heads will roll

@Valeska and later ... @Harper ... *evil grin*

---

Things had been calm since their return home. Too calm, perhaps. It seemed odd, that with the two leaders of the pack gone that the entire place still remained standing upon their return. There was no fire, no brimstone, no cacophony, no tears. There was ... sun ... and warmth, and a general facade of peace.

For it was the will of the spirits. The will of Valeska's gods.

Amaranth lay sprawled near the edge of the lake, rolled over upon her back and allowing her golden belly to bask in the warm light of the sun. Absorbing the ethereal cosmic energy that she could be blessed with ... enjoying the warmth for once, rather than hiding in the darkness. Comfortable, calm, home ... and perhaps, of course, still a bit too spiritually energized by her experience in Northfall.

Golden fur pressed into the muddy bank by the edge of the water, and the woman closed her eyes for a singular, blissful moment. A deep inhale, and a deep exhale. And in those moments, the chaos of the world no longer existed. There were no storms, no destruction, no portals. There was just Elysium. Just Amaranth and Valeska.

the staff team luvs u

It had been roughly two weeks since their return to Fate’s Respite, and the pair remained blissfully unaware of what turmoil lay at their doorstep. Once or twice she could maybe imagine she smelled dried blood upon the air, or the scent of strange wolves wafting down from Fate’s Summit, but she just chalked it up to a stuffed-up nose with all of the spring pollen floating around.

She lay sprawled beside Amaranth upon her side, finding it oddly uncomfortable to shift herself into a similar belly-up position as her mate. Perhaps she’d eaten a little too well lately - but no matter. For now, the name of the game was relaxation. They had traveled far across the mountains and deserved a rest, especially on such a pleasant day as this.

Valeska’s nose twitched.

She turned her head to look at her mate, shimmering and golden in the sun’s pure light.

She sniffed deeper.

Oh.

Well, there had to be a way to approach this delicately. The smell was so strong it was almost overpowering, and she fought back a wave of nausea as she struggled to find the words - what was the right way to say it?

She smelled… earthy? Like the great outdoors on a windy day? Like fresh soil after a warm summer rain?

“Dirt,” she quipped suddenly, breaking the peaceful silence between them. “You smell like dirt.”

Valeska pursed her lips.

She took it a step further.

“When was the last time you bathed?”

the staff team luvs u

Amaranth turned her head toward Valeska, fluttering her lids open gently against the torrent of sun to rest her amethyst gaze upon the resting form of her mate. A soft smile touched her lips as she moved her body ever so slightly closer, golden furs twining with silver in those softly silent moments. Two precious metals, enjoying every second of the solitude they found together. They were often so busy, so dutifully stolen from one another to parade the word of the spirits and the gods ... it was hard for them to often get quality time like this together.

Amaranth watched as Valeska stirred, raising a brow momentarily as the movements became less peaceful and more ... troubled? Amaranth opened her mouth to say something, a soft and loving word of inquiry but was firmly interrupted by — "Dirt." 

Dirt? Yes. They ... were laying in the dirt? Raised brows furrowed a moment in confusion. What on earth was Valeska getting at? She was often so ... blunt. Normally, Amaranth was the one speaking in hieroglyphics.

"You smell like dirt."

Oh.

It was clarified quickly.

Furrowed eyebrows narrowed for a moment, processing the insult slowly. Valeska's voice was gruff; hard. A tone that Amaranth was unaccustomed to. So harsh, in fact, that Amaranth wondered if she'd imagined it. Perhaps it was a particularly annoying gust of wind?

"When was the last time you bathed?"

Golden brows furrowed perhaps further than she'd imagined they could have as her abdominal cavity contracted to lift the woman up quickly. She was no longer laying down, but pulling herself up to her rump and then very quickly to her paws. Her lips were hard as her body shifted to hover over the prone form of Valeska. Valeska — was that perfect silver snout pulled upward in disgust?? Amaranth was but a shadow, a heavy presence levitating above the silver angel. "What ... did you say?" There was a strange lack of emotion in the words as they slithered from the hard ebony line that was her lips. She wanted to be absolutely certain that it was not the wind playing some awful, terrible, mind-bending atrocious trick on her.

