Love Without Limits

 It had been decided between the two of them that Crux would follow Harper back to Fate’s Respite after their night together to meet Valeska & to possibly seal an alliance between their packs, if all went according to plan. They were to meet in the afternoon, sometime, as Crux wanted to hunt or find something for a gift, leaving plenty of time for Harper to find the perfect spot to summon them both.

 And, of course, to locate some deliciously bitter magical substance to keep at her side, should she need to speak more clearly. She’d end up needing to find more roots and herbs like this to hide all around the mountain so she could use the advantages at a moment’s notice.

 She chose a beautiful spot at the base of the mountain, where she had planted some Lily of the Valley flowers, and additional roots, along with some pretty lavender that she’d found, as well as an arrangement of other pretty flowers. In front of her, was the gorgeous view of the lake, some distance off; Harper wanted to ensure that they would be alone and undisturbed as this was an important meeting that Harper was beginning to feel a little nervous about. Swallowing her pride and her nerves, though, Harper closed her eyes and sang for the both of them.

+1 Discovery Points

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 After they had awoken in each other's embrace, they had moved onward to 'Vate's Revite', as Harper called it. She had things to take care of, a sister to speak to, to prepare perhaps. He understood that and honestly, appreciated it. It was all so new to him, as it was new to her. While he had had tiny betrothals before in childhood - a girl had claimed him as her future husband and he had agreed - it had never moved past childish dreams.

 Until now.

 It still felt... rushed, in a way. Their day of passion had been very quick, under the initial presumption that it was a one-time-thing, but Crux had never been the type of wolf to spill his seed to the wind, as it were. Unlike his father, who he had never had the chance to meet or grow close to, he was determined to make sure he was there for any individual he took as a mate.

 And the first was Harper.

 She was clearly not used to affections of this sort, but nature had taken its course and nurture had led them to decide to continue this beyond the one night. They had separated at their destination, Harper moving on to meet with her sister and Crux taking his leave to go hunting. Thankfully, his hunt had been successful and when he heard his new wife's call, he was seated over the still-warm corpse of a mountain goat who had traipsed too far from its herd and right into the waiting jaws of the starlit male.

 Thankfully, by her voice she wasn't far. He lifted his head and sang back to her before lowering his head and gripping the goat by the neck, lifting it as much as he could as he dragged it towards the lake. It truly was a beautiful place, azure waters brilliant against the stone and dirt. The mountain rose up above the place and he had recognized it as the mountain range that the high queen of Vanderfell had claimed for her pack. He pondered the relation between the two packs, so closely camped, and yet again concern for his new mate and her family tickled at his mind.

 Within minutes, he saw her and hurried on, trying to keep the feast as clear of brush below him as he could. Crux made his way to her and lay the goat at her paws, stepping around it to lick at her muzzle before circling around her and standing beside the stocky, beautiful wolfess.

 As nervous as Harper was, he was doubly so, though he swallowed his nerves to murmur in her ear, “Elskan — Darling, are you well?”

+1 Discovery Points

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[narrow width=700]Her ear swiveled as the melodious voice of her sister carried across the vast open spaces of their mountainous home. Valeska was still trying to rest, per Annika’s instruction, and it was proving more and more difficult between the scouting and chores and hunting that still needed to be done - nevertheless, at her sibling’s call she rose dutifully and set off to find her, assuming she had found some valuable point of interest in their new territory.

As she began her descent down the sloping hill toward the source of Harper’s call, the first thing she noticed was the fetching assortment of lilies and wildflowers she had relocated, and thought that might have been what her summons was about - Harper liked to impress Valeska with her gardening and floral arrangements, and the little wolf was always fascinated by her gift of color and style. The only part of gardening she really understood was digging; anything beyond that was sorcery.

Closing in, she saw Harper, and opened her mouth to greet her at length when a star-dappled man trotted up and kissed her.

Valeska halted, eyes bulging out from their sockets. A series of emotions flooded through her at once - shock, confusion, horror (who was this schmuck slopping up her beautiful sister), disgust (Harper, kissing???), and... a little smile tweaked at the corners of her mouth. Harper, kissing. Her sister had always been intensely private concerning the matters of her heart and any desires for romance, and for a long time, Valeska had assumed she either simply wasn’t interested or just didn’t see the practicality in having a mate.

But - and her frown returned - who the hell was this guy? Privacy shouldn’t mean completely shutting out her own gods-dammed sibling out of the whole affair!

The little wolf scurried toward them quickly, her short legs rustling through the grass like a field mouse on the run.

“Elskan?” Valeska wheezed, out of breath from her hurry to reach the pair. “What is elskan? Did not know call was for gentleman! Harper, you tell me nothing!” she admonished, casting the dark wolf a surly glance.

“Well, Harper-man-friend,” Valeska began, turning to the oddly-patterned but nonetheless impressively arrayed male. “I am Valeska, and you are smooching my sister, and would like to know all of details.”
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+1 Discovery Points

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 His earthy woman nuzzled him back and he smiled, freezing only when a silver bullet shot out at them, howling demands and questions. Crux's eyes widened and he looked at Harper, a question in his gaze. Ah, so she hadn't had the chance to prepare her sister. Well, this was bound to be even more of an event than he had realized. He swallowed, about to speak, when Harper spoke.

 And Harper spoke. He looked at her in shock, listening intently as she spoke with eloquence and clarity of words that he was not expecting. Had her thick accent been a ploy to catch hapless men's hearts? No, no, this was something different, but he wasn't sure exactly what.

 Blinking out of the shock, he looked to the silver bullet and dipped his head in respectful greeting, allowing Harper to continue to explain the situation, though he noted that she slipped in a word of her native language with ease. He didn't waste time pondering the meaning, instead casting his golden gaze from silver woman to brown, offering a small smile in return when the latter mentioned names he was not familiar with. His gaze on her was gentle, only half masking the nerves that tickled at his toes. Still, his eyes lit up every time she looked at him or spoke to him.

 When Harper paused after introducing him, he would look to Valeska, offering another respectful dip of his head. “It's a pleasure to meet you, alpha? queen? Valeska,” he was unsure of the title she wanted to use, so he would try two in the hopes that one of them fit or that she would correct him without taking offense. “I can see the familial resemblance,” his eyes returned to his new wife, soft and gentle upon her.

 It was a compliment to both - for while Harper was shocked to be subject to his attraction, they both had beauty to the starlit male. Even if neither was actually visibly that similar at all.

 Then his mate went on to introduce her sister to him and he gave a soft chuckle - he'd already picked up on the fact that they were catching Valeska unaware. He turned to the silver wolfess then, offering an apologetic smile, “Apologies for the shock, it is... very new.” So new that it hadn't been an entire day, in fact. Valeska was the first to know, besides each other. “I am the Singularity - ah, king - of Event Horizon, we live in what appears to be a permanently-autumn forest nestled against the sea.”

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[narrow width=700]She had never heard her sister speak except in their native Russian and broken, halting English - for all her years Harper hadn't thought it practical to learn the common tongue prior to their reuniting, since she so rarely spoke as it was. The shock of hearing such eloquent words spilling out from her shining black lips, ivory fangs peeking out sensually as she uttered each syllable as precisely and gracefully as if she were a scholar was enough to throw Valeska for a loop. What in the gods' names? Had she been taking lessons? In the last forty-eight hours? No, this was something else. It had to be.

The little wolf hesitated for a moment and leaned in to squint at Harper's eyes.

Her dilated, saucer-like eyes.

“Harper, are you-” but her question would never be answered, as Rhelenso's name was uttered in a similar fashion to the way she referenced her handsome new friend. This man and Rhelenso have a thing or two in common. Well, Crux didn't look anything like her own gentleman friend as far as coloration went; he was bigger, too, and his eyes were the wrong shade. Was he a war general? No. What could it be? The thinking-cogs within Valeska suddenly shifted, dislodging the dust that had collected in that region of her brain, and as they slowly began to turn and connect neurons long forgotten it came to her in a flash.

“YOU MEAN-” But once again she was cut off, and she bit her tongue in frustration as four hundred questions welled up in her throat screaming for release while the soft articulation of her sister's speech continued to flow as smoothly as water downstream.

Valeska sat with a pout, glowering beneath her brow as she waited for the dark wolf to finish and wrap up. It was torture. Finally, Crux himself spoke, and she had a chance to properly enter the conversation. “Yes, High Priestess. Alpha. Or 'The Most Ignorant and Neglected Sister' also works as title, apparently” she huffed, casting a baleful eye toward her sibling who remained as cool as a cucumber. At his next statement, she balked - while Harper may have temporarily gained witch-like powers over language, Valeska was still trapped learning it the hard way, and though she had made leaps and bounds with her progress some words and phrases still eluded her.

“Singularity? You are single? Then why are you smooching my-” but a quick look from Harper hushed her, and she finally gathered it was a fancy word for 'leader', and closed her mouth in a hurry before risking further embarrassment.

“Your Eventful Horizon sounds... nice,” she said warily, shifting her eyes between them. They clearly had something big to talk about but had to get the social niceties out of the way before they felt comfortable enough to proceed, and Valeska was practically vibrating with impatience - and caved. “Is nice to meet you. Now, please explain before Valeska explode.”
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Oh, Harper was never going to hear the end of this, was she?

 The looks from both her husband and her sister might have caused Harper to feel such a way, but she was in an elevated state of mind right now, and did not quite care about being judged. No, in fact, Harper had considered force-feeding the root to her sister in wonder if it would have the same effects. The idea of practicing english was not far off, though, but she would need a tutor that didn’t live far, far away.

