Before the Saga Silver Flash on the Steppe (fic-gift for Raissa Baiard; Loth-wolf, OCs)

Author: Findswoman
Title: Silver Flash on the Steppe
Era: Distant past on Lothal (sometime before 3277 BBY)
Characters: OCs, bipedal and lupine
Genre: Humor, friendship, fluff, animal viewpoint
Summary: In the early days of Lothal’s Jedi temple, a young Loth-wolf with unusual abilities meets and befriends a young bipedal Jedi padawan with unusual abilities. Shenanigans ensue.
Notes: Written for my very good friend @Raissa Baiard as part of the 17th Annual Non-Denominational Winter (for Some) Holiday Fic-Gift Exchange, in which one of her three wishes was:

Well, this story turned out to be pretty much completely from the Loth-wolf’s POV, which was a new and fun exercise for me, and which I hope brings joy to your day, my dear friend! Happy New Year and thank you for everything.
And many thanks also to another good friend, @Kahara, for beta reading on not a lot of notice.

---

Hi! My name’s Strebri, and I’m a personwarden!

And let me tell you, being a personwarden is no simple stroll in the steppe!

Or, well, sometimes it is.

Guess I’d better explain. I’m one of those creatures you bipeds know as Loth-wolves (Lupus lothalensis giganteus). We call ourselves the Ancient Keepers of Lothal, because we were here before there were any bipeds on this planet, and we’ll be here after the last biped is gone. (Or at least that’s what Mom and Dad and the other Olders say.)

But yeah, the personwarden thing. In every generation or so, one of us is born who can understand biped language and communicate with them. You can always tell who it is because they have a very distinctive silver-white shade of fur. Well, out here in Sandy Spires Pack on the northern plains of Lothal, that happened to be me: Strebri, first daughter and second cub of Ajan and Aushra. There’s some prophecy the Olders are always talking about, about how one of us personwardens will save the planet or something, so of course when one of us is born everyone makes a huge deal, and the Olders always treat them like they’re really special. So you’re probably thinking I’ve got it pretty good, right?

But here’s the thing! Whenever there are bipeds around—like if some of them are going out to the steppes to gather fruit, or if the pack has to come close to the Big City to hunt for Loth-fox or something, or when we take the pathways to the eastern forests and it happens to be what the bipeds call Camping Season—I can hear everything they’re saying and doing and thinking. And I mean everything. It can be really distracting and annoying, especially when we’re trying to hunt and we all have to concentrate together as a pack. Dad’s always growling at me: “Strebri! Focus!” Well, Dad, I’m trying, but do you think it’s easy when I’m walking along trying to listen for which way the pocket hare went and all I can hear is two bipedal fruit-gatherers griping to each other about their mating troubles? Like, trill mern isk! (As the bipeds say!)

Last suncycle it got really bad, because there were big crowds of bipeds out here on the steppes with all sorts of big metal… beast things? And they were all doing something to the Solstice Spire— like hollowing it out or something? Trying to turn it into one of their bill-dings? That was already really weird, plus those stupid metal beast things were stupid noisy. But on top of all that I also had to listen to all the bipeds’ gabble-gabble about blueprints and floor plans and measurements and stone carving (why would anyone want to do that?!) and THE FORCE (I guess that’s, like, their word for the Life Spirit or something? Dunno) and it was like this annoying noise that just wouldn’t stop and it hurt my head. It got so bad I had to stay back at the den when the others went out on hunts. (Velko wouldn’t leave me alone about it, of course. Brothers are the worst.)

Fortunately, though, they finished this Solstice Spire bill-ding about a mooncycle ago, and it’s gotten a lot better since then. I can go out hunting with the others again. Sometimes I can hear one or two of the bipeds talking to each other, or thinking (they seem to do a lot of just sitting around and thinking), but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was. In fact, sometimes it’s kind of neat and I’ll sit and watch them for a while after I’ve nabbed a few groundthumpers to bring back to the pack. You often see a group of bipeds come outside—one adult and a whole bunch of juveniles, and the adult will be the one talking while the young ones are either all sitting down and thinking Deep Thoughts about the Universe or doing exercises with these sort of lightstick things. They all still talk about that FORCE thing a lot, and I’m now 100% sure that’s what they call the Life Spirit, because there’s always been a lot of Life Spirit energy right there by the Solstice Spire.

Okay, so, one morning we were out on an extra early hunt, because it was Loth-elk calving season and the scents told us we’d better go out soon before the calves got steady enough on their feet to run. It was pretty early and not a lot of the Solstice Spire bipeds were out yet, so we fanned out around their bill-ding to see what we could find. I was around on the northeast side, at the back of the spire, when I started to pick up a biped scent.

But! It wasn’t like any other biped scent I’d ever smelled. It was stronger. And I could feel it inside not just my nose but also my ears and mouth, like it was tickling or tingling or even scratching. So I decided to follow it and see what was up. Mom and Dad and Velko and Talula were all spread out looking for the elk, so I knew they wouldn’t notice.

