this little light of mine « 'eli'

[Ridley]

I can't look at the stars
They make me wonder where you are
Stars, up on heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all, I know you've gone too far

'We are born to die.'
He'd said it all the time. Every day when Ridley rose and every night before dreams stole her away, it seemed like her father went out of his way to reiterate the message. Life has no purpose save to make the most of it but, even then, everyone meets the same fate. It doesn't matter what you do in this life, what horrible creature you are or aren't—everyone just dies. Was it a hard message to swallow? No, because it held truth. It still did.

But her grandmother, Taru, had always been so... optimistic about life. She'd tell tale after tale of wonderful packs and wonderful wolves and all the wonderful things that had ever occurred in her long lifetime. There was always some happy ending, even in death. Ridley couldn't help but wonder if her father had found the same peace in death. She couldn't imagine Midas' features, so full of unforgiving and swollen with powerful guilt. No, Ridley was quite sure that her father had found no rest, not even in death. He was probably looking right back at her as she watched the stars above. His eyes were the stars now. The female could practically hear him from above, howling for redemption, howling for his daughter to rise and take her rightful place as ruler of Sapientia Sacolorum. His voice was a war cry.

Sprawled out against the cold ground, feeling the night's chill nuzzling deeper into her coat, Ridley turned away from the darkness of the sky. The stars needed to be quiet for a few moments, just long enough so she could collect her own thoughts. 'Can't you leave me be for a moment, father,' Ridley couldn't help but laugh for a brief moment. Awaiting her meeting with Eligius was more pressure than she realized. Her father's death, his ending, was something that called for bloodshed. It was not vengeance that called Ridley to battle. Instead, her family name's honor—their lineage needed protection. Out of her entire family, Ridley was the last wolf left alive. It was a brutal realization; a heavy burden that threatened to sink her. So what did she decide to do besides drown? Throw herself into war and paint her family's history in blood. 

A sudden breeze, full of whispers that reminded Ridley of Taru's old, faded voice, ruffled her fur. Where was her guest? Eligius had opted to meet her, to discuss the death of Midas and possibly quell the rising tensions between the groups. Even so, Ridley was not very keen on the idea of abandoning her plans for conflict. While she would never admit it aloud, the wolf was rather glad to have her father's weight off her shoulders. He was no longer perched on her back, whispering his plans of Ridley's rise to power and complaining about Taru's horrible influence on his beloved daughter. With his pressure gone, Ridley was content to handle her new leadership how she saw fit. Her father would not control her decisions.

The fates had that decided already.

[Eligius]

I DONT WANT TO BE THE VOICE OF A GENERATION...I JUST WANT TO BE THE VOICE FOR YOU..

Like a slow moving stream, Eligius set off at a lethargic pace to meet Ridley. Like Eligius the female was once second in command to a leader, but had both came into power through the act of death. The difference between the two however, rested in the fact that the former leader of Animos Regum had simply passed on due to age. A reason that always caused others to know and face a world of sorrow, but it was not a justifiable reason to issue a warrant of war for it was merely a cycle coming to a close. Everyone is given the gift to live, but with this gift of life one must realize that death will always follow. It is the natural order of things and it is something everyone must face, in the end. In the case of the Ridley though, her leader who was also her father did not die from mere old age. No, his death was brought about in a different manner one of which seemed to be shrouded in a cloud of mystery. And the blame had no doubt been placed upon the shoulders of Animos Regum, but Eligius could not put those of Sapientia Saecolorum at fault…for it was an understandable assessment given the location where the body had been found. However, his easy-going nature and his love for Animos Regum would not allow for false accusations to be made against his people and his pack. Which is why Eligius had decided to meet with Ridley his intentions to try and work the matter out so that a war between the two packs did not become a reality. Finally, after what might have seemed like ages to any other Eliguis broke through the pines and entered into a clearing. With calm golden eyes, the male spotted Ridley’s figure as she sat sprawled out upon the ground. As silent as possible the young leader of Animos Regum made his way toward the female, his off-white coat catching a glimpse of the moon as he did so. “I hope I did not keep you waiting long, Ridley.” He suddenly said his voice light but direct as he halted his movements and sat down. His body was completely relaxed and his eyes only held Ridley’s figure. Many in his position might have been concerned that this presumed meeting was simply a set-up of sorts, and truthfully Eligius had already considered that to be an option. It would have been the perfect occasion and chance for Ridley and the rest of her pack to take what they believe Animos Regum had taken away from them. None within his pack even knew he had slipped away, and he had told no one about the meeting that was to occur between the two leaders. However, Eligius was betting that if Ridley truly did want a war…she would not take such a cheap shot like the one that presented itself. Of course, this was all a bet for Eligius knew next to nothing about her and so in reality this meeting could go anyway it wanted.

..ALONE WE MAY BE LOST BUT TOGETHER WE STAND TALL..

[Ridley]

I can't look at the stars
They make me wonder where you are
Stars, up on heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all, I know you've gone too far

Eligius' pelt was bright against the night's gloom. His fur, which carried a stunning whiteness that Ridley could only assume to be his pure heart reflected externally, made him easily detectable in the shadows. He was so unlike Ridley; the brute was practically her opposite. She radiated the brutality of darkness, but he glowed. Like the moon, Eligius held a light more powerful than than Ridley's stars. It meant he was better, that he held optimism and good will. Right? But, then again, what did she know about the male's interior? She was judging him for the outside, something other people did to her (and she hated it). 

