⌘ Siv ⌘

"Fucking hell!"
Siv followed the excessive swearing down a trail until she saw a greyish wolf.
"Excuse me, do you need help?" Siv said to get her attention. The wolf sighed.
"I'm fine, don't worry little one," the wolf said as if Siv was a puppy. The wolf grumbled and started walking along the trail.
"Where are you headed, lady?" Siv asked.
"I'm going home."
"You live up the mountain?" This caused the wolf to stop and look up towards the night sky. She then turned around, walked past Siv and continued the trail to the other direction. Siv started walking in the same direction. Poor old lady must be senile or something. An audible groan reached Sivs ears as the wolf in front of her stepped in a puddle of water and snow sludge.
"Maybe you should have a rest for the night?" Siv asked and the wolf looked back at her with eyes as black as the sky.
"I don't know anyone around here, little miss," she scoffed.
"I have a cave not far from Moonpond. I'll light you a fire if you like."
Somehow the wolf begrudgingly followed to her cave and was seated to rest by the fire. She seemed to relax and her mood changed, so Siv brought her a fish as well.
"How come you live so far from your pack? I assume your home is Moonpond?" The wolf asked as she ate the fish. Moonpond was ruled by Skades kin, and in the winters it became extremely cold and snowy, you'd want to live close to the others as to not get in unnecessary trouble.
"It's true. I um.." Siv didn't want to say she ran away from home, it sounded so juvenile, "I don't get along with my family, so I moved here."
"How come?" This wolf was rather nosy.
"It's complicated, and probably not very interesting to a traveller like yourself."
"Lighten your heart. The least I could do to thank you for your hospitality is offer an ear," the old wolf was much less grumpy now that she was warm and well fed.
"Well.. My father has found me a mate and appointed me to pupsitting duty as well," Siv sighed and laid down by the fire, "he doesn't see any potential in me.."
"Do you?" Siv was almost offended by the rude question.
"I'm not sure, maybe he's right," she confessed, "but I can't help but feel that I was meant for something different. I don't even like the male he chose for me."
"Sounds like a jerk," the dark eyed wolf stands up and looks up at the blushing sky, "I have to get home, thank you for hosting me."
The wolf stops to ask for Sivs name, and then runs off. Siv found her way to her favourite hill to watch the sunrise.
-
Siv woke up by someone pulling her up by the skin on her neck.
"Time to go home, Siv," her fathers voice said as she blinked her sleepy eyes. As soon as her fathers guard let go of her, she sprinted off. Siv wasn't fast enough, and was quickly caught by the guard again.
"While me and your brother have worked our asses off preparing for the festival, you've been out here slacking off?" Her father scolded her on the way home, "we were so worried, I thought something had happened to you."
"I'm sorry, Father," Siv mumbled. She wasn't sorry, but she had to say it.
"You really think you can just run away to avoid having to help your family?" Harald asked and expected an answer.
"I didn't run away to avoid helping you.." Siv started.
"Then what did you run from? Do you have such a bad life, the life of a princess with everything handed to you? You have a safe place to call home, your family are all around to love and dote on you, what else do you need?" Harald sighed and then greeted his subjects as they came back to Moonpond, "come now, I have breakfast prepared."
Sivs brother, Hilding, ran up to her and embraced her, "Siv! I missed you! Where were you?"
Siv just shook her head, but her father replied for her, "she ran away from home. Didn't you?"
"Why?" Hilding asked Siv, but Siv didn't know what to say that wouldn't get critisized by her father. Siv stayed quiet while they ate breakfast - fish that Haralds guard had caught. By the fire were Hilding, Harald, her fathers guards and some extra wolves. Siv didn't know their names. Harald stopped his chatting with the others to adress her.
"Siv, I'm very happy to have you back here," Harald sounded sincere, and when Siv glanced at Hilding he smiled as if he agreed, "but I can't let you off without some repurcussions. You'll have to be confined to moonpond for some time now. I just don't want to lose you again, dear."
"I'm sorry, pappa," the more times Siv apologized, the more genuinly sorry she was feeling.
"I'm going to appoint someone to keep an eye on you, okay?" Harald said, and Siv nodded politely. Harald smiled, "I have a gift for you, too. It's in your cave, you can look at it after breakfast."
