Welcome to Canis Major

a wolf and animal rpg (role-playing game)

Canis is a writing community for play-by-post (forum-based), freeform roleplay set in a fictional dream world in the intrusion fantasy genre. Most characters on Canis are wolves; many play elements are focused around wolves and canids, but the world makes room for a large variety of other animal characters such as dogs, horses, cats, bears, deer, and many, many more.

Our community is focused on flexibility, creativity, and collaboration. That boils down to a few important features:

  • There is no set activity requirement to write
  • The setting and plot are member-created and staff-supported
  • The game is continuously improved to increase fun and decrease stress

Learn more in our Rulebook!

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Afternoon Fog
#1
P
Elysium
10-12-2021, 02:31 AM
^^
takes place sometime after this thread

Ah, Fate’s Respite. It held so many good memories with her two sisters, Valeska and Amaranth. It seemed like it was an entire life ago that she’d been here last. She could still recall the time that Amaranth helped dig her out of the earth; still remember the time she witnessed Valeska running so fast that she literally became lightening, to pounce on her while she was bathing. 


And then, of course, the wedding that had been so beautiful, and everything that she had needed. Really, those two moments alone were her favorite. Hell, even the first time she had found Valeska, in the tundra, claiming to have been Hatchet instead, was a memory to cherish. There were some bad, but mostly good. Harper could recall all these memories, along with the time that they fought, only for Harper to end up in tears. 


How she had asked her sister how she knew about love, and how she confided in her sister. How, Harper was realizing, she wished that Valeska was a part of Event Horizon, too, so that she could make more memories with her, but she knew that was impossible. And being a queen, now - the same rank as Valeska - would make splitting her time between packs even harder. But it could still be done, yes. 


So together, the king and queen of Event Horizon traveled to Elysium, through the spot that they’d found each other on that night of passion, to the oasis. And there, she would sit and sing a song to her sister, until that lightning bolt on four legs, along with Amaranth, would join them.

^^
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#2
10-13-2021, 04:09 AM

 They had arrived.

 When walking with Harper, time seemed to fly by. They spoke for a time during the travel but also had their moments of silence to simply take in the world around them. It seemed so different, with autumn upon the world. It was as if the rest of the universe was trying to catch up with Ichorwood. Would their beloved red leaves drop and become green, catching up with the rest of time?

 Would it remain locked in red forever?

 The Respite looked just as beautiful as ever, glorious water among the mountain peaks. He knew little of Elysium's neighbors except for one visit, though they had had to skirt around the pack's borders to reach the Respite. It seemed that now, Vanderfell's claim lay further south than they had before, taking woodlands that he had roamed through unhindered before.

 He strode alongside her and stopped when she did, turning to plant a kiss upon her cheek and sit, awaiting the arrival of the High Priestess.


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#3
Misc Skill
11-05-2021, 06:28 AM
HOARDER LOOKIN FOR FEATHERS.

Another afternoon came and went through Fate's Respite. Days seemed to blend into afternoons ... and into nights into days again ... and oftentimes, Amaranth could not comprehend the reality of the world around her. Did she walk amongst the living or the ghosts of those long once passed?

So many things had unfolded in such a short period of time. Both Harper and Annika had left ... leaving Valeska emotionally devastated. Amaranth's mother had returned, causing a grievous disruption in Amaranth's already fragile emotional state. And now, there was the oddity of the Nordic pack ... the strange, nomadic, and raven-based pack that had piqued her interest and her fantasies.

She'd thought of raven's feathers for evenings on end.
White and black. Black and white.

She was on the edges of the pack's territory ... scrounging and searching for more feathers. Or perhaps any more singular useful items that she could muster up. She would collect them, an array of herbs and abnormal feathers in her mouth, preparing them to bring back to the den where she kept the majority of her collection. In secret, she hoped she'd find another albino raven feather ... for she wanted to garb Valeska in only the finest of wares ... for she was so perfect, so beautiful, and so ... undeniably Valeska.

And so deeply she thought, cast into the innards of the interweb of her own mind ... that she almost did not hear the summon. The oddly eerie and familiarly distant voice of a sister that she'd not seen in ... months.