I followed the scent around to the east side of the spire, where there was a grove of jogan trees. They weren’t bearing any fruit yet, but they were in bloom and made a lot of their own scent, so I had to wait a bit till I could pick up the scent of the biped again.

But finally I did! And there it was, sitting in one of the jogan trees, picking off its blossoms and tying them together into some kind of long chain. (I really don’t understand why bipeds do some of the things they do.)

It was a female, judging by the scent. And on the young side, though not as young as the juveniles we usually saw exercising out on the steppes. But she wasn’t the usual kind of biped we get around here, the kind with the pink or tan or brown skin, and she didn’t have any of the head-fur that that kind has. Her skin was light goldish-green, the color of sungrass, and instead of head-fur she had these two long tail type things dangling from her head—I think they call them lekku—also made of the goldish-green skin. She wore the same kind of outer coverings I’d seen on all the Solstice Spire bipeds, a simple brownish toonik and pahnts. (Hey, what can I say—when you listen to enough biped conversations you pick these things up.) A bright stone-green scarf tied was around the top of her lekku.

And she was definitely the source of the strange scent and the weird tingling and tickling feeling in my nose and ears and mouth. But I noticed a few other things too. First, birds kept flying up to her, and at one point even a kneeb shimmied up the tree trunk and nudged her foot. She gave it a pat on its head but didn’t really look at it, as if she was distracted by something.

And that was the other thing about her: she was casting a shadow over the Life Spirit, the way we do when we’re sad about something. That’s never good—so I thought I would sit and watch her for a bit and see if I could figure out what was up.

So I did, and for a while she just kept on weaving that chain of blossoms, not noticing me at all. Finally, though, she flopped the chain down on her lap with a gigantic sigh and looked up at the sky. I caught a tiny hint of gone… missing… why? And that’s definitely never good.

I decided to risk it. Sitting up, giving a few chipper little pants with my tongue out and some perky wags of my tail (bipeds really seem to dig that), I sent a little message to her through the Life Spirit:

[Hey there!]

Well, that got her attention! She must have jumped about a meter off that tree branch, yelping a yelp of surprise and dropping the flower chain to the ground. “Wait, what?!” she said out loud, in biped style, glancing frantically around with lekku swinging. “Who’s that?! What?! Huh?!”

I tried again. [I said hey there!]

Her eyes fell on me, of course, and predictably, she jumped another meter or so in the air. (We Ancient Keepers seem to have that effect on bipeds, even when we do all the things they say they love.) But only a moment later she calmed and climbed down the tree, regarding me with a curious squint, her lekku wriggling ever so slightly as she did. Gingerly she picked up the flower chain, still watching me and clearly trying to give me space. She was just short of my height when standing on the ground.

And once again I felt that tingling and tickling feeling growing, and the strange, strong scent along with it. Could it be? Could it?

I gave it one more try, adding my best cub-whimper for good measure: [Hey?]

And she answered! Not only that, but in Ancient Keeper style! Well, that didn’t totally surprise me, because I’d picked up that kind of language coming from other bipeds from the Solstice Spire bill-ding before. But still! She said:

[Okay… hey to you, too?]

And inside I went YES! Because my guess about her had been right! She was like me! Had I found my bond-biped? Maybe, maybe not, but all the same my tail was wagging like a meskeet bush in a summer sirocco.

[I’m Strebri!] I exclaimed. [Strebri al’Thani a’Ajan y Aushra ai’Kholi na’Lothal! But you can just call me Strebri!]

*Er… I’m Zoya.*

Wag wag wag wag. [Pleased to meet you, Zoya!]

*Yeah, you too…*

Well, okay, she was definitely like me, but this wasn’t quite the enthusiastic meeting I’d been hoping for. But then again, she was still casting a shadow over the Life Spirit. So I gave an inquiring ruff and added:

[Is everything okay, Zoya? You seem a little… how do you bipeds say it… below the compactor?]

And you know what Zoya-the-green-skinned-biped-with-lekku did then? She broke out in a laugh! A long, loud, rowdy laugh! I never had us Ancient Keepers figured as such a source of humor, but there it was.

*“Below the compactor”?* When she finally spoke, she was grinning from… I guess it would be ear cone to ear cone. *You mean “down in the dumps,” right?*

[Er… yeah.] My tail drooped. Honestly, bipeds and all their silly, complicated figures of speech. [Sorry.]

*No worries. I mean, you’re right, things’ve been kind of… tough.* Zoya sighed and stared into the distance, twiddling with the flower chain.

Yeah, definitely not good. So I came up beside her and gave her a little nudge. She put up a hand to ruffle the side of my head. It felt good.

I gave another inquiring ruff. [So, what’s going on? You know what they say, er, a sadness distributed is a sadness quartered? Or, er, something?]

She laughed again. *It’s “A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.”*

And tail down again. [Oh. Oops. Sorry.]

*No. It’s okay. It’s just… I miss Ciranno and I’m worried about him.*

[Ciranno?]

*He’s another padawan, like me.*

[Another who?]

