Blight

While the majority of Elysium had already gone to meet Harper and her new brood over the course of the last day, Alder had remained quietly behind, sagging ears pointed toward the mouth of the den. He could hear noises - high-pitched, strangled cries, interspersed with the occasional whimper - and though he was desperate to investigate, the constant flow of traffic held him back.
He seemed to get in the way enough as it was.

On the eve of the third day, he finally gathered up his courage and dared to venture out toward the source of the commotion.

Silently, he emerged into the early morning light, blinking against its blinding rays. His fur lit up scarlet, burning and brilliant, a stark contrast against the surrounding landscape; yet still he remained unaware of his own appearance. After all, why would it matter? They were all family. His siblings had a tendency to give him a wide berth, but they were probably just busy with their own games.

Alder approached Harper's den with an air of caution, swallowing nervously before poking his head around the corner to peer inside - it was still difficult to see, but the rising sun helped illuminate the silhouetted figures that lay within.

“Hello?” he ventured in a hushed whisper. “Um... Aunt Harper?”

the staff team luvs u

^^The constant flow of traffic was a nightmare to a new mother who hadn’t much sleep; she was still very much on edge from Violet’s nasty outbursts, that she kept herself protectively curled around her litter, ready to spring into action and finish the bitch off, should she dare to return with more insults.

She hadn’t, yet, though; either Valeska was keeping a tight leash on her daughter, or something else was keeping her away. It didn’t matter, and as depressing as it was, Harper found herself growing more and more distant with her own niece.

She’d met and seen her other nieces and nephews around. It was hard not to notice little Rudolph as he bounced around the territory. She could still recall Violet’s nasty words about him, when they’d met the tiger, and hoped that he wasn’t being treated too unfairly by his kin.

She decided that she would instill a ‘no bullying’ policy within her own litter, and especially towards Alder, who now reminded her much of her own Orel. She hoped that the two red cousins would get along.

As he called for her, Harper lifted her head to peer over at him. A shy, little nervous bean, was he? “Darling Alder,” Harper could coo softly with the wag of her tail as she unloosed herself around her children - trusting literally anyone that wasn’t Violet.

^^
the staff team luvs u

He hadn't enjoyed many interactions with his aunt. Often, he was too busy testing his gangly limbs around the territory, though admittedly remaining safely within eyesight of Valeska and Amaranth's den; his mothers had already warned him of the dangers of large, predatory birds looking for juicy little pups to eat.

Harper relaxed visibly when he entered, and as he made his slow approach forward, the child could faintly make out several smaller shapes wiggling sleepily next to her. His eyes widened, and Alder unconsciously lowered himself to the ground, belly fur nearly touching the cool earth.

“They're so little,” he observed in his childlike voice, high and much louder than he intended. “One... two... three. Three babies!”

Alder looked proud for a moment, eyes sparkling with achievement that only certainty in knowledge could bring.

“What are their names?” he began, and then could not stop the tide. “What are they gonna be when they grow up? Will they have purple eyes? Purple eyes are so cool! My Mother has purple eyes. Will they play with me?”

the staff team luvs u

^^It was a real fear, especially for dark children in the snow, or red children in the forest, for birds to pick children up, never to be seen again. Alder might not know it, but his uncle had died that way. Had Alder lived in the desert, or had Hatchet lived in the forest, they wouldn’t need to fear such things, but alas… they did not.

Harper worried for him, too; she could see much of herself in her adorable, red nephew. He didn’t have a twin to bond with over the unjust treatment from Amaranth and his own sister. She hoped Orel would come to bond with him like a brother rather than a cousin.

“That’s right, Alder. Three babies. Three cousins!.” Oh, he looked so cute as he sat there, proud in that moment. Children, normal children that were not possessed by the devil, were sweet and innocent, just as Alder was. Just as Dimitri was.

“This one is Rigby. He’s the oldest!” She nudged him towards Alder, with a chuckle. “And this is Fiora, my little petal. She’s the only girl.” She nudged the girl forward, and then she smiled bright, picking up Orel and placing him down in front of Alder.

