Seeing blind

I was hoping for a ( @Leta and  "West Tyree" @ :D OR BOTH )

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Valette had moved away from the plains. She had been there for a few months and it seemed her sister wasn't returning there. It was so unlike her to leave her alone like that. She didn't want to think of what happened to her for Nanook not to return to her. She decided to move off the plains as a lone wolf it just felt rather exposed, though she could easily spot another wolf. She longed for company and it might be time for her to find a pack to join. Anything could be better than what she endured before.

But as she traveled away from he plains, it seemed that there weren't as many packs around. Not the ones she smelled. She just followed the river down, coming along those mountains she had been once before and they were chased away by some female. This forest however didn't seem like any of the forest she had seen before. The trees looked like they were bleeding, but on further inspection it turned out it was nothing like blood at all. It didn't smell like it at least. It settled her nerves a little but the female was still a little on edge. Deciding to make some haste as she traveled through the forest.

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+1 discovery

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Ignore my monster post I started rambling whoops

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Since returning from his trip, the woodland man had settled into the rocky confines of Empyrean. The mountains were so different from the home he longed for, but they had their own charms. His paws ached for days from the climbing and rough terrain that differed from the soft grasslands, but the view from the peaks certainly made any ache worth it. Originally he thought that sitting back and putting his mind on the pack would get rid of the pull he felt to travel and find what he felt was missing, but truthfully it never left. The only difference was now he could safely ignore his desires.

At least there was Leta...she was his home now and the only thing left of their family. Well, their true family. Hydra had been generous enough to welcome them with open arms, but she was so different from the mother he knew. Every now and then West would catch his mind drifting to the stones he spent so much time by, the hours spent with his mom as they watched the bison. Hunting never really did feel the same since they arrived here.

Speaking of hunting, he was supposed to go with Leta some time to catch up, but it seemed he would be traveling down the mountain alone. No matter, the pack still needed food and @Leta could always catch up if she wanted to join him. He never was fond of hunting on the mountainside. Some wolves could do it sure, but he was...heavy. Not to mention he had learned in open plains where he could charge freely so the woods at the base of their claim would always suit him just a tad better. He wandered aimlessly, emerald eyes scanning the trees and mysterious sap as he traveled, eventually even catching sight of the tree he had once leaned against and uh...stuck to...yep. His fur was even still glued to the side of the tree.

Instinctively, he sucked in a breath through his teeth as his eyes turned away and...landed on an all too familiar figure. She moved with caution and haste, something strange for her figure, but there was no denying it. She looked just like her. “Mom—?” The word left his maw almost breathlessly as he stared in disbelief. If he could only catch her eyes. His tail wagged a beat behind him as a new excitement thundered in his chest. Before he even realized what he was doing he had already charged forward eager to catch her before she slipped away like so many of his memories tried to. She was here, she was real! Hell if he'd let her slip away now, “MOM!”

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+1 discovery

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Belatedly Leta found West and his trail, knowing she was running late. Guilty for becoming distracted she picked up her pace, at the very least not needing to stop every fifteen minutes or so to catch her breath. No, Empyrean had certainly aided her endurance... and now she could go for miles upon miles without needing rest. It was quite a change for her. She heard the voice of West, a shout—what did he say? 

She pushed herself into a run, not leaving herself room to panic. Hydra had taught her the importance of even a second in a battle, and she would not lose West to one—

But she heard him again, heard what he said, and saw him first. She stood there, a little bewildered as the word sunk in. Leta lingered in place, shocked into stillness, a far more quieter “...mama?” on her breath. Could it be?
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Valette had been going through the woods at a hasty pace, just so she could get out of this forest. But that plan didn't really end up the way she wanted. In her haste she had been alert and had heard something that caught her attention. When she looked in that direction a male was charing at her. She raised her hackles and tried to dodge the incoming attack but she had been off balance to really get out of the way when the male thundered towards her. 

She felt her heart race, trying to brace herself for the attack, but it never came. She looked startled when the male shouted 'MOM' at her. Valette let out a growl in warning, not liking anyone to approach her in that way. She scrambled to get some space between her and the male. Her hackles raised and her body tense, in a stance ready to defend herself as much as possible. He heart still went a mile a minute but luckily it wasn't the male that she thought would be after her. That was a relief. 

"Are you mad!?," she let out with a huff, still a little frizzled by the male getting at her that way. "I hate to break it to you but I am not your mother," she stated, lifting her chin a little, not unlike what West's mother would have done. She got a chance to look at him. He was barely younger than she was. She took another step back, fierce pink-purple hued eyes - like the sunsets at Easthollow - stared back at him. Her eyes then caught a wolf behind the male, and that--- well that was when she really freaked out. Because it was like looking into the mirror. Her mouth opened and then looked from the male to the female behind him.
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The woodland man could hardly believe his eyes as he tried to close the distance, his tail wagging eagerly behind him only for the woman to quickly bristle and back away from his advances. Confusion quickly set in as he slowed his steps coming to a trot before pausing a good yard or two away with a head tilt. “What do you...” he trailed off as his gaze now had the chance to sweep her features. She looked...younger, but the raise of her snout was familiar. Not at him, but when she would lead. The scar from her brow was now hidden, almost like...she never gained one, and the eyes.

