A ghost should be so practical

{Set a day prior to the ceremony}

Harper had been suspiciously quiet since her return from Northfall. She had barely uttered a reason for her journey in the first place, just that she had to go at the request of a friend - Sylvie had gone with her as well, worrying her wolf-mother Amaranth quite unnecessarily, but at least they had both returned safely. Sylvie was also currently grounded, pouting her way about the den with a look of utter disdain for all living things.

Valeska had seen Harper busying herself gathering herbs and various sweet-smelling florals for the upcoming wedding, keeping mostly to herself as if she were trying to avoid something - or someone. The silver wolf would not be left in the dark forever, though, and eventually managed to track down her sister as she was collecting a mouthful of daisies with which to adorn the surrounding tree limbs of the glade. Valeska herself had remained preoccupied with her own list of items to gather up, but she set aside her bundle of florals for the time being - this seemed important.

“You have been so busy with preparations, sister,” she began teasingly, approaching with quiet steps, “I thought you were avoiding me!”

A light pause hovered in the air between them. Only the faint rustling of Harper's continued busywork and the distant sound of birdsong answered back, and Valeska felt her ears pin back against her head without meaning to. She hadn't - had she? What could there be that the siblings could not readily talk about?

“My heart... is there something wrong? You have not told me about your trip.”

Valeska moved closer to her side, placing a gentle paw on Harper's shoulder. “I will help you with your work once we have talked - I am worried.”

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^^It was true, in a sense, that Harper had kept quiet; she’d returned with the Northfall leaders and immediately begun getting ready for the wedding. Collecting herbs, putting pretty flowers in their places - everything to keep her mind off the information that she had learned; the information that she needed to share with her sister, but Harper had said to herself that it would not be done during or before the ceremony —

— and the only way she knew how to keep quiet about something so heavy, was simply not to see her sister. It was one thing to learn of a war between nations, but another to have been summoned for work to learn that one of her only friends had been ambushed!

Much to Harper’s dismay, the silver wolf knew her better than Harper knew herself; she could tell when something was amiss, or when something was important, as this was. And while the two seemed to be, from Harper’s point of view anyway, attached at the hip, this was meant to be Valeska’s special day, and Harper swore — oh how she swore — that she would not ruin this.

Her sister deserved to be happy! Truthfully speaking, she deserved the world, and being here during wedding preparations made her think of her own wedding, causing her heart to wince, but Harper put Valeska above herself; she put everyone above herself.

Normally a stoic woman, who kept her emotions in check by keeping them locked away, Harper turned to look at her sister, as a paw was placed upon her shoulder, with tears in her eyes. She was, very rarely, a canine who shred tears of sadness, and usually, more often, shred tears of anger.

This time, it was an odd combination of both.

“My… you have grown,” Harper forced a laugh, a futile attempt to keep her emotions in check, and when that failed - shocking no one at all - Harper curled around her sister and wept into her shoulder.

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It was so much worse than she had thought. As Harper lifted her head to smile through tear-filled eyes, luminescent amethyst clouded with sorrow, Valeska reacted instinctively and moved to curve her neck about her sister's weeping form. What on earth could have her so distraught? This felt fresher, newer than the loss of Crux - she no doubt still grappled with her feelings of grief over his passing, but this didn't seem related to it at all.

Valeska tensed, briefly, at Harper's slightly unnecessary comment about her changing figure, shelving the consequences of that remark for a different day. Retribution came in many forms, and they would have time enough in the coming weeks.

For now, she focused on the matter at hand, gently licking away the tears that poured down her sister's cheeks. “What has made you this way?” she asked tentatively, not wishing to upset her more than she already was. “Surely it is nothing that Northfall has done; they were so welcoming and kind when Amaranth and I visited them last. Is it something else?”

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^^The flower maiden was silent for some time, gathering her thoughts and her emotions as she allowed her sister to be a sister as she groomed over her now damp cheeks. The tensing was noted, as Harper had forgotten, of course, how sensitive pregnant women were — that mishap would be shelved for another time.

Slowly, Harper uncurled herself and damply and gently nuzzled into her sister, a silent thanks (and apology for her comment), the devil wolf gave one single, though firm nod of her head, and when she spoke, her voice was laced with a vemon that felt almost misplaced. It was, however, very obviously not directed towards her sister. She would switch to their mother tongue, should any prying ears be listening; a hint alone at how sensitive this information was.

“Меня вызвали в Нортфолл, чтобы вылечить тигра.” — I was called to Northfall to heal a tiger, Harper said, fondly recalling their tea time together, Harper would nod her head in confirmation if/when Valeska should ask if the tiger had been their friend, @Kuhn.

“На него напали, как я предполагаю, две разные стаи..” — He was ambushed by, what I assume, are two different packs. Harper took a very deep inhale, her own ears lowering, shaking her head.