She wanted to hear it again.

the staff team luvs u

In contrast, Valeska did not rise at all. Instead she only shifted more comfortably onto her side, turning her gaze to stare levelly at Amaranth as if nothing at all was amiss and she had been amicably chatting about the weather.

Most scenarios, she would have immediately apologized and retraced her steps to remedy the slip-up as quickly as possible - however, today, for reasons she could not explain, she felt unusually… obstinate.

She doubled down.

“I said,” the silver wolf enunciated, “You smell like dirt.”

There was a momentary silence between them, punctuated only by the gentle lapping of water at the shoreline.

It was such a nice day.

“I just do not understand your unwillingness to wash - do you not feel uncomfortable, ever?”

If someone had given her a shovel, she might have buried herself quicker and spared the oxygen powering this conversation.

“Sylvie - has she said nothing, too?”

Valeska, impatient at the lack of response, pressed on.

“It is just that sometimes you do… smell. And it is very strong today. It is only from love that I say this, of course.”

Of course.

the staff team luvs u

@Harper

---

And hear it again she would.

Every sentence uttered. Every word muttered so callously and so coldly and so ... halfheartedly. It penetrated Amaranth's ears like the thrum of a war drum. The soft warmth that had lit her heart quickly evolved into a roaring, instinctual and guttural fire. And Valeska was the gasoline, spitting on her. She couldn't control it — she reacted instinctively in the way she would have responded to a volatile stranger.

A hiss of air escaped between her lips as she crawled her taller body forward, now hovering completely over the other's lazily strewn form. Paws on either side of the smaller wolf; encompassing. Confusion and fury incarnate as her once soft purple eyes burned with the intensity of hell's flames.

How ... what ... who ... what was wrong with Valeska?

“I just do not understand your unwillingness to wash - do you not feel uncomfortable, ever?”

Unwillingness? Uncomfortable? Valeska knew of Amaranth's aversion to water — as cryptic and abnormal as the reason was. She'd never thought to be questioned so firmly on such a thing, never mind by a wolf that she trusted so deeply with such precious information. Information that she never told anyone else. "Oh, are we discussing faults now?" Amaranth retorted with an indignant snort, ignoring the sentiment about Sylvie, as that dagger was clearly personal and meant to be seated deeply in Amaranth's breast.

“It is just that sometimes you do… smell. And it is very strong today. It is only from love that I say this, of course.”

Ah. Ha. Ahaha. Ah haha hahahaha.

Amaranth began to smile. Was her eye twitching?

Something switched in her. The electricity of Valeska's skin against her own. The heat of anger mixed with the picture of perfection that Amaranth held of Valeska in her mind. Emotions clashed, mixing and mingling into a strange hotcold.

"Oh, my love, you taunt me," she crooned softly, lowering her muzzle (her stinky, filthy, rotten muzzle) to caress Valeska's cheek. She'd be sure to exhale softly, letting her breath roll over the delicate furs of Valeska's mane. "But let me tell you ... there are so many things ..." her head tilted, her cold nose pulling up to park itself in front of Valeska's face. "That we do out of love." A tint of mania lit behind her labyrinthine eyes. Her smile widened. Fangs flashed in the sunlight.

Danger danced in the plain light of day.

the staff team luvs u

^^Five days (or so) ago, Valeska had informed Harper that they would be taking a trip to learn more about the murder - the pack to the west that had something to do with ravens, or something. Harper fondly called them a murder, because ravens.

And if they were wondering the details about how and why Elysium seemed exactly the same as it was, was simple: Harper had spent many of those days asleep the best, undisturbed, depressed sleeps and naps of her entire existence.

Days in which she could cry herself to sleep without the fear of waking Valeska, and it was the best thing, but she also felt so alone. She hadn’t known where the rest of the pack was, and for once, she didn’t care; perhaps they knew better than to disturb her.

It didn't matter because the depressed vacation was over; the alpha pair had come home, and Harper would not be there to welcome them. She had other plans. The moment their scent drifted back into Elysium’s atmosphere, Harper was on the move, into the forest to find the perfect welcome home gift.

