Chapter Four: Love at First Smurf
The griffinling shook out his golden wings and launched himself into the air, letting the cool night breeze make his fur ripple as he flew into the dark sky, only guided by the silvery moon. He let out a cry and it echoed throughout the night like melodic harmonies. Soon, another, agonized cry joined his, and he cocked his ear in the direction of the sound. He flapped his wings and soon found himself on the roof of Gargamel's castle.
He flew through a window and saw a terrible sight: it was his mother, locked in a cage with a dejected expression on her face. Her once gloriously colored feathers were charcoal black, and it seemed half of her fur and feathers had been burnt off. Her eyes were dull and her talons were chipped. She was listless and her reddened eyes had a wild, desperate look in them, as if she'd gone mad during her imprisonment.
"Jaro," she called out weakly to her son, and the griffinling flew to her cage in an eye's blink. "Mother! Oh Mother, what has become of you?" wept the griffinling, unable to believe what he was seeing. "The terrible sorcerer-man has drained me of my magic…I must escape, or I won't live," said his mother, her eyes pleading to be rescued. "I'll take you home, Mother! My Smurf buddies will save you!" squawked the griffinling, picking the lock of the cage with his talons and freeing his mother in an instant.
"No, Jaro…" started his mother, but the griffinling had already picked her up in his claws and begun flying towards the Smurf Village. He let out a cry of pain and sorrow, letting the wind carry it the rest of the distance to the Smurf's ears. Soon, tiny blue dots speckled the forest floor, and the griffinling landed and laid his mother on the ground in front of the bewildered and saddened Smurfs.
"What a beautiful griffess! What's wrong with her?" asked Papa, examining the griffin's mother with alarmed eyes. "Gargamel hurt her," explained the griffinling, laying his head on her neck and concentrating on sending out the healing magic that he'd used so often on Papa. However, though he tried his hardest, it seemed that it wasn't having much of an effect. "Help me heal her!" he called, and Papa rushed off to his lab to fetch healing potions while Doctor began to bandage the griffess' wounds.
"I'm not going to live much longer, son…" said the griffess, her eyes shining with tears of agony. "It's okay, Mother, we'll help you. Hang in there…" said the griffinling, squeezing his eyes as he sent out the most powerful healing magic that he'd ever created. Still, there was no effect. The griffess was dying, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"Jaro…wherever I am, know that I love you and will always watch you," the griffess said as her labored breathing slowed. "No, Mother, please…hang on..." begged the griffinling as Papa arrived with the healing potions and started to apply them to her wounds. "Jaro…" said the griffess, her eyes filled with grief and pain. "Sachira…" said the griffinling, equally sad.
The two griffins looked at each other for another heartbeat, then the griffess' eyes slowly closed until the life in them was covered by a black veil. "MOTHER!" wailed the griffinling, his heart broken to shards. "Mother, please wake up. We can save you; I know that we can…" But she was gone. She was in the afterlife now, and she'd never come back.
The griffinling threw back his head and let out a wail of grief and mourning and pain and loss that made your heart break and your eyes water just to hear it. He wailed and wailed and wailed; then at long last the heartrending noise stopped. He closed his eyes and started to hum a tune, which grew louder and louder and soon formed itself into words and a song:
Sachira, O Sachira,
Destiny is calling you.
Fly into the cloud-land, feel the air under your wings
See the sun setting, the angels laughing
Sachira, O Sachira,
Destiny is calling you.
Awaken in the dawn sky, slumber in the sunset
My darling, my heart
Feel free of the earth, let the air envelope you in an embrace
See the spirit-griffins, be one among them
Sachira, O Sachira,
Feel my grieving love for thee.
Destiny is calling,
O Destiny is calling,
Answer the cry
Spirit-mother.
O, Destiny is calling
The griffinling couldn't sing anymore. His mother was dead and there was nothing he could do about it. He howled with grief and fell down next to his mother's body, weeping tears of agony. The other Smurfs joined in the mourning, sobbing and gently stroking the griffess' charred body. The only one who wasn't participating was Papa. He was looking into the stars and had a thoughtful expression on his face. "If the stars and the planets are right, I can just about do it…" he kept mumbling over and over to himself, his eyes becoming dreamy and far away.
