planet her

"Warwick mentioned were you may have been.. Alongside with Calhoun — but @Aldritch as well is missing.. Is this true?" Célnes had said.  Edith was intrigued by the Queen's tidbit; The High Elk had blessed them yet again. He had banished the sinner—or so she assumed—and freed Elkshire from the burden of supporting such an unfortunate soul. She did not mourn his absence—the news had brought her immense joy, and she openly celebrated. This was for the best. 

Edith bounced through the sprawling lilac glade, happier than a clam. Sundance Grove was truly one of His greater works of art, and she could feel Him all around. She had never been here before, but already she knew that she would return often to be closer to Him.

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The Elk had taken their spot to rest for a while. Due to their recent habits and new fawns, Aldritch felt it was alright to leave them for a bit and find his own food and return later. They would be there for a few days at least, he knew that... unless some heathen walked up on them to try and hunt the mighty beasts - then he could simply follow some of their scattered scents and reunite them one by one.

On the move to find something quick to eat, the sight of something brown bouncing through the fields caught his eye. At first he thought perhaps it was a small deer, ripe for the pickings... but no. It was another one of mother's favourites. A look of disgust crossed his features as he desired nothing more but to keep moving on. By his last encounter with a favourite, he had no desire to try and convert another who was most likely living a spoiled life after returning to her bosom.

She lived with their father now didn't she? That's what Warwick said anyway. With a dismissive flick of his ear, he turned to continue to track something to eat.

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Edith's bliss quickly dissipated. She caught movement out of the corner of her eyes, and she turned towards it to suss out whether or not she recognized whoever was nearby. "Aldritch?" she hissed as she realized who it was, nearly spitting his name out of her mouth, "What the hell are you doing here?" She didn't let him answer.

Anger consumed and she saw red; her brother did not deserve to roam in His holy grounds. Fueld by her rage, Edith broke into a sprint towards Aldrith with a nasty growl and her fangs bore. Her warning was clear: he needed to get out.

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As he moved to ignore her - Edith did not do the same. Instead, she rushed at him with his back turned. The snarl rang in his ears while he did little to brace or defend himself against her. Hatred, hypocrisy, lies, that was what Celnes taught. He placed his trust in the High Elk as she came rushing in, only casting a disinterested glance over his shoulder - daring her to follow through with her threat.

He wasn't about to run from his sister. No, he wasn't a coward. He was an apostle. And if she was to kill him here, he would simply be a martyr and retribution would come Edith, and Elkshire's way for their wrong doings.

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Aldritch did ... nothing—what was he doing? Was he really that dull? Edith charged forward until the last minute and skid to a stop, stopping when they almost touched nose-to-nose. 

"What the fuck are you doing?" she asked, growling as she looked him straight in the eyes. "You're not supposed to be here—you're supposed to be gone."

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She stopped and he was a little disappointed in her restraint. At least if she had struck him, it would prove their mother's teachings had sent them all on the wrong path. To lash out at followers as strict as Aldritch, the ones who followed Him as closely as possible as opposed to the false teachings of a mortal. He simply stood there, dead-eyed as she stopped nearly touching noses with the other sibling.

“Has her greed spread to these woods as well?” He said flatly. Found that they were far enough from Elkshire claim that this shouldn't be Celnes' as well as the three other claims he knew of. Across a river, past the mountain that cut the temperate in two - “Or did you think I perished?” A rhetorical question. Frankly he didn't need Edith to answer it as he was certain most of his siblings felt that way - perhaps not Calhoun, not yet, not judging by their last conversation many moons ago.

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"No," Edith replied; this had nothing to do with Célnes. "I'm here to protect His claim from the likes of you" Aldritch could believe whatever he wanted, but she knew that the High Elk didn't look favorably upon her brother. To his next question, she grinned. 

"No—but I can't deny that the thought crossed my mind." Finding him dead would have been too good to be true.

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Here to protect His claim from Aldritch? The boy couldn't help but offer a smile in return. Found it humorous that she still saw him as the enemy instead of the woman who kept bringing the likes of Aldritch into this world. “You see the wrong ones as an enemy sister.” He shrugs off her hatred of him. It wasn't anything new. “How many tainted ones did mother bring into this world? I'm doing all I can to follow his path, while she spreads lies in His name and birthing heathens.”

