the forest guardian.

Story . . . I raced through the trees, splashing mud on my thick brown pelt; the strong scent of wet earth filling my nose. It was difficult to see in the rain, but I kept running regardless, one thought echoing in my mind: Mother. Where was she? She had been with me in our den last I had seen her, as I was falling asleep, and now she was gone. I paused for a minute and shook the rain out of my fur. I wouldn't be awake at all right now if not for the racket that had broken out outside our home. There had been howling, snarling, and barking echoing through the forest, and when I opened my eyes, mother wasn't there. I sprinted off again, dodging through pine trees, and not caring when one whipped me across the face. If mother was out here, I was was going to find her, no matter what. So grim was my determination, so strong was my drive, that I didn't notice the mud puddle, didn't notice the vines; and before I knew it, I was on the ground. I choked, watery, diluted mud flooding my nostrils, and struggled weakly to get on my feet, but before I could, I felt something twine around my wrist. I craned my neck to see a thick brown vine twisted around my left forepaw. In annoyance, I tried to pull myself free, when suddenly a second vine curled around my other wrist, and both began to tighten themselves and make their way up my arms. I felt myself being lifted up by the vines, two others winding around my ankles, and moving towards my waist, and up at my neck, and around my mouth before I could cry for help. The vines began constricting, tightening around my neck, choking me. I struggled to open my jaws to scream, but every attempt was thwarted by the vines. I could hear a high pitched screeching whisper in my ears, malicious voices whispering: "Warden, warden!" again and again, but I didn't understand why. By now I was getting dizzy and drifty; black spots were swirling in front of my eyes, and my breath was coming out in short gasps. I could feel myself slipping away, I was just shutting my eyes, when a loud and powerful voice broke out through the trees. -"Entbinden sie, Hedera!" The vines stopped tightening, and began to whisper among themselves angrily. Something about that voice brought me back into consciousness, and I opened my eyes weakly. -"Entbinden sie, Hedera!" the voice repeated, closer this time. I felt the vines slowly release me, still whispering among themselves angrily, but finally giving in. The last vine unwound itself from my body, and I fell forward quickly, landing sprawled on the muddy ground. I felt myself being rolled over, and I found myself looking into a fiery face and a pair of golden eyes, and then I passed out. Part 2 . . . I awoke in a dimly lit cave. Rolling over, I saw a large forge carved into one end of the room, and near it sat a tall lupe. His pelt was as black as soot, but his paws were orange and glowing with living fire. The tips of his ears were scarlet, and on his back and on the back of his ears were beautiful swirling markings, that curled and twisted like billowy smoke. He must have heard me shift position, because he turned his head to look at me, and I found myself staring into the same fiery face and golden eyes as the night before, or maybe it was the same night. . . but after passing out I had no idea. -Gut abend, Wächter!" the lupe exclaimed with a friendly smile. I blinked. I hoped this boy could speak English, because I had no idea what he was saying. -"Um, what did you call me?" I asked. Oh gosh, I hoped he could understand me! The lupe laughed. Oh crap, now he was laughing at me! "I called you Warden." he said, turning back towards his forge and lifting something out of the fire with a pair of tongs, then placing it on the floor to let it cool. -"Why did you call me Warden?" I asked. "The vines were whispering that at me too." At hearing about the vines, the lupe stuck his tongue out in distaste. -"Hedera, ja, you'll have to watch out for her. She's the hardest plant to control, and only some ever figure out how. Even I'm still having problems doing that myself." he said. -"Who are you anyway?" -"My name's Zurik. I used to be a member of the Fireclaw pack, but they were wiped out a long time ago; I'm the only member who managed to survive." -"And why are you calling me Warden? You never did answer me." Zurik looked at me solemnly. "They never told you then, did they?" he muttered. -"Never told me what?" Zurik shook his head. "Come on." he said, helping me off my bed and leading me to the other side of the room. As I slid off the bed I was aware of a strange presence on my back, as if something was clinging to me that didn't belong; something extra. Zurik led me to a tall mirror, and I looked into it and gasped. My pelt had changed! Completely! I had always been a drab brown color, but now my color was a beutiful deep brown, getting deeper and almost a little red at the tips of my ears. I still had my silver earrings, three per ear, thank goodness! (they had been a gift from my mother), but now I had a silver star under each vibrant green eye that was keeping them company. I turned to the side