Barghest stood at the edge of the cliff side, looking out over the landscape, the ocean was constant and everlasting: so totally different from her life. Her bright blue eyes scanned the horizon, searching for something, something that could anchor her to this new, unwanted life. The sea air rustled through her gray and striped fur, but the chill she felt — that was more so from within. Cold, clammy, uncertain.

She remembered the days when she was a princess, when her father's presence loomed large and their pack was strong. But those days were gone, swallowed by tragedy and time. Her home lay in ruins, her siblings? Scattered, managing badly, or lost. And her father, the once-ashen king, was now confined to his deathbed, a shadow of his former self. Barghest's heart ached with the weight of her losses, each one a sharp claw tearing at her pride and spirit.

She looked back towards the distant heart of Elysium, where her family now tried to piece together a semblance of normalcy. Her mother, a figure of strength yet burdened with her own grief, didn’t need more sorrow to carry. Her remaining siblings, each dealing with their pain in their own way, were distant, their bonds frayed by the season's hardships. She wouldn’t burden any of them with her heart's discontent.

Barghest sighed, the sound barely more than a breath. She felt like a stranger in Elysium, a wolf without a true home. Her bloodline, once a source of pride, now felt like a chain around her neck, heavy and suffocating. Her unrest grew each day, mingling with the sorrow that seemed endless in her mind. Corroding her brain.

She took a step back, then paused, uncertain. Her thoughts churned, a storm within her mind. Then, she looked down at her feet: a rock. She sneered, brows furrowing harshly. A hiss escaped her lips, and then her black talon claws lashed out. A snarl-scream as she threw the rock off the cliff's edge and rocketed down to the beach below. The girl stood there, her fur bristled and her tail lashing, a choked gasp of rage heaving free from her lungs.



""

"Hopefully you aren't planning on joining that rock," a voice would sound from behind the yearling. "What a waste that would be." Scylla had just come from visiting her father. His condition was worsening, though he didn't let many see it. Even Scylla couldn't figure out how to break up the nasty, black mess within his lungs. His wife was trying her best, but it seemed as though nothing that they tried even made a dent so far. There was a fair possibility that Chimera would actually die this time.

Having left Elysium, Scylla picked her way across the land. She wouldn't stay in that place. Not even over night. The thought of running into Saracyn or being approached by a child that didn't know she was it's true mother... it just left a yucky feeling within the slate and cream fae. It was a good thing that she'd left, too. Who knows what the girl would have done had she not been intercepted?

The breeze blowing up from the cliffside brought the girl's scent to Scylla's nose. One of her father's children, she recognized. A younger sister. Haunches folded and Scylla seated herself, long tail curling all the way around her body and then some. "Why don't you tell me your name and what's bothering you? Family should help family, after all."

"Scylla"

Barghest turned sharply at the sound of the voice, her fur still bristling from her outburst. She studied the wolf before her — a stranger, yet there was something familiar about her scent. She took a moment to compose herself, though the raw edge of her emotions was still apparent in the huff of her nostrils and the wild glaze of her eyes.

‘Hopefully you aren’t planning on joining that rock,’ The stranger had said. Barghest's bright blue eyes narrowed slightly, defiance and wariness clear on her features. ‘What a waste that would be.’ What? Kill herself? What a joke.

Barghest took a step back, feeling the cliff's edge close behind her. “Who are you?” The mottled girl demanded, the rough timbre of her voice laced with a blend of suspicion and guardedness. “And why do you care?”

The stranger — a slate and cream fae — seated herself calmly, her long tail curling around her body. ‘Why don’t you tell me your name and what’s bothering you? Family should help family, after all.’

Family. The word struck Barghest like a blow. She had lost so much of her family recently and was actively losing more, but here was someone claiming to be part of it. “Barghest.” She finally replied after sizing up the woman before her, her name falling from her lips like a sigh. “My name is Barghest Klein. And if you’re really family, you would know that there’s too much bothering me to even begin.” Her surname tasted sour on her tongue, but she still said it.

Her eyes, bright and sorrowful, locked onto the stranger’s. “And you? Why haven’t I met you before?” The wind from the ocean whipped around them, carrying the scent of salt and distant lands. Barghest's tail lashed once, a reflection of the turmoil within her as she waited for her answers. Complete with all the charm of an angsty teenager.

""

The girl spun, angry perhaps at being caught in the midst of such emotion. Scylla calmly sat, waiting for the young fae to collect herself. She eventually gave her name as Barghest, a name that she'd heard and could now put to a face. As was the way, Barghest asked who she was in return then she made some comment about the harships in her life that Scylla should apparently know about. "Scylla Klein, eldest daughter of Chimera Klein." The nice, complete answer.

