Leadership
Skadi waited patiently in the warm-range, resting on a very large mushroom-tree while waiting for the rest of her packmates to arrive. Red and the seven other females who volunteered for the She-Far-Fliers were to meet her here soon. Some of them had already arrived.
She glanced down to the present females who were eagerly talking among themselves.
"I cannot wait!" "Learning to fight will be fun!" "Do you think there are other packs out there?" "My sire likes that I am doing this!" "There might be more males we could meet!"
They were very eager to start as soon as everyone else got here. In the meantime, she considered what she had to do as the leader. First-Fighter and First-Far-Flier were going to be helping teach all the females in the new pack-role. She and the other She-Far-Fliers needed to decide on their names and order, and how to decide on those orders. It was also probably a good idea to learn why everyone wanted to join the new pack-role. Since they were going to be relying on each other, they should probably know enough about each other that they felt trust.
As for herself, being a First and a leader brought much responsibility, which she never had before. It was a little scary to be responsible for her packmates, but something was also fun about it!
She noticed Red and the rest of the females approaching, so she got to her paws and stretched before gliding down from the mushroom-tree. Everyone landed on the mossy ground, quickly greeted each other, and gathered in half of a circle facing her. She took a breath to calm her life-fire while considering her packmates.
They were a mix of younger and older females, though none were too old or too young. None of them looked nearly as strong as males, but that was not a surprise. Some of them held themselves proudly and appeared confident, while others, generally younger ones, were far more shy or nervous.
They were all different in their own ways.
"Warm flights, my packmates. I am new to being a flight-leader, but I will try my best. I want you to tell me if I can do better at anything. First, I will lead this pack-role until my friend," she nodded at Red, "is grown and has learned how to be a flight-leader. She can be the First then. We can get our pack-role names and make our order after we learn how to range, fight, and anything else we need to know. Do we agree? Everyone understand?"
Everyone purred in agreement.
"Good. We will learn from First-Far-Flier later this waking-cycle. The first thing I think we should do now is get to know each other better since we are different ages and were in different pack-roles before. How about we all talk about ourselves and say why we wanted to be in this new pack-role?"
Everyone glanced around at each other, waiting for someone else to speak. A female with a yellow shine on her wings and hide stepped forward.
"I was an Old-Tender, but being around the old who will die sooner is life-fire chilling. I want to do more, fly more, and see more that I would not see in any other pack-role."
"Thank you. Someone else?" she suggested.
A larger female with blue spots got up and purred, "I think most of us probably share my reason. I am alone, but I want a good, strong male to be mine. There are very few unpaired males in our pack, and most of them... do not want to settle down with one of us. They prefer having fun, not that anything is bad about that. We probably must go to other packs to find good mates. I have been to Lone-Tree-Pack, but I also want to see more."
"Very true." "I know." "Same!"
She rolled her eyes, amused but understanding that lacking a mate was a valid reason to want to be part of a pack-role which would let them meet far more kin.
The smallest female, lacking any noticeable color, stepped forward and spoke after taking a deep breath.
"I was to be a Plant-Tender, but I learned that I must be able to fight and defend myself. All of us need to learn that."
"Thank you. Next?"
Everyone took their turns explaining their reasons for being part of the She-Far-Fliers. Their reasons varied from wanting to find a mate, to wanting to see more ranges, to wanting to be better able to fight and defend themselves, and to wanting to do something different and new for the pack. Just sharing their reasons visibly helped promote bonding between them, as more whispering discussions followed.
Finally, everyone had spoken except herself and Red. Red got up and spoke.
"I had the idea to make this pack-role to help make the pack stronger. We need more strong and brave females with more power in the pack!"
Everyone chuffed and purred, liking Red's explanation. Everyone then looked to her as the last to speak. But she was not sure what to say. Yes, she was the First of the pack-role, but what was she trying to get from being in this pack-role? Maybe her reasons were like Red's but also slightly different. What was important about leading these females?
Being a follower was... not the same as being a leader. Being a leader was to have responsibility and power, while followers had none of that. Further, her having life-will-powers meant that she could better protect these females than anyone else could.
"I wanted to be part of this pack-role to learn how to be a flight-leader."
The blue-spotted female hummed, "What about yourself? You are the most different from all of us. What can you tell us about you?"
"Yes!" "Tell us!" "Where are you from?" "What are you, really?"
She paused, unsure how to answer. Her packmates were very eager to hear more about her, and she had not shared much of her past to anyone beyond Alpha, Oldest-Knower, and her friends. Even her friends did not know about her life-will-powers.
"Well, I am different from everyone else in the pack. My sire was not a light wing, which is why I am a mixed-kin. I do not know what kin-kind he was. His kind might not have a name."
Several of her packmates looked away or grumbled, probably out of curiosity.
"Where is he?" someone asked.
'He lay on the ground in her cave-den. His eyes were empty but stared at her nevertheless. Cold smothered the warmth as she turned away to leave her cave-den forever. So why did it feel like there were eyes still watching no matter how far she flew? Why had he-'
"Skadi?" Red barked.
She shook her head and sighed, "Sorry. He died of age."
Several of her packmates hummed softly in sympathy.
"What about your dam?" someone else asked.
"She was a light wing with my blue and purple colors. She and I parted a pawful of life-making cycles ago. I have no nestmates. There is not much else to say about me."
"Where did she go?"
"I do not know."
Her packmates asked more questions which she answered. It was frustrating and liver-chilling how many questions were about the colder past, but it was fair that her packmates would be curious about her. She did the best she could to answer their questions without becoming too chilled.
First-Far-Flier flew above them, spun in a loop, and touched down, almost without making a sound. He was a strong and muscular but also lean male, which made sense with how much flying and work he had to do leading his pack-role.
He strode to her and sat down beside her after briefly considering the other females present, "Welcome, Skadi. Are you and your packmates ready for lessons?"
"We are. How will this happen?"