*Like, a student. One of the students at this temple.* She gestured over toward the Solstice Spire.

[Ah, I see.] Well, I didn’t, really. Student, temple, padawan: there were more new biped words and expressions in this conversation than I was used to overhearing in ten of the usual construction workers’ or lightstick-exercise-doers’ conversations. But one learns something new every day.

[So, tell me about Ciranno,] I offered.

Even before Zoya actually said anything, the warm sigh that radiated from her through the Life Spirit most definitely told me about Ciranno. *Oh, Ciranno’s the best friend I’ve ever had at this temple… he’s a Twi'lek like me, with blue skin and the handsomest deep blue eyes… and I miss him so much…*

This time I didn’t bother asking about any of the new biped words. Some other time, perhaps. [Wow, I see.] I said. [What’s going on with him?]

*You really want to know?*

[Yeah!]

*Okay…* Zoya sighed. *Yesterday his master sent him on an errand to Mhothal, and he hasn’t come back. And tomorrow is Life Day, and I was making this friendship garland for him to wear at the celebration, and if he’s not back…* Another sigh rippled the Life Spirit. *I don’t know what I’m going to do.*

As she said all this, I was thinking to myself, and thinking hard. That name Mhothal sounded familiar. I wanted to say it was the name of a biped settlement near the Golden Slope Grasslands; we Sandy Spire Packers sometimes take the pathways out there to hunt, because it’s an uncommonly good place for gravelope.

Not only that, I just got permission from Mom and Dad last mooncycle to take the pathways by myself! Well, okay, so far I’ve only gone only as far as Nothal and the Gray Hills. Mhothal and the Golden Slope Grasslands are… well, a lot farther away than that. But I watched Mom closely last time we went, so I’m pretty sure I know the right channel to take! I think…!

So I made a plan: I would pathway Zoya out to Mhothal to find Ciranno. Then we would all pathway back. Easy, right? And that would take the shadow off the poor kid’s Life Spirit! Because we can’t have shadows on the Life Spirit.

[You said Mhothal, right?] I said.

*Yeah.*

[Okay, great! I can take you there right now!]

Zoya’s lekku jumped. *What?!*

[I said, I can take you there right now!] I crouched down, panting expectantly (again, bipeds seem to like that). [Hop on! Let’s go!]

*But Mhothal is tens of thousands of klicks away!*

[Yeah, I know!]

*So how could you—how could we possibly—*

[Hey, we Ancient Keepers have our ways!]

*Ancient Keepers? What? I thought you were a Loth-wolf! Lupus lothalensis giganteus!*

My turn to sigh. [Never mind, I’ll explain later. Now, are you coming, or what?]

*Well, Master Ning will be wondering where I went, but…* She trailed off. I took the opportunity to wag and pant even more winningly than before. It worked. *Oh, all right,* Zoya continued at last, wrapping the chain of jogan blossoms around her neck and climbing onto my back. *It’ll probably be okay. Master Ning’ll survive.*

[Super!] I stood up. [Now, hold on real good! Off we go!]

And off we went! We blazed across the steppes in a flash of silver light, like a comet in the night! The grasses, shrubs, stones, and spires whizzed past in a blur of green, gold, brown, and silver. Pocket hares and Loth-cats and even birds fled from our path. Faster and faster and faster, till you’re almost flying… build up speed, concentrate, watch for the lights…

Yes! There they are, right at the edge of the lake, like always… wait, wait, let them get brighter so you can see which is which… I think it’s that one… I think… closer, closer… no, it’s that one instead… yes, that’s the one!…

…and NOW!

THE PATHWAY! The pathway takes over as Lothal dissolves into a whirling tunnel of brilliant blue-white! And everything is light, and everything is alive, and everything is speed! And you are speed and it’s the EXCITINGEST THING IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE! WOOHOOOO!!

And finally a blip, a thump—and there is grass and stones and sky once again. And not just any grass and stones and skies, but the warm, tawny, grasses of the Golden Slope Grasslands, under a sleepily westering sun that casts orange gleams on the roofs of the bipeds’ town up ahead. Whew!

[All righty!] I announced. [We’re here!]

*Gaah…* was all I could pick up from Zoya. She had flopped forward in a limp heap onto my neck, her hands still gripping my neck fur for dear life. I think she must have pulled some out when she finally loosened her grip. But it was okay. I got the feeling the pathways were a new experience for her. Probably are for a lot of bipeds.

[You okay, there?] I asked.

*Yeah… I think… oof, my head, my lekku…*

I shifted my head to help her sit upright. [I know it feels weird, but it’ll go away in a bit. Just hold on for now, okay?]

*Stop the universe, please, I want to get off…*

[Here, just relax and hold on, I’ve gotcha. Let’s head on into the town.]

*Er… town…?* Zoya perked up, noticing for the first time that there was, in fact, a town nearby—and her eyes and mouth gaped. *Wha… wait… no! That’s impossible!*

[What’s impossible?] I asked, cocking my head with a querying woof.