“And this is Orel. I’m not sure if any of them will get my purple eyes, but it’s very likely. They’ll be loved when they grow up, just like you will be. They’ll HAVE to play with you, darling. It’s the rules.” Harper giggled.

“Just like your own siblings! That’s all cousins are, anyway. Cooler siblings.” Ones that wouldn’t dream of calling each other ugly, not unless they wanted to lose an ear. “How are things with your siblings, dove? Any dirty secrets you feel like sharing? I'll go first.

Your mother tells me that Violet farts in her sleep. I bet they smell real nasty, huh?”

^^
the staff team luvs u

Alder studied Rigby with a fascinated curiosity, marveling at how well-formed his nose and claws were even at such a diminished size. Most concerningly, however, he had a little rounded off stump-tail, and thinking back the red pup could have sworn he'd seen one of their packmates blundering about Fate's Respite with similar markings and features.

What a fun coincidence!

Thoroughly reveling in obliviousness like the rest of Elysium, he greeted each pup with his characteristic beaming smile, floppy ears bouncing as he moved to observe them all in an excitable whirlwind.

“They're so cute! Was I that small?” he asked in wonderment.

Harper remained blessedly patient, explaining the newly established rule that all of her brood were to play with him, and he decided he liked that rule very much.

He'd never had a cousin before. The way she described them made his eyes sparkle with anticipation - better than siblings? He couldn't believe it! He loved his family, but his brother and sisters didn't seem to want to play with him very much; they were just busy. After all, he reasoned, they explained they had pre-established games they were playing, and they didn't have room for a fifth to join.

Sure, it was every time - every game - but they probably just didn't think about it. That was all.

“Um... we're fine!” he said, slightly strained. There wasn't anything really wrong, but there wasn't anything that was really right, either. The child struggled to put his feelings into words. “They're always really busy, so I get left with Mama a lot.”

His aunt gave him a sly smile, suggesting that Violet was less than the perfect princess she made out to be - the idea of her farting in her sleep made Alder giggle, but he quickly stifled it, looking around as if she might be lurking nearby. “What if she hears you?” he whispered. Assessing that they were safe, he relaxed. “I dunno... Violet says 'ew' a lot around me, but I haven't seen what she's talking about yet. Must be frogs or somethin'.”

He sighed, looking back toward the mouth of the den. “Well, Sreda is really weird... she doesn't talk much and likes scaring us with big bugs. Narcissa is usually playing in the flowers, and Dimitri tries really hard to make Mama happy, almost like he's a grown-up or something.”

He blinked up at her.

“What were you like as a kid? Did you play with Mama?”

the staff team luvs u

^^Harper studied her nephew with the arch of brow, inclined to believe him that things were well, if she hadn’t already heard Violet call the boy ugly. What on earth, aside from herself, didn’t she call ugly, though?

“You were that small, if not smaller.. ” Harper said in an almost distant tone, as she tried to remember. Of course they were, truly, but some pups, likely such as Violet, came out as fat, little things. Sausages.

His question about Violet hearing her caused her to giggle. “She can’t deny it, can she? What will she do, hm? Try to stay up all night? I’ve learned it best to just ignore her and her… ways.” Harper frowned upon learning this… new development.

Being a mother now, she wanted to step in and feed Violet to the boogeyman. “Oh yes, must be the frogs. You should put one on her face when she’s sleepin’ - that’ll show her, huh?” Jesus, Harper, you’re such a wonderful influence, huh?

She blinked at the question, unsure of which Mama he meant. Valeska? Amaranth? Her own mom? How did the kids label their mothers, if they had two? “Your mama, and my mama, were my best friends. My brothers, too.. I used to sit on them whenever I could. Tag and racing was nice, too, until your mother began beating me all the time. She's very fast. Hide 'n Go Seek was boring, because she blended in the snow, and I didn't.. ” Harper smirked, nodding her head, trying not to think about her brothers, too much..

“Well, if Violet likes being… well, Violet, and Dimitri likes playing pretend grownup, and Sreda likes bugs and scaring you guys… and Narcissa likes flowers.. What do you like to do for fun?”

