3. Caspar

                                    

                                          
It was late at night when Caspar lay in bed and talked with his mother about the things the Elder Tobias had told him. He had been mulling it over for the last few hours, after having played around with Bran for a while before being forced to turn in early. He had a few questions that needed answered.
                          
"Mother, why do vampire and lycans not get along? Why is Bran worried about returning to Vairi? And why is it forbidden for them to love one another?" He asked, his natural curiosity firing out the questions before his mother, Anca, had time to answer even one. But Anca wasn't sure she wanted him to know. Being fascinated by the histories of either clan was dangerous, but to want to know about the history of their connection to one another was something else.
                          
"That is not for you to know, child. There may be a day when you are chosen as an Elder and you may know these things, but until that day, even I cannot give an answer to your questions." Anca advised him. She wanted to make it perfectly clear what kind of trouble he would be asking for if he continued to search for the answers to those kinds of questions without an Elders permission. And Caspar accepted her words as gospel before shrugging it off.
                          
"What about the day I will be sent from the clan into the world? What will happen then?" He asked, so innocently that her heart swelled with bride. He was a precocious child; wanting adventure. But he also loved her dearly and she could see a willingness to please her and make his clan proud in his eyes.
                          
"That is a day that will come soon, my son, though it does not seem so now. The days between now and then seem far. But when you are there, being sent into the world, they will seem few and perhaps not enough to prepare yourself." Caspar lay there, gazing up at Anca, with a look of incredible innocence and longing. She was a little afraid to see it, knowing that he longed for adventure and the day when he could escape the rules and confines of their clan. She wanted to impress on him, if nothing else, the serious nature of the hunt that awaited him. The very day he turned twenty, he would be cast from the clan and unable to return unless in shame or victory. There was no middle ground and she wanted him to understand the severity of the matter and the consequences that would accompany unwise decisions and childish behavior
                          
"Caspar...although wolves do not mate for life, our people the lycanthropes do. None are allowed to leave the clan until they are of age to take a mate. When this happens...when you are of age...you will be cast out into the world and shall not return until you find your one true mate. A lone wolf is a danger to the clan. He has no loyalties, no responsibilities and becomes reckless. We cannot allow such behavior within our community." Anca reiterated the weight of disobedience. He needed to know that if he returned without a mate, he would be a danger to the whole community and herself. He had to accomplish his aim or risk never returning.
                          
"I understand mother. But I don't want to take a mate. I want to roam the world in freedom and have adventure. I don't need a woman for anything." Caspar protested, puffing out his chest as if acting manly would settle the matter. But Anca was more amused by his words and actions than impressed. 
                          
She believed him and would never squash his dreams, but she needed him to understand that the task he would soon undertake was no laughing matter. It was a very difficult and complex situation he would have to navigate through alone. He would have no help from his own people, only his own instincts and strengths to guide him in his quest and keep him safe.
                          
"Yes, you want adventure and adventure you will have. But all adventure must end at some time and yours will end when you find a woman your heart sings to. You shall leave the safety of our people for this search, unless before your twentieth year, you hear the call for one within our community." She could see that he didn't care for her last few words as she tucked him into bed for the night. She chose to say the words she wished were warning enough without the real threat that they might actually one day be true. "Our ways are old and beyond any dream or wish you may have for yourself Caspar. If you return to the clan with no mate after your search, one would be found for you." She reminded him gently. But he only acted his age and scrunched up his nose in disapproval.