Here kitty, kitty come and tighten the leash;
How about a little discipline for the violent beast!

Growling in frustration, Lurid smacked a nearby sapling with enough force to break it. Where was she!? Searching in vain was what it felt like, as though she would never find her little sister. Lurid hated to waste her time chasing ghosts, and the longer Atropos was gone, the more angry the pale goddess got with her. The small purple healer was supposed to meet her at their home on the ship, not get herself lost in the northern wilderness. Searching the forest where she had been hidden all these months as she recovered from her mysterious illness, Lurid could not find a single trace of her sister.

The childlike demoness was sure playing a good round of hide and seek this time. Lurid couldn't even find a trace of her, it was as if Atropos had disappeared entirely. Ilyn looked at his queen, curious about her mood. Grumpy didn't quite cover it, but enraged was too strong a word for it. Growling again, Lurid sat down in the snow and leaf litter, once again at square one. How on earth would she find her sister before winter truly set in? This cold was only a taste of what would come, Lurid had spent enough time in the north to know. A pang of genuine sadness struck at the thought that little Atropos was tracking her, also in vain, only to get lost in the snow. This only added to her sour mood. Samael dropped down to rest on the angry empress' shoulder, wrapping a wing around her as if he were comforting her. In his way he was, 'We will find her, my queen, and when we do she can pay hell.' Ilyn patrolled around them, also looking for any sign of life from the fairy-sized witch. Lurid said nothing in return, simply shrugged the raptor off of her shoulder and sat down.

Word count: 316 words. || "Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: Sorry it's so short! Will get better <3

Swinging machetes in a crowded room;
And now I'm coming after you!

ART

It was rare that Tethys went far from home at all, and when she did decide to wander it was almost always in the lands surrounding the Armada. Why would she need to go anywhere else, when she had everything she needed right here? Not that food was terribly abundant in the midst of winter, but they weren't hurting for prey bad enough to send them far from home anyway. They were northern wolves and they knew all about surviving so far removed from the rest of Boreas.

She let out a sigh as she moved through the forest, her head low to the ground and she tested the scents that she passed. Some vaguely familiar, most not known to her at all. Her attention was torn away from her task at hand by the sound of someone moving through the forest, not far off from her at all now. The yearling was still and silent for a long while, dark tail pausing at her hocks where it had just been swaying, head lifting as she searched for the source of the movement.

It took her a long while to find the white-coated female, given how easily her coat blended into the surrounding snowy landscape. The stranger was not alone though, a rather large bird standing next to her in a way that signified their comfort with one another. A strange companionship, one that Tethys couldn't possibly begin to understand but it wasn't her place to either. After deliberating for a long moment, the girl made her presence known with a soft bark before approaching. "Afternoon," she greeted the stranger, maintaining a reasonably distance between them while she waited for a response - and assessed this stranger's risk level.

code & art © skelle 2023

Here kitty, kitty come and tighten the leash;
How about a little discipline for the violent beast!

Crunching snow was hard to hide, even for the pale demonic queen who could usually walk around without a single sound beneath her paws. Pensive, she sat still as a statue, trying to ignore the instinct to continue her search for her sister. Lurid needed a break from her wild goose chase. Ilyn gave a small growl just as the scent of pack wolf invaded her nostrils. 'Afternoon.' Came a small bark from behind her, the miniature polar bear would pay for his failure soon enough. So lost in thought she had been that she hadn't even heard the girl approach. Turning that holographic white and lavender gaze on the girl, Lurid kept her expression blank. "Salvete," she spoke in hoarse, flat tones, her throat still not healed from her illness.

Turning the rest of the way to face the stranger, Lurid took a better look at the girl. She sat a respectful and smart distance away, and while her pelt would be a beautiful addition to Lurid's trove, she smelled strongly of a pack. If she remembered correctly this was the smell of the Armada, a pack she still could not afford any sort of heat with. "What brings you out here? Surely you should be with your pack. It is not wise to run through these woods all alone." She should know, she was the reason it wasn't safe. Lurid spoke in dulcet tones, her voice cracking every now and then. Yes, this one would make for a nice meal. It was unfortunate that she should belong to a pack as strong as the Armada was rumored to be. Darkly pelted with pretty hues of red and blue strewn over her, it was the molten orange of her eyes that Lurid was drawn to. Oh, to be able to pluck those eyes out of that pretty head and put them in a jar. Atropos would love them as a gift.

Anger rose, though she hid the emotion from the stranger. Atropos should be here, to help with situations like these. Lurid had never been good at idle chatter, she always had better things to do than sit and talk about nothing. Today, now, there was nothing to do but wait for her little sister to show back up and maybe entertain a kid. "I am called Lurid. What is your name?" Trying to keep her mind off of her missing siblings, Lurid made an attempt at making her mood better. Melancholy was better, right?

Word count: 423 words. || "Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: Hover over Latin to see translation.

Swinging machetes in a crowded room;
And now I'm coming after you!

ART

Most wolves were quite hard for Tethys to relate to, even those very close to her, so a stranger felt like something completely foreign to her. At least with her packmates she could tell their intentions were good, but a stranger was significantly more difficult to even begin to understand. The yearling kept her distance as she greeted the pretty woman, studying Lurid's expression carefully as she replied to Tethys with a word she didn't understand. Strange. Her next words were even more odd to Tethys though. She couldn't quite tell if the stranger was being threatening or helpful; but either way she was pretty sure she didn't need her advice.

