I was invited by YoukoPeam. Anyway, I need some help if its no trouble.
Style critique as well as imagry would be lovely.
This is just part of it, and it will end up being much longer.
This is the incompleted first part of Feast of the Winter Wolf:

Winter was coming. This was the time, one of the few times, which the Basti and Vernada get together to bond. In fact it was one of the few times they got together, and both races actually feast and celebrate.

“The Feast of the Winter Wolf is at close hand my brethren!”

The Basti clan elder spoke to his people. His fur, as all Basti and Vernada were covered in, protected them from the cold, therefore he wore no coat, but he did wear the elder’s traditional Blue tunic and stained blue leather pants. The Basti resembled animals, but were more like people. They walked on two legs like a human, but had animal traits, mostly a face looking like a cat, but a build like a dog. They had tails and ears much like the wolf gods they worship. The Vernada were much more noticeably animal, having muzzles if they are of the wolf clan. The same thing goes for the two other types, Cats, of any wild breed, and Foxes, whom have the red-and-white fur all year long. Both breeds grew hair on their head, much like a human, but it was normally a solid color, mostly the dominate color of their fur.

“My kin, brothers and sisters, my friends and my home, The Feast is approaching and the Vernada are already travailing to the fields where our celebrations have taken place for uncounted generations. Although our clans and tribes once fought, we are no longer at war” There was a cheer from the gather Basti. The elder raised his hand, and quieted the crowed.
“But, now is not a time for celebration.” Murmurs stirred from within the crowed. Some wondered who the scout party was; others were more interested in who the Soldier was.
”Now, I fear our Feast may be delayed, something that has not happened for a long time. A Furion army is approaching from the south of our forest. Three members of a Basti scout team has come back, only a few hours ago. There was supposed to be four of them. It seems one of them was left behind. The soldier, as they said, told them to leave as the army approached. They must have fled, as we have had no news of the army or the soldier.” After hearing this, a long silence followed, and many of the gathered hung their heads in sadness, though, none seemed to know who, or cares who the nameless warrior was.

A woman from the front row called “How far are the soldiers from our village?” She already had her sword drawn; all that was needed to complete the image was blood.
“Did you know him?” the elder asked.
“No, but the army had killed one of our own. We must retaliate before they get here!” She stormed off, heading in the general direction of her cabin, to retrieve her armor.
None stopped her, as everyone knew she was right, though no others followed, for fear they may miss any more announcements from the remaining two elders.
Knight Darshin, a well respected warrior among the Basti, took too the stand, to allow elder Vaust to rest.
“We have not needed them for sometime, but guards will be posted in the towers to keep alert for the remaining Furion. The Feast must be delayed, respected Elders, I think you would agree that we should postpone the Feast for a few days. Not tradition, but it is necessary, so we don’t get caught on our backs with no signal.”
Several of the elders nodded their agreement in response, some waited for him to continue before commenting.
“We must make the invaders realize just why we have not fought a war in such a long time. Our unknown hero has seemed to show them what they are dealing with.”

The rest of the speech continued in much the same way, how they should guard, where the guards should be, the shifts and the like.

The next elder stood and spoke his words.
“Although I do agree with Knight, we must be ready to leave for the Festival grounds.”

The discussion was similar to past mid-night.

* * * * *

“My kin, our forests have been invaded! Word from the Basti runners have told us that Furions were in our woods. They have invaded our home! We have dwelled in a semi-peaceful state will all races, and we expected likewise. That appearance must no longer be the truth. Our own land is being selfishly absorbed into the empire that the Furions want to create, and they try to force upon us. Our only problem is that the Feast is approaching. We must gather our supplies and make towards the Festival grounds.”
Everyone agreed to what Garren Farn had said. Garren was an elder in the Vernada society.
Garren was not the wisest elder, but the quickest thinker and takes the best action he sees at the time, though, not always the right one.
Many Vernada had already left to gather up their food and the pants that they wore during the Feast. The food they carried was mostly dried meats and grains. A few had hunting daggers, taken from trespassers or as gifts from the Basti in their supplies.