He purred and faced everyone else, "I am to help teach you what male Far-Fliers must know. First, how many of you have flown beyond the pack's territory?"
She and two of the females lifted the tips of their tails in answer.
"What were those times? I know your story, Skadi," he asked.
The two other females answered, "My sire and dam brought me to another pack to visit life-water kin living there." "I... flew on my own because I wanted to see more, but I quickly flew back here. Yes, that was twisted of me to leave at all."
He grumbled, "So none of you have flown far. That is fine. None of you would have bad habits to unlearn. You must learn or practice these: speed, memory, strength, defense, and negotiation. Speed is important for escaping from danger or bringing news very quickly. Memory is important for knowing and seeing in your thoughts all the ranges beyond: safe places, hunting grounds, dangers, and all the many, twisting paths."
Red spoke up, "How do we learn memory?"
"There are thought-tricks that help you remember more. I can teach you all those thought-tricks, but you must practice on your own," he answered.
Skadi softly chuffed, appreciating that her situation was very different from everyone else's. She had no problems at all with remembering.
He paused, looking at each of the females in turn, though several of them looked away from him as he glanced over them. Maybe they were not used to being so closely considered by a male.
"Strength might be more of a problem for you females, but you can practice by carrying rocks and wrestling. Lots of practice will help you gain endurance. Defense is mostly staying alert to danger. Even ranges that look safe can be filled with danger and unseen hunters. First-Fighter will teach you the fighting skills you will need. Last is negotiation."
She leaned closer, very interested by what he had to say here.
"As Far-Fliers we meet with other packs of light wings, and some other kin. All of you will represent Ice-Water-Pack, so you must be liver-flamed, respectful, make our pack appear strong, and be able to talk to Alphas. True, the First of your pack-role," he paused and purred at her, "would do most of the talking, but you all will speak for our pack. I will teach you by pretending to be an Alpha of a different pack while you meet with me and speak about trade and giving agreements."
He paused and glanced around, probably guessing at what everyone else was thinking. Several of the females looked worried or uncertain. There was a lot they had to learn and remember.
So she grumbled and stood taller, "Yes, there is much to learn, but we are making a new pack-role! We have much to learn, and we will!"
She groaned, her paws, back, wings, and shoulders hurting with the exertion. Almost everything hurt!
The rock she carried in her paws was very heavy and awkward to carry. But she had not dropped it, unlike a couple of her packmates who then had to go down and retrieve the rock.
Carrying heavy rocks back and forth from ledge to ledge was boring, tiring, and not fun at all! But this was part of the practice which First-Far-Flier demanded they do. He was waiting for them at the ledge up ahead.
She heavily touched down and dropped the rock beside several others.
"Good. Rest!" he barked.
Panting with exhaustion, she trotted to her weary packmates and collapsed at their sides while yawning.
"So tired..." "Why are we doing this..." "Stupid rocks..." "Grr..." "Pile of waste..." her packmates grumbled.
She understood the reason for this practice. Carrying heavy rocks would build strength and endurance. It was necessary, but it was not pleasant in the moment.
"We must do this if we want to be strong. We can rest in the hot-bubble-water later," she proposed.
Everyone sighed and purred, liking that idea. Swimming and relaxing in the warm water would warm their livers after this work.
The last of their packmates arrived and dropped her rock. She was the smallest and weakest of the She-Far-Fliers, but she did not complain.
"Good. Rest!" First-Far-Flier shouted, perching on the ledge.
Everyone rested for several wingbeats before First-Far-Flier jumped to his paws and faced them.
"Now you do speed flights. I will roar, and you will all fly together to the far ledge. The first of you to land there does not need to fly again. Everyone else will repeat the speed-flight to this ledge, and the first of them to land here does not need to fly. Yes, the slowest will fly the most, which will make them stronger faster than everyone else. Ready?"
"Yes..." "Not yet..." "Not really..." "Grr..."
"Good. Fly!" he roared as he took flight.
She and several other packmates groaned as they got to their paws and stretched their wings.
Everyone rested on the warmed rocks by the hot-bubble-water or swam in the water to relax. The hot water was so good and relaxing after all the work of the waking-cycle. A couple of her packmates might have even fallen asleep on the rocks, since they were so tired after the work.
But she was proud of them all. Everyone had completed the practice despite how tired, weary, and upset they were. First-Far-Flier had watched their flights and had focused on the slower females, giving them advice on how they flew to help them fly faster or not tire as quickly.
Red splashed out of the water and fell at her side, "Skadi..."
"Red, how are you?"
"Very tired, but this was a good waking-cycle. What are we doing next?"
"First-Far-Flier said we will do different practice next waking-cycle. He wants us to test our remembering and have us learn how to act around other packs and Alphas."
Red huffed, "Those are very important."
She nudged Red's shoulder, "You should especially listen if you are to lead in the future."
"Of course. We will, as the First and Second, make this the best pack-role for females."
She liked that. Nothing was wrong with the other pack-roles, but having a pack-role where females could do more, see more, and be responsible for themselves was certainly better.
First-Far-Flier set up a challenge for all the She-Far-Fliers. They were to remember increasingly complex directions he told them, and then they were to fly to all the places he named in order.
All of his instructions were easy for her to remember, though her packmates did not find that as easy. He gave advice on how to remember better by seeing in their thoughts places they knew well, such as the pack's ranges, and trying to pair a known place to something about the new place they were trying to remember. Doing that helped them remember better.
First-Far-Flier complemented her on having better memory than anyone else. She was very proud of that. Having such strong memory was very good even if it occasionally was frustrating.
Everyone gathered together on a ledge for the next lesson: the one about interacting with other packs.
First-Far-Flier sat down before them and got their attention, "This might be the most important part of being a Far-Flier. You will meet other packs of kin. With kin that are not light wings, there is less to know. Stay out of their territory, and they will not bother you. With light wings, on the other paw, there is much more to know. First, you name yourselves as Far-Fliers for our pack. Let the others know why you have flown to their territory. They will respect that you represent another pack. What do you think will be the biggest problem you will face?"