They weren't his mother's eyes— but oh how they reminded him of home. Of her.

West found his mouth had been left hanging and quickly closed it as a frown replaced whatever excitement he had once held. “I-I don't understand.” She was different, yet, he just couldn't shake this feeling that he wasn't wrong. He couldn't be. His ear flicked to the fallen call of his sister, though her voice seemed distant. Casting his head over his shoulder, he looked to her just as confused as she likely would be.

“Is your name not Desna?” He'd let his stare linger on her once more, though this time he held a paw close, almost like he was the one ready to run as his ears pinned back against his skull. Was this some kinda sick joke? Because frankly, he was tired of the universe making him want to run around looking for...whatever the hell it was it wanted from him.

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Close enough to hear their mothers words, Leta still took another step closer until what was said processed well enough for her to understand the meaning of it. Not... but... and when she looked to her, Leta went still all over again. She willed her mothers memory to return, willed for recognition to dawn. None of that, only confusion, and Leta blinked as she stared at her mother, who did not have her mothers eyes—her eyes!—but they shared more than just that. Leta had inherited her furs, her build, her compassion... and though her strength had not been inherited but learned, she worked to make her mother proud with what she had gained of it.

A mother who did not remember her.

Could either of them hear the sound of her heart breaking, she wondered?

She remained in the backdrop, just listening. For all the strength she had gained, Leta did not trust her voice enough then; she knew it might break, as uneven as the jagged line in her heart. She equally did not wish to frighten their mother further, and scare her away.
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It seemed the male had no ill intent with her as he respected her boundaries now she had snapped at him. He seemed just as confused as she was. The female still stayed alert, unaware. Her gaze moving to the female in the distance that just looked like her, to the male before her. Her ears pinned back a little. Valette could be mean to him, telling him that there was nothing to understand. He seemed genuinely confused, plus, she was pretty confused too, because the female behind him looked like her. 

She frowned at the male, her brow creasing. Because he asked if her name had been Desna. She felt uncomfortable because that name sounded familiar. However, she did not think of it has her name. "My name is Valette," she spoke in return. She was still a little on edge, especially since this male was bigger than her and could easily do something to her. She stepped back a little, her eyes moving to behind the male again to that female. She looked as shocked and startled. "If you mother looks like the female behind you then I can understand the confusion," she reasoned. "The resemblance is uncanny," she stated, still mildly baffled by the other female. 

It was like seeing herself but smaller. Only those eyes, hazel green, where different. If someone told her the female was her long lost sister she might have believed them. "Who are you then?," she asked, gaze moving back to the male. "Are you familiar with... the Thorneledge Pack?," Valette really didn't want to talk about that pack but it would give a hint if they were familiar with the pack that had adopted her from a young age.
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Even with space his moth- this woman, she stepped almost like she expected him to hurt her in some way. Her ears were kept back, but at the very least she no longer snarled at him. It seemed his mother's name rang no bells either so maybe this really was just...a huge coincidence. West noted her name, Valette, though it rang no bells in his head. “Hah...yeah. Sorry to barge over we're a little lost from our home and haven't seen our family in...” How long had it been now? Too long he supposed opting to finish his sentence with a shrug of his shoulders.

“West Tyree, and this is my sister Leta.” He glanced over his shoulder, holding back his own disappointment to gesture for her to join them. “Our mom was the leader of our birth pack. I've never heard of Thorneledge we came from Easthollow. Not many packs were out where we were though.” And of course one of those groups had to be right on their borders and full of selfish assholes looking for fights.

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Valette...

Did it ring any bells? Leta felt a yawning chasm within her, where so many things had gone...

But that face, that face had remained. She had seen it when she had come across the Stone Circle here, in the Plains—hers had been the face that came to her mind... right?

Right?

West was quick to back down upon the correction, the new name enough. Leta stepped toward them both now, far less satisfied. Thorneledge, an unknown place. Easthollow,  West said, and Leta willed that to mean something somehow. If not the names of her children... but did West now no longer think this was their mother? This had to be her, this had to be...

There were differences that were strange, and off-putting, but...

Was it her own fierce desire for her mother, that made Leta see her and only her in the wolf who was a stranger?

