Act II [The Queen's Prophecy]

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Even before her title had been given to her, Isabella Astor was a name that carried weight and therefore, it was a name that had to mean something. Which meant that Isabella Astor had to become someone of importance. Someone of power.

Isabella Astor had never been very… typical. She was the type of canine that did the exact opposite of what was expected of her, simply because it was expected of her. Someone, somewhere, had once asked when Isabella would take a husband, as heirs were needed to continue any legacy, but in truth, a husband was not really a requirement. Just an annoying suggestion, so Isabella had taken it upon herself to adopt whenever the need arose itself.

She took in children that came from nothing and turned them into something, because that was not what had been expected of her. Queen Isabella Astor liked that about herself, you see, because keeping bitches on their toes was what motivated her.

She was a modest and kind queen who loved her people and her kingdom. She listened to the troubles of her kingdom and usually sought to fix them. It was not an uncommon sight to see her strolling through her kingdom with a kill in jaw, to present it to the house of the family who was struggling the most or even to simply be strolling within her kingdom without a destination in mind - much to most of the royal maner’s dismay.

‘A queen was higher than her people; a queen deserved an army, guards at the least, to surround her. She should be untouchable.’ And Isabella Astor would twirl and smile with a giggle, as girlish as ever, and simply say: “not this queen.”

On this particularly roasting summer evening, Isabella had finished her tour and decided that a good swim was in order before she returned to her den, which was otherwise known as her castle. You could not be a queen of a kingdom and not have a castle, though it wasn’t the biggest den of all the kingdom, but one of the smallest. She didn’t need much room.

So, of course, Isabella had to find the biggest waterfall which was, not that big, but still gorgeous and still high enough to leap from. But first, she took in the view and the sights; standing on large foundations always made her feel powerful and at ease, despite being an established, easily recognized queen. She took in these sights and jumped into the water with a howl of laughter, and resurfaced into an area that looked, felt, and even smelled somehow… different, but that wasn’t possible. ^^
 

Or was it?

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 Life had gotten chaotic as of late. With the queen having given birth just this morning and Flynn slowly healing, not to mention him telling her he liked her, there was barely a moment to breathe. Finally off the clock, Meissa had decided to take a break and have a drink and clear her mind.

 She was crouching at the waterline, lapping the cool water, when the surface of the pond broke with the head of a stranger.

 Meissa watched her, jaws open and tongue tip still in the water. “Oh - hello?” she said with confusion, standing up straight and peering over at the woman. Had she just... materialized there? Had that been how she had appeared, under the waves? She glanced around briefly before looking at the woman, unsure what to say.

 Who was this?

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There was a small bit of music following the wayward woman this warm afternoon, a song of unsteady breaths and swallowed whines and stuffy inhales. The young prince was unsatiable, trying his very best to stay quiet as he clumsily waddled a few meters behind that of his den-mate. He had wanted to give her space to move and be, but every moment she exited his senses brought upon a series of stressful events that ultimately ended up with her having to bathe him again.

This time, he'd awaken at a reasonable enough hour to catch her leaving, settling down with a loud 'humfp' beside the water as his body became engulfed by swaying cattails and poppy. He'd struggle for a second, the sight of his unkept feet and furs rising, falling, as he attempted to steady himself on his good leg.

Though as the seconds went on, the boy found himself slipping desperately by the banks, front limbs becoming caked with mud. He... Hadn't wished for this to happen, to make himself into more of a problem than he already was, but it was too late now and he was certain the woman already knew he was here. Two softly folding ears poked out from the brush, sorrowful eyes blinking at her nose ring, as he couldn't get himself to look into her likely aggravated optics. “Love, I'm sorry, but I had a nightma... Oh, h-hello there... I didn't mean to interrupt...”

Of course, he just had to go and embarrass himself in front of someone else, and a pretty-looking someone at that.

At least the wet dirt felt nice on his irritated paws.

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Isabella broke the surface of the water with a refreshing gasp, throwing her head up and backward like a typical woman would in a pool. Had this been a movie, there might have even been slow motion for dramatic effect.

Her eyes were still closed for a moment, and Isabella took in a deep sigh of relief and that’s when it occurred to her, mere moments before hearing them both speak, that she was not alone and there were two others that had been speaking to her.

The fur around her face and nape, even extending down to her shoulders was a mess; pointing in every direction due to her very dramatic hair flip, as she slowly opened her eyes to view two wolves of her court that she had never seen before.

Well, they hadn’t been of her court. She had never seen them before, and nothing here smelled of home. Not even the water smelled like home. The trees, the grasses, the flowers even, did not look like the ones from home.

The air was thinner there, and the temperature was not as scolding hot as it had been previously. She was surrounded by scents -- and faces -- that she did not recognize. Even the structure of the waterfall behind her had not been the same one she had jumped from. This one, looked like steps, and not even steep ones that she - let alone anyone else - could jump from.