*Look!* Zoya pointed in the direction of a flat wooden panel propped up by two posts.

[Sorry,] I was forced to admit. [I’m still shaky on you guys’ graphico-linguistic system. Does that say something?]

*Yes! It says “Welcome to Mhothal, population 2,165”! And we were just outside Capital City half an hour ago!* Zoya’s eyes and forehead crinkled as she turned to me. *What in the name of the actual Force is going on here?*

I arfed apologetically. [Told you, we Ancient Keepers have our ways.]

*Well, I sure hope you have a way to get me back!… And Ciranno, too, if we find him…*

[Yeah, of course! I do! No need to get your tail in a twist! Or… in your case, I guess tails… er, heh heh… sorry… so, um, shall we go?]

*Yeah, sure.*

[All righty!] So I carried her at a gentle lope to the edge of the settlement, where I crouched down to let her climb off me. She seemed steadier and more alert now, which was nice to see.

[Okay, I’m going to wait for you right here,] I told her once she had alighted. [It's just that some folks get a little… weird about coming across my kind in built-up areas.]

*Yeah, no worries,* came Zoya’s reply. *I’ll be back as soon as I find him.* She made as if to go, then stopped and turned. *Er… thanks, Strebri. I really appreciate this.*

[No problem, Zoya! What are friends for?]

She shot me a grin, then headed off into the town. As for me, I lay down in the grasses for a little snooze, because traveling the pathways really takes it out of a gal.

*

Now, I don’t know whether I snoozed for a short time or a long time. I only know that I woke up to the sounds of an animated conversation (out loud and biped-style, of course) between Zoya and someone I didn’t recognize. I perked up my extra-sensitive lupine ears to catch what I could.

“Ciranno, you have to tell me what’s been taking you so long! I was—we were all worried sick!”

“I told you, Master Ning sent me to pick up the food for the celebration!”

“And that took two whole days?! Ciranno—”

“Look, I’m sorry! These things take time! See, first I went to the farmer’s market…”

I stretched and stood up. I could now see Zoya coming along one of the streets of the town, deep in conversation with—you guessed it—a second biped. This biped was obviously of the same species as she was, also with lekku instead of head-fur, only male, a little taller, and with sky-blue skin. He carried a large sack filled with various wrapped packages and provisions containers. But perhaps his most unusual characteristic was the all-white kneeb that followed at his heel, occasionally nudging his foot and gazing up at the two conversing bipeds with round, wide queen’s-heart-red eyes that looked almost too big for its head.

So this was the famous Ciranno! Not too shabby looking for a biped male, I had to say—and the persistent presence of the kneeb made me suspect that he, too, was like me (and Zoya). His conversation wasn’t telling me much, though, for right now he was engaged in a lengthy recital about establishments visited and foodstuffs bought (or not bought, as the case might be). It basically all just washed over me. Yet more biped words I didn’t know, and all that.

“—and then the old Chagrian lady who sells candied warra nuts was home sick—”

“Oh no! But Ciranno—”

“—so then I went to Br’naan Brothers but they were all out of Loth-elk liver confit—”

“Ciranno—”

“—so I tried Kh’nokh & Co., and they had a whole bunch of different kinds—”

“Okay, but—”

“—so I got the kind with fire pepper and roasted garlic, and I picked up some gravelope sausage and a few packages of Mama Mira’s Incredible Vanishing Wookie-Ookiees—”

“That’s great! But Ciranno—”

“But what?” He stopped in his tracks and looked at Zoya. She stopped in hers and looked back at him.

“Well—you still haven’t said why you didn't make it back yesterday! Did something happen? Are you all right?”

“Oh, yeah! I’m totally fine. The transport operators went on strike, that’s all.”

“The transport operators. Went on strike. The day before Life Day.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “But they’re supposed to reach an agreement later today, so I thought I’d just stick around till then. The stuff’s all cryo-packed anyway.”

“But why didn’t you comm the temple? We would’ve sent CeeAytch-NineTooOh with the all-terrain!”

“My commlink ran out of battery. And I forgot to bring my charging transponder.”

Zoya heaved a deep sigh. “Okay, well, I'm just glad you’re safe.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They walked on a little ways, the kneeb still following Ciranno and occasionally glancing up at him. Zoya noticed it and said, “So, er, who’s the little guy?”

“Oh, he’s been following me ever since I got off the transport from Capital City. He tells me his name is Beaumont.” Then Ciranno switched briefly to Ancient Keeper style to say, *Beaumont, meet my good friend Zoya.*

The kneeb blinked his round red eyes, and I could just barely make out a tiny, high-pitched wisp of a voice in the Life Spirit: <Charmed to make your acquaintance, I’m sure.>

*Good to meet you, too,* replied Zoya before switching back to biped-style communication. “So, found your bond beast at last, huh?”

“Guess so.”

By now all three beings were outside the town limits and had almost reached the clump of grasses where I was lying. I was fully rested now and felt my tail waggling with anticipation.

“So are you here with CeeAytch?” Ciranno asked. “Could I maybe get a ride back? It’ll beat having to wait for the transport operators’ agreement.”

