You Never Know Who You Might Bump Into

As his recognition clicked at last Surreal’s tail began to pick up speed, though her head cocked in mild surprise as he spoke in a highly pronounced accent that she hadn’t recalled him having when they were children. It sounded like an undiluted version of her cousins’ accents, but with slightly different inflections. Some of the wording was interesting, too, but she understood Creed perfectly. A teasing grin flashed over her face, ears pulling back slightly, an enhancement of the expression as she announced “You weren’t that little of a lad.” Her warm smile had a reminiscent note to it. He’d been an absolute fluff ball as a pup. The fur had proportioned itself to his frame now, but he was still fluffy as ever.

His answer to her question was received with a smile. But oh, he had missed so much. “Gods, where do I even start?” Her eyes dropped to the ground as she thought back. Should she give the long version, or the short version? Her haunches lowered as she made her decision and lifted her eyes to meet his. “I guess I could start with… Well, Isardis Armada started a war with Valhalla. It was over something absolutely foolish, too. One of our members, a female our age, Liberty, had wandered, and he had encountered her. He ended up wanting her, and when she ran back here to get away, he came to try to take her from us.” A sour note left on the words that followed as her eyes turned distant, remembering. “Apparently, He fancied himself a king, and he couldn’t stand being told ‘No’. So he threw a tantrum, Challenging for Liberty. He lost the first time, and his cronies took Chrysanthe’s mate, because one of our members didn’t obey the command that only five other Valhallans may come to that challenge.”

Her tail tapped the ground as she gathered her thoughts and memories. “That siege was awful. Two wolves died. One of them from Isardis’s side, and the other a rogue that used to be a Valhallan member from what Mother told me. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they murdered him. They also took my uncle, Cormalin, and a member from Seracia that had been sent to help us fight; Bronze, I believe his name was. They took them prisoner, but we got two prisoners as well.” She didn’t exactly relish the thought, but there was a feeling of satisfaction that they had at least managed to take from Galciem. And both females had been his daughters. A sigh brushed past her jaws. “Unfortunately, we lost the siege, but we didn’t lose our lands. Chrysanthe lost an eye, and I got these scars.” She dipped her muzzle slightly, a slight gesture to bring the four slashes on her muzzle to attention before she continued.

“Isardis challenged for Liberty again, but this time he won. We never saw her again, but I hear she ended up turning into quite the little Glaciem member. I can recall hearing her voice challenging for ranks, rather than her own freedom. Sometimes I do wonder if we ever should have fought to keep her home. Chrysanthe moved Valhalla to an Island on the southern edge of the continent. It really didn’t feel like home, though.” A slight frown brought her brow points together for the briefest moment before she went on. “Mother fell deathly ill during that time, and didn’t make the trek with the pack, and I and my cousin Alsander stayed behind to bring her back to health. She did get better though. With my uncle gone, I was made the Beta of Valhalla.” There was a note of pride in her voice; pride that she had been trusted with such a high rank and the care of the pack.

The pleasure quickly faded as she went on. “Unfortunately, Valhalla’s troubles weren’t over. A yearling from Glaciem challenged for Valhalla, and unfortunately, she beat Chrysanthe. So… Mother took over. She revived the pack again, not even two hours after it fell, and she moved Valhalla back to these lands. We lived happily here for a year? maybe a year and a half. She named me her Heir, and then a plague swept across Alacritia. I was one of those affected. A female…” And here her voice turned frigid and sour, “Viridiana Sovari, brought the cure, then no sooner had that been done, then she turned right around and challenged my mother for Valhalla. Mother was old, by this time. Eight or nine. And she was tired from hardly sleeping while trying to cure her wolves, and burying the dead. She lost. So, I took her to an island where she could recuperate.”

Her ears had fallen back against her skull in remembered pain, the image of her mother falling on the field still fresh on her mind. The memory of the anger, and fear. But she pushed on, determined to continue the story. “While we were away, these lands were tossed from paws to paws, until Arcanum held them.” Her expression didn’t lighten as she continued speaking, tone dark. “If ever there was a worse pack than Isardis’ version of Glaciem ,then it was Arcanum. When we got back, we settled in the Whistling Willows; to the north of here. I found my mate, Falk, and we had a litter. And not long after our first children were born, Arcanum kidnapped his sister. When her mate went to challenge for her return, Falk ran off to be there. He didn’t think about the fact that his children might be left fatherless if he were killed or taken. And he got taken.” There was a bitter note to her voice, an exasperated sigh. She’d forgiven her mate for it, but it still irritated her at times. “They held him captive for several months, and before they released him, they maimed him. He’s blind now. Completely.”

A slow shake of her head brought her eyes to meet Creed’s. “It wasn’t apparent at first, and I was too furious at him for putting himself in that situation where his children had to wonder where their papa went. He still had his eyesight when he got back to us. A little while later though… It was Mother’s time. She had wanted to take her final rest here on these lands, beside Cairo. But… Arcanum was still squatting here. So I took her to the island we had taken refuge on after her defeat. I didn’t realize my eldest born had snuck after us until it was too late to turn back.” Her eyes dropped back to gazing at the ground. “On our way back, a storm swept in, and we were swept out to sea. We washed ashore on the southern continent, and we were lost for a good while; a whole season. When we got back, finally, Falk was completely blind, and my youngest daughter had gone missing, and my second born, Zuriel, was struggling to keep Falk alive while he was trying to let himself waste away, instead of staying alive for his daughter.” Okay, that still pissed her off a bit.

She let out a huff, dispelling the irritation with a bit of good news. “But while we were gone, maybe just before we found our way home, Arcanum was sieged by a pack known as Ebony. They were crushed.” And there was satisfaction in her voice there as she looked around at the surroundings. “I was pregnant with our second litter, and close to birthing when I reclaimed these lands. The bastards slept in my mother’s den. In her alcove. But no matter. They are gone, now. I intend to revive Valhalla again, under a different name. Celestial.” Her eyes landed on Creed’s again, fierce and bright with determination. She had been planning this for so long. Ever since coming back from Atlantis Island once her mother was well enough to come back. There was no stopping her now.

She sat straighter, head cocking, a smile tugging at her maw. “So, now that you’ve had your history lesson, what all did you experience in your years of travel?” The playful note was back in her voice, and her tail was sweeping the ground, her ears perking to catch whatever stories he might be willing to give.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think