Aslatiel lay on one of the larger platforms that her father had built for the barracks. The lower platform was under water as the tide had come barreling in. Soon it would be gone, but for now the small wolf was glad to be stuck out here alone. Already the depth of the water was sinking. It was a good thing that she was less afraid of water than she had been when she was younger, for she was thoroughly surrounded by it. Paws hung over the side of the platform and the girl looked down at the water that rocked gently back and forth with the churning of the oceans breath. She was upset and this place and predicament suited her just fine.

The child was feeling ugly. For quite some time now she'd been focused on the fact that her brothers were unique and pretty while she was ugly and boring. Mort had his wings and his vibrant blue against all of the black. Azure had his blue against brown and also had saber fangs and spurs. And Indigo... don't get her started on Indigo. Her amaranthine brother was breathtaking. He was easily the prettiest wolf that she'd ever seen.

For a time, Aslatiel believed that female wolves were simply supposed to be plain. Her mother was very plain, but at least she had horns. Aunt Iolaire was fairly plain. Io's mother was plain. Even her own mother's handmaiden was plain. Maybe that was just how it was supposed to be. And then her father had introduced her to Aerndis... and all of those beliefs came crashing down. The woman was stunning. It was as though the stars that Aslatiel loved so much had come down and blessed the woman by pressing themselves into her coat. It wasn't fair. She had tried her best to be nice to the woman even though she was terribly upset during their entire interaction.

It was one day later that Aslatiel had gone off on her own. Now here she was. There were tears in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She knew that it was wrong of her to hate another for their looks, but inside she hated Aerndis for having the stars on her skin. She hated that the stars hadn't blessed her so. Instead, she was ugly and tan. Boring and ugly. Burying her face into her forelegs, Aslatiel breathed deeply, still trying not to cry.

Indigo didn’t like the fall season, and if the winter was supposedly worse he was not looking forward to that either. There were a few new flowers to learn about but it seemed like the majority of his garden was going to perish with the cold. This put the boy into quite a grumpy mood. Indy was the happy go lucky one of his litter, but the knowledge that Autumn would steal away all of his hard work had the boy steaming.

The vibrant violet boy kicked rocks as massive paws carried him forward over the flat lands of the Armada. Maybe he should have made his way to the shrine or to his Aunt Io’s garden but both places only made him upset right now. He huffed as he pushed past the tall grasses and made his way to the plains. Maybe he’d find Azure and the two of them could get into another scrap. Indigo had the opposite of bloodlust, but the boy felt like a spar might help him to feel better.

As he continued forward the sight of the plain stretching out to the ocean brought him a little peace. Everything changed, the seasons gave way from rain and life to snow and dormancy. Indy tried not to think of it as his garden dying, but going to sleep during the cold of the winter. He attempted to hold close to the thought as his gaze fell on the tan fur of his sister. She was the one that could make him feel better no matter what so the massive boy moved his gangly legs forward.

She was perched on her own little island, a pedestal made by their father. Indigo found agrin as he approached his tiny sister, but the expression fell as he saw her bury her features into her paws. He felt huge concern. ”Aslatiel?” He asked softly, stopping just at the shore as he tried to get her attention.

Face still buried in her paws, a soft, inquiring voice sounded from behind her. The girl lifted her head and glanced back over her shoulder. "Oh. Hey, Indy." Her voice was filled with sadness and, greeting out of the way, she rested her chin on the platform between her forelegs. There wasn't much that she wanted to say, but having Indigo here with her would help to calm the girl. He always had that affect on her. Indigo was her balance when she was too high or too low. She was definitely low now.

Reaching one paw out, she patted the spot beside her, offering her purple sibling a seat. If he accepted, she would shift to the side and lean against him. "Indy..." she asked hesitantly, her brow furrowing. The action screwed up the white and grey marking over her left eye. "Do you think I'm ugly?" Aslatiel raised giant, tear filled eyes to look at her brother. Eyes that matched his coat perfectly.

Inside, the girl hurt. If she was ugly... no one would want to be around her. Girls were supposed to be pretty, right? Indigo's opinion mattered more to her than anyone else's. If he said that she wasn't pretty, she would believe him. It would hurt, but she would believe him.

Aslatiel was quick in giving her attention to the giant of a pup that was her brother. He didn’t expect the emotion that she greeted him with, her voice was filled with sadness and her posture revealed further her inner thoughts. She averted her gaze as soon as she welcomed him, her pretty features lowered onto her paws. Indy felt his tail sway behind him as he lowered his head and ears as he tried to understand.

He didn’t hesitate to move forward as she offered him a space beside her, after he’d half expected her to wave him away to be with her emotions on her own. His heart beat heavily for her as he made himself comfortable at her side. Aslatiel leaned against him as he settled on the rock, her body relaxing as the pair settled in together.

Indigo lay his big head over her shoulders as she whispered his name, his dark red marked ears perked at his name, but he balked at her eventual question. Ugly? His sister? That was the last word he would use to describe his dear Asla. He held her bright purple stare as her beautiful eyes welled up with tears.

