On my way

The large woman was determined to know the land like the back of her paw. She had risen early in the morning with a mental list of things to check out and do while Valeska and Amaranth were doing.. Valeska and Amaranth like things! Harper was their sinful arborist, and therefore needed to know the layout of the land for herb-lady reasons! And well, Harper was a total nerd when it came to nature, and therefore, needed to know where everything was located. Harper liked being well prepared for things.

So she’d risen early in the morning and went to work exploring the land. Today’s mission was the mountains. They hadn’t had these in their last home, and being that Harper was born in the mountains, the large woman felt drawn to them and she was, of course, curious as to what wildlife she’d find and what nature had in store. Harper was hopeful for the perfect mountain cliff, for a gorgeous view, especially at this hour, though she would not hold her hopes too high.

Clenching her thirst before her adventure, Harper would begin her hike up the mountain with a gentle hum and careful placement of her paws. She’d need not fall victim to another avalanche, nor did she want to put her full weight upon the wrong stone. At the base of the mountain, there were gorgeous trees. Tall, massive things with colorful bark that peeled away with time, like paper. The color came in many forms, like stripes: red, yellow, and even green, that spread all the way up to the top and smelled wonderful, too.

An almost minty smell, which was typical for this type of tree. An ear flickered, and Harper suddenly longed for another arborist; someone to talk plants and nature with that wouldn’t get bored with it, as coming upon rainbow eucalyptus trees was a rare and beautiful thing. So beautiful that Harper almost abandoned her mountain climbing plans to check out the nearby forest.

the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=700]Kye is definitely not that arborist.

Not that she doesn't have a vested interest in plant life, of course - just more so for their useful medicinal and recreational properties. She can appreciate their strange beauty, though, her yellow gaze casting out over a sea of multicolored trees, unlike anything she's ever seen before. A tiny rock slips out from underfoot and goes plinking down over the ledge, drawing her attention down to where she sees Harper making her way up the very same mountain path she's working her way down from. 

How convenient! 

"Harper! Have you been down there, yet?"

The woman peers over the edge with her ears perked forward expectantly, looking to catch the dark wolf's attention before gesturing out towards the sea of eucalyptus with a small jerk of her head. Harper had been Elysium's resident landscaper in the World Before, after all - maybe she could find a way for them to cultivate some lovely rainbow trees around their inner sanctum, wherever that ends up being. Not quite the same kind of vibe as old temple ruins, but mystical and magical nonetheless.

@Harper[/narrow]
the staff team luvs u

Harper had her attention focused on the sea of eucalyptus in wonder if she’d remember to check out the baby forest that their new home seemed to come with. She was seemingly lost in thought, debating this and that, and other arborist ideas for projects when the sounds of a tiny pebble bouncing down the mountainside caught her attention, causing Harper to growl slightly as she glanced up to find… a welcoming familiar face that greeted her as warmly as she felt.

The growls transformed into protective, suspicious growls to growls of excitement as Harper forgot all about her silent mental notes and debates as she barely heard Kye’s question, for the earthen sinner was far too excited and far too busy. She had flung all her weight into Buckeye’s direction and was speedily approaching her.

“Bucky!” Harper would explain, lunging towards her in an attempt to embrace the younger, and somewhat smaller female in a compassionate embrace. “So happy to see! Vought never see ‘gain. Sad is you dead, but glad you is here with!”

the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=700]She really should be better about announcing herself; in any other situation, startling Harper might have ended badly for the younger wolf, at least initially — But they're all dead anyway, right? So what's getting jostled around by your leader's big sister. A minor setback. 

Kye gets herself onto the same level of mountain trail as Harper in the space of time where growls of apprehension take a turn towards excitement, and as she feeds off the energy her brown fur pricks up along her back. Bracing for their collision, she angles a shoulder into the dark female's chest to better mold to her and keep from sending them both tumbling from the mountain in the process, her tail held low and wagging rapidly at its tip as she allows the majority of her face to be enveloped by a conglomerate of black, brown and silver fur. 

She reclines to her hindquarters to return the sentiment as best she can in their current position, "Can't get rid of me that easily," Her words sound a little strained from the embrace, eyes cheerfully narrowed. Bucky. That's a good one. "I missed you too! Where'd you wake up? I was in some kinda flat grassy area when Valeska found me. The mountains are much better," Case in point, instead of miles of nothingness in every direction, they could look down over this ravine and see home-grown rainbows. "You know what those are?"

@Harper[/narrow]
the staff team luvs u

 Harper knew better than to throw her entire weight upon Bucky, as they were uphill and Harper didn’t fancy a second death - assuming that there was such a thing. She was not that careless; even in death, she did not wish to harm her loved ones. Bucky was one of those loved ones; she even got a compassionate embrace! Harper didn’t give those out like candy, you know! Bucky was special to her.

 But she would snort a laugh and give Bucky a gentle - dare we say playful - nip to the cheek.“Ой, ты меня развеселил! — Oh, you humor me!” Nothing to cause harm, of course. She’d follow with a nuzzle to the same area, if Bucky would allow it. “No not! Mover Earv try to eat! Amara vound and dig out. Am here now.” Harper smiled softly, nodding in agreement to the mountains being better. “Yes! Vuch beetar. Remind of vome.” Harper’s ears lowered softly as she grumbled. “Before ve exile.” Harper frowned, wrinkling her nose as Bucky followed her line of sight to the trees. “Bucky vant learn of Mover Earv?! ” Harper grew excited, ears perking back up. “Vem be Rainvow You-keeyyy-lip-tus!” Harper said slowly, trying to pronounce the hard english word. “Eucalyptus. Yes. Drf veaf from vree haz healing powars.”

the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=700]The tip of her tongue pokes out playfully between her front teeth when Harper nips the fur of her cheek and nuzzles the same spot. She doesn't know much of the woman's mother tongue, of course, but she picks up the word you in there and can only assume by the rest of the situation that it's some friendly sentiment or another. 

