Almost adults

Thorn grinned at his dad’s singing, looking from his dad and mom’s face and then to his siblings, looking for the same excitement he felt in their own eyes.  After the song Dad gave a short speech and spoke of being proud of them.  It wasn’t as if Dad never encouraged him but still, it had that special ring to it right now.  This wasn’t proud of one good training session or any other event but proud of them as the wolves they were turning into as a whole.  Then, the really exciting part was mentioned; presents.

A box for Taly, within it a beautiful pendant of the famous Carpathian metal with gems glistening inside.  It wasn’t just a pendant but one with every part of it had meaning and the craftsmanship of an artist.  “It’s almost as pretty as you are Taly,” Thorn said in good spirit.

Dusk got her whip-tail weapon and Thorn had to wonder if there was any name for a weapon of that sort.  The notion of wanting to study it later came to mind.  It wasn’t a weapon that would work for any wolf but perfect for his sister.  Then Ciaran got his own sword.  A real sword!  Still, another one was on the table.  Wrapped so he couldn’t see it but it appeared incredibly long.  Was there extra scabbard or something to cause that?  Thorn was well aware of the size of a normal short sword and long sword and others he’d spied on the armory.  This appeared longer.

The wrapped sword was given to Thorn and he stared at the present itself in awe for a few seconds before carefully using paw and teeth to gently rip the paper.  For all his excitement and desire to see it, the boy took joy in slowly opening it to truly soak in every inch of the handle and scabbard of the sword.  The gems embedded in it seemed to add to the sword's personality, breathing a bit more life into it.  The boy's tail was slowly swaying back and forth as he finally removed all of the wrapping to see each part of it.

When Dad helped by holding the scabbard Thorn put his teeth around the sword, feeling elation at the weight of the weapon felt finally firmly locked between his jaws.  Thorn turned his head and took a partial step back to fully draw out the blade fully and present it for the world to see.  His own eyes soaked in the sword's appearance, how the steel seemed to ripple, and the dark metal that created an ivy leaf pattern.  Thorn had wanted a sword so badly and here he had a masterpiece.

Thorn listened to his dad speak of having chosen it specifically for Thorn, and confidence in him.  Thorn felt like a small pup again.  From the excitement from Dad’s words to the weight of the sword, heavier than any weapon he’d been able to hold until now.  Thorn’s dream was finally here!   The boy stared at the sword for another minute before carefully slipping the blade back into its sheath.  It felt great doing that also! “I love it! Thank you Dad, thank you Mom!”

Dad then brought up naming their weapons.  Oh, Thorn had spent so much time thinking up possible names for his future grand weapon.  Admittedly without seeing the sword, it would be hard to know the right one for sure.  How many nights and days, how many days after training was over had he imagined potential names? “StormSong, is the name of my blade,” spoken easily when Dad was done talking.  “A threat of the storms is enough to send animals indoors.  I liked falling asleep to some of the thunderstorms we heard at night also.  So the storm is a mixture of something beautiful and something dangerous.  So is my sword.”

But they weren’t done!  They were no longer just pups but able to gain responsibilities just as the adults already had.  “I will be a knight,” Thorn said brimmed with confidence but then adding on, “but, at some point, I’d like to take time away.  I want to travel up and down all the lands, I want to see the world but, I still want to be a knight!”    

Finishing all things off, they were going to get their own rooms also!  His own room! Best day ever.  That thought sent his eyes back toward his sword.  It was still there and still real.  Yes, best day ever.

"Thorn Carpathius"