"The other light wings not trusting us?" she offered.
He shrugged, "Almost, but not that alone. Anyone else?"
Red grumbled, "The other packs will not think much of us because we are females?"
He huffed, "Yes. That is a problem you need to be aware of. Most packs I have flown to do not have females as Far-Fliers. Males and Alphas will not know what to think about you. Some of them will probably see you as less than them, so you must be strong, liver-flamed, and not be too upset if other packs have ceremonies you do not like."
She was not sure what to think about that advice. There was lift in it, in that words-flaming another pack because of customs or ceremonies she did not like would not help promote pack-peace, but it also felt like making change for the better was important. Maybe just being an example to others by being part of the She-Far-Fliers was enough.
"None of you have mates, unless I am wrong. You might look for males who would want to join our pack. Is there a problem with that?" he asked.
She remembered some of the very concerns which the Alpha of Lone-Tree-Pack had shared when she spoke to him about pack-peace.
"The Alpha of the other pack might think we are trying to make the other pack weaker by taking away their males," she explained.
He blinked and looked both surprised and pleased, "That also. You are correct, though I was thinking of another reason. The other reason is that you should know why the males want to join our pack. Do they only want female attention for fun? Can they be trusted to truly join our pack, or do they join while staying secretly loyal to their first pack? Next question: if you meet with the Alpha of another pack and talk to him about an offer, what should you remember? Most of these important talks are done between the First of your group and the Alpha of the other pack. What is he concerned about?"
"He wants to know how what we offer helps him or his pack," Red confidently answered.
"Correct. Always speak to him with how what we offer benefits him or his pack. He knows that we want to benefit our pack first, so that is understood between every Alpha and Far-Fliers. Everyone looks to benefit their own pack or group."
Everyone glanced at her. Such responsibility was slightly liver-chilling, but it was also exciting. Being a flight-leader was to have more power, which was good.
Being a flight-leader was frustrating. She had the responsibility of keeping her packmates practicing their Far-Flier skills even when they were tired, complained, and did not want to practice. Further, she herself had to keep practicing just to set a good example even when she did not want to practice. First-Far-Flier would randomly show himself and make them practice the drills and other routines, even when they were already tired.
One very warming aspect of all the activity was how much Red worked at improving. Her friend was one of the first to start her working during pack-role practice, and was also one of the last to stop. Red clearly wanted to prove herself, which was good of her.
First-Fighter brought two other Fighters, Second and Fifth, with him to the flat in the warm-range.
She was not sure how this teaching would happen. The males would certainly be helping by demonstrating fighting-moves and giving instruction, but fighting involved far more... touching and wrestling which she was not sure about. There was a balance between what was necessary for learning and what was probably best not done between a male and female who were not mates. That was probably a matter to talk about before any teaching happened.
She rolled her eyes as she realized that some of the females probably would not be opposed to this. One of the Fighters, Second, had no mate that she knew of.
She went to First-Fighter and sat down beside him. All the other She-Far-Fliers sat attentively, waiting for the lessons to begin.
"We are ready to start," she said.
First-Fighter faced the other females, "We are to help you learn fighting and defense. Have any of you learned before, either by using your fire or by fighting with teeth and claws?"
No one answered that they had.
"Fine. Let me first say that I, Second, and Fifth will do all we must to teach you well. Do not feel ashamed or twisted about needing to ask questions. We want you to be strong and safe when we fly beyond. But, if we are to teach you well, we must practice moves like pins and how to escape from being pinned. Will that be a problem?"
"No. We understand it is necessary," she answered for her packmates.
He huffed, "Good. There are three types of fighting you will learn: fighting with fire, fighting tooth and claw on your own, and fighting in groups. You all have your fade, yes?"
"Yes!" they answered.
"Remember this: the best defense is to never be in a fight! Why is that important, especially for your group?" he roared.
No one answered immediately until the smallest female took a step forward, "Because we are smaller and not as strong as males."
"True. You are not as strong as us, but you can be faster over short distances. A female can be stronger than a male, but a normal male is stronger than a normal female. That is how life is. Your fire is just as hot as ours. Why do you think I tell you this?"
Red spoke up, "Because we can fight best from a distance or in groups?"
"Yes, very true. We will first teach you how to use fire, such as how to hit moving targets, how many times you can flame, and what types of flame are best against others. Then we will teach you how to fight as a group by watching blind spots, protecting each other, striking together, and more. Last, we will teach you how to best fight alone on the ground."
He paused and growled softly, "Remember that fighting alone is always the worst option. Still, you should learn how to best fight those fights. Any questions?"
"There are nine of us and three of you. Are we making groups to learn?" Red asked.
"We are. Each of us will take three of you to teach in a group. Are you ready to start?"
Everyone jumped to their paws, clearly eager to get started. She stayed beside First-Fighter to be part of his group, just because she felt more comfortable with him, while Red joined Second-Fighter's group. Each of the three groups split up and went off on their own.
While some parts of learning through doing might be twisted, this was entirely necessary and the best way to learn. It was also liver-warming that the Fighters were willing to help teach them what they needed to know.
She yawned, hanging upside down from a mushroom-tree while awaiting the next waking-cycle of practice. The first few waking-cycles had been used practicing flame, such as various amounts of power or heat, wide and narrow flame, and hitting from a distance. The following waking-cycles involved much practicing in groups of two or three.
Learning to fight as a small flight was more frustrating than she thought it would be. Tails had a way of accidentally knocking into each other, wild swats could hit the wrong shoulder, and other mistakes kept happening. But everyone was learning. Slowly.
They had moved on to applying what they had learned to fighting one against one. Much of what was taught was not difficult to understand: keep wings tucked away unless being used for a specific attack, do not let the opponent get behind her or in blind spots, keep her tail from dragging on the ground, and have paws on stable ground.
First-Fighter wanted to move on to the final type of practice: that of pins and escaping from pins.