The main items they had packed were normally food, but, some of the gear, in many of the Vernada’s leather pouches, had some form of offering. Normally statues of wood, or a colorful stone, Vernada were drawn to shiny and colorful objects, and some wore polished green stones, others were red, but the common one was blue. They wore them, not as a status symbol, but because the necklaces looked pretty to them. During the Ceremonies and the Feast, they wore them, but they did not have them on all the time.

The discussion ended after Garren finished talking. The rest of the Vernada went to pack up their supplies

It did not take long to pack up the small amount of things the Vernada owned. They did not eat a lot, but still took it all with them. Most had tents, and many shared beds in them. If it wasn’t going to rain, they didn’t put them up. They figured no sense in making more work for themselves.

Night was in full bloom, most everything light up by the moon. The Vernada did not have tools to make fire, but they did not need it anyway. Most were scared to go near it, but not frightened away from it.

They were only a few miles from the festival grounds, so they did not hurry to get there; they always got there before the Basti anyway. Their padded feet kept their walk quiet. Though they knew nothing besides the normal animals were in the forest around them, they spoke in whispers to each other. Their own language had no letters, but it was complex. The Basti spoke a language that was similar, so they were able to determine what each of them meant with gestures and elaboration. Some were able to speak the other races language quite fluently, so they sometimes stood as a translator.

Knight Darshin’s mate, who happened to be Basti, walked far ahead of the group. She walked at a quick pace, to keep up with Darshin. Her long dark gray hair, which was at the small of her back, blew around in the breeze, and the speed from which she was walking.
“Darshin, is there something wrong? You seem troubled.”
“I’m sorry Karen, but I’m not sure how this year’s feast will turn out. The fact that DuVarda forest has been intruded without any of us knowing is quite odd. Normally the Elves would have known and alerted us. I wonder what may befall this year. Perhaps we should invite the Elves. I will speak to the elders on it.”
“Do you think that is wise? We don’t normally allow outsiders in our celebrations. Why should we do it this year?” Karen was strongly against other races getting involved in their business.
“It may be necessary, for the good of us all. I wonder when the Furion Empire gives up its struggle for domination.”
“Probably when they are all extinct.”

They were both quiet for a time, and then Karen slowed down and fell back to the main body of the group. Darshin continued to walk but at a slightly slower pace than before, though, still ahead of the main body.

For the amount of people traveling, it was rather quiet and un-eventful. Some animals were seen, though, not much more than squirrels and deer. At one point, a wolf in the distance howled to its pack. A few Vernada twitched at the sound. It was a sound of fear and approaching death. For what, they did not know, nor want to know.


The trees became farther apart and a few small openings and breaks in the woods signaled that they were close to the festival Grounds, which also meant they could take their baths in the lake and brush their fur to get all the dirt and burrs out. They used hair brushes, bought or traded from passer-bys who needed food or liked their necklaces and other gem stones.

The festival grounds were a large opening in the middle of the woods. There was a lake off to one side of it, and if you were to follow the river, you would come to a secluded area by a small waterfall as tall as two humans. The single Basti and Vernada came here to get away from the festivities and for quiet, while couples came here to be alone together. But no one at the party cared who went where with who. They were all, Basti and Vernada alike, too distracted to care where anyone went. Music was played, and food was always set up on the stone tables that dotted the glade. They were natural rocks, but the top of them had been shaped, by one thing or another, so it was flat. There were no chairs; they just sat where they please, whether it was on the ground or on a rock. Some tents were normally pitched, for those who want to rest from the week long party.
Contests were held just about every hour. The very first contest was to see who could get the best game, The Basti hunting party, or the Vernada hunting party. The Basti normally got the biggest, which had to be cut up into large slices to be cooked, and it was always cooked rotisserie style. The Vernada got the best stew meats, such as wild birds and the occasional hog. A separate group, non-competitive went out to find certain kinds of herbs and spices to make the foods taste better. They also picked any kind of vegetable they could find, normally wild onions and carrots. An array of wild fruits was also present, the most present one being wild strawberries and wild grapes.
Flowers were everywhere and all of the females, and a few males wore them in their hair or weaved them into crowns. It was always fun for both races, and the smell of meats cooking attracted a large variety of animals, though, the ones that were most welcomed were wolves and foxes. The cats were normally hiding in the mountains or far off in the woods by the time the feast actually starts.

