POV ALFRED
Hours before meeting Akira at the festival preparations…
My steps are calm. I don't want to frighten the beautiful bird that is preparing for its flight. I don't want to hit it with an arrow. I am afraid that its blood will stain my luck. So I risk a jump and my fingers pull a feather, in return, he pulls my finger with his big beak. Our encounter turns into a war until I get the perfect feather. The bird flies away and I return to near old dad who is amused by the whole situation.
"Wouldn't a letter on a flowery paper be more effective?" I grumble.
I am not at all confident in this plan. Because the fact that Akira has shown herself to be more open since she left the Rockefeller mansion doesn't mean that she prefers things like that over her imported jacket she got from Lilian or Christian's stupid letter.
"Old father, this might be my last chance. I don't want to waste it..."
I confess my longings, and honestly, there is no one better to listen to me than him.
"There is more of love in feathers than in hearts. Because loving requires wisdom as we launch into a first flight not yet knowing how to fly. So what would be the best gift but a feather plucked from a bird that took almost a finger from an Alpha?"
I don't know if it's a question from old dad or his philosophical way of explaining things to me. All I know is that my finger hurts and the sleep that weighs on my eyes is not easy to send away. The day does not suit the wolves and we find it hard to get up before nine in the morning, especially to be humiliated by a bird.
" Apparently Akira is not the only one who has a lot to learn, right?"
For not doubting his wisdom, I surrender to his crazy plan.
"Look around!"
He asks, and us being on top of a mountain, my eyes go to meet the crowd gathered in the center of our small town.
The half-closed eyes more than our nature deliver that most would rather be asleep if it were not for the magical and warrior blood that runs in our veins. No time for complaints, just smiles for another year that the guardians will come to visit.
"If you try to win Akira over by being him, Richard, even she will not forget him. However, if you do it by being who we are, Alfred, she won't look their way" Said the old father still with his gaze lost on the horizon.
" You are absolutely right!"
I am the first to look away from the landscape and stare at his wrinkled face.
"Before I forget, boy. I have something for you!"
He reaches into his pocket and his fingers bring with them a sparkling stone.
"Are those the stars of the mountain?"
I am surprised. No one would dare touch them, much less pick them up. Because they are also known as the Guardians' tears.
"Small and valuable, men like Jeremy and Richard call it a diamond, too! " Explained the old father. "To the men of the city, that is worth as much as moonlight is to us. So for Akira, it should have the same effect. However, I believe your intuition will guide you, my son..."
He places the stone in my hand, and I examine it carefully, despite fear for the curse my people usually tell about them.
"Nothing will happen when they are touched by whomever they choose."
The old father reassures me and I breathe a sigh of relief. I soon look again at the quill in one hand and the shiny stone in another.
" I already know what to do with them!"
✧✧
I've lost count of how many tree trunks I've carried, accepting the idea that anything serves to distract us when we want to put off an inevitable situation for a few seconds longer.
In my mind, I think of a way to get closer to Akira when she arrives. Love doesn't come with a ready-made recipe, and no doubt hunting a dangerous animal would be easier. At least it wouldn't give me this tingling feeling that forces me to take off my shirt from the heat, anxiety, and rapid beating of my heart.
Having done this, I receive a few longing glances from girls who would not think twice about my pairing, either at the festival or in bed. Together, we would build a traditional family, leading an ordinary life in Skyfall. But, ordinary is not attractive as much as the pairs of black eyes that arrived this instant. Akira carries a basket of feathers for the making of the ordinances we will use later. They are needed to assemble the traditional costume.
I have the impression that your eyes worship me. It is a feeling that is confirmed when her face flushes from being caught by me. She turns her attention away from my body and she concentrates on her task. Still, I'm not willing to finish that moment. Because knowing that Selena desires me, is a dose of confidence served to my previously bruised ego by the image of Richard and his stupid metal horse that he calls a car. It's a powerful armor that gets me through the wall of people keeping our bodies apart very quickly.
And finally, I am close enough that I can whisper in his ear:
" Hi, Sel!"
The surprise is stamped on her face so that her breathing hangs, although she can't do that with her imagination.
