SO this is the official last half of the story yay!
She closed her eyes and at once could feel the forest floor beneath her as she took it all in with her senses. Those senses had never failed her. She was a wolf, a daughter of the moon. Above all else, she was the daughter of the pack's leaders. She was their venerated daughter Adralan.
She closed her eyes and felt the wind tousle her hair playfully. Slowly, she breathed in the scent of the forest and its life, savoring its every detail though her eyes were closed.
"Breathe." A voice said to her. She did as it ordered and breathed in, this time deeper and the forest faded into black.
"Listen." The voice said once more. She saw nothing but black but she could hear her surroundings. The small bird in the trees, the lizard in the earth, the fish in the river. It was not strange.
"What do you hear?" the voice asked.
Adralan listened closer but the image of her beloved forest faded and she could see nothing except images of her past as a young girl and her mother's voice of disapproval.
"You have to become more levelheaded like your brother Vycan. You are my only daughter and I cannot have you run around wild. One day you will have responsibilities and hardships that you will never overcome if your eyes are closed to them."
Adralan's eyes flew open. There was no forest, no darkness, and there was no sign of her mother.
"What did you see?" Lycurgus, an elder that had been guiding her through her trance hovered over her worriedly. Adralan lay on the stone floor and placed her hands to cover her face in embarrassment.
"I let her do it again…" she mumbled in annoyance at herself. She took her hands from her face and stood from the stone floor as Lycurgus helped her up.
"She is only in your mind therefore it is you that allows her to stop you." He said simply. Adralan looked around the room and tried to gain focus after standing up. How long had she been there? Time would fly by so quickly whenever she was put in a trance even though it felt like an eternity for her. Adralan looked around the temple and saw another elder whom she knew as Larentia smile at her in consolation as she uncovered the windows that had been blocking the sunlight.
"Lycurgus is right." She chuckled. "What worries you about your mother?" Larentia asked as she walked to Adralan and gave her a cup of water for her to drink from.
Adralan only sighed and replied reluctantly. "Her constant disapproval of me no matter what I do."
"But one day your mother will not be here to approve or disapprove of your actions." Lycurgus said. "What then will you do with yourself?"
Adralan thought on that for a moment and stood silent. Ever since she was a little girl her mother had both her and her brother Adran in strict control. She always wanted to make her mother proud but her untamed nature had always been in the way. Adran, though he was born only minutes after Adralan, had been the most sensible out of the two of them and had managed to become the perfect son in her mother's eyes. As for Adralan, she was closer to her father. Aside from the fact that she was the only one that had inherited his eyes, she had also inherited his wandering spirit. But with time, her mother reeled her back and Adralan soon learned to repress her nature and become the daughter her mother wanted. That was until she had decided to become a dancer.
"All I can say," Lycurgus added, "is that we have yet to see your potential but we will never realize what it is until you show us yourself. So go back with your people and come back when you have released yourself from what holds you back."
Adralan nodded and made her way out the temple. It had not been the first time it had happened. Lycurgus would put her in a trance, her mother or some other image would distract her, and then it would all be gone.
She walked down the stone steps on the hill where the temple stood. It was one of the many temples the elders had. They were part of all the packs in the territory and would serve as counselors, healers, and such to all of them when needed. War was not common amongst any of the packs and skirmishes were always handled by the leaders. The elders would only serve to watch over the rituals and as mediators.
Adralan had gained a love for nature since she was a child. It was almost as if the wind could speak to her. Ormaine, the seer that had helped raise her mother, had sent Adralan to them. Adralan had never had a vision in her life, but her connection with nature could be channeled by the elders. Though their attempts had recently failed, Lycurgus had gained confidence and a curiosity for what Adralan could offer.
She noticed a friend of hers, Nadja, speaking to a couple of friends. As soon as she noticed Adralan, she called out her name.
Adralan walked towards her friend and greeted her and the group warmly.
"With the elders again?" Nadja asked though she knew the answer to her question.
Adralan nodded disheartened. "Where is Valeska?" The question seemed out of place and took Nadja aback slightly. Her large chestnut eyes widened and her bewildered expression caused Adralan to worry.
"Did something happen?" she asked. Though Nadja was her childhood friend, Valeska had become her closest and most trusted friend. Not only that, Valeska was also her teacher in dance. Valeska came from another pack and was the sister of the pack leader, a powerful one named Ivaylo. She was one of the best and had taken it onto herself to teach Adralan and Nadja since they were children. But Adralan's love for dance had not come from Valeska, it had come from Wyvern's Court. She had seen their dances once, when she had gone there as a child, and had fallen in love with them. Yet her mother had only let her go once.
Nadja laughed nervously. "No… she is fine. Actually, that reminds me! Your mother wants to speak to you." Her voice was agitated but the news that her mother wanted to speak to her caught Adralan's attention.
"What for?" Adralan asked. She did not want to speak to her mother only to have another argument as to why she danced or why she went to the elders. Her mother had a certain dislike for both.
Nadja only shrugged. "I didn't ask but I suggest you go. She called for Adran as well."
If she had called for Adran as well than that meant that the subject would not be about berating Adralan. With that in mind, Adralan left the group and Nadja to go with her mother. The pack had gone through many things after her father took the position as their leader. The culture began to flourish and its architectural beauty as well. They were by no means as grand as the beauty of Wyvern's Court but it was still beautiful in its own way.
Adralan spotted her mother speaking to a woman in the market not far from the family's palace. As always, her guard Lea stood far in the distance but her eyes close on any who intended to cause the queen harm. Near her mother there stood her youngest brother, Fenrir, as he played with a wooden sword with the other woman's son. He was only ten years old but Auria made sure to have him at her side at all times. It was uncanny as to how Fenrir looked nothing like Auria and very faintly like Ulrik. The only thing that could signal him instantly as Ulrik's son would be the same eyes that Adralan had inherited as well. Instead, Fenrir had a lighter shade of brown that reflected copper in the sunlight and very different from anyone in the family.
As soon as Auria spotted Adralan, she extended her hand to her daughter who took it and kissed it in a show of respect. The woman who had been speaking to her mother about the horses excused herself from both and let them speak alone.
"Mother, Nadja told me you wanted to speak to me." Adralan looked at her mother and tried to decipher her features but could not. They were so different from each other that it was hard to picture her like her mother at times.
Auria frowned. "I told Nadja to get a hold of you since early morning and you come to me at noon? Where were you all this time?"
Adralan sighed at the tone of her mother. Indeed she had chosen to attack her once more. "With the elders." She said through clenched teeth. "You know I was there."
"And you know that I do not like their influence on you. They are a great asset to our pack but if this kingdom were to go down they would do nothing to stop it. Do you want to become like them?"
Adralan shook her head in disbelief. "Is that what you wanted to speak to me about?"
Auria looked off to check on Fenrir looking weary. "Since you turned seventeen not long ago I have decided to let your father take you to Wyvern's Court along with Adran."
The news took Adralan by surprise. Her mother made sure to always have both her and Adran at her grasp since they were children. It was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
"And Vycan? Didn't he usually go with father?" Adralan could not help but ask about her older brother.
Auria rubbed her temples. "I can't seem to find him at all. He roams about in the forest and gets lost for days. Your father needs someone to go since he has other things to attend to." It was true. Vycan had become strangely absentminded but there was no mystery as to what the cause was. Adralan was sure he had met a girl and that she was most likely from another pack. The only mystery was that she had no idea who she was or why he had never spoken of her.
Auria placed her hand on her daughter's shoulders, something that took Adralan by surprise since she didn't often do it. "I must ask that you two behave yourselves. I do not want any more mischief like the one you caused last time."