Sleep was never an issue for one so young as Ember. Her days were jam-packed with activities, lessons, and games, so by the time the little pup finally clambered her way up the castle stairs and toward bed, she was bushed. Her parents got her and her five siblings settled in to their puppy bed beside the much larger bed they slept in and as soon as her body flopped down onto the giant plush cushion, Ember could feel the relaxing pull of sleep lulling her away from reality. Her eyelids drooped, hiding away swirling blue-turquoise eyes while her father sat beside their bed, singing them a lullaby in their mother tongue of Carpathian. One day she would learn it and know what he was singing to them. But for tonight, she just let the flowing melody and rolling lyrics drift her off into blissful, peaceful slumber.

- sleep transition -

Ember opened her eyes to find herself drifting in a liminal space of gray fog, nothing in sight and no clue where she was. Her whole body felt weightless, much like it did when she was floating in the castle baths. Where was she? This wasn't like her normal dreams at all. It would have scared her, if she didn't feel this strange sense of peace and tranquility around her, as if she subconsciously knew that where she was was safe. How long Ember floated in that transitional space she did not know, but eventually the fog began to roll away, revealing short dry grass beneath her paws as she began to descend down towards the ground.

The girl touched down on the grass, peering around her as the fog continued to peel back to reveal a vast mountain range of pale gray stone and a forest surrounding her, the trees caught in an eternal autumn as their colorful leaves rustled in the breeze. Close by sat a lake encapsulated by these unfamiliar mountains, its waters placid and clear. There was no one else around her at the moment; she was all alone in this foreign land. Yet Ember felt no unease, no nervousness or fear being here. Walking over to the edge of the lake, the small pup stepped up to the shallow water lapping at the rocky shore and peered down at the surface, watching her reflection shift and wobble in the gently moving waters. "Hello…?" she called out into the air. Where was she...?

"Ember Carpathius"

It had been quite some time since a foreign soul had entered the ethereal realm of the eternal Carpathia Mountains. The seasons changed on a whim. Tomorrow it might be the height of summer or the bitter, killing cold of winter. Today though, it was autumn. The various trees along the mountainside gleamed in gold and bronze, their decay filling the air with a slightly sweet smell. Resin was always here. Whatever gods had noticed her had decided that she was a worthy guardian of the place. She spent her days, nights, and would spend all of eternity stalking every pathway, inspecting every crevice. Nothing ever happened to shake up the daily routine, but the woman patrolled and guarded none the less. And so, as she protected her mountain home, the scent of another invading her space was instantly noted. Obsidian ears shifted and dusty blue nares flared. A familiar, yet entirely new scent. Intriguing. Wide paws led the grey woman down the mountainside. The wind continued to dance about, teasing her with the scent of another wolf. As the land leveled out and she came to the edge of the lake, Resin noted the intruder at once. A very young wolf stood ankle deep in the crystal clear waters of the lake, drinking her fill of the sweet water. Just like the weather, Resin's appearance changed. Sometimes she was young. Sometimes she was old. Sometimes she was covered in scars, her eye missing. Others she was whole with both eyes in tact. Today, she was old but whole, both sulfur yellow eyes glowing within the dark mask of her face. Head lowered, the maned fae loped around the edge of the lake, slowing as she came close to the girl. Again her nostrils flared as she scented the child. Tamsyn. Artorias. Briar. All of their unique aroma's tickled her brain, but she didn't know this striped child. "And who might you be?" the woman rumbled from behind the drinking girl. One dark brow arched and the fae's ears flicked forward. There was an amused expression on her face as she waited for an answer. "Speech"

While she tried to gather her bearings and figure out where she was and why she was here, Ember dipped her tiny muzzle into the crystal clear waters of the lake and drank. The water was crisp, clean, and refreshing in a way that seemed to surpass a mere quenching of her thirst. As if her soul itself was being nourished by the ethereal waters. She felt so at peace here, like walking in a familiar dreamscape she knew and yet was wholly unfamiliar with at the same time. A bizarre sensation of deja vu, like she should know where she was, yet couldn't quite find the name to the place. She had been alone for a time now, so the girl had no reason to assume she no longer was—until a rumbling voice spoke out to her from behind her.

