Smoke and vanilla

[narrow width=700]It hadn't taken as long as she thought. The mountain range where the two females had met upon was only a few days' journey away from Respite, and that was even stopping a few times to help patch up Valeska's slowly-healing wounds as they encountered various herbs along the way. She felt terribly guilty accepting help from her dark-furred acquaintance, but it did speed them along as her pain lessened, and eventually they found themselves at the edge of their crystalline lake, brilliant and shining in the morning sun.

She cast a furtive glance toward Annika, flicking an ear as a bumblebee whizzed past at breakneck speed to scramble atop a nearby Calendula flower that swayed gently in the wind. It was a beautiful day already, and it only served to further highlight the sparkling, saturated colors reflecting from the water's surface.

“Well, this is home, now. You may stay for a while if you like, we do not turn others away,” she began, craning her neck distractedly as she sought to find Harper's dark shadow amid the surrounding landscape. Smoke and vanilla. They both smelled so familiar to her; that wouldn't have been so odd if the woman didn't also speak fluent Russian, their native tongue, and she could not rest until she had an answer.

If nothing else came of this mystery, then perhaps they could at least remain on friendly terms and merely enjoy speaking a language they were all comfortable with. Valeska had worked hard to improve her English, but it was always a joy to slip back into the crisp familiarity of her old speech.

“Would you like snack? Perhaps Harper has seen prey nearby if you are hungry again; I shall hunt for you this time. Has been few days, after all,” she said. “Let me call her. Will be nice for three of us to chat like we are Russian again, anyway.”

Throwing her head back, she howled for her sister, the note high and clear as it carried along the breeze... hopefully Harper wasn't sprawled out on Peyote again somewhere.

@Annika @Harper
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+1 Discovery Points

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As someone with absolutely nowhere to be, Annika found their slow pace to be quite welcomed. Valeska may have been eager to get home, but Annie didn't have one and would take more than a week to decide upon whether or not she would be staying long term. She moseyed along in stride with the snowball of a woman, drinking in the sights and sounds of the lands. They reminded her of a place from her past, something she wasn't entirely sure she enjoyed. The distant roar of a waterfall lulled her into a more placid mood, however, and she soon settled onto her haunches to appreciate the scenery.

Ah, right. Sister.

"You should rest for least another week. Infection not easy to fight off." Annika cautioned the woman and shifted onto her hip, flashing her a look that said don't try it unless she had a death wish. Relaxing was her safest bet, and so doctor Annika prescribed her a dose of chill. A week's worth of chill.

Knowing Valeska, that would probably be impossible, but at least Annie could say she tried.

Her eyes shifted as Valeska howled, her voice ringing clear as a bell. Now, where was this Harper she was so keen on Annika meeting?

+1 Discovery Points

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 The devil wolf was definitely not strung out on magical roots this time around, but was actually just crossing into Elysium grounds from her unsolicited trip south in a somewhat futile attempt in locating one of the original founding members of Elysium. He was almost literally nowhere to be seen, which was odd considering that he was a little albino man and albinos were hard to come by.

 Nonetheless, Harper’s stomach had demanded attention and Harper’s immediate thoughts went to the mountain goats that she’d been keeping an eye on when her sister’s song rang through the sky and called to her. She supposed that she could make a pitstop by the lake to visit her sister.

 The scent of a smoke and vanilla was hard to miss; Harper had noticed it immediately; her scent shouldn’t have been as strong, since she’d been in Rippling Heights the night before. Was it possible that there was another with a similar scent that wasn’t her father? Her biological father, Hunk, who Harper resembled so much that anyone who knew him could have easily guessed the resemblance. Was he here, in this forest? No, surely Valeska would have warned her or something to that effect, right?

 Though she could not help but to raise her hackles and become more on edge as she approached her sister, who was in the company of a dark furred, though female, wolf who was very clearly the source of scent that Harper had picked up on. Her amethyst eyes lingered upon those blue ones of Annika, the dark coat; the scars on the woman’s neck as she had recalled the violent ways of Hunk. How he had tried to force her to go with him, to leave her mother behind for a stranger.

 Surely, it couldn’t have been a coincidence. Who was she? What was she doing with Valeska?