"Papa? What're you doing? This griffinling's mother just died; you should be mourning for her!" scolded Clumsy, shaking Papa's shoulder to snap him out of his reverie. "I'm not promising anything, but I think I know a way that I just might be able to bring her back to life…" said Papa mysteriously, a smile shining in his ancient eyes. "WHAT?!" gasped Clumsy, his heart leaping in joy. He turned around to the mourners and said, "You hear that? Papa might be able to bring the griffess back to life!"
At this, everyone started to cheer as hope rose up within them like a fire beginning to kindle. The griffinling looked as though Papa had just promised that he could give the griffinling the ability to become human and his eyes shimmered with joy like rippling waters in the moonlight. He bowed to Papa with great dignity, rested his chin on Papa's forehead, and softly chirped, "Thank you."
…
Lupine was bored right out of sanity and he was desperately hoping that today would promise something to keep him from lapsing into total madness. Luckily for him, something good would come; but it was both good and bad. It would slash into his mind like wolf's claws for a long time, and it would deliver him from boredom but also deliver him into jealousy, heartbreak, and all else that comes along with love.
It came quite unexpectedly and straight out of the blue. He was just lounging around and wondering for the billionth time whether he was ever going to be able to walk again when he heard footsteps outside Kira's den. He looked up expectantly, hoping with all his heart that it would be something interesting to occupy his mind for a while and help him to pass the time more swiftly.
And it was. The whole village had come to visit him and see how he was doing. "IT'S YOU!" cried Lupine in triumph, trying to sit up but wincing in pain and lying back down again. "LUPINE!" called back Papa, racing towards him and almost breaking his back again with a breathquenching bear hug. "I'm so glad to see you again! We've all missed you so terribly, you see; it's just not the same without you…" "Same to you," smiled Lupine, happy to see his family again. Every single Smurf was there. All of them were grinning happily to see him again. Even Grouchy had grudgingly put a small smile on his face for Lupine.
Lupine was going to talk to Brainy when all of a sudden, he saw the most beautiful female he'd ever seen in his entire life so far. She was prettier than the full moon and her eyes were like polished wood, shining in the sunlight. She had light brown hair and a leaf barrette in her hair. She was wearing an outfit made of leaves and her smile was as bright as a summer night filled with fireflies. Her voice was sweeter than a thousand tons of honey, and generally was the most amazing creature that Lupine had met.
"Ummm…" stammered Lupine, lost in a dreamlike love-trance and not quite sure what to say to get the attention of this stunning lady. "Who-who are y-you?" "I'm Leafette," she replied in that melodiously clear voice of hers, flashing Lupine a tiny grin. "You're a-amazing…" Lupine said, at that moment dreaming of running with her through the snow as the sun set and streaked the sky with magnificent colors. "I've n-never seen a Sm-Smurf like you before…"
Lupine didn't notice that everyone was leaving until suddenly, Leafette was walking away from him and waving goodbye. Lupine couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again. "Wait!" he called, the pain in his back melting away instantly as he ran to catch up with her, panting and puffing like he was in a marathon. "D-don't go…I can't take it if you go…" "I'll be back soon, never fear," sang Leafette, and she continued on.
Lupine was deaf to everything except Leafette's enchanting voice as he ran faster than he ever had in his whole life to keep up with her. He galloped until his sides aches and his back throbbed, but still he kept at it, determined not to let her out of his sight. Before he knew it, he was back at the village and Leafette had retreated to her mushroom; nowhere to be seen.
It was then that he came to his senses and realized what a foolish decision he had just made. His back hurt like the dickens and he was completely drained of energy. He had an agonizing stitch in his side, and sweat poured off his skin like water seeping out of a bucket. "Can't…pant….believe that…pant...I ran all the way back….pant…just for a female…pant…" puffed Lupine as his perspiring tongue stuck out of his mouth. "What came over me…pant…Kira would be furious…pant…."