So here she was, in good spirits for once, trotting back into Elysium with her tail and her head held high, and in her mouth was the biggest skull she could find in the forest, for Amaranth - as she had filled her sister’s den with flowers and several kills, and even a skull or too –

Trotting ever-so-happily towards them, though the air was thick with a tension she’d never felt between them and they were in a very interesting position, with Amaranth pinning Valeska to the ground.

“How was trip to Murd - ” What was happening? Her hackles slowly rose, a suspicious - through low - growl towards the supposed mate of her sister before realizing: oh, is this what divorce looked like, or were they having a sexy moment?

The skull she had brought for Amaranth, dropping to the ground, glancing with arched brows from one silvery sister to the golden one, head tilting. There was no snarling, though, and perhaps that was Amaranth’s savings grace, for had there been snarling - Harper would have yeeted the golden chicken into the lake. In fact, Harper was waiting for Valeska to growl, or to snarl, as a que for Harper to do just that as she didn't really (yes she did) be too protective if they were just having a lover's dance.

^^
the staff team luvs u

"Oh, are we discussing faults now?"

Valeska opened her mouth to no doubt say something else petulant and infuriating, because that was the mood she was in, but before she could utter a sound Amaranth had slithered over in all of her great golden coils like a cobra and straddled her with the tight grip of one who was not in a playful state of mind.

"But let me tell you..."

"There are so many things..."

"... That we do out of love."

She quickly closed her mouth as the vile stench of her mate's rancid breath curled outward from her slim jaws, fangs dripping saliva as the heat from her maw flowed up and into Valeska's unwilling nostrils. The High Priestess prided herself on a strong stomach, but today - for some reason, terribly, horribly, today - it set her off.

It was the worst thing she had ever smelled. These were the lips she loved, and she had borne them dutifully and with adoration all the way up until this point, but right now they were rotten lips from the bowels of hell itself.

She had a moment to turn and see Harper trotting merrily up toward the pair, and in parting her jaws to utter what was meant to be an awkward greeting, she instead opened her mouth and vomited.

It went everywhere.

It was on her.

A little was on Amaranth.

Maybe more than a little was on Amaranth.

"Чертовы дерьмовые шарики," — Motherfucking shit balls, she breathed through small, intermittent belches, clenching in on her stomach tightly in an effort to stop anything else from coming up. “I feel like...” She couldn't even find the right words for how she felt, other than absolute garbage.

Harper looked utterly stunned.

“... Hello, sister. We were discussing hygiene.”

the staff team luvs u

She hovered like a cloud of black smog over her mate, purple eyes flickering with dangerous intent. But Valeska did not falter, her body a stiff silver board beneath the lanky tendrils of Amaranth's stilt-like limbs. There was a disturbingly stark and obvious lack of ... anything in Valeska's eyes. Her gaze wandered aimlessly, her lips coiling in mild detest at Amaranth's very presence. A fluttering heartbeat slapped the inside of Amaranth's rib cage, a startling mixture of confusion, sadness, and anger.

Amaranth's brain became hazy as the combination of these sensations blackened the cognisant part of her mind, drawing her away from reality. Pushing her away. Anywhere. Else.

Limbs weakened, that once-imposing stance shifting into something more defensive. Haze and smoke filled her eyes, her dilated pupils constricting as if the entire light of the sun had suddenly hit her straight in the face. And she winced, lifting her head up and away —

— literally just in time for vomit to splatter against her chest.

She scurried backward dramatically, nearly tripping on herself and stumbling as if shot by a gun. A shocked snarl ripped from her hips before she settled, hackles lfited. "Valeska," she whispered, the emotion in her voice incomprehensible. A golden slipper rose to brush the ejecta off of her coat to send it dropping to the ground. It was only then that her eyes turned to Harper, labyrinthine eyes laced with horror, sadness, confusion, and a hint of residual anger.

“... Hello, sister. We were discussing hygiene.”

