Big smiles, now - or else

@Dimitri @Violet @Sreda @Narcissa @Alder as well as @Tallulah and @Urszula (feel free to break off into multiple threads to keep this from getting overwhelming)

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The children were old enough to venture reasonably far now, and it was difficult keeping them in check within the bounds of Fate's Respite these days; between injuring themselves, insulting their packmates, eating toxic plants and the constant squabbling, she and Amaranth had their paws full.

But she had an idea.

It had been some time since Valeska had seen @Olive, and she thought it was high time (and good exercise) to bring them on a quick trip to Frostfang Vale to meet the skilled midwife who had seen their safe delivery.

She couldn't help but smile, looking at their long, gangly limbs with the beginnings of their adult coats growing in - if a touch on the long side owing to winter's swift approach - and they had just recently grown in a portion of their permanent teeth, giving them each a rather uneven grin.

They were beautiful, in a disheveled sort of way.

She had invited Urszula and Tallulah to come along with them if they so chose, knowing the added safety and extra puppy-herders would only be a further blessing on their journey. They had left at dawn, chasing the sun's path westward as it crept across the sky. The weather had been pleasant enough to start, but as they continued on, crisp grass soon gave way to a fine dusting of powdery snow the further up they went toward the tundra. Valeska breathed in the chill air, filling her lungs and closing her eyes as she reveled in the sharp bite of the north.

It felt delicious.

Their journey took most of the day, accompanied by much fussing and whining and wanderings-off, but as the sun began its descent toward the horizon, they stood at last near the familiar scent of Duskguard territory.

“Now,” she said, whipping around to her brood with a sudden ferocious look, “You will be on your best behavior. No rudeness, no insults, no fighting -”

Valeska glanced up toward her other companions and cleared her throat, switching to her native tongue. She slowly leaned in closer toward the pups, eyes narrowing as her lips curled back ever so slightly to reveal a hint of teeth. "помоги мне боги, я привел тебя в этот мир, и я могу забрать тебя из него обратно." — Gods help me, I brought you all into this world, and I can take you back out of it. The High Priestess straightened back up, smiling genially as if nothing were amiss. “Understood?”

Without waiting for so much as a whimper in response, she shook out her fur, tipped her head back, and howled out a greeting to @Tiberius and his mate.

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^^

Their journey was slow, their legs smaller than that of the few adults that were with them. She didn't mind, it allowed her to take in the surroundings and curiously investigate, committing the scenery to her memory. In truth, the journey between Elysium and Duskguard wasn't entirely that big, smaller than what Narcissa thought. That was good, though, because perhaps she might make a friend or two within the interesting snow-touched mountains. Which would mean she might be able to go back and forth when she was older!

The little lady was happily moving, paying attention but also not as she briefly thought back to the small tumble she had taken down the mountain and landed upon @Goliath's shoulders. Would there be anyone as gentlemanly as he, within the realm of Duskguard? Cissa was interested to find out. She was intrigued by @Olive and @Tiberius, though, having never seen them but heard of them. 

She hadn't been anticipating coming to a quick stop in her joyful trot, golden gaze widening to the way Valeska whipped around, warning on her tongue. Narcissa looked rightly affronted by her Mama's words, looking every bit as if she shouldn't be someone involved in such a warning! Narcissa tilted her chin, almost looking annoyed but she swallowed it, holding herself tall and every bit as lady-like as she oft did, even as a wee babe. "Yes, Mama," the little lady cooed politely, tucking her tail neatly at her haunches.

She wasn't the issue. She had been called a darlin' angel, thank you very much. Goliath had told her and did a darlin' angel deserve to be warned in such a way? Pah!

Narcissa glanced to the side as she saw someone start to emerge from the Vale not long after Mama sent up her call. ^^

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^^

Life was not often quiet. Not when you had young children, a Pack, a back-from-the-dead-father and an array of emotions that weren't exactly... understood. So when the call came, Tiberius was not wholly surprise. He was only surprised for the scents that were meeting his nose as he moved steadily through his Vale. He had only met her once but it wasn't the first time that he had known @Valeska's scent, having caught the end of it upon @Olive once she returned back from her venture to Elysium and the time he had... well, had that chat with her.

