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 There was safety in the Ford. Unknown was everything beyond the Brim, where she had awoken. The couple of week she'd been here, she'd been holed up within the safety of the isles. Nothing could touch her there, or anyone. Even with war on the brink, as Vendrussel had said, it was familiar. And she'd kill for a slice of anything that was remotely near what she knew. This place differed completely from what she'd ever known. Vedette was confused, lost, and she hated every second of it. Even after driving Ven crazy with her questions, her comparisons from her past life to this one, she still felt out of the loop. A chip on her shoulder that she'd couldn't just brush off. 

 Instead of sulking in her self-misery, the dusk dragon rose, and went for a walk that would eventually lead her to the woods that were tainted with ichor. Vedette stopped at the edges of it and stared, looking from tree to tree. A headache rattled behind her eyes and she took a step back. The woman's eyes closed for a moment as a fuzzy memory passes through her head, a reminder of something just like this. A forest doused in red. It does not scare her or do much other than hurt her head as she experiences memories she forgot she had. When her eyes flutter back open, she continued her journey into the reds. 

 The dimming sunlight peered its way through the worn branches. It was clear that this forest had been here for a while, deeply rooted with trees sprouting each and every way. It might have unnerved most, but to the dusk dragon it was something similar. She does not bat an eye at the sickly bark that wraps each tree carefully. Even though most of the place is washed over in a ill hue, she does not smell the rot and decay, only the fresh air that isn't tainted with salt. 

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Galatea had been wandering aimlessly for quite some time, and thought there wasn't anything in the mountains that could surprise her. But it turns out, she was wrong.

Currently, she found herself standing in the midst of a forest of bright crimson, which seemed to sear into her retinas. Something about it all was so unsettling compared to the other areas she had visited. The leaves almost reminded her of...

She immediately shook the thought out of her mind. This was no time for her to let her anxiety get to her! Think about something else, like how pretty the leaves are! Speaking of leaves, she began to wonder if there were any pretty plants to be found within this forest.

After a few minutes of cautiously roaming around, she spotted what appeared to be another wolf. At first, she thought it was a trick of the light. But no, they were very real. She stared at their form with wide eyes, unsure of what to do.

Were they lost as well?
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 It felt good to stretch her legs. Once upon a time, all she did was travel. Vedette was sent from region to region to make sure all was in order, that there were no natural disasters taking over a town. She was one of the few national guardsmen that the army had. So most of the time she was alone, with the occasional messenger greeting her with news or a new mission to take on. She was used to being alone. It didn't bother her in the slightest. If anything, she enjoyed the silence. 

 Vedette had been through basic training and knew the general self defence and fighting that she needed to know, even though she majored within the rarer, specific missions. A solider who'd been tossed into this brand new world. Though it seemed that nothing could take the mannerisms that the army had taught her. In the distance, someone shuffled through the minimal fallen leaves and broken off branches. It was a woman with tanned fur, though it was nothing like her own. It was reminiscent of the sunlight, burning brightly in different blazes. They caught eyes, her beaming orange eyes boring into the stranger's. A look of confusion — or something of the sort, formed in her's. "Are you alright?" The dusk dragon's voice was void of emotion, monotone as her lips stayed in a straight line. Most wolves thought she was rude when a smile didn't form on her lips in a greeting. They'd say she had a resting bitch face. Which didn't hurt her feelings. Not much did. 

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When the stranger spoke to Galatea, she instantly snapped out of her trance. "Ah, yeah! I'm fine, thank you!" she called out. 

The way the woman wore such a flat expression on her face made her wonder if it was always like that, or if she did something weird. Was it the way she looked, maybe? Were wolves like her really that unusual? She decided not to think about it too much and instead began to come closer, dead leaves crunching under her paws. As she took in more of the stranger's appearance, she wasn't afraid to admit that she had a striking sort of beauty to her.