”No, of course not!” he offered, obviously surprised at her question. He whined softly and aimed to nuzzle her cheek lovingly. ”I..” he stuttered slightly as he tried to get his words out. He’d never made this confession to anyone in his family, but he’d never guessed he would have to. ”Asla, I always thought you were the most beautiful of the four of us.” There was nothing but truth in his voice as his bright blue eyes gazed into her own vibrant gaze.

As she knew he would, Indigo came and settled his big body beside her. Already he was massive in comparison. His great size made her feel safe and brought her comfort. She loved Indigo beyond reason and knew that he loved her as well. But did he think she was pretty? It didn't take him long to answer her. Indigo confessed that he always thought she was the prettiest of the four of them. The girl frowned and looked away.

"You're all so unique. I'm just... boring." A sigh pulled from her and she began to tell him about Aerndis. "Papa brought a woman back to the territory with him yesterday. She was the prettiest wolf that I've ever seen. She looked like the sky and stars." Asla cast her water filled gaze to the sky. "It made me realize just how ugly and boring I look." Tan. Boring, disgusting tan.

It wasn't that she didn't believe Indy, it was that she didn't believe in herself. It would be difficult for her to believe that she was anything other than ugly. Though he nuzzled and his eyes spoke truth, she just couldn't see what he saw.

Did she think that he was lying? Indy was truthful but she still averted her gaze and confessed the feelings that wouldn't be quelled with just a few of his words. Indigo’s love for his tiny sister was deep and unending, seeing her like this made him want to do something to help ease her mind. ”You’re different.” he told her softly as she sighed heavily. ”You’re different from the other two and I. That makes you unique too.” She told him about the woman that visited, and how she had been touched by the stars. Indigo had no doubt that he would be envious of that coat as well.

He put his head over his sister’s beck and was silent for a long moment. ”You can’t compare yourself with others.” He kept himself close, aiming to hold one of her dainty tea cup paws in his own. ”Someone will always be better. Better looking, a better fighter, hunter… gardener.” The last one his raw emotions slipped through at the coming loss of his garden. Harvest was upon them. ”I think you’re beautiful, and you should too.” He lifted his head then, and aimed to boop her nose with a mischievous kiss.

Indigo was the best of the bunch. He was sweet and he was kind. He made the unshed tears in Aslatiel's eyes fall down her cheeks. He believed that she was pretty, so she would do her best to believe too. Indy placed a mischievous kiss upon her nose and the crying girl laughed, her maw spreading in a grin. "Thank you, Indy." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "You're amazing." It was uncanny the kind of hold he had over her. All he had to do was say that everything would be okay, and she would believe him.

Pulling back, Aslatiel placed a soft kiss on Indigo's lips. Purple eyes searched blue and she kissed him again. A little giggle bubbled up and she turned her head. "What are you doing all the way out here?" He couldn't just be looking for her, could he?

Asla’s tears fell as he tried to encourage her and he felt his own heart drop as he held more tightly to her. He hated that she had to cry for this, and he wondered what he could possibly do to help her feel more beautiful. ”You’re welcome, Asla.” He returned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he buried his features into her scruff. ”I love you.” Indy said into her fur before she pulled away from him slightly and placed sweet kisses on his dark lips. He caught her adoring gaze and returned it with a grin and sparkling blue eyes.

”Oh, uh…” He stuttered slightly, his problems disappeared when he focused on helping Aslatiel ”I’ve been kind of bummed about harvesting the garden.” He admitted, losing her gaze as he searched the ground. ”I wanted to see if Azure was around to spar me. Fighting helps me focus elsewhere.” And diminish the negative emotions that collected inside.

Having cried even though she didn't want to and having Indigo tell her that she was pretty, some of the feelings that had been building were floating away on the wind. The small girl wiped her tears away and settled into her brother's embrace. She was feeling better and it was all thanks to Indy. It seemed like such an easy fix, but he had that affect on her.

Indigo's mood shifted a bit as he began to tell her what he was doing here. He was upset about his plants? Asla furrowed her brow. Indy loved his plants, she knew. He was very proud of them and loved them like they were little, green pets. "Sorry about your plants. Did you ask Aunt Io about them?" Indy then said that he was looking for Azure to get in a spar or two. "Well, I'm not Az, but I could spar with you if you want." She didn't know about fighting, but she knew about killing. It was kind of the same thing, right?

At least Asla seemed like she was feeling a bit better now that he’d talked to her. He meant every word he said, and now that he was more aware of her deeper emotions the gears in his head began to turn. He needed to find something nice for her, something she could wear that would never make her doubt her beauty again. ”Yeah, she said most of them don’t last through the winter. I know they’ll come back in the spring but its hard to believe without seeing it.” He spoke softly, his emotion obvious in his deepening voice.

”Are you sure?” He asked, looking up curiously. ”I don’t want to hurt you…” he felt his excitement ebb. The last thing he wanted was to harm his dear tiny sister. He knew she was tough but he was huge and one bad move...

