< from my mistakes >

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The burgeoning of both fauna and flora was the herald of spring, with melodic birds depicting its anthem at the break of each dawn.
The flutes of their song charmed the sovereign to arise from the nestle of his chambers each day as it arrived, exiting first into the waning violet skies, appreciating their pastel hues coalescing with the warmth of apricot and coral undertones.

He bowed in greeting to the newborn day, arcing each vertebra, and indulging in the sweet sensation of ridding his dreamy, languorous sleep.

And then he moved, taking the Eastbound track to the rind of their main court. 





Sleeping does range, the pinnacle of the Elks' oasis. From a distance, young skittered and leapt, already finding their strength to take flight in the event of any danger, though never straying far from their provider, only to inquisitively press nose to another heifer.

It had become his daily habitual as of late, finding a tranquillity that nurtured his mind here, a shala that bathed his musings with positivity; considering it a necessity since the events of the past moon.

Warwick found haven under a solitary tree, sitting here to count how many more had the High Elk granted acceptance into his world.

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  There were many does in these feilds -- fat, rounded and seemingly well cared for besides there many, many children. If Izumi were hungry right now, the sight of such plentiful game would've stired the instinct to hunt down at least one of the younger, more tangible ugulates that she could actually stand a chance in managing on her lonesome -- but today was another one of those luck days where last night's feast left her waking up more than satisfied. Izumi had no interest in hunting here.
  So instead, the cranebird would observe them.
  And stand there, in a patch of strangely shaped -- yet comfy -- burgundy flora that brushed against her ankles where the wind took them. Observing this herd and watching as they fested on the golden glades bellow them. One of her eyes closed tightly to wince, as a pair of fawns bumped her shoulder just to pass by from the forest and join the rest in the clearing. A puff of air left the woman’s nose in slight annoyance -- I mean...it wasn't as if she expected deer to have manners, but it was still rude nonetheless.
  Then again, the action had left her wondering something.....why were these deer so comfortable with her presence in the first place? Surely they had seen her -- and surely the sight of a wolf would've spooked one of them by now...but it didn't. It was as if Izu didn't even exist to them; more accurately, it was as if they trusted that they would actually do anything to her at all....and to test this theory further...the cranebird would slowly begin walking towards the grazing herd.
  As if she'd been one of them too, and to see if they actually knew she was there.

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Nothing calmed his heart more than the indulging sounds of hoofed beasts tearing fine shreds of forage sporadically, with the faint sound of their grinding molars as they would pestle the rich grass for easy digestion. The glow of peach brushed at their pelts from the suns ascent, and more elk made an appearance in a dash between sibling rivalry. 

He smiled. This was the essence of his tranquility.

Though, it was unfortunate, something was bound to give, and there was a gracious swan that took a liberty that did not bode well with the Elk prince. His main forethought was her intentions were unkind, like many before her. And he took no moment to arise and run forth. His body streamlined, an arrow catapulted by He of a thousand horns ready to defend the vulnerable. 

Warwick crossed her path, his flank an impenetrable panel, a barrier to silently warn the elegant willow to cease her pursuit. 

'These Elk are not to be hunted', a firm caution, though no hostility dressed his request.

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  To any outside party, the cranebird could be looking to stalk and pick out the vulnerable of the herd -- yet Izumi had no such intentions other than to see whether this herd would scatter or continue their graze in the presence of a wolf. Could the lack of wolves in this area be the reason they were so unbothered? So abundant?
  Before her toes could even touch the grass they treaded upon however the cranebird was stopped with the swiftness of a rippling wind. Not by the bulldozing wrath of a protective buck, nor the weight of yet another doe's brazen child intent on knocking her about -- but another wolf...which the crane found strange. Wouldn't the carcass have to be dead before someone's food aggression actually kicked in?
  A bit stuned by the sudden interference, a paw hung idly in the air and her muzzle tucked into her neck -- protectively. As if teeth could seek to grasp it at any second. There was no attack from the velvety hued boy with golden eyes, however. Only a protective stance that separated the cranebird from the grazing herd before them.