"Are you familiar with this forest at all?" she asked.
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 'Ah, yeah! I'm fine, thank you!' The girl's voice sounded complacent, like nothing was wrong. A pleasant stroll through the Ichorwood with no issues, except Vedette bothering her. Vedette nodded slowly, taking it in, as if the words took more than a moment to process, trying to match the stranger's facial expressions with others she had seen. Social interactions with her were few, even before she had... died, or whatever phenomena brought her to this plane of existence. As she tried to sort through her brain, the girl took a few steps closer. The sound of dead leaves collapsing underneath her smaller paws snapped Vedette back to reality. 'Are you familiar with this forest at all?' Oh, what a question. 

"No." was the simple put answer. She had known a forest like this, but this was her first time here. "This is my first time traveling through it." She stated her business, continuing staring down at the other as if she were blocking her view of something beyond — but no, the proper sight was Galatea herself. Vedette found herself trying to count the amount of times the color in her fur changed, or was splashed with white in a place that seemed odd. It probably appeared quite rude, but there was something that Vedette couldn't place. A feeling that she felt. Was this... an allure? It was then she pulled her gaze away, looking at the red leaves and sickly trees. 

 Vedette did not really know how to converse with others. The silence lasted in between them for a few seconds before her eyes trailed back, mainly looking at the other's paws, instead of anything above. "This is your first time?" She asks, regarding the last question that Galatea had asked her. 

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The way the other stared at Gala's fur didn't escape her notice, but she decided not to say anything about it. "Ah, I see." She chuckled nervously and averted her gaze.

The silence felt a very uncomfortable. She squirmed a bit, wondering if she should say something else, until she heard the woman's question. She cleared her throat. "Y-yeah, it is. I've been roaming around for a while, but this is the first time I've come across anything like this."

She craned her head upwards with a squint to get a better look at the trees. The color was nearly seared into her retinas by now. "Isn't it supposed to be like, spring or summer? How are the leaves so red?" she wondered.

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 The silence was stretched out over the time it took the sun to drift a little farther over the trees, casting the shadows further out. Birds cawed in the distance, but nowhere closer than the edge of the territory. It was like they knew to stay out of the sickly hue of the trees, not to nest in them, afraid of infection. The strangely colored woman speaks again, breaking her own silence against the Ichorwood. Vedette was somewhat glad that she did not wander off, but it did not show in her face. Not much did. It wasn't an insult to the woman, but merely a social cue she had never gotten to learn. Her father's face was always twisted inexpressibly — one she could not define, while her grandmother's mostly stayed like hers. Unless she was angry or an incommunicable burst of happiness. It was always hard to tell with her. 

 "I have only come across it one other time. But the trees did not look like this." She states, which is almost the only way she speaks, in a statement. A respectful mannerism that she learned from her time in the army. You did not utter, mutter, or sputter. For your commander to hear and understand, you spoke clearly and plainly. "You roam a lot?" She asks, noting the breezy scent of a bunch of different places and not one combined, more permanent scent. 

 "I do not know. But, the forest I once knew, it could be winter, and the leaves were still there. There was a legend that a father buried his young daughter there who died from a horrible cough. And that her fur stained each seed until they all sprouted red." Vedette tells, looking to each of the branches and wondering if they too had some story like that. "If you believe in that kind of thing." She says, blunt. She used to not, but reviving here, in some sort of purgatory, she didn't know what to believe in firmly anymore. 

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"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Galatea answered. "Ever since the day I've woken up here, it feels like I've been wandering endlessly." 

She blinked, her eyes wide open. "My goodness. Th-That sounds very...grim." She instinctively shivered when she gazed back at the blood red leaves. What if those leaves were also painted with the blood of the dead? If she wasn't careful, would her life essence become one with the trees? 

As she contemplated it, she spotted a leaf next to one of her paws. She looked deeply at the veins that adorned it, taking in the interwoven patterns. Animals and trees weren't so different, were they? "I think I have no choice but to believe it, considering some of the things I've experienced." 

