act one ; arrival.

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it was cold.

freezing, even. her fur dragged back on forwards, dancing with the rhythm of the ocean as nymph lay on the sandy shore. the salten sea tickled her neck, and a faint sting brought her eyes fluttering open. coughing once or twice, nymph tried to stand. however, her legs faltered, and she lay limp on the sand once more. the woman groaned. rolling on to her back, her nudged her neck, wincing. ah, she grimaced. that can't be good.

taking a shallow breath, she attempted to stand once more. rain started to drop from the sky, small and slow. the air filled with the scent of petrichor. finally, nymph was up on her paws, and she shook out her limbs gingerly. she felt that sand would be forever stuck in the hairs on her pelt. slowly wading into the ocean, she made an attempt to wash herself off, skin prickling at the temperature. it truly was chilly, hm?

her tail swayed as she stood for a moment, trying to relax before she'd set out. where would she go, though? well, nymph had no idea. turning back, she returned to the shoreline, shaking the water off of her. she looked around. where to go first… she thought, humming. –or should i try to find some company? it'd be better not to be alone, afterall.

drawing in the scents that surrounded her, nymph begun her search. perhaps she could find a friend… or foe.

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Nysa awoke in a familiar location. With a stretch she prepared for her morning ritual of training—but realized two things. One, that she had awoken early, even for her... and two, that the shade The Nameless Mountain had provided was gone. Nysa spun on her heel as the second epiphany struck her. She saw for herself that the horizon before was... open. The Empyrean princess bristled, feeling suddenly exposed somehow. There was the feeling deep within that this was not normal, and then the feeling of fear worked its way in... or it tried.

Her mother had trained her for things like this, right? Her brothers, too, and father—as best they could. Nysa squinted toward where The Nameless Mountain ought to be, and then turned toward the Coasts waters. Standing on all fours as rain began to fall, Nysa saw a form in the horizon. It was as good a place as any to start, she imagined. Feeling remarkably well rested even despite being out of sorts, Nysa made her way toward the stranger warily, calling out a low “hello!” to test the waters (...no pun intended).
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ah, so there was someone around! nymph smiled with child-like joy, head tilting as a voice called out to her. tail wagging, the girl padded forwards. “hello,” she chuffed. she was excited to meet someone new, surely, but the empress had learnt to stamp down any 'youthful joy' that had once been considered standard for a girl her age. or, well, how old she used to be.

stepping in front of the stranger, the woman looked around, eyes glinting with curiosity. “do you know where we are, perhaps?” she was quite calm for such a situation. furthermore, she seemed eerily placid for a someone with a four-inch not-quite-healed scar running along her neck. nymph had completely forgotten about it. “also, what's your name?” two questions right of the batt… that wasn't bad, right?

“i'm nymph,” she hurriedly assured, as if it would make the stranger feel any better about sharing her own title.

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Coming closer, Nysa was able to better observe the unkempt wolf she approached. Alarm bells rang in her head, and she paused a decent distance away when she noted the gnarly wound that stretched across the others throat. Healed, by the looks of it, but someone for some reason had gone for the death blow. Nysa had been trained to look out for such in the interest of self preservation... and to protect Empyrean if need be. Her mother would finish the job, if it were at all necessary. Nysa wanted to think that she could... but had never been put to the test.

And then they responded, gentler than she could have anticipated. It might have been disarming, were Nysa anyone else but for her mothers daughter. But she was Dirge's, too, and inclined to test boundaries when she felt that she could. “Crescent Cove,” she answered, seeing no reason not to identify it given the circumstances. With The Nameless Mountain gone...

It didn't seem like the right moment to think about it. Her undivided attention fell upon the now named Nymph.

Nysa answered with a nickname given to her by her mother, no less a part of who she was than her own name, “Kenki,” sword princess, in her mothers tongue. A nickname provided thanks to her many spars. Now it felt so long since then, somehow! Where was Draco, and Cygnus, and Scoripus and Ara?

