Part 2: Discovery: 6. Caspar

                                    

                                          
August 2281

                          


                          
Eight years passed and nothing changed other than Caspar's resolve to be as different to Bran as possible. Bran remained within the clan for those eight years, passing them in frustration and anger at not being fit or strong enough to return to Vairi. His relationship with Caspar was never able to get over their talk all those years before. By the time Caspar turned fifteen, he was the strongest, most sought after young man within the clan. The other boys looked up to him and aspired to be him. The girls longed for the day when he might hear the call for one of them.
                          
He turned into a handsome man, growing to just under six foot by his eighteenth birthday, with short dark hair and dark eyes that made him all the more mysterious to the girls of the clan. He never showed them any of the attention the other boys did as they grew from mere girls to young, beautiful women. Caspar had eyes for no-one. And that night, that important night, everyone could see how strong he had become.
                          
Caspar sat quietly, crossed-legged, in the middle of a circle made by the other clan members. His eyes were closed and he was fully concentrated on the chanted words of the Elders, who sat before him. It was the ceremony to celebrate his passage into adulthood, aged twenty and very much ready to head out on his quest for a mate. Everyone could see the fighter and hunter in him would one day give their clan a strong and powerful Elder. For now though, they were saying goodbye to his childhood and the days where he would age.
                          
As he sat there and listened to the chanting, Caspar recalled his mothers words about Vivienne and the dangers of not finding his mate. He opened his eyes and looked around at the clan members that had gathered to see him off on his journey. She was there, just as he had expected. Sitting next to her father, looking proud of herself. She had been adamant over the last eight years that they would be united, regardless of the many times he showed his disinterred. Or told her face to face that he would search for his mate and even if he returned without finding one, would never unite with her. She didn't seem to understand him though. She caught him looking at her and winked at him, as if they were sharing a secret lovers glance. Caspar wanted to laugh.
                          
Caspar thought about how much he hated her. How that hatred had grown over the last eight years. Vivienne had always been spoilt and selfish, but recently she had become aggressive and obsessed with the idea of uniting with him. On the rare occasions they had played together as children, she would only go halfway through her transformation into a wolf, just to beat him. If she lost, God help anyone who stood in her way. She would bite and scratch anyone who disagreed with her and try to have them punished by her father, who always left his arguments with her with a sigh. The weariness showed on Aberle more and more lately. Vivienne was wearing him down and Caspar hated her for it.
                          
As Bran showed him an encouraging smile, he realized that he and Vivienne were more alike than he had realized as a boy. They were both selfish and focused on getting whatever they wanted. They both put no stock in the clan and being part of a family. Well, Caspar had learned to put his family first. The clan was the most important thing, then his mother, his mate whoever she may be and finally himself. That was how it should be. That was how a man should feel when he had responsibilities. But for some reason, neither of them could see that as plainly as he could.
                          
"Yesterday you were a boy. Tonight you are a man. We weep as you depart and will rejoice in your return. From our souls a fire burns for forests and mountains and plains. Go on your journey and seek out your mate. May you travel with speed and hear the call before many moons have passed." Elder Tobias called into the night air. It was getting late now, well into the late evening as the full moon rose to its highest point and glowed down upon Caspar. His words finalized the ceremony and as he had been told beforehand, when he had said his final goodbye to his mother and the Elders, Caspar silently got to his feet, standing tall and proud.