It doesn't take Kye long to get back into the swing of parsing out her larger friend's broken English; another victim of the quake, but she was rescued by Amara. She wonders, briefly, what determines how one gets to this world and if it was solely by how you die — though to be fair, she remembers the earth moving but not how she specifically left their first life. Swallowed up like Valeska and Harper? Did she get crushed by a tree? All things considered, she awoke rather peacefully... maybe it was to conceal and spare her from the gruesome truth of her final moments.

How boring.

"I didn't know you and Valeska lived in the mountains before," In fact, other than knowing the sisters came from somewhere else prior to when they settled in the ruins, Kye admits she doesn't know a whole lot about their pasts. Not that she can talk, but given how thick their fur is she guesses it makes sense. She remembers a wolf with a dense white pelt, and how he smelled of the cold.

Must come with the territory.

For now, though, there was herbology to learn and an over-excited teacher. "Sure! Can't go around eating the wrong kinds of plants," As Harper struggles with the pronunciation, she leans a little over the ledge to get a better look, realizing she sees the same sort of tree for what must be miles. "Yoo-key-lip-tus. That's a mouthful," Kye turns her attention back to Harper again, canting her head, "Healing powers? Are you supposed to chew it up first?" Maybe they should go collect a few. For testing.

@Harper[/narrow]
the staff team luvs u

I didn’t know you and Valeska lived in the mountains before.

You know, come to think of it, Harper was fond of the majority of Elysium, yet it seemed they knew nothing about each other. Save for Amaranth, that was; Harper knew she liked to ride the tide, and other things that were not important right now. At this, she’d glance up, towards the mountains with a deep sigh. “Yes. In zee cold. Twas not a vood time fer me.” Harper admitted softly, ears lowering just a bit. “Can vell more if vant. Not vappy storee vo.”

The thought of plants had always been like a barrier; something to think about so she wouldn’t have to think about her trauma. The loss of her brothers that she had never coped, the events with Dimas and then Hunk, then eventually loosing her sister, and finally… her mother. If Bucky wanted to hear their story, Harper would share it. “Yes, big mouvful.” Harper agreed, nodding her said, as she would smile, forcing herself to think about the plants, like she had trained herself to do all these years. “Yes, uh, chew then.. ” and since Harper didn’t know the word for spit, she’d attempt to force herself to spit or throw up a little, and then she’d rub her foot around in it, to show her, in a very awkward display of things. “Like so.” She’d say with a gentle nod.

the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=700]It was true; they really didn't know a lot about one another, at least not who they were before they were all Elysium. To Kye, it was that which mattered the most now — but she was also no stranger from running from her past and was just overjoyed to be among those she actually belonged with. She sees the way Harper's whole demeanor shifts when she looks towards the mountains and her own ears lower in a subconscious show of solidarity. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to," Truly a feat for someone as nosy as she was... but if it upset her friend that much, the knowledge really wasn't worth it right now. 

"We're all here now, and we have rainbow eucalyptus trees!"

She could just bug Valeska about it later.

But then Harper starts miming, and yellow eyes tense incredulously as she tries to figure out what exactly the dark woman is trying to say. When she produces a spit wad and it lands on the slat of stone they stood on, Kye's head drops to follow its trajectory, brows arching in expectation as Harper begins stomping on the mucousy puddle. "You- OH!" Ding-ding, realization zips through her like a static shock, "Spit, you chew 'em up and then spit them on the wound, yeah. I've done that before using yarrow," She nods as she speaks, returning her attention to the forest that brought this whole conversation on. "Do you wanna get a closer look at them, or are you on your way up somewhere?" Maybe she would go alone if Harper has somewhere to be, but either way, a nice bouquet of rainbow eucalyptus would be a cool souvenir of today's adventure.

@Harper [/narrow]
the staff team luvs u

Watching the realization of what she was trying to say, dawn on Bucky’s cute little face caused Harper to smile warmly. There was something about little ol’ Bucky that made her feel right at home; almost like the kid sister that she never had, and admired from afar. Her browns and golds were gorgeous compared to Harper’s somewhat tri-colored appearance, and for a moment - though brief - Harper wondered what Bucky’s life had been like before.

Speaking of the past was an awkward one; Harper was happy to tell the tale, though not so happy to relive it, but they were ghosts that haunted her; ghosts that she thought of more often than she should. She considered Bucky’s questions for a moment, tilting her head this way and that - a quirk that Harper often found herself doing when she was unsure or debating something - until finally, she nodded.

“Has heal powahhs. Be vise to vather a leaf or so.” Harper would say softly, licking over her lips as she glanced over to the Sea of Rainbows. “Or go up if want? Bucky vat vant?”

the staff team luvs u

[narrow width=700]She's guessed right, rather proud of her skills at charades. That does leave them in a bit of a dilemma though — Kye isn't sure if they're closer to the top or the base of the mountain right now, and judging by the way Harper is tilting her head back and forth, she's not sure either. She says it'd be wise to gather some of the plant for healing purposes... 

... But it's just as important to learn about this mountain. Isn't it? 

Kye tilts her head back to stare up the remaining height of the mountain, considering their options for not a very long time before she comes back with an answer for Harper and a wide, cheshire-cat grin spread across her face. "Let's get up there, we gotta come down sometime and we can pick leaves in the forest on the way home," They're dead, after all, and have all the time in the world.

She takes a couple innocent steps forward, glancing over her shoulder mischievously before she starts bounding up the mountain path they'd both stopped on. "Race you to the top!"

 

[Exit Buckeye] [/narrow]

@Harper

the staff team luvs u