^^
the staff team luvs u

The idea of himself being even smaller than the whimpering pups at her side seemed almost impossible. He was already larger than his other siblings, all long legs and big paws, and he was constantly bumping into things or tripping over them. Harper mischievously suggested putting a frog on his less-than-loving sister in her sleep, and he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

“I dunno, Aunt Harper... she'd prolly just fling it back and bite me,” he said ruefully, imagining the hell there would be to pay should Violet feel slighted in the least. She was too difficult to fight against, too ready with words like daggers and teeth that rent sensitive ears and tails. No, Violet fought dirty, and he was too scared to go against her - she held onto things much longer than the average wolf.

Alder showed a great deal of interest when Harper spoke of her childhood, however. He grinned at the thought of his mother beating her at anything (Harper was bigger with longer legs, and living in the mountains, she now had the advantage of cover in the underbrush), but he could imagine how at ease Valeska must have been in the snow when they were children. She certainly had the look of a tundra wolf, and he wondered why she chose to settle here instead, where summers were warm and just a little too long for her supposed comfort.

He looked surprised at Harper's question, however, and suddenly appeared nervous, eyes darting around the den as if searching for an appropriate answer.

“I, uh... I dunno. I like exploring. Being by myself is nice, but Mother still says I'm too little to be alone. I don't feel little though,” he added petulantly, glancing out from the cave's entrance. “Wrestling is fun, but Dimitri cries and nobody else wants to. Well, maybe Sreda, but she's...”

He made some vague gesture of unknown intent.

Sreda was Sreda.

“What do you do for fun?”

the staff team luvs u

^^Harper came to realize that she loved Alder’s little face, as it came to wrinkle up in distaste towards her suggestions. “That’s alright, I’m sure Sreda would love to put frogs on Violet for you, hm?” She would probably find more terrifying things than frogs, and Harper could help her with locating those things.

“If she bites you, you can bite back… or drool on her, but most importantly, she’ll learn not to mess with you and if she hurts you, I can mend just about any wound she gives you. Even if it’s on the inside.”

She liked to watch him; gaging what he was interested in just by his little face, and the adorable expressions he made. She pondered if all her sister’s children would come to talk to her, or if it would ever just be Alder. She hoped, too, that her own children would talk to Valeska like Alder was, with her.

It made her feel special, which wasn’t a feeling she felt very often. She began to wonder how often Valeska felt special.

“I’m sure your mothers would love to go exploring with you! I can, too, actually, when your cousins are a little older. But Akira’s around here somewhere, and Hawking, too.. ” Harper cooed softly with a giggle.

“Wrestling is fun, I didn’t get to do it often. You’re more prone to get hurt though. Maybe you wrestle too hard? ” Harper offered with a chuckle, as Alder asked about what she liked to do.

“Learning is fun, but it’s also really fun to swim. Rolling in the mud is also fun, especially after you’ve gone swimming. Oh! I like playing in the rain, splashing in puddles, and chasing butterflies. Best of all? I like hiding in a big pile of maple leaves, and then scaring your mother as she walks by! You should try it some time — especially on a day when she’s having a bad day and needs a reason to smile. And then, when you get her, you need to tell her just how much you love her.

Do you think you can do that?”

^^
the staff team luvs u

Intrigued, he cocked his head to the side. Alder had heard from both of his mothers that his Aunt was a gifted healer, or, by her own words, a 'plant nerd', and he wanted to know more.

“What kinda stuff do you use?” he asked bluntly, trying to picture it. “Like - do you put grass on yourself and then just... feel better?”

The child had no knowledge of any herbs or plants outside of whatever he managed to visually pick up, and just lumped it all into a general category of 'green things' or 'less green things'. Alder had a strong constitution and rarely suffered from common ailments, so Valeska had never needed to introduce him to any herbal remedies just yet.

Harper was so interesting. She was big and intimidating, but when she spoke, her voice was so easy and soft and light, and she liked a lot of the same things he did. Her maple leaf pile was a fantastic idea, and he brightened up visibly at the suggestion.