  'These Elk are not to be hunted'

  "You'll have to excuse me then--" The bird assured, soft in her words, that had a bit of shakiness to them from the suprise appearance of the young lad -- on that left her heart thrumming with leftover adrenaline. She sighed to calm it down, and her voice would return back to normal as her lavender gaze flickered back to him. "--I had no intentions of hunting your game -- I was simply left...curious by their behavior towards me."
  A statement which, now that she thought about it, potentially wouldn't make sense to opposing ears. So to elaborate Izumi would follow up in her curiosity, cautiously sniffing the boy from the level her head stayed. He was from a nearby pack...
  "This herd...they do not seem to fear the presence of wolves. How is that?"

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It was only at this proximity did the tarnish that seeped across her lithe bodice become apparent - the white. If Warwick had not met the harbinger of the same bicoloured tones not so long ago, then his mute countenance would have crumbled into one of dismay; it was no longer the same shock as though plummeting into the untouched cold waters of the arctic sea, now evident there roamed more tainted wolves than he was ever made to be aware of. 

She coiled defensively, an involuntary motion perhaps the unfortunate consequence of preceding events. Poised to protect herself from the presumable, though he gave her no real means for this. Here to persuade her verbally was his preference over addressing her physically.

He explored the depths of her violet eyes, and her kindness was reflected in her choice of words. And it... took him aback. And there was a visible domino effect, with his eyes softening first before the wreathed muscles under his umber robe unravelling themselves at her softness, but more so at her interest.

The duke could not help his initial smile, at the tenderness he felt over the flock she queried. 'They are protected by my family. We believe them to be sacred and disagree with the slain of any horned beasts', his sentiments could be heard within his narrative. Though he did not elaborate on the reason the herd grew immune to the wolves' presence, since this could be key for a huntress such as herself to return on another day and abuse such trust and understanding everyone worked hard to maintain. This was their haven after all. 'Many arrive and take advantage of this. This is their home. They are to be kept safe here'. 

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  Through the way his muscles untensed and his eyes unsharpened, the young boy had visibly softened from her words -- though Izumi still remained a bit on guard as she stood to watch him; just in case. He was quite young, she could see -- barely even a year old if the crane bird could guess right, but young men always grew like weeds in the fields and this one almost looked to be his adult size already. If he wanted to, he could cause serious harm to her regardless of age difference.
In case Izumi needed to escape, she couldn't let her guard down just yet.
  Dark ears flickerd forward and a tounge ran over her lips as she listened to the an cloaked in velvet go on about this flock with the passion of a preacher -- and despite her slight discomfort that lingered with their encounter, the bi-colored woman couldn't help but listen with keen intrest. She had heard stories of many who worshipped gods -- unseen deieties in the form of so many strange creatures -- such as the dragons that her people used to associate themselves with honor. Though never had she heard of a group of wolves who treated prey animals as so much more than simple prey.
  and to think this boy was showing food aggression just a moment ago -- when he was actually trying to defend them from her.
  "How peculiar..." the crane admitted to her own ignorance, her gentle periwinkles flickering from the preoccupied herd, and back towards the fondness of the teenager's citrine gaze. The way he looked at these deer....it was almost as if he'd seen them as family. "For all my life, I've only known for wolves to see doe and elk alike as prey.....but the idea that they may hold sacrality to another wasn't something I've ever thought about...."
  Then, she'd sit -- a silky tail curling around her slender hips. Seated against the reddish cushions of plush flowers as if expecting the boy to go on and explain more about this. Izumi couldn't explain why, but their was something strangely familiar about the way he looked,
  smelled,
  and where they were located,
  almost as if she'd visited these parts before in a distant memory....
  "Then you and your family guard this herd from wanderers, just like you have I..." the crane confirmed, a distant breeze blowing tho stray locs of her cheeks, and the scents of a decent many just west of where they stood....
  "Do you name them as well? Like one of your own?"