Ember raised her head with a start, spinning about and sloshing the water around her paws as she came face to face with the large ash-gray fae built of stocky muscles and imposing prowess. Ember gawked up at the elder woman, blue-turquoise eyes holding those sulfuric yellows that stared down at her. In the face of a total stranger, Ember normally would have called her mom or dad. But they weren't here right now. And even though she didn't know this wolf yet... something nagging in her heart told her that she did. It was something in those golden eyes that tugged at the fringe of familiarity. That nagging feeling in her heart put her nerves at ease, and under that amused gaze, Ember felt safe. Inexplicably safe, the same way she did when her father looked over her.

Subconsciously knowing that this older wolf wasn't a threat, Ember waded her way back out of the water until she was standing at the water's edge, her tiny forepaws on the rocky shore and her back paws still in the shallow water. Her parents had always emphasized the importance of manners when meeting new wolves, so Ember smiled up at the dark-masked fae as her tiny tail gave a greeting wag. "I'm Ember! Ember Rasina Carpathius," she introduced herself to the stranger, cocking her head curiously to one side while she studied the giant of a woman. "Um, is this your home? I'm sorry if I'm trespassing, I didn't mean to. I'm not really sure how I got here. Do you know which way the Hallows is?" The stranger was an adult, and adults always knew important stuff, so maybe she could help her find her way home.

"Ember Carpathius"

The girl wasn't afraid, though she'd been startled. Sulfur yellow stared down into brilliant blues and the pup gave her name. Resin blinked and nodded. Of course she was a Carpathius. The woman gave a motion with her head, telling the girl to come out of the water and follow her. "Well, Ember Rasina Carpathius, this is indeed my home." The ashen fae led the girl beside the lake, the path well worn. "In a way, it's your home as well." The girl had asked about The Hallows and Resin chuckled, serrated teeth flashing for just a moment. "The Hallows is far away, child, but don't worry. You'll be back there before you know it." Together the pair made their way past the lake and up a winding path that went up up up the side of the mountain. "Has your father ever spoken to you about your grandmother?" The fae arched a brow. Yes, she could tell that this pup belonged to Artorias. The markings were his and the eyes were Briars. "Speech"

The elder fae before her both seemed surprised and yet not at the same time as Ember introduced herself. The woman said nothing, but motioned with her head for the girl to follow her. Still trusting in her instincts and her parents' advice, Ember stepped out of the water with a little shake of her body before falling in step alongside the stranger. The midnight pup kept her eyes up on the ashen gray fae while they walked and she explained that while this was her home, it was Ember's as well in a way. Ember's nose scrunched up as she tried to figure out what the heck that meant. She had never been here before in her entire life. And yet... she couldn't shake that uncanny familiarity that she had known about this place before now, but how, she could not explain.

Her question about the Hallows brought about a chuckle from the stranger. Sharp serrated teeth were shown in the fae's smile. Ember stared for a moment in awe. She had seen teeth like those before in the wolf skull Aunt Gwyn kept in her infirmary, but no one in the Hallows had teeth like those. She had assumed they were some sort of rare mutation. Whoever this lady was, she was certainly an imposing force, but Ember felt no danger being near her. The ash gray fae gave off an aura of protection and motherliness, and somehow it made Ember feel safe. The stranger reassured her that she would be back in the Hallows soon, which made even less sense to the wee pup. "That's good. Mom and Dad would be very upset with me if I was just gone," she explained with an easy smile. She didn't know how this lady knew she'd be back home soon, but she had no explanation for how she got here to begin with, so maybe anything was possible.

Wandering around the lake, Ember drank in the scenery around her. The crystal clear waters, the autumn forest, the towering mountain range of gray stone. It was beautiful and awe-inspiring! The pair began to trek up a winding path into the mountainside, Ember peering out over the forest as they slowly rose up and up, higher and higher above the world that seemed to stretch on forever, bathed in glorious sunlight. Her elder companion asked if her father had ever spoken of her grandmother. Ember gave the stranger a confused look, complete with furrowed brows and cocked head. Why did she want to know about her sire and grandmother? "Yeah, he talks about Granny Tam, but he usually lets her tell us her stories. We see her a lot too, since she still lives around the Hallows," she answered. Did this woman know her father and her Granny Tam somehow?

There was a long pause as Ember thought about the other stories her sire had told her and her kin—the stories that usually left him taciturn and somber by the end of them. "He talks about our other grandma sometimes too. He told us that she made the Hallows and our family. He says she was the strongest wolf he ever knew and that she was the reason we have our home. He also told us how she died protecting our home and that she was a true hero." There was another pause as Ember looked forward and down at her paws, her chest feeling tight as she added on, "I think he gets really sad when he talks about her though. Sometimes when he's done telling us about her, I see him go sit out in the gardens alone and talk to himself in Carpathian. I can't understand what he's saying, but I think he might be talking to her. He really misses her a lot and he always says he wishes she could have met us." Talking about seeing her father sad and vulnerable felt weird to the girl. Her father was always such a paragon of strength and courage; seeing how some things still struck under his armor felt a lot like finding out your superheroes were mortal too.