"Lupine? Are you all right? You look a little under the Smurf," said Papa worriedly, noticing at just that moment how worn out Lupine looked. "I am…I am…" agreed Lupine, though he wasn't really hearing Papa's words. He was imagining having a romantic dinner out with Leafette.
"You really shouldn't have followed us home, what with the condition your back is in right now…" Papa started to scold, coming over to Lupine to see how he was feeling. "What on Smurf made you do that?!" "Leafette…" said Lupine dreamily, lost in a world of his own and completely oblivious to what was going on around him. "Oh no…this is almost as bad as when Smurfette first came here," Papa groaned, helping the drooling Lupine walk to his mushroom and lie down in front of the fire. "What makes these lovesick Smurfs so brainless is none of my concern…"
"Yeah…" said Lupine, still lost in his romantic daydream of Leafette. Papa sighed and rolled his eyes up at the ceiling, leaving the mushroom muttering to himself, "Lovesick Smurfs…so annoying…it's ridiculous, really…ridiculous…" "Of course, very sensible…" sighed Lupine, imagining Leafette's gorgeous face before he collapsed in front of the fire and fell asleep dreaming of her, slobbering as he thought once more of how stunning she really was.
….
The next day, Lupine had made up his mind that he should do everything that he possibly could to impress Leafette. In fact, he was so in love with her that he even wanted to marry her! "Hmmmm…what should I give a lovely Smurf like herself….I wonder what she likes…" mused Lupine, pacing the floor as he thought. At home, the wolves gave each other gifts and deposited them in front of a loved one's den to show affection, but Lupine wasn't exactly sure what he should get her. A beautiful necklace? A bouquet of the prettiest flowers known to Smurfkind? A ring?
"I should probably get her something simple and sincere; something that shows her how I really feel," mumbled Lupine, tapping his foot on the floor as he thought. "Hmmmm…I know! Back at home, all the girl wolves really, really liked bone jewelry…I should make some for her; she'd love it!" Encouraged by the thought, Lupine silently snuck out of his mushroom and tiptoed outside the village walls, his heart pounding at the thought of the hunt ahead of him.
Soon, he'd caught a sizable rabbit and skinned it, collecting bones and sorting them into little piles. "Now, I need twine or something…hmmm..." Lupine said as he glanced around for something to string the bones together with. His eyes suddenly fell on a daisy patch, and he grinned as he started to string the bones on the daisy stems, singing obliviously to himself as he worked.
He had a good quantity of rabbit fur left over, too. He decided to make a coat for her with it and made a mental note to himself to present it to Tailor and ask him to stitch it up for him when he got home. He'd give her the necklace now, though. It might be a good idea to have something on hand to give her later for a birthday or some such.
Lupine skipped back to the village, ready to present the necklace to Leafette, when he heard a loud shout and a couple of groans nearby. He whipped his head around in shock and saw Papa screaming at a couple of guilty-looking Smurfs who were holding a pile of coins in their hands at the top of his lungs. "What's going on?! And where did all that cash come from?" hissed Lupine to Brainy, who was looking very smug and proud of himself.
"Oh, THAT stuff? We found a golden phoenix's hoard a few months ago, and Papa told everyone not to touch it, especially not the money, as we've had bad experience with currency in the past; however, these two guys apparently snuck out and took some doubloons from right under the phoenix's talons when it wasn't looking…of course, SOMEBODY had to report it to Papa, and so here I am.."
"A golden phoenix's hoard?! You don't mean the Treasure of the Golden Phoenix from that old legend, right?!" gasped Lupine, his eyes widening and his fur bristling in astonishment. Everybody in the forest knew the old story about a magical golden phoenix who guarded a great treasure hidden in a river. Some said that the phoenix was conjured up by a magician to guard the treasure, which was his fortune; others said that the treasure was the phoenix's and it ate all who attempted to steal its hoard.
