I'll see you someday before the end.

For @Hydra plz!

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Black and gold. Ciri and Elke. That was their names.

While the memories of her daughters were hazy, incomplete, Nyx knew that they existed. She knew they were somewhere, and she clung desperately to the belief that they were alive and eager to reunite with her, too. The lioness had hunted high and low for them, for who knows how long, and only recently had she concluded that staying put might be her best option in finding them.

They were not little things anymore. Juveniles on the cusp of adulthood, all she could really do now was hope that she'd taught them well enough to survive. The three of them had done just fine together for all this time, so a brief period apart would serve as nothing but a test.

Nyx thought of them late that evening as she lay among the snow of a plateau on her brother's mountain home and turned her muzzle skyward to look upon a full, pale sphere - the Snow Moon - that stared right back. She couldn't help but wonder if it smiled as brightly upon Ciri and Elke, as well.


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Dirge had informed her that he had found his sister. