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At the edges of the dense forest did the red girl move, taking shelter beneath the shade of the trees to keep herself out of the evening sun. The temperature had been steadily rising since she arrived, something that she was not all to keen on, and her distaste for the heat was only growing. She'd been moving things most recently, making trips from Halifax to Inferni and back again, but this time she was on the hunt for something more. She needed rocks, thick logs, things that would be able to maintain a hefty weight without breaking or moving, which was what lead her to the forest.
Moving along, weaving in and out of trees as she went, the girl watched for anything that might come in handy. She would have to do the same, of course, coming back and getting them little by little, but finding them and moving them all to one area would be the smartest thing to do for the time. Hands lay idle at her sides as she went, feet taking her in a slow creep through the forest. Eventually, she supposed, she might come across a small stream and find some fitting items there.
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[html]OOC:// Mummy's here XD. Word count:1082 words
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Soran had been up for a great deal of time, she had risen before the sun this morning, and had been on her feet and wandering about exploring since. After her meeting with Umbra this morning the jade eyed fae had shifted back into her Optime form, she was indeed favouring this form most recently; she enjoyed the convenience of having opposable thumbs and being able to cover large expanses of ground with fewer steps as her legs were longer. The ebony lady had once again tied her long, wavy mane back into a tight braid at the base of her skull, stopping the dark unruly strands from falling into her jade eyes, however there were a few hairs that were still disobedient enough to have escaped the braid and the lady kept having to brush them from out of her face as she walked. After exploring the area around the lake, both before and after she had met Umbra, she had decided to move onto Twilight Vale's surroundings on that side, having not explored that area properly yet. And so she had set off, padding slowly through the lands, allowing herself to drink in all of her surroundings, adding each portion of the landscape to her mental map, much as she had done when she had first arrived on the Bleeding Souls lands and had explored there. Now, as that home had been burned to the ground, now that she had relocated, she was repeating these actions, finding a small enjoyment in once again mapping out a land, though she was frankly tired of moving, she had done too much travelling, she had left too many behind, she had decided to settle in Twilight Vale for good.
The sun had raised to the midday point and then had begun to sink neatly into the West as the dark lady had ambled, exploring every trail and interesting piece of ground she came across, she was in no rush to get anywhere and so felt that she could take her time and wander as much as she pleased. There was one thing she was constantly aware of though, and that was the scent of an area, she was constantly vigilant for the scents of other wolves, of other packs, she was still hunting for familiar faces who had not perished in the fires in the old lands, she was still desperate to find some other wolves, and having found Conri, Khaden, Naniko, Lucifer and Skoll alive had raised her hopes for finding other former friends, especially Deuce. The ebony lady longed to find her former lover, the pallid female who she was still so in love with. Also having found both her sons had made the obsidian mother muse over her daughter, there had been no evidence of Dhalia in the Twilight Vale packlands, nor did it seem that she had been in contact with Conri or Khaden, though perhaps it was just the case that they had seen her and her red daughter had sworn them to secrecy, not that the ebony fae would blame her daughter if she wanted nothing to do with her ebony mother, like she would not blame Khaden if he eventually decided that he did not want Soran in his life. It did not stop the jade eyed lady longing for her youngest boy to accept her though, as her ever forgiving Conri had done.
It was as Soran mulled over these thoughts that she found herself walking aimlessly through an expanse of dimly lit forest. Not that that affected the fae in any way, she had the night vision of a huntress, seeing in the dark was no issue for her. The chill of the forest was extensive though, a strong contrast to the heat of the day, it was almost blissful, the sudden relief from the heat, and so Soran continued to wander, pleased that she was able to cool off, the sun had been strong all day and her black fur absorbed heat like a sponge absorbed water. It was as she basked in the cool of the shade that the dark fae caught a scent of another wolf. A feeling very much like the one that she had felt when she had scented Khaden at first washed over her, the dark lady's stomach twisted in knots with the familiar sensation, anticipation and fear washing over her, wondering instantly if she had once again come across Khaden, or even Dhalia. Though she could not be sure until she saw the other wolf who was too wandering across the forest. Doubt clouded her mind, despite the familiar feeling of having caught a scent that she knew and that was yet totally new to her, like she had with Khaden, like she was remembering a scent from a dream, she doubted that she would find Khaden out here, and her daughter was missing, it was unlikely that she would find her here either.
Soran padded with more intent now, moving towards the scent as rapidly as she could, curious to find the owner of the scent. Soon she came upon her, she approached slowly, cautiously, this time making sure that she would face the other creature, as not to provoke the same reaction that she had had from Khaden, she didn't want that kind of greeting again. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the red pelt of the girl ahead her, surely it wasn't? She refused to hope this time, she would not be so lucky as to see her daughter again. Cautiously she approached the red girl who reminded her of Hollow the instant she laid her eyes upon her. As she broke through the trees she instantly said, "hello," to announce her arrival, she didn't want to sneak up on someone again and have them lash out in panic. She stopped a fair distance away from the red fae, marvelling over how the young lady looked so much like Hollow, especially now she could see her fully, the pelt colour matched the cruel male perfectly, even the fae's blue eyes matched his, well one of his, for a moment Soran wondered of she had indeed found her daughter, but she quashed that hope rapidly, she did not dare risk hoping that she had found Dhalia as well, just because she had been lucky up until now, it didn't mean that her luck hadn't already run out on the finding loved ones front.
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Dhalia had the intentions of staying in the forest for the better part of the day, halfway because of the heat and halfway because she was intent on finding what she needed to. She had given Gabriel his messaged from Ahemait and Stygian, she had even gone to see Oxford, whose sent seemed to be fading from his own den. Now was more pleasure than business, gathering up the items needed to proceed with her hobby. First it would be the weighted items, things to help her set it all up, and then she would go in to more detail. It would involve raiding many closets and stores from the city, but it was a job that she did not mind. Everything that she created was art and, most often, it was even interactive.
A flash of black caught the corner of the girls eye, causing her steps to slow and her eyes to creep across the row of trees ahead of her. "Is that you, songbird?" She called out in a sweet voice, stopping beside a tree and pressing one hand up against it. Before she had time to receive a proper answer, the being was in front of her, speaking. Brows lifted in that moment, eying the other female, who looked oddly like the songbird that she had spoken of. This wolf was much older though, and the voice didn't match at all. Aside from that, the scent that permeated off of her made her head spin, seeking to dig up memories that had been long forgotten.
"Oohh..?" The girl practically purred, head suddenly cocked to the side. While she couldn't exactly place the woman's scent, it was the other scents that clung to her that had Dhalia so interested. Scents from her childhood, her once-family. It had been a long time since then, though, and perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her. "And you are?" She asked then, voice oddly smooth and eyes calm as they took in the figure of the other woman. The girl was almost the mirror image of her father aside from the smaller stature and two clear blue eyes.
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[html]OOC:// Dude, I just realised why she's looking for all the sticks and stones, I was all like "wow massive puppets" and also "eeeeew... no kills the people" XD See how your writing divides my opinions? XD Also word count: 789 words.
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The forest seemed to be dropping in temperature rapidly now, perhaps it was indeed the fact that the sun was disappearing below the sky, perhaps it was the chilled fog that was slowly rolling in around the dark fae's ankles, but Soran was sure that the real reason was that her jade eyes were now locked with the red fae's blue pair of eyes, a pair of eyes so familiar to the ebony lady that it froze her blood and sent shivers down her spine, like an entire troop of soldiers had marched across her grave one after the other. Soran knew those eyes, they were so much like Hollow's, the blue matched the colour of one of his eyes perfectly and the way the insanity and the arrogance seemed to glint behind the blue hue of those optical receptors. Dark ears flattened against the dark fae's velvet furred skull for just a moment, for just a moment the fae found that she was scared of the red female that was standing before her, the red female that almost mirrored her father's appearance totally, there had indeed been doubts in Soran's mind as to whether this had been Dhalia, but seeing her properly, there was no mistaking it, unless Hollow had once again been roaming around the lands with his merry promiscuity around the time that Dhalia and Khaden had been conceived, which was something that the dark lady did not believe was beyond him. But there was no mistaking it, she was definitely Hollow's child, else she was Blank's, but he had died too long ago to have a daughter of this age, around a year old, plus he was too sweet natured to sire a child with the familiar madness glinting in her blue eyes. There had been no trace of that insanity shining in gentle, sweet Blank's face at all.