However, most people thought that it was just a children's story and only a few had ever attempted to search for it. Everyone who did either never came back again or returned empty-handed. If this was the Treasure of the Golden Phoenix from the story, why….why…that was incredible, and who knew what riches might lie in its clutches?! They said that there was enough treasure in the cache to make a person rich for the rest of his lifetime…
"We think it's likely, but we're not sure," replied Brainy, snapping Lupine out of his reverie. "If it is, then it's such a pity what Papa's going to do with all that treasure that Smurf and his friend brought back…" "Why; what's he planning on doing with it?" said Lupine, wondering if maybe he should attempt to locate the phoenix's lair and snag some jewels for Leafette. "That Papa…he practically lives off of morals; I mean, who in their right mind would try and return the treasure to the phoenix?!" snorted Brainy in disgust, as if even thinking such a thing was ludicrous. "Says that we shouldn't disturb an ancient treasure like that, we should just leave it be; and after all it DOES belong to the phoenix and we have no more right to that treasure than a robber…he's going to be returning it tonight and he doesn't want ANYBODY following him in case they think they're going to sneak more treasure when he's not looking…Lupine? Hey, are you listening, wolf boy?!"
Lupine wasn't listening at all. He was off in a daydream, imagining he was presenting the biggest emerald in the world to a delighted Leafette, who was squealing in joy and thanking him and kissing him gratefully. For Lupine had decided that tonight, he was going to sneak after Papa and grab the prettiest gemstone he could find from the phoenix's hoard and present it to Leafette.
After all, what better present is there for a loved one than a big, beautiful jewel from a legendary monster's hoard? It was an even better idea than the bone necklace! With a gift like that, she was sure to fall in love with him. Lupine grinned and trotted off to his house to take a nap so he would be well-rested for the adventure ahead. His nerves were thumping with excitement at the thought of the quest ahead.
…
"Those greedy Smurfs…acting just like humans; I thought I taught them to be better," snorted Papa as he loaded the trinkets into a sack and started off on his journey to the phoenix's nest. He was completely ignorant to the fact that Lupine silently followed him a few yards behind, his eyes shining in the moonlight and his heart thudding loudly under his blue fur.
Papa sighed as he thought of how his Smurfs had behaved; didn't they know how completely wrong it was to take what wasn't yours? All that glitters isn't gold, after all, and taking what doesn't belong to you makes a beautiful treasure look as rusty as corrupted iron. It sometimes felt as though he was the only sensible and moral Smurf in the village, but then he reminded himself that everyone was still young and learning, after all. Besides, MOST of his village members were honest, hard-working Smurfs and treasure always makes everyone grab and snatch, no matter who you are.
It wasn't long before Papa found the glittering cache in the river and the phoenix slumbering in the depths on top of it. Bubbles were rising to the surface as it snored silently. With trembling hands, Papa let the sack with the treasure in it sink to the bottom of the river, offering his humble apologies to the phoenix and hoping that it would forgive him. After all, how many people will return a shiny treasure back to you when they could just easily keep it for themselves and waste it on comfort and luxury?
However, the phoenix didn't seem to see it that way. It woke up as soon as it saw the sack land among its gold and realized instantly that a theft had been committed. Angrily, it looked up and upon seeing Papa figured that he was the one who had taken the coins and so, with a furious screech and a flap of its mighty golden wings, it rose from the river and snatched Papa in its talons, dragging him down to the bottom of the riverbed with Papa screeching and flailing all the while.
Lupine, however, was deaf to all the commotion that was going on; all he could think about was whether Leafette would like a garnet or an emerald better, as he was sifting through the phoenix's gold at the river's banks and rolling the shiny gems over in his hand. He looked at each one carefully before shaking his head and picking out another one. He just couldn't seem to find one that suited Leafette's personality the best. Besides, how can a mere stone reflect the beauty of a living thing?
At long last, however, Lupine thought he had hit the jackpot. He found a lovely gray-and-green opal that shimmered and sparkled with faint tints of brown. It reminded Lupine of Leafette's eyes. "Perfect; she'll howl for joy when she sees this one!" grinned Lupine as he picked up the enormous rock and hefted it into his pocket. "All I have to do is drop it on her doorstep with a love poem and bingo, I've got her attention!"
