I think God's staying at the Diane Motel and he's smoking out on the porch,

@Aurelia @Euphemia @Tiberii

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Aries could only hold a smile while she sweated deeply, worrisome and anxiety filled her with a dread, but her nervous face was trying to be comforting and loving. Unfortunately, Tiberius did not have the best time in his moment away from the vale, and she was still frowning on how Olive will feel about this once she returns. Not only there was trouble within the woods, but he had a refusal to let his children see what was. Blood was within the air, a smelling of so and the light demanding of children asking of where he was..

And Aries, was the babysitter. She wasn't ordered or anything and rather welcomed it, perhaps a friendly face or someone they were used to could help.. But she also wasn't too experienced in dealing with children and struggled to know how exactly to prevent them from going off to find their father and discovering his unfortunate circumstances. So she addressed them, "Your dad needs some resting for a while, so for the meanwhile I will be by your sides. Is that okay?"

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Something was different. Tiberii knew. She lacked the ability to make sense of why or what could possibly be so different it meant she couldn't see Father whenever she so liked. This meant Aries had made herself an enemy—an obstacle, one that simply existed to be leapt over like a fallen long. Of course, Tiberii's legs were far too small to leap but she could climb.

She wanted Father. She would see Father.

Tiberii looked up at Aries with a furious scowl, planting her large paws firmly in the snow. "I need restin'," she reasoned and made way to stomp past their impromptu sitter. "G'bye!" She would find @Tiberius all her own and tell him of how badly Aries behaved, telling them to stay with her instead of him! "Ya' watch Mia! I'll be back."

And like that, she was a child on a mission.

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Aurelia hadn't even realized Tiberius had gone. She stayed ever busy, running around like a grey blur through Frostfang Vale, and just assumed he was around doing his normal fatherly things like kicking asses, peeing on trees, and generally looking stern.

She admired his work ethic.

Today, however, she awoke to a very specific statement from Aries, the resident babysitter (whose continual presence she mildly resented, feeling that she needed no sitting or babying at all). That wasn't to say she didn't like the woman, it was just that lately she was always around, and in a very purposeful sort of way. To her, it was absolutely grating. Aurelia felt she was more than old enough now to be off on her own, but like a pale shadow, Aries was never far behind.

When was mother coming home, anyway?

Tiberii, as was her nature, didn't take the ushering statement of 'your dad needs some resting for a while' as easily as their present guardian would have hoped. Instead she rose, confirmed that she also needed restin', and took off before either of them could say anything to the contrary.

“Tiberii, wait!” Aurelia called, catching up to her on little charcoal paws. “Maybe we should -” the words filled her with dread, but they were the truth - “- listen to Aries. Dad works super hard, and he's prob'ly tired. You know how cranky he gets when we wake him up.”

She turned to glance back at Aries.

“When's mother coming back?”

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Aries looked at them in the hope they would understand. She was lightly nervous while trying to smile warmly at them, knowing too well they were daddy girls. Much love was given raising them, close to both parents and adoration ; one was gone and the other did not wish to have them see the scars that was, until at least lightly, they were more healed. The best she could do was try to reign and ask them patience.

Especially Tiberii, who bursted off with the excuse to nap when anyone who knew her — Aries rose to her feet in the near haste to follow her so, but Aurelia too even called her out in the stopping off. Relief, that perhaps she knew too what was happening. The children though raised in care and love, sheltered in the vale, were not sheltered by life experienced overall. Olive did not seem like a mother that would prevent them from living and learning — that seemed more of Tiberius's route.

"He has worked very hard lately, and needs a lot of rest," she nodded, "it's on the doctors order as well," though technically. Her orders.. Even though Tiberius seemed to move around but to her disdain, "your mother should be back soon. She is doing very important work, that involves not just our safety, but for the tundra as well. It is a very honorable position your mother has taken."

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Now neither of them was making any sense!

Aurelia hollered after her and Aries tried to speak some careful words but the young darkling was taking none of it while sitting on her butt not when Father was near enough she could scent him (though she couldn't really understand why his normal comforting scent was wound up in something that smelled like blood, had he been hunting? Did Aries want to eat the meal all herself and maybe Father had really sent the pale wolf out to fetch them? oh, why she oughta!)

Tiberii would break off into a fierce puppy stride, large paws thumping the earth, chunky limbs that would one day be stout carried her on, and not once did the darkling ever look back at her sister or at Aries.

"Tiberii's orders now!" she hollered back, snapping all furiously at the air, brows furrowed up and shaping into her curled muzzle as she charged forth. Nobody could stop her! She would find Father and he would know of every ill thing Aries did to her and Aurelia! "He can rest w' me just fine!" How else did Aries think the family slumbered, after all?

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Darn.

She had hoped to avoid such things, but Aurelia had to come up with something quick. Tiberii was on the move and refused to listen to either of them - she glanced around quickly, searching for a clue, anything she could use to impede her sister's progress -

The white tip of her tail waved enticingly in the air as she departed.

Aurelia abhorred violence for the sake of it, but this was quickly getting out of hand. There was no other way.

Lunging forward and clamping down on Tiberii's fluffy tail with every ounce of strength she could muster, Aurelia dug in her heels, furrowed her brow, focused all her might, and -

- was dragged along after her.

“Ay-wees!” she called behind, muffled through her sibling's fur as she left a trail of deep grooves in the earth behind her, “Halp!”

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