 As Valeska almost screamed, Harper smirked, though it died with her sister’s new self proclaimed title. No, she was certainly not going to hear the end of this. Though to be fair, Harper hadn’t learned of Valeska’s fling under after Valeska had surprised her with the ‘oh we’re joining this pack,’ nonsense that had thankfully not happened. Though had it, Harper would have likely slipped away to join Crux’s pack and the sisters would not have remained so close.

 Her smirk would return with Crux’s very strange title, and Valeska’s reaction as brows arched. “With that logic, you mean to tell me that you’re mated to Rhelenso?” Harper would coo, much enjoying this way of speaking, though she would tilt her head with a deep sigh. She supposed speaking to her sister in private about her affair would not come to be, as Valeska threatened to explode! She cast her husband a sideways glance and a very apologetic smile.

 “We have danced under the stairs and have made a pact to be dedicated to each other. I wish to visit him often to get to know him and his pack, but with your blessing, because you are very important to me.” And think about all the exotic flowers she could find on his land to plant near her burrow! She would smile warmly to the both of them, offering the slight wag of her tail. 

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 There was absolutely something up with Harper, if Valeksa's confusion and closer look at the earth lady were any indication. Crux followed her eyes to Harper's, noting for the first time that those purple saucers were much darker than normal. In fact... he hadn't noticed it before, seeing as looking at the subject of one's attraction also dilated the eyes, but this was definitely something different.

 Oh.

 That was fine.

 He held back a soft laugh, instead letting an apologetic smile shift his lips and eyes slightly as he looked on to the High Priestess as she continued her tirade. There were some confusions, which he shook his head slightly in response to even before Harper's gaze halted her and she seemed to realize that Singularity was not his romantic status but instead a title. It was a name that he was unsure of the source of, but seeing as he was the solitary king and did not see himself elevating anyone to be his equal... it would do.

 It was still so bizarre to hear such eloquent words coming from Harper's mouth, but he found himself liking both sides of her. One was more formal, though he assumed it did not come about naturally. The other was... raw. Animalistic. It was what had drawn him to her initially - a side of her which thrilled him, in a way. He met her glance and smiled encouragingly back, knowing that this was as private a conversation they were going to get.

 Ah, it was his time to speak again. Still unsure of the words to say, he found himself wondering about whatever Harper had done to be more eloquent. Would it work on him too?

 He nodded his agreement to the final statements of his new wife. “I... had to make sure she got home safely and that our new relations would not land her in trouble - she assured me she would be fine, but I needed to make sure.” despite Harper's clear bond with her sister, he knew all too well that if things like this weren't navigated carefully, they could end terribly.

 “I also would like to come visit Harper as often as I can, if you will allow.” See, I do know her name! “I would like to have good relations between Elysium and Event Horizon, perhaps an alliance if we both feel our values align?” He would not press an alliance onto Valeska or Elysium, but he did want to make it clear that it was on the table.

 For the pack of the red forest and the pack of the mountain lake to be friends would be ideal, especially with romantic ties connecting them already.

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[narrow width=700]The little priestess scowled up at her sibling, feeling rather unappreciative of the way she'd thrown her relations with Rhelenso out into the four winds. “We had intentions, then,” she responded succinctly. She didn't know how she felt now. If he had truly wanted a future with her, he might have instead chosen to leave with his devoted dalliance rather than sequester himself behind the walls of a pack whose possessive nature forbid them to meet without fear of danger. It had been many moons since they had last seen each other, and although they were reunited in this world, she worried that she was the choice of safety over desire - seeing how his old life was gone from him.

Harper went on to explain the nature of their... correspondence. Well, at least they, too, had intentions, which was good enough for her - Valeska had been concerned he might love and just as quickly leave her with a belly full of pups, not that she minded the idea of being an aunt. Her eyes dilated almost imperceptibly with the anticipation. She could see them; fluffy dark balls of excitement bouncing and rolling and yipping through their den with shining amethyst eyes, crawling over Valeska like chubby little tumbleweeds as she giggled diabolically.

She would be an amazing aunt.

She shook her head, freeing herself from the reverie.

As they both spoke their hearts, Harper asking permission to journey between their respective territories and Crux suggesting the possibility of an alliance, Valeska frowned ominously. Her warm golden eyes turned cold and cruel, ears pricked forward as she absorbed the information - it was not traditional. It would be difficult; it would be painful for both, for distance was an unkind mistress.

The silence lingered for eons.

“That is wonderful,” she exclaimed, bouncing up onto her paws joyfully. Her eyes sparkled as she became swept up in the romantic vision of two star-crossed lovers, torn by duty to their kingdoms but meeting beneath the light of the moon in secret as they stole frenzied kisses out of sight from the public eye. It was daring. It was dangerous.