"I hope I did not keep you waiting long, Ridley." His words jarred her from her thoughts for a few moments. She looked towards him with a hint of a smile. 
"Don't worry, Eligius," Ridley couldn't help but take the opportunity to mess with the other wolf, "You gave me just enough time to set up my ambush completely." An empty laugh left her chest and she looked towards the stars again. The moon seemed to have shifted further over, overpowering a few little stars. It wished to be closer to Eligius; that had to be why. The brightness was enough to make her look away again.

Her father's words began to repeat in her head again, restarting on their broken loop. They were stopped only by Taru's intervention. You'll always have good in you, remember that, Riddle. Even the darkest things have some light within them. Ridley couldn't count how many times Taru had repeated that same quote. She had insisted on the light within Ridley, something her father failed to smother. After a while, the female started to believe it. She still did...to an extent.

"So, Eligius, how have you been?" her tail flicked as she waited. Small talk meant little to her, but she would allow Eligius the chance to put the topic of war on the table. 

[Eligius]

I DONT WANT TO BE THE VOICE OF A GENERATION...I JUST WANT TO BE THE VOICE FOR YOU..

"Don't worry, Eligius you gave me just enough time to set up my ambush completely." It was as if she had reached into the very thoughts of his mind, and had pulled his previous consideration out into the open simply to play upon it. Followed by the words however, was an empty laugh and a shift of her gaze toward the sky. “Ahh, is that so?” He began with a smile playing on his black lips that threatened to grow bigger as he continued. “Well as much time as I have so generously allowed you to plan such an ambush out, I do hope that it will be a magnificent one.” He finished for the moment with a brief, but rich laugh that sounded so much different from the empty one Ridley had released. When the laughter ceased and faded into the night, Eligius adverted his gaze from Ridley and shifted it to the sky. His eyes however, did not seem to hold the image of the stars instead it held the bright and florescent moon. It was bright, but in the darkness of the night he took comfort in the white glow…especially while on foreign soil that could turn into hostile soil within mere seconds. "So, Eligius, how have you been?" The sudden interest in his well-being caught the male slightly off guard and caused his fixation upon the moon to waver, but it wasn’t long before he sensed the same emptiness the female had displayed earlier with her laugh. It was obvious the leader of Sapientia Saecolorum didn’t really care about his well-being, but because the question had been put out there the male was now obligated to provide her with a response. “How is one supposed to fair when another wishes to bring destruction by using a wrath known as war?” Was the response he gave, with no traces of his rich laugh or enjoyment from basking in the moons light to be detected. Instead there was only a solemn façade left to be seen and a quite tone to be heard.

..ALONE WE MAY BE LOST BUT TOGETHER WE STAND TALL..

[Ridley]

I can't look at the stars
They make me wonder where you are
Stars, up on heaven's boulevard
And if I know you at all, I know you've gone too far

“Ahh, is that so?” He began with a smile playing on his black lips that threatened to grow bigger as he continued. “Well as much time as I have so generously allowed you to plan such an ambush out, I do hope that it will be a magnificent one.”

Settled among the tendrils of the night's shallow grass, pelt inhaling droplets of dew, Ridley watched. The moon in front of her, blinding with his bleached fur, had answered back with a reply that she hadn't expected. He'd played her game so easily, answering without hesitation and maintaining a composed humor. It disgruntled her slightly. Words burst onto her tongue like the taste of blood, but nothing escaped her mouth. "Generosity? How dare you speak of my mercy as anything other than pity", the female heard her replies run through her mind, "I'd never plan anything less than magnificent, whether you wished it or not." She flicked her tail, biting down the voice within her that wasn't truly hers. 


Ridley turned away from her moon. In the twilight, the female's night was just beginning. The stars illuminated her path and for a moment, she felt unstoppable. Midas was dead. She ruled as the lone leader King of Sapientia Saeculorum. Not even her father could tempt her away from her destined road. Her stars shined brighter than ever and there was no stopping her eager paws from dashing across them. Their warmth could practically be felt beneath her feet already. It was just a matter of time. Guide me home. She felt the phrase shatter the others, consuming her every train of thought in order to be alone. Her heart skipped a beat as she glanced giddily at the stars again.

“How is one supposed to fair when another wishes to bring destruction by using a wrath known as war?”

The moon was shining too bright; how dare it intrude on the stars so... greedily. Ridley flicked her head towards Eligius' voice. Why did he have to have such white fur? He made it difficult to see her path of stars, the paved way that would lead her to something greater than her father ever imagined. She planned to go farther than Midas ever dreamed, to take her broken crown and use it to... to...

A shiver wavered through her cold body. She was getting away from herself. Damn the moon. I am not blind. Ridley tried to recollect herself. Sometimes she swore the night was as poison as her father's tongue. Its darkness seeped into her body, expelling from her the thoughts that rested in the gloomiest portions of her mind. 
"However one such as yourself would handle the situation," she replied bleakly, raising her head to the male's posture. She could be as big as him if she wanted. She could. She could. "And I wish nothing of sort. War has no wrath for those who know triumph."