Head in the clouds

By the gods.

Typically, the wolves of Elysium resided at the base of the mountains ringing their territory, preferring the flatter terrain and the stillness of the lake to better congregate and hunt more effectively. Only a few ever bothered to ascend the snow-capped mountains above, though the views were breathtaking and housed some very pleasant animals to be caught and feasted upon; it was just one hell of a trek, as well as bitterly chilly, so most stayed where it was more convenient.

Valeska liked mountains. She had grown up on a very tall one, and had lived out her early days leaping like a goat through snowstorms and blizzards and craggy rock faces with natural aptitude. She was short with a thick coat, and her legs were stocky and well-suited to such conditions.

But she was also dreadfully out of shape.

Motherhood had taken its toll, and she rarely saw herself making the climb these days, lest her wayward children either a) follow her thinking it a good idea, or b), have a horrible accident where she could not readily leap to their aid.

So with labored breaths she ascended, wheezing like an elderly moose at the end of its life. Every step sent a shock through her body, legs quivering, tail hanging limply behind her as she struggled to reach the peak - it was just within view, now, and she was so grateful for this journey to be over with.

She crested the last rocky overhang, and saw @Urszula sitting in perfect stillness, facing away and looking out over the thick clouds that obscured the view below. The sun had just set beyond the horizon, taking with it the harsh light of day, tinging the sky with soft pinks and hazy purples that just now began to fade into an inky blue. The clouds still held some of its light, their fluffy edges lined with shimmering orange, and by all accounts it was absolutely stunning to look at.

Valeska stood there, taking in the view as much as she was catching her breath, and finally disturbed the silence.

“Zula...” she gasped, swallowing awkwardly. “I thought you might still be here. I wanted to ask how you were, and if perhaps... you might be ready to return.”

She drew closer, hesitating.

“Mostly because we are now inundated with ten thousand hungry children, and I... need assistance.”

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Truth be told, the grey priestess had disturbed the silence long before she spoke. Practically gagging for a breath like an old, fat raccoon in water, Zula pondered what had brought the woman to the great heights of Fate. After all, it was fate that had drawn the blue cloaked huntress to this very peak. Meditation, clearance and shedding of the past. It was enough to clear her shoulders of any questions that weighed them down.

Zula took a moment to open her eyes and adjust to the dusk sun that glittered across the ocean of cloud before her cool gaze drifted to her leader, head cast over her pale shoulder. A smile pulled at the blacked corners of her maw as she took the sight in. The first soul she'd seen in many waxing moons, and a welcome sight despite the disruption. 

"Valeska," she breathed with what seemed like a sigh of relief,

"You sound like a bear before hibernation." 

Not a compliment, and a remark that certainly cracked a cheeky grin on the woman's lips. 

The taller lady rose then, giving a jog to meet her companion in a gentle embrace. Her chin tucked neatly behind the littler lady's neck and a paw clutched at her back. It was warm. A warmth she little bear had not felt since her last meal had been freshly slain, and that smell? Zula took her time to inhale the pack scent that had waned on her own body, enveloping herself once more in the familiarity. 

"I have missed much, and missed you Priestess. Come, Come!" she withdrew and beckoned the woman to the edge of the edge with all the excitement of a child. 

As she sat back down and cast her awoken gaze back across the cloud cover, she couldn't help but let her expression fall into solemn at the peace. The wind rustled her pelt and the chill ignited a shiver down her spine. Nivia was on her way, though Zula doubted her grasp would come for a few more months.

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What a marvelous woman she was, even now. Stoic and proud and full of wisdom, Urszula turned slowly back to grace her Priestess with storm-hued eyes, an enigma cloaked within eldritch whispers and manifold secrets. How she had missed her, her skilled teachings, the way her expression would light up with a smile when they spoke together -

"Valeska," her voice was honey and wine.

"You sound like a bear before hibernation."

If it had been anyone else, they would have been swiftly cast from the mountain.

It would have been labeled an accident.

Justice would never reach the perpetrator, for in the eyes of the Five, justice would already have been served.

Instead, because such cruel words emerged from Zula's inky-black lips, Valeska would only smile lightly, reaching out a paw to give the woman a good-natured shove. “You try keeping up with five slippery monsters,” she retorted, tail flicking behind her. “I have had my paws full, and hiking up a mountain has not been in my daily routine!”

The gruff woman then chose to envelop her in a gentle embrace, and Valeska returned it willingly, joyfully; indeed, Elysium had faded from the huntress' coat over time, but she seemed at last ready to return and mingle with the others at the mountain's base. There was so much to catch up on, she didn't know where to start - pups already approaching four months, new faces, new troubles, the matter of the Council to be held out west. Nevertheless, they had plenty of time, and Zula took advantage of this fact by motioning her over to take in the view.

Valeska approached the edge with a surety in her step, never having been one to fear heights. She sat quietly next to her companion, tail curling neatly across her paws, and allowed the scene to flood her senses in awe.

Of all the Five's creation, how vast, how incredible their world was. Even this one, that she had never known to exist - everything they touched was filled with splendor, and witnessing the fading pastels of daylight creeping back to allow the dusky hues of evening emerge, she could not help but close her eyes and breathe in the crisp air. It was beautiful.

They opened again, and she stole a look toward Zula.

“You know,” the silver wolf began, “Aether's autumn equinox is but a few days away. Would you care to help me prepare for it? There shall be food, and games, and the usual nonsense that comes with my organizing any event. I would be delighted for your assistance, but it is not required. You have only just come out from your meditation, and I do not wish to stress you.”

She paused, then smiled.