There was a very colorful female, with her mud-covered beau. A beau that acted more like a baby brother sort, than a mate, but who was Isabella to judge? Maybe he was just clumsy? Isabella would giggle towards him with the arch of her brow, nodding towards them in greeting as she took one calculated step towards them.

They seemed to not know who she was, which was… very concerning and also very refreshing. An ear flickered as a charming, but perhaps, beautiful smile spread across her cream lips.

 

“Oh hello there. Are.. you alright?”

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 As she was taking in the sight of the woman, none other than Flynnigan Déorwine himself came up nearby and turned the bank into a slip-n-slide straight into the mud. Thankfully, he wasn't anywhere near the stranger, still well enough on shore to be, well, on shore. Her eyes tore from the woman of the water to rest on her man, as she was hoping he was despite her inherent confusion and trust issues. She gave a laugh, blinking and shaking her head as she moved over towards him, giving him a lick on the cheek to smooth off a splash of mud that had made it there - and also as a sort of casually possessive gesture.

 The strange woman in the water was pretty, pretty enough to pique Meissa's interest though she stifled it away with the complete loon of a man she'd set her sights on.

 “You can tell me about that later, love -” She repeated his term for the first time, that ugly possessive streak glimmering in her gut though she tried to keep her voice steady and casual... still, she couldn't help but her equivalent of a blush: her tails wagged slightly behind her. “- I think we've just witnessed an Arrival,” Her eyes turned towards the lady of the lake with a smile. Oh, this would be interesting. She'd never had to explain to anyone before how they'd come to be here and it looked like today that would change.

 She swallowed hard, wow this girl was pretty, but nevertheless forged on. “Hi there, who might you be?”

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The poor prince sighed, the curvature of his ears flickering upward in slight embarrassment at the very touch of Meissa. It was so informal now—unrehearsed. It wasn't like him to offer such grand acts of kindness to strangers, just as he assumed for her, but they weren't strangers anymore, were they? Though at the sight of a newcomer, he began to wish they were. Not because his eyes loomed over the baroness in strong regards, or because he was frightened at what people might think if they saw the two... Cursed beings bonding as such... He simply wished he wasn't so... Him.

Meissa was better than him, no amount of curse that painted her pelt would ever push her down to where he'd fallen. He was constantly drawing attention to himself, whether intentionally or not, he was certain it irked her if even a tad bit. Thus, he found himself staying quiet, tending to the mud upon his muscled limbs.

Though, that was before he'd heard her voice, The Queen's voice.

“Witnessed a wh—Oh, heavens! Y-Your Highness Isabella! Is that you? Oh, so sorry for you to have seen me like this!” He jumped and jittered, shaking his curly pelt to free it of debris the best he could as his tail began to pick up speed. Very much a child was the young prince, but it was his boyish charm that tended to make those favour him, anyway.

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I think we’ve just witnessed an Arrival, would say the red woman, despite that Isabella had not arrived anywhere. She’d gone for a swim and that was that! It was, however, interesting to watch the duo as an exchange of words and a kiss was exchanged. Isabella had never experienced such things, as the wolves of her homeland and kingdom all acted so proper whenever she was around.

The woman dressed in reds repeated her greeting a second time, although Isabella had already said hello to her. Maybe that was simply just how things were done here, although there was really no here, was there? It did feel like this wasn’t her kingdom anymore, somehow, though. It felt so good, in that moment, to be treated like a stranger. The woman did not seem to know or did not seem to immediately recognize her, and Isabella thought for a moment how strange that was, but also, strangely refreshing.

“Hi there, yourself.” The queen cooed towards the woman, as if testing the waters, chuckling softly, but by the time that Isabella had opened her mouth a second time to give an introduction, Flynn had already beaten her to it.

Had this been an anime, a sweatdrop would have formed on her forehead in slight embarrassment. Her attention fell upon the boy riddled in mud as he tried to ask forgiveness for his appearance. He even tried to shake himself free, and it seemed that his tail had been replaced by a propeller.

“Oh, but you look just dashing with all that… decor.” Isabella would giggle, grinning back to his beau. “I am Queen Isabella Astor, of Edgewood, m’lady. Who might you be, and what, exactly, is an.. arrival?”

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 After pairing up with someone and then immediately after, taking care of them through a coma, you start to lose the embarrassment... just a little. Her actions definitely had a fair bit of that ugly streak of jealousy she always felt but given time, it would settle. Hopefully.

 His reaction to the woman's voice - an answer of her own dumbass repetition of a greeting - was surprising. She looked between the two, head tilted slightly in curiosity. Why had he called this woman Her Highness? Meissa thought she had met all the royals or at least knew of them and this woman's name and face held no familiarity to her. True, she had only recently joined the pack and made it her home so she had no way to know their long lineages or histories, but clearly Flynn did.