“Я боюсь, что он жаждет мести.” — I fear he seeks vengeance. The vemon now gone, a hint of sadness taking it's place, Harper glanced over her sister, ears lowering, with a defeated sigh.

What the hell were they going to do if this escalated into a full-out war?

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As Harper relayed what information she held, a series of thoughts suddenly clicked into place.

Dried blood flavoring the air.

The fresh scent of new neighbors in close proximity, arriving seemingly overnight and without warning or introduction. Secretive - their scent mingling with Vanderfell's, weaving in and out from each other's borders.

Hieronymous casually glossing over Orlaith's sudden and unexpected passing - Orlaith, who had seemed so strong and capable.

Things that, viewed separately, would have been of little to no consequence; but seen as a whole in light of such devastating news suddenly painted a much broader picture. She didn't want to think it true, for her neighbors had never been outwardly hostile and didn't seem like the sort of pack to make such a rash decision at their own risk, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong, and Vanderfell may have had a hand in it.

She felt the fur prick up along the back of her neck.

"Зачем кому-то нападать на Куна?" — Why would anyone attack Kuhn? she asked incredulously, eyes wide. The tiger had been such a perfect gentleman when they had last met, and seemed to harbor no ill intent toward themselves or anyone else. "Я не могу представить, что могло спровоцировать две стаи, чтобы хладнокровно устроить ему засаду. Он напугал их? Был ли это его внешний вид, он убил одного из их родственников?" — I cannot imagine what could have provoked two packs to ambush him in cold blood. Did he frighten them? Was it his appearance, had he slain one of their kin?

Valeska glanced up toward the mountains of Fate's Summit, and a cold chill crept down her spine.

"... Кто напал на него?" — ... Who attacked him?

Her sister expressed concern over an impending war, and Valeska felt a great weight press down upon her small shoulders. She had already resolved to try and mediate the conflict between Northfall and Dragonford, which was overwhelming enough - but to think that another fight lingered at their own doorstep filled her with dread. Still, all things in due time. It was no use working herself up over something that could not immediately be dealt with, and soothing Harper was more important right now. She bent down to give her another reassuring lick.

"Мы не поджигатели войны. Я не позволю никому из наших выйти в бессмысленную битву только для того, чтобы запятнать землю своей кровью; Я хочу избежать таких вещей, если мы можем. Мы предвестники гармония." — We are not war-mongers. I will not allow any of our own to go out in a pointless battle just to stain the earth with their blood; I wish to avoid such things if we can. We are harbingers of peace.

And yet.

"Если дело дойдет до апогея, я бы предпочел, чтобы мы сначала договорились." — Should things come to a head, I would rather we negotiate first.

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^^Had it not been for the premature death of her husband, and the tidal wave of grief, depression, and utter sorrow that quickly followed suit, Harper might have taken notice to some of the things, if not all, that Valeska had noticed upon occasion - but her mind had been clouded, and she had been far less aware of these things.

Elysium had always been open and kind to strangers, never once caring - at least, not in a negative light - when they had strangers amongst their grounds. Valeska had always been the friendly sort, taking in strangers before knowing them, or giving a helping hand where it was needed. Elysium was like an extended part of Valeska’s personality; Harper knew that Valeska would not send their wolves to fight a battle that was not their own. They were not like the Nightwalkers, who were aggressive, and threw threats of death around as if it were nothing.

They were a school, to attempt to carry on Crux’s vision, but above all else, Elysium was a sanctuary of peace, love, and respect. The trio had once had a lovely luncheon together, talking about this and that as though Kuhn himself was not of a different species and the “actual threat” that there had been Valeska herself, and not the tiger.

Valeska, who was now asking for the names of Kuhn’s attackers, followed by questions that Harper did not have the answers to. Valeska’s attention turned towards Fate’s Summit, as though some part of her had known, and Harper’s eyes followed to view the mountain with curled lips.

“Ира и Рэйко и их рабыни.” — Ira and Reiko, and their slaves, Harper muttered quietly, as though she were Bella Swan outting Edward Cullen as a vampire in the forest. “Я не знаю и не могу понять, почему на него напали.” — I do not know, nor can I fathom, why he was attacked. Though honestly, the why didn’t matter.

Anything could be negotiated, but some wolves were just too close minded; too set on the path of bloodshed. “Когда война, смерть или кровопролитие что-то решали?” — When has war, death, or bloodshed ever solved anything?,

On that note, she thought briefly about the current war due west, and Harper took a moment to glance into the Ford’s direction with another heavy sigh. A war in which bloodshed and a life had already been lost; Harper assumed, too, that Reiko’s and Ira’s people had been lost to Kuhn. She left no remorse in the manner; self defense was self defense.

She was silent for a time, and then -

—“Что вы думаете о Вендрусселе?” — What do you think of Vendrussel?

