OOC: Set before Viper joins Ashen Viper couldn't lie to herself to say that she was happy to be outside of Fireside and on her own again. It wasn't necessarily that she couldn't take care of herself or that she felt like she couldn't. Because she still felt herself well strong and capable to do so. But her screw up for running into Fireside and realizing that Jupiter didn't like her as much as she thought had played a big toll on her emotional state and it certainly didn't help her already underdeveloped and messed up thought process. She tried to stay relatively far from Fireside to surprisingly keep up her deal with Tyrian. But as she kept up north most of the time, the dropping temperatures ran prey from the colder lands and the needs of the northern pack took most of the resources from her where she tried to call home. So she found herself moving around the pack in search of some food to fend off her still growing hunger from her time being enslaved. Mid-day, she came to a steadier rush of the river and stared down at her soon to be attempt at a catch of a fish. Her skinny frame would prove to need it, and her eyes were full of the desire to catch her next meal. Walk "Talk" Think

It was hard for Aranea to get back into a routine of her pack life in The Hallows. She missed her children and Allegro dearly, and she was considering what Allegro had offered her. Living in Abaven seemed to be a trouble of the past after spending her time with her new family. Allegro gave her all the affection she could ask for and she couldn't even express how joyful she was to be a mother again. She wandered outside The Hallows and around the other surrounding pack lands if not in search for what herbs would be left to gather, but just to take a stroll away from the pack to clear her mind a bit. She felt The Hallows was where she belonged but she missed her children enough to question what was more important to her. Her children obviously meant more than anything, but did she want to give up what she thought was right for her? As she came to the Grande, her mind was someplace else and her gaze was low at the ground before her. And she wouldn't notice the wolf in vision until she was only a number of lengths away. Only a faint scent of the wolf was familiar, and as the dark form caught her eye she wouldn’t believe what she was looking at. Her body was full at attention now, frozen in time as she questioned if she were in a dream or not. "Nu-ada?" Tears started to fill in her eyes as emotions began to overtake her. She thought her daughter was dead, she would have never imagined that they would have been reunited after so many years. But the small bit of happiness in her voice drained as she observed what had happened to her older daughter. She was littered with scars and maimed and she was in a less than healthy state. Her face turned into awe as she felt horrible for what she had done to her, not that she recalled pushing her away in the most impressionable moment of her life. "Nuada, is that you?" She stepped forward as if her daughter would come running into her hold. Tears now falling from her face. Little did she know or expect what was to come when Nuada would meet her gaze. Walk "Talk" Think

Viper too would go unaware of the other wolf's presence, and would have her attention brought to them only until they spoke. Surprisingly at first she wouldn't realize that the wolf had tagged her by her previous name, but instead just had her gaze move to the white female just from the break in the silence. But as she laid eyes on her mother and her name finally flowed through her mind, she instantly turned defensive in nature. Her hackles raised with her head, eyes narrowed at the smaller, bright woman. Her expression full of hate and anger as she leered down at her from the short distance between them. "I don' know who that is." She hissed, wanting to pursue herself forward to scare the woman. But instead she lifted a paw and went to turn away. As much as she hated Aranea, she would have rather ran away and never saw her again than hurt her. One less thing for her mind to push into the depths of her memories. Without another word, she turned to leave. Her head lowered as she went to scurry away. Her mind off her meal and now on to how far she could get away from here. Walk "Talk" Think

She wouldn’t understand as Nuada denied her name, but when she would go to turn away, Aranea thrusted forward not wanting to let her daughter out of her grasp. "Nuada, wait!" Her body sprang forward, thinking that her closing the distance between them would calm her. Had she forgotten her mother? It was hard to imagine that she would but she knew Nuada was very young when she believed she had lost her and she was sure that Tyranis’ abandonment had distorted her. As Nuada would continue to scurry away, Aranea refused to let her get away. And she eventually caught up behind her before sprinting forward to cut her off in her tracks. "Nuada, please, I’m your mother." Though tears weld in her eyes, she somehow kept them from falling. She was unaware of the destruction she would cause to herself by not letting Nuada escape into the distance. Walk "Talk" Think

Viper ignored Aranea as she pleaded, instead only focused on leaving her behind. That changed though when the white woman jumped in front of her. Her eagerness to escape instantly turned to rage as Aranea still tried to prod her in conversation. Viper snarled as she was cut off, though her neck didn’t raise in dominance until Aranea tried to get her to stay. Aranea didn’t know that wanting Viper to remember her as her mother was actually enraging her more. And she was in for quite the surprise. Viper still led with no words, instead attempting to tower over the slightly smaller woman. Aranea gently cowered to her and she would show no mercy if the woman kept pursuing her. She lashed out with teeth bearing, her target not making it difficult for her to make contact. Aranea wasn’t a fighter, and though this wasn’t on Viper’s mind or maybe even realized by her, she wouldn’t have hesitated anyway. Her teeth grabbed the edge of her ear, making a permanent tear on the side of the tip. Nothing that would be fatal, but surely enough to make her remember this encounter in case she ever forgot. Perhaps payback from her own scar across her shoulder, though that was not the intent at all. Viper growled again over her, as if to threaten more than the break of her ear. Her eyes took a glance around them before she backed down and turned to make her journey into the distance. "Don’t ever talk to me again." And she would scurry away before going off into a lope. Eager for her mother to be off her mind so she could continue her life on her own. -Exit Viper- Walk "Talk" Think

She didn't expect Nuada to lash out, and as her daughter went to tower over her she would only cower under her slightly. Usually she would flee at the sign of danger, but she felt that there was no true danger here with Nuada. Perhaps she thought she could talk her down before they could have a real conversation. But she hadn't seen her daughter in many years and knew nothing of what happened to her in that time. Her body showed what looked like abuse, and it pained Aranea to imagine what had happened to her in her absent time. When Nuada came at her with her teeth, she stayed still like a statue. She was almost in awe that her daughter would attack her and honestly wouldn't comprehend why. Why did she not respond to her name? How did she become so violent? Tyranis didn't have the best temper in the long run and Aranea couldn't help the small feeling in the back of her mind thinking it was her fault she ended up this way. True or not, it was how Nuada felt. She did blame Aranea for her tragedy. Though she felt like she had the skills and will to survive on her own at that young age and may have even seen the situation as a favor to her, she still resented her mother for lying on the floor of their family den and wanting to die rather than move on and care for her like she should. Aranea yelped as Nuada grabbed hold of her ear and teared out a piece of it. But still in shock, she wouldn't go to shout out to her anymore. As much as it pained her to watch her lost daughter run off into the distance, instinct told her to let her go. And after the adrenaline would wear off, she would have certainly regretted not doing more to make her stay. For now her tiny body laid stomach down in the grasses, her neck curled in with her nose in between her front legs as she tried to put together what exactly had happened. And soon she would want a plan to find Nuada again. Walk "Talk" Think