"As for why we've never met, I was shipped off to Elysium to solidify an alliance. No point in that now, eh?" It was no secret that the alliance had fallen through, though on by their actions. Elysium had squashed the whole thing. "I am no longer part of Elysium, but I came to check on our father." Once again reminding the girl that they were family.

Black and blue eyes rested upon the girl's face, noting the various negative expressions. Scylla was torn between offering her comfort or offering her hard truth. In the end... she wasn't a liar.

"He's going to die," she spoke plainly, though her voice was lower, eyes cast to the side. "Nothing that I or Aliana have tried has made any difference." The cobalt fae inhaled deeply. "It's something that you and the rest of our siblings will have to come to terms with." That was the harsh reality of the world.

"Scylla"

Scylla Klein, eldest daughter of Chimera Klein. The confirmation of their familial bond felt both reassuring and strange. She’d heard the name before, but not the reason why her elder sister had never been around. A political move, fallen through. Just like everything else. Barghest's heart clenched at the mention of their father. The weight of the truth she had been avoiding pressed down on her. Black and blue eyes met hers, and she sought truth there. Any. At this point it didn’t matter what she found within Scylla’s gaze.

‘He's going to die,’ Scylla spoke plainly, her voice lower, eyes cast to the side. ‘Nothing that I or Aliana have tried has made any difference. It's something that you and the rest of our siblings will have to come to terms with.’ The words hung in the air, heavy and final. Barghest felt a bitter pang of anger and sorrow, mixed with a strange sense of relief at hearing the truth spoken aloud. She had known it, deep down, but hearing it confirmed brought a different kind of pain.

“I know,” Barghest admitted with grit teeth, her voice barely more than a whisper but growing steadier as she spoke. “I know he's going to die. I've seen it in his eyes, the way he looks at us, like he's already saying goodbye.” She turned her gaze back to the ocean, the constant, unchanging waves mocking her once again. None of this was fair. But no one ever told her that life was fair. “I don't know if I want to see it happen, to watch him fade away so I’ll remember that I was there at his end, or if I should just run away from it all so I can remember him as he was. Everything's falling apart. I don't know how to stay strong anymore. For my mothers sake, for my siblings...” Her voice was cracking, traitorous tears springing to her eyes that she resented immediately and tried to shake from her cheeks.

Her tail lashed once, her voice catching in her throat. Barghest looked back at Scylla, her eyes brimming with a mix of anger, sorrow, and confusion. How was she supposed to handle this? How? This girl of barely a year, a lost spirit as she stares back at her eldest sister, bright eyes pleading for answers she wasn’t sure she would ever find.

""

The pain in the girl's eyes was almost more then even Scylla could bear and that was saying something. She wasn't an emotional wolf. She never cried. She never had outbursts. She could feel Barghest's pain, however. Perhaps it was the familial bond that allowed her this brief flash of sorrow. For as cold and strange as Scylla was, she didn't want her family to be anything other than happy and content.

Barghest spoke again and Scylla sighed aloud. By the time the girl looked back at her, the older fae had risen and was making her way towards her. Though the girl was larger than Scylla, she easily pulled her into an embrace, comforting her sister and wiping the tears from her cheeks with one dexterous paw. Her voice was uncharacteristically soft as she spoke. "Life is full of hardship," Scylla began, "But hardship makes hard wolves. You'll get through this and you'll be stronger in the end."

Scylla pulled back just enough so that their gazes could meet. "I've recently become alpha of a pack and I'm slowly gathering as much of my family as I can to my side," Again, she brushed a tear away from one grey cheek. "If you need a place to go where it's safe and familiar, you'll be welcome, Barghest."

"Scylla"

Barghest’s heart was heavy, the pain almost unbearable, yet Scylla’s unexpected comfort seeped through her defenses. The older fae’s embrace was firm, and the gentle touch of her paw wiping away Barghest’s tears was soothing in a way she hadn't anticipated. ‘Life is full of hardship,’ Scylla began, her voice soft but steady. ‘But hardship makes hard wolves. You'll get through this and you'll be stronger in the end.’

Barghest wanted to believe her, wanted to find solace in her elder sister's words. When Scylla pulled back just enough for their gazes to meet, Barghest saw something in her eyes — a.. strength she aspired to possess but didn’t feel was within reach.

