Aislyn

The ivory woman had been slacking lately. She still needed to teach the young lady who would be taking her place as beta, and today looked promising enough to do so. She needed to get things going before she got too big, and before she had her pups. The season was coming to a close quickly, so she needed to hurry things up. Delicate body lifted from the earth as she raised to her paws, steadying herself on wobbly legs. Age was catching up with her, and being pregnant didn't help. Her muzzle raised to the havens, calling forth the ivory and brown woman she would be mentoring. Hopefully she wasn't too angry that Aislyn had put this off until now.

Chrysanthe paused, the summons that flowed through the air not one that she had the chance of responding to as of late. It was the voice of Aislyn, the lead beta to Valhalla. The woman had said that once she trained her, that she would be stepping down from the rank to take care of her litter. Chrys was happy for her, glad that she was doing what she wanted to do - being a mother was a wonderful thing and she couldn't wait to see the pups that came from all of her hard work.


Immediately the yearling was following the sound of her voice, running toward her, quickly crossing the terrain between them. When she got there, she was smiling, and she dipped her head out of respect for the beta. Aislyn might have been smaller than the younger girl, but Chrysanthe respected her, didn't see her as smaller at all. She had been alpha and beta of this pack, and Chrys felt that she could learn a lot from the pretty white fae. "Good morning Aislyn." Her tail gently wagged behind her, and hope shone in her eyes at the prospect of beginning her training today. "Is everything alright?"

She waited for a few minutes, then the fea had come to her. She had a smile on her face so Aislyn returned one of her own. Chrysanthe was a sweet little lady, she could already see a great leader in her. All she needed was a little mentoring and she would be good to go. "G'day Chrysanthe! My oh my mate, you've gotten so pretty. What a beautiful sheila you've become." She cooed with a wink. It was true, Cairo's children were all stunning, especially his daughters. The ivory woman rocked back onto her haunches, eyes looking over the lady before her. "Everything thing is prefect, except for that fact that I haven't even begun to train you yet. Ready for some lessons?" She asked, pausing to allow the information to sink in.

The yearling was glad to see a smile on her mentor's face. That meant that Aislyn hadn't called her because something was wrong, and the pregnant woman was doing alright. Her way of speaking was quick with a twang that she wasn't too familiar with, but her coo as well as her wink was enough to make Chrysanthe grin. "Thank you ma'am! You're quite pretty yourself." She answered, holding back a string of good natured laughter. She decided then that she would like learning from Aislyn, and wouldn't take a minute of the lady's time for granted. The yearling nearly leaped in response to her question, but her lips split into a grin regardless of her usual habit of keeping her composure. "Yes, of course! I've been waiting - not that you took long at all." She knew that the beta had important things to attend to, never for a moment did Chrysanthe grow frustrated with the ivory woman. "I did a bit of sparring, and patrolled the borders. I... even accepted a male named Jester into the pack after Thane brought him here." The brute didn't have any of his old memories, and although it was a strange happening, she found herself believing both he and Thane. Although she hadn't seen him since...


Feeling like she was rambling, Chrysanthe paused, azure eyes meeting Aislyn's own. "What's on today's agenda?"

The woman accepted her complement, thanked her, and had thrown one back. "Thank ya very much. She replied with a smile. Now it was time to get down to business. She listened to the dames accomplishments, and they weren't tom shabby. She had done the simpler tasks, but they were still important. Today's plans... What would they be? The dame needed to go over more than just a few things, but she could always spread it out over a few days. Today, she would judge the lady's judgement. "Some simple questions is where we will start. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I want you to answer them honestly. Don't tell me what you believe I want to hear, tell me the truth." She paused, letting this information sink in. Then she began.

-"When you patrol the borders, what do you do?"
-"Why did you accept Jester into Valhalla? What about him interested you?"
-"Is there a lucky lad out there you have your eyes set on? If so, where does he rein from? Name? Age?"
-"If someone challenges you for your rank, do you fully understand what you will be fighting for?"
-"What do you plan on doing with the rest of your life? A mate? Family? Maybe become alpha?
-"Are you ready to put your life on the line for your pack in all circumstances?
-"Would you be willing to be a temporary alpha like I was for an extended amount of time?"
-"Would you be willing to kick one of your family members/close friends out of Valhalla if the circumstances fit?
-"And last: WHY do you wish to be the beta, taking my place when I finally step down and give you the full rank?

They weren't simple questions, so they required more than simple answers. She would be patient with the woman's answers, she too would take her time in order to answer them.

She was glad that Aislyn didn't seem to mind that she had given herself a bit of a briefing on the job on her own. It was really just Chrysanthe trying on the rank, seeing how she would handle certain things. For the most part, she had done alright. She managed to win one of her fights, and Jester had done nothing bad that she knew of, once becoming a part of Valhalla. She was a bit worried about what the questions from her mentor would be, but she listened to each one, carefully considering her answers as she went. The first was somewhat easy - when she patrolled the borders she checked for the scents of those she recognized, those that she didn't. Those of threats that could be nearby, and of course, to make sure that they were clear and concise. So long as the borders were strong, loners would know not to come into these pack lands as they were clearly claimed.