She rested a while longer until her two packmates arrived and roared in greeting. They were the largest of the females, whom she thought of as Sly, and the smaller, nervous one she thought of as Cautious. She had noticed that Cautious had become more confident and assertive since the She-Far-Fliers began practicing together many waking-cycles ago.
She jumped and joined them in flight over a field of food-mushrooms into a clearing in the thick forest.
"How are you?" she asked them after they landed.
"Well. We are eager for this!" Sly purred.
"This is what I most want to learn," Cautious seriously answered, pawing at the ground.
"Good to hear. He should be here soon," she said.
Sly and Cautious practiced several of their fighting moves until First-Fighter arrived not long later.
"Sorry I am late," he grumbled, stepping alongside her.
"No problem, First. We are ready when you are."
He glanced at Sly and Cautious, "This should be the last type of fighting I can teach you. I want to ask you again if you do not object. I must pin you to help you learn."
"That is fine." "If you must."
"It is not a problem," she purred.
He grumbled and faced her, "It might be best if you watch instead of be part of this. Your spines could hurt you or me."
She started in surprise. He was entirely right. Whether she was pinned on her back or belly, her spines could be a problem. They were not as hard as bone, but they could hurt or go numb if they were pinned against anything.
"I understand. I can learn by watching and practicing with them later."
Satisfied, he took turns with Sly and Cautious first by describing and then by demonstrating pins on their backs and bellies and how best to escape. Biting at necks and clawing at tucked wings was the best defense if pinned on their backs. Being pinned on the belly, the attacker on their back, was far worse and left fewer options if rolling was not possible. That was a worse pin because the attacker could easily bite at the neck or claw at wings without there being any way of attacking back.
Even though he was only helping them learn, seeing him on top of Sly and Cautious was also twisted in a way she had never felt or seen before. She had thankfully never seen mates being together, but it probably looked a little like this. It was not so disappointing that he would not be practicing with her.
Still, she did her best to listen, learn, and apply what he showed to how she would fight in such a situation.
Finally, he stepped away from them and stood on his own, the lesson probably finished. Sly and Cautious stood beside her and faced him.
"Remember those attacks and defenses, and practice much with each other every waking-cycle. Best is to never be pinned. Stay with your packmates, and you will never be alone. Any questions?" he asked.
"May we come to you for more teaching if we need it?" Sly asked, slowly blinking at him.
"You may. You may also ask any Fighter. I have told them all to help any She-Far-Flier who asks for help," he calmly answered.
"I understand. Thank you," Sly said.
Skadi faced First-Fighter and purred to him, "Yes, First, you have our thanks for everything you have done for us."
He chuckled, "It is nothing. Let me know if any of your packmates need more teaching."
"We will."
He flew off, leaving them alone.
Sly sighed as he flew off, "Did you see how strong he is? Such strong limbs, his chest, his long tail, his everything. If only he and I were rolling in the moss-"
Cautious snorted, "You would think about doing that with him."
Skadi started in surprise that her packmates were joking about that. First-Fighter was not someone to pursue as a possible mate since he had a mate already. Further, she did not want the She-Far-Fliers to cause problems for the pack or get a bad reputation.
"You know that he already has a mate!" she objected.
Sly sighed again, "Yes, I know. I can still imagine."
Cautious shoved Sly's shoulder, "Be sure to keep that in your sleep-visions. You would not want him or Alpha angry with us."
She purred, supporting Cautious, "I agree. We must show the rest of the pack that we can control ourselves. Ready to go back to our packmates?"
"Yes." "We should."
While joining them going back to the rest of the She-Far-Fliers, she was already looking forward to having time with her friends again. It had been too long since they had time to relax together as friends.
She rested with her friends for the first time in many waking-cycles. Responsibilities to the She-Far-Fliers had taken much time from her. It was pleasant to forget those duties for a while as she, Green, Blue, and Yellow swam in the water, spoke about nothing important, and dozed on warm rocks. Red had gone off somewhere else, though she said she would-
"Skadi!" Red shouted, leaping around smaller mushrooms and boulders.
"Red," she yawned and waved her tail in greeting.
"Follow me! We need to talk!"
She grumbled and hopped to her paws, following Red away from everyone else, "What is it?"
"Just wanted to hear how this waking-cycle went for you," Red chuckled.
"Well enough. First-Fighter showed my two packmates what they needed to know for pins. He did not try it with me because of my spines."
"Did anything happen with the other two She-Far-Fliers?" Red asked.
"What do you mean?"
Red smirked, "My group did well, but I wanted Second-Fighter to help me a little more."
"Did he?"
"Very much. I got him to teach me alone. We had an accident."
"An accident? Are you and he well?" she asked, worried for her friend.
Red did not look hurt at all, but there was no way to know.
"Oh, yes, very well," Red chuckled.
"What happened?"
"He got excited. Very excited!"
That was just confusing. What did Red mean that Second-Fighter got excited while they were practicing the pinning and similar fighting skills? Why could Red not just say that-
"Red! Did you and he... you were not together, were you?" she gasped, shocked at the thought of one of her friends doing that.
True, her friends were almost grown and probably old enough to be exploring that part of life, but it still felt twisted.
Red laughed, "No, but he wanted to! I had never seen that before!"
While that was very twisted to think about, nothing bad had happened to anyone, so she breathed a sigh of relief for her friend.
"Oh, good. Sorry that happened to you," she purred in sympathy.
"Do not be. I am not sorry about it!"
"Why not?"
Red paused before smugly answering, "Because I learned a lesson."
No one was hurt, and her friend learned from it. That was good for Red, regardless of how twisted it must have been. This incident might even be a sign of small or growing interest between Second-Fighter and Red.
"Good to hear."
Red purred, "Moving on from that, when do you plan to have the order-making ceremony?"
"We all need more practice after these last lessons. Maybe two tens of waking-cycles, and then we can have our tests. Alpha might help with shaping the tests to be fair."