+1 Discovery Points

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[narrow width=700]Annika’s instruction was a hard pill to swallow. She had so much to do, even now; prey to hunt for their stores, herbs to root up for Harper to identify, nooks and crannies that remain yet undiscovered in this gods-given paradise. Valeska groaned, ears swiveling back against her skull in clear displeasure, but she didn’t contest the dark female. It wasn’t worth the argument, and frankly, she wasn’t wrong.

Her head shot up as the stormy figure of her sister came into view, tall and ominous and bristling, and she couldn’t help the gentle wagging of her tail as Harper closed the distance - her love for her sibling was almost comical, as starkly contrasting as they were in both appearance and mannerisms, but she didn’t care. If Harper had told her to lay down and die, she would have done her damnedest.

“Ah! You have come!” she exclaimed, but caught the baleful glare of Annika - rest, her thundering eyes said - and remained seated. “This is Annika, new Russian-friend. She help me with wounds, and she smells like you. Is that not strange? Annika, this is Harper. Half-sister in body, but whole sister in spirit.” Smiling, she gave Harper a quick nuzzle, and returned her attention to their new acquaintance. “We remember most of previous life, lucky enough. Would be awkward not to recognize own sister! Is past still dim for you?”[/narrow]
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Annika chuckled at the moan of annoyance. Yes, bed rest was frustrating to creatures who thrived off being constantly on the move, but it was necessary every so often. This was one of those times, unfortunately, but Annika would sit on Valeska if need be. She wasn't overly aggressive, but Annie got what she wanted more often than not. If she wanted Valeska to get bed rest, she would get bed rest. Hmph.

Another woman appeared, perhaps this infamous Harper she had learned so much about in their short trip. Annika couldn't deny there was a familiarity in her sight and scent, but her mind was too fuzzy to connect anything beyond coincidence. "Hello," she greeted politely, glancing to Valeska as she asked after her memory. "Only small flashes, don't remember much.." she admitted, settling into her haunches with a frown. "Very frustrating, make head hurt." Annika smiled sheepishly, turning to take another look at Harper with interest. "So many pretty women!" Annika could get used to that.

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 In truth, the sisters were a package deal for anyone who dealt with the other and it was a shame for anyone who did not realize this. Though Harper was quite glad that Valeska had taken the mantle of pack leader, as it felt Harper with plenty of excuses and reasons to travel to the other side of the mountain to visit her husband and his pack.

 “Yes. You valled, did you vot?” Would come Harper’s grumpy reply, as she eyed the other female in silent thanks that she did not have the same eye color as her father, else Annika might have had a second pair of teeth at her neck. Nonetheless, though, she would smirk at the idea of the two of them not remembering each other. Returning Valeska’s nuzzle with a series of kisses, Harper wondered just how much of her scent would give her away.

 Harper would take in Annika’s figure. The coloration of her pelt, the size of her, the scent, the fact that she spoke russian… and the idea that she held the very same name of their mother. How interestingly strange indeed! The idea that her father had children before or after the drama of the mountain had never once occurred to her. This could be a relative of her father, for all she knew; not that she would care. Valeska and Elysium was the only family she had, regardless of who popped up later with faux claims and accusations. The compliment of her appearance caused her to blink however, silvery brows arching as she tossed a sideways glance to her sister.

 “Hello, Annika. I am Harper. Vice to vinally meet ‘nother dark fur Russian vooman.” Were dark furred russian women like baseball cards to Valeska? Did she have to collect them all?

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[narrow width=700]It hadn’t occurred to her that the two dark females looked quite that similar. She peered at the both of them as they haltingly introduced themselves, probably wondering what the big to-do was all about - truthfully, Valeska didn’t know either. She just had a gut feeling that it was important they all meet, because Annika smelled like her sister, and the more she stared the closer their coloration appeared. They even spoke in a similar pitch.

Harper’s return of affection broke her from her reverie, but she was still chewing on it. “Are certain do not know each other?” she asked finally, breaking the silence. “Is so strange. Feel like coinkydink. Ah, no - co-in-ci-dence, I think. So many words in English! Pain in ass.”

She paused. “GodsforgiveValeskaforswear, amen.”

Frowning in concentration, she cast Annika a piercing look, as if she might probe the depths of her foggy memory and spear the fish of truth at last - unfortunately, she was not a psychic, and met only the sharp blue eyes of someone who was likely growing very confused in return.

She sighed.