It was still night by the time the whole of the Vernada was totally into the glade. Fireflies flashed everywhere in the glade. Everywhere they look, they saw hundreds of them flashing. The families went off in their own direction, looking for a quiet space to sleep after they got done taking baths and getting reacquainted with their favorite place to be.

Karen settled herself at the edge of the clear water lake. She had already pitched her tent and was getting ready to take her bath. The Basti were modest and preferred privacy, but since she had lived with the Vernada for so long, she wasn’t as modest as when she lived with her family.
She took off her loose green tunic, and her baggy brown pants, both she had received when she lived with her family.
She took her hairbrush and soap she had gotten from human traders out from the bag in her tent.
She stuck her foot in the water, it wasn’t too cold, but still made her shiver. She got used to it quickly and started walking out father into the lake. She was waist deep when Darshin called from behind her, “Mind if I join you?”
It was a joke. He knew about Basti being very bashful when they weren’t clothed.
She sighed and responded “Maybe. That all depends if you can do me a favor.”
“What favor would be that?”
“Help me brush my fur.”
He laughed. “I never knew a Basti that wasn’t very bashful. Even around loved ones. Guess being with us for so long, it just rubs off on you.”
He was already undressed, as was all of the Vernada. Clothes were very uncomfortable to them.
He walked to the edge of the lake, looked in and saw his reflection. In it he saw that he had grown old, but he never really grew up. He took a few steps into the water; the water was just up to his knees. He continued walking until he stood next to his mate. They looked at each other, and smiled.
Karen broke the silence and said; “Isn’t this how we first fell in love, under the moonlight night in this lake?”
“Why yes. And I seem to have fallen in love with you all over again.” He smiled his white teeth just barely visible.
She was embarrassed at the thought of what happened last at the last Feast and what was going to happen this year.
Every Feast he seduced her in much the same way, even though they were wedded. Those words are what got to her every time. And every time it ended the same, at the water fall alone together.
She turned her head away from him, and stared down into the water.
Darshin broke the silence by saying “You want me to wash your back now?” She still had the soap and brush in her hands.
She looked at the moon for a second, turned and handed him the brush and soap. “Don’t do such a bad job you have to do it again.” She laughed and turned around again.
“Still as bossy as ever.” He said under his breath as he started washing her back.


* * * *


The four humans walked through the DuVarda forest, the forest of the Basti, Elves, and Vernada. They were two couples who decided to leave the safety of their village to seek fortune and adventure elsewhere. They were bored of the simple village life they had. This was their third week out, but they had plenty of food, but only because the two men were somewhat good hunters, though, not the best. They had just broke camp and were walking for a little over an hour. They traveled at night, because they liked the cool air and the night sky.

The sound of running water close by made them quicken their pace.
“Rivers end somewhere. Maybe it ends in a lake? We could take baths, and relax,”
The woman named Anne said to her companions.
“It may be a good idea; we could fill our water skins with the river water and follow it. If there isn’t a lake we could follow it till we get to a village.”
This persuaded the others immediately. The thought of a roof over their head and other people made then quicken their pace.

They followed the sound of the running water, and sure enough it led to a large creek. It was about ten feet wide where they stood. They followed the creek downstream.

They followed it for around two hours, before they came to a small water fall about three feet tall. They sat on large rocks in the area to rest their feet.
“Well, should we keep going, or stay here till morning?” The man named Thomas said to his friends and his wife, Anne.
Thomas was just over five feet and nine inches tall. His clothing consisted of a heavy cloth-and-leather jacket, made for cold weather, thick cloth pants and leather boots. His shirt was just a plain dull gray tunic. He had a common brown colored hair.

The thought of a bath made it unanimous that they would continue walking until they got too tired to walk or got to what they wanted, a village or a lake.

Anne and Isabelle carried small packs, mostly just cooking and cleaning supplies and some items of small significance. Anne is the one that carried the small pouch of gold coins. There were only three coins, but that was enough to get all four of them a place to stay and something to eat at an inn.
The cooking supplies were made up of a simple flat pan with a wooden handle and a small iron pot for cooking stews and boiling water.
They were quiet most of the time, for the only reason they had run out of things to talk about. They saw no trappers or traders to get news from anywhere else, though on occasion they heard voices that spoke an odd language they didn’t understand. They figured it was their imagination, and just forgot about it.