Siv became nervous. After breakfast she snuck off on her own to her small cave next to Haralds cave. On the rock next to her bedding laid silver jewellery. It was beautiful, and Siv slid them on her legs immediately. She laid down and sighed. Why am I such a horrible daughter?
Siv left her cave to attend dinner, and was startled by a wolf standing outside. The wolf apologized, introduced himself as her new guard, and escorted her to dinner. Siv could see Mona on the other side of the fire, her older cousin and the only one who understood her. Mona didn't see Siv, she was busy talking to someone next to her, so Siv started walking over there to sit with her when she was stopped.
"Your father appointed you this seat," the guard said. Siv grumbled under her breath as she sat down obediently. Soon enough, her father arrived and they all started eating. It seemed the whole family was there, but also some from the pack, as well as some strangers. One of them was sitting next to Siv, and when she ignored something he said to her, Siv glanced at her father, who didn't see it
but his presence was demanding still. You better start acting like a lady his voice rung in her head. She looked up at the male next to her and smiled.
"Where are you from?" Siv asked politely.
"I settled down near Somnolents seat not too long ago," the male replied, "but this seems like a good place to live, too."
"It's a bit cold in the winter," Siv didn't really have anything positive to say.
"Ah, so you don't think I should move here?" The male asked.
"Is something wrong with somnolents?" Siv wondered what it was like, somnolents was the main hub of her pack, the closer to somnolents you got, the more wolves.
"I like somnolents just fine," the male hummed, "what about you?"
"I've never been," Siv answered.
"Really? Oh wow, you really should go there sometime!"
"I'm not really allowed.." Siv spoke quietly and the male leaned in to try to hear her.
"Why not?" He asked and Siv tried to stammer out a response that would sound good, when the male said, "I think I'll go get some air, do you want to follow?"
The male had understood she was whispering so no one else would hear, and he was offering her to go somewhere more quiet so she could talk, but Siv was hesitant. She didn't actually want to talk to him from the beginning, so why would she talk to him in private? But then she felt her fathers cold eyes glancing at her. Be polite to your guests his voice in her mind said. Siv got up to follow the male, and she saw her father smiling approvingly.
"So why were you whispering?" He asked once they were by the lake, away from the others. There were some wolves around the lake too, but not many and Siv didn't mind them hearing.
"I didn't know if my father would hear," Siv tried to think up some lies but she decided to just say it, "he doesn't allow me to leave Moonpond."
"You've never been anywhere else?"
"I have snuck out several times," Siv sighed and stared at the stars reflection in the lake, "but it's against the rules."
"Why?"
"He's just.." Siv paused, unsure of her own words, "just a little overprotective, that's all."
"Maybe he would allow you to go if you had someone escorting you," the male pondered and Siv looked up at him.
"I don't really have anyone to go with," she said and the male looked at her with a weird face, pretending to be offended, that drew a chuckle out of her, "what?"
"You could go with me," he said.
"Why would you offer that?" Siv scoffed.
"Why wouldn't I want to bring a beautiful lady with me on my journeys?" Siv hsd never been called beautiful before, and her hearts pounding became so distracting, she couldn't respond and the male chimed in, "is my offer insufficient?"
"Well.." Siv cleared her throat, not wanting to sound too flushed, "what if you go somewhere boring?"
"I would only bring you to fun places, I promise."
They spent the rest of the evening talking about which places he would bring her. From the warm springs in the mountains, to the swamp in the south. His stories mesemerized her, all she ever knew was Moonpond. This male was offering her the world.
"Do you really think he would let me go with you?" Siv asked and looked into his yellowish eyes.
"I know so," he assured her and leaned closer. But wait, how would he know something like that? Sivs pondering was broken when she felt him nip at her ear. Before she had time to object his advances, a voice interrupted them.
"Siv, your father is asking for you," it was the guard from before - her guard. Siv got up and left with the guard. Thank the gods. The mood was less hectic by the fire now and as she reached the fire, her father paused his own conversation that he was having, to make time for her.
"Was he nice to you?" He asked, and it felt strange.
"Yes.." Siv felt confused, why would her father ask this?
"He has more potential than the last male, no?" Her father asked, and it hit her. That's why he had been seated next to her. That's why the male knew her father would allow them to go places together.
"Much better," Siv answered as if she was possessed by someone elses will. Her father sighed in relief.