Lupine started to trot off happily along the river back to the village, but he was only a few paces away when he noticed something rather odd. Papa was nowhere to be seen; he should've deposited those doubloons by now and be starting back as well. "Oh well; perhaps it's taking him longer than he thought," thought Lupine, shrugging and continuing along the riverbank, figuring that Papa would probably join him soon and scold his ears off for following him against orders.
Lupine winced at the thought and fervently hoped that if that happened, Papa wouldn't notice the huge gemstone in his pocket and make him throw it out. That would really ruin everything, thought Lupine, if he had to drop the stone and give Leafette his pathetic bone necklace instead.
However, when thirty minutes had passed and Papa showed no signs of returning, Lupine got very worried and figured that he ought to look for him in case he was in trouble or had gotten hurt somehow. He shoved down the fear and panic threatening to rise in his chest and sniffed the air, searching for the now-familiar scent of the old Smurf.
To his immense relief, he found it and calculated that Papa was nearby; he was somewhere along the riverbanks and it wouldn't take Lupine too long to reach him. "I wonder why he's on the riverbanks; is he talking to the phoenix or something?" Lupine wondered aloud as he trotted along the muddy banks, sniffing the ground eagerly as he followed Papa's scent trail. The smell became stronger with each passing second.
"Papa, it's me, Lupine! Are you all right?" called Lupine as he reached the area where Papa supposedly was. Nobody answered him, and Lupine became very worried; he couldn't hear any noises nearby and he certainly couldn't see anything either. "Papa? Is everything okay? Please answer me if you're somewhere out there!" called Lupine again. He pricked up his ears and honed his senses as he tried to narrow in on Papa's whereabouts.
Still no answer came to him, and Lupine figured that now he must take matters into his own paws. Papa must be seriously injured or captured or …"Not now, Lupine; worry later, you've got to find him for the sake of the village!" scolded Lupine to himself as he sniffed and felt along the riverbank with his pawlike hands as he searched for the missing Smurf.
He soon found Papa, and tears came into his eyes when he saw him. The leader's body was lying lifeless on the bank, half-submerged in the rippling waters of the river. Lupine could smell blood on him and figured that he must have been attacked. When he got a closer look, he saw huge scratch marks all over his body. The phoenix must've gotten him somehow. Lupine hung his head in shame as he looked at Papa. "It's all my fault that he's hurt; if I hadn't been looking for gems, then I could've saved him," whimpered Lupine as he looked down at Papa, nudging him with his nose to search for signs of life.
To his great relief, Papa's body still felt warm, but only very slightly. He needed to get help fast if he was to survive. He was very close to death and he was only barely alive. Grunting with the effort, Lupine tugged Papa the rest of the way out of the river. He settled him on dry ground and pressed a paw to his stomach to get the water out of his lungs. Papa coughed it up and stirred faintly. Lupine almost fainted with relief and knew then that Papa was going to be fine.
Very gently, Lupine loaded Papa onto his back and ran off on all fours towards the village; his sides heaving and his back smarting with pain. Still, he ran and ran and ran until he thought his lungs would burst. The only thing keeping him going was Papa's chance of survival. He had almost reached the village when he heard a loud caw and looked behind himself in horror to see the golden phoenix chasing after him. Its talons were nearly scraping his tail!
In a panic, Lupine dived through a mass of twisted branches and galloped the rest of the way towards the village. In a rage, the bird tried to dive after him and instead wound up getting its neck tangled in the branches. Golden feathers flew all about as it tried to escape. "Try harder, bird-brain; Lupine's too smart for you, huh?" taunted Lupine, giving the phoenix a cruel grin. The bird gave him a filthy look back. Its glimmering red eyes flashed fire as it finally untangled itself and flapped off towards its nest, squawking furiously at Lupine as it went as if it were swearing to get its revenge one day.