"Ember"

The pair moved up the trail and Resin kept a close eye on the girl, her granddaughter, though she hadn't revealed that quite yet. Ember continued to speak, talking about Granny Tam first. Resin's ears tipped backwards for a moment. She missed Tamsyn but she knew that the woman was safe and loved in the living world. That made their separation easier. She did wonder though if, when Tamsyn's time came, the dark lady would find her way to these very mountains or if she would end up elsewhere. Time, whatever that was, would tell. Ember went quiet for a moment as though deep in thought, then she continued, this time speaking of her 'other grandmother'. The view of Artorias came from the girl's mouth and Resin chuckled softly. Yes, that did indeed sound like something that her son would say. The ash and obsidian fae didn't quite share those views. She simply was who she was. She protected her family to her last breath and that was all that a wolf like herself could ask for. She died just how she had lived: in battle, fighting and clawing for supremacy. A sadness filled the girl's voice and she looked at her little paws. Her father was sad when he spoke of her grandma. A sad little smile pulled at the fae's scarred maw and she moved forward, nuzzling behind the girl's ear. "It's hard to lose someone that you love," she spoke softly. "Your father is a very good man and his mother is incredibly proud of him." Leaning down, Resin gently scruffed the girl, careful of her teeth. With two big leaps, she bounced from boulder to bolder, depositing them on a smooth stone shelf that looked out over the valley below. The pup was gently deposited on the ground before the ashen fae slid down to lay on her belly, a thick foreleg on either side of the girl. A chill wind blew and Resin pulled the child in close to her thickly furred chest. "Everything that you see belong to the Carpathians," she told the girl. "Some day, after you're old and grey and have lived a long, happy life, you can choose to come here and live with your grandmother." Again Resin nuzzled into the top of the child's head. "I'd be glad to have you. All of you." "Speech"

Ember didn’t know why she felt so compelled to be so honest with this stranger. Perhaps it was the motherly vibe she sensed coming from the older fae, or maybe it was because Ember had never had a reason to fear strangers before in her young life. Whatever it was, something the girl had said provoked a reaction in the familiar stranger. A gentle nuzzling behind her ear caught Ember by surprise, the midnight-furred pup glancing up swiftly to the much taller fae. The nameless stranger continued to explain that it was hard to lose someone you loved. Though Ember had never lost anyone she cared for fortunately, she knew both of her parents had lost parents of their own. Briar still thought back wistfully on her own mother, and Astoria's... well, it didn't seem like her father had ever gotten over his mother's death. She didn't fully understand all of the details that surrounded her adoptive grandmother's passing, but what she had gathered, it hadn't been very nice... and it was something her sire still carried a lot of grief and guilt around.

The stranger made mention of how Ember's father was a good man and that his mother was very proud of him. At first, the pup didn't catch the underlying meaning behind the woman's words—until she started to think on it some more and her brow furrowed in confusion. How did this stranger know her father and grandmother so well? Ember had just turned to ask the stranger that very question when she felt herself being scuffed gently, letting out a soft gasp of surprise as her legs were hoisted off the ground. The next few moments passed in a blur of motion. They were sprinting across the rocky terrain, Ember held aloft by the stranger as she leapt athletically from boulder to boulder, drawing giggles of excitement from the young Carpathian princess. As she was set down on the smooth stone plateau, Ember was all smiles and giggles, settling in between the kind stranger's thick forelegs as they relaxed on the rocky shelf to overlook the autumnal valley below.

"Wow...!" exclaimed an awed Ember looking out over the vast mountain range. So all of this land belonged to the Carpathians? Then how come she had never been here before? Why had her parents never taken her or her littermates here? And why did they live in the castle so far away? That was when the truth was revealed. Another nuzzle from the stranger, a promise that after she had lived a full life that she could come spend the rest of eternity here—and that she'd be glad to have them join her. Big blue eyes snapped up with a quick turn of the girl's head to meet the glowing golden eyes of her grandmother, realization brightening in their depths and a slow wag beginning in her tail that gradually built up. "...Grandma?" asked Ember with trepidation and hope in her sweet voice, unable to hide the smile growing on her tiny snout. "Grandma Resin?"

"Ember"