Lunar Dance

Hello Everyone,

Ok so I edited this chapter, Hopefully there are a lot less errors.

-S

***

Part 1

Action: an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity.

Nyyrikki, god of the hunt, sat on his golden throne, staring into a glittering, golden, bowl of sand. He rose suddenly, picked up the bowl and cast the glittering sand into the air. It froze, sparking in midair, glimmering brilliantly, like diamonds.

The room was silent; from the high ceilings with work depicting Nyrikki's hunts, to the white and gold veined marble floors, currently occupied by dozens of onlookers. None dared make a sound, none dared to move; the very air running through the golden palace ceased its flow. Slowly, the sand began to move, forming figures in the air.

Nyyrikki stared at the forms floating in the air, depicted in the golden sand. A woman and a wolf stood together, side by side. The woman wore a light dress, and had long hair curled to her back. She was tall, with her hand resting on the wolf's shoulder.

The wolf was at least three times the normal size of any normal wolf; it came to stand at the woman's breasts. It had a thick sleek coat, and was standing on all fours. He couldn't make out much more, as the sand once again shifted and changed.

Now it showed a woman and a man standing, facing each other. The woman was completely covered and wore a veil over her head. She was tall, reaching the mans shoulders; she had a full figure, with lush curves.

The man was tall and heavily muscled, with flowing hair down his back, and a hunting bow and quiver of arrows strapped to his back. He wore a pair of boots, pants, and a single cuff high up, on his bicep.

Nyyrikki flexed his biceps, feeling the cool metal expand. Smiling he flicked his wrist and cast the sand out of his home and onto the wind. Carried within the sand was a message for a goddess, whom he would be seeing very soon. The name Tabiti whispered across his mind, and had him instantly hard.

So it begins; Nyyrikki thought, turning and taking his golden throne once again. Casting his gaze across the room, he smiled as the people lowered their heads respectfully. He was power, eternity, life and death, and the beings surround him knew that.

Nyyrikki smiled darkly and raised his hands, encompassing the room. In a booming voice, he announced "It begins!"

_______________________

Jozlyn stared at the pendent a moment, trying to make out the intricate work. The pendant was made out of some type of green stone. The stone itself was a mix of different greens, the type you might find walking through a forest.

Carved into the heart of the stone was a woman; she had a veil over her face, and had a falcon on her right arm. There was a large space next to her, that looked like another animal should have been there, yet there was none.

Jozlyn puzzled over the pendent a moment, forgetting to pet her wolf. Running her thumb over the woman on the pendent, Jozlyn felt a strange pull. Jozlyn started to turn the pendent over when the wolf suddenly moved his head from her lap; she immediately released the pendent, and watched as the wolf stood up on all fours, his ears perked up and twitching.

Jozlyn heard the distant call of another wolf. The howl sounded lonely and distraught, which confused Jozlyn. I guess wolves can be scared too; Jozlyn thought with a mental shrug.

The wolf beside her answered the call with a howl of his own, something like be right there, in wolf. The wolf turned to her, golden eyes once again locked on emerald ones, as though they were trying to impart an important message on her.

Turing suddenly, the wolf sleekly jumped over the creek, taking off at a run through the forest. She watched him until she couldn't separate his form from the forests piecing black darkness.

Jozlyn sat there for a few minutes, realizing just how sublime her last 10 minutes had been. She rose slowly, feeling her muscles tighten from being on her knees for so long, with a boulder-of-a-wolf head on her lap.

Making her way across the soft lawn to her back kitchen door, Jozlyn noticed a peculiar thing about herself; she was calm. Perhaps more than that, she felt balanced, as if everything was falling into place, as if meeting a wolf was more than normal, it was to be expected and accepted.

Jozlyn reached her door, and entered the house, turning the lock shut behind her. Climbing the stairs, Jozlyn entered her bedroom and immediately collapsed into her bed.

Jozlyn didn't stop at the bathroom, nor did she change her clothes. Snuggling down into her black sheets, Jozlyn let her lids fall and sleep claim her.

______________________

Kayla woke up slowly; she gave her body a full stretch, a nice long yawn, and popped one eye open, then the other. Feeling a warm hand slide across her stomach, and reach up to cup her breast., Kayla let out a low moan, and bit her swollen bottom lip.