If it was not her, then... perhaps... perhaps it was a sister of hers! “Do... you have any sisters?” She asked then, voice soft and hesitant—though only because she had felt so sure...
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Valette looked at the two wolves. So they also had been swept away from home? Unaware of location of family. She knew that all too well. Their names were West Tyree and Leta. She had no recollection of those names. It didn't spark any recognition in her actually. As awful as it was. She kept quiet about that, seeing that there was no reason to really remind them once again that she didn't know them. They looked so hopeful though. 

Valette's ears perked up at the name easthollow. "Easthollow?," she asked, testing it on her tongue. Stones came to mind, those weird stones, but then they vanished again. She stayed quiet for a moment, keeping their hopes up probably. "No, don't know it. Or-- well. Can't remember," she admitted then. "Makes me think of stones," she admitted quietly then. 

The female stepped forward and she couldn't help but stare at her. They looked so much alike. It was almost scary, as if seeing a mirror image of herself. Except, the eyes. "Yes! Nanook!," she commented. 'We woke up here together but after checking our surroundings I never saw her again," she ended in a whisper, saddened. She hoped she was okay. "Have you guys seen her, perhaps? She is grey in coloring, fierce orange eyes. Overall impression: Spikey. Can't explain it any other way."

I'm more than fine that they know the name Nanook if they remember her!!

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From the corner of his eye he could see his sister's expression, her desire to hold on, but he knew it would do no good. No matter how much she looked like their mother she already said she wasn't and...they really couldn't argue with that. There were enough slight differences for him to believe it was just horribly coincidental. Still, Leta prodded asking the woman, Valette, if she had any siblings.

The sibling pair seemed to gain some attention with their answers, it was clear from the way Valette's ears perked. She debated the name with confusion, something he wasn't surprised by until she said it reminded her of stones. “Stones—? There were stones yeah— we had a circle of them in the heart. Big big pillars, like, taller than any wolf could ever be.” It seemed so unlikely until now, then again his own memories had been foggy. Who's to say maybe she had just...well as horrible as it sounded, forgotten about them.

The coincidences only continued to pile on as the woman seemed excited to mention her sister. Nanook. Once more his heart felt gripped in his chest, almost like she was toying with them, but it was clear from her expression she wasn't holding back on details or lying on purpose. Instinctively he looked to Leta, his jaw slightly agape as their aunt's name came from Valette. The woodland man almost stumbled on his words as he debated if he should share the news or his sister, but without another thought, his words came tumbling out, “Our aunt's name is Nanook.” Not only that she fit the description.

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Leta was quiet as she listened; their mother... no, this woman... she thought of stones. Leta did not know she held her breath until their aunt was mentioned, when it came out in a gush. Leta felt her brothers gaze, but her eyes were for this woman alone. This woman who Leta so desperately wanted to hold her, though she was perhaps too old for such comforts, as she felt once this other may have done...

Their mother had mentioned no others in their life that she could think of, but...

This other felt close, so close to what they both had known. And perhaps it was a matter of time healing this mind block, but Leta... she did not want the other to go. She did not want to lose this as soon as she had felt she found it. 

“We must somehow be family,” Leta breathed, for was it all not too strange to be coincidence? Leta willed her mothers... no, not mother, right...???? Leta fought within herself, uncertain for once what was speaking loudest: head, or heart? Did her heart want this so much that her mind believed it, some? Wouldn't their mother never forget them...?

Unless something had happened. Leta considered their once-enemies, vague shaped things in her mind. Could they have done this...? 

But her eyes... 

Taking in a breath, Leta strengthened her own resolve as she thought of her aunt, her words: be brave. “West Tyree and I, we run with Empyrean. And the mountain it is upon... you can see everything,” she breathed, “it is like a beacon, the tallest mountain I can remember seeing—maybe au... your sister, maybe she might look for you there... or maybe you might see her from afar...” Leta considered. Don't leave us, she thought, but kept her voice strong despite the quivering in her heart, “if you are family, I imagine you can hunt as well as the rest of us,” she tilted her head here, a small grin appearing.

You taught me to hunt. You taught me everything. You protected me, us, for so long... and now, Leta wanted to help her in turn. Heal her, if it was possible, see if she ever might be remembered. But even if her moth... this stranger... even if she never did, even if Leta was wrong... Leta could not bear to see her go, could not bear for her to truly be a stranger in full.
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Valette was a little stunned when this male spoke of Stones, in a circle. She had seen a stone circle out on the plains. She had recognized them but that was not the same as what she remembered. Had these stones been of Easthollow which she had been looking for? She looked from the male... West, to the girl.. Leta. They were pretty names. Valette's frown deepened when the young male spoke about his aunt being called Nanook. Valette's gaze traveled to Leta who insisted they had to be family. Valette sat down, a bit baffled by it all. Mostly with how much she looked like the other female. 