"That's great, my darling. I'm a bit busy, let's talk more tomorrow," Harald said and turned around imeediately to return to his previous conversation. Siv felt lost for a moment. She didn't want to go back to the lake, where there was a male wanting to become her mate, and she couldn't stay here, where a female wolf was trying to become her fathers mate. She couldn't locate her brother or Mona either. She ran to her cave, hoping the male from the lake didn't see her, and she hid for the rest of the night. She heard a sound outside at one point and shouted who's there? but her guard answered that it was only him and that he had been there for hours. After that, she fell asleep.
-
The male - whos name she learned was Buck - requested her presence several more times. Because that's how it worked now, appearently wolves could request for her and she had to comply. When she reached her cave after one of these occasions, she turned to her guard with a question.
"Does my father not want me and him to mate?" Each time the male had gotten too close to her, the guard had stepped in.
"I'm assigned to protect you, your highness," the guard replied without moving a muscle.
"I thought you were assigned to keep me in line," Siv scoffed and went to sleep.
The very next morning, the guard helped her pack a satchel. Her father had beamed as he waltzed in to declare the good news to Siv; Buck had asked her father if he could bring her to the mountains. Siv beamed back at her father, but for different reasons. She had never been to the mountains. She had never been away from the moonpond packs area. Was the mountain high? Just how far could she see from the top? She met with Buck at the edge of the lake and said goodbye to her father and brother.
"Excited?" Buck asked with a warm smile on his face. Siv nodded and smiled back. But she thought about the catch. There must be a catch. For Buck, she knew what he wanted from her. He didn't seem to be an impatient wolf, or maybe he was just that scared of her fathers power, but Siv was willing to give him anything he wanted for this experience. Even her eternal loyalty. She was a 2 year old wolf who had never seen the outside world, the never ending bleakness of snow, rain, pupsitting duties, moon ceremonies, and boring dates with Buck. She was ready for adventure, no matter the cost. Already at the foot of the mountain, he started showing his affection by grooming the fur on her shoulders. Even though she had decided that she was ready, she was very nervous. They were almost at Craggy valley, when Buck noted how she stopped to look behind her all the time.
"I'm looking for the view, but so far there's only trees," she laughed, "sorry if I'm acting weird."
"Don't worry, it's adorable," he answered and Siv didn't even notice him leaning in before she recieved her first kiss. She pulled away first, but the rush she felt was kind of.. nice. She moved closer and let their lips interlock once more and she could feel his tongue on hers.
"Calm down," Buck laughed as he pulled away, "we'll have plenty of time later."

"You'll have to leave as soon as you can, it's not safe in this area right now," Tora explained, and while Buck was trying to make a deal with her, Siv snuck off to find the view. The landscape rolled out before her, she could see tree tops becoming smaller and smaller, she could see a glistening river in the distance, and the huge bellowing white clouds in the pinkish sky were so much bigger than she'd ever seen before. She sat and looked at everything and the sky turned more en more pinkish with the sunset. Then she saw something on the mountain. A wolf, running in the opposite direction. Siv got up to see what was going on when a large shadow sprinted past her view, it was chasing the wolf. Siv knew the wolf was in danger, and before she knew it she was chasing after them. The large beast stopped and let out the loudest growl Siv had ever heard. Siv slipped in behind a rock and watched. The creature stood on its hind legs with the wolf hanging from its shoulder. The wolf was trying to fight the beast. The beast tried to swat at the wolf with its impossibly long claws and Siv knew that they were deadly. She sprinted out from her hiding spot and jumped at the beasts face, momentarily distracting it before being thrown off and landing hard on the ground. Someone pulled at her, she got up and ran with him into a crevice between some rocks. The beast came up to their hiding spot, tried to swat at them and roared. When it sniffed at them through the cracks, its breath was warm and strong. It paced outside. Siv looked to her new friend and -
"What are you doing here?!" She exclaimed as she saw the face of her guard. He rolled his eyes and sighed.
"What are you doing fighting a bear?" He scoffed.
"I was trying to help you! Why were you fighting them?"
"I'm helping Gerds family to keep them away, I got here several hours before you," he said and laid down, as if to rest.
"What.. Why? Why are you here? Why are you resting when there's a monster outside?" Siv yelled.
