3. Preparations and Chance Encounter

That same afternoon, Aria and Chynna went to the forest at the back of their village.

One of the preparations they have to make is to find a clearing for their own where the light of the moon will be unobstructed and at the same time will be far enough from any humans to accidentally pass by. They also have to mark their clearing with special plants and herbs ahead of time to announce that they found it first.

The two of them first walked to where their would be meeting place after the awakening with the others are. That place has always been the meeting place of every batch of young lycans who faced their awakening before. And there were also times where their pack will hold events and rituals in that place. That is why it was not hard for them to reach that place.

Upon reaching the place, they checked the sorroundings. Nothing much changed except from some overgrowth of weeds here and there. It is roughly a 300-square meter clearing with a few huge stones randomly scattered around the area with the tallest and largest rock positioned at the center. That center spot is always taken by the pack's Alpha, Chief Wesley, Aria's dad. Just below that rock is another rock which has an almost flat and smooth surface. That is where the Chief's mate would always sit.

Before it was just her mother, and then after a few years it became the two of them. She could still remember how her mother would lovingly look towards her father everytime he would stood atop the largest rock. And then, that accident happened, her mother, the Alpha's mate, left them forever, and the rock was left for her alone.

If after their awakening, a new Alpha is born, that person will be trained by the current Alpha and the other elders. Mostly it will only be managerial training like the ins and outs of the pack's dealings with the human community, and the other packs around the country. The actual leading of the pack will be instinctual for the Alpha as it is already engraved in the Alpha's DNA. Then upon turning eighteen, the transfer of authority will be done. The new Alpha will then take that position atop the highest rock. While the former Alpha will silently step down, surrender his authority over the pack, and may choose to serve as one of the elders.

Seeing her father lead the pack with love, generosity, and honesty throughout her life, she almost wish to delay the emergence of a new Alpha. She knows how much he loves the pack and she admires him for that. She feels so much pride for being her father's daughter, she wants to be someone like him for their pack. But female Alphas are very rare as it is. Besides, being an Alpha is not her final goal. She just want to make sure that her loved ones are safe and happy all the time, and she is willing to work hard to get that.

***

After gathering the last medicinal plants and herbs they needed, the two girls decided to find their own places separately and agreed on their time of return. Aria went to the west of the mountain range and started her search for her place.

According to Elder Sharon, besides the requirements of location and amount of moon light, their to-be awakening place should resonate with their souls. How? Aria is also asking herself that question. The Elder's answer is quite vague though. She just said, "When you find it, you will automatically feel it in your heart and soul."

After that the Elder also added that although she said that it is a requirement, but it should not be the case for all. Just like imprinting, not everyone will be given the chance to find the place that will resonate perfectly with their soul. But being able to find one will be of great benefit. If the place chosen resonates with the soul of a young Lycan facing his or her awakening, the hardship of the first transformation will greatly weaken and the possibility of absorbing the maximum life force provided by the power of life from the moon is the highest. That is why Aria is determined to find her place and resonate her soul with it.

But it has been more than two hours of walking, climbing, and hopping from rock to rock and Aria can't still settle on her place. Take note that even though she has not awaken yet, she is still a member of the Lycan pack. And their kind is naturally faster and more agile than humans. In fact, what humans can cover by walking or climbing in half a day, they can easily cover in an hour. So searching for this long is starting to trouble Aria.

It's not that she hadn't seen any clearings along the way, all in all she already passed by five good sized clearings which are of good location. But then, that feeling that Elder Sharon told them has yet to come to her and also, two out of these five places were already marked by others. And so at first, she continued searching. But almost an hour has passed since the last clearing that she saw. And right now she's actually thinking of choosing from one of those three remaining clearings for her to use.

"Okay since I've gotten this far, I'll not give up right away. I'll try to look for thirty minutes more and that's it. I'll have to go back after that to meet up with Chynna."

She walked to the tallest tree near her and jumped her way to its highest branch. From there she can see farther from where she is. But even with her keen eyes, she can't see any clearing that she can look up. Dejectedly, she jumped down the tree. The tree is just around the same height as a four storey building so she chose to jump on the side where there are less branches. She always love jumping straight down to the ground from high places.

As she was falling, she suddenly saw a movement from below which then stopped right where she's going to land. It is a man, he seemed to have sense her but has no idea yet where she is that's why he stopped. Aria tried to take a quick look of her sorrounding for any branch of tree that can stop her fast descend but there was none. Left without a choice, she yelled to warn her unknowing victim below.