"What about you and me? What about our numbers? We should not need to do the tests."
That was almost a fair point. She and Red should be the First and Second of the pack-role, since Alpha named her the First and Red would become the First.
"Good point. We will do the tests and do our best, but we will be the First and Second, as agreed. Want to join our friends for rest?" she gestured at Green, Blue, and Yellow.
"Sure. I could use a lot of rest anyway."
Alpha and several other Firsts showed up out of curiosity to watch the tests. He had also helped in designing the tests of carrying rocks, speed races, complicated flying to dodge obstacles, memory, and several types of combat. The results had been more or less what she expected. She and Red performed well, and none of the other females objected to them being the First and Second.
She was very pleased that Cautious, despite being the smallest and initially weakest of the She-Far-Fliers, had placed fifth in total, which was much better than she thought her packmate would do. She made sure to congratulate Cautious in private.
With the order-tests finished and her packmates as weary as her, she stood before them and looked them over, pleased at how far they had all come.
"Packmates, we have done well and have our order-names now. You may call me your First or Skadi, either name is fine. Let me remind all of you that this is a new pack-role, so you should not feel cold at being low in the order. Just being part of this group is good for you and shows that you are brave. There will be work for all of us. Keep practicing so you can improve in the future."
She glanced at Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth as she explained this. Sly had placed at Eighth, probably because she was distracted and had not practiced as much as she should have. Maybe Sly's motivations were not the best either.
"Alpha wanted to speak to all of us!"
She stepped aside as Alpha approached.
He glanced at her before facing everyone else, "I am impressed by your progress in this new pack-role. Every pack-role has a place that is theirs in the pack's territory, so you will also have one."
He had previously mentioned to her that the She-Far-Fliers would get a cave to be theirs. Having a place of their own to plan in, rest in, or practice in was entirely welcome to everyone.
"For your first flight as a pack-role I want you all to fly to a known pack: Long-Grasses-Pack. We have pack-peace with them. Second-Far-Flier will lead you there this first time, but you will represent us."
"We shall. Must we do anything with them or take any offers?" she asked.
"Nothing important. Meet them, speak with them, answer their questions, and learn your pack-role."
With his message delivered, Alpha spun around and flew off. The other Firsts either flew off or lingered, talking with various She-Far-Fliers, most of whom appeared both nervous and proud of their new status.
Second-Far-Flier got up and trotted to her, "You all should rest after your tests. We can fly after you are rested. There is no rush to fly this flight."
Several of her packmates looked weary and in need of rest, so his suggestion was a prudent one.
"Good idea. We will do that and find you when we are ready to fly."
Second-Far-Flier flew at her side, leading everyone else close behind.
Her liver burned with eagerness at this flight. Nothing very important was planned for the flight, and the pack they were flying to was known to Ice-Water-Pack. But this was still an important event for the She-Far-Fliers. This was a chance to prove to the rest of the pack that females could safely contribute to the pack in new ways.
She remained attentive to the twists and turns Second-Far-Flier led them on, so she could remember the flight for the future. The passes and paths outside the pack's territory were stranger and different, though she could remember the way back from here. It was still a long flight.
He winged closer and got her attention, "Long-Grasses-Pack has territory in the next chamber. You will speak for us when we meet guards or Far-Fliers."
"I understand!"
Being the representative for her pack was slightly liver-chilling, but this was part of being a leader. Further, Long-Grasses-Pack was known and had pack-peace with Ice-Water-Pack. There was nothing to fear.
They continued through the long, narrow pass until the path widened. There were a couple light wings resting on ledges where the path widened. The little she could see of the chamber ahead was very green and had appropriately long grasses and other plants.
The guarding light wings roared at them, so she guided her flight down to the ground. Everyone landed behind her while one of the two males, which was probably the bigger one, touched down before her. The other one perched with his wings spread, surely ready to fly off with warning if this was an attack.
"Welcome, Long-Grasses-Pack! We fly from Ice-Water-Pack!"
The male relaxed after he heard that greeting, though he still remained curious, attentively considering her.
"Welcome, your pack is known to us. I am Keenest-Eyes. Who are you?"
"I am Skadi, or First-She-Far-Flier."
"What is that? A new pack-role? Most of your packmates are females."
She purred, "We made a new pack-role. Will you lead us to meet your pack and Alpha?"
"Yes, you are welcome with us."
Long-Grasses-Pack was most appropriately named, for much of its territory was filled with long grass and other small plants. There were also several water chambers filled with water-plants and clear pools.
Most curiously, there were more than only light wings. She noticed several spine-tail kin waddling about or resting. It appeared that this light wing pack shared some of its territory with other types of kin.
Keenest-Eyes led her and her flightmates to a wide stretch of open ground with a raised ledge of rock. Two light wings, a male and a female, flew over and perched on the rock. Keenest-Eyes flew up onto the rock and spoke to the two new light wings.
She and her packmates landed and settled down while light wings from Long-Grasses-Pack gathered around them out of curiosity. The two prominent light wings upon the ledge hopped down and approached as the muttering ceased.
This was to be the third time she met with a strange Alpha, so she took a deep breath to steady her life-fire.
"Welcome to Long-Grasses-Pack. I am Weaving-Vine," the female purred.
"And I am Searing-Stone. We are the Alpha pair for the Long-Grasses-Pack," the male added.
She started in surprise that this pack had an Alpha pair instead of only naming the male as the Alpha. Another difference was in this pack's naming-ceremonies, since their names were not pack-role names like her pack used. She liked both of those differences.
"I thank you for welcoming us. I am Skadi, also First-She-Far-Flier for Ice-Water-Pack."
Searing-Stone glanced at her packmates behind her, "I see that your pack has sent many females here in this flight. What is this?"
"We are a new pack-role like Far-Fliers, only we females fly as a group. This lets us see more of the ranges and help our pack while staying safe."
Weaving-Vine purred deeply, "This idea has lift. We have a similar role. You have flown far to meet us. Is there a reason for your flight?"