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The duke remained stoic as she vocalised her thoughts and her overall sentiments regarding his divinity and faith. He was becoming increasingly accustomed to the many deprived of His knowledge, but the elk-prince never took offence to their lack of belief. Instead, the pastor would inform and entrust those, of such naivety to the High Elk, with an enthusiasm that would remark him as a loyal follower. 

'The High Elk is our deity, our all-mighty, and He guides us all within Elkshire. Our ancestors made an exchange with Him that began our pact, and we now protect His children in trade for His guidance and protection'. Honey glossed eyes unmistakably grew in humming yellow tones as he fed trinkets of his world to her, watching her replicate his own lax with the twirl of a tail cocooning around her sooted legs. 

And the congeniality of the nobleman reflexively took him to his own seat, to ease himself into the woman's presence; albeit there was a hesitancy that crept at the stern of his eyes had the foreign princess took a chance at seeking its depths -- for she displayed the unholy hues that were still unmentioned. 

'They have not any names', he enjoyed her curiosity and a sprout of a smile revealed this. 'I can't but notice with all your inquisitiveness of the Elk, the tongue in which you speak, I have not come across before', he referred to the poetic twang that graced her speech.

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  The High Elk
  Such a grand name for a creature Izumi would've otherwise simply viewed as...well, food. She couldn't help but imagine how grand of a creature this high elk had looked like for Warwick and his people to envision in such a godly way -- considering the crane had witnessed and even ran into elk the size of the heavens themselves. Not long enough before they chased her down, of course. Izumi was as observant as she was quite in her interaction with the younger lad -- the way the boy looked at her as he sat down, it was the same look of wariness she had briefly eyed him down with prior. Though she couldn't have imagined this look of his was caused by her appearance -- other than this, she would've thought his reaction natural towards someone he'd never met before...
  'They do not have names', the boy confirmed, and with her indifferent expression unchanging towards him -- the crane bird couldn't help but feel her cheeks alight in rose-tinted embarrassment for suggesting such a silly thing. She was silent in this realization, still, but the tip of her tail flickered still in this small mental distirbance.
  "My...tougne?....ah" Izumi would repeat on his own curiosities, a paw briefly brushing over her dark lips in wondering of what he could've meant by this, but was placed back down in understanding it. Though the princess had mastered the English language with age and interaction, the one thing that she couldn't hide was her accent -- a tougne that, every so often, thirsted for the familiarity of Izumi's mother language. "Alas, English is not my first language. I cannot speak it as casually as you folk do." the girl proclaimed head tilted away and a paw to her chest, as if she'd been rendered harmed by the elken boy's words. Unsmiling with her doll-like features, but the hint of a rare playfulness peaking just above the surface.
  "What is your name, boy?"

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The subtle change of her bashfulness would go unnoticed since it would be discreet behind the ivory fluffs of her cheeks. He would only take her silence as the closed door to her small talk question and nothing untoward. They had not any names, and it was as simple as that. Though very few of the sacred beings of deer and elk that had names were not part of the flock and were identified more within the pack, it was not for Warwick to disclose their names in this instance, considering she was only referring to the herd that grazed so close by. 

At first, his eyes were in horrified alarm, because he would not want to insinuate anything was wrong with her tongue, per se, and the paw that delicately pecked at her lips made him realise that she perceived his observation as something else entirely, but before he could correct his forward remark, she had come to realise of what he actually innocently meant. He shook his head, discouraging her beliefs, 'You speak it as naturally as the birds graciously serenade to one another in my dawning runs', and for the first time, a smile broke through the barrier of his upheld stoicism. She seemed innocuous enough for him to refer back to his true persona. 

'Warwick Deorwine, son of Queen Celnes of Elkshire, and you, what is yours?', a title he would in time shorten, but for now, it was what he hid behind until he grew muscles and a formidable form that wouldn't justify being shadowed with a label.