“Sure, of course,” replied Zoya, “but I’m not here with CeeAytch. I’m here with Strebri.” And she gestured toward me.

“Streb… who? What?” The blue-skinned young man was quizzical, and his lekku were twitching slightly. “The… Lupus lothalensis over there?”

[Yep, that’s me!] Wag wag wag. [Great to meet you! You guys ready to go?]

*Uh, yeah…* Ciranno turned back to Zoya. “Don’t tell me you found your bond beast, too!”

Zoya cocked her head playfully in my direction. “Maybe.”

“Okay, cool, but how are we—I mean what are we—I mean, how exactly is this going to get us home?”

“Oh, the Ancient Keepers have their ways.”

“The ancient who?”

“Never mind. Just hop on.”

[Yeah, let’s go!] I crouched down, and Zoya climbed onto my back. [I’m all ready when you are!]

*Hop on?!* Ciranno blurted through the Life Spirit. And then to Zoya, more timidly: “Hop… on?”

Zoya’s lekku flopped in exasperation. “Just do it, okay?”

“If you say so…”

Ciranno scooped up Beaumont and nestled him into an inner pocket of his toonik. Then, very slowly and gingerly, still trundling the sack of provisions behind him, he climbed on behind Zoya. I made sure to take my time standing back up, so as not to rattle the poor fellow any more than absolutely necessary.

“Oh, by the way, this is for you,” Zoya said, turning to Ciranno and moving the chain of jogan blossoms from her neck to his. “For the celebration tomorrow.”

“Aw, thanks, Zo! That’s so sweet!”

The two of them hugged a warm side hug, right there on top of me. It made the Life Spirit glow. I kind of wanted to stay there forever and just bask in it, but we did have to get going.

[All righty, everybody!] I announced. [Hold on tight, ’cause we’re off! Next stop, Solstice Spire! Er… temple! Whatever it’s called!]

So Zoya took hold of my neck-fur, and Ciranno shifted the big bag to his lap and took hold of Zoya, and once again we were indeed off—blazing over the steppes in a flash of silver light, like a comet in the night! And there were the lights up ahead! And in no time we were whirling through the pathway and everything was light and speed and it was SO EXCITING! WOOHOOOO!

But you know what was the real WOOHOO? Old friends reuniting, new friends meeting, and all of us celebrating together.

Hey, maybe this personwarden thing isn’t so bad after all!

fin

Spoiler: Notes

Most of the elements of Loth-wolf culture presented here—namely, the structure of Strebri’s full name, the use of pathways to refer to the wolves’ ability of hyperspace tunneling, and the Life Spirit as the wolves’ name for the Force—are borrowed gratefully from Raissa’s Happiness Is a Warm Loth-Wolf, a story which has an adorable lupine protagonist of its own and whose endnotes offer further explanation for anyone curious. This story owes a lot to that one—so for that, too, much gratitude, dear friend!

Wookieepedia entries:
Lothal Jedi temple (the source of the date “before 3277 BBY”)
Loth-wolf
kneeb
pocket hare
jogan fruit

Fanon elements created by me: Ancient Keepers (because Ancient Ones sounded too much like Lovecraft); Solstice Spire; Mhothal and Nothal (there’s a Jhothal and a Kothal in canon, so why not continue the pattern); the Latin name for the Loth-wolf species (Carl Linné is probably turning in his grave); all landmarks, natural features, foodstuffs, names of retail establishments, and the pack name.

Notes on the characters’ names:

• Strebri: Based on the word for “silver” in various Slavic languages (srebro, serebro, sriblo, stříbro, etc.).
• Ajan: Haitian Creole for “silver.”
• Aushra: Aušra is a Lithuanian name that means “dawn.”
• Velko: Veljko is a Serbo-Croatian name that means “wolf.”
• Talula: According to BehindTheName.com, the name Tallulah, “popularly claimed to mean ‘leaping waters’ in the Choctaw language . . . may actually mean ‘town’ in the Creek language. This is the name of waterfalls in Georgia [namely, Tallulah Falls, Georgia, USA].”
• Zoya: The equivalent of Zoe (Greek for “life”) in Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Belarusian, and other Slavic languages.
• Beaumont was chosen mainly because it sounded refined and distinguished and therefore somewhat unexpected for a tiny, fluffy, cute creature with big eyes.
• I didn’t have anything in particular in mind for Ciranno, Ning, and CeeAytch-NineTooOh other than sounding cool.

 

Great opening line that instantly got me curious and intrigued about what a personwarden is.

I love the reveal that our narrator is a Loth-wolf and quite a young one at that given the references to Mom, Dad, and the other Olders. The detail that the Loth-wolves call themselves Ancient Keepers is also an excellent bit of world building and lore.

Again, more fascinating and fantastic bits of world building and lore.

Ooh, so the Loth-wolves have their own version of a Chosen One prophecy, basically

I love our narrator's perspective on Jedi training and behavior

The phonetic spelling of biped words is a wonderful running gig throughout

We do indeed! It warms our hearts to an absurds degree

Awesome line!