It took Kayla's mind a moment to realize what was happening, and what had happened the night before. Shit! She thought before she pursed her lips, realizing she had said it out loud. Her body began to stiffen, as she realized how much of an idiot she had been.

"Don't." That one word; said in a low, tortured voice stopped her retreat, if only for a heartbeat. Kayla let her eyes slide closed another minute, reveling in all that was Matt.

But Kayla was more pragmatic than that; she knew she had to get up, that was a must. Kayla also knew that Matt's parents had most likely heard them, that her aunt was near to having a heart attack from her not coming home yesterday. Yet, the knowledge that scared her the most was that she could, potentially be pregnant.

Calm; she coached herself, be calm. Very slowly, as if Matt was a wild animal she didn't want to spook, she removed herself from his arms. Warm arms; Kayla thought silently. Warm loving arm, that had keep me safe.

Kayla searched blindly in the dark for her clothes. Mainly because there were no windows in his basement, and she was not willing to turn on the lights. Dressing quickly and silently, Kayla was conscious of Matt's gaze trailing her even in the dark.

Heavy silence reigned, and with each moment that passed, a deep sense of guilt and fear lodged in her throat. Kayla finished dressing and felt blindly for the doorknob to the outside. The knob felt heavy and cold in her sweaty palm.

What to say? Kayla thought frantically, praying that Matt would break the silence, yet knowing he wouldn't give her that luxury. Her heart was faster than her mind, and she blurted out, rather loudly. " I'm in love with you too Matt!" Mortified, Kayla yanked the door open and escaped to the sunny outside world, running far away from the dark basement, that reeked of sex.

Matt heard the door slam shut. Slowly he levered himself up and stared into the once again dark room. The brief burst of light and warmth were gone, along with Kayla.

Matt's mind remained completely blank for a moment, his brain trying to understand what had just happened. He briefly recounted all that had happened in the last 48 or so hours, and how his relationship had taken a tailspin.

Is she fucking kidding me? What is she PMSing? He thought a bit hysterically, following it up with laughter. Matt realized he probably shouldn't have been laughing.

Maybe I should have chased after her; Matt thought running a hand over his shaved head. Maybe I should apologize? He grimaced internally. Bottom line was, she loved him, he loved her, and the sex- God the sex! Matt thought, shaking his head in disbelief.

Matt rose slowly from the couch, feeling around in the dark for his clothes. Finding his pants, he tugged them on, and walked over to the door, with a satisfied, smug smile on his face. He grasped the handle and tugged in open, not really needing the light to know where everything was, now that his mind wasn't on Kayla's soft curves.

Matt came to realize Kayla might be a little insane, a bit nosy, and afraid of the slightest confrontation, but she was his. Point blank.

Matt's smile turned feral as he walked up the stairs, past his family eating breakfast in the dining room. His mother gasped, as she nearly spilled the juice she was pouring. His fathers hands shook as he held his newspaper. Matt walked past his siblings knowing smiles, and murmured remarks about the 'noises' they heard last night.

Padding silently up the stared to the third floor, he entered the bathroom and removed his remaining pants. Matt climbed in the shower, turned on the shower head, and let the hot spray run over his body. He felt a little sad to be washing Kayla's scent off of him, but as he lifted his face to the pulsating water he was already thinking of ways to have her scent on him again.

_________________

Part 2

Consequence: Something that logically or naturally follows from an action or condition.

The message came while Tabiti was in the nursery, playing with her son Nar. Tabiti had been teaching him how to tend the earth, when a sand storm sweep through her forest.

The animals scattered, the trees danced hysterically, and her son because to cry big fat tears, as the sands whipped through the air with destructive power. Raising herself from the forest floor, Tabiti calmly slashed her hand through the air; effectively cutting off the destructive sand.

A low chuckle wafted through the air; "Tabiti, the time has come; ready yourself." Deep and masculine, the voice rang out over the forest, making the animals hidden quake with fear and cry out in despair. Nyyrikki; the name whispered across Tabiti's mind sending molten heat coursing through her body.

Nyyrikki was god of the hunt, and Tabiti knew him well; for 300 years ago, they had been lovers. But Tabiti had fled his palace in the middle of the night with her raven and her wolf, carrying with her a grave secret.