Alpha had not sent the She-Far-Fliers here with any specific goals other than practice. There was no pack-peace that needed to be made.
"Truthfully, there is no very important reason. This is our first flight together as a pack-role, so our Alpha asked us to fly here for practice."
Weaving-Vine and Searing-Stone chuckled, glanced at each other, and shrugged.
"That is fine. You are all welcome to range in our territory as you wish. How long will you be with us?" Weaving-Vine asked.
"Not very long. No more than a waking-cycle."
Searing-Stone glanced at her packmates, "We can have Far-Fliers lead your packmates to drinking water, waste pits, plants for eating, and anything else you need. We do ask that you help hunt if you plan to be with us long."
"You have our thanks," she purred.
Searing-Stone and Weaving-Vine called a pair of Far-Fliers over and gave them instructions. The Far-Fliers went to her packmates and began leading them away together.
"Do you mind staying with us for a while? We have questions," Weaving-Vine asked.
The Alpha pair sat down before her, so she also relaxed, "That is fine. What do you want to know?"
Weaving-Vine chuckled, "You are not a light wing, or not only a light wing. We had heard from our Far-Fliers about a different kin in Ice-Water-Pack. Are there more of you?"
Searing-Stone blinked and looked her over, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"No, I am the only one like me. I am a mixed-kin. My sire was... not a light wing. I do not know if his kin-kind has a name, but my dam was."
"Sorry about that," Weaving-Vine softly purred.
She was not sure what Weaving-Vine meant by that.
Searing-Stone huffed, "There is another topic we wanted to ask you about, as you are the flight-leader for your packmates. Our pack and your pack have not mixed or shared possible-mates much, though we have pack-peace. Has your group flown here to meet unpaired males?"
She paused and rolled her eyes before answering, "Not truly. Some of my packmates hope they can find good males to... convince to come back to our pack. We do not have as many males as we should. But we did not fly here with that goal."
Weaving-Vine shrugged, "That is also a problem we have. Our pack fought stinging-tail hunter-kin in the past, and there were many losses. A small pack of spine-tails helped us in the fighting."
That was liver-warming to hear, and it explained why this pack had spine-tails in its territory. The two kin-kinds were sharing a range because of good in their pasts.
The Alpha pair glanced at each other before Searing-Stone spoke, "While we also do not have enough males, our imbalance is not as bad as it is in your pack. Your packmates may pursue them for whatever you want: for mates or just for fun, though they are more likely to have success with the second... pursuit."
As much as she wanted to groan at the thought-picture, doing that would not have been good, since she was the flight-leader for her packmates. She had to represent her pack well. Further, her packmates had different reasons for joining the She-Far-Fliers, only one of which was to meet males.
But it was frustrating and amusing how the topic of mates was so important and a part of so much of normal life. There was far more in life than just mates.
"I will let them know, and I will tell them to not... cause problems," she said.
Searing-Stone chuckled, "Good. Will you take an offer to your Alpha for us? We would ask that more of our unpaired packmates can fly to your pack for the same reasons."
"I will tell him your offer."
She and her packmates roared, announcing their return to their territory. Her fellow She-Far-Fliers flew off to meet their life-water kin or friends while she continued to Alpha's light-rock. Reporting to him first was her duty as the First.
However, he was not there when she arrived. Oldest-Knower was visible up on her ledge, so she flew up there instead.
"Welcome back, First-She-Far-Flier," Oldest-Knower chuckled, greeting her.
"Welcome, Oldest-Knower."
"How was your pack-role's first flight?"
She shrugged, "It went well, mostly. There were no problems on the flight. The other pack is warm to us. One of my packmates... got very familiar with an unpaired male from the other pack. She was convinced that he wanted her for more than just... fun, but that was not true. I think she learned her lesson about not... acting quickly on wants, even if that chilled her liver."
"There is always someone who must learn that life-lesson though experience. Do you have any thoughts about being a flight-leader?" Oldest-Knower asked.
Being a leader and having responsibility was both liver-warming and chilling at the same time. Other kin could be very thought-twisted and confusing, but someone had to lead them regardless. Who was better to lead them than her? Well, Red would take over eventually, so letting her friend get more practice as a leader would be necessary.
"I enjoy it so far."
Oldest-Knower lay down beside her and stared out toward the familiar lengths of ice, rock, and breaks in the ice where water splashed. Much time passed without her saying anything.
"Has anyone spoken to you about the most important part of being a flight-leader?" Oldest-Knower asked, breaking the silence.
"No. I have been learning by doing."
"Very little is better than that. But there are lessons best learned from others, so you do not learn in ways that hurt. What do you think is most important if you want to be a flight-leader?"
She thought about it, very curious about Oldest-Knower's question. Being a flight-leader or an Alpha, in a way, was to have more power and responsibility. Having more power helped in many ways.
"Most important is to use being a flight-leader to do good for others," she proposed, seeing no better answer.
Oldest-Knower chuckled, "No."
"No?"
"Most important is for a leader to do what they must to keep power and status. Only from a power-place can you make changes or do good for others. Remember that you know best, or better than those you lead, so you must learn what is needed to keep power and status. Doing good, however you understand it, might mean that you lose power if others do greater good or promise the rest of the pack what they want."
"But... what if most in the pack want someone else to lead?"
Oldest-Knower shrugged, "Then you failed as a leader, all because you failed to keep power. The many, the pack as a whole, do not know what is best for them."
"No?"
"They fly against change when it is needed, and they grumble for change when nothing is broken. No, they cannot be trusted to know what is best for the most!"
Oldest-Knower stared into the distance, her heavy eyes apparently narrowed on nothing.
Skadi stared at her paws, unsure about all this advice. Hearing that doing good and being good was not enough was confusing. Further, Oldest-Knower sounded upset about the past, but that did not mean her advice was necessarily wrong.
Being a leader or an Alpha sounded far more complicated than it appeared at first.
