As Sundew stared at the purple crystal, she let her mind start to drift away. She had never been particularly attentive, and it was not uncommon to catch her in a daydream. The violet faded into the blue and indigo streams of light that stretched across the frozen sky of her homelands. Much of her early life had been spent laying back with her littermates peering up at the beautiful lights in the sky. With a sudden pang of sorrow, Sunny realized that she desperately missed her family. Their companionship had been instrumental to her good spirits in the mortal realm. While the past few days had been full of enough adventure to distract the young wolf, she knew that their presence in her life had been important to her happiness. Wolves were made to live in a pack - to love and care for their friends and family with a fierce devotion born of the knowledge that they could only truly survive and prosper together. Would she ever be able to see them again? Sundew couldn't really remember how she had come to be in these lands. She had seen something, a creature unlike any other that she could not describe. Then curiosity haad seized her and away she had run. But where? How? What passage had she trodden? Perhaps she was stuck here, never to see her family again. It was difficult to despair. She truly did love this place. Besides, she had already met quite a few interesting wolves. Why just earlier that day she had killed an elk with a big old black male in order to feed a scrawny little pup. Her belly was still swollen with meat, her face and chest lightly streaked with brown, dried blood that had been missed during her first grooming session. Despite her homesickness, she was content.

For some reason, she wasn't surprised at all when she heard the voice behind her shoulder. Rather than startling her, it seemed as if the voice belonged to the forest like it was no more to worry about than the fiddling of crickets or the singing of cicadas. She turned slowly to face the wolf, jaws already parting in a small canine grin. He was like Myrr, who she had hunted elk with, but as a mountain was to a hill. Both had been dark, but this strange wolf was the rich hue of freshly dug soil. His eyes were so bright an orange they seemed to glow against his dark coat. Most shocking of all was his massive size. "Hello, hello," she sang out merrily as she faced him. "You're quite the big handsome boy, aren't you?" She allowed her eyes to range lazily across his body, taking in the muscles that bulged visibly beneath his thick coat. Sunny had always been a big fan of a nice male physique, and her life in her small, family-based pack had not exposed her to many eligible males. To her eyes, this dark wolf was quite eligible indeed.

At his next words, she perked her ears and set up taller. She had known this place was strange. There was evidence for that everywhere. With an internal shiver, she remembered the odd way the elk earlier that day had folded to the ground, almost as if surrendering voluntarily to death. yes, things were strange here. "It's true then? One hears rumors, of course, but it's nice to have it confirmed, especially by a handsome wolf. I find it much easier to listen to attractive wolves, don't you?" Once again, her mouth seemed to be running away from her, even by Sundew's standards. She was incapable of curbing or disguising her thoughts and opinions. Instead, they spilled unencumbered from her tongue. Embarrassed by her obvious attraction, Sundew covered up her discomfort by laughing. "Oh I do natter on, don't I? My name is Sundew. Who are you?"

by sixsmith.

Thankfully, the big wolf didn't seem too visibly upset by her brash words and flirtations. Of course, there was something so fine and stoic about him that Sunny couldn't be quite sure. He was unlike any wolf she had ever met. Power seemed to hang off of him like leaves on a tree. She wondered at it. He was big, sure, but not that big. Besides, it didn't remind her of a power derived from physical strength. It was something else. Pepper, the little, grizzled pup she had met earlier that day, had had a trace of power to her. When the elk had kneeled before Myrr's jaws, Sundew had instinctively looked toward Pepper, not the adult wolf. Perhaps it had something to do with him being God of Earth. That was a large task and Sunny, suddenly hyper-aware of the press of soil beneath her paws, wondered if that meant she too had power over earth.

Her pondering was disturbed by Oberon's lovely bow. her heart gave a little flutter, and a giggle escaped her lips. She did so love a man with manners. The more she saw of this great hulking beast of a brute, the more certain she became that she liked his style. And to think - he was her guide! She hoped she didn't have to share him with too many other wolves. Well, even if he was the guide for all the other wolves in the realm, she bet he didn't apologize half so prettily to all the rest. And for what? Being late? Ha! If Sunny punished him for that she would be, unequivocally, a hypocrite. "Don't be silly! We hardly had an appointment, how could you be late?" Sundew stopped, concerned. "Did we have an appointment?" She had forgotten more than one important occasion, a rather impressive feat when your whole world is composed of yourself and your extended family. Now her world was composed of so much more - places, sights, and wolves that she would never have imagined seeing even days ago. She couldn't wait to find out what else there was on this plane of existence.

Joy bubbled up through her being until she laughed. "If I had known you were waiting for me I would have come sooner!" She winked extravagantly. Oh, gods, that was embarrassing. Why, oh why, had she done that? Sunny's violet eyes blanked out momentarily as the little hamster that powered her mind scrambled desperately to get it moving again. "Urm, anyway. god of earth? That sounds nice. Am I god of that too? Do you have to like dirt? I guess I don't mind it..." She peered down at the soil between her paws rather dubiously.

by sixsmith.