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Nostalgia had the yearling healer-in-training drifting beyond the borders of Ebony and on into the north, trading the cool, crisp woods for frost and snow. Even this time of fall, creeping up on the winter months ahead, the snow was patchy, just beginning in places to start to take its hold. It was kind of nice, actually. She may have never had the truly dense coat suitable for those temperatures, but for a visit it was tolerable. The girl's silvery blue eyes took everything in, her keen, sensitive nose assessing the scents and smells that greeted her. A few hardy, familiar ones from the east jumped out at her, as did a few from her own short stay in the north. Who knew she could still remember smells so strongly?

What she did remember clearly was a pack. The lands of Tortuga had been hers for only a short time, and only hers in the sense that she was one of the few ghosts to haunt it. The pack had resided somewhere in this region, settled upon a forest, a lake, a gorge-- Oh, the gorge. Callisto had liked it there very much. Even after all this time away she still wished to pace through it, to see if the shallow den she had dug out for herself still remained, if someone had claimed it after she had left. Her thoughts wandered further back, to the family that she had once been surrounded by: her absent mother, her diplomatically distracted father, her sharp-tongued brother, and her quiet, over-friendly sister. Was Circe possibly still alive, still wandering these stretches of wood and stone and snow? But then...why did Callisto care? She had finally gotten rid of every excuse for drama and annoyance in her life. She was free.

Still, on this day, there was an emptiness there that she knew not how to fill, a desire that had sent her north to wander around familiar and unfamiliar parts as if the missing piece that she needed might leap out at her and steady the unnerving sense within. Her long, lean grey legs moved at a lazy pace as they carried her shadowy from along, her expression cast in its typical emotionless, careless manner. No one would guess at the thoughts and wonderings that were going through her mind. She did well in keeping it all to herself. The path she carved along the mountainside brought her close to an opening but her attention was far from seeking out crevices and tunnels to explore. Instead she thought of her family, of the life she had once led, and how things had changed.

A scent was invading upon them, one he was familiar with. Oh how very interesting, his play thing had made her way into his home! No, this was not his home, a false queen sat upon his throne, in his palace. That was a matter for another day though, right now he was hyper aware of the female?s scent. This cavern was his only for now, but it was his all the same. Lids would lift so that he could gaze out upon the world, the one that passed by the cavern?s entrance. Her scent was getting ever closer and a grin slowly spread its way across his face. Lel would push to his paws, stalking towards the entrance. Obscuring himself as best he could in the stone structure?s shadows. He could just see movement out beyond the entrance, and he slithered out to meet it. ?Missed me that much you had to come practically to my doorstep to seek me out?? He would coo, slipping into step behind the female. ?So what is the special occasion?? Speech,

Mis-matched paws carried the monochromatic fea through the woods that surrounded the opening to the caves she called home, at least that's what she called them for now. She had spent the morning scouting out some breakfast for her and her brother, her scouting quickly turning into lazy wandering. Her focus was everywhere today, that was until a strange scent crossed her path. It wasn't too often that someone came out this way and when they did it was even less often directed toward the cave's entrance like this one was. Her black covered ears perked up with interest and her blue gaze turned toward the caves. As far as she knew Lel was still there, sure to greet whoever it was she was sure. She turned and quickly covered the distance between her and her home, spotting Lel just outside the cave entrance. As she got closer she saw a dark colored female on the other side of him, apparently being blocked off my her brother. She heard the familiarity in his voice and as she came up beside him, her side pressing to his as she looked the other woman over, she asked, "Lel, who's this?" Her blue gaze was as icy as their color as she stared down the gray-legged fea down. Jian knew she had no reason to be jealous of anyone else that her brother knew, but all the same she didn't like that he knew feas that she didn't. Speech Thought Others

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Her pace was purposeless, easy and unhurried, as the scents of the north wafted over her and brought her back. She could almost see them all by now, her family, as they made the long trip back to the forest of their birth. It was hard to picture her mother now; she had disappeared when she was still so young. Her brother as well, though she felt the strong sense of irritation just thinking about him. He did not even need a form, his attitude alone had been enough. Her father, as she remembered him before his sudden sickness, was rather clear, his blue eyes a prominent memory. She could see her sister best, remember her smile and how it would touch her eyes, how her tail would wag when offered even a small kindness. Another face rose, one white with purple eyes, grinning with teeth showing in an unnerving, smug way...