“Yeah! I saw some leaves falling earlier, so maybe soon there'll be enough to hide in. And they're turning red, just like me!” Alder struggled in games like hide-and-seek, sticking out like a sore thumb most everywhere he went. Once autumn came in full swing, there was no doubt it would be his favorite of all the seasons.

the staff team luvs u

^^Oh, what’s this, now? Did her little lightning bug have an interest in the way of plants, and mother nature? She cocked her head to the side, smiling softly; she could see him becoming familiar with plants, especially since his siblings didn’t really seem to enjoy playing with him.

“I use whatever I have available. And yes, actually, depending on what needs to be done, you can just apply the correct herb. Yarrow, for instance. Do you know of it? It is a pretty white flower, with many heads, and lots of blooms. You can chew it up, and apply it to any clean wound, and it will stop bleeding, and heal very quickly. That’s what I used to heal Kuhn, the Great Tiger.”

Harper cooed softly, her eyes flashing with the excitement of an idea. Plus, any time to scare her sister was a win win. He would fit right in with Ichorwood. “When autumn comes, the trees turn red. But there is a special place.. A magical sort of place, Alder, where the trees stay red. I bet you’d love it.”

^^
the staff team luvs u

He scrunched his nose, not quite understanding. There were so many white flowers, how could you tell them apart? Big ones, little ones, some even roughly the same size, and he just couldn't understand how anyone could learn which white flower was Yarrow - much less all the other plant stuff out there. Harper must have a huge brain, and be super smart. He looked up at her with newfound admiration, impressed that anyone could retain so much knowledge about... anything, really. It was a lot.

She mentioned a Great Tiger, and he drew closer to Harper by default. “Tiger?” he asked quizzically. “What's a tiger? It sounds scary. Even the name @Kuhn is scary. What's one look like?”

This, of course, was quickly dismissed in his mind at the mention of her next secret. She described a forest, somewhere very far away, full of tight-knit trees and a blanket of leaves that lay scattered across the earth, but all of them were red - red, like he was - red, eternally, through every season, every day. The thought filled him with giddy excitement, and he imagined how good it would feel to roll around in something that looked just like him; where he, too, could play hide-and-seek and win!

“Oh, Aunt Harper, I wanna go!” he whined, hopping up and down. “Please, please, please - I'll figure out what Yarrow looks like! I'll learn to identify all the white flowers, but take me to the red forest!”

the staff team luvs u

^^She would never tell him, but she loved the way he wrinkled up his nose; it was just the cutest thing. She had a difficult time resisting his cute faces; she wanted to grab him and kiss that face. His wrinkly face soon transformed into an emotion she wasn’t really familiar with. Admiration.

He scooted closer, and Harper smiled. How would she describe a tiger? Hm. “A tiger is this really big, powerful creature. Has lots of muscles, and they can retract their claws, meaning they can hide their claws inside their toes! They come in many colors; some are white, though most of them are an orange color, with lighter bellies, and stripes. They have long, slender tails, and are much much bigger than you and me.”

And then came his excitement, and Harper smiled proudly. She had thought about taking him, but now, seeing him like this? Oh, she’d just have to now, wouldn’t she? She giggled at him with a smirk.

“If you can identify all the white flowers, I promise I’ll take you. You can even get to decide if we will be bringing a sibling of yours or a cousin, if you want. Or it can just be a trip for me and you.”

^^
the staff team luvs u

That was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. How could they hide their claws? Where did they go? He looked down at his large, ungainly paws, flexing his toes to see if he somehow had the ability to retract his own claws. Unfortunately, all he managed to do was dislodge some dirt from the ground.

Tigers sounded crazy.

He remembered a lynx he had seen roaming around the edges of their claim, all legs and paws and pointed ears, but mostly he recalled how quiet it had been. No wolf could move like that; and the way it had seemed almost liquid, pouring down the mountainside in soft, easy strides, hardly dislodging a single rock in its descent.

Alder wished he could do that, too.

“Orange?” he said suddenly, his ears slinging forward with heightened interest. “You mean - their fur looks like mine too? A little?”

The boy had never met anyone who looked like him before, wolf or otherwise - but now he realized he wasn't alone in his strange appearance.