“Well, is mystery for another day. Perhaps remember this - did you worship gods where you hail from? Asking if maybe were neighbors once.” Valeska remembered fondly the mountains of her youth, and their worship of the Five was not limited to a strict region - it might have spread far enough that those on neighboring peaks might have also heard the gospel, and perhaps once intermingled. Marriages of alliance were not uncommon even there, though Valeska did not know personally how she felt about the idea. “Or, if bored, can go for swim. Harper swim like trout. I swim like driftwood.”
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Harper certainly didn't seem enthused by Annika's presence, and the vibe made her uncomfortable. Not that she anticipated a parade with confetti or anything, but it seemed as though they'd just forced the woman to show up against her will. Annika, one so full of confidence, felt terribly small in that moment.

Valeska asked if they knew each other. Annika frowned, uncertain. "I abandoned by parents when born, was only told name of father was Hunk.." she trailed off, wondering if it struck a memory with either of them. "He not like me for some reason, but I never try to find him. Grew up under the Madam." Did that ring a bell? Annika doubted it, but.. that was about all she had to offer.

The mention of gods did seem.. familiar. "I feel.. god worshipping was for the highers to do. That gods would not want to associate with lower classes like myself." Annika paused to consider this, clearly intrigued.

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 It wasn’t that Harper was unamused or unimpressed by the woman, but moreso, very suspicious and therefore paranoid. There were so many factors that lined up perfectly for Harper to believe it was any sort of coinkydink. Harper would smirk towards her silvery sister; she had always liked it when Valeska said swear words, always amused how she would apologize to the heavens above it immediately after.

 And perhaps Harper would have made a remark about being compared to a fish, had it not been for Annika. She had been looking at Valeska, but her attention snapped towards Annika so fast at this new information that she could have given herself whiplash. Immediately, Harper felt her hackles rise, a growl stuck in her throat. Her ears flattened and Harper took a step back. How could this be happening right now? She had planned on meeting with her sister to tell her about Crux, but now? Well, now it felt like there was a frog in her throat. 

 Some part of her wanted to deny this; Valeska was all that she needed, and now she was learning that Hunk had more children. Harper was unsure how to handle this information, nose wrinkling up as muscles hardened and the idea of snuffing the life out of this faux sibling. Such a dark thought frightened her, causing her to quiver as she gave an uneasy, terrified though pleading glance to Valeska. She wanted to flee, she wanted to run; to hide, but she also had to be strong. Hiding was the coward's way and Harper was so much more than a coward. So she gave a quick shake of her coat  and spoke slowly.

“Ханк - мой отец. Ты моя сводная сестра.” — Hunk is my father. You are my half sister.

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[narrow width=700]The sheer notion that worship of the gods could be restricted by caste was so absurd to Valeska that she scoffed outright, her lip curling in disgust. What terrible branch of faith, what fear-mongering wolves had so twisted the divine right to worship in freedom? The gods thrived on their followers, blessed them willingly and could see neither hue nor status. She had been raised in the True Way, the Voice of the Five that decreed all were worthy if they but sought redemption with honest hearts.

Distantly, she wondered when she would get her next blessing, because she could have used one lately and felt more than a little overdue.

“Ridilicous! ... No. Ridiculous!” she spat, her venom not meant for Annika, but for the cruelty that had shaped her to feel this way. “Would love to give them piece of my brain! I mean, mind! Worship is not restricted. You, Annika-friend, are worthy.” With her chest swelled righteously, tail held high and head erect as the sun continued to rise to its full glory behind her, Valeska looked momentarily like the holy leader she was meant to portray as High Priestess of her pack - this was the little wolf Amaranth had seen in her bone-pit, and this was the vision that had drawn the golden wolf to follow her with such loyalty. She was, in this instance, endowed with divine light.

It faded as quickly as it came, however, and at the mention of Hunk, Valeska fell utterly silent. She knew well that name - her mother’s lover, who she had taken briefly before her sudden marriage to her own father, Dimas. No one had known, but her belly already held his seed, and when she had birthed not four white pups as Dimas so rightly expected, but two of light and two of shadow, a poisonous doubt seeped into his soul.

Hunk had eventually returned, demanding to see the pups he had sired, and in a single day their family had been torn asunder. Dimas banished her mother and the remaining dark pup (little Harper) from the mountain and raised Valeska himself, attempting to poison her against them should they ever meet again - mercifully, he was unsuccessful, and his bitterness died with him in the famine that ravaged their pack.