Valette raised her brows when she started about the pack they were at. It was not a bad idea and she really didn't like to be alone. She could use some company and perhaps some shelter from that man that had been stalking her. "I love hunting!," she admitted then. "Though I haven't seen any bison yet," she admitted quietly. "But I know they don't live on a mountain, that will be different, I guess," she thought out loud. Valette was kind of convinced already, even though it was weird these two thought she was their mother. 

"I wouldn't mind the company, actually," she spoke then. "I've been on my own for months without me remembering anything but my sister and the live we had a thornledge. Though I do remember stones somehow and it is strange that you two look so much like me, and you have an aunt called Nanook," she spoke. She kind of wanted to find out as well. She suddenly realized something. What if that male had been right? The one that said he was mate. What if he was their father? And somehow they woke up not remembering each other or their family? But-- No that was too silly. She knew she was two years old, and never had pups for that she needed to be with a male and well... That hadn't happened. 

She looked at Leta's hopeful face and then at West. "I will join your pack if they will have me. But... I can't be your mother. I don't want you two to have hope for something that isn't true. I already had someone else that thought I was their mate." It where confusing times for her.
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“Ughhhhhhhhh, I would kill for some bison right now.” The woodland man practically whined as he flopped back on his haunches to sit with a tilt of his head. He could see them now if he closed his eyes, large and magnificent stomping freely along open plains, but unfortunately, she was right. They did not live here, but he craved them all the same. Still, it was strange that she would mention them along with the stones yet still couldn't remember them.

West couldn't explain this gut feeling he had, that somehow this had to be their mother, even with the differences, but she seemed so different still not to mention how much younger she looked. He couldn't argue with her though, it wouldn't really get any of them anywhere, but the least he could do was hope she might remember one day. Leta offered Empyrean as a resting place and surprisingly she accepted, pending their alphas of course.

He'd resist sharing his true emotions so freely when she said she could not be their mom. It was disappointing of course, but...he wasn't sure if he could fully call her their mom yet either. Her likeness was there, but she was just off enough to not truly feel like home. At the very least, mom or not, this woman would be in their lives. Maybe something would come of that later, a void filled that they thought they might not get back even if it wasn't perfect. “I can't say we weren't hoping otherwise, but... it can't really be helped either. I guess we should go get Hydra and Dirge then?” His forested gaze shifted to his sister to see if she had anything to add before they headed for the mountain's base.

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Leta grinned to her brother as he said the words, eyes bright as she remembered she had some good information for him: “oh, well, I have some good news for you on the bison front... I heard a little rumor the other day we can investigate,” she decided with a wave of her tail. Empyrean was massive; there were still corners as of yet unexplored by her, and this was one she had wanted to drag her brother to. And this woman, too... Why would Hydra not accept the woman, after all, if she was a capable hunter? And enjoyed it, to boot? 

Mo—Valette was coming back with them. That was all she really wanted at this millisecond. The rest felt like too much too soon for the other, and Leta... Leta knew that if the roles were reversed, that... ugh. Well, that, if it were her mother... she would have taken the time. Exhausted every means. 

So Leta would, too. “No time like the present,” she answered in turn, looking to make sure her—the woman was ready to follow along before heading toward the claim, a strange, pleasant sort of feeling taking root in her belly. A seed of hope, or something like it.
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Valette didn’t know why but she felt a home with them. They also liked bison and even though there was this weird idea of that they thought she was their mother, somehow it didn’t brother her as much as before. Maybe she was family. Maybe he mother had not been her real mother. Her uncle had adopted them from a young age. She didn’t know much about Scarlett. That was something for another day. 

Valette looked at the male. ”Are Hydra and Dirge your leaders?,” she asked curiously to the other. Valette assumed so. This really made a turn, because now she might have a home, or a place to rest at least instead of roaming around. It was nice. When the female moved she followed. It was weird, it was almost like following herself. Maybe her walk was different? She didn’t know she never saw herself walk from this angle. ”Maybe we are family somehow,” she offered then. Perhaps she was a little hopeful too.

End? Any of you can make a thread for Hydra and Dirge so Valette can be introduced?

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last post from me we can continue in another thread after you kit!

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West nodded as Valette questioned further, “The pack is fairly family structured. Many of the members are related to them in some way, but I think most are their kids.” Truthfully, he hadn't spoken one on one with most to confirm that, but those he had met so far had been related aside from one. Easthollow had been similar though in that regard so he never really thought twice about it.

He'd flick an ear to his sister's voice as they started the journey home, only for his ears to quickly perk, “Wait, for real—? Someone spotted some?” He stepped with boyish excitement as his tail gave a few wags to the beat of his gait. He hadn't even found rolling plains the beasts often frequented, just forests, meadows, and mountains, but he also had only traveled south. Maybe the north held something more promising?

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