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Her sister's confirmation only added further confusion surrounding the unexpected attack. She puzzled over the various bits of information at her disposal, trying to understand how they all fit together in the effort of understanding why it had happened in the first place. Reiko was a name wholly unfamiliar to her, though she assumed it belonged to the legion of fresh scents that now swarmed Skelmir's Pass - it made sense that the two united packs would return together to tend each other's wounds. Kuhn, at least, had managed to defend himself and live to see another day, though she felt a pang at the thought of Orlaith's life being a vicious consequence of their encounter. She wondered how many other lives had been lost - it was a bitter affair.

"Кажется, Вандерфеллу не свойственно оказаться не на той стороне войны," — It seems unlike Vanderfell to find themselves on the wrong side of a war, Valeska pondered, her gaze finally shifting away from Fate's Summit. Harper looked utterly distraught, her eyes clouded with grief and rage. "Тем не менее, мы по-прежнему знаем о Куне больше, чем о наших соседях, и я хорошо о нем отзываюсь." — Yet we still know more of Kuhn than we do our own neighbors, and I think favorably of him.

She gave her sibling another reassuring nuzzle, listening in silence to what thoughts she had left to impart. War and conflict never solved anything; the pair knew better than anyone. Their lives had begun in sorrow as it was, painted with the tears of a mother banished with her dark so-called stain of a child, forced to leave her only other surviving pup behind - all because of a misunderstanding and an unwillingness to see.

Yet who wants to feel another's pain when self-righteousness is so blinding in its radiance? Like a sweet siren song, it lures its victims out into murky depths, all in the name of honor and so-called 'justice'.

It had been a hard lesson to learn, but the years had taught that True North - the core of righteousness - lay in empathy.

"Я даже не знаю, назвал бы я что-то против одного человека 'войной'. Это больше похоже на... бойню." — I don't even know if I would call something against a single individual a 'war'. It sounds more like a... a slaughter.

She grew uncomfortable at the thought, and first felt grateful that Harper was changing the subject - then realized it was another broiling conflict. By the gods, how things had fallen apart around them in the past few months. It seemed everyone had problems they kept creating for themselves. She shook her head ruefully.

"Вендруссель приятный. Я знаю о ее текущей ситуации с Нортфоллом и обещал помочь ей в установлении временного мира -" — Vendrussel is pleasant. I'm aware of her current situation with Northfall, and promised to assist her in establishing a tentative peace - yet the little wolf hesitated, her brow furrowing in agitation. It was much more complicated than calling a truce; the sea-wolf had slain one of their own, and Valeska had the worrisome impression that Northfall was not exactly the forgiving kind. In truth, she couldn't imagine herself handling it too much better, but she hoped that wasn't the case. "Она убила ребенка. Это не было преднамеренно, но это было сделано по опрометчивости - я не знаю, что я могу сделать, кроме как умолять ее и молиться." — She killed a child. It wasn't premeditated, but it was done in rashness - I don't know what I can do beyond plead her case and pray.

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^^There honestly wasn’t much that Harper knew of Vanderfall. She knew their location; she knew the name of their alpha, and most importantly, she knew that they were not allies, and would now likely never be allies.

What sort of ridiculous policy was it to pre-wed children? Pfft. Harper nodded, in agreement; the stoic Vanderfell did not seem like the sort to be on the wrong side of a war. Yet, depressingly, they knew more about the victim of the war than their own neighbors. Not once had a single Vanderfell member come down to say hi or introduce themselves, and doing so now would just seem downright suspicious, wouldn’t it, after all this time? After they had attacked a tiger.

Harper sighed and nuzzled into her sister, pondering the idea of relocating the pack, though it was doubtful that Elysium would relocate simply over troublesome neighbors. Just like the story of Vendrussel and Northfall.

Vendrussel, who had seemed nice enough, had killed a child. That had not been something she had shared with Harper, nor had Harper asked. Valeska’s promise to the sea dragon did not surprise Harper, which she would indicate with a smirk of her lips, as if to say yes, of course you have, — it seemed that the Mandalorians and Elysiumians ought to have the same motto. This is the way.

“Я сказал ей, что мы вместе поговорим с лидерами Нортфолла и попытаемся им помочь. Я надеюсь, что здесь есть чем заняться, помимо обмена головами. Вендрюссель предложил, но это трудная задача; тот, который я сомневаюсь, что Нортфолл будет чтить” — I told her we would speak with Northfall leaders together and try to assist them. I hope that there is something to be done here, aside from the exchanging of heads. Vendrussel gave a suggestion, but it is a tall order; one that I doubt Northfall would honor.

She sighed, shaking her head and sitting down; it looked as if Elysium was becoming Switzerland. And that was fine, but with such troublesome neighbors, how long would it be before they turned their attention towards Elysium? Her ears folded back and her hackles rose at the mere thought of it.