"Hey mister! Move out of the way quickly!"

The man looked up upon hearing her. But to her horror, he did not move an inch. It is only a few feet now and she decided to bend her body a bit to soften her fall as much as possible. If only that man moved a step backward then she might be able to maneuver and avoid colliding with the man. But since the man decided to be a statue, she can only keep her eyes open to see how she can move accordingly to avoid further damage.

So she waited for their collision, but what happened next was not what she expected at all. She didn't even had the chance to understand what happened. It was like she just blinked and then when she opened her eyes again, the man who she thought would be injured because of her, is carrying her effortlessly.

"Man, you're heavier than what I expected." The man said.

"Eh, w-what?" She was still confused with what is happening and the words of that man is still not sinking in her head.

"I said you're heavier than I thought you'd be."

"I'm... heavier. Oh."

He chuckled. It was just brief but it brought Aria back to what is happening. She jumped out of the man's hold and landed softly a few feet away from the stranger and positioned her right hand close to where her hunting knife is. They always make sure to bring weapons whenever they went out to the woods, especially those of them who have not awaken yet.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" She asked.

She can't see the man clearly since he is looking downwards and shadows from the nearby trees are covering his face.

He seems to be a bit unfocused. Then when he finally looked up to her, Aria couldn't make up what she should do or feel. It was like several emotions popped out of the man's face one after another. He looked dazed, then shocked, then happy, then confused, then sad, then contemplating, then relaxed. She felt laughing but tried her best to keep it to herself. Suddenly she can't make herself cautious of this seemingly mentally challenged man. She herself relaxed and asked the man again.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Ethan Connor. I'm sorry earlier, we're you startled?" He talked like any normal person which surprised Aria who was actually considering a second earlier that he might be mentally ill thus hard to converse with. But then, it would be easier to talk to him then, right?

She coughed to clear her thoughts. Then she seemed to remember hearing the surname of Ethan from before.

"You're a Connor? Hm, why does that name sound familiar?"

"You probably heard us from your elders. It's not surprising since we're also Lycans."

"Eh, what?" She was surprised. But then again, she remembered how she was not able to sense Ethan before jumping down from the tree earlier and only noticed him when he was within sight. And his unfazed reaction when she was about to smash him from her fall, and even that catch which she did not saw coming. That's because he is also like her.

"You might have not sense it yet. But you will once you awaken." He smiled.

"Uhm, you even know that I have not yet awaken?" Aria is amazed. If this is how keen her senses will be upon awakening, then she can't wait for Monday.

Ethan felt a bit awkward being looked at like that by Aria. And it seems that this girl is not aware of what she's doing. He unconciously scratched his head. "Well, just like they say, after transformation everything is heightened to absurd levels. He-he."

"I guess I'll know soon then." She looked at the vast forest at her right. A sad smile slowly turning up. "Given that I soon find my own place."

A brief silence passed between the two of them. Aria once again lost her thoughts in her worries about finding her own place soon, and Ethan lost in words on how to react to what she said. He know how frustrating it is to find your own place that will resonate with you for he have also done that before. After a few seconds, it was still Ethan who broke the silence when he remembered something.

"If you wouldn't mind, I found a clearing with no marks on my way here. It is not that far, probably four kilometers from here. I can lead you there if you wish to see it."

She smiled at him. This time he can't see that sadness he saw earlier. It was replaced by excitement.

"I'll trouble you then." She said.

***

"This is so perfect!"

"I'm glad you like it." He said while smiling. On their way here, he was actually worried whether Aria would like the place or not. But now, he is really glad he passed by this area earlier.

They are both taking the view around them. At their back is a low cliff with a small hollow at the bottom that can serve as shelter from the weather also as cover to avoid being noticed by passers by. But he guess there will be no use for it as cover from humans since this place is fairly remote from the closest human habitation. The moonlight will not be obstructed in this clearing either. Its edges is lined up with different trees that do not have much branches so not even shadows from their branches can cover the place. The clearing is not that large to accomodate four or more Lycans in their wolf form but is definitely enough for one young Lycan going through her first transformation. He was right, this place is perfect for awakening. With that in thought Ethan looked to where Aria is. She is standing inside the small hollow and seemed to have seen something that is really interesting.

"What are you looking at?" He asked.

Aria faced him. But when she does, he was surprised to see her face streaked with tears.

"My mom was here."