Callisto blinked unexpectedly, the world around her finally coming back into focus. Where had he come from? Why had he invaded her thoughts? She drew in another breath, a scent ghosting across it, but by the time she put two and two together she heard his voice, as if the vision in her mind had spoken aloud. The grey and black wolf stopped, turned her head, and stared openly startled at Lel. Damn it! What the hell had she done to deserve this? Why could she not be done with him already?

Her expression changed, darkening, her silvery blue eyes narrowed as her ears tipped back. "Don't flatter yourself," she answered venomously, "I seem to have stepped into a nightmare." In her mind he writhed in pain from the mental afflictions she was wishing upon him but in reality he showed none of those signs. Pity. Someone else approached as well, a female with a coat that bore a white as pristine and clear as Lel's and black as dark and flat as her own. The girl's sparkling blue eyes seemed to hold some unease, perhaps even a warning of jealousy, but Callisto did not care. Though the question had been made for the purple-eyed male - who was presently being possessively leaned against by the black and white girlfriend - Callisto ventured to answer as if finishing the introduction available to her. "I'm just leaving. Please, don't feel obligated to stop me." With a false, bitter smile, Callisto stepped back and then made to turn and continue along her path, hopefully very, very far away from this spot.

The reaction she first showed was rather satisfying. While she must have felt it was bad luck to stumbled upon him once more Lel was enjoying the seemingly good luck of finding her so close to his home. Even more satisfying was her next reaction, oh how it filled him with glee to know that he had worked himself so thoroughly under her skin. ?Well you know what they say,? he spoke, grinning, ?one wolf?s nightmare?? He didn?t finish, his sister?s oh so intoxicating scent pushing through his mind and taking hold of him for a moment. Jian pressed into his side, voicing her question. Was that jealousy in her voice? Oh how this day kept getting better and better. ?Not to worry, pet.? he spoke softly, pausing as the grey female spoke. He sneered at her as she would turn around. Loping easily around her he skidded to a halt, turning to face her, placing himself easily in her path. ?She is but a plaything of mine, and we are not done having fun yet.? Speech,

Lel would speak first, calming her a bit with his words. All the same, she would stay pressed to him and her eyes wouldn't leave the gray one's form as she spoke, her distaste for Lel bringing a smirk to Jian's muzzle. Well, at the very least she didn't think she'd have to worry about this stranger wanting Lel. Now all she had to worry about was Lel wanting her, but even that she wasn't too concerned with. Even if he did want her she knew she would always be his favorite. She would watch as her brother would go to cut the girl off once more, leaving the gray fea trapped between the two of them. "A plaything, hm?" she would coo, a sly smirk crossing her muzzle. It was no secret to her that her brother had his own... peculiar hobbies, but it just became apparent that maybe this was how he was spending his free time, bothering others incisively. The thought made her giggle and her tail swayed from side to side behind her. "You've certainly gotten yourself into quite the pickle, hm?" she teased, directing her comment toward the other fea, blue eyes meeting blue. Speech Thought Others

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Pet. Good god, he had wrangled in someone to stay with him! It baffled her why anyone would want to stay with the wolf when he was so insufferable. Was she stupid, too slow to realize what sort of companion she was keeping, that his words were more often spoken to taunt rather than flatter or appease? Callisto's ears turned moodily against her head, somewhat glad all the same. Maybe if he had someone to keep around and call "pet" then-

But no. His steps could be heard as he hurried after her, moving around to intercede her. She stopped as soon as she spotted him from the corner of her eye and her narrowed, icy blue eyes shot daggers his way. "Like hell you are," she countered, angrily standing her ground. Twice she had had to endure being in his presence when he made her skin crawl; that was more than enough. She had no intention of making it three.