It is a pity that I cannot read your thoughts as well as I would with a Skyfaller if I had your permission. However, I am a wolf and I can read the body says, without needing to hear a single word. And what Akira Selena wants right now is to touch me. Not only for pleasure, but also because she feels the connection that binds our souls together.
" Do you want to touch me, Sel?" I ask her.
I know it's a bit cheeky, however, her touch would scare away all the doubts that constantly sabotage my heart.
" Don't be cocky!"
She says and taps my sweaty arm hard and I feel my skin slightly burn.
" It's not being cocky, Sel. It's your eyes, your trembling hands and your teeth digging into the soft skin of your lips, that confess to me your desires..."
This time, I am bolder than ever and my desire takes over.
" Feel it!" My voice is firm.
For her it sounds like a request with no chance of being refused, while for me, it is a need that is only satisfied when I grab her free hand to place it on my chest.
She doesn't resist and surrenders her fingers to the journey down my bare chest, starting from my heart to almost another place that I would love to feel instigated. It's an animalistic urge that I find hard to control. I'm glad my mind regains its human, rational side. Then I remember what I came here to do.
" I have a gift for you. Take it." I ask, and if followed, I guide his hand sensibly to my pocket.
"A gift?"
Her voice strains to hide her hesitation, and yes we are both a bit drunk from this surge of sexual tension.
"Um, a little birdie?"
She suggests as she touches the feather first.
" An earring?"
She finally gets it right as she takes the accessory between her fingers and from her expression, she is a bit intrigued.
"It's not just an earring. "
I smile at surprising her once again and prepare to share the wisdom of the old father:
" That feather goes from your ear to your heart. It means you should never stop following your intuition. Birds always know the direction to go, so does what we have inside of us."
"That's beautiful to come from such a hollow head."
She pins it and we burst into laughter.
" I'll use it later..."
She winks at me and disarms me with a kiss. And though it is on the cheek, it leaves a mystery in the air about the possibility of something more tonight...
"Until Alfred, book me your first dance..."
I sense that it won't be just a dance....
POV RICHARDThe sun comes in fiercely through the window, beating down on my face while my eyes are closed and refusing to believe that this is the dawn of day.Oh my! If this is not a dream, what is happening in Skyfall?I have never witnessed such a sunny day, even though it is "summer". I get up in displeasure and go to the window to draw the curtains. My intention is to go back to sleep, but seeing those ridiculous little houses of the Skyfallers decorated with bright colors, I remember that today is the festival. It's been almost two days and not a single sign of Akira. My arrogance is enough to assume that she is waiting for me today with open arms and that this distance between us is just a ploy on her part to match the extremely coy matchmaking girls in the big city. I don't understand the reason for this, because I am not willing to give her any choices. She will be my wife and that will be our happy ending.I close the curtains, ending the depressing spectacle of these w
POV AKIRA SELENA I have left my little home, although my mother's words have not left me. However, the night is festive, and for many of us, the opportune moment to celebrate the best that unites us. The small streets are all lit up and nobody would get lost until the center of the small town, so there is no need for me to get lost in my worries about what may or may not happen tonight. I feel my hands cold and my heart racing. Because today, the festival is not only a celebration. It is also a meeting point and who knows, maybe the possibility of a romance being born in the hearts of the youngsters. Maybe this explains so many colors and the magical aura that involves everyone beyond the fumes escaping from the huge bonfire where some already dance around, others talk and the shy ones use it as a barrier to exchange glances from one end of our "ballroom" to the other where the open sky and the moonlight are our hosts. There is also an exchange of gifts as a show of affection bet
POV ALFRED There is no enemy that gives us more fear to face than the one that holds our heart as if it were an ant that could be crushed with a force that I never imagined words could have. To that enemy in question, it makes no difference that my strong arms are fighting against the tissue of my traditional suit, and it takes a little more effort on my part for me to fit inside it. There are also colored feathers between my straight hairs that go down to my shoulder, but even they don't guarantee me all the luck I need for this night. " My son is the most beautiful warrior of all. " My mother compliments me as I arrive. I almost didn't notice her presence, my thoughts tend to block my other senses when I'm thinking about Akira. That's what moonlight does to the wolf in us, it plays with our emotions just as it does to the tide and to the reflections of a river. And again I forget that my mother is still standing behind me, waiting for a response from her son. "Thank you, Mom!"