Everything about this fae screamed Hollow at Soran, the colouring, the eyes, the manner with which the fae had spoken to her, everything, it was like staring at a female Hollow, it was disconcerting to say the least. Eventually the jade eyed lady's ears swivelled back to their correct position, though her jade eyes never left the red female, she was almost scanning her with her eyes, the powerful muscles of her body combined with the slender slightness that Hollow's bone structure provided, the very sight of her made the ebony lady nervous, if this was her child then whatever had happened at her birth, the thing that had been so unforgivable... the thing that she could not remember, should have happened to this one, she was too much like Hollow for Soran to feel comfortable around her. Though then again so was Conri, but he did not carry the same seeming madness that glittered behind his eyes that this fae seemed to have behind hers. And yet, she managed to love Conri, despite his strong resemblance to his father, she still wanted to find her red daughter and make amends, offer her a place in her own life and hope that she was given a similar invitation in return. If this was indeed Dhalia, then she would love her and try and make amends, she would just have to battle down the strong feeling of unease that rose from her stomach every time she looked at the girl, she would have to stop thinking of Hollow whenever she stared into those blue eyes.
After a few moments, the dark lady found her voice... and some mock confidence, she seemingly casually crossed her arms across her dark chest, pretending that she was relaxed and un-phased by this red fae's, (Dhalia's?) appearance, but in reality she was trying to hold her sides still, to stop them shaking every time she stared into the girl's face. She was almost sure this was Dhalia now, the scent mixed with her appearance and her manner; if it was not her daughter then she was a very close half-sister to Dhalia at least.
"My name is Soran Aatte; may I enquire as to your name?" Soran asked boldly, smiling internally at the way her voice had been clear and steady, free of the nervous tremors she was sure it would contain. The dark lady managed a quick low dip of her head to the other fae, finding herself unwilling to expose the back of her neck to this red fae for too long lest her father's insanity had indeed laced itself into her genetics and she decided to sink all of her sharp teeth into the exposed flesh. A weak smile now rested on the fae's dark lips as she awaited an answer from the red fae who stood before her.[/html]
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Dhalia regarded the older woman with little outward emotion while, inside, her brain was reeling with thoughts and questions. Why did this woman carry scents of familiar to her? Why did just the sight and smell of her bring about such a nagging feeling at the back of her mind? The reality of the situation was simple. She had been so very young the last time that she had seen her mother and, even then, the woman had still been slightly detached from her children. Dhalia could barely recall her scent and the color of her fur. She simply didn't recognize her own mother. Those memories had been hidden away a very long time ago.
It was when the woman gave her name that the floodgates were reopened, sending forward wave after wave of memories. While Dhalia was almost stunned by this, her outer appearance didn't reflect it at all. Instead she was still, calm and collected as always, while it all played turmoil on her insides. She was standing face to face with her mother, the woman that had brought her in to the world, and she hadn't even recognized her. The woman that had abandoned her so long ago. The woman that, from what she had been told, was the cause of her father's death. In matter of moments her mind was made up. She would shrug it off, act as if she was oblivious to the fact that this was her mother, and see where that got her.
"Dhalia.." She replied in a voice so sweet that it was almost sickening. The girl knew she didn't need to give her last name, she was accustom to not doing so anyways. From the moment after she spoke she welcomed the silence, drowned in it, and all she could do was continue to stare at the older woman.
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[html]OOC:// I feel the need to go on and on about how awesome this thread is XD. Also word count: 708 words.