Scylla continued speaking of the pack she had recently gained, brushing away another tear from Barghest’s cheek as she offered her a place there. The mottled girl's throat tightened, her eyes widening a bit as she gathered her thoughts. The offer was tempting, a beacon of hope in her storm-tossed mind. “Scylla,” She started, her voice wavering, “I… I don’t know what to say.” Teeth grit, ears pinned flat against her skull as grief washed through her, but she did not cry. She let the moment move her, taking in every detail as best she could. The cold sensation of the breeze and her heart, the warmth of her sister anchoring her when she needed it most.

She paused, trying to find the right words to express her conflicting emotions. “I’m… I’m terrified of staying and watching everything crumble to dust.” She was crumbling too. Her tail flicked nervously, bright blue eyes searched Scylla’s face, hoping to find understanding there. Hoping this lifeline wasn’t sand between her fingers.

""

Her sister melted into her embrace as she hoped would be the case. Small but strong forelegs held the mottled girl close. Despite this being their first meeting, Scylla felt as though they'd known one another forever. They could bond through this unfortunate event, or series of them, and come out strong in the end. Scylla had been born strong, born with a disposition that not many others possessed. It sometimes made her come off as cold and unfeeling. She couldn't claim to be the most emotional woman in the world, but there was one thing that she did care fiercely for and that was family.

Doubt was voiced. Doubt laced with sorrow and uncertainty. As the sisters eyes met, Scylla offered Barghest a reassuring smile. "Dust makes the plants grow. The plants feed the deer. The deer feed the wolves. The wolves turn to dust." Scylla sighed again, giving a slight shake of her head. "It's all a cycle. It doesn't make it any easier for the ones going through it at present, but wolves have been losing loved ones since the beginning of time. Our father isn't the first and he won't be the last."

Scylla released Barghest from her hold once she was certain that the younger wolf was emotionally solid enough. "It's our duty to live on, remember those that we've lost and make them proud. We're Kleins, sister. One of the strongest, oldest lines on the continent. Whether our father is here or in the afterlife, we'll make him proud, won't we?" A decent little pep talk if she said so herself.

"Scylla"

Barghest felt a great measure of comfort within Scylla's embrace, the strength in her sister's smaller frame providing a steadiness she desperately needed. Despite this being their first meeting, the bond of blood and shared sorrow seemed to have forged an unexpected connection. Barghest felt more peace than she had in months. Not that her problems were gone, but they felt less insurmountable. Less crushing and lonely.

As Scylla spoke of cycles and the inevitable losses that came with, Barghest listened, her gaze fixed on her sister's face. She nodded slowly, immersing herself in the truth of her sister’s words. She wanted to believe those words. The simplicity, the raw honesty, Scylla described an order Barghest could accept. One that resonated deeply. A strange solace. Life continued, even amidst death. Comforting as much as it was bittersweet. As much as it hurt, and gods it hurt.

Scylla released her, and Barghest took a moment to collect herself, straightening her posture and drawing in a deep breath. “Dust… to dust.” She said softly, meeting Scylla’s gaze. Her bright blue eyes brimming with the beginnings of a renewed sense of self. Or what the girl could muster up at the moment. “I want to make him proud. I want to be a Klein he’d be proud of even among the dead.” She echoed, finding strength in the thought. Her words held weight, purposeful intensity. Barghest offered a small, tentative smile to her sister, a flicker of uncertainty mingling with her newfound resolve. “Can you help me, Scylla? May I really come with you?” Her tail flicked once, betraying her inner turmoil, yet it also served to show the eagerness she had to commit to a new purpose.

""

"Dust to dust," Scylla repeated softly. Barghest seemed to pull confidence from those words and the blue fae smiled reassuringly. The girl wanted to be confident. She wanted to be a Klein that their father could be proud of. A soft chuckle left the striped fae and she gave her sister a nudge. "You're strong, I can see it. You'll make him proud yet." Scylla had confidence in that.

After asking for confirmation as to whether or not she could actually come, Scylla nodded. "Get permission from your parents and the Elysium alpha and I'll guarantee you a spot in my pack." Leaning forward, Scylla gave a friendly forehead bump to her sibling. "We'll hold it down together. I don't want anyone to lose their home ever again." It would be hard work on her part, but she was ready.

"Talk to your parents and your alpha. I've taken over the old Valta pack, so you can find me at Monument Rapids when you're ready." Having instilled some faith in the girl, Scylla was ready to head back to her newly acquired home. There was much to be done to make the place, and it's occupants, ship shape.

"Scylla"