POV RICHARDThe simplest thing I can get for tonight, is a white shirt and black colored pants, even though it is made of the best cotton fabric in London. After all I have heard about Skyfall, there is no way I want to introduce myself to the savages, resembling the white men who stole the gold from their land. Because I don't want only the diamonds that may be in the lands of Skyfall, I want the biggest treasure of the whole region in the palm of my hand. And it has a beautiful name: Akira Selena! It intrigues me that they think she is special for some reason, and in fact, they believe that she, along with this warrior, could be Skyfall's salvation from ruin.It's funny how stupid it is, but I won't be the one to question it. If they don't doubt the prophecy, then that's all the more reason for me to take Selena out of here. Then they will feel vulnerable as the faithful who cannot turn to their God for protection in the face of our wrath when it is time to bring this little town
POV AKIRA SELENA After Alfred and I left the party, the chanting began along with the sound of the drum. It is another important moment of our festival, a prayer to nature. And in Skyfall, prayer doesn't mean fear, and even less is it the affliction of yearning for a solution to your fears. It means a sincere gratitude for what you have, and not much questioning about what tomorrow's fate will be, because whatever comes, whether good times or storms, both are seen as a strong wind that the branches of the tree-of-life will have to endure, just as we will endure our choices. And nature, in turn, listens to us and is moved, offering a song through the movement of all things, from the green leaves or those falling to the ground, the animals that make the night their best part of the day, and in the blink of an eye, everything harmonizes into one more melody that replaces that of the drum and the voices that are left behind. " Do you feel that, Alfred?" I ask, hoping I'm not the only on
POV ALFREDWhether Richard has arrived at the festival, that doubt is eating away at me. It is not long before the Skyfallers assume their beastly identity and greet the guardians who will appear in the sky in the form of light, and display their shining immortal wolf figure to fortify the pact with the warriors who always rely on them for protection. These are secrets that are not for an outsider like Richard to witness, because with his disbelief he would sell us as freaks to the rest of the men in the big city and it would be a matter of time before they would invade Skyfall and steal from us much more than the treasures, our sacred legacy." Do you feel that, Alfred?" Akira's voice cuts through the images of a battle waging in my imagination, where the men of the big city use firearms for being cowards and the Skyfallers maintain their dignity to fight like men to the end. I don't deny that I hate them all and that is such a bad feeling to have, because Selena is descended from
POV RICHARD How stupid of me to think it was possible to follow a wolf. As soon as the animal escaped into the forest, I saw nothing more. However, fate does not always conspire in my favor. For, the moonlight that circles the sky, illuminates well the possible roads to follow. And although I am not an expert in the animal world, I know how to recognize the footprints of a wolf. In this case, there are several footprints left in the downed earth that makes the ground an excellent map to follow, not only of one wolf, but of several of them. The fear of encountering a pack is immense, but the fear of returning home without having achieved a single breakthrough in my relationship with Selena. My incompetence would turn Mr. Rockefeller into a much worse lion who would not think twice about throwing me to the wolves with his bare hands. Luckily for me, the sound of the drum becomes more audible, and combining it with the fresh tracks that I believe are from the animal I saw a few minut
POV AKIRA SELENAMaybe Alfred is right. My heart feels much more alive with the big city way of life than this sudden fascination for Skyfall that has awakened these past few days and that I believed to be real. Perhaps this is also why I always preferred to believe that my passion belonged to Richard, while my indifference kept in check the spark that fires every time I am in proximity to Alfred. There are many" maybes" that decide to keep me company on a night that I am alone and lost in a huge forest. And the only certainty that decides to face my own judgments is that Alfred has left me, and that is much darker than not seeing anything beyond the darkness.The magic of the forest does not lie, the tales do not lie, and now I know that I have lost myself in my own faces. For before I arrived here, a part of me let myself into this mystical world that belongs to us, but it was only Alfred's mention of the diamonds that the other part, the one that wants to be praised and pampered b