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The jade eyed lady's stomach sank as her fears (and hopes) were confirmed, she was now living in a world of confusion, torn between wanting to love her child and wanting to hate Hollow and everything that reminded her of him. Conri was the exception to this rule, even though his looks matched his father's in many ways, her sweet natured boy was nothing like Hollow had ever been, but Dhalia here, even now, with just the tone of her voice, the glint in her blue eyes and even the way she was standing now, so casual, so cool, as if she were talking to no-one. As if she had no idea who Soran was, then again she supposed that the red girl had no real reason to remember her, she had met her less than a handful of times in her short life, and she had been so small the last time Soran had been anywhere near her, there was a chance that the girl did not know her, then again, there was a chance that she was even more like Hollow than even Soran had expected, that she was playing her cards close to her chest, keeping her poker face, pretending to be oblivious when really she was totally in control and knew everything that was going on. That would indeed be just like Hollow, though he usually feigned innocence when he was as guilty as hell.
The dark female stared at her little girl, wondering if she knew who she was, and trying to stop herself from shivering every time she looked at her, it was like looking into Hollow's face, and every time she imagined Hollow she imagined the beating she had taken at his hands and the brutal rape that had created Khaden and Dhalia in the first place, perhaps one day she would get the chance to explain that to her younger litter, to try and explain why she had been unable to care for them, but somehow she guessed that Dhalia would not want to hear any information like that. But still she wondered if they would forgive her more easily, as her dear sweet Conri did, he knew everything, he understood, the jade eyed lady wondered if her other son and her daughter would understand her better if they knew how brutal their father had been to her, then again, having that information given to them might make things worse, might shatter the illusion that one parent had been normal, then again if it came down to it, Soran would prefer to be seen as the normal, sane one of the pair, as compared to Hollow, she was.
Still she watched Dhalia, her daughter, knowing now that her middle child was the one who had inherited her pup's father's looks, she was unsure what to do, she didn't know whether to laugh, to be overjoyed at having all of her children alive and well and living so close by, or to cry, knowing that she had spawned something that looked so like her father, which was like looking at pure evil to the dark lady. Green eyes widened as she stared at the girl, the internal battle raging inside of the obsidian lady, still so unsure what to do with the new information she had. Eventually she settled for a relaxed posture again.
"I thought as much, you look so much like your father you know." She stated the truth simply, she could not think of anything else to say to the girl, she was still stunned at the girl's appearance, at her nonchalance, she wondered if the girl was feigning ignorance or if she genuinely did not know her mother, her next answer would probably give it away, anything other than a "you knew my father?" would most likely prove that she knew all along who Soran was. The lady allowed herself to sniff at the air again, inhaling her daughter's scent slightly, committing it to memory, wondering if this was the only way she'd ever be able to connect with her child again, to catch her scent on the breeze. Soran wasn't sure whether the pang that shot across her chest was pain or relief at this thought. [/html]
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Dhalia wouldn't dare ask if the woman had known her father, she wouldn't even have asked had it been a stranger that had made the comment. The reason was simple. Everyone knew the glory of her father, the simple name that struck terror in to the hearts of many. They weren't even worthy of uttering the name. That, in her mind, was why Conri and Khaden hadn't been blessed with the Nothing name. They weren't worthy of being titled as such, not like she was, just like Stygian had taught her.
Leaning against the tree some, Dhalia examined her mother with little regard in her eyes, fingers tracing small lines in the bark of the trunk. "I know.." She commented calmly, adding a very light smile with her words, a smile that showed some sort of twisted pride at the fact that she so closely resembled the man of legend. In Dhalia's mind her father was the human equivalent to the Boogeyman, the tale that parents told their children to scare them in to staying in bed all night, and that fact alone delighted her. That was what she would strive for all of her life, to be the very thing that her father was most famous for. To bring nightmares to those unsuspecting individuals. She would make him proud, no matter if he was dead or alive.
"That's what happens when a parent loves you beyond anything else in the world.." Her voice was slow and clam, despite the sharpness that she intended with her words. "They give you everything about them, everything they can.." While Dhalia knew that it wasn't as simple as a parent deciding that they wanted their child to look like them, the girl felt as if something special had happened with her. Something knew that she was meant to turn out the way she had and it had made it all happen.