“What do you remember?” she asked then, her mother having advised her this might be a good place to start with some. Being dragged in by the waters... that seemed a good place as any.

Nysa could not help but baldly ask her next, “who tried to kill you?”
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crescent cove, she said they were. the name didn't ring any bells in her head. were they truly outside of the grasp of the kingdom? nymph felt awful. was she going to get in trouble? she blinked, a flicker of a memory coming back to her. sent away, it whispered. never come back. in a heartbeat, though, the voice was gone. “kenki,” she tested the name out on her tongue. somehow it felt… familiar, in a way she didn't understand.

nymph felt like she was being dragged back down by the waters, however kenki's voice dragged her back to shore. what did she remember? that was a good question. nymph stumbled over the words, until the woman spoke again. who tried to killed you? nymph's eyes went wide. “w-what?” she stammered, shaking her head. the fur on her tail began to bristle. she took a breath, trying to keep herself calm and collected. lashing out will do no good, she remembered.

his voice. his voice. her claws prickled. “my advisor…” she managed, clearly frustrated. she was good at keeping her temper, she thought. “that worm,” …or not, then. “casting me out of my own kingdom, demanding i be killed on sight! argh…!” nymph turned, squeezing her eyes shut and digging her claws into the sand as if it were his own body below her. hanging her head low, she sighed. already, she felt exhausted.

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All she could do was listen. Watch the other and try to determine whether or not she believed her. Nysa struggled with this; she wondered how her mother ever did so. To this day, her trust in her was implicit... but her mother had not done her, or their family, wrong. Not their kingdom either, which Nysa deduced must mean Nymph's pack. Nymph... seemed honest. And Nysa wanted to believe her. Not doing so somehow seemed more exhausting.

But she had one final question, at least for now. “...why? Why would he cast you out?” there was nothing accusatory present in the question, only curiosity. Nysa's perception of Nymph was already in the womans favor, that she could scarcely believe it. Though Nysa was also aware that perhaps, as her mother had taught her, Nymph was not as she seemed.

The more prudent question might be, though, “did you kill him?” no judgment in her own tone. But worms were meant to be below ground, not walking among them.
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why did he cast her out? nymph blinked. she felt dizzy as the memories rushed back into her. she felt like she was about to fall over. “i… i was a child,” she murmured, tone quiet as she shook her head. no yearling should have to take over the throne for any reason, especially if your parents… were… she wrinkled her nose for a moment. this memory wouldn't come back ; only the pain that followed. the despair dug its way into her heart, taking place as if it were an awful seed.

kenki's next question caught her off guard. “what?!” she cried, turning back to the woman. did she really think nymph could be a murderer? well, neither of them knew eachother well enough to tell… nymph sighed, shaking her head once more. “his guards killed me before i could even consider taking his life,” she explained, tone defeated as took a seat. she was but a child at the time. she could barely keep her own belongings in check, how would she of been able to plot a murder?

“his guards…” she scoffed. “…the same ones that my parents entrusted with my life…” it was, quite honestly, cruelly ironic. she wondered what her parents were doing now. perhaps they were watching over her… maybe it was fate ; maybe she was destined to wake up here. in the end, nymph would never really know. she just… wanted her parents back.

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tysm for the stardust !! <3

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of course, she's a pleasure to read!

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Nysa's facial expression shifted as though to ask what her voice did not: so? She revealed much with this; Nysa would not have cared if Nymph had. And as the girl went on, Nysa frowned. “Stick with me, and we will totally kill him, if he ever shows his face around these parts again. If he is a child killer, his guards too...” she shook her head. There was no place for them here. And anyway, Nymph had survived—she imagined shock caused her to use incorrect verbiage, because Nymph, to her eye, was very much so alive.

“My mother will want them dead. My whole family, come to think of it,” her tail waved, hoping to provide comfort to Nymph in this way. “They can become your family, too,” she offered, voice a little softer then... it sounded like Nymph's own was... well...