Amaranth lifted her head, her mouth full of a random bouquet of herbs, tendrils of grass, and miscellaneous feathers ... and she would instinctually heed the call, a zombie to the song of a siren.

She almost forgot about her anger as she recalled the sweet tincture of Harper's voice. Her sister, and one that she'd traveled through endless eternities of time with. Harper. Oh, Amaranth's heart ached to see her... and yet, she remembered the pained voice of her lover. Valeska had spoken of Harper's betrayal; of how the woman and left and was ... different. The thoughts confused and concerned Amaranth, raising an inquisitive and angry bubble of emotion in her chest as she approached the historically familiar woman, Harper, and her more ivory-clad husband ... Crux. The husband. The one who had stolen her sister.

Hmmph.

"Event..ful.... Horizon," she started casually, her voice awkwardly muffled through the bouquet of assorted herbs and feathers that were held in her maw. That deep, eerie purple gaze penetrated into the equivalent one of Harper — staring openly and brazenly into Harper with an odd and uneven smile. It was then that Amaranth released the cache from her mouth, lowering her head to release the strains of herbs onto the earth before rising. "It has been some time, my ..." she hesitated, her tongue catching on the word 'sister' before quickly reconciling, "my friends." Her head lifted. The odd smile did not fade from her lips as she lowered her rump to rest in a soft, but oddly territorial sploot on Elysium's territory line.

"How do you fare, Harper? Crux? A nice honeymoon ... hmm?" Her smile softened. And Amaranth need not summon Valeska, for she was almost certain the small, heated fireball of a woman was already on her way.

Let her ire reign.

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#4
Visionary
11-05-2021, 05:36 PM
That sound.

It had been months. Since the wedding, her sister had only visited the peaceful sanctuary of Fate's Respite once and but fleetingly to wish Annika a terse, acid-laden goodbye - not only that, but she had seemed bitterly unhappy to return at all, stamping about in a sour mood until she fled once more back to Ichorwood. Valeska could not describe the hurt, the pain it had brought upon her; she was an emotional creature and took it personally, feeling cast out and unloved in favor of the newer, more exciting life that Harper's newly-minted husband had provided her with. She had promised - she had promised she would be with Valeska, with them. She promised to spend her time in equal measure.

She had not meant to keep her promise.

As the faint sing-song notes of her sister's call tickled the delicate white fur of her ears, rousing her from her prayers to the Five, she closed her eyes as if experiencing some great pain. Valeska had prayed many days for her sister to return, had prayed for her health, her happiness - she had heard nothing in several months to even let her know she was alive. The gods answered her prayers at last, it seemed, but it was a bitter joy.

Dutifully, she went.

Harper stood proudly with the dappled form of her mate at the edge of the Respite, looking as beautiful and dark as she always had. Valeska did not streak to her side in a great rush as she had in months past; she walked slowly, as if on legs made of lead, her ears swiveled back in an unconscious display of anxiousness. She had always worn her emotions plainly, and found little reason to try and hide them in general.

The lies we tell ourselves - the lies we tell others - they were all the same. She did not believe in half-truths.

Amaranth had also arrived just before her, and Valeska knew her well enough to understand her feelings of the summons.

“The Five told me you would return, but did not say when. I worried it might have been as corpse after a while, for it has been... long, since I have seen you,” she said lowly, quietly. She would not seat herself; she instead moved toward her mate and remained standing, swaying, occasionally touching her shoulder to the golden woman's as if seeking strength from outside of herself.

Valeska was not a fool. She knew this was a goodbye.

“How is Eventful Horizon?”

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#5
11-05-2021, 08:28 PM
^^The greetings that bestowed upon her were not as welcoming as Harper had liked, but she hadn’t blamed them. She had kept her word about dividing her time within the two packs, until the wedding had happened, and then off then off she’d gone. At some point, she had returned and things became heated with Annika - who was no longer considered to be a sister - and Harper had been so angry about that interaction that she’d left.