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[html]OOC://I apologise for the many, many giggles that go on here XD. Also word count: 700 words.
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Soran mused over how the fae looked so like her father, even the way she moved, she could see him her even then, the way in which she replied to comments, the way she found some bizarre pride in being the potential scariest thing in the area. She was him reincarnated, the ebony lady would actually believe that had she not already met Stygian, had she not found out what that little red brat was capable of, now there was Hollow's prince, there was his heir, moulded in his own image, his true little prodigy, though Dhalia seemed to be following in her older brother's footsteps rather rapidly, Soran mused over this, would she too turn out to be an unstoppable psychopath like her father and brother, slaughtering her family members until she was the sole survivor? That is what Hollow had done, leaving only his two sons alive, one because he was the perfect prodigy and the other, Soran supposed he was likely to be a disappointment to his father, for a reason Soran did not know. It had been his downfall in the end, nowadays instead of feeling guilt over Hollow's death, instead of feeling anger towards him, she had nothing but a burning sense of pride for her eldest boy, the one who had slain the evil that she had been unable to catch, the one who had been strong enough to rid the Bleeding Souls lands of a rampage of psychotic tyranny.
Dhalia knew who she was, from the way she replied she had to, the fact that she had started with "I know" made it clear enough to the ebony lady that her daughter knew that she was standing in the presence of her mother and seemed to have no real thoughts on this, again the dark lady was unsure whether to be happy or sad, clearly though abandonment was something that Dhalia was not going to forgive easily, that was fine, Soran could work on making her peace with her daughter, forming some kind of a bond with her, somehow, the ebony lady would work out some way of making herself be able to stomach looking at the Hollow- clone that was her daughter, like when circus performers suppressed the gag reflex so that they could swallow swords, she would find away.
That was until Dhalia finished her sentence, she was clearly lost in the Hollow camp, she seemed to be part of the cult that Stygian and Faith had been dragged into, the cult that worshipped Hollow as some kind of god, instead of the rabid dog he had been, the out of control psychopath who deserved to be stopped long before he had been. But the way Dhalia claimed that, the childish words filled with total belief falling from her lips that brought a smile to Soran's face, before she could even catch herself a giggle leapt up her throat. This was followed by another giggle, and another and another, soon the lady was doubled over, clutching her sides as she laughed at her child, who so blindly believed that Hollow had loved her. She knew that she should be horrified, she knew that she should already be trying to save her child, to pull her out of this mindless belief, but the mental image of Hollow that had come with Dhalia's words, him dressed in a long robe, a halo crowning his red head, his arms outstretched to the sky, whilst he looked up a smile of peace and welcome etched on his face with those he had murdered around his feet, still alive, smiling up at him like he was some godly martyr, cleansing the world, like a warped church window, that was too much for the dark lady to bear, the hysterical laughter was impossible to stop now, the image was too funny.
Finally managing to catch enough breath to choke out some words, the ebony fae finally managed to declare, "I knew your father sweetheart and believe me. He did not love. He didn't even know what love was." One again the laughter started and the dark fae had to wipe tears of laughter from her jade eyes.[/html]
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The sudden eruption of giggles did not phase the girl. Instead, it caused her to lift a single eyebrow, a grin curling at the very edges of her lips. In all honestly, the girl looked quite please with her mother's reaction to the whole ordeal, though that was not what spawned the grin that had taken her over. Patiently she watched as her mother got the reaction out of her system, head tilted slightly to the side in amusement. When, finally, the laughter had seemed to pass, Dhalia pushed herself away from the tree, stepping forward once.
She paused only a moment there, smiling, and seemingly admiring her mother. Then, out of no where, she continued to move forward, slowly and in as much of a non-threatening manner as possible. The red girl didn't stop until she was practically toe to toe with her mother, leaning in as if she was going to embrace the woman. Instead of wrapping her arms around her mother, though, Dhalia merely leaned in, stopping her muzzle very close to her mother's ear. She held that position for a brief moment, surrounded in silence, before she finally whispered. "I guess that's why I feel nothing for you, mother."
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