“Aw, geez, Aunt Harper...” She had taken him too seriously, and now he did have to learn all the white flowers.

He sighed, wondering how many there were in the world, and resigned himself to his fate. He would be an old man before he saw the red forest.

Selfishly, the child's initial urge was to keep it a trip just for the two of them - but they had a long time to wait, and maybe by then her puppies would grow up and they would all be friends. It would be like a family vacation, kind of. A field trip.

Alder smiled. “I wanna go with lots of you! It'll be fun!”

the staff team luvs u

^^Harper immediately realized that Alder held more interest when things looked like him. Ichorwood. Tigers. The entire fall season. Oh, he’d just love the fall festival then. She didn’t have to wonder what it was like, to stand out.

Her brother had stood out, too, and looked where that had gotten him. If red and bright colors didn’t ward off predators, then Alder would have likely already faced the fate of his uncle, but there was a reason why poisonous toads were brightly colored.

She chuckled towards him with a wink, keeping up with the facade that he needed to identify all the flowers, but the joke was on him. She had already begun to make plans.

A cute little secret. She pondered if Orel would come to feel the same way. He held the reds in his coat, like Alder did.

“We can make it a game, if you want? I wouldn’t mind teaching you about the flowers, if you wanted.” She offered with the wag of her tail, unwilling to tell him of her plan.

^^
the staff team luvs u

Alder leaned in warily. Usually, when he was invited to play games, they ended in ways where he either got super upset or physically accosted. Aunt Harper wouldn't do anything like that to him, surely - he looked her in the eye with thinly-veiled suspicion, but decided he would go along with it anyway. Besides, discovery games were his speed; perhaps one day they might be useful in hunting one day too, but that was still a little ways off.

“A game?” he pressed her further. “Is it one where I go around and you follow me while I point stuff out? 'Cause I've seen daisies, those are easy, and I know what baby's breath is even though I think that's a weird name, but then I see all these other ones - there's a lot.”

Alder snorted, casting a scornful glance outside the den. Even now, he could see tiny white flowers of innumerable shapes and sizes wafting in the breeze, some with five petals, six petals, little round crunched-up looking spheres...

It was going to be impossible.

“When are we gonna start?”

There was no time like the present, especially when he was going to be grey and haggard by the time they finished.

the staff team luvs u

^^The types of games that Harper would play with her darling nephew would definitely not be the same kind that his siblings played on him. They would, of course, be tailored, to plant knowledge, and to Alder himself - in an attempt to make it both educational and fun.

“ Does going around and pointing things out sound very fun to you, Alder?” Harper teased at him with a chuckle and a wink, though shaking her head.

“It’s a match game. First, we will collect the flowers. That’s the easy part. Once we have them all together, we’ll mix them up in a pile. And then I’ll describe what the plant does, and how it’s useful - and then you can bring me whatever flower you think it is. How does this game sound?” She would wiggle her brows in a playful manner.

^^
the staff team luvs u

Alder flushed hot beneath his fur, feeling suitably embarrassed by his boring suggestion. He was coming to realize very quickly that he was not one to make up activities, but rather better at simply participating in them - he didn't feel stupid, necessarily, but lacking a necessary creative element that apparently everyone else had.

In time, and with age, he might find it for himself - but it may not lie in an area he would expect.

Appearing visibly more excited by Harper's much better suggestion, his tail wagged of its own accord. Although he was no burgeoning expert and would likely never achieve the heights of his aunt, he enjoyed learning about the world at large, finding great interest in both plants and the various creatures they shared this place with.

“That sounds fun, actually,” he quipped. “Alright - let's do it! I know some stuff already, like how rosemary helps with general pain and in-fluh-may-shun, and did you know there's something called Red Alder? Like me!”

Alder seemed quite proud of himself for just a moment - then remembered an important detail.

“Except, uh, Mama said the actual plant is toxic. You just... chew the bark. Or something.”

He laughed nervously.

“Anyway, lemme go tell her so she knows where I am - I'll be right back!”

 

OOC: For the sake of clearing out old threads, we can end this one for now if you like!

---

the staff team luvs u