Lupine, however, didn't have time to answer back. He was too busy darting through the village, looking for help for Papa. Nobody answered, and Lupine, exhausted and pained, collapsed in a heap and gasped for breath. He shouted for help as if the world depended on it.
Soon, Smurfs tumbled out of their houses and ran to the square, looking around curiously for the source of the shouting. As soon as they set eyes on Papa and Lupine, they hurried over and gathered around the two, firing questions:
"What happened to Papa? He's soaking wet; poor thing!"
"Did the phoenix get him? Why is he all scratched up?!"
"Lupine! Are you okay? You look out of breath!"
"Hey, why do you have a lump in your pocket? I thought that Papa said not to take any gems home!"
Lupine flinched at that last question, but luckily the Smurfs were more concerned about Papa than what was in Lupine's pocket. "I…I was following him to the river because I was curious as to what the phoenix's hoard was like, and I was so busy admiring it that I didn't notice the phoenix attacking Papa until it was too late…I noticed that he wasn't anywhere to be seen, and I picked up his scent and found him half-submerged in the river with his eyes closed…we need to get him warmed up right now before he catches cold," explained Lupine, trying to keep his tongue from flopping out of his mouth in a pant.
"Wow, Lupine! You're a hero!" gasped Leafette, admiration for the brave Smurf shining in her eyes. "Yes, well, it was nothing," said Lupine shyly, blushing and grinning. At last, he'd won over his love! All he needed to do was give her that gem and she was all his…
Lupine was snapped out of his reverie as Hefty gathered up Papa in his arms and started to carry the unconscious Smurf towards his mushroom. All the village members clustered around him in concern as he walked. "Poor Papa Smurf; he looks really awful! He always gets himself into these situations…" sighed Smurfette, wiping tears out of her eyes as she glanced at Papa's body.
"Don't worry, dear; he'll be fine, he always is," soothed Mama, patting Smurfette on the head in a motherly way and trying to look confident although she was just as worried as everyone else was. Perhaps even more, as she was Papa's spouse after all. "Yeah, he's a tough guy. I wouldn't worry about him if I were you," grunted Hefty as he reached Papa's house and laid the still Smurf in bed, taking off his hat and drying him off with it. "Can anybody fetch some blankets for him? He looks awfully cold; we need to make sure that he's warm and comfortable so that he doesn't get sick or something…"
"I-I'll get them," offered Lupine timidly, and with that he rushed off through the house, searching for blankets to keep Papa warm with. Luckily, he found some and a hot water bottle in a chest in Papa's living room. He must've kept them on hand for guests. He collected them up and rushed back, covering Papa with the blankets and putting the hot water bottle at his feet. "He-he's going to be okay, right?" asked Lupine as he looked at Papa with a worried look on his face. He knew he'd never forgive himself if something happened to him and besides, who would lead the village if Papa died? Blue would probably take leadership, as he was Papa's deputy after all; but then Brainy might get mad and there might have to be an election or something before the two got into a Smurf-fight…
"Don't worry; he's going to be just fine," said Leafette gently, patting Lupine on the head and making him blush again. "Why don't you get some rest? I'm sure you're exhausted and anyway, it's no use just staying up all night waiting for something to happen. I'll let you know if he gets better, okay?" "Y-yes, Leafette," stammered Lupine, bowing so low that his tail brushed the floor before he raced out the door and went into his own house. He curled up before the fire and wrapped his tail around himself.
Soon he was asleep, but his rest was peppered with nightmares of being chased by a golden phoenix; trying to race to Papa, who was drowning in the river, but being unable to move; falling in the river and struggling to swim to the surface, which was too far away; and, most heartbreakingly of all, kneeling by the riverbank and nudging Papa with his snout, but with no response from the inanimate Smurf; the river rising with each moment and threatening to drag him away forever.
….