Her offer of a spar seemed to distract him from his garden, though he seemed unsure. His words a moment later proved that lack of confidence. Aslatiel grinned and rolled onto her side, pushing her brother roughly with all four paws. "I may be small, but I'm tough. You won't hurt me." Jumping to her paws, she kissed the tip of her brother's nose and scooted back a few feet so they could square up. "I'll try not to hurt you." Perfect white teeth flashed and she gave Indigo a wink. "Come at me, bro."


Head lowered and tail lashing back and forth, the girl widened her stance and waited for Indigo to make his first move. Sure he was bigger. A lot bigger. But she was fast and she was smart. She wouldn't go easy on him either.

Aslatiel gave him one of those grins as she she shifted in his arms and looked up at him with mischief in her purple eyes. She pushed against him with her tiny paws and offered her protest with confidence. She was indeed tiny, but she was tougher than she looked. Asla was confident that Indy wouldn’t hurt her, but the big boy wasn’t. His dark ears fell to his skull but he wouldn’t deny her voice.

She went so far as to counter him, telling him that it was actually she that would try not to hurt him. Indy felt himself slip into an amused grin, maybe his sister would even be more fun to spar than Azure. She goaded him on and took up her stance and Indigo mirrored her. Asla made obvious that she expected him to make the first move, so Indy wouldn’t disappoint.

The boy coiled his powerful limbs and leapt at his tiny sibling. He aimed to hit her with sheathed claws, his massive paw aimed for her left shoulder to try and push her over. He’d attempt to push his chest against hers and press her into the ground while he held her there with his massive weight.

Indigo Arcturus Fatalis vs Aslatiel for Spar (right to tickle)
Round 1 of 2?
Age: less than 6mos
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Companion 1: European badger, Female - Battle
Mutation 1: Saber fangs - Offensive
Mutation 2: Lion's mane - Defensive
Mutation 3: Cat claws - Offensive
Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Advanced Healer
Specialty: N/A

As Indigo accepted that their fight was happening, she saw the change in him. Though he still had the smile on his purple face, his stance changed much as hers did. Aslatiel grinned, little white teeth flashing. She got herself into battle mode too. Not that she was a fighter, mind you. She was pretending that she was squaring off against a predator while hunting. That was how she would get through this fight.

Inviting her brother to make the first move, he rushed her. She expected this, because what else could one do in this situation? Like a little dancer, Aslatiel spun out of the way. Pivoting, she leaped, attempting to connect with all four paws on her brothers side to push him over. It was more of a joke move than anything, and if it connected, she would erupt into laughter.


Aslatiel Sirin Fatalis vs Indigo Arcturus Fatalis for Spar.
Round 1/2
Age: Under 6 months
Size: Small
Build: Light
Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive
Skills: Advanced Hunter & Intermediate Navigator
Specialty: N/A

Aslatiel was much faster than he was, Indigo was a heavy boy and at the moment graceful was one of the last words that should be used to describe his movements. As he aimed to bring his weight down upon his sister the tiny girl easily skirted out of the way and he was left with his paws on the ground. Bright blue eyes turned to watch her as she whipped around and pushed hard against his side. She didn’t have enough force to push him over but Indigo stumbled slightly.

He returned his attention to her, eyes alight as he flashed his lengthening fangs. Again the boy tried to bring his paws down on her as he pivoted. He’d try to grasp her scruff and pull her into a big bear hug.


Indigo Arcturus Fatalis vs Aslatiel for Spar (right to tickle)
Round 1 of 2?
Age: less than 6mos
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Companion 1: European badger, Female - Battle
Mutation 1: Saber fangs - Offensive
Mutation 2: Lion's mane - Defensive
Mutation 3: Cat claws - Offensive
Skills: Intermediate Fighter & Advanced Healer
Specialty: N/A

Because her hit to Indy's side landed, Aslatiel erupted into peals of joyous laughter. She was so amused with herself that her focus was completely shot. So when Indigo came at her again, she wasn't ready. He grabbed her, but his movements brought her head around to watch him. He bapped her right in the mouth with one giant paw, slicing her bottom lip open against one lower canine. Purple eyes went wide initially, but she instantly lapsed into laughter again before wriggling out of Indigo's grasp. Blood trickled down her chin, but she grinned anyway. "You got me!"

Without warning, she lunged at her sibling, attempting to dive onto his back and hold on to his longer than average ruff.


Aslatiel Sirin Fatalis vs Indigo Arcturus Fatalis for Spar.
Round 2/2
Age: Under 6 months
Size: Small
Build: Light
Mutation 1: Cat claws - Offensive
Skills: Advanced Hunter & Intermediate Navigator
Specialty: N/A

And the winner is...

ASLATIEL

INDIGO must give up by submitting, fleeing or passing out. Totals: Indigo: 81.28 (2, 3, 20, 75 - Adjusted to 2.7, 3.9, 20, 75) Aslatiel: 142.13 (96, 27, 41, 8 - Adjusted to 120, 27, 49.2, 8)

- nyx