They walk and noticed the trees were becoming more spaced, and occasionally there were little glades, and small bushes grew En Masse around both sides of the creek. They were small bushes, about one foot high with red leaves. Though winter was just a few weeks away, seemed that the forest was a lot livelier than in summer, not many animals but the plants were greener than normal.

It did not take from the waterfall to reach the lake. But when they were into the meadow completely, they were surprised to see a few fires, dancing in the dark of night. There were many small fires, six from their count, and one large fire. It was in the center of the clearing, just 12, as it seemed, yards away from the small lake.
They walked slowly, seeing a few tents close to those small fires and a few near the lake. They decided it would be a good idea to keep quiet, but still keep up a pace. It wasn’t long until they were spotted and a shout sounded not too far away. It was a signal, and many Vernada rushed at them, some had daggers, others just their claws.

The four were surprised at how fast the creatures were, and how quick they withdrew from a combative stance when they saw what they were.
The four did not move, did not say a word, and waited to see what would happen.
Many of the creatures were hesitant when they saw them.

* * * *

The Vernada sentry shouted a warning of intruders, and soon enough, a group of ten Vernada jumped at the direction given.
Darshin and Karen had finished their bath and Karen was getting dressed, as Darshin watched and waited. They were the last ones there, when they saw the stunned group of weapon carrying Vernada. Karen and Darshin pushed through the crowd to see what was wrong. They soon saw, four humans, two male and two female. Karen spoke, first asking them in her native tongue who they were. They said nothing, just blank faces, not even a trace of surprise. She then remembered they were human, and said the few things she knew. “Who are you?” She asked in a slurred human language. The four recognized this at once, and the brown haired man spoke slowly, “My name is Thomas, This is my wife,” He pulled Anne closer to him, “And these are our friends, Jacob and Isabelle.”
Karen understood most of what he said, enough to know their names and relationships. Now she said, again in that slurred voice, “Are you Friend?” She knew none of her companions knew what she was saying, but she was the most knowledgeable in different race’s speech.
Thomas took a moment, trying to understand what was said, and finally said, “Friend.” He put on a warm smile, and hoped for the best.
Karen said her name to them, and returned the smile.

She waved the Vernada close to her and spoke, “They say they are friend, and they don’t look dangerous, in fact, almost the opposite. What should we do? I think we should trust them”
A few mumbled a response, incoherent but seemed to agree. She turned to Darshin, who looked to be in deep thought, and then nodded saying, “I think we can trust them. Can you ask if they would like to stay under my hospitality?”
“I think so, though I’m not sure. I’ll try.”
She turned and took the four steps over to the four humans and asked in the slurred English, “Would you like to stay with us?”

Again Thomas worked out the sentence in his head, and turned to his companions and said, “They asked if we want to stay with them. Should we? I just want everyone’s opinion before I say anything.”
Jake quickly said, “I think we can, if only for a little while.”
Isabelle and Anne nodded their agreement.
“Then it’s settled.”

The four turned to Karen and said, “Yes, we will stay”
A small smile crossed Karen’s lips. She hoped to learn more words in their language during their stay.
She spoke quickly to her own kind, “The humans would stay, but they will stay near Darshin and me, if only to keep a watch on them and for their own protection. Many Vernada here do not like humans, especially around this time. Please, do not harm them.”
And as quickly as the Vernada came, they the left into the night, going back to whatever they were doing. Only Darshin and Karen remained near after the others had left.
Karen gave the universal signal for them to follow, a wave of the hand. Darshin and Karen turn and walked back to their camp. The four followed behind, doing their best to keep up the fast walk the couple had set.

“This, I suppose, is turning out better than I thought.” Thomas said to the other three.
Jake spoke next, “I’m more worried about being killed in our sleep. I think, even though we are staying with other people, that we should still keep a look out.”
“I’ll keep the first watch. I’m not too tired, and I’ll wake someone up before I fall asleep.” Offered Anne.
None of the others complained, and so the watch was set up. Anne was first, Then Jake, Thomas and finally Isabelle.
Karen and Darshin stopped at their tent, and pointed to ground only a few feet away.
In the slurred voice Karen said, “Camp here. Fire is okay, but keep it small.”
They didn’t hesitate, the tent was pitched and a small fire was made quickly. They used the sticks from the broken branches on the ground near the lake. With a small knife they cut thin strips of the wood into tinder.