It sounded like the guards and the advisor had succeeded in what they had only attempted to do to Nymph. Nysa found she didn't really want to leave the girl alone, but... well, she wouldn't force the girl either.
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kenki said she'd kill him, if nymph stuck with her. however… did the empress really want that? to be at fault for someone else's death, after feeling so useless for not preventing her parents own? the girl blinked, deep in thought for but a moment, before she came back to life. her whole family… the words pricked at nymph's skin.

it was a kind offer, truly, but if she turned from them, would the ones who seemed to protect her turn against her, as well? just as her own guards had? this situation seemed awfully ironic. they can become your family, too, kenki said. the words drummed in her skull. “can i meet them?”

she murmured. she wanted to determine whether or not they were people she wanted to stick around, first. what would happen if they weren't? would she slink away in the middle of the night, never to be seen again? what would happen if she turned her back on the first person to show her such kindness.

nymph subconsciously shook her head, racking her brain, before she came to her decision. “yes, i would love to meet them first.”

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Nysa answered with a bright smile, “absolutely you can,” but as she turned to the mountain, she said with a sigh, “we just... will need to find them first. But I can tell you, my family does not tolerate child killers,” her muzzle wrinkled, “or anyone who would even attempt it.” It was clear her own stance on it as well. She looked to Nymph with a roguish sort of grin—inherited from her father.

But if she didn't, Nysa would not hold it against her. They hardly knew one another well enough for Nysa to bear her any resentment for the decision to not join her in this, but Nysa hoped that they might!
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the snowy-pelted empress watched as kenki turned, seemingly searching for something that no longer stood. confusion tainted the air, though nymph could understand any sort of uncertainty, especially after her own… well, situation, to say the very least. nymph batted her lashes, ivory paws scathing against the sandy ground.

her family did not tolerate child-killers, the woman explained. nymph smiled, though her expression came with a falter. child-killer. the term was like an unwelcome breeze; she shivered, suddenly frozen cold. she bit her lip wearily, tail twitching. however, perhaps searching for her family could… distract her.

“i'll gladly help you find them,” she nodded, chocolate-brown eyes creasing as a soft grin climbed up her maw. she and kenki were quite different, she realised, but to be offered aid so quickly? a blessing from even the highest of priestesses, to be sure.

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so sorry for the wait !! school's been taking up most of my time,, ;;

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no rush ever <3 last from me, do you wantt me to tag you in a new thread?!

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Nymph seemed to think on something (...probably her decision) before answering. And Nysa was glad to hear what the answer came to be; her tail wagged behind her as she circled around Nymph to arrive at her side. “They were close to here once, but now... I am not so sure,” Nysa squinted. But then she recalled stories of their allies, and her heart lightened. “Well, I know of friends of my parents. Perhaps they might know...” Nysa looked guiltily back toward her new friend and admitted, “though finding them as well might be a task. Alright, we better get started,” Nysa stepped ahead, but looked back to Nymph.

“Anything you need to do here, before we set off?” That was the polite thing to ask, although she was raring to go. The distance ate up at Nysa, who hated to be away for so long, at least without having told the pack. Sure, her mother had known she was going to the Cove... but not for so long that something like this had happened?

Had she sleep walked? She'd probably need to ask Nymph to look out for that...
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so it seemed they'd have to wander for a while before they arrived at kenki's home… nonetheless, nypmh would gladly tag along! was there anything she needed to do here..? golden eyes peered around the sandy beach, searching the waves for any note of nostalgia, or perhaps a familiar face… however, there was nothing. nymph tried to hide her disappointment.

“no i… i don't believe so,” nymph blinked. she bit the inside of her cheeks, before turning her gaze back to kenki. “i'm ready to leave when you are.” slowly, her tail begun to sway, and a soft smile climbed up her maw. she couldn't wait to be around people again. people she could be … normal … around. people who she wouldn't have to act all “royal and mighty” around.

it… sounded nice.

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feel free to tag me in a new thread !! :3

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