 She wondered who else there was to meet and learn about.

 She also wondered what she should do. He was wagging his tail, splashing mud all over her, which she glanced down at before turning her attention back to Isabella. She didn't want to foul her beau's mood by letting him know he'd just splashed her in mud, so she'd ignore it and clean it off later.

 Isabella seemed nice so far, amused by the two. She had a pretty coat, better than most of the wolves of the pack. While she had a lot of browns, they were mixed with creams and coffees, looking far more interesting than the almost perfectly plain coats of some of the other Elkshire wolves. She tilted her head, giving a chuckle as Isabella pointed out the mud. “Maybe we should swim too, clean off the mud?” she offered to the boy before slipping into the water, smiling back to Flynn.

 Then her eyes were back on the apparent Queen, who she used her approach to inspect the lady, giving her a wide enough berth to be respectful but curious as well.

 The mood seemed pleasant enough so she wagged her tails slowly as they floated on the water behind her. “Your, ah, Highness - I'm Meissa Bacchus, Royal Guard within Elkshire. It's hard to explain and harder to believe.” A soft laugh, “We all awoke in some way in this realm, far from home. Some wolves seem to pop out of thin air, or water, like I believe you may just have done.” She gave an apologetic smile, “Flynn appears to know you in some way, but I'm afraid I'm new to the family and haven't heard of either you or Edgewood.” Well, new to the greater family of the pack, and to Flynn's own, she supposed. She was no Deorwine, not yet - if she ever would be. She figured that Flynn and Celnes and the rest of the Deorwines must have been a part of some pack prior to coming here but this woman held a different last name. Astor.

 As unfamiliar as Deorwine or Rache when she had arrived.

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His entrance into the small pool wasn't graceful; skidding his tender toes across sharp weeds, covering a painful yelp but swamping his muzzle into the water. At this hour, frankly, the nimrod wasn't doing anything but turning a rare blessing into a crime scene, thus, off he went with tired kicks of his lanky limbs.

Not intending to stay far from them was the first thing he'd failed to do, since after paddling off he threw his head from his shoulder, peering out through damp lashes to notice their figures weren't nearly visible. He couldn't recall swimming that drastically, if anything he'd been coasting on the stream. Oh, bother, he was sure it would be acceptable.

Spinning in circles, chasing his tail, the lad enjoyed himself. Ducking underwater, nipping at the fish until he surprisingly caught a decently sized bass within his jaws. The water was no longer silent, nor was it murky of mud. Flynn had strangled the poor thing, blood staining the calm currents as he desperately slapped around to steady his weakened form.

Tossing the dead catch onto the bank, he'd shake off, standing above his meal with a silly smile. “Hehehe... Feesh.”

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While the beau might not have noticed that Meissa was splashed with mud, Isabella certainly had. She gave a playful smirk towards Meissa with the softest of chuckles. “Yes, come join me for a swim!” Isabella would coo, with the nod of her head.

She would, though, shake a wet paw towards Meissa with the shake of her head. “Just Isabella is fine, dove.” Though she’d grow silent with the knews, nodding her head as a look of worry came upon her face. “Is there not a way to… go back? What about my people?” Isabella frowned, tilting her head, unconcerned that the Bacchus woman was unfamiliar with her or Edgewood.

Flynn had captured her attention for the moment, with his entrance into the pool. She watched him for a time as he did his own thing, and eventually finally ended up with a fish. Oh, how delightful! As Flynn exited, Isabella would as well; shaking off her own coat, followed by a gentle stretch. “Do you want me to get that for you?” Isabella cooed, eyeing the other woman's coat, which now had spots of mud in varies places.

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 Meissa was pleased to be invited into the water, though to be perfectly honest, she probably would have entered it without the invitation. She smiled sadly at the other lady, “Isabella, then,” a shake of her head. “From what I can tell, it's impossible. Some of them may follow but there's no way to tell who or how.” She gave a small sigh. “Your people will be fine, I expect, though I understand the worry.”

 Though, who was to say they would? Would she have disappeared from the home world and appeared here... or had they all just been copied and thrown into this new land, some familiar and mostly not?

  She looked towards Flynn, swimming about and having a grand old time on his own. Her chest brimmed with warmth as she watched him amuse himself and she grinned as he came back with a fish. Oh, this boy, she thought affectionately.

 Isabella offered to get the mud still left on her coat and she blinked in surprise at it. “Let me try first,” she said, though part of her was reminded of a tender moment in her past. She dipped under the water, shaking herself as if she were trying to dry off - yet she was under the water. She surfaced and waded back to shore, shaking off and checking herself over.

 “Did I get it all?” She asked, looking to both Isabella and Flynn to see if they saw any that she couldn't from her perspective.

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