Reythyra Starbeam

Starter Wolf and Original Leader.

Reign: May 18, 2024 - November 2, 2024 (estimated)

Song: Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac

~~~

The Beginning:

The feeling of grass under her paws and a gentle breeze ruffling her fur made Reythyra Starbeam pause in her tracks to take in the scenery around her. From the towering mountains with snow-covered peaks, to the blades of grass dancing in the wind, to the babbling brook she'd traveled alongside. Beautiful. It was late in the summer now and the air here was cool and fresh. Reythyra breathed it in.

This would be the place, she decided. She would make this place her home.

Reythyra was freshly of age, an orphaned wolf with no family or pack but herself. She had been on her own for as long as she could remember, surviving off of scavenged scraps and honest-to-goodness luck. She had grown up a wanderer, moving from place to place as the days went by and the seasons changed, moving until her legs threatened to give out from underneath her. Her journeys had taken her through sprawling forests filled with greenery and grain-filled grasslands that spanned miles, but no place had truly stood out to her. Not until now, in this very moment.

Finding a home had been a more recent desire of hers, one that most likely came with growing up. For so long she had simply been trying to survive that she had not considered settling down. Why should she when danger lurked around every corner, just waiting for her to let down her guard? But as she aged, the thought of having someplace safe to call home became more and more appealing. Somewhere she could return to at night, somewhere safe and filled with other wolves she could call her own. It was that desire that lead her to keep an eye open, that brought her here to this mountainside.

Reythyra explored the area for a while, looking for a suitable place to set up her den. There were plenty of maybes, including a cave with a narrow entrance near the brook she had traveled alongside. It was as she was leaving another maybe-den that she came into contact with another wolf.

Initially, Reythyra was hesitant as she spotted the dark-colored wolf in the distance. Other wolves often meant danger, for they were not often friendly to one another. But she was secretly the optimistic sort, and a pack could not be made from a single wolf. So she steeled herself and approached the other wolf, a darkly colored male with bright eyes wandering along the bank of the brook on his lonesome, and she hoped.

"Hello," Reythyra greeted, watching carefully as the other wolf turned to look at her.

"Hello," the male echoed, eyeing her as cautiously as she eyed him. In their staring match, Reythyra got the sense that he was not much older than she was, for he still showed the gangly limbs of youth. "What brings you here, stranger?" he asked.

Reythyra saw no sense in hiding her intentions. If she was to recruit other wolves to the pack, she would have to be honest. "I have journeyed from afar to find a home and form a pack," she said, rather bluntly. She had never been one for spinning tales with her words, given that she had no one to speak to for so long. She wondered if her bluntness would scare the other wolf off and if this venture would be a failed one.

To her pleasant surprise, the other wolf's tail wagged. It was a quick motion, barely more than a twitch of the tail. She would have missed it had she not been paying the utmost of attention to him. He quickly stamped it down, however.

"Are you now?" he asked, and his head moved from side to side as if sizing her up. "As it just so happens, I've been wanting to form a pack, too."

Reythyra blinked in surprise. This had not been what she'd expected when she approached the dark-colored wolf. It was more than what she dared to hope.

"A striking coincidence," she said, daring to hope even further. Could this wolf be a companion to her? The first member of her pack?

"Say," the other wolf began, stoking the hope in her chest, "you look strong, and I know this area well. What if we team up and form a pack together? What do you say to that?"

Reythyra could cry. Finally, finally. There was someone else. Someone who understood her, even if it was only a little bit. "I say that is a great idea," she said, and she could not stop her tail from wagging slightly as she said the words. She could not remember the last time she had been so happy. So excited.

The other wolf's tail wagged too. "Then I say it's nice to meet you. My name's Lugeiros Moonwalker, by the way."

"Reythyra," Reythyra said. "Reythyra Starbeam."

~~~

A Moment in Spring:

Time passed quickly. Summer turned to fall, fall turned to winter, and winter turned to spring. In that time, Reythyra had managed to birth a litter of two and raise them to adolescence. They were the first litter of the pack, delivered early not too long after she and Lugeiros formed the Wildfate.

They were born early, too early, and they were both small and weak. Valtris and Daerona Moonwalker, they were named, one of their father's dark fur and the other of a more medium tone. For a time, Reythyra had hoped against the worst, but time proved them both survivors. They grew quickly, almost too quickly for Reythyra's tastes, and they showed much of their father's sneakiness in their personalities. But they were happy and healthy, and that was all that mattered.

Today was a day where the weather was unstable, swinging from rain to snow and back again before she could blink. And so it was deemed that it was a day for rest and doing nothing. Reythyra's skin itched at the prospect, but her packmates had begged her to rest and so she complied. Now she found herself laying in her section of the den, a cave secluded to those of her or Lugeiros's blood. Bereft of things to do, Reythyra found herself wondering about the future. Her body was almost recovered from having her pups. By the time she had her second litter, Valtris and Daerona would be adults themselves. There would have to be celebrations. Not just for their coming of age, but to celebrate the anniversary of the pack's founding.

Many things had changed since then. Many wolves had come and gone. They had even welcomed a few travelers as well. Who made up their pack now and then were different, but she still remained as their alpha.

Reythyra was drawn from her thoughts when she was pounced upon by several sets of paws. She rolled over to her back and playfully kicked at the intruders. As expected, it was Valtris and Daerona, alongside their ever eager-to-get-into-trouble father, Lugeiros.

"Alright, alright," Reythyra said, "you win. You win."

Their was a dual cheer from her daughters and a snicker from Lugeiros as Reythyra righted herself.

Reythyra laughed as well. "What brings this on?"

"Father said he could hear you thinking," Valtris began.

"And he bet we could catch you off-guard," Daerona finished, giving Reythyra an affectionate lick.

"I suppose your father wins that bet," Reythyra said and gave the wolf in question a playful glare. He merely stuck his tongue out at her, the cheeky dog. "Tell me," she said, "how have your days been?"

Her daughters launched into an explanation of how their apprentice training had gone, talking over the other as if they were in any way understandable like that. As they talked, Reythyra's heart swelled and she mouthed a thank-you to Lugeiros, who wagged his tail in reply.

With her daughters and her dear friend with her, Reythyra couldn't have been happier.