Chapter 1 - Belong to Yourself

Starlight Vixen · Subject: Chapter 1 - Belong to Yourself Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:29 am

This is chapter 1 of Windsong... Hope you like! drunken

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The sound of drums and flutes from the festival below was barely audible over the laughter and shrieks echoing through the treetops. One particular tree, a thick-trunked oak, towered proudly over the others, casting its shadow across the dancers as they moved in unison around the large bonfire in the center of the clearing.

Chanting could be heard as well; hauntingly beautiful melodies that followed the flutes and harps as though the voices were one with the instruments themselves, or, possibly, the instruments with the voices.

The Dark Moon Festival was an ancient tradition, its meaning all but lost in time. But the people of the Shadow Clan still felt the compulsion to pay their respects to the phenomenon that had once struck fear into the hearts of the Clans of centuries past. The festival hadn’t been as lighthearted then as it was now.

With the four Firesong Clans deriving their power from the moon, the Elders deemed it necessary to appease the god that wiped it from the sky every month with such ease. As the years passed, more became known about the heavens, but the fear remained in many, even if they weren’t consciously aware of its presence. And so, year after year, the Clan gathered in the heart of their territory for a night of music, dancing, drinking, and games.

Some, however, found it ridiculous. One such girl leaned against the trunk of a tall lodgepole pine, head tilted back slightly as she drained the last of the wine from her goblet. Her brown hair was adorned with a net of small, golden chains, and every few seconds, she irritably swatted the dangling gems off her forehead. The lightweight, gauzy red material of her skirt was dusty from sitting on the ground—her etiquette instructor would have a fit in the morning, of that she was sure—and where her skirt was long, her top was just the opposite. A simple length of red fabric tied around her breasts served as a shirt, and the pendant dangling in her cleavage did nothing to distract the young men downing ale by the fire.

She was far past caring, though. After three goblets of wine and a mug of ale, she was far past anything but wondering how much her head would hurt the next morning. Goblet empty, she flung the bronze dish aside and groped drunkenly for a branch or stump or whatnot to help her to her feet, suddenly feeling too stubborn to ask anyone for help.

But unfortunately for her, help came. A rough hand grasped her forearm and hoisted her to her feet, and she pressed her hands against the tree for balance. “Drunk. It figures,” muttered the man distastefully. “Kiera, what am I going to do with you?”

“You could get me another ale,” Kiera suggested, bracelets jangling as she raised one hand to rub her eyes.

“I thought I told you to participate in the festival this year,” the man said, obviously annoyed.

Kiera rolled her eyes. “Participate in what?” she droned. “Keeping the villagers in order is your job, Jay.”

“And I can’t do that if I’m constantly keeping my sister from drowning herself in drink, now can I?” Jay said.
Kiera shrugged. “What would you have me do?”

“Act your age, and behave like a daughter of Alphas instead of a drunken loon,” Jay answered promptly. “Show some interest in tradition for once.”

Feeling absurdly off-balance on her feet, Kiera plopped down on a stump and rested her head in her hands. “It’s a bit late for that tonight,” she groaned. “No sense in me making a bigger fool of myself now than I already have, is there?”

Jay sighed. “I suppose not,” he admitted. “I’ll send someone to escort you to bed.”

“I’m not that drunk,” Kiera said, smiling slightly. “I can get home just fine.”

Her brother considered it for a moment. “Fine,” he agreed. “But no detours. You aren’t the only one who’s abused their drink tonight.”

Kiera glared as Jay disappeared into the crowd, then rose unsteadily to her feet. It wasn’t exactly a detour she was planning, but Kiera had no intention of going straight to bed.

***

Kiera’s twentieth birthday was only twelve days past; more than enough for her to be considered a woman in the eyes of the Clan, but as far as Jay was concerned, she was as much a woman as a thirteen-year-old girl fetching water from the river.

Normally, she would not have minded this underestimation on her brother’s part—he was, after all, twelve years her senior, and had practically raised her. Had she thought his view of her stemmed from the inability to accept that his baby sister was growing up, she might have been a little bit less headstrong about her independence.

But the fact remained that Jay simply didn’t see his sister as mature, and for the life of her, Kiera could not see why. She had excelled in her schooling, mastered the art of the Firesong, and had even managed to learn a few magical techniques reserved strictly for combat.

Truth be told, though, those few bits of battle magic probably didn’t raise her standing in Jay’s eyes in the slightest.

Fox Tail · Number of posts: 13 Age: 19 Registration date: 2008-02-15

Beautiful! Be sure to e-mail me when you get this published! I want to buy a copy!

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