diplomacies, but also in the stars. Aricia?" He turned to look at her.
Aricia looked up, not knowing that she would have to do anything specific. Thankfully, Brisan simply stepped back to let her be in front now. But he wasn't saying anything, and it was just awkward silence. She didn't know what to do - in honesty, she thought the ceremony would be a lot more complex than just receiving the staff and being decorated in diamonds. She stood there in silence for a moment, and then turned her gaze away from the tribe to the stars themselves. They were peaceful, serene. They were what she needed, now and always. She wasn't raised to believe in the stars, but instead the moon, like most toskals. But now that the moon was nowhere to be seen and only the stars were visible, she learned that the stars were what she had believed in, not the moon. The stars were all she needed. Aricia smiled, looking back down at her tribe, and simply raised the staff to the stars themselves.