And she had hoped that Valeska would have followed, or something, but she had not. She remained behind with Annika, and not once has Valeska ever stepped foot into Event Horizon. The tension here was thick from the two wives of Elysium, though it was only one sided. Harper held no ill feelings towards her sisters; just herself, as always.

So Harper would turn to kiss her husband, and greet the lovely pair of Elysium with a smile and wag of her tail as though nothing were amiss, because, in truth, nothing was. She had not come here to say goodbye; she had not come here with bad news, but in fact, good news, and a hopeful vision of the future.

“Do you really think so poorly of me or Crux, that word would not be sent, if I had fallen?” Harper chuckled with the shake of her head, moving to greet her sister with a face full of nuzzles - and if she did not accept such, Harper would move to sit on her, so she could pin her sister down to force her to accept her nuzzles of love and warm welcome.

“I - er, - we have come with news. Crux has asked me to become Queen of Eventful Horizon, and I have accepted, and we are transforming Eventful Horizon into a Skoll of the Arts. We will teach wolves a trade, to which they can take back to their pack, to teach them, and so forth. ” Harper announced happily, nodding towards Amaranth, even if tension oddly stained her words. “The honeymoon was good, thank you. I was away to learn more of Eventful Horizon’s members, and to help Crux with the transformation. I did not anticipate that it would take so long, however.. ” Harper frowned to show her own displeasure, though she knew that was not enough and wondered how much of an earful she would get from them both.
^^
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#6
11-25-2021, 05:15 AM
Amaranth waited, watching, as she often did. That deep purple gaze shifted between Crux and Harper, blinking in a soft way that would disguise whatever judgment could have nested there. There was no tension, only the gentle warmth that the kiln of her eyes and smile would offer; a soft and alluring light that would never betray the mournful, ugly jealousy that she felt. She was but a flame, luring in the moth ... waiting patiently like a viper for the kill.

For jealousy was powerful.
And Haper had once been her friend, her sister; and now, she was Crux's stranger. A wife.

When Amaranth had dressed Harper for her wedding that day ... draping her in adornments and compliments and talking deeply about their lives ... she never imagined that Harper would have left. For so long. For an eternity. Forever.

But she supposed, for a moment, that she would do the same for Valeska. Right? Did that make her a stranger? A ... wife?

A smile wove up the edges of her lips, an unannounced and eerie thing. She would have laughed if not at that moment her very own wife did not cascade across the Respite like a small, furious boulder. Ah, how the sight warmed her soul.

Amaranth quite enjoyed when Valeska asserted herself, for the woman was as soft and sweet as candy on the outside ... and yet, held the fury of a thousand gods within the bosom of her perfectly shaped, silver chest. Amaranth lost track of words, eyes turning to peer into the depths of the molten gold gaze of her lover. And for a moment, the siblings shared quips.

Amaranth's (now-probably awkward) smile remained plastered to her face, her purple eyes phasing in and out of focus for a moment. Pupils stretched, dilating and contracting for a minute as the sun reminded her that she was, in fact, awake. A golden ear twitched, swiveling atop her crown as she blinked a few times in succession before re-focusing on Harper as the woman began to discuss her plans. A school of the arts? Salmon tongue ran over her fangs as her tail flipped behind her passively.

"A queen. A school," she mused gently, almost absentmindedly as she thought about what Harper had taught her. It had all been ... under the influence, of sorts. It was then that she noted how particularly articulate Harper was. Inquisitive brows perked as that Cheshire grin twitched. "If it makes you happy, Harper. If it makes you ... feel ..." she drew the word out for a moment, opening her mouth to say something else but unable to find the words. She wanted to tell Harper to never show her face here again if she were to forget her family — the ones who came to this purgatory with her. But she also wanted to tell her that her 'teachings' (of Russian and of roots, of course) were missed here. In Elysium. With her family.

Harper frowned.
Valeska frowned.
Amaranth ...

... wait, was Amaranth still smiling?
She forced her lips into a straight line.

