Cascade didn't know how long this miraculous haunting would last, so she was trying to make the most of it. Haunt the pack lands, spook the babies, visit with her grandkids... you know, ghostie things. The afterlife had been ok but she could see she'd missed out on SO much while trapped there. This interlude at least let her catch up on some of what she'd missed over the years and get to see where her bloodline had gone. Mostly into the Imperialis, of course, and she was proud as hell to see her babies and grandbabies giving Valentine hell in his old age. Keep him on his toes and keep him sharp. But she was proud to the point of nearly tears to see that the boy she had given her name to had sired another generation of Saxes, that her name lived on alongside Valen's. That it wouldn't die out, be forgotten... or worse, be remembered only as the surname of her insane brother Neios.

She puffed out a sigh, drifting along a brambly trail through the springy orchard. Barely springy - the lack of sun made the plants less than enthusiastic, and the bees buzzing through were confused as hell. As for her, she was grateful to the weirdness in the world for bringing her back, but seeing her son's pack afflicted with the disease, to the point of death for some of them, was troubling. She was worried for her family, worried that after all this she'd lose them to a weird-ass crystal and mushroom and gunk disease. They were a power in this land again, and to risk losing that to a disease again? It brought back a lot of bad memories of losing Imperium, and losing Valentine for so many years.

Usually, she pushes through the ghosts with little heed to them; not interacting with her, doing their own thing, and her doing her own thing as well. This time.... was different. This was the first time a ghostie caught her eye, and her eyes were drawn to the slowly moving, drifting purply-ghost in the Orchard. Almost no ghost paused here; so why was this one? And yet... something tickled her memory. A description. This ghost - ever since the eternal night - was as thick and substantial as the others, but something drew her eyes to... her. Flashes of purple and black met in a confusing pattern depending on how the light shifted and how bright it was at the moment; black that was there in the darkness and less light shifted to a violet sheen when the bright light of the fog shifted directly on her... much... like her own fur. And her dad's fur. And this was a female. And, she squinted closely, she had a white circle patch over her eye.

"...Cascade?" she asked, awe and excitement and trepidation in her tone. Cascade Saxe? "...Grandma?" This tone was a little more hesitant, but still there; the hope in it so obvious. The - as Chaos put it - the founder of her line, the partner to h er very much still loving and grumpy grandfather, the woman who passed down her name to her son, and from her son... to her. Of the three Saxes remaining - though apparently there might be more according to... a half-sibling - and a woman she had heard stories of growing up, though she didn't get to meet Cascade herself.

No. Fucking. Way.

Slowly, she approached, restraining herself as much as possible, but she couldn't help the slowly moving and then faster and faster moving tail wag as recognition made her excited and delighted, almost like a pup again. She was going to meet her grandma! No way! Maybe some good came out of this disease after all.

"Speech" "You"

art by gunhorse

Cascade blinked as her name was called out, and already was turning when it was swiftly followed by "Grandma!" which definitely caught her attention. She was always down for hanging with the grands. She grinned at the brightly colored woman who was there. She looked her up and down, at the nebulous, northern lights markings and dark colors. "So which of my boys are you out of? Chaos or Angelus?" Both had had litters with brightly colored bitches, she knew, and since she didn't think any of the others had it was a good bet it was one or the other, but she couldn't guess which.

Yep. It was her. It was HER! That's it, her tail was doing circles from wagging so hard. She couldn't believe it! No way! She knew it had been a chance, but... out of the thousands of dead wolves over the years, what was the likelihood of her running into one that mattered to her, especially since it was like... literally just Cascade. Thinking about it, she wasn't sure there was anyone else that was... well, dead. Cascade kinda got the short end of the stick there especially compared to Valentine. But still! It was happening! That grin confirmed it. "Chaos," she chirped happily. "I'm Lyra... Lyra Saxe." Oh man, this was exciting. She scooted even closer so she was only a couple feet away; you know, the distance you shared with someone who was family.

"Speech" "You"

art by gunhorse

The ache in Cascade's chest was entirely psychological, since she didn't strictly speaking actually HAVE a real chest, or heart, or anything like that, being just a projection of a spirit, but the swell of pride that prompted it was definitely real. Here was where the name of Saxe lived on, in this amazing young woman. She'd known Chaos had passed down the name but had not yet met any of the next generation of Saxes, until now. Whatever god, spirit, demon, or quirk of the universe had sent her back here she blessed it for the chance to get to see this with her own eyes. "Lyra Saxe," she said slowly, "I am inexpressibly proud to know that you carry my name. I hope you bear it well, and - " Her maw crooked into a crooked grin, "I hope you make sure all of Boreas and Auster alike know that name. As they should, of course," she added with a laugh, then leaned forward eagerly. "Tell me everything about yourself, Lyra. I'm dyyyyying to get to know you."

Cascade

You smell a scent and remember you can scent mark too! Better do it while you still can.

A bittersweet feeling sprung up in Lyra's chest, an ache so fierce and fast that it almost staggered her. The gleam in Cascade's eyes - her grandmother, the forbearer of her name, a woman she had grown up always admiring and wish she could meet... was here, and moreso, was happy to see her. For a grown woman, Lyra felt remarkedly like a puppy at the current moment and it hurt. She only had the vaguest memories of a mother; a colorful woman who saw her and her siblings as annoyances and wanted nothing to do with her. She obligatorily fed them, and then showed up to Chaos and went 'here, take them'. Now, she couldn't complain about that. Chaos - her father - was amazing. She loved him, and he was everything to her. Family, her father, a troublemaker who passed on those genetics to her. But she'd never experienced that motherly delight that Cas was showing now, and she didn't even realize that a part of her had ached so longingly for it.

Realizing that she had kinda just been staring dreamily and lovingly at her grandmother, she returned the crooked grin with one of her own, eyes sparkling. "Not in Boreas - yet. Unless Valentine counts. In which case, yes, yes he does," she chuckled. She annoyed the hell out of him. It was fun. Grouchy old man. "I left Boreas and Auster as a young wolf. Got bit by that exploration bug. Decided to travel and have fun, cause mischief. It's quite fun sneaking up to other pack's borders, pissing on them, and then watching as they try to figure out who the hell did that. Unlike the majority of our family, I'm not too much a fighter... though I do have these." Proudly, because she absolutely loved her feline paws of hers, she presented a paw to the ghostly figure, unsheathing her extremely large and sharp claws. "I am a capable hunter. My coloration doesn't allow for much blending and stalking, but I'm fast, I'm good at climbing because of these, and I can easily create mortal wounds with both teeth and claws. It's very nice."

She paused, glancing around the all too familiar orchard that would start blooming when - if - the sun came back. "I like to climb the trees here and wait for unsuspecting prey to get under my tree - and then I drop on them. It's generally effective. I came back during this... interesting thing going on. I had enough of my time abroad; I wanted to check in on my dad, my brothers, though Aquila has been off somewhere himself. Found out there's a few more. Finnvi kids, and apparently new Saxe potatoes. Very curious to meet them and encourage them to cause hell for dad."

"Speech" "You"

art by gunhorse