Tiberius hesitated in his movements then when he recalled that he hadn't seen her since then and he felt incredibly embarrassed to remember that his first time meeting with the woman had been one that divulged his problems. He hadn't come across as very strong Chieftain like, had he? The titan suffered a huff as he rolled his shoulders, steeling himself for the fact that really, life took the piss out of him before he continued on. It was likely his lady love would not be too far behind him, so he felt no worries in being alone with the situation.

He vaguely remembered name dropping Valeska to Olive in their emotional chat.

Oops.

He bled through the trees with a curious glint in his molten depths, seeing not only Valeska but an array of smaller bodies -- her children, most likely -- and two other adults. "Well ain't this a nice surprise," Tiberius rumbled as he drew closer, molten gaze appraising the wolves. The two adults that Valeska brought with her were ones he hadn't met, one decorated in fur of different blues and the other a mix of browns and creams. Tiberius noted that they were of similar heights -- small, if you asked him -- and then you had petite Valeska who reminded him of Olive. He glanced to the children and his mangled lips twisted, a curious bunch and not far off in age from that of his own brood.

It was then he realised it was likely the two broods would meet.

If he could, he would have paled.

So many girls in one place.

He hoped that @Kuhn or @Archon might be able to break up the numbers alongside the two boys of Valeska's brood some of the duration of their stay. He was wholly outnumbered otherwise, thank you very much. ^^

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((ooc; feel free to skip tallie if you aren't interacting with her! and if you are, please tag me on discord ;D))

Fate's Respite wasn't long away from the Frostfang Vale. Tallulah was surprised it took a short time to get here, with no problems at all. While in the role of a hunter, she kept a personal look for any predators that may find the puppies an easy snack. No dice. They made their way to Duskguard's home easily. When Ms. Valeska turned to scold the puppies into behaving, the rancher looked across the Vale. Not that different than Elysium, if she had to be frank. Just more snow.

When an ebony man appeared, Tallulah sat up straighter. He addressed them and she bowed her head politely. "Sir." And straightened, glancing at the others of Elysium before back. She knew this was one of the alphas in Duskguard; it was quite clear and also spoken about in transit. But seeing as he didn't speak directly to her, she did not say more. His attention should be on Ms. Valeska and the others anyway. She was just here to make sure they were safe until they all got here.

If spoken to, Tallulah would brighten and throw herself into the socialization. But for now? She was here to make sure her leader had backup in case things went south and fast. She looked back to the scene, smiling faintly. The pups would no doubt be quick to form cohorts, which left her standing near Ms. Valeska and the others in Elysium. The adults would remain, speaking politics and pleasantries. She was a guard. That's what she had come here to do.

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It was cold.

She could feel her breath touch her face with every movement, the way it drifted in the air and the way she could hear her paws stomp on the crunching of the snow. They approached another mountain. Violet came with, of course, she wouldn't let the oppurutnity go.. "Tell that to Dimitri," so said the devil, as she humphed and stuck her tongue out at the blessed brother she oh-so hated, "mama's boy," she would shoot at him despite Valeska's warning.

Although at the very least despite her toxic tongue, she did remain quiet once the large man entered. For a moment — just for a moment.. Violet going to call him ugly too, but she could feel her silver moms glare, and that made her shut her mouth real fast.

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It must be a thing with wolves; if you heard one's voice, you could then recognize their howl. Or at least, this vague theory is how Olive reasoned recognizing the woman's song, as it came wafting into her ears through the auditorium-esque vale. The fact that she just happened to be with her children, and happened to be preening and primping them in a manner befitting princesses, was a simple coincidence.

The mother gasped with excitement. "Oh, sunbeams!” she cried, a pleasurable grin oozing across her maw. A final lick upon the head of little @Tiberii concluded her bath in a rather succinct and abrupt manner. She stood up, surveying the rest of them, and decided at once that they were old enough to complete the task themselves. @Euphemia only needed to have the fur around her ears combed through, @Dalmatia needed to clean the dust that darkened the pale fur between her spots, and @Eileithyia and @Aurelia... well, the other two seemed to be fine, so their mother absconded in a tizzy, leaving vague instructions to follow suit when they deemed themselves ready.