And a happy ending for our young Loth-wolf and his new friends!

Excellent job with this story from beginning to end

 

I've had this on my to-read list for months now - which I have to first start by apologizing for! But this was a wonderful story in its own right, and a fantastic gift for Raissa as requested, I still have to say, even belatedly. I fear that my review isn't going to do much more than repeat what the wonderful comments above me have already so eloquently expressed, but I'm going to dive in now and do so anyway.

Just that quickly, I was 100% here for Strebri. I really have to applaud you for tackling this story from the POV of a Loth-wolf - an Ancient Keeper - but Strebri has such a wonderfully endearing voice all her own! She certainly exudes all of that tail-wagging, buoyant canine energy, but with a youthful exuberance that just shone from the screen.

This bit of lore is very much in keeping with what we know of the Ancient Keepers - but, of course, Strebri currently identifies with that wisdom (and even her potential place in the prophesy) just as a youngster may.

This made me chortle - and wonder what all of the creatures both big and small in our own Up North think of our flocking to the great outdoors to camp when the weather turns nice.

Her dad definitely has Kanan vibes, I agree. But also, who can blame Strebri for being distracted by juicy gossip? That's just a thing across species, it would seem.

*wheezes*

I loved every bit of Strebri parsing out bits and pieces of the bipeds' speech and way of life. Dunno had me chortling for the casual irreverence.

Siblings really are.

Again, I LOVED her thoughts and observations as regards the Jedi.

This was such a great description of how Strebri senses and interacts with her world.

Oooh, I loved these observations too.

MY HEART WAS IN MY THROAT WITH SQUEE

casting a shadow over the Life Spirit was such a poignant description!

Never.

It says a lot about Strebri that it's this biped's sadness that draws her to make an introduction, just as much as her own curiosity.

*high-pitched squee!*

As a proud dog mom of four, I can say for a fact that we really, really do.

I mean, who can blame Zoya?

I ADORE HOW YOU DESCRIBE ALL OF THIS

"wagging like a meskeet bush in a summer sirocco", in particular, was such a good bit of writing that managed to be both evocative and world-building.

YAAAS, ALL OF THE SCRATCHES FOR STREBRI

This dear is just trying so hard!

Because we can't have shadows on the Life Spirit, indeed! That one line alone says so much about Strebri herself. (Even if this may not be exactly what her mother had in mind when allowing her Pathways privileges. Teenagers, right? )

More A+ description continues to be A+ - especially in Strebri's voice as you've developed her character to speak!

I could hear the Loth-wolf howl!

And this is also fair.

Hee. Tails.

MORE BEASTWARDEN BONDS, FOR THE WIN

My gosh, but Ciranno is a hoot, isn't he? He has a bit of head-in-the-clouds whimsy to his character that, when coupled with an unwitting quest like the one he stumbled onto, it's no wonder that he went comms-silent - quite literally!

And, as always, I just love all of the in-universe names you included in Ciranno's dialogue! Those details always add such a fun, enriching element to your stories.

With a name like Beaumont and that voice, I was completely rofl-ing, I have to say.

Zoya catches on quick.

Aw! How sweet.

WOOHOO really says it all!



This was such a wonderful answer to your fic-gift request - and another knock-it-out-of-the-park story to add to your showcase of such stories! I certainly wouldn't mind returning to these characters in the future, if you are ever so inspired.

 

Thanks so much for the awesome comments, everyone, and I apologize once again for taking so long to give them the response they deserve.

Spoiler alert: I’m afraid it’s a term I made up! You know how a “beastwarden” is someone who has the ability to communicate with animals through the Force, and how that’s a talent on some sentients have? Well, my idea is that a “personwarden” is the opposite: it’s an animal who has a special talent of communicating with people through the Force, and it’s just as rare a talent for animals as being a beastwarden is for people.

Thanks again! It was fun writing from the perspective of both an adolescent and a non-biped here. And I figured this very ancient, proud species would have a pretty ancient, proud name for itself!

Thanks so much!

Yes, kind of! The idea is it’s a reference to some of the events in the last season of Rebels.

Right? That pretty much sums up what they do, doesn’t it?

She’s trying her hardest, really she is!

That is what I am given to understand! Even these Ancient Keepers know how to play the Doggo Card when they need to.

Thanks! As someone who gets dizzy and seasick easily, it is a feeling I know well from certain kinds of travel experiences.

Thank you so much as always for coming by to read, and I am so glad you enjoyed!

Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed this story! I am guessing that animals with the personwarden talent need some time to adjust to that talent, just the way people who are beastwardens probably do. Which includes having a filter of sorts! But once she gets past that, she is able to use that talent to make new friends and connections, and it’s worth it.

Aw, thanks so much! I built a lot of the lore in this story on fanon details created by Raissa Baiard, and she already did such a good job with the pack structure and the mythic qualities that it just felt right to bring that into the fic gift. Glad you enjoyed Zoya and Ciranno too; Ciranno definitely has that lovably absent minded thing going for him, but you see Zoya is very fond of him all the same!