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  Izumi couldn’t help but feel taken aback -- because who wouldn't? He was so young, yet carried himself with the prestige and esteem of royalty. The elkish boy might've assumed Izumi to talk in the liths of a poet, but of him -- she thought the same, if not more. "You compliment me in a way that makes me feel special about my speech," the crane explained, canting her head to the side and finally revealing the slightest hint of a smile upon her still-doll features, "--and though I do not have the confidence to match your refined speech, I hope you will accept my own compliment when I say you carry the air of a king."

  "Warwick-sama," Izumi repeated to the young boy, bowing gently and raising her head in the same graceful sweep of motion. He was the son of a queen -- by the name of Célnes. Though she had never heard of the family name Déorwine, it would only be proper to refer to him as his assumed title of prince. "I am Izumi Fujiwara, a wandering scholar and storyteller, if you will...". No longer the Princess of a kingdom now fallen, no longer a Duchess to aid the Empress and her subjects. It wouldn't have sounded like a flashy nor interesting title to wear, yet it was a title that resonated with Izumi the most. A title that defined who she was and took pride in -- regardless of whether she ran with a pack or not.

  "And if you have have time to listen, I would like to share one with you. It would only be fair after you've shared much with me..."

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His grace and poise were received generously from the royal blue blood of his mother, with lessons of etiquette, refinement and with how to conduct oneself in the presence of a lady. He wondered how his mother would perceive him though had she sat amidst the shade of the trees along the far side of the open field. Would she favour his demeanour, or would she frown upon such in the presence of those cursed in white? 'It would be wrong of an heir to dismiss such a fine compliment, but I'm certain my mother would be most receptive to such a gracious praising', the young prince couldn't take the helm of all the credit. He dipped his head to the side in thanks and couldn't withhold the small smile that wanted to burst from his accomplishment.

She introduced herself, and the duke obligingly reciprocated her bow once she rose, 'A storyteller? I do not believe I have met one before'. His mother of course would bestow stories and tales upon bedtimes with him and the rest of the young sovereigns, however, it would recently come to light that they were in fact false on the nights she chose to speak to them of their deity. 

They offered a gift he couldn't refuse, 'Please do', and he watched with eager eyes to learn of something new, to enter into her world and have an insight into her mind.

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  "Then you can tell your mother she is raising a son bright beyond his years. I hope she is proud." Her words rang genuinely through smile-curved lips -- was there such a thing as overpraising? Izumi was merely telling the truth. Perhaps she even found herself a tad jealous of the young brunette; such esteem and pride over that he believed true, whereas the crane was made shy and fearful of judgment of her beliefs and interest from anyone she did not trust at his age. Warwick must be cherished by his motherly figure to grow with such esteem, and a part of her even reminisced on how differently she might've been if she'd gotten the same treatment she assumed him to have by her own mother. One who always seemed too busy with her other kids to heed mind to her...

  He mentions never having encountered the likes of a storyteller, and Fujiwara couldn't help but swell with pride at the knowledge (not outwardly, but she was excited, nonetheless.) She had missed too many opportunities to share the world her grandfather had introduced her too as a wee child; a land of frivolous imagination and what was considered unreal to the naked eye.

  "Why of course..." How the idea of influencing another youth of a world beyond their own drew Izumi in, and it was safe to say Warwick did a good job at stroking Izumi's ego.

  "When I was a child, I visited many different lands and their cultures and how they differed from each other. There were so many that it made it difficult for me to find my beliefs lying devotedly to any of them, if I must admit --" Izumi was no true believer of anything she could not see with her eyes, but that does not mean she dreams of it -- imagines and longs to see what the universe would not allow a mortal like herself and many others to not see; "--though the ones I grew most attached to were the ones that concerned my own homeland...the ones I grew up with."

  "To my people there were many gods, rather than one -- each one pertaining to a different purpose, and those responsible for the creation of being..."

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He knew in passing on such a compliment to his queen, it would boost her morale as a mother and knowing her endeavours to mould him into the son she longed for she was now reaping such rewards. But would the praise be received as graciously were she to know it slipped from the maw of a sinful alabaster? He was yet to acquaint himself with this side of his dam. Warwick nodded his head with a polite smile after.