"Calm down, it's just a bear. Didn't Tora tell you? The bears have been enroaching on their territory and acting agressive lately. They're usually pretty docile," he spoke calmly.
"And you're here because?"
"You know I'm supposed to keep you safe," he growled and seemed fed up with her questions.
"From my future mate, or what? Bears?" she scoffed, and then she got an idea. She stood up, "I'm going back to Gerds to ask what's going on."
"I know what you're doing. Would you really risk your life for your silly questions?" He sounded angry.
"Yes," Siv answered frankly and truthfully.
The bear paced and huffed outside.
"Fine. Ask away."
"Why would my pappa send you with us?"
"He didn't." Sivs ears pointed up. She had tried to figure out what her father was planning with this all day.
"But, but my pappa?"
"He wants you and Buck to become mates, he has yellow eyes, you have white eyes, yada yada," the wolf sighed.
"What do our eyes have to do with anything?"
"The alpha and beta have always had white eyes and yellow eyes and always been siblings, except for the latest alpha who has black eyes, but your father doesn't think she should've been the alpha anyway, so yeah."
"He wants mine and bucks pups to be alpha and beta?" Siv almost felt flattered, but then she remembered the female that had attended their family dinners lately. A young wolf, seated next to Hilding, with white eyes to complement his yellow ones, "no, he wants his own kin to become alpha, doesn't he?"
"Beats me," the male said.
"Why not Hilding? As the alpha?" Siv asked, but then she answered her own question, "so that's why he has been off training Hilding all the time lately."
"Even your father knows that Hilding doesn't have what it takes to be alpha, even if he tries his best to teach him," the wolf scowled and sniffed the air.
"Does Buck know about this?" Siv sat down and asked, her fiery spirit cooled down a bit as she could barely look her guard in the eye. He had pity in his eyes as he nodded.
"Tell me," she demanded and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Your father sent out scouts to look for yellow eyed males who would make strong pups, sent out a message to them that, if they managed to impress her, they had the chance to marry a princess and become the father of the next alpha of Tyrs härd," The guard explained shortly. Siv sighed and laid down. Even if she didn't particularly like Buck, she always thought that he was at least interested in her, not the chance to become a royal.
"Is the bear gone?" Siv mumbled. The bear wasn't gone. Siv fell asleep, then woke up by a series of nudges. As she yawned and tried to stretch, she realized for the first time how awkwardly cramped it was in her and her guards little cave.
"The bear is asleep, let's sneak out of here," the guard whispered into her ear. The sky was dark and speckled with glimmery stars as they crawled out the cave. The bear was quite cute where it slept, like a huge puppy, but Siv didn't get to stay and look for long. She followed her guard into the woods below.
"You can't tell anyone what I told you," this Siv could understand, but, "you have to act like you don't suspect anything."
"You want me to just go on with my fathers stupid plan?" Siv snarled.
"Yes, for now," he answered.
"If you think I'll mate with Buck after what you told me-"
"Don't mate with anyone if you don't want to, just don't act suspicious about it," he sighed, "Just trust me."
Siv pulled back her ears. She thought about running home, telling her father she didn't like Buck anymore. Would he accept that? No, probably not. What if she tells Buck that she won't mate with him because he doesn't love her? But that would clash with her guards plan.
"I have to go back to moonpond before your father realizes I'm gone," her guard said.
"Wait," Siv stopped him, "what happens if I don't follow your plan?"
He looked at her now with pleading eyes.
"I'd rather not say that," he said, and Siv realized her father was more cruel than she had thought.
"I.." Siv didn't want to give herself to Buck anymore. But here she was again, in someone elses game, under someone elses rules. She bowed her head, ready to accept her duty.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing," she lied. He studied her for a bit as she got up and started moving towards Craggy valley and her future Mate.
"Stop," the guard said, and came up to her, "tell me what's wrong. Now."
"Buck, he.. he wants something from me," Siv stumbled on the words, "I don't want the same. But I'll be fine."
"No. I won't let you do that," he said sternly and thought for a moment.
"You've run away before. Would you be okay with pretending to run away again?"
"Where will I go?" Siv asked.
"Nowhere. Just stay here, hide out somewhere in these woods. Buck will tell your father, and he will send me to come get you. We will be back at moonpond, where I can keep you safe."
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