She had not imagined how things could have gotten any worse when the black and white wolf spoke up, her teasing words causing the aggravated youth to turn her head and look her way with an incredulous, disbelieving stare. So this was the sort of wolf that this purple-eyed demon associated with? Of course. How silly of her to think that she might have been otherwise. "At least I'm not 'pet'," she countered sneeringly, though the words failed to have the desired satisfaction behind them. Had she not been called "plaything" herself?

Trying not to feel entirely discouraged by the whole situation, Callisto turned to set her defiant stare back on Lel. "Why make me stay?" she questioned, "You've already got one little pawn, and she's too dense to leave you. She's not enough?"

"Like hell you are," Oh ho! Was that a challenge? Didn?t the girl know better by now? It amused him to see her react so, especially as Jian added her own words. As it turned out this game was made all the more enjoyable with her addition. He did his best to try and keep his anger down as the grey and black girl insulted his sister, forcing a wicked smile though the rage danced in his gaze. ?No, that one is reserved only for the most remarkable woman I have ever come across, you certainly aren?t deserving of that title.? In truth no one but Jian had ever earned the position at his side, even when she had disappeared he had left her absence like a lost limb. ?I was trying to be kind, but if you?d prefer a different name then so be it. How about troll? Or perhaps wench suits your fancy?? But then blue eyes were turning back towards him a question falling from her lips and he found himself laughing, oh such ignorance! ?I don?t quite yet have a full set you see?” He chuckled, taking a single step towards her. ?And my Queen demands more pawns to defend her.? It wasn?t uncommon for him to speak as though he was his sister?s voice. Speech,

Jian had to bite back a sarcastic retort as the girl commented on Lel's name for her, but it seemed it was not needed. Lel came to her defense instead, his response bringing a proud smirk to her muzzle. Her icy gaze drifted briefly over to Lel, chuckling at all of the other names he offered for their new toy. At the darker girl's next comment her eyes would dart glaringly back to her. Once again Lel would put Jian in the better light of the two of them and a smile would tug at his sister's muzzle. Queen. Oh how she enjoyed hearing him speak of her like that. "Are you certain she's worthy of being a pawn, brother? After all, I don't think a wench should have such a smart mouth." She let her eyes meet the darker girls once again as a sly smirk touched her muzzle. With Lel she felt invincible, able to conquer the world. Well, at least able to conquer this rude, troublesome fea. Speech Thought Others

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She assumed his explanation of his name choices was meant to irk her, as if somehow the prestige of this "pet" title should have made her envious of the black and white girl. If anything, it had the opposite effect. Good. Callisto did not need this male's favor, no matter how much he seemed to revere himself, and she particularly did not want to keep whatever sick obsession he had developed for her. Why else would he have come to her again, and this time with a friend?

Her tail twitched again, her silvery blue eyes fixed upon the white male with his deceptive purple gaze, listening to each of the new names that he had found for her. "I don't know. Troll is kind of growing on me," she remarked smartly, anything to defy him and his attempts at goading her into getting angry. She had no plans of it. All she wanted to do was keep her cool, and her freedom, and get away from this place, this haunted north where white ghouls with purple eyes terrorized passersby. Even if it meant never getting close to her old home with its bittersweet memories.

Somehow she amused him, though she was sure whatever joke he had assumed she had made only made sense to himself. Even his pretty little pawn no longer looked quite so amused, the hatred in her gaze unmasked and clear enough for Callisto to see when she glanced her way. At least that girl was on her side, speaking against her staying and trying to change her twisted boy's mind. Callisto met Jian's smirk with one of her own. "I'm not sure your queen wants me," she said almost pleasantly, and dared to try and further drive a rift between the two wolves. "Are you sure keeping me isn't more a selfish thing?"