He sat comfortably, awaiting the overture and beyond that the scene that was painted in such detail, enabling his mind to participate and partially envision a young Izumi in the wonder of realms. He could correlate with his own experience as a juvenile seeking his own path, but of course, he had already his adoptive deity. One he entrusted in implicitly. 

The duke was intrigued by the mention of multiple gods, and that shine of fascination glistened in his golden irises, 'Many gods? How many?', there was no holding back with the key in his voice of anticipation for her elaboration.

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  "Many, Warwick--" Her voice wisped, icy violets seeking the sky as if they searched for the very gods she spoke of. Izumi sounded so much of her late grandfather -- the enthusiasm and spirit lighting his tired, aged eyes with the very world she wished to show to the baby crane back then. She was aware of the similarities in speech she shared with him this very second "--they are like us in population; plentiful. Infinite and uncountable." -- and the crane couldn't be more enthralled with it. With her own voice; her own memories and experiences, she would do as he did and show others the depths of their own culture. Bestow onto the world what he'd bestowed onto her...

  "Though my people would call them Kami -- rather than simply gods." Her accent was notably thicker in the pronunciation of her home tougne. There was something refreshing about being able to recall her own family's culture and everything she'd been taught of it, especially to someone so willing to listen -- it felt less like she was rambling, and more like she'd been a teacher of some sorts. A guide to shed light on something that made her happy, and passing it on to another in hopes that it might've allowed them to view the world in a different light as well. "Amaterasu, for example; she is who we call goddess of the sun, creation, and the Kami themselves."

  Amaterasu; ruler of the universe. Back then and even now, the siamese always envisioned what the goddess would've looked like: large, of course. Blonde and shining within a blinding view's eye -- similarly to the rising sun she represents. Would her fur be made of long, wild locs like the sea or more tamed? Who knew -- Izumi couldn't say what the goddess looked like nor any of them...

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There was a complexity to it he could not fathom. He was so used to following a solitary divinity that a pantheon of them was a course the duke would unlikely ever wrap his youthful mind around. But it fascinated him. This was the sample that motivated him to seek the cultures of others abroad from here. He believed his faith to be above all, of course. The superior deity that would ground all to reason and rightful destinies. 'Kami', a trial at annunciating the name, but of course even the two-syllable word he butchered. The only thing salvaging him and wouldn't break his ego entirely was the fact he only muttered it, unsure she would even hear him taste the word. 

The light in her eyes, as she recounted her heritage, was kindled with an emotion intangible. With his own golden eyes being a companion to hers, as she spoke so romantically of her past, his were full of intrigue. He had questions but politely awaited his turn to speak, all the while enjoying her elaboration and distributing her knowledge unto him. The duke was a hardly moistened sponge, ready to absorb as much as he could still. 

When she took her breather, unbeknownst to him of her towing thoughts, he asked, 'Would they ever grace their followers in forms of recognition?', the High Elk, for instance, a myth and legend in itself, believed his crown was adorned with a thousand horns. A tale that rolled off the lips for generations. An image portrayed by those who once saw him.

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In luck with his pride, while Izumi did hear him mumble something beneath his breath, she couldn't decipher what it was and would decide to leave it as it was meant to be: unheard. Though the crane would link those quite words to simple curiosity, which acted as a form of encouragement to go on. “In a way, yes--” the crane explained patiently, mulling over the ways in which she could explain a question with a thousand answers. There was no real way of telling whether blessings were actually received when requested as Izumi was not a full on believer, though she would explain how it worked as she was taught.

“In refrence to each Kami serving a different purpose in this world, most wolves would usually pray inside of designated spaces to a specific god, depending on which aspect in their life they would wish luck in.” she breathed, wondering if what she said would've made sense, and decided it might've been better to provide a more generalized answer.

“In general, most would simply come to Kami and pray to ward off spirits of evil, or to have better fortune in life.”

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