“I also think my daughter, Sreda, would love to talk with you about your... skin-pouches that you craft. She has a leaning toward your interests, to put it lightly.”

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She took a moment to think, to ponder her time on the mountain and what resolve she had found. Truthfully, Elysium was not her finally stop by any means, it had never meant to be, but being so far from the hustle and bustle of the great within at the basin's heart had Zula conjuring a feeling of sorrow, a heavy lonesomeness that she could not shake. It only grew the longer she remained pledged to this peak. A deep breath was drawn and exhaled slowly through her nose. The huntress' eyes followed a hawk with keen awareness but it fell into the cover of clouds.

"I have bestowed a victory to Odin and sought out Mímir in favour who has bestowed me with guidance..." though they did not share gods, the two women had once bonded over their religious beliefs. Not so different were they that Zula felt comfortable with each religion on her shoulders. She had not renounced those of norse to follow the Pentacle, they were familiar; like lost cousins in a cloud of mist who would catch a glimmer of each other with every few steps.

The shield-maiden could respect them, the Elysium.

With a steady lean, Zula leant to rest her head atop Valeska's in an embrace of kinship. It wasn't often the woman found warmth in another but to bestow her this affection was special. The ghoul felt deeply for the woman like she would family, a mother or a sister. She allowed herself a moment of calm as she closed her eyes in rest, the soft words falling from her tongue with a low whisper. 

"I am ready to return. Just make sure you do the decorating, we clearly had very different envisions the last time..." it was a jest of good nature, a light huff of laughter escaping. The hardy woman was more on the spectrum of death and honour while this delicate priestess seemed to prefer the lightness of flower arrangements and vines. Humour danced in the woman's expression as she smirked to herself, still balanced atop the snowy doe's head. 

Time to meet those ruffians this woman has raised. Surely they were as calm and dignified as she, though... Zula's thoughts drifted to Valeska's wife and a silent snort passed.

Maybe not?

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Over time, Valeska herself had come to the conclusion that perhaps, spread across time and regions vast and innumerable, that the Five would naturally have gone by different names to suit each subset of wolves. Overall, the message was similar - perhaps some flavored their belief with a little bit of extra violence, which she did not personally attach that to her faith, but culturally it would make sense. So Urszula spoke of Odin and Mimir, and in the silver wolf's heart, she felt they were kin. If there were so many languages, how might there not be many different names?

She nodded along quietly, eyes closed, respecting Zula's moment addressing her gods. Even if they were different, it was a matter of coexisting peacefully. Zula and her gods never meant any harm, she mused, and that was what mattered most.

Valeska sat confidently beneath the weight of her friend's head, soft chin-hairs tickling her eyes as her ears flickered reflexively. Though a volatile passion burned behind the ghoul's eyes, flaring up from time to time in moments of stress or longing, she was a steadfast and wholly unexpected friend, one who the High Priestess valued immensely. She knew the woman could be counted on if the need ever arose, and Valeska would surely defend her to the bitter end in return - their bond was less spoken, more felt, but they respected and perhaps even admired the differences in each other.

Stirring suddenly, she tilted her head, giving Zula a funny look. “Well,” she began, smiling, “Perhaps I shall give you the honor of decorating this season entirely, and we shall adhere to your - style - as a means to celebrate your return. It would be my pleasure, truly.”

Standing, then, Valeska yawned, watching as the night at last overtook the vanishing sunset and spread its inky hues across the starry sky.

“Come, I have a feeling it will involve many bones of many creatures, and something tells me you shall also like a live prey item during the feast. You may conduct the ceremony as you see fit - it would be good for us all to have a little variety, and worship is worship, after all. Would you enjoy this?”

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The woman laughed in a very unrefined manner. In charge of decoration? Oh boy. Perhaps she could tone her methods down though and maybe incorporate a bit of the Priestess' tastes. The shield-maiden stood moments after Valeska and gave a nod though it seemed rather bashful. An unusual trait not often seen from the young woman.

"It would be my honour though I must ask you to survey it before the festival, incase we must make any immediate changes," she was hopeful, that nothing would have to be changed and that it would be to Valeska's liking. 

It was true, it would take many sleepless nights to prepare for this festivity and all the time she needed was slowly being eaten to the longer they stayed on the mountain. 

With a skip in her step, the bluey woman hopped to it, only briefly pausing to look back at her Priestess with a childish smile.

"Ready? We better get a wiggle on."

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In her mind's eye, she wasn't quite sure what to expect - Urszula didn't strike her as the kind of woman to enjoy lilac and lavender so much as she might prefer ritual and sacrifice, but they, too, could be holy when performed with the correct intent. If anything else, she was tired of doing the same thing for every event, so it would be a welcome change of pace regardless. Amaranth would enjoy it too, no doubt; her collector's eye would immediately take a shine to the darker nature of the decor.

Oh, but her children, and poor little Dimitri! He was so young - would he be frightened? She wondered what her eldest's reaction to the scene might be, if Zula chose to go all-out with her own ideas. He was already so sensitive, but... there was a dark obsessiveness that simmered below the surface.

Time would tell.

“There will be time, I am certain,” she said cheerfully, casting the thought aside for now. “It is no great bother if things are slightly misplaced; it is the intent behind the preparation, after all. You bless us by doing this! I cannot wait to see your personal touch on display.”

Bounding after her friend, finding downhill to be a much easier task than the initial climb, she suddenly hesitated for a moment, head cocked to the side as she came to a halt.

“Get a wiggle on?” came her questioning tone from behind before hurrying to catch up.

“But it will be hard to carry things if we are wiggling -”

 

{Exit Valeska}

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