Thanks to the densities proximity high in the mountains just adjacent to the borders, it wasn't long before Olive appeared; taking a chance to steal a glance at the scene from her vantage point above. It was evident by sounds and smells alone that Valeska had not traveled alone — Olive certainly hoped she wouldn't have done such a thing, especially after the boar incident. The pale spirit was elated to find that not only was Valeska accompanied by stewards, but her own children! The thought of how the last time she had seen these puppies was at their own birth reignited her descent.

Olive could only reason that Tiberius had already been patrolling, and that was how he had beaten her to the punch. She was slightly surprised to see his dark, stalwart form already amongst the hustle and bustle of the Elysian family, and almost immediately the memory filled her of Tiberius's confession, and how Valeska had urged him to it, speaking of triangles and other shapes — and for the first moment since hearing Valeska's summons, Olive wasn't certain if the High Priestess had come to visit her, or her husband.

A sheepish grin plastered on her face, the woman approached and allowed a natural sway of her tail as she allowed the tension to wash over her like a wave, over and away. She walked up beside her fiancé. "Valeska, bless the Gods!” she simpered, looking down her nose at the half-grown litter at cavorting at her heels. "How wonderful it is that you've come all this way... My, how they've grown.”

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When their mother beckoned the cubs away from the safety of their whelping cave, Dalmatia's anxiety spiked. She stared up at her with wide blue eyes, terrified, then glanced among the other cubs to gauge their reaction to this sudden upheaval. Olive gave instruction and moved to leave, but the spotted youngster was unwilling to let her guardian stray too far from her sight. With a fearful little whimper and a tucked tail, she trotted briskly forward to trail as close to the priestess as her little legs would allow.

There were so many strangers, and as she and her family drew closer she quickened her pace. She veered to sweep her little body between Olive's hind legs (and emitted a surprised yip at having nearly been trod on), where she hovered nervously as words were exchanged between adults.


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Euphemia was awfully curious, especially as she peered over and stood a bit in front. She imagined Tiberri and Aurelia would rush firstly so, and she was quant within the middle-grounds of being open but not ahead of the game. Her tail wagged lightly in the back, with a bright smile as she looked at them all with a mighty curiosity. They were colorful, some was.. Especially him.

The young child was looking at Alder with an awful lot of curioisity, "hi!"

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^^Archon was taking some time to give Bam Bam his personal attention today, when a howl he did not quite recognize shot through the air, calling his attention and likely the attention of the entire pack. Hm, what’s this? Visitors? They never got those.

Giving a series of final chews, Archon stood with a stretch and made his way to the borders. It seemed, the visitors had summoned the majority of them, including his sisters. He strolled towards them, affectionately bumping one of the twins as he did, and coming to sit down near them.

He immediately recognized the small silver lady from their time in captivity from the boars, and immediately stiffened. He hadn’t noticed it before, but they carried with them a scent that he knew all too well.

Zombies.

^^
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It hadn't been too bad of a hike. There was, of course, a lot of 'are we there yet's' and constant pit-stops off to the side because someone inevitably had to go to the bathroom every ten yards, but apart from these minor inconveniences he had enjoyed the change of scenery. He liked the feel of snow crunching beneath his paws, even if it was so cold it bit through his fur like sharp thorns in the underbrush.

As they approached he great mountain-wall, he found himself utterly mesmerized by their craggy heights - they had mountains in Fate's Respite, but they weren't like this. He nearly ran into a pine tree staring up with such ferocity, but he righted himself at the last second and bounced after his family.

They arrived at last.

Mama seemed to know these wolves already, and they were busy exchanging a few polite words when he suddenly realized @Euphemia was staring at him. He swallowed self-consciously, wishing he could disappear into the earth; she probably thought he was ugly, too. Alder knew he didn't really fit in with his littermates, but if he'd felt awkward before, he knew he stood out like a wildfire now amid so many grey-and-white-and-black wolves.

“H-hi,” he sputtered. Meeting her eyes, he did notice hers held a similar hue - golden-orange. He felt a little better. “I'm Alder.”

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Brief appearance before dispersing HERE. Please @ me if you need my attention in here :3

---

Sreda stared deeply into her Mama's eyes in those threatening moments.

An angel stared into her soul.
       And the devil stared back.