Amaranth's ears flattened again, an audible, serpentine-like hiss escaping her lips as she continued to brush the spittle from her coat. "What is going on with you?" The marionette remained defensive, half curled toward Valeska as if the woman might shoot something else at her. First, her words, then this? Amaranth's mind bounced, hitting each side of her head like a ping-pong ball and warping between emotions with every ricochet.

the staff team luvs u

^^With their childhood robbed of each other, the two sisters had remained close after being reunited as adults and in all of that time since they had been reunited, Harper had never once seen Valeska vomit. She was always in perfect health, never one to catch cold or falter in health, like both of their parents had.

Yet now, suspiciously, Valeska had thrown up - which was a major red flag that told Harper that something was very seriously amiss. And Valeska, who was normally a smol bean, looked as though she had gained weight.

In her abdomen.

And she had just thrown up all over her wife.

And they were discussing hygiene.

Amaranth looked perplexed about the entire situation, though Harper could not deny the look of sadness that lay hidden in the golden woman’s eyes. Harper’s own eyes narrowed, pondering the idea that Valeska had somehow insulted Amaranth.

Valeska, insulting Amaranth?

Hello, sister. We were discussing hygiene, the words of her sister echoing in her head as her eyes lingered over her sister; over the hurt look of Amaranth.

There was no doubt about it, was there? If Harper approached, would Valeska comment on the way she smelled too? Would Harper be able to steal a glance at her sister’s abdomen without arising suspicion?

It didn’t matter; she didn’t need to see swollen teats. There were too many aligned factors here, but the vomit had been the icing on the cake; the deciding factor.

“Oh, can't you see, darling? She has a condition - our dear Valeska is pregnant.”

^^
the staff team luvs u

Amaranth's reaction could have been far worse. If she had ended Valeska's life right then and there, she would have been perfectly justified, and no one would blame her. To be insulted - multiple times - and then ultimately end up as a receptacle for that same person's half-digested breakfast was a dealbreaker for most creatures, and although the High Priestess felt like actual shit, she hadn't completely lost her sense of justice. Valeska knew she had been acting completely unreasonable.

But lately she just... couldn't stop herself.

It was a need. An urge.

As the golden woman recoiled in disgust, snarling her ire as she did, a sheepish sort of guilt overtook Valeska's expression as she sat halfway up, still feeling nauseous. The worst of it had passed, but she couldn't guarantee anything else wouldn't happen.

“Amara, I-”

Harper suddenly looked very amused, and the little wolf shot her an impatient glare. What was so funny? Here they were, covered in vomit, on the brink of ending their relationship, Elysium collapsing before their eyes, someone was probably about to die, and she had the worst stomach bug in years-

“Oh, can't you see, darling? She has a condition - our dear Valeska is pregnant.”

Oh.

Oh.

Valeska looked down toward her midsection. She thought she'd just been snacking too much - then she thought back to her odd cravings of late, realizing that caribou with mint leaves was probably out of the ordinary for most wolves. She continued to stare ponderously at her stomach, unblinking and unmoving, before shifting her gaze toward Amaranth and her sister.

“Well,” she said in a monotone, still too shocked to react, “That would explain many things.”

And then a slow smile crept up her cheeks.

Broader, wider; her eyes crinkled at the corners as tears bubbled up and threatened to spill.

“Amara,” she said tremulously, “I am sorry - and -”

She shook like a leaf.

“Amara. The gods - they have - we - we are -”

Valeska couldn't finish her sentence. She looked toward Harper helplessly as a series of rattling sobs overtook her, joyous and completely overcome with emotion. There was nothing left to say.

the staff team luvs u

Harper's eyes lit, blessed with some sort of knowledge that was unknown to the mated pair. Amaranth's gaze twisted back and forth between the two sisters, half-crazed and half-convinced that the two were playing some sort of trick on her as Harper's gaze seemed to laugh knowingly. Valeska seemed to finally falter, a softness creeping onto her vomit-covered face as she nearly whispered — "Amara..."

It could have melted her.

But then she remembered the disgust that had just minutes ago laced those angelic lips.

Her hackles rustled.