"When I patrol the borders, I check for scents that don't belong. Trespassers, predators, anything that doesn't belong. I also check for strangers that may be lingering nearby. A spy is never any good to have around and I don't want to miss who may just be a waiting member." Sometimes wolves just forgot to howl, even the most good natured of them. She hoped that her answer sufficed, perhaps there was more that she should be checking for? More that she should be doing? As for Jester... it wasn't really that she was interested in him. Personally he seemed to be a simple male. "It wasn't that Jester really interested me - but... he had no memories of his past life. He was taken in by a warrior here by the name of Thane. He hadn't been officially accepted into the pack, so I went ahead and did the job. Collision wasn't around and you and Syrinx seemed to be busy."


"I didn't want to turn him away - I couldn't. He was more than willing to help, and agreed to do his best to be a helpful member to Valhalla. I suppose I wanted to help him too. To remember." She remembered their conversation well. There was little about the male that struck her as dishonest. Yet... "But I haven't seen him since." It was quite sad. Perhaps her judgement could use a little work. That was two times out of two that she had invited or accepted a member into Valhalla and they had vanished on her. It was disheartening to say the least.


Yet she did not dwell on her first attempts, her mistakes - she had questions to answer and she would remain attentive to her mentor. Aislyn was testing her, seeing what was in her head, what made her tick. A part of the yearling was nervous - what if she answered something wrong? Would Aislyn tell Collision that she wasn't fit for the job? Would Epiphron, or even Preston be chosen to take her place in training? Anxiousness started eating at her, and she nearly jumped at the pretty white fae's next question. Was there someone that she had her eye on?


"I... I'm not sure. I liked a male once, but he was older. His name was Demonio... He has a mate now though and chose a different pack over staying in Valhalla. I suppose it was just a crush though... as we're friends now and I have no interest in running off with him. He lives in Tortuga now I suppose." Perhaps that friendship wasn't something that she would be able to hold onto. Yet she didn't see herself letting go of Demonio so easily. She would never have a life with him, but she wanted to be a part of his life. "Now I... I suppose I don't have my sights set on anyone in particular." Her thoughts of Gideon James would be squashed down - because she was sure that the beta would see right through her if she tried to bring him up without blushing like mad. "When I do have someone in mind I'll let you know." She smiled, and somewhere in there she hoped that she would be able to define the relationship that she had the Seracian so that she could hold up her end of the promise.


When it came to fighting for her rank, she paused. If she were to fight for her rank, she would fight for her position. Her place within the pack, within her family. But most importantly? "I would fight to keep protecting Valhalla. I'm young, inexperienced but... I know that I have this pack's best interest at heart. This land is what father wanted for our future, and I... I don't know exactly what Collision saw in me when he chose me for the job - but I don't want to let him down. I would fight, so that I wouldn't let me down either."


"Syrinx will be alpha. His mate alphess, his children the heirs and heiresses. I... other than being beta, I'm not sure what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want to protect Valhalla but..." She thought of her talk with Gideon - how she wanted to break away from being Chrysanthe Adravendi alone, and for there to be substance behind her first name alone. If she devoted her life to this pack and held nothing for herself - she would quickly become miserable. "I want to make a name for myself. Whether it's as alpha, beta, a mother, a friend - I don't care. But I want to be remembered." And that was enough for her, for now. As she grew she would get more direction, but at this moment she was somewhat proud of herself for having direction.


"I would tear anyone who hurt a member of my family, my pack - into shreds." It was a promise. She already had someone on her list for that. A grey and black brute that she and Ookami swore they would tear limb from limb for what he did to Thane. The warrior was a good male, and he didn't deserve the pain that had been cast upon him. "And I would risk my life to do it." There was fire in her eyes as she spoke those words. Whether a good thing, because she had the passion to protect what she loved - or a bad thing because already she wasn't afraid of death, wasn't afraid to throw herself out there and make herself a target - would be determined by her mentor, or perhaps even as she went along in life.


"I would step in if Syrinx couldn't handle it." She laughed then, but knew that her brother would be fine. "He's strong, but not infallible. If he ever needed my help, I would have his back. It's really as simple as that isn't it?" This answer came with a nod, just as confident as the last answer, but with an air of family and diplomacy that the former hadn't held. Yet the female's next question was enough to make her pause. Would... would she turn away from someone she loved for the sake of her pack? "I... I don't know. My family is everything Aislyn. I may tease and taunt, but I could never imagine one of them just... gone." And then her thoughts shifted to Neo. Her silly jealous brother that she had picked at alongside her sister. He... she didn't respect him at times, she knew that - but he was her brother through and through. Even if he didn't consider himself her sibling, she did.


"I wish to be beta because I... I want to defend this pack. These wolves - every single one, is a part of my family and I love my family. I want to be able to help the pack grow. Finding new members is hard, fighting is painful, I know it won't be easy - but I want to be a part of Valhalla's new start. I want to stand beside my siblings and make my father proud - make you proud." She was the one that was training her after all. "I want to be a great beta for this pack, more than anything else." Although she didn't want her rank to define her, she wanted to live up to the rank. It was a fragile balance, but one that she would surely find if given the time.


With all of the other female's questions answered, she faced her, awaiting the other lupine's judgement. There was so much that she could say in response to her questions, Chrysanthe was a touch scared of rejection but... there was nothing else that she could have done other than lie. There was truth in each of her answers - she refused to lie through her teeth to impress her mentor - to sound like she was better suited for the job. And honestly she felt that she would let Aislyn down if she did lie, even for the harder of her questions. Hopefully, the white fae would see her as material worth training further.

sorry for the length |3