Oh, how she hated war.

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She pointedly ignored the smirk that crept across Harper's dark features, knowing well how her sister viewed her, nor would she deny it; Valeska was absolutely a goddamn goodie-two-shoes who truly wanted the best for everyone, and she refused to be ashamed of the fact. Pain was subjective, and it was important to listen to every side of a story, even if it wasn't exactly what one wished to hear.

Killing a child was grave indeed, however. It was difficult to see through the fog of what lay ahead and envision a world where Northfall might be open to peace between their borders, but she had to try; for their sake as well as Dragonford's. Ragnar had been one of the first openly hospitable leaders she had encountered in this foreign land, and she did not wish for him to lose any more of those he loved - while Vendrussel seemed truly remorseful.

It wasn't fair, how the world's inhabitants constantly turned on each other. So went the silly saying, hurt people, hurt people - if only it wasn't so true.

"Ну, они едут на свадьбу, нет? Мы можем попытаться поговорить с Рагнаром и Синдри до того, как они отправятся в обратный путь." — Well, they are coming to the wedding, no? We can try to speak with Ragnar and Sindri before they depart for their journey back.

Having Harper there as a visual aid to dampen flaring tempers might help, too. She wasn't a wolf who relished fighting, but she cut an imposing figure, and Valeska knew her sister already had fairly good relations with Northfall's pack members - though no inkling as to how far that went, in Sindri's case.

"Что предложил Вендрюссель?" — What was it that Vendrussel suggested?

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^^How was it that suddenly, there were two wars brewing on the opposite sides of the mountain? Vanderfall and Reiko’s people against Kuhn & then Ragnar and Sindri’s people against Vendrussel – and then there was Elysium, somehow kind of, but also not really, caught in the middle of it all in the sense that Harper was friends with Kuhn, and had gone to heal him, and Valeska wished to aid whatever was going on with Northfall and Dragonford.

The death of a child had been made; not something Vendrussel had openly shared with Harper, though her feelings had seemed genuine, and she had been honest about the blood spilled - but it had been a child.

Sindri had made mention of having children with Ragnar, surely - it wasn’t hers? Sindri, who fancied Harper; Sindri, who was one of Harper’s only (canine) friends. Her ears lowered with a sigh, nodding her head to Valeska’s question. Yes, they would be at the wedding; a perfect chance to learn more or to attempt to… assist in some way.

“Что-то, боюсь, наши друзья в Нортфолле не удостоят чести.” — Something, I fear, our friends at Northfall will not honor. Though honestly, if it was Vendrussel who made the kill, then why did she expect Northfall to be the ones to move? Her eyes narrowed, realizing that someone didn’t quite add up here.

“Она хочет, чтобы Нортфолл собрался и ушел; уйти далеко-далеко от нее.” — She wants Northfall to pack up and leave; to move far, far away from her.

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Valeska knew little, if anything, of her sister's connection to Sindri. There was a particular remorse behind her eyes that spoke of feelings greater than simply war was coming, but - she had no way of knowing why. Instead, she leaned forward to give Harper a reassuring nuzzle, noting the way her ears rotated back with the weight of emotion.

She hated to see her sad.

"Волки Нортфолла свирепы, но я молюсь, чтобы они не были неразумными. Я просто не хочу, чтобы они страдали больше, чем они уже страдали." — The wolves of Northfall are ferocious, but I pray they are not unreasonable. I just do not wish to see them suffer more than they already have.

Valeska knew it was a shot in the dark. They were unlikely to accept any bargain less than Vendrussel's cold, lifeless corpse for what she had done, yet if the cycle of death and vengeance could be stopped before it progressed too far, it was her moral imperative to try.

Harper's next statement, however, saw her choke. Her eyes flew open and she leaned back as if in a great gust of wind, incredulousness coloring her expression.

"Она хочет, чтобы они УШЛИ? Богами - это невозможный вопрос!" — She wants them to LEAVE? By the gods - that is an impossible ask! she exclaimed. "Боже мой, я почти чувствую себя обиженным от их имени. Что ж, ничего не поделаешь – выглядит мрачно, но я все равно желаю сделать попытку." — Goodness, I almost feel offended on their behalf. Well, it cannot be helped - it looks grim, but I still wish to make the attempt.

No matter the outcome.

Smiling tiredly, she leaned in and gave Harper a good-natured bump with the flat of her shoulder, trying to lighten the mood.

“All of this talk is so heavy - let us find some lunch, and speak of something else. You have also not shown me your garden in some time! Come, I wish to see it.”

Motioning with a flick of her tail to follow, Valeska rose and turned toward the direction of Harper's quiet space, the soft scent of florals already wafting down from afar.
 

{Exit Valeska}

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