Valeska had reunited with Harper, and the two had remained inseparable since.

But this... this was new. This was peculiar. Valeska didn’t know how to process the idea of a half-sibling of Harper’s, who smelled of the blood of her blood, but was not her own. Stunned, she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She could feel the bristling tension in her sibling and leaned against the great she-wolf soothingly, hoping the pressure and warmth of her body might calm Harper’s nerves.

“Annika... you are family,” she said breathlessly, her eyes wide and full of tears she could not explain. Valeska leaned further into Harper, trying to reassure her that this was a good thing - a great thing. To be a little less alone, something her sister had always battled. “Добро пожаловать домой.” — “Welcome home.”
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An icy chill ran the length of her spine as she stood there, a prisoner awaiting judgment by a jury that was clearly hung. Annika couldn't understand the emotions either were going through as the revelation sank in, but the wolf herself was quite.. surprised. She had gone through life without family for so long, the concept of having one simply boggled her mind. Surely they were mistaken, right? Annika had been cast aside by her family as a pup, what were the odds she would stumble across two sisters this late on?

"Я никогда не встречал его," she confessed with a soft frown. Neither parent has been ecstatic about her birth, but the idea of her having younger sisters.. well, what the fuck. What had she done to be so undeserving of her parents outside of existing?

Annika shifted her weight, nervous despite Valeska's warm welcome. Harper seemed less than enthused, and the vibe rubbed off on her older sister. "Я не хочу навязывать." The last thing she wanted was to be welcomed home simply because of her blood; she didn't want the two women to regret their hospitality later on down the line.

What an awkward situation.

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 Harper would smirk. Family? Even as Valeska was quick to label this girl as their family, despite that Valeska held no shared blood with Hunk. The monster, Dimas, was her father. Harper smirked as Valeska spoke, though, keeping her darkness at bay with a nod of her head; she was no longer quite listening, but in her head-space, as she’d like to call it; lost in thought.

 “Навязывать? Никогда. Пойдем домой. Нам есть о чем поговорить, сестренка.” — Impose? Never. Come, let’s go home. There is much for us to talk about, sis. Harper would muse, offering a smile and dip of her head as she would turn to leave, leading Annika home. She needed to get some air to think.

[/exit]

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[narrow width=700]Tension hung in the air between them, tenuous and stretched tight like a rubber band waiting to snap. Every hair of her body stood at attention as she waited, the two dark she-wolves sizing each other up with a heady mixture of both fascination and fear, not knowing how the other might react. Harper was volatile on a good day, and sudden revelations and big personal changes didn't come easily to her; fortunately Valeska was a creature of routine, and she liked to think that her stable lifestyle helped to keep her sister on a more even keel.

Regardless, Annika stood before them now, all flesh and blood and sporting a sign on her forehead that read this was not my idea. The silver wolf swallowed anxiously as her eyes darted between the pair, and finally, Harper spoke.

'Impose? Never. Come, let's go home. There is much for us to talk about, sis.'

She didn't know if she was meant to be relieved or shocked, but a weight lifted from her shoulders as Harper managed to fight her natural instincts and actually be... civil. She made a note to thank her personally later on, and shot her a grateful smile.

“Am sure we could all use rest, anyway,” she answered as the tension slowly left her shoulders. Noticing Annika's hesitation, she paused. “Do not worry. We do not keep prisoners in Elysium, hah - but maybe for family dinner. Ah! Such fun thought. We speak Russian all night, eat roots, tell most embarrassing stories!” With a happy wag of her tail, she motioned with her head for Annika to follow them toward the heart of their home; that great crystalline lake, reflecting the sky back to the heavens like a sea of glass. The few tall pines surrounding it shivered as a chill wind suddenly blew through them, the last touch of winter's kiss lending a crisp scent to the air as they walked. Valeska wasn't without fear; she did worry at Harper's long-term reaction to such heavy news and how she might adjust. Time would tell, at any rate, and she was patient.

The mountains that ringed their territory once loomed ominously against the sky like stone golems poised to descend upon their little paradise, but now they were a comfort. It would still take months to settle in properly, but they hadn't yet heard any complaints from their neighbors that rested at their peak, and she slowly allowed herself to relax as the idea of home became so much more tangible than it was before.

[Exit Valeska]
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