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#7
11-25-2021, 06:04 AM
Her sister's animosity toward Annika had not helped the tension building within Elysium in recent months. Inexplicably, and without any prompting, Harper had decided within moments of their first meeting that she completely despised the scarred woman and had wanted nothing further to do with her, as if she were some terrible blight to endure rather than a hopeful heart beating within her own flesh and blood. It tore Valeska apart - she had grown close to Annika since her emergence into their lives, and regarded her with a kind of loving reverence she saved for close family - and despite working diligently to mend the rift between them, and no ill will from Annika herself, it was not meant to be.

Not that it mattered. Annika had left already, off to forge her own path and create a new story for herself. Why wouldn't Valeska have stayed behind after that? There were so few left in Elysium as it was, she couldn't leave it completely abandoned to fall at the hands of cruel strangers.

Harper began to speak, and Valeska listened, painful as it was. “If you both had fallen, I would not know. Terrible things happen all the time! Could have sent bird to say hello, or at least tell me how long you would be away. It is natural for me to worry! You are my sister,” she scolded, but not before being interrupted by a barrage of well-meaning nuzzles from her dark sibling. She took them in stride, giving a few half-hearted gestures in return, before sitting back to hear the rest.

It stung. It hurt. She had dreamed of being together forever - she had lost her once before, and they had sworn never to be parted. Harper was the wild side of her soul, and she could not imagine a life without her presence, always.

Valeska struggled to hide the sorrow on her face and failed miserably, the tears welling up at the corners of her eyes threatening to fall at any moment. She sucked in a ragged breath. “I am... happy for you,” she returned, her tone flat and devoid of emotion in her efforts to maintain her composure. A small silver pup stared out from behind wet, golden eyes, short and chubby and staring up at her sister as she walked away for the second time in her life. Mother had taken her the first time - father would have killed them both if she hadn't - but this feeling was no different, and this time it was Crux who led her away from the little wolf's heart.

She was innocent, still, and naive. Together forever was not a statement she would ever dream of being an exaggeration. Her fantasies, the castles she had built up in her mind like a small child in her idealism - all of them she held close to her chest, nurtured them, treasured them.

“That is good. Again, I am happy that you are - hic - happy,” she sputtered, choking back a sob.

Amaranth stood close by, gliding her warm, lyrical tones over the conversation like chenille. The sound of her voice helped Valeska regain some of her composure, and she cleared her throat.

“You could... always teach here, too,” Valeska said in a small voice. “Maybe could bring some of Eventful Horizon here sometimes, and have group for learning...”

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#8
11-25-2021, 07:17 PM
^^There had been no hope for the two dark sisters from the beginning; Harper knew this, of course. She had only welcomed Annika out of loyalty and respect for Valeska. The truth of the matter was that Harper didn’t need or care to have any other family, especially not some false sister, or anyone else who tried to wiggle their way between them.

They were soul mates, Harper knew; happiness was not true happiness unless the silver bullet was standing at her side. Even as she was being scolded, and by her younger sister at that, Harper could not help but to think that they were meant to be with each other, always, but it was the words of her golden sister that caught her attention.

Happiness. As a true member of their family, even from the start, Amaranth had always cared about their happiness. They did not need Annika, because that spot was already taken with Amaranth, Harper would realize as her eyes settled upon the golden woman, with the shake of her head. No, this was not Harper’s dream, but Crux’s, for Harper had but one dream: to be with family, always, without the constant need of travel.

It felt odd to see her sister like this, though deep down, Harper knew how she could fix this. She knew, truly, but was not aware if they would be open to it. The thought had crossed her mind many times, since meeting Crux. Her sister was emotional, though her words were not, and while Harper was silent, she took in their words.

Again, she shook her head at her sister’s little voice with a soft smile, though it was sad as she felt for she knew her dreams would never be met. “What would make me feel is that if Eventful Elysium was one. I would love to teach here; I would love to.. Bring Eventful Horizon here, but not on a temporary status. The trip between packs is long, and I never look forward to it. I don’t even know… if any of Eventful Horizon would be up to making frequent trips.. ” and all the more reason to take both packs and turn it into one, but alas!

