Nightmoon woke with a start. Pale moonlight shone directly in her eyes. Moonlight! She stared at the deep blue sky all traces of sunset gone only dark. The moon was nearly at its highest point in the sky. Swallowing her fear she began to paw by paw trek up the hill. She kept her long plumy tail low. Long muzzle outstretched towards the sky. Soon after wasting moonlight the summit began to come into view. At the peak soon the glow the stone came into view. The Cosmos Stone. A swirling indigo, the color of the night sky when the moon and stars shone, or the sky of a rainy day with sun peeking through. She took in a deep breath and Nightmoon placed her nose against the icy surface of the glowing gem.
Shock flowed in her veins as she felt herself being transported away from the rumble mountain. She landed in a silver treed forest. On shaky legs she stood to full height. A thick furred silver wolfess stepped out. A silver aura her, a tint of indigo mixed in.
"I am Cosmos. Founder of the Wolf Clans." An air of importance surrounded her. "Welcome Night of the Moon." Nightmoon shook as spoke.
"Greetings Cos-Cosmos."
"Lacking confidence are we?" A haughty laugh escaped Cosmos. Anger to boil deep within. Soon Nightmoon launched herself at the ghostly she-wolf. She fought back harshly laughing the whole time. In the end silver lost to black. A sly smile slide over Cosmos' face. "Very good young one." She pushed the black wolfess off and briefly groomed her ruffled fur. "Rise Night of the Moon." Relaxing, Nightmoon stood tall head outstretched. Cosmos smiled.
"With this gift I give you strength. May you use it to protect your pack and stand by your decisions. You may pass." The silver wolf nodded and faded as NIghtmoon continued to pad o
Soon trees were greener and she was confronted by a brute (male wolf) His pelt was brighter than the sun itself, a beautiful golden color with green eyes.
"Greetings I am Flare. I shall help you gain your next gift should you answer me this. What creature is wiser than an owl, fiercer that a badger and quicker than a jack rabbit?" Nightmoon thought the answer hiding in her mind. She wanted to say wolf but there were still thing that they wolves couldn't do. An idea dawned upon her.
"None Sir. All creatures are unique and there are none upon this planet that exist that can beat all others. Owls are wisest no matter how smart wolves are or how clever foxes are. Badgers will still remain the strongest even if they can still be beaten. No creature is the best at all."
A smile creased the old wolf's face.
"Very good Night of the Moon. Few have passed this test. Stand up." The black wolfess stood as Flare stood and looked her grass green to ice green.
"With this gift I give you wisdom. A leader must be smart as well as wise. Use it when trouble strikes the pack. You may pass." Glittering flames danced in his vivid eyes. Flare smiled as he nodded and faded.
As Nightmoon continued the dark sky began lighten a pale jay blue shone though. The trees resorted back to their typical silver color, the sky reflected off the leaves.
"Night of the Moon. I see you made it this far." A voice sounded from the shadows behind her. Nightmoon's fur stuck up as she jumped into the air her growls rose into the wind turning around. "Feisty." The wolf was a sleek white wolf with a single gray paw. "I am Cloud."
"Gre-greetings Cloud." Nightmoon stuttered.
"Greetings, now a test of smart, a hidden acorn is in the area find it! It's bright green." The wolfess barked. With a nod from Nightmoon, Cloud sat down to watch her struggle. Nightmoon inhaled deeply, a light scent cloud drifted from a bush in the woods. She walked slowly, glancing back at Cloud occasionally. Who just smirked back at her. As she thought the acorn wasn't there.
"There is no acorn!" Nightmoon called confidently.
"Very good Night of the Moon. Come here." Nightmoon padded forward preparing for her third gift.
"With this gift I give you forethought. Use it to know what is right and wrong and to give justice to the right wolf. You may pass." She touched noses with Nightmoon like all the others had done sending a shock down her spine. The white wolfess nodded and faded away. Noghtmoon continued her trek. Only 2 more gifts to go. She could tell she neared a new gift-giver because the sky darkened to its natural night time state. Though the stars were strong, perhaps it was her star wolf gift? She stood in the clearing where her 4th gift should await her.
"Come find me!" A haunting voice called from the shadows. "Come find me!" Nightmoon scented the air finding not a trace of wolf, nor fox or any creature. In the shady trees slight movement caught her eye. She began to pace the opposite direction of the movement. She didn't see it again. Very pale green beams of light appeared on the ground. Last second Nightmoon launched herself at where the flicker of movement had come from. She didn't land on a wolf as she expected, all she got was bush. She growled and got up. In the mud, she noticed claw marks. Not paws but claws. Little pinprick holes tiny enough to not be seen by a normal eye. But Nightmoon saw them, she followed the trail and pounced when she saw no more time she did meet wolf. Instead of fighting the gray wolf laughed.
"Congratulations Night of the Moon. You found me, I am Willow." Her green gray twinkled. "Let me up. And stand yourself." Nightmoon let the silver wolf up. She had the classic pelt of a Starpack wolf not the same thick silver pelt of Cosmos.
"With this gift I give you stealth. Use it to protect your pack, and hide the secrets from other packs that need to be hidden. You may pass." The smile lit her face once more and she faded to the shadows. Nightmoon continued to walk and her final gift awaited. A smile lit her face as a familiar pelt turned up.
"Stormmoon!"