Karen watched the humans set up their small camp site with fascination. She liked the color of the fabric the tent was made from; it was a light gray, much like the color of her fur. She liked the skill and speed of their work; she noted that they were skilled in using their hands.
She figured that they could learn something from these humans.
The communication barrier was a minor problem, but she knew enough to ask for lessons, and to point out certain people, and similar things.

After a while, Anne became uneasy about Karen watching them going about their work.
Everything was set up, but they stocked sticks next to their tent, to keep the fire going, just incase the fire goes dim, though they did not expect it to go too far.
Anne was just sitting near the fire at this point; Isabelle sat across the fire from her.
“Why is she watching us?” Anne asked Isabelle.
“Not sure, maybe you should go ask. She seems to understand us, for the most part at least.”

Not wanting to startle Karen, Anne got up slowly, brushed the dirt off her clothes, and walked the short distance over to Karen. She didn’t move, just kind of stared at her.
“Why do you watch us?” Anne asked.
Karen gave a confused look, not entirely understanding what Anne said.
They both stood, silent, and unmoving aside from their hair shifting in the breeze.
Karen finally said, as best as she could pronounce, “Teach me your language? I know some, but not much.”
Anne smiled, and nodded her head. She said, “Come and sit with us by the fire.”
She then turned, and walked the short distance back to their small fire.
Karen hesitated at first, and then followed, sitting next to Anne.
“First,” Anne held up one finger, “You need to know the basics...”


Karen learned quickly, and remembered everything. Soon she was talking with just a slight accent, but spoke quite well. The lessons kept Anne awake, long after the others had fallen asleep. The lessons continued long after dawn. As much as Anne could gather from their conversations, something important was supposed to be happening soon.

The sun was rising, the rays already reflected off the lake from behind the two tents.
The fire was almost dead, but it didn’t matter, it was bright enough to see everything within reason. Anne was exhausted, but didn’t want to sleep; she wanted to talk with Karen more. They had odd conversations, sometimes she forgot who she was talking to and slipped back into her own language, but for the most part had strange and rather interesting ideas.
Their views differed on each subject, and neither said that their ideas were wrong; they just accepted their differences for the most part. They were still unaccustomed to each other, because they were so used to their normal, so there was some mutual uneasiness.

Darshin walk out of his tent, stretching, getting ready for his day. He saw Anne and Karen still talking around the now dead fire.
“You two stayed up all night?” Darshin asked in a tired voice.
Karen explained to him what had occurred, Anne’s teaching, their talks and such.
Karen didn’t know everything about their language, but enough to translate between the humans and her kin.
She told Anne what Darshin had said and responded, “No sleep.” She yawned, and rubbed her eyes. She looked like she was about to pass out. That much Darshin understood.


It was long past sun up and Jake was the first of the three in the tent to wake up. With a yawn, he uncovered himself, stretched and moved the flap of the tent and went outside.
The sunlight reflecting off the lake was a welcoming sight. The trees beyond the small lake were green, greener than they should be in autumn. It surprised him to still see all the trees with green leaves, even though it was approaching winter. It was just the magic of the forest he figured.
It was edging on his mind, something was missing.
He realized soon enough that Anne wasn’t in the tent, or outside. It didn’t seem like a bad thing, except that he never woke up for his shift. He vaguely remembered hearing Anne talking with Karen, but he was too tired and went to sleep. He decided it was no big deal and took a water skin out from his pack beside the tent. They kept their gear outside so there would be more room in the tent. He took a big drink from the skin, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and put the skin back in his pack. He then went into the tent and woke up Isabelle and Thomas. They were heavy sleepers, but a hard nudge with toe of his bare foot in their backs woke them up fast enough.
Sluggishly Thomas got out of bed, looked around the tent, and asked Jake; “Where is Anne, and is it cold out?”
“I don’t know where Anne is, though I expect her not to be too far. As for being cold, no, it’s rather warm out actually, but your lazy arse hasn’t gotten up to check that.”
He pushed him in the back with his toe again.
Thomas got up quick enough. He threw on his pants that he left beside his bed roll and, still drowsy, stepped over Isabelle, pushed the tent flap aside, and walked outside.