“Oh, can't you see, darling? She has a condition -”

Amaranth raised her brows, preparing her mouth to fire off an explosive list of Valeksas 'conditions,' but she was stopped as Harper finished the sentence — “-our dear Valeska is pregnant.” Amaranth's mouth remained half-ajar, a huff of steam escaping instead of the slew of insults she had prepared. Every part of her body felt limp, her head feeling light — her jaw still ajar as her eyes fell from Harper and landed back on Valeska. Valeska. Pregnant. Valeska. Crying. Crying with a belly full of ... babies.

Their babies.

“Amara. The gods - they have - we - we are -”

It worked. It actually worked. She did it*. They did it.

Her legs stiffened, and there was a part of her that wanted to run. Run far, run fast, run away ... anywhere. But she remained rooted to the spot, her eyes softening for a moment as she gazed toward the slightly-pudgier Valeska. The defensive posture melted away as she took a few tentative steps closer to her mate. "We did it," she said softly, instinctually wanting to move closer but still very-very-scarred by the vomit explosion from before. "Does that mean ..." her voice became a gentle whisper ... expectant.

"You don't really think I stink, do you?" A deviously playful smile coiled upon her serpentine lips.

---

*read as Amaranth truly believes her magical magic sperm have impregnated Valeska. She does not believe Ragnar has any physical part in this at all, xD

the staff team luvs u

^^Had this been a different time, Harper would have kept this little piece of information to herself and would have likely been much less amused about this little discovery. Ah, but thankfully, it had seemed that he’d gone with the wind, just as Harper had predicted him to do.

He had abandoned Valeska once before, after all, and there had been no scent of him in Elysium (or anywhere else, for that manner..) sense. An ear flickered in wonder, though she’d said nothing. It didn’t matter what had happened to him.

Harper’s amusement grew with Valeska’s most immediate response, offering a sad smile as her thoughts drifted to Crux, and what might have been. Her sister began to cry, as Harper was torn between leaving the two mothers to have this moment alone, or to curl around her sister and be a part of the moment.

But this was her sister, and she did not want to take away or make this about her. So she picked the skull back up and placed it next to them, offering each a nuzzle of affection before taking her leave into her den.

She had a celebration to prepare.

exit harper

^^
the staff team luvs u

Valeska bubbled over with tears, ultimately collapsing in a heaving mess of disheveled fur and a slight smell of dried vomit. It was not the most beautiful way to celebrate the onset of motherhood, but if nothing else, it was accurate. Her mate shifted gears almost immediately - thankfully she didn't catch the part where Amaranth had turned rigid as stone, a telltale sign that she was about to run like the wind - and instead took several halting steps forward. She almost looked frightened, like a child encountering something new and terrible for the first time.

Which it was, in a way.

Their blood-soaked ritual of heavy herbs and prayer-filled chanting at Northfall had worked, not that she remembered much of it. The night had been a hazy blur, knowing only for certain that Houtu's presence had been thick in the air, the stars sparkling overhead as if the gods themselves willed it all to be - which, evidently, they had. She was pregnant. Amaranth's children grew within her belly with each passing moment, and she smiled with dampened cheeks at her mate's approach. “By the Five's blessing, we... we have,” was all she could muster before devolving into another series of hiccup-sobs.

It had seemed such an impossible dream.

Gathering herself once more, she focused her gaze upon the golden apparition before her. Ethereal, wraith-like. One of Houtu's angels come down in mortal form. They had been together for so long, now - from their first meeting in the bone-pit, to their first discovery of Hiraeth's Temple and their ultimate decision to make a home there. They had thrived, flourished like the plants under Harper's care in the garden, and it seemed that even in death and rebirth within this startling new world they were always meant to be together - like yin and yang, two halves of a whole, entwined eternally in their shared love for one another.

Valeska rose suddenly as if a strange resolve had overtaken her, making several wobbling steps toward the lake. She dipped her muzzle in its clear waters, giving herself a few good swishes as she cleaned herself up from her earlier 'episode'. The little wolf shook out the wetness from her fur, glancing at her reflection from the surface - she looked better, at any rate, though her eyes were still swollen from crying.

