A/N This was a prompt by Bmitw1, the author to Gods and Wolves. It was outside of what I usually write but I hope you all enjoy. A huge thank you to NCChris for being the awesomest Beta ever and for Mama4Dukes and Mist being pre-readers for me, Bmitw, this Is for you lol!. Qwoli Is the Quileute word used for spirit wolf.
Taha Aki POV
The female cold one had been dealt with. I was now holding my beloved. She
was gone from this world and I felt as though her dying breath had been my
own as well. My children, relatives, and the rest of my tribe slowly
gathered around us. They were too close to her and my wolf would not suffer
their intrusion, snarling and gnashing my teeth if anyone strayed too close
to us.
I had to get away; I couldn't stand to be in anyone's presence and I desired
no comfort but that which my dead beloved could no longer provide me in this
life. Her once warm body grew cold beneath my too warm embrace. I gathered
her with great tenderness and shook my head at the ones who tried to take
her from me, issuing a warning growl as I carried her with trembling steps
toward the sanctuary of the forest. I would prepare her body for travel into
the spirit world and, spirits willing, join her there soon after.
Once I laid her down in a meadow, I phased and curled my body beside hers.
She would have liked the spot I picked, though I was past being comforted by
its beauty. My anguished wolf could no longer contain his fierce grief; he
raised his muzzle and howled his sorrow to the pale moonlight that shone
upon us.
Minutes turned to hours, which bled into days, and faded into endless lonely
nights. Time ceased to have meaning without the other half of my soul. I
began to weaken, not only from ignoring my body's physical necessities, but
also from the ceaseless pull to be with my mate, a pull that would never
again be satisfied.
Others had come to try and console me, to try and get me to eat or return
home to our village, but I could not. I had no meaning, no purpose any
longer. My home had disappeared the moment my beloved had breathed her last.
I kept all the well-meaning visitors at bay, snarling and snapping at any
that tried to approach us, until by the fourth or fifth day of my vigil no
more attempted the dangerous task.
Dusk was falling as I lay beside the empty husk that bore little resemblance
to my beautiful and courageous little mate any longer when something
happened. I started to hear a rustling nearby and felt a breeze that sent
shudders through my warm pelt. I could smell the sweet scent of my beloved
once more. Thinking that my prayers for release from this world had finally
been answered, I tried to rise to greet the afterlife with as much dignity
as I could muster, but only stumbled back to the loamy earth. I was too
weak; I slipped into unconsciousness.
"Taha Aki."
I heard my name spoken in the faintest of whispers, but the one saying it
could have spoken it in a shout for as clearly as the words reverberated
into the very roots of my soul.
"Taha Aki, my Qwoli...listen to my voice. You have lost your way, my love,
and I am here to help you find it once more."
I turned my face to the sound of her voice, a voice I would have known
anywhere. I could discern nothing in the black void, but her sweet voice
rang out again in that same otherworldly whisper that pulled at my very
being.
"You must listen to me, Taha Aki. I am here to guide you. I have been
rewarded by the Spirits for my sacrifice. You must continue on this path
until many, many moons from now. Your time on this plane is not yet over.
You must live on and continue to commune with your wolf spirit so that you
can save a great leader of our people. This leader will be a descendent of
yours that will need your counsel. He shall rise up as one of the greatest
warriors the Quileute have ever seen and his Pack will be strong. His words
will be remembered just as you will come to be. But this cannot happen if
you do not live, my love, and carry a message to him. If you do not, then
our people will be lost."
My heart was heavy; I wanted to join my love in the afterlife, but I knew I
could not fail my people. As long as she was here to guide me in spirit, I
would persevere and continue on to guide the future warrior. I would make
the sacrifice for the tribe I loved and had served since my boyhood.
````````````````````````
Year by year, I withstood the pain of not having my true mate beside me in
the physical sense. She was there with me to guide me in her spirit form,
but there were still times when it was hard to go on. Time after time
throughout the moons that passed, I wished to join her, but she always found
the words to comfort me and gave me the strength to continue my journey.
I had just finished destroying a cold one deep within the forest far from my
homelands. The cold one had broken a bone within my chest and my left arm. I
could feel the tingling as my bones worked to fuse back together. The pain
was severe and I felt so tired and depressed; the urge to give up made my
heart ache and the desire to join my beloved was strong.
She knew me well. With one look into my soul, she was comforting me.
"Taha Aki, you must withstand this, my Qwoli. The sacrifice is great, but
the reward is far greater. I know you grow weary, my love, but I am always
with you. When you need my presence, look inside yourself. I am in the beat
of your heart and the strength of your courage. Be strong for me, my Qwoli,
and when your task is done, I will be waiting for you."
Her words soothed my turmoil and brought peace in my struggles. I knew I
would have to continue on. I would wait until it was time for the peace of
my people and for the hope that arose with what was to come. I could do this
thing, so that I could be with my beloved again in the spirit world.
````````````````````````
More moons than I could count passed; I bided my time in the forests far
from my homelands. I had seen from a distance how villages changed and grew.