It made her wonder if this world was what life after death was for everyone, if what she had experienced could even be called death. She doubted she was ever alive in the first place.

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 Each red leaf seemed to tilt in the wind. Not flutter nor be pushed off of the trees. They seemed to have a firm grip on the branches. Vedette took an internal note to return when the fall made most of the trees shake their leafy counterparts. Galatea's answer sounded a lot like what hers would have if she hadn't awoken in the Ford's hunting grounds. Now she carried the scent of sea salt in her pelt mixed with the spicy tang that she had always carried. "I see. I hear there are a few... gatherings of wolves around that you might be able to join." She suggested — meanwhile forgetting the word for what they were called. 

 The dusk dragon glanced back towards her when she mentioned the story being grim. The irony contrasted to how she grew up and the story made Vedette chuff in a small sort of chuckling noise. It was the first bit of emotion that she'd shown through their interaction. "Sorry. It's just a legend. A bedtime story to scare kids." She tried reassuring her. 

 Vedette gave a curt nod towards her experience. "I'm starting to come to that conclusion, too. " She commented. In her old land, there were such things as fae and mythical, unexplainable events. Faerie circles, disappearance, things that only happened in old wives' tales. Those were the things that floated around at home. She always found exceptions to the tales and never truly full-heartedly believed them. If she tried hard enough, she could always find a "cause" to file the events with. "Is it since you arrived you've felt that way?" She asks, trying to find a general similarity between their beliefs. 

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Galatea perked up and cocked her head to the side. "When you say gatherings, you mean packs, right?" She looked downwards with furrowed brows. With one of her paws, she idly pushed a leaf around. "I-I'm not really sure if I'm well-suited for one yet." she muttered.

The woman's chuckle made something warm bloom within the doll's chest. She blinked at her owlishly, then let out a nervous laugh. "I see..."

She nodded. With how scary and uncertain things felt, she was glad to know others were in the same boat. "Yes, I have. But even then, my life before I came here wouldn't be considered normal..." 

The way she had been born in her previous life could be placed in the realm of fantastical. And now she carried remnants of her previous demise in the white that marked her pelt. If there were gods watching over this place, they sure could be cruel.

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 The way the sun was setting, it created a red hue that followed through the rays, cascading a kaleidoscope of colors that could break through the tight-knit leaves. Galatea immediately found the word Vedette had been looking for and the woman curtly nodded. "Yes, packs. That's the word for them." She stated, thankful that at least someone knew what she was talking about. Though Gala expressed that she was not ready for one yet, and Vedette could understand that as well. If Ven hadn't found her when she arrived, maybe Vedette would be in the place. But with her crave of being in the know, she was sure it wouldn't have taken her long to find someone worthy of her loyalty in exchange for how things worked around this region. 

 She laughed somewhat at Vedette's reassurance, though Vedette could tell something was off about the laugh, kind of how when she found the woman, she knew something was off. But it had just been the forest, not that she was lost. So maybe this, too, was something like that. Nervousness or something, a feeling that Vedette had no real grasp on. 

 There was a weight that was lifted when Galatea agreed she had felt off since arriving here. Vedette, in this retrospect, felt better that she wasn't the only one. Maybe they were going crazy — or there was something really... off about this place. Or the world, and they were just waking up to that fact. Or well, maybe it was just Vedette, as Galatea went on. "Hm. Well. Some of my comrades in the past would have said the same thing. There were a lot of unexplained things in my homeland too... I don't know if they were real or not. Guess I can only go off what I see here now." She concluded. "What was your life before like?" She had spoken some of her own — not a lot to go off of, but Vedette didn't have a fascinating life, really ever, so that was all she could offer. Unless Galatea could stomach some of the stuff Vedette went through, but it wasn't like her to reveal it. It didn't matter anymore. It rarely affected her in any way that mattered. 

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Listening to Vedette speak, Galatea became transfixed by the light of the setting sun breaking its way through the leaves. As the rays hit her face, her brown eyes appeared to glow a deep amber color.