and noticed more markings, a silver star and moon on my flank. Turning to the other side I saw the same marking on the opposite flank as well. And that when I noticed THEM. Two beautiful tan feather wings, sticking out from behind my shoulders. I HAD WINGS!!! Small ones, granted, but they were still wings. I turned to Zurik, who was taking note of my pleasure, and looked at him in fascination and confusion. -"How did this happen?" I whispered, still in awe. Zurik turned away and stared at his still flaming forge, then began to speak. -"Yesterday, it was your birthday. You turned fourteen. Hedera attacked you, and as you slept here you underwent your transformation. This happens to all the Wardens." I wanted to ask again who the Wardens were, but I felt that Zurik was leading up to that, so I kept my mouth shut. -"The Wardens are the guardians of the forest." Zurik continued. "They protect the flora and fauna of their wood, and they have been since the beginning of time. They have authority over the forest as well. The only thing they don't have authority over is the ivy, Hedera, who managed to break free of the rules that bind the forest together decades ago." -"Hedera has a resentment towards all the Wardens, and she constantly tries to break the generational cycle of the Wardens, for if she did, she could take over the forest herself, and that's os all she - in her greedy mind - wants." -"As well as divine authority, the Wardens are blessed with a special gift: on the night of full moon, they become human. Your markings represent your relationship with the moon, and your position of leadership. As does this - " Zurik turned to the object he had removed from the forge minutes ago, and handed it to me. It was a silver charm bracelet, with three charms: a star, a moon, and a heart. I slipped it on, then looked at it adoringly. But one thing caught my eye. -"What's with the heart?" I asked. Zurik's flaming cheeks went visibly redder. -"Oh, um, well," he stuttered. "I mean, everything looks better when it comes in threes." -"Okay." I looked back at my bracelet, then back at Zurik and thanked him. -"Don't mention it. Now, you'd better be going, it's almost daylight." I nodded and Zurik led me out of the cave, into the rosy pink of dawn. The forest stood green and inviting below us. I remembered mother, and I had one more question for Zurik. -"What's the cycle of Wardens?" I asked. Zurik turned to me and gave me a sympathetic look. -"You didn't see your father much, did you?" he asked. -"Hardly at all." I said. Zurik nodded. -"He was the last Warden. It goes from boy to girl, over and over. So the next Warden will be your son." -"And my mother? She disappeared last night." -"That, I wouldn't be able to explain. I'm not sure where she would be." -"Thanks anyway Zurik." -Bitte Schon. Waving good-bye, I climbed down the slope of the mountain and into the forest, MY forest. Conclusion . . . I've been guarding this wood ever since. I've still had a few problems with Hedera here and there, but I think I'm gaining control. This is weird, but it's wonderful, and I'm enjoying it. I'm not sure where mother is, but I know she's out there, and I'll find her someday. -The End- Stats . . . Name: Myorah (me-your-uh) Aliases: Warden, Wächter Nicknames: Yorah, Mimi Age: 14 Gender: Female Pelt: Brown and Rowan red Profession: Forest Warden Personality: Brave, tough, clever, devoted, determined, adventurous Likes & Dislikes . . . ♥ Plants The moon and stars Green, silver, and brown Rainstorms Poetry Swimming X Hedera Fire Snow Disorder Monsters Snakes Love . . . ♥ None. At least, not yet. Gimme a break, I'm working on that ):[ Friends . . . Zurik . . . Zurik's basically my only friend right now, and I like him. I appreciate his help and support, especially when it comes to Warden matters. He's sweet and everything, and I think he likes me, but I hope he doesn't like me; I'm not sure if I'd be able to return the affection. RP Stats . . . I would love to RP with you, but after school gets out, please and thank-you ;) Adoptables . . . Requests: Not sure, Trades: Open I'll have them up here soon. Patience is a virtue! Tails on FIRE! set can be found here People who need one . . . Nobody Just put < >s where you need them on the code. You can resize it if you want. Cappu a href="http://www.neopets.com/~Myorah" - img src="http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj188/88pixiegirl88/Cappu.jpg" height="200" width="155" - /a Kiba a href="http://www.neopets.com/~Myorah" - img src="http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj188/88pixiegirl88/Kiba.jpg" height="200" width="155" - /a Ref Pic . . . Markings are the same on both sides. Mini Myorah's . . . 1 Taken just for fun . . . Links . . . a href="http://www.neopets.com/~Myorah" - img src="http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj188/88pixiegirl88/Myorah-1.jpg" height="100" width="100" - /a NEOPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia are trademarks of Neopets, Inc., © 1999-2008. ® denotes Reg. US Pat. & TM Office. All rights reserved. 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