The changes brought strange loud things that I learned were machines. People
began to speak and dress differently. So much had changed from the time of
my youth that I was reluctant to get near any type of civilization for fear
that I would not know how to interact with these new beings.
Eventually, however, the day came for my return to the land of my people. I
traveled quietly through the woods of what had become known as Canada. I
could not see her, but I knew my beloved was never far from me. The
certainty of her presence brought me comfort as I approached Quileute land
for the first time since her death.
I gave pause in the forest not far from my homelands, the scent of cold ones
swirled into my nostrils and I growled as I walked through the forests that
had once been so familiar to me.
The familiar scent of wolf brothers warmed my heart and helped to put me at
ease as I tracked the scent to the edge of the woods, but I stopped as I saw
a village of homes, something in my spirit telling me to stay hidden for the
moment. I gave a start when my beloved appeared beside me, fully visible to
me.
"It has changed greatly, has it not, my Qwoli?"
I barely nodded as we watched together, pride blooming in my heart at how my
people had flourished throughout the passing of time. The Quileute were a
small people, but we remained.
"Soon, my Taha Aki, you will get your chance to speak to the great warrior."
We waited there at the edge of the village a few hours before the great
warrior arrived. I could tell he was shocked to see me sitting calmly on the
outskirts of his village; he knew what I was immediately. He could not see
my beloved, but she was there with me.
He phased to his human form and, with some difficulty, I was able to phase
back as well. I stretched my limbs. Keeping my wolf form for so many moons
had taken its toll and my body was stiff and unused to its human shape now.
He watched me warily as I sat across from him; my voice was rough from
disuse, but I spoke all the same.
"It brings warmth to my heart to finally meet the one I have been waiting
for after all this time."
I paused expectantly, wishing to know his name, which he supplied after a
moment.
"My name is Ephraim...Ephraim Black."
I was thrown slightly by this manner of naming, but quickly gathered my
thoughts and spoke again.
"I am Taha Aki, Ephraim Black. I come with a message from the spirits. "
We were interrupted by the howling of a nearby wolf, one from his Pack. He
was torn in indecision before I gave him comfort in my words.
"Go. We will speak of what has brought me when you return. It has kept these
many moons and it will keep a little longer."
I watched as Ephraim stood and phased mid-stride. Pride for my kin was
strong in my heart. My beloved spoke with a whisper that carried on the
wind.
"He is much like you, my Qwoli, strong and fierce is the warrior within
him."
I nodded in simple agreement. It was clear that I had done the honorable
thing by accepting the duty placed before me.
````````````````````````
It was a days later before my descendent and I met again. I chose to stay in
my wolf form as often as I could. I did not wish to join in village life. My
purpose was to deliver my message and then be free to join my mate in the
afterlife.
I was standing on the land beside the great water that had become called the
ocean, the waves rolling with gentle caresses against my barren feet, when
he approached me.
"Hello, Taha Aki."
He greeted me as he stood beside me, both of us gazing across the great
water. I dipped my head slightly at his greeting.
"Greetings, Ephraim."
I turned toward him as I spoke, eager to finish my task; my need to depart
this world was great. Far too long had I walked this land and it was time to
join my true mate in the spirit world.
"I was sent by the spirits. They knew you would find suffering with the
deaths of your mates, especially the one that is to become your third wife,
your true mate."
His shock at my words was obvious; he swallowed and took in what I had
delivered to him before speaking.
"I will heed your words, Elder, but, please, tell me all that you can."
I nodded once at his respectful request and began the tale that my beloved
had shared with me for his ears.
"The spirits told me, Ephraim, that I must await the great warrior because
he, like me, would have three wives, the third being his true mate. Her life
would be like a web of tangled vines. The cold ones would try to take her
for their own more than once, because she was a gifted soul even in human
form, but she would be meant for a spirit wolf. She would be meant for you,
Ephraim.
"Things would not always be easy for the both of you. The two of you will
often walk a hard path together, but together you would be stronger than any
other spirit wolf and his mate. You will have to fight for her life more
than once, but you will succeed, Ephraim.
"You are the great warrior that the spirits have awaited. You will guide our
people as I did for many moons. You will keep our people safe."
I rose, having delivered the message that I had long carried. My burden
finally relieved, I looked to my beloved mate and after a nod to Ephraim, I
spoke my last words on the human plane.
"Be strong, spirit warrior, heed my words and fight for your true mate. She
needs you just as you need her."
With those final words, I departed from his presence and made my way into
the deep forest. It was time I joined my beloved in the spirit world. I was
weary of body and spirit as I made my way back to the meadow where I had
held vigil with her body so long ago. The meadow was full of flowers, as if
the earth itself was rejoicing that my duty was completed and my journey at
an end. I lay down in the spot where I had first heard her voice and closed
my eyes, a smile on my lips as I felt her arms surround me.
"Welcome home, my Qwoli, I have waited far too long to hold you again. Come
away with me now and receive your reward."