She drank it in, waiting as the snow brought forth a plethora of new smells.
  New playthings.

Wordless, the dark-clad woman turned from her siblings, edging toward the outskirts for now, to explore other things.

She wouldn't admit that the number of characters in the group overwhelmed her.
  It didn't, after all.

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Aurelia emerged from behind a cluster of bushes, appearing immaculately well-groomed and almost military in her carriage. She regarded the strange visiting tribe with a curious, if slightly suspicious gaze, narrowing her eyes as if she might see into who they truly were as individuals - but she was mortal, and a child, at that. The little ashen pup could no more scry into their souls than she could take down a bull elk, and at any rate, Mother and Father seemed well enough to greet them.

Hm.

Perhaps they could teach her something.

Aurelia studied each new pup with a careful eye, assessing their likelihood to have honed any sort of skillset - she really wanted to hunt, but they didn't look old enough for that either.

Maybe they knew other things.

“... I'm Aurelia. If you wanna, follow me and we can train! Uh, play.”

She forgot that's what other kids called it.

Turning abruptly, she departed into the undergrowth, curious if any of the Elysium children might heed her summons.

 

{Exit Aurelia, to other threads}

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dutifully did the once-orphan follow when summoned by her dame. like most songs, she did not recognize the voice singing at the base of the vale but found it sweet and pleasing to the ears. eileithyia turned her head downward, sheepishly asking herself, “who?” and hoping that someone might have been near enough to hear the question. 

she remained close to olive for the entirety of their downhill venture; being near the girls made her feel safe, but being near their mother made her feel loved. she could not help but to form an intense fondness for the woman, even in the short span of their acquaintance. once they reached their summoner, eilie squeezed her way beside dalmatia so as to remain close to them both.

each new face in the array got its turn to be admired by the ever-curious lass, until her eyes settled finally on the faint flame of narcissa, not yet introduced. eileithyia became self-conscious over her rude staring; embarrassed, she followed quickly after aurelia, gladly taking the opportunity to not humiliate herself further.

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The tundra was beyond her mountains and though vast, it did not intimidate the shield-maiden. She took each step within her stride, following along the family herd either in the front or moving to the back. Zula was doing a job and she would make it her very priority to do it to the highest standard. The woman wasn't one to talk too much during the whole experience either.

Militant some might call it. 

Upon arrival, Zula found herself settling into a squared stance beside the patchwork cow, a wolf new to the pack but shared her rank as Windseeker. Many a face appeared before them and she found herself on high alert with each warm body that appeared, one after the other; though most were young. A big guy, he screamed power, appeared too - before any others - and seemed to greet her Priestess in a somewhat friendly manner. Zula wasn't all too impressed so she simply watched in silence, eyeing him up with as little hostility as she could muster. 

Until a pretty little princess came out, an older lady who practically enveloped the family with her words of hospitality. Hmpth... Zula lowered her guard but continued to watch.

Always watching.

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Dimitri would tell Violet that he doesn't need to be told to be good, but that'd be breaking his rule of sinking to her level. Besides, this visit means he doesn't have to look at Violet. He could meet others. And then panic sets in. That they could all be like Violet-- low intellect, poor manners, and no ability to speak. When Tiberius appears, he shrinks down a bit. He almost expects rude words, but the man seems to talk about how pleasant this surprise is.

"Hello, sir," he says politely. "I'm Dimitri. It's good to meet you." He glances to Olive, and nods to her as well, then notices Dalmatia hiding. Oh, he would do the same. Absolutely. But that would shame him-- he's responsible. He's important.

And then She speaks.

He can tell from the intense gaze in her eyes that she's the go-getter. The Important One. She's the one he has to impress. She's also pretty-- no, he can't think about that! That's distracting! Aurelia's steadfast presence, her strong pose, and the way she speaks to them with confidence is everything he needs to know. That this is the one whose opinion matters. If he can make her his friend, he's proven himself as The Ultimate Ambassador and he'll get good grades in Communicating With Other Packs. That's a totally normal thing to want. The fact that she's got a lovely voice and her fur is silky has nothing to do with it.

But by the time his brain starts to function again, she's already heading off. He shakes his head and takes off after her. He can totally show her some of the things he's learned!

{exit thread}
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