I remember everything. All of it, as if it were only yesterday. I recall the time when I first met my first and best human friend, Suzaku Kururugi. My name is Serena Winters, the current main leader of the wolf clan of the Beast People, and the daughter of the past lord and lady of the wolf clan, Dachi and Charlene Winters.
I was only five years old when I first met Suzaku. It was the spring after I came back from my rite of passage (at when we Beasts get our animal forms). He too, was the same age as me, but only two days older. He was the son of the former Prime Minister of Japan, Genbu Kururugi, whom my father was friends with.
Genbu and Suzaku came to visit on that first day of spring in late March 2006. My father was the first one to greet them. After he greeted Genbu, he looked down on Suzaku (for I was watching from a distance). "Who is this dashing young fellow, my friend? I don't remember him from when you last visited us."
"This is my son, Suzaku," Genbu said. "Suzaku, this is my good friend, Lord Dachi Winters. He is the main leader of this entire clan of wolves."
A small smile formed on Father's face as he gazed down upon Suzaku. "Heh… the word 'lord' never did sound right to me. You can just call me Dachi. You know, young man, I have a daughter just about your age, and I'm sure she'd love to become friends with you."
"Really?" Suzaku asked. "Can I meet her?"
Father smiled brightly and nodded. "Of course," he said. "Just a moment." He turned his head my direction and called, "Serena! Serena, can you come here for a minute, my dear?"
I didn't hesitate at my father's command and ran to his side. "Yes, Father? What is it?" I asked.
"The Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi and his son have come to visit, so I'd thought that you would like to meet them both," Father said. "Here, meet Suzaku." He motioned a hand over for me to look at Suzaku.
When I looked at Suzaku, I smiled. "Hello there, Suzaku, I'm Serena," I said to my new friend. "Would you like to play?"
"Sure, Serena, I'd love to play!" Suzaku said.
A couple of seconds later, I poked him playfully in the chest and yelled, "Tag, you're it! See if you can catch me, Suzaku!" I ran from him, and Suzaku did not hesitate to chase after me.
As we chased each other, I could overhear our fathers talking about us. "You know, Genbu, your son seems like a fine young fighter, despite his age. Does he not, my friend?" Father asked Genbu.
"Indeed he does," Genbu said, "and so does your daughter."
Distracted by their conversing, Suzaku finally caught me and pinned me to the ground as we laughed. When he let me up, he said to me, "We hardly have any room to run around in the village, Serena. Want to ask your father if we can play somewhere where we have more space?"
"Alright," I said with a nod. "I'm going to ask Father if we can play by the Burnt Pine near the edge of our territory." I looked over to Father and said, "Father, can we go play in the woods?"
"Of course, just don't go off territory!" Father shouted back. "And be back before sunset!"
"We will!" I said. "Let's go, Suzaku."
"Right!" Suzaku said, and we ran off into the woods to play for a while. We ran for a good two miles without rest, and then we stopped when we reached the Burnt Pine. "Is this the Burnt Pine?" Suzaku asked me.
"Yes, this is it," I said with a nod. "I know it doesn't look like much, but this is where we store some of our kills when we go on hunts, and to get away sometime, my brother Solaris and I would come here for a good mountain view."
"And I can see why," Suzaku said as he looked out over the land. "You know, I'm jealous, Serena. You have such a majestic yet mysterious lifestyle. I only live in a crumpled house on a shrine, with my father alone."
"You live with just your father?" I asked, momentarily confused. "What about your mother? Doesn't she live with you, or did she…?"
"She died bearing me," Suzaku told me sadly as he sat on a nearby rock. I sat down with him. "Father never even talked about her, so I was told by my cousin Kaguya about what happened to Mother."
"I see," I said. "But you at least are glad that you have your father, my friend. My parents, I can live with, but my brothers… they're a royal pain in the butt, which is something unable to bear."
"Hey, Serena," Suzaku said. "If I or anyone else in my family are ever in danger, would you come and save us?"
"Of course I will!" I said. "Suzaku, if possible, I think we can be… forever friends, brother and sister in heart."
"Yes, I believe the same thing," Suzaku agreed, and we continued to look out over the land, letting the wind blow through our hair, and cherry blossom petals blew past us on the wind. This, my friends, is how I came to meeting my first human friend, Suzaku Kururugi, and I believe that the both of us could one day foresee at when we would become the part of a legend yet to come.