Daughter of Luka (LGBT+)

Forty-Five 🌑

I felt the tension rise in my shoulders, until he spoke again and dispelled my worries. 

"Can I be honest with you, Ophelia?" he asked me. 

"You know that you can always rely on me, dad," I told him. 

"I just want you to be happy. Sometimes, I worry that I'm not doing enough," he replied. 

I felt my eyes grow slightly larger, in my amazement that he could even think such a thing. He was a great dad! There was so much that the two of us had been through together, and he had always looked out for me. 

"Dad, you're doing amazingly," I told him with sincerity behind my every word. 

Besides, without him, I never would have met Accalia. 

I had to give him some credit. He was a great father beyond that. And I knew I could be a difficult daughter at times. Nonetheless, we would always have one another. That gave me peace of mind and I believed it did the same for him, too. 

The creases in his forehead became a little less apparent, as he managed a kind-hearted smile. 

I gently squeezed his shoulder, before I got started on tackling the ever-growing pile of pencils that I knew I needed to assist in sharpening. 

I did this for a short while, before I thought about going to bed. 

Accalia had sent me some more messages that informed me of more about the wolf-kind. I was able to read them after I had fully charged my phone. 

I had to admit that I was really glad to have her around beyond just caring ever-so-deeply for her. 

Without her, I honestly believed that I wouldn't have a clue what I was doing in the wolf world. 

It was completely new to me, literally. 

There were several main different kinds of wolf- including but not limited to alpha wolves- these were the leaders of the tribe, and the strongest. Then, there were beta wolves- the second in command. The main colour types were silver-furs (wolves that could turn humans into wolves); white furs (could better manipulate the cold and ice); grey furs (empaths); brown furs (could manipulate the earth); dark brown furs and sandy furs, who could use any abilities if they worked hard enough on them. Additionally, there were golden wolves- like Accalia- those were the most powerful. Those with ebony fur were the second most powerful, but were known for being more independent than the others- they didn't tend to rely on packs and were often known to leave to live for themselves. Lastly, the rarest types were red wolves and blue wolves. 

Wolves originated when a human was scratched by a silver wolf, many, many years ago. 

The relationship between the wolves was mostly positive, though just as you would expect among humans, not all of them got along. 

Disagreements could occasionally tear tribes apart, as wolves continued to fight for power. 

However, though the Winters tribe began only a few generations ago, they had always stuck together through it all. 

The population of our town was in the low ten-thousands. It could be expected that wolves made up about five percent of that. 

That meant that there were over five-hundred wolves out there, just like us. 

Well, maybe not just like us, but it was a thrilling thing to think about. 

I released a tired exhalation and placed the phone back down on my bedside table, before I rolled over and pressed my cheek firmly into the pillow, willing for sleep to take me. 

It had been a long day, but I was glad that I was now much more educated about my new family than I had been at the beginning of the year. 

Everything was changing, but I knew one thing would remain the same- Accalia would continue to be the last person I thought about, before my eyes fluttered closed. 

When I awoke the next morning, I decided that I wanted to be productive. So, I hopped out of bed and managed to finish a new piece- it was a portrait of Accalia in her wolf form. 

I was a little critical of it at first, but I remembered her advice to me. 

I was a perfectionist. I knew the piece was good, but there was always room for improvement. 

With that thought in mind, I decided to get on with some studying for mathematics. 

I knew that I could use it, especially if I wanted to keep on the good side of Mr. Z. 

If I stopped doubting myself so much, then I knew there was a possibility that I could do really well in this class. I simply needed to be optimistic. 

I continued to analyse the algebraic formulae in front of me, until I felt as though my mind was about to turn to goo. 

At that point, it was time for me to go and sit downstairs and eat up some lunch. I grabbed myself a few egg sandwiches, knowing that I now needed more food than usual as a wolf. It would keep me strong, that was the most important thing. 

After I was done eating, I heard a knock at the front door and went to find that Accalia was stood outside with a friendly smile on her face. 

"Hey," she said. 

"Hey, is everything okay?" I asked her. 

"Yes," she replied, "I just missed you." 

I felt my heart warm at the statement. 

"I missed you too, Alia," I said. 

I always did. 

"Walk with me?" I asked, as I quickly put my trainers on. 

"Sure," she said. 

The two of us set off a short distance into the forest.

Once we came to a stop near some red flowers, I turned to Accalia with a few questions in my mind. 

"Do wolves have a language?" I asked. 

Accalia appeared thoughtful for a few seconds. 

"We mostly speak English, but some of our texts are written in Latin," she explained. 

I felt my eyes flicker with curiosity, so she continued.