Thanks so much, I’m glad you came by to take a chance on this story! This was definitely the first time (or at least one of the first times) I’d written from the perspective of a non-biped, and it certainly was challenging in many ways—but turned out to be fun, too, and it did indeed give me an opportunity to explore some of those Rebels-related questions you mention. Your impression of Strebri as an adolescent is definitely what I was going for: she is very eager to try out her new ADULT SKILLZ, and to do so independently! (I am the mother of a teenager, so this is something I’m getting a taste of in RL like never before.) And yes, you’re right that the reference to the prophesy about a personwarden saving Lothal was indeed meant to be a reference to the white wolf Ezra bonds with in the later episodes of Rebels. Maybe that wolf is a descendant of Strebri! (And I love connections like that, too!)

Thank you so much, my friend! I am so glad this gift made you happy; I had a lot of fun with your prompt, and given the great work you did with Loth-wolf lore and fanon in Happiness Is a Warm Loth-Wolf it was just sheer joy to write even though it was a new approach for me in many ways! (All good ways!) Strebri is definitely very proud of her abilities, and as an adolescent she’s very much in that “while I still know everything” phase—which does indeed cause the occasional contretemps sometimes when finds out she actually doesn’t know everything yet. (And yes, I do think Rama is probably her descendant, as mentioned to ConservativeJedi above!)

She does indeed! Strebri’s kind are very close with the Force indeed and can easily tell when it’s shadowed or out of balance—but besides that, a happy-go-lucky type like Strebri definitely would not want gloom of any kind to be in close proximity!

Hey, why not? When you’re an enthusiastic and ambitious adolescent, anything is possible!

Thanks so much! Strebri has just learned to travel this way and just gotten permission to do it by herself, and that makes it all the more exhilarating—kind of like that feeling when a kid masters riding a bicycle without training wheels for the first time. And because of that, it might be, well, a little less smooth than the travel we see undertaken by adult Loth-wolves in “Wolves and a Door”! But the more Strebri and Zoya do this together, the more they’ll both get used to it.

That’s the thing about the beastwarden life: you don’t know what kind of creature(s) you are going to connect with, but because respect for nature is such a big part of being a beastwarden, that would certainly result in a person being accepting of their bond when it comes. And if it’s a little bitty animal instead of a big one, that’s totally cool! I imagine that it takes different kinds of beastwarden talents to connect with different kinds of animals, and that both little and big critters have their unique challenges.

Ohmigosh, yes, I hadn’t thought of that before but you are totally right!

That’s exactly the idea! And now that the two biped friends are safely reunited, the Life Spirit is back to the way it should be, and harmony is restored in the universe! D

That was exactly the idea—good catch! I think the “FOCUS!” kind of dad figure must be a universal across worlds and eras.

You are so welcome, my dear! I am so glad that you enjoyed it and that I could turn your very cool prompt into a story that

And if you ever do write more about the Loth-wolves, I’ll definitely be there! (I’m there for whatever you write!)

Thank you so much, especially for the role you played in bringing this story to fruition! Yes, definitely read Happiness Is a Warm Loth-Wolf; if you dug this story, you’ll really dig that one!

Big, imposing, and fierce does most certainly not preclude cute and enthusiastic, as Strebri soon shows!

Thanks! I figured a nature lover like you would enjoy a detail like that.

Thanks, I’m so glad that worked! I did wiffle a bit about what to name them, but that one did seem to fit, given how their role as guardians was established in Rebels.

I think I know who you mean, and yes, this character is very much the polar opposite of that one in many ways!

It can be a mixed blessing, this personwarden business! But I think she’s taking the opportunity to humble-brag a bit, as well.

Right? I mean, what’s up with hollowing it out?

Thanks! That was my own feeling too, if I do say so myself!

Amen to that, sister!

It kind of does; I figure it couldn’t hurt to enjoy a little Disney flavor to the scene.

Again, her kind have such a close connection to the Force that it seems likely they’d be able to perceive if it was shadowed or out of balance even in a slight way. And as one who is simultaneously a friendly, happy-go-lucky sort and a personwarden, Strebri might notice that more than most!

That indeed is what I am given to understand from dog-owning friends (like yourself)!

Indeed! Big psychic wolf puppy wants nothing more than to be a pal!

Thanks so much! As someone who has never owned dogs, I am glad to hear that my descriptions of this kind of canine behavior are coming off as convincing.

That’s definitely the idea… and note that around a beast, as opposed to another biped, Zoya feels she can more easily express her true feelings. (A fellow Palawan might take the opportunity to tease, or gossip, or something like that. But the Ancient Keepers wouldn’t stoop to that kind of behavior, would they? ).

Thanks! That just seemed to make sense for the way this species might organize what one might call their geography, the way we organize it around political units like nation-states and cities.

What indeed! And yes, good analogy: she’s got exactly the same kind of feeling of freedom and exhilaration as a Human teen learning to drive!