"I have much to learn," she groaned.
"True, but you will," Oldest-Knower said.
"What did you mean when you said that the pack does not know best?" she asked, curious what Oldest-Knower meant.
Oldest-Knower grumbled and looked away from her, "Do you remember how the prior Alpha was rotted and turned against the pack?"
"I remember the stories."
"Well, I saw it before it happened. I knew he was dangerous and violent. The pack wanted to turn to a strong leader after we fought against stinging-tail hunter-kin, and some of us had died. Packs always turn to strength when they are afraid. I warned packmates about trusting strong and confident males, but they wanted to feel safer with such an Alpha."
"That is not very twisted of them."
"Yes, and they were safer at first. He was good at protecting the pack from dangers that come from beyond. He understood that being in such a power-place would let him do whatever he wanted, so he did. If he had not eaten that thought-rotting plant, he might still be the Alpha now."
She thought about it and saw a twistedness in what Oldest-Knower explained. On one paw, she said that the most important part of being a leader was to keep power, which the previous and very bad Alpha had apparently done. But on the other paw, keeping power was not necessarily good and did not always help everyone else. That twistedness was confusing, but maybe it would be understandable in time.
"Someone would have forced him away or taken his place, right?"
"Who could have? The Fighters were on his side, the leaders of the Far-Fliers were loyal to him since they got status from him, and this pack would not accept a female as the Alpha. No, it had to happen... as it did."
Oldest-Knower struck her as very chilled in thinking toward her own pack, or toward this pack as it was in the past. Oldest-Knower probably was not thinking well enough about the pack now. After all, the pack now had a good Alpha.
"Packs can change if enough packmates want the change," she said.
Oldest-Knower sighed and faced her, "Keep thinking that, young one. You have much still to learn."
Skadi took slow steps into the darkness, one paw at a time. Every tap of her claws echoed in the emptiness as the faint wind, like slow and constant breath, flowed from ahead.
Why did it feel like she was not alone anymore even though no one else was there with her?
There was light ahead around a bend in the cave.
Slowly and cautiously, she crept around that bend, and, numbed by what she saw, strode out into the hidden chamber.
Filling the final chamber deep in the cave were whole skeletons with broken necks, crushed heads, cracked wings, deep notches in the bones, or no marks on them at all. They were piled neatly and had probably been untouched for a very long time. They looked so like light wings, but they were also slightly different, as if...
The skulls turned and stared at her.
'Where were you?'
She spun around to flee in fear, but there was another skeleton now blocking the path. This skeleton was walking and had a head with bone-spikes, jaws with inward-pointing teeth, and very large, curved claws on its paws.
The skeleton-kin silently leaped at her.
She flew to her paws, breathing heavily as she wildly looked around at the rest of her sleeping packmates around her. She settled down as she realized she was in the sleeping-cave, and no one else was awake. The twisted sleep-vision, whatever it had been about, was fading under memory like a fish that escaped back in the water. All she could recall was that the sleep-vision had bones in it.
Her gaze settled on the two passageways. She had never seen anyone go into either of them, though she knew what they were for. They were for hiding bones of those who were dead. This was apparently part of a ceremony the pack did with new mates so that they would remember and be warned against twisted thinking. Or so Oldest-Knower had said. Did she doubt Oldest-Knower? Had the elder light wing lied about anything? Probably not.
She went back to sleep, though she did not fall asleep for a long time. There was a very faint wind at her back.
The water here was not ice, though it was still very cold. Rather, it was calm and gently rolled against the sandy shore for many lengths in both directions. This was one of the places where the pack occasionally came to swim, clean themselves, and touch the deeper waters.
She was with the flight of Young-Watchers who were here for the normal ceremony of bringing the hatchlings to touch the waters for the first time.
It was amazing how fast time could fly past. The hatchlings had already grown more than twice as long as they were as new hatchlings. Most of her time had flown by in a mix of activity, training and learning to make the She-Far-Fliers a working group, and going on flights with them.
Being the First of the She-Far-Fliers was a lot of work, which made watching the young a relaxing change for a while.
Their tails swaying in eagerness and wariness, the hatchlings slowly stalked across the sands toward the water. Their four Dams and four other Young-Watchers were with them for protection. Two of the Young-Watchers swam out into the water to be watchers.
Life had dangers, but all that a kin could do was take precaution against those dangers. That was what these light wings were doing now: allowing the hatchlings into the water while protecting them.
She lay down on the sand and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts fly to the coming flight in several pawsful of waking-cycles. It would certainly be a test, being the first time the She-Far-Fliers flew together into the unknown, but there was no reason to doubt the flight would go well. Everyone had trained and practiced very hard, getting ready for the important waking-cycle to come.
But she was also weary after a long waking-cycle of working and practice. Sleep felt like a very good idea.
Letting her thoughts drift to the future...
She opened her eyes later, got up, and stretched her legs and wings. Another Young-Watcher flew in over her head and touched down on the sands. The eight other females who were here before gathered around the new one while speaking softly. She glanced out to the water and saw that the hatchlings had swam a little further from the shore. The smallest hatchling, the one whose egg she had sat with, jumped with joy out of the calm water and landed in a splash which made her chuckle out of liver-warmth.
Such simple lives they lived to not lack a pack or warm sire and dam. Their Sires used more of their time away on hunting-work or other pack-duties than the Dams did, but the Dams were more involved in work with the hatchlings. Sires and Dams both were allowed to have other pack-roles, though they were encouraged to focus on their hatchling the most. More time could go to other types of work when the young one was more grown and able to be on their own more or in the fledgling group.
The hatchlings turned for shore and were splashing and swimming very fast while screaming in fear.
She scrambled to her paws, and she and the other females immediately dashed for the hatchlings and flew out over the roiling water where she saw...
Three hatchlings.
The smallest one was gone.
A dark shape was swimming away under the churning water.
'NO!'
Failure!
Death!
"Skadi!"
Wrong!