Nyyrikki had chased after Tabiti, and almost succeeded in capturing her, when her wolf had stepped in. Nyyrikki had taken the animal and tortured it for a time before he had finally killed her wolf.

Unable to save her guardian wolf, Tabiti had done the next best thing; before Nyyrikki could devour the soul she had sent her winds to retrieve it. Tabiti had then placed the wolf's soul in a place she knew Nyyrikki would never find it, in a human females body.

The human woman's soul and the wolf's soul lived together, both starring the same body, and had developed a compromise. When night fell the wolf was allowed to roam, and by day the human had control. But in actuality the wolf could come out whenever if pleased and subdue the human soul, but the same could be said for the human.

Tabiti had watched as the human and wolf had offspring and eventually died. The offspring the wolf and human had, were similar in that each one had a dual soul, that of a wolf and that of a human.

Generations passed and they adopted the name werewolf. Tabiti continually watched over them, and with every new birth, she came in secret and gave the child a pendent made from her forest, to protect them. But as the years passed by, she knew that Nyyrikki would eventually discover them and want retribution once again.

Both gods felt betrayed by the other, and both would do what they felt was right. But as Nyyrikki had taken her wolf, so had Tabiti taken something from him. For the secret she had carried as she had fled from Nyyrikki, was his unborn child growing in her womb. Tabiti had taken Nar, Nyyrikki's son.

______________________

Run! Run! Faster! Hmm, yeah! His wolf howled in delight. His human half was trying to keep some consciousness to look out for their mother. Demir had heard the call to come back, surprised it had come in the form of a howl and not a phone call.

Demir sleekly navigated his way through the forest, a part of the night. His wolf was having so much fun, that Demir was caught off guard when a slightly smaller graying wolf charged him from out of the dense forest, hitting him cleanly in his side and throwing him a few yards away. Not one to be taken down easily, Demir gained his feet, facing off his foe with growls and bared teeth.

Yet instead of a wolf, his mother stood in front of him, wrapped in a black rain coat, staring him down. Quickly her face contouring into a muzzle with large yawning jaws, she snapped a few warnings at him, before reverting back into a feminine mouth.

Veronica turned her nose up at her son, disgusted with his current form. "I will not speak to you, unless you shift." She watched as the wolf let down his defenses, and sat back on his haunches, giving her a lopsided grin. Strange considering it was a wolf grinning.

Why? The word whispered across Veronica's mind, startling her. Turning to glare at her son she said between clenched teeth, "Speak out loud"!, but the damn kid yipped

Demir relaxed and laid down on the soft earth, ready for the inevitable tantrum that came with his mother visiting him while he was in his wolf form. "You snuck out again.", Veronica said, her voice breaking in the middle; which made him a bit more alert to her words. "You promised you would not run away again; yet you did Demir. I grow tired of having to protect you; having to explain how our son was able to get miles away in mere seconds without anyone knowing".

Veronica ran a tired hand through her newly graying hair. Sitting down heavily on the ground, she pulled the jacket closer to her rapidly cooling body. Looking into the beautiful golden eyes that belonged to her son.Veronica she could narrowly get past his wolf appearance.

"It is hard enough trying to protect your father from us, without you running around all the time. One of these days you will get caught, and I won't be there. It will be some poacher, and he will kill you, and skin you. Then what am I going to do? Do you even realize how much you even mean to me?" She searched his eyes pleadingly. "Your grandmother, my mother, told me that the bond between a wolf cub and it's parents far exceeds the bond between human parents. They always take care of their young. Always. The bond I have with you is the very same. We aren't human, as much as we would like to be." Veronica paused drawing in a shuddering breath and placing her fist against her chest." If anything was to happen to you, I would lose control. No one could stop me. I would have to be put down like a rabid dog!", she spat out.

Demir rose, walking slowly over to his mother, still in his canine form, he wrapped his body around her, proving her the warmth she so desperately seeking. "I will not leave you mother; not in the way you imagine. I am sorry I worried you, but not sorry I left. I have found my mate, the one who will bear my cubs". He said telepathically using the formal language. Again, Veronica shivered and her son moved closer to her. Yet she was not cold; no, she was scared at the new change in her life. Her son had found a mate. Her son would leave. She would have to carry this burden by herself, all alone, always alone.