It was magical.

“Oh! Of course, you have blessing! But, Harper,” and here she grew just a little serious, “You must still spend at least half of time here with sister, okay? Will get lonely without you, and still have much to do - but if ever find out the Singularity is coming for visit, let Valeska know so I can fetch nice dinner for both!”

Tail wagging giddily, she beamed up at the two and seemed as pleased as the day they had first created their little pack. “Would be so glad for alliance with Eventful Horizon! Am working on Vanderfell to make friends too, but they will warm up, am sure. We must have celebratory feast! Is first official alliance, after all.”

The little wolf hesitated bashfully. “If want, that is. But would be nice. Maybe more of our packs can meet? Oh! If like, can host - have found many mushies.”
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 Well, this meet and greet was going just swimmingly, and Harper could not be more pleased. Her husband and her sister were getting along, with no undertones of aggression or anything, even as Valeska spoke of Rhelenso. An ear flickered back, wondering now, how exactly it was that her sister felt any him or anything, but that was a conversation for another time; she would not allow Rhelenso to take away her happiness.

 And then came the look of… well, Harper hadn’t known because she had never seen that look on her face before. Granted, also, Harper had never had someone to show off, or gush about and now, suddenly, she did. And then came the frown, which confused Harper, until her sister began bouncing, with a request of being here more than there.

 To which Harper would smile. Did she not realize just how important she was to dear ol’ Harper? Did she really think that some man could just waltz into her life and show her a good time, and Harper would dismiss her as if she were nothing? Oh, honey. Instead, she’d give that eatshitting grin, and even an innocent chuckle that suggested that she’d give her sister an earful later. She had ideas for the pack, though knew better than to voice them in front of Crux, even if he was her husband; he was still of another pack.

 “Yes, a celebratory feast. Does wish to have celebratory hunt, too, sister? How long as it been since we hunted together, hm?” Harper cooed, licking over her lips with the nod of her head. She took two steps away, then stopped, glancing back towards them. “Hunting together, Elysium and Event Horizon, sounds fun, too.. ” Though somehow, she doubted it would even happen. She’d wink, shrugging, as she headed off into the forest, in hopes that husband and sister would join her for a hunt.

 

[/exit harper]

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 The silence was excruciating.

 At first, he was certain that the silver bullet was going to live up to that and was going to leap in for his throat in defense of her sister's virtue. She seemed deep in thought, a frown on her face and eyes turning cruel. His worries grew as he waited in silence until finally, it broke, and Valeska's attitude changed completely. She was suddenly bouncing around as if she were a pup, eyes sparkling in joy. Evidently, whatever she had been thinking of hadn't been enough to turn her away from the idea and he breathed a sigh of relief.

 His tail began to wag as the Priestess encouraged her sister and added invitations to nice dinners.

 When she invited his pack to join for a celebratory feast, he grinned. “That would be incredible. I've been traveling with my first friend here, Mordecai - perhaps I can call him to come meet you also?” He wasn't certain if she meant for a feast here and now or one later on, but either way he knew his friend would love to come and meet Elysium and Crux's new wife. How ironic indeed, he had been speaking with him at the start of the trip about finding love and here he was, with love of his own.

 Well, love-to-come. The physical was there, but the emotional would grow with time. After all, love is not an emotion, it is a choice.

 Perhaps among Elysium was a nice lady who would be interested in his goofy friend. Even if not, friendships between them would be perfect. Harper suggested a hunt and he smiled after her, glancing down at the goat that still lay at his feet. “I did bring this mountain goat as a friendly offering for Elysium, but a hunt would also be fun.” If they were to have a feast, the more food the merrier. He would look expectantly at Valeksa, pondering where to leave the goat in the meantime. If she followed Harper, he would also follow to hunt - otherwise he would assist her in taking care of the goat first.

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 The High Priestess seemed amused by his worries, though settled them as eloquently as one learning a language could. He smiled in response, slowly growing more sure of his new wife and her home and family. He'd only met the sisters so far, but if they were all like this - odd but friendly and well bonded, he wouldn't have to worry about anything. “I'm glad I'm able to make her happy,” he admitted with a gentle look in the direction she'd gone. He was happier than he had been in a while and to hear that he had made the source of that happy as well, well, it was wonderful.

 Seeing Valeska get excited about the idea of bringing Mordecai and more, he felt excitement draw up within him. Perhaps his suggestion to Mordi that he find him a wife wasn't all that far off - he wondered belatedly whether the woman before him knew of any eligible girls - whether they were in Elysium or elsewhere - who might get along with the jovial man. Her thoughts of drugs and the like were beyond him and never crossed his mind - he had never been high and had never known any wolves who had been high.

 The silver bullet suggested they follow Harper and he grinned, following as quickly as he could after them, tail waving behind him in excitement over what was to come - now and in the future.

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/Fin

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