No worries, you’re absolutely right—she’s definitely meant to be a she (she introduces herself as “first daughter and second cub of Ajan and Aushra”).

She just wants the Force and the universe to be back in balance! Is that too much for a girl to ask?

Oh yeah, only minor indeed.

Thanks—it was a pretty striking moment in the show, too, and I definitely wanted to make sure to capture that!

WAAAYHEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

This would totally be me if I were riding the pathways with one of these guys, too!

Right? I mean, we’re talking about beasts whose juveniles are the same size as my Honda Fit!

Neat! I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I could kind of see that too; from what I have seen of them, kneebs have a mix of small-mammal characteristics but I could see the pug dog component being in there, too.

Aw, thanks! I wanted this little tiny guy to be at least be refined and distinguished little tiny guy, so I am so glad this worked.

Everyone is a potential friend!

This is how Strebri knows for sure that balance and light have been restored to the Life Spirit!

Yep, exactly! Strebri and her kind know it as one thing and the bipeds know it as another, and she has to remind herself of that from time to time.

Thanks so much once again, and I’m glad you enjoyed this happy ending! This, I agree, is the way it should be. And thanks again for all your awesome help in bringing it together, too!

Oh, no worries in the least, my dear! You don’t need to apologize at all—the “two cakes” model holds just as well for reviewing as for writing, and I am just so grateful that you took the time to come by to read and review—it always means the world to me. <3

Thanks so much! A canine point of view was a definite first for me, for sure (I’m primarily a cat person in RL, though I like dogs fine too), but turned out to be a lot of fun once I thought of her as an exuberant adolescent!

Yep, she’s probably learned about this element of her culture fairly recently just because of her youth, but she is darn proud of it!

I bet they’re thinking, in true UP style, “feel free to visit, just don’t move here!”

Oh yes, for all her trill-mern-isking, she almost certainly finds the things a wee bit fasinating, too, for that very reason!

She’s a true student of biped behavior, in her way—she really does find it fascinating! All the more so given that this particular group of bipeds have a connection to the Life Spirit that is similar to her people’s own.

Only child here, but yes, that is what I am given to understand!

Thanks so much! It’s all part and parcel of being a student of biped behavior. And these ones are even almost wolflike, in their ways!

Thanks again! I’m so glad this worked, because this is the moment where Strebri is perceiving the potential presence of a personwarden! (Yay alliteration! )


Thanks again—as a close observer of bipeds, these seemed like things she would notice!

(Cue Disney animated scenes with friendly woodland animals hovering, nuzzling, and otherwise loving on princess figure! )

To Strebri’s people, moods are all about connections to the life spirit because everything is about that connection. Being happy and friendly is not just about being happy and friendly per se—to these guys and gals, it’s a manner of maintaining the order of the universe.

Indeed; you definitely can’t have shadows on the Life Spirit! (And her being able to sense this about a humanoid/biped is yet another manifestation of her personwarden ability; there’s more to it than just understanding the language.)

That’s right, I remember that being on one of those mod trivia quizzes in the past—that’s awesome, and that makes me especially elated that you enjoyed this story so much!

Who indeed! I think—I know I’d have the same reaction if a Honda Fit-sized wolf cub sent me a “Hey there!” through the Force!

Canids really are very strategic about these things, aren’t they!

Oh, thanks so much! I’m so glad these descriptions can bring some joy to a seasoned dog lover like yourself.

Hey, idioms are tough!

She is indeed a Good Girl who deserves all the love!

Isn’t she? She’s doing her best—but, again, no matter when or where you are in the universe, or even what species you are, idioms are just plain tough.

Thanks so much! This was a tough moment to write, because I mean, gosh, what kind of experience do we on Earth have to compare it to—so I am so glad to hear that it worked!

ARRROOOOOOO! Yes, I am sure that feeling this kind of exhilaration, Strebri couldn’t have executed this jump in complete silence!

Indeed! I’d be the same way!

She really is trying, indeed—humor, like idioms, is hard!

Yep, that is indeed the way these two roll!

Thanks! He did come out a little absent-minded, didn’t he? Hopefully in a loveable way; I imagine it’s one of the things Zoya finds charming about him. Glad you enjoyed all the food brands and establishments; fun fact, some of them are based on specialty food businesses near me! (Kh’nokh & Co. = Knoche’s Market and Butcher Shop, now out of business; Br’naan Brothers = Brennan’s Market, which has the best aged sharp cheddar cheese anywhere.)

When you are little with big eyes, you have to have your dignity! (Just ask Reepicheep! ) I would love to give Beaumont his own story at some point—maybe a MMM critters ad hoc entry at some point…

She sure does!

Harmony has been restored!

Indeed! Friendship really does so much to bring harmony to the universe, whatever species you are.

Thank you so much! This was one of the most fun and enjoyable fic-gift assignments I’ve had the pleasure of writing (which is saying a lot, because they all have been that), and I am so happy that it seems to have given so much joy not only to its recipient but to other readers too—especially you! Thanks once again for the awesome comment and just for being here.