Veronica new that Demir's father Ivory, was her mate; she also knew that she could never claim him as her mate. Ivory would turn into one of them, a beast, and she could not place that burden on his shoulders; Veronica loved him far too much, to risk any danger to him.

"You have found your mate?" Veronica asked with a bubble of hysterical laughter at the end. Biting her bottom lip, she steeled herself for his confirmation. It was an infinitesimal change in the environment, but she felt it. As Demir shifted back into his human form. Turning their gazes locked, young golden eyes gazed into aging eyes so blue, they looked nearly violet.

Veronica's gaze traveled the length of her son, coming to rest at the crest moon on his right ankle. So small, as to be insignificant; yet carried within a secret to kill for. "Yes.", Demir whisper softly , as the night hummed with excitement and change.

Denying wasn't an option, and neither was running away. Veronica raised her gaze back to her son, tears filling her eyes. "You are leaving me." Demir clasped his mothers hands, bringing them to his mouth and kissing the ice from her fingertips. "I will never leave you, mother. Never. Jozlyn is my mate, and I need her, at times more than I need my next breath."

Veronica nodded sagely, smiling to herself, "It is the same for me. Somedays I can not breathe unless Ivory gives me breath"., she nodded again, freeing her hands from Demir's grasp. Veronica softly cupped his cheek, "I know the feeling, but I beg you, give me some time; time to adjust, time to make preparations."

"Preparations for what?" Demir asked, puzzled.

Veronica smiled coyly, beginning to relax; "You're a werewolf son, not a priest. I doubt that you've kept your hands off her. I need to make wedding preparations; to avoid scandal of course."

Only being hit over the head with a rock could compare to how Demir felt. "I haven't...", he paused, not willing to lie to his mother," kept my hands off her. Do you think she could be...?"

Veronica laughed, gaining her feet. She brushed off the earth from her knees and looked around for the extra jacket she had hidden. " Wolves are virile creatures, and we are no different." Spotting the jacket beneath a bush, she turned and reached for it. Dusting it off, Veronica handed Demir the jacket, motioning that he should cover himself with it.

"Just give me one month, before you..., you know again.", she said.

Shrugging into the jacket, Demir cinched the waist then turned and answered his mother. "One week".

"Three weeks", she retorted.

"Two. Final offer". Demir said with a shrug.

"Fine, two. Two weeks, and you cannot touch her".

"Deal"., they said simultaneously, shaking hands. So alike, yet so different. Demir knew why his mother needed him to stay away from Jozlyn, yet she understood why he couldn't stay away long.

Demir held out his hand gallantly, waiting for his mother. Veronica placed her hand in his, and Demir tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow. Even though the two looked nothing like the queen and crown prince, the behaved as such, even in nothing but jackets.

The walk back to Lunar Castle was long and silent. Each considering different paths, in the very near future.

_____________________________

"Chocolate! Who loves chocolate? Jozlyn loves chocolate". Jozlyn sang to herself as she made a chocolate sundae. She twirled around the kitchen, snatching chocolate syrup from the refrigerator, and standing on her tip toes to reach the secret stash of mini marshmallows her dad hid in the cupboard.

Jozlyn had woken up that morning around 6 am. She had looked at her clock, then pulled the covers up over he head, and had proceeded to go back to sleep, mentally declaring, not today!

It wasn't because she had school, or because she was worried about seeing the prince again (which she was). It was just one of those days.

Blair, Jozlyn's mother had come into her room and tried to get her up, but to no avail. Eventually both her mother and her father had simply said, have a good day sweetheart!, and went to work, leaving Jozlyn to her own devices.

Jozlyn re-awoke up around 8 am, being a morning person she was usually up early anyway. But for some reason she hadn't felt the need to get out of bed; instead, Jozlyn had simply lazed about, staring at her outdated boy band posters, and reveling in the fact she didn't really have to do anything.

When she finally got hungry, Jozlyn got out of bed, went to the bathroom to pee and brush her teeth, then headed down stairs to grab something to eat.

Jozlyn went into to living room and plopped down on the couch, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. She had decided she wanted something wholly bad for herself, and drizzled in chocolate, thus a sundae. The spoon was half way to her mouth, when frantic knocking sounded at the door, before it flew open. Still holding the spoon, with quickly melting ice cream on it, Jozlyn watch Kayla rush in the door shut and rush into the room.