Ultimately it didn't matter.

She walked back toward Amaranth, taking a deep, steadying breath as she did so.

“Amara, I... we have been through so much,” she began, her voice wavering, “And I wish to be with you. Always. Wherever you go - I want to be where you are.”

If she could sweat, Valeska would have looked as ridiculous as she felt.

“Do you also wish the same?”

She swallowed loudly.

“In a... proper ceremony?”

the staff team luvs u

Pregnant. Children. Small spiritual vessels that were growing in the confines of Valeska's fluffy silver belly. It seemed surreal — perhaps not realistic at all, for that matter. And the news unfolded upon them like a weighted blanket; heavy and noticeable, and yet somehow more comforting than confining. Or perhaps it was confining — perhaps it was not relief but claustrophobia. Stifling and sweaty.

The golden woman swallowed hard, trying to understand the gravity of what was going on in the same way that Valeska was. Only knowing that somehow, someway ... Amaranth had promised Valeksa this, and she had actually done it.

Valeska then stood up, walking slowly toward the edge of the glittering turquoise water to wash her face. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and Amaranth could only watch as the sunbeams played with the soft silver furs along Valeska's neck, decorating her in an ethereal sparkle. She was still beautiful, even as she cleared the vomit from her mouth ... she was still captivating, even after bringing Amaranth to the edge of violence with her ever-so-silly insults (which were obviously just hormonal ramblings of fallacy).

Harper, the shadow she was, somehow snuck away with a sinister smile ... plotting something, from somewhere. And it left the two women together in that comfortably heavy silence.

Valeska breathed deeply at the edge of the lake.

Amaranth was patient — though her toes would still tingle from anticipation.

And then Valeska turned, glittering sunlight dancing across her skin as those warm honeysuckle eyes looked deeply into Amaranth's own. And she felt that sweet warmth radiate up her spine, prickling her skin ... soothing her insecurities. “Amara, I... we have been through so much,” Valeska began, starting her monologue. Amaranth noted the hesitation, the wavering in her voice that was so uncharacteristic of her more brazen mate. Amaranth blinked, her eyes a deep labyrinth of amethyst. “And I wish to be with you. Always. Wherever you go - I want to be where you are.”

Amaranth blinked again. Processing the day's events with as much grace as a dial-up computer.

“Do you also wish the same?”

Of course, she did. Amaranth recalled everything. Their first encounter in the bone pit — that saucy silver tail that had pulled her from the brink of devastation in her mind. The angel who'd saved her. She recalled that exact moment when she knew she would follow Valeska to the ends of the earth and the ends of space ... it had been that simple, that effortless. So destined that even death could not erase that bond, for here they were ... together in purgatory. Yes, she recalled the countless nights sleeping by Valeska's side ... the gifts, the expressions of feeling. Amaranth had already promised herself to Valeska so infinitely and in so many small ways.

“In a... proper ceremony?”

In a ... ceremony. Wait. Was Valeska ... formally proposing to her? Suggesting a wedding? Is that why she was acting so weird?

Or was it the hormones? Oh dear, Amaranth was going to have a hard time figuring this out.

"Valeska, my вонючий лось," she started, lips softening into a smile as she realized at that moment that she was probably waiting a little too long to answer. That slender golden body slid forward, muzzle angling to brush a velvet nose into Valeska's cheek. "You know my feelings for you are ... beyond explanation. You know I want nothing more than to follow you everywhere — to be with you — to make you feel, too." Her head pulled back slightly, nose hovering near Valeska's face as she tried to read the woman for emotion. Tried not to ... breathe on her?

"Yes —" she answered, before quickly adding,
 "—of course we should celebrate that with the rest of Elysium."

It wouldn't be Valeska without a party, after all.

Amaranth's smile blossomed.

the staff team luvs u

Notably, Amaranth maintained her distance and allowed her lover to wash the grime away from her face in peace. That, or she didn't want to be collateral damage in the event her splashing proved too vigorous (how she hated water!), but either way, Valeska appreciated the brief reprieve. She felt bad enough after having emptied her stomach contents all over her beautiful mate only moments before.