Harper would take a long sigh, already knowing the idea would be shot down, so she rolled her shoulders back and lowered her ears. She pondered a moment: would Valeska do anything to have Harper back? The truth of the matter was that Harper wasn’t really sure. She knew they had been close, yes, and that clearly had not changed given Valeska's emotional display, but would she be open to it? To accept members of Horizon, including her adopted deer son, into Elysium?

“Can you imagine it? B-because I can, and I have since the first day.. ” These were not her choices to make, but Valeska’s. Harper already knew that Crux would do anything to make her happy. Harper would not suggest it, too aggressively, merely planting that seed of hope where her sister could water it, if she wanted - assuming she did not jump at the chance.
^^
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#9
11-28-2021, 12:44 AM
sorry this is a long post about amaranth realizing she has no concept of social situations (:

Valeska stiffened, but it was not with anger ... no, it was a firm wave of sadness that shook that stocky silver frame down to the core. Amaranth could feel the coolness gather in those tense muscles, and it caused her gaze to draw from Harper toward her mate. Golden brows softened backward as the eerie, persistent smile now became a very visible frown. A bite of fire rose in Amaranth's chest, a defensive lick of hatred threatening protectively at the edges of her firm lips as a spark of lightning traced like a bolt through her eyes. She felt it — that hot ire. A prod urging her to snap.

“I am... happy for you,” Valeska would mutter, and Amaranth said nothing. Dangerous and venomous in her silence ...

... but instead of lashing out at Harper, her golden body flowed forward like a delicate breeze. She lowered her head to press her crown gently into the small curve of Valeska's neck. A soft pillar of support against the wave of emotions that the woman was feeling about her sister. Amaranth knew little of the sister's pasts together, only that it was as cold as the snow and as wavering as the tides of the ocean. There were highs, there were lows — and perhaps it was not Amaranth's place to intervene, and instead, she would show her support in solidarity with Valeska. Her crown remained gently pressed in the soft silver tendrils of Valeska's fur, cool nose buried against warm skin in a gentle reminder that she was there.

Valeska, Valeska.
Oh, how her little body would shake, roused by emotion and sadness, and yet somehow hopeful. Always hopeful.

There was a silence for a moment, a softening and an acceptance. And Amaranth would lift her head, tilting her crown slightly as she blinked toward Valeska. The frown lifted a bit, perhaps in ... encouragement? And that was when Harper began to speak again. The burning and jealousy and ire of those flaming coals still brewed deeply within Amaranth's bosom, but it did not shine through as her gaze turned once more toward the darker sibling.

Harper had a proposition.

The sister spoke of uniting the packs; of bringing Elysium and Event Horizon together under one name and one group. To collaborate on ideas, and collaborate their numbers. Politically (if Amaranth cared much about it), it seemed to make sense. Emotionally, it made sense for the sisters as well. That is ... if Valeska wanted it. A gold shoulder nudged softly into silver. "Can you imagine it?" The words echoed, and Amaranth's gaze rotated between Harper, Crux, and finally ... Valeska.

Amaranth felt hollowed in opinion, somehow. Perhaps it was the rush of anger that still hadn't died down. Perhaps it was her prior sensation of jealousy and loss. Or perhaps it was simply her lack of ability to comprehend deep emotional situations. 

Whatever it was, the two Elysium women were perhaps a bit too quiet. Amaranth shook her head a moment as if shaking off a vision before turning to her mate. "What do you think, Valeska?" Her voice was quiet, a somber representation that stifled the cacophony of swirling thoughts that lingered in her mind.

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#10
11-28-2021, 05:55 AM
Valeska did not know her mate to ever favor violence, and in that millisecond where tragedy might have occurred, the golden woman wavered only once before shifting, shade-like, back into her usual persona. By the time she glanced over, the red-hot rage had faded from Amaranth's eyes and fizzled into a serene distaste. That much, at least, made sense. Her companion was extremely sensitive to Valeska's moods, passionate as they could be, and tended to absorb them - covet them, almost.

She had little idea of the fiery serpent behind those amethyst orbs, and hopefully she never would.