"Skadi!"
Lost!
"Wake up!"
A heavy shove in the side woke her as the whining suddenly ended. Her eyes flew open as she beheld three of the Young-Watchers gathered around her on the sands while she heaved to catch her breath.
"Are you well?" "What happened?" "Bad sleep-vision?"
She winced since her head hurt a lot. But why did her head hurt? She had not worked that hard or played too much in this waking-cycle, or maybe she had after all. Had she hit her head on something? That was impossible since there was nothing to bump into on the shore... except for maybe one of the other females.
She got to her paws as another Young-Watcher flew in over her head and touched down on the sands. The other five females on the shore gathered around the new one while these three remained with her, probably fussing over whatever had happened to her.
What? Why does this... why are they not in the water with-
She glanced out to the water and saw that the hatchlings had swam a little further from the shore. The smallest hatchling, the one whose egg she had sat with, jumped with joy out of the calm water and landed in a splash which made her feel...
A faint tickling on the liver...
A tiny memory and brush of familiarity…
A small spark that flared instantly into roaring fear and one command directed at everyone and everything around her.
'OUT OF THE WATER!'
She jumped into the air and, leaving behind the females, raced as fast as her wings would carry her. The hatchlings must have heard her thought-command because all four of them turned for shore and were furiously swimming and splashing above the dark, open depths.
A dark shape raced toward them underwater as she dove toward the last hatchling. The hunter was fast in the water, but her life-fire stretched out toward the dark shape. Its thoughts were so simple as her life-fire dove into it and...
Hunger. Need. Prey. Stuck. Threat. Dark.
She bit very deep into the hunter-fish's head and shook the fish as its small life-fire died, killed like a burning branch dropped in water. She kept tearing at its head with her teeth and ripping with claws just to be safe. Only once she bit yet again and completely ripped open the neck, filling the water with life-water, did she let go and truly see how big the hunter-fish was. Its mouth lined with teeth was so big it could easily have hunted one of the...
Was the dead hunter-fish glowing with light?
Her wings drifted out into the water at her side, and, despite her racing life-organ, she blinked in surprise when she saw her wings. Her wings were glowing with faint blue and white light. That had never happened before.
What the... great-lights!
Almost as soon as she saw that light on her wings, the light faded away until it was entirely gone. But she was certain that it was not a twisted-vision.
Vision. An impossible seeing.
Had she just seen what was going to happen just before it happened? Or was that just good chance? Maybe it was a thought-trick that she was only telling herself now by seeing in the past, in her memory, what did not truly happen. She had seen that there were no Dams or Young-Watchers protecting the hatchlings, so she had flown to protect them against possible threat. That had lift.
But there had been a hunter-fish in the water after all. How could she have known that while resting on the shore? There was a monster in the water. Further, her vision-sight she had felt very real and true.
Did something move down in the dark beneath in the open water? Her life-fire felt nothing else alive nearby. There were only the hatchlings and females safely on shore, herself, and the dead hunter-fish.
The hunter-fish would be good eating for the pack.
Her claws and teeth grabbed the dead hunter-fish and dragged it up into the shallows. A final glance went over her tail toward the dark deeps beyond where the shallows fell away. Was the darkness reaching up like a shadow slithering closer... reaching up with wisps or frills of darkness? Why did she feel not alone, even though there was no life there at all?
Twisted thinking.
She dragged the dead hunter-fish out of the water. It was very big and heavy. It was so big and awkward to move that two of the Young-Watchers had to come help her.
She briefly glanced at the shore and, her liver flaring with warmth and relief, saw four safe hatchlings hiding under their Dams' bellies.
"What was that?" Ninth-Dam whined as she nuzzled her hatchling.
She spun in place and glared at the dead hunter-fish. All the gathered females did the same while growing at it.
"A kin-hunter was in the water!" she growled and shot a small blast of fire at the dead fish.
"How did you see the hunter-fish?" Tenth-Dam asked, still visibly afraid.
"I..."
What to say? The pack did not generally know about her powers, and even she did not know her powers that well. There was one possible explanation that had lift and did not involve powers which were special to her. All light wings could see with life-fire sight.
"I saw it with life-fire sight. I saw all of us were on the shore, so I looked in the water after I woke up."
Ninth-Dam glanced at her and barked in command, and one of the Young-Watchers flew off. Ninth-Dam, her hatchling staying close, stepped over to her and hummed after nuzzling her nose.
"That happened so fast. We should not have left the water at all, not even for a few wingbeats. You might have just saved them. Thank you, Skadi."
"It was nothing."
"Did you hear the voice?" Ninth-Dam asked after a brief pause.
She stiffened and looked away, "What voice?"
"It shouted to get out of the water, but it felt... different. It hurt," Ninth-Dam winced, wiggling her ears.
"Oh, I was afraid, so I yelled. Sorry about that."
Ninth-Dam stared at her, as if she was very confused, "Right. You had to do it. Do not say sorry."
She purred softly in acknowledgment and bounded over to one of the hatchlings. She bent down before Eleventh-Dam and stared with relief into the hatchling's blue and grey eyes.
'Little one, you are safe now.'
He crooned, stepped forward, and nuzzled her foreleg while Eleventh-Dam purred in thanks. Only he heard that little thought-whisper, though he could not understand the words. He would understand the care and concern though, the same as he had felt the fear and danger in her thought-command.
He was part of the future. By keeping him and the other hatchlings safe, she was helping to protect the future itself, or at least one future which would be a good one with him in it instead of without him.
One life was an entire world itself.
The Dams quickly agreed that they had enough of the water for this waking-cycle. Three of the Young-Watchers volunteered to stay here with the prey and help carry it back to the pack.
The more she thought about what happened, the clearer it became that ignoring her powers was not a good idea. They were part of her, and she needed to learn more about them, if for nothing other than to be a better protector.
There was one light wing whom she needed to talk to about this. Oldest-Knower would hopefully be able to help her figure out everything.