Perhaps not the most romantic time for a proposal, but it was the time they had.

Seconds ticked by in what seemed like an eternity between them as the words left her mouth - the point of no return, the very culmination of their years spent together at last uttered like a sacred prayer.

In some ways, it was. The High Priestess could hardly remember the last time she had wanted something so badly, the ache turning into a searing hole in her chest as her heart thrummed frantically with the anticipation of - what? Rejection? Amaranth, flighty and unwilling to be caged much like a wayward dove, remained ever unpredictable in her ways. With each step further toward commitment, between pack life and pregnancy and proposals, Valeska caught glimpses of her panic like glimmering sunlight streaking across the lake's surface.

But for the second time today, she had chosen to stay.

Amaranth stood, muscles tensed - then transformed into liquid gold before her. She melted forward with a serpentine grace, pressing her nose into the warmth of her adrenaline-fueled lover and parted her lips in an inky smile, brushing them close to her silver ear as she uttered-

"Valeska, my вонючий лось. — smelly moose"

Ah, shit. Again? Valeska hoped she had forgotten that cursed phrase by now, but apparently @Harper's handiwork had proven too memorable. It was a shame, but she refused to allow the... error, to ruin this precious moment between them.

The pale wolf gently withdrew her head to gaze upon her golden mate - her future wife, her partner - and felt her own lips curl up into an uncontrollable smile. Valeska could never hide her emotions; she was a wolf who lived.

“The gods will it,” she breathed, almost at risk of losing herself in the depthless eyes of her companion. “It is with our efforts and the Sacred All-Mother's blessing that we have done so much - been through so much - that we died and woke here, together, to start a new life. A better life.”

Valeska sniffed as more tears threatened to storm the gates of her composure, valiantly blinking them back.

“You, and I, and the rest of Elysium, and our... children. I pray with every waking breath that Houtu and the Five bless us for as long as we live, as they have already done in so many beautiful ways. You are my shining star, my spiritual counselor - my Авгур — Augur,” she said with levity, pausing with a cryptic smile. Her thoughts would not remain secret for long.

It was far overdue. Amaranth had proven time and time again to stand dauntless by her side, in every situation they had come across no matter how uncomfortable or absurd or frightening. Silver and gold. Two precious metals, eternal and entwined halves of a glittering whole.

“As my mate and my life's blood, Houtu has chosen the path before you if you will take it with me. Would you be my High Augur, and help guide Elysium with your wisdom?”

the staff team luvs u

Valeska sniffed back tears, quelling back a storm of emotions.

Amaranth watched her quietly, brewing as unsteadily as an impending thunderstorm herself.

The two were simple in their own ways, and complex in so many others. How they understood one another was a daily miracle. How they moved forward in tandem, how they twisted through the labyrinth of life. As friends, spiritual partners ... and now, wives. It was truly an example of dualities — of opposites attracting. Of magnets colliding together with a definitive smack as positive and negative met in a simple embrace.

Two halves of a whole.

Despite how abnormal it may have seemed from the outside.

Valeska spoke to her, those heavily accented words wrapping circles around Amaranth's ears. A gentle smile pulled on those serpentine lips, tumultuous purple eyes quieting if only for a brief moment to reprise with the warmth of her unspoken love. "Would you be my High Augur, and help guide Elysium with your wisdom?" It should have been a joke, honestly. That Amaranth should do anything to guide anyone. But Valeska was not wrong — her spiritual wisdom had gotten them this far. It had gifted them with each other. It had gifted Valeska them with ... children. An entirely new journey was about to unravel.

A new chapter — no, an entirely new series — ready to be written.

"For Elysium. For you. For us," she said simply, her smile flourishing as she cautiously moved forward to press her forehead to Valeska's in a soft notion of an embrace.

"Come," she said, pulling away and blinking ambiguously. There was preparing to do.

The newly anointed High Augur flicked her tail with an ethereal, regal air, winking once as she turned on the sisters and walked back toward the dens.

Perhaps she'd roll in some dirt or something ... to get the ... smell off her.

---

Amaranth Exits.

the staff team luvs u