The comforting warmth of her lithe body snaking up to press into her own broke Valeska from her sorrowful reverie, accepting the worst. Harper was leaving them, after all. It was enough to break her heart, but if this was what her sister desired, she had no place to stop her - from the first day she had decreed that wolves of Elysium could come and go at their leisure, and she meant it. Home was not meant to be a prison. They were few, now, but at least she knew in her heart that those who remained were there by choice. The High Priestess sniffled once, turning her head to press into the radiating heat of her lover's shoulder, then straightened up as Harper began to speak.

She couldn't believe her ears. Through wet eyes, she blinked unbelieving at her sister, then shook her head as if to shoo away whatever lying spirit had chosen to inhabit her thoughts - yet it changed nothing.

Harper wanted to bring them together.

Valeska's mouth fell slightly open before clicking her jaws together again with a soft snap. Did she mean it...? Had she been so moved by Valeska's display of mourning that she would dare suggest a thing, even while her husband stood proudly nearby? She opened her mouth to respond, but only a strangled, nervous squeak came out.

She cleared her throat, then tried again.

“I... I would... I would... Oh, gods damn it all, more tears. How infuriating was it to be so wrapped up in her own feelings that she couldn't even articulate herself; then without meaning to, she broke into a series of barely-restrained sobs before launching forward at her sibling in a quivering embrace. “Harper! Harper! Do you mean it? You w-would want us together again, always? Eventful Horizon and Elysium, like family?” The little wolf sniffed again, tears streaming down her face.

“Amaranth!” she called back desperately, craning her neck to see. “Would... would this be well? With you?”

Valeska smashed her face back into Harper's neck, breathing her in, past sins seemingly forgotten in the explosiveness of the moment.

“How will... they take it? Eventful Horizon...”

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#11
11-29-2021, 12:04 AM
^^While Amaranth might not have been known for any sort of violent streak, Harper most definitely was. She would have ripped out the throats of Valeska’s former lover and Harper’s lesser sister, without thinking twice. She had no qualms about turning or becoming aggressive, should the situation arise, but thankfully, Amaranth proved to be more insightful and more passionate than to follow her emotions. At least, for right now, and while in the company of both Valeska and Crux, who remained rather silent throughout the entire thing.

It was nice to see them interact again; Valeska and her mate, as sweet and compassionate as ever. She was adoring this moment when Valeska turned to Harper and blinked as Harper’s dreams of a merge came to reach her sister’s ears, Harper couldn’t help but to lower her ears and smile almost shyly at her sister.

And then came Valeska’s squeak. The squeak that Harper had not heard since her childhood, and she could not help but to smile softly at the fond memories that came along with them - which usually included Harper aggressively cuddling (otherwise commonly known as ‘sitting’) on Valeska.

“Ах, хорошие времена” Harper mused thoughtfully to herself, which lasted all of two seconds before the blur of silver caught her attention and Harper found that her darling sister was holding her in a tight embrace. It seemed that Valeska had chosen to take that seed of hope and tossed it in the ocean… which, let’s be honest, was exactly what Harper had hoped for. She glanced down at Valeska as the silver bullet was craning her neck to look at Amaranth, and Harper leaned down to affectionately chomp and slobber all over Valeska’s neck in an affectionate manner.

“Like family?” And when Valeska turned towards her in protest to the slobbers, Valeska would find that her face, too, would get the slobbers. She’d smirk and shrug her shoulders, whispering something along the lines of It was overdue, don’t look at me like that..

Harper would fall silent as Amaranth made her judgement, which she would respect no matter what the judgement call was, but alas, Harper knew that Amaranth would walk the moon to see Valeska happy.

Like family? Harper scoffed, as if insulted, as she glanced towards her sister; the golden one, this time. “Like family! What have you been feeding her?” Harper smirked, shaking her head with an arched brow as Valeska smashed her face right back into her, sniffing at her and breathing her in. So Harper leaned down to do the same; nuzzling her sister deeply.