"I'm not far from home," she admitted after a moment of thought. The yearling spoke factually and without hint of much emotion at all. Maybe a wolf more in tune with the finer nuances of vocal inflection would be more threatened by Lurid, but Tethys couldn't quite tell what she was getting it. "I was scouting out some prey though. Seeing where a good place to hunt soon might be." Not that the Armada was necessarily starving but winter was an often merciless season, and having an eye out for where their next meal might come from was never a bad idea. Being prepared was important, something she was realizing more and more as she got older.

"I'm Tethys Fatalis," she introduced herself with a slow dip of her head. "Nice to meet you, Lurid. Do you live around here, then?" Small talk was not her biggest strength but she knew it was a necessity to get to know someone. Not that she could tell if this woman really wanted to talk or not anyway.

code & art © skelle 2023

Here kitty, kitty come and tighten the leash;
How about a little discipline for the violent beast!

The girl explained that she was not far from home, and Lurid knew without doubt that this was, in fact, from the Armada. The Armada had been on her visitation list before she fell ill, but she only graced the borders, not receiving an answer before she had to leave. Lurid's threatening message seemed to go right over the young one's head, making the ghost of a smile appear on her lips. Oh, how easy it would be to simply attack the girl. Lurid was not stupid however, she knew better than to mess with pack wolves when she had no one to back her up. The girl went on to explain that she was scouting prey, well, she had come to a good spot. There was plenty of prey to be had in the forest, one just had to find it.

She introduced herself as Tethys Fatalis, while the surname might mean something to some, Lurid did not know it. The pretty girl asked Lurid if she lived in the area, bringing an unbidden, sad scoff from the dire devil. "Something like that." Lurid didn't live anywhere, not anymore. But she would soon change that, she just needed the opportunity and support. Perhaps, a more hospitable environment as well, though she loved these northern territories. Her ship especially, no, it wasn't hers any longer. She would have to let it go. "Where is your home, Tethys?" She attempted to keep the conversation going, but the urgency to go and find her sister grew by the second. She would have to go soon.

Word count: 263 words. || "Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: Bleh, writer's block.

Swinging machetes in a crowded room;
And now I'm coming after you!

ART

Trying to analyze Lurid felt exhausting to her. Most wolves in general, if they were not the type to wear their emotions plainly on their faces and to speak their intentions clearly, tired her out quite quickly. Something was a little strange about Lurid to her but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She seemed nice enough… but she was smiling in a way that didn't seem all that friendly, and the combination made her head spin.

'Something like that,' the stranger answered, and Tethys felt herself grow even more uneasy. She didn't know what that meant. It was a non-answer at best - so why had she answered at all, rather than simply saying she'd rather not answer? The yearling's brow furrowed as she considered it. Giving strange, vague answers wasn't something she did, nor was she used to.

Still, she'd answer back honestly, because she had nothing to lose otherwise. "The woodlands just south of here, and the mountain range behind, that stretches toward the western sea." She wasn't dumb enough to think she could give out vital information about the Armada to anyone, but these were facts and she knew they could be readily shared. The force of the Armada was much greater than that of a few rouge wolves, after all.

code & art © skelle 2023

Here kitty, kitty come and tighten the leash;
How about a little discipline for the violent beast!

Watching the expression on the girl's face as it changed to show confusion at her answer, Lurid found herself entertained, though not truly enough to linger about. The girl was nice and respectful enough that Lurid could not complain, but there were things to be done. She had siblings and followers to find. The younger woman went on to explain where she lived, instantly the pale goddess knew she was dealing with a wolf of the Armada. "You wouldn't happen to have seen a small purplish grey woman running around here, have you? She is my sister...I've been looking for her for quite some time now." And when Lurid found her, there would be hell to pay for the goose chase she has been sent on.

If this girl had no information on where her sister was, Lurid would have to excuse herself from their conversation. Odds were that no one had seen Atropos, especially if the little witch wanted to remain hidden. Atropos would have to find Lurid if Lurid could not find Atropos. Each day that passed only fueled her anger with her brothers and sisters, but there were ways to soothe that. They all knew how they didn't have to hide.

Word count: 204 words. || "Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: ---

Swinging machetes in a crowded room;
And now I'm coming after you!

ART

What a strange woman, Tethys thought to herself - though most wolves outside her family felt quite strange to her, and interacting with them was even more odd. And this Lurid wasn't exactly making it easy for her, her expressions quite hard for the yearling to discern. She asked a question next though, and Tethys gave a slow shake of her head. A small purplish grey woman? One that wasn't a Fatalis? Definitely not anyone she'd seen around here.

"No, I don't think so. But I can give word to my pack if she's someone she should keep an eye out for?" She offered, her voice raising slightly in pitch, as though hopeful she could prove helpful to this stranger. She felt a little like she was grasping at straws, for any sign this woman was at all pleased or displeased with her brief company. Her head cocked as she waited for an answer.

code & art © skelle 2023

Here kitty, kitty come and tighten the leash;
How about a little discipline for the violent beast!

Lurid watched as the younger girl shook her head. Well, it seemed Lurid would turn up no answers here. The multi-hued girl went on to ask if they should keep an eye out for Atropos. That would not be good, Atropos would flay open any wolf she didn't know if they came looking for her. Lurid would end up having to defend her as she was smaller than most. No, it was best Lurid searched for her on her own.

"No, the offer is sweet, but I am bound to run into her sooner or later. Thank you for your offer." Lurid gave a smile then, though the gesture did not quite reach her eyes. "I best be going now." She had a lot to do and not much time to do it. Requiem was waiting for her, and she would not keep him waiting long. She had brothers and sisters to hunt down.

Word count: 154 words. || "Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: Sorry this took so long! also sorry it is super short :(

Swinging machetes in a crowded room;
And now I'm coming after you!

ART