Papa woke up shaking all over; certain that the phoenix was still after him. "Wh-where am I…is the ph-phoenix s-still after m-me?" stammered Papa, sitting up and blinking as he regained his senses. "Papa! You're alive! Oh, I'm so happy that you're okay!" exclaimed Smurfette, embracing him so dramatically that she almost suffocated him. "Lay off him, Smurfette; you're practically smothering him!" snorted Grouchy, trying to hide his relief with an incredibly petulant scowl. "Okay, okay, I will; I'm just so relieved to see him awake after the way he came in last night," explained Smurfette, blushing femininely and backing off from the bed.
"Huh? Why do you say THAT?!" asked Papa, rubbing his head in confusion and taking in his surroundings. He was lying in bed, covered by blankets and surrounded by the village members. He was in his mushroom with a fire crackling in the nearby hearth. obviously the village had tried to make certain that he didn't get cold. Papa glanced down at himself and flinched when he saw the bandages all over his body. They hardly covered the stinging scratches and only made his injuries look worse than they probably really were. "W-what happened to me? And wh-where's the phoenix?!" stuttered Papa, sinking onto the pillows and lying down weakly.
"Lupine was following you and then he found you out cold on the riverbanks and he took you back to the village and saved your life!" enthused Leafette, throwing her arms in the air for emphasis. "He's such a courageous Smurf; he really is! Oh, he's my hero…" At this, Leafette turned around and gave Lupine a shy smile. This was almost too much for the poor Smurf, and he very nearly avoided fainting dead away on the spot. "How many times do I have to tell you; it was NOTHING! Nothing at ALL!" protested Lupine, though you could clearly see that he was enjoying all the attention, hard as he tried to hide it.
"Th-that's very brave of you to do that, Lupine; I'm very proud of you," smiled Papa feebly, giving Lupine a nod of respect. "I-it was nothing, really; I just saw you and knew I had to help you," replied Lupine, ducking his head and tucking his quivering tail between his legs. "Three cheers for Lupine!" said Leafette, and soon the whole village was cheering, "Smurf, Smurf, hooray! Smurf, Smurf, hooray! Hooray for Lupine!"
"C'mon guys; how many times do I have to tell you that it wasn't really anything out of the Smurfinary?" said Lupine, blushing so hard that he looked like a tomato and slouching even more than he already was. The slouching made him look smaller than he truly was. In truth, however, although he was enjoying the praise and Leafette's admiration, part of him felt like a guilty impostor for stealing the jewel against Papa's orders just to impress his love. He felt even worse when Papa pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to him, revealing a beautiful azure gemstone that was shaped like a paw with a howling wolf and a moon in the middle and gave it to him.
"Lupine, this is for you. Years ago I had a vision about your coming to the village and I've kept this amulet ever since then. I can see now that you've proved that you deserve it," said Papa, giving Lupine a fatherly look of love and pride. "I-I c-can't take something that v-valuable; I'll j-just b-break it," stuttered Lupine, almost dropping the precious necklace."Don't worry; it won't break," assured Papa, mistaking Lupine's nervousness for concern for the valuable stone. "It's made of a special blue stone called Smurfite; it's very tough and it doesn't crack easily. Kind of like you, huh?"
"PA-PA!" groaned Lupine, wagging his tail nervously and scrunching into a little furball. "Don't take it personally; Papa makes jokes like that all the time…it's kind of a father thingie or something," whispered Grouchy reassuringly, looking as though he was afraid that Papa would be mad at him if he heard. "Thanks for the good advice; I'll take it," mumbled Lupine as he slunk low to the floor and walked out of the room. He was feeling embarrassed, guilty and in love all at the same time.
He felt very awkward and unsure of what he should do. Part of him wanted to return the opal to the phoenix and give the necklace back to Papa. The other part of him said it was crazy to do so and besides, he seemed to have caught Leafette's attention. Who in their right mind would get rid of all the adoration and the praise that he was getting now? If there was one thing Lupine liked, it was getting attention and he certainly had no intention of getting rid of it.
He was starting towards Leafette's house to drop off his priceless present for her when all of a sudden, there was a loud whoosh next to him and he found himself pinned on the ground with a voice shouting in his ear, "Hey, where do you think you're going, wolf boy?! That girl is MINE and that's how it's going to stay!"