“You can kill me if you want... but she will just breed more like me... and maybe, they will follow her lies and false deities unlike me.” After all, Aldritch was depending. What were the others doing with white staining their clothes? Sucking up to the one they called mother just because they were fed falsities in order to build an empire of greed.

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“How many tainted ones did mother bring into this world? I'm doing all I can to follow his path, while she spreads lies in His name and birthing heathens.” Aldritch asked. 

His statement was something that Edith had considered herself, and it was something that she and @Calhoun had discussed at length. "She is a hypocrite," she agreed, "and I will take care of her in time." She knew The High Elk did not condone their mother's adultery—at least that was something they could both agree. 

She looked him up and down and took a step away. "No," she said. "I will not kill you today—The High Elk seems to have blessed you with a sense of sight and logic that not all of His followers have." Aldritch had seen through their mother's bullshit like the trio had, and she had to respect him for that. 

"I just need you to stay the fuck away from here while we take care of her." Edith said with a growl as the fur along her neck prickled. He was still a sinner and had no right to stand upon these holy grounds.

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So Edith saw the lies as well, and sought to correct their dear mother some day too. At least they were not all lost, at least he was certain now there were three of them who were against her deceitful ways. “Warwick will be troublesome, he seems fond of her still.” Despite the hatred Edith had of him, she was still blessed with the beautiful coat of brown and had her rights to feel superior - so he didn't mind as much as others might. They had the same thoughts on Celnes, and to Aldritch, that was all that truly mattered.

“I move with the herd, where they go, I go.” So no, he will not stay away as Edith demanded. That was one thing he will not give her. “Through them, He guides my path and shows me the proper way she has taken us from. A path I've tried to invite Maral and Warwick, but they still cling to her dress.”

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"It will," she agreed, "I don't know how he hasn't picked up on it yet—especially when he spends the most time with her." Had Célnes brainwashed Warwick? Did he see something in her that they didn't? Edith wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it was getting harder and harder to do so. "Calhoun and I will continue to work with him." 

It was strange to agree with Aldritch, and it was even stranger that she didn't feel the need to press regarding whether or not he left. The quills along her spine fell as he explained his reason for being here, and she couldn't deny him of that—especially when it seemed that the High Elk had been guiding him. "Fine," Edith replied, deferring to His way—He worked in mysterious ways that she couldn't fully understand. "I won't interfere."

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“You three were always her favourite.” He said without trying to sound accusatory, he was simply stating a fact as calmly as he could. It was so natural to him now that it was like breathing. The world functioned and Edith was among their brothers are the favoured not only in the High Elk's eyes, but hers too. “He could be blind with the pampering he received after you and Calhoun left.” And though he hated Warwick for what he done, for the side he picked with their mother instead of their siblings. Instead of the ones who sought to find the truth he sided with her lies and lack of stability in her stories.

He was either blind or just downright dumb. The latter he had hoped wasn't true.

“I appreciate it. Warwick had, but failed. Her teachings has infected him enough to force me to stray from the herd and find them again.” And who would have known what could have happened during that time. How frightened he was that a predator had possibly found them and he wasn't there to warn them. To help them escape.

“May He guide you too to save our siblings.” Was his form of farewell, ready to depart from his sister's side and return to finding something to eat if the High Elk would allow it. “Perhaps you will have better luck than me in guiding them on a better path.”

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"We are," Edith agreed. Célnes's bias had always been obvious and she didn't doubt that Warwick had been pampered in her absence—especially since he had been named the heir of Elkshire. "He probably was," she shrugged. It'd be hard to break through to him after all the coddling, but she was willing to wear him down as long as she needed to. 

Although Edith didn't entirely trust Aldritch, she was willing to give him a chance. She would lurk in the background for the coming weeks to make sure he was doing as he promised, and would act accordingly if he didn't. "May He guide you too." With nothing else left to say, she turned and set off in the direction of Elkshire.

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