“Valeska, you’ve got to know by now that we’re more than sisters. I can not live without you. Once was enough, and doing it a second time, away from you, and across the mountain, was difficult. Eventful Horizon is nice, yes. Has lovely trees that are red, even in the summer; it’s like fall, but all the time! You would love it, it very nice. Has a beach, too, but all of it means nothing without you. Am sure Mordi would follow, and Hawking, too - not so sure of others; haven’t seen much of the others around since… ever, but could be on mission or something. I will go back and speak with them, and bring those with us that wish to become Eventful Elysium.” Harper nodded, brows up with the wag of her tail.

“Mayhaps, you and your… неблагодарный лось can come with? Make it a bit if a vacation?”
^^
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#12
11-29-2021, 04:35 AM
Emotion slithered in her chest, rattling like an ugly beast in a cage. A silent turmoil that raged within her, displayed only by labyrinthine eyes of clouded amethyst. They gave nothing away. It should have been heartwarming — the glorious return of a lost sister and the prospect of a joyous union of packs. But politics never interested her, and neither did this rollercoaster of hot and cold emotion. It was instinctive for her to shut down, to protect her own emotions at the cost of becoming comfortably numb ... of drifting off into the land of make-believe. And normally, it would have been easy ... easy to smile, to laugh, to walk away.

But there was a tether binding her to the realm of reality. And that tether was Valeska.

She wanted to protect her, too.

And perhaps protecting her meant letting Harper in. Or perhaps, it meant keeping her guard up high enough to protect the two of them at once. To shut out Harper so forcefully that the door might slap her in her well-muscled ass on her way out. But Valeska's eyes glowed so brightly at the prospect of reunion with her troubled sister ... her excitement and relief evident in every fiber of her body as she transformed from a sad little sprite to an emotionally exuberant fairy. Amaranth wished she could have been more moved. But her eyes lingered on Harper. Soft, silent, gentle ... and yet scanning, as if searching for something else.

Valeska shrieked her name, drawing her suddenly from her daze with a soft huff. Air pushed between pursed lips, as she tilted her head toward her companion, humming a gentle sound of questioning. “Would... would this be well? With you?”
[Image: 200.gif]

Her? Why was Valeska asking her? Amaranth, in those few moments, had almost forgotten she existed there and was not merely some simple fly on the wall. No, the silent observer was forced to play her cards. "Family belongs together," she offered in passive affirmation, smiling gently toward Valeska.

Harper then began to prattle excitedly on about how special their sisterhood was, how much she'd missed Valeska, and how she'd hurry back across the Mountains to gather the remains of what sounded like a pack that was just as small as Elysium itself. Crux remained silent as if somehow he'd just telepathically agreed to do whatever his mate asked of him. Did Harper have ... mind control?

“Mayhaps, you and your… неблагодарный лось can come with? Make it a bit if a vacation?”

The golden woman rolled her shoulders gently, brushing against Valeska. "I think ... sister bonding is in order," she began before Valeska had a moment to interrupt with an excited yip of agreement that would drag them both to the western end of the world. "I should stay, hmm? With the child and my mother." Her head tilted softly to the side, blinking toward Valeska to see what she thought of the idea. "Someone has to be the boss when you're away." Salmon tongue rolled over her fangs, jaw chattering lightly in soft, chiming laughter. It was funny mostly because the statement wasn't wrong ... but Amaranth would certainly not be willingly filling the role. Her head lowered toward Valeska's ear, nose nudging those gentle silver furs that lined Valeska's pinna. The words were a gentle whisper, a soft as the kiss of a spring breeze. "If it makes you happy, be with your sister. Know her again."

With a final nudge into Valeska's shoulder and a final — firm — glance into both Harper and Crux's eyes, she began to turn. It was a silent threat that they better keep Valeska safe on this journey to the other side. The golden woman turned away, back toward the roar of the waterfall and the sanctity of her ... now to-be-cold den ... "Just don't take another honeymoooon " she added lyrically, lazily, as another laugh escaped her in an equally awkward and ethereal fashion. The golden woman moved away without looking back over her shoulder.

Just a dream on the breeze.

As soon as she was out of vision, her lips hardened, her eyes narrowing.
The thought of a lonely den saddened her.
Amaranth Exits!

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