Hearing her question, the doll paused in thought for some time, then glanced back at her with a sigh. She settled into a comfortable position, since she felt there was no longer anything to be wary about.

"I guess I could've been considered something close to human. I was a sculpture, created by someone I'd come to love dearly. She made me beautiful." She smiled sadly as she reminisced about her old companion. "A goddess had granted me life. Gave me the ability to move, speak and feel, so her and I could be together. We lived happily and shared fond memories for many years."

Unpleasant memories vividly flashed into her mind. White hot, searing pain. The sound of something being smashed to pieces. The ocean pulling her down into its cold, dark embrace. Her ears folded back and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"I don't remember much. But one day, someone-" Her voice cracked as she stopped mid-sentence. She vigorously shook her head then stared down at her mismatched paws, refusing to look Vedette in the eye at that moment. "Sorry. I probably shouldn't continue."  

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 For some reason, Vedette could not help notice how the rays of light that cast down upon Galatea's fur, making her gold colors seem to glow around her. A trick of the light, she imagined, but it didn't take her orange eyes away. She also watched how Galatea became comfortable, relaxed now that they were aware of each other. Then she began her story. The word "human" had become apparent in her own mind — seemingly as they had to put some sort of existence behind the castles in her homeland and numerous markings that could not be made by the struggle of a wolf's paw. It was not foreign to her, the concept at least.

 Vedette's eyebrows knitted as she concentrated on her. It was hard to put together — not the human part but the rest of it. But nonetheless she tried. She compared it to the Goddess of her last realm, and how some cherished her, and were "built" by her by being born, crafted in the heavens. So, finding that theory, she nodded, showing that she was following along. But she could tell it was hard for the other. The way her voice wavered made it clear. She knows what that is like. She remembers it from her youth. A crack in her voice made her stop talking, looking away from the cadet. The emotions that ran through Galatea, she was unsure of how to deal with them, seeing as she had done it long ago, but refused to break now. It was harder to find the remedy to these sorts of feelings when she hadn't dealt with hers in so long. 

 Then she remembers her fall for the Ford, and how she cried then. The first time since she was a teenager. And she remembered how Vendrussel groomed her, and how she found peace in that. Of course, Vedette didn't know this wolf well enough but, she tried a smaller step. Moving forward, she put a paw out and brushed it against Gala's, if she didn't pull away. "It is okay." Her voice is steady, unwavering and almost cold, but she doesn't mean it to be. Her eyebrows are still creased together as she tries to reciprocate empathy. "You are here now. And still in her creation." She says, trying her best to make her feel better. She sees the woman in her statue-like beauty, carved body and painted with the colors of golden grass and milk, something out of a fairy tale. But there are no words to describe this for the other, so Vedette just thinks it. 

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The feeling of another paw against Galatea's made her stiffen for a moment, but she relaxed and accepted the gentle touch. A stray tear rolled down her cheek, which she tried to delicately wipe off with her other paw. Vedette's words were a small gesture of kindness that helped warm her soul. At that moment, those orange eyes brought to mind the warmth of a fireplace.

"Thank you..." Her voice drifted off and she seemed lost in thought for a second until she continued, "I never caught your name. I'm Galatea, but you may call me Gala." 

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 Through the dragon's touch, she could feel how the stranger's muscles had relaxed a little further. The tension in her released by a single tear running down her cheek. Vedette's paw lingered there, for way beyond the normal allotted time for a physical touch between two unfamiliar wolves. Nonetheless, the girl offered Vedette a 'thank you.' The tanned woman offered a curt nod in response, before finally letting her paw sweep away from the other, but she did not let the distance between them grow again. 

 'I'm Galatea, but you may call me Gala.' "Galatea, it's nice to meet you." The tone of her voice appeared as if she was meeting someone of higher stature than herself — which usually was anyone she respected or thought fondly of. "I am Vedette Izzo. Some refer to me as the dusk dragon. That is my name gifted by the Ford. Whichever is easier for you, miss Galatea." She bowed her head after saying Gala's name, then bringing her eyeline back to the smaller wolf's. She'd traveled from the Ford to Ichorwood just to see the territories surrounding the home she'd found. It had been a trek from the Ford, but not something she wasn't used to. 

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Somehow, Gala felt a pang of disappointment when Vedette eventually removed her paw. It was like a grounding presence that kept her mind tethered to this world. A reminder that the past would remain in the past. The last time she'd ever felt a gentle touch was when she was still human. How long has it been? Weeks? Months, even? She could hardly keep track at this point. Part of her wanted to draw the woman in closer, but she resisted.

Miss Galatea. The doll blinked owlishly as she took it in. This woman she had just met today was regarding her as if she were a lady of high status. Such a title felt too refined for someone like her. But, she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it a little.

"I-its nice to meet you as well, Vedette. What a pretty name!" Her tail thumped behind her rhythmically. 

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 Vedette didn't notice the way she reacted when Vedette referred to her as 'miss Galatea.' It was most natural to the cadet. Respecting those she came across as long as they weren't doing evil things to the public. Assholes she could take — but if she saw others being rude to others, that was when she showed a tad bit of emotion; of care. It had been her job, after all, besides being a national guardsman. A side task had been always looking out for troublemakers, thieves, and those alike.

  After reciting the greetings to each other, something came after that Vedette did not expect. 'What a pretty name!' The other woman exclaimed. It caused the dusk dragon to raise a brow but give a bow of her head again, quickly recovering her eyes to Gala's. "Hm? Thank you." She'd never been complimented on her name before. This was a first she'd really ever been given a flattering remark at all besides when her higher ups congratulated her for her quick come on to the scene of the army. "Yours is much nicer." She spoke, reciprocating. 

 "You said you don't have a place of residence. May I escort you out of this place? I wouldn't want you getting lost." Vedette asked, turning her head around to find the best way out of these woods. She remembered how she got in, and probably would follow that way back. Though it'd also mean parting ways with Gala, which made the dragon glance back to her, a fond gaze coming across as she looked at the palatte of her coat once again. 

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Gala's brain nearly short-circuited at that response. Yours is much nicer. She was never well-equipped to handle compliments, and sat there for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Th-thank you!" she stammered.

Hearing the woman's offer, she regained her bearings and gave a brief nod. She smiled warmly. "Yes, that would be fine. I'm grateful for your kindness." 

Though she could eventually make her way out some way or another, it was much more reassuring to have someone else by her side. Especially someone like Vedette. Despite being so hard to read, something about her presence was comforting. A part of her wanted to know more about the woman and see what lied behind that stony, unchanging exterior.

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 The sun drifted further down in the sky, threatening them with the last licks of light that would guide them out of the ichor stained wood. Vedette directed her gaze towards the way she came, up towards the North where the sun rested on the right side of her face and darkness greeted the left. Her burnt orange gaze found Gala again, just in time to see her lighting up at her comment. "Of course." Vedette's head gave a sturdy nod before glancing back from the way she came. Galatea's agreement came as she gazed back.

 Though she was not expecting someone to be so grateful. Most would deny it. Of course, Vedette's unchanging demeanor scared them off. "And I am grateful for the company." She says, taking a wide step backwards, then around to Gala's other side, their shoulders briefly touching and sending a shock of warmth up her biceps. "Come, let's get you out of here." And so, the dusk dragon would walk forward as soon as Gala matched her pace. 

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Watching as the sunlight began fizzling into darkness, Gala sighed. Another day was ending; and time would continue to pass by, as always.

I am grateful for the company. That phrase warmed her to her core. She had never really thought of herself as someone worth being around. Maybe someday, Vedette could keep her company once more in this lonely world.

When the woman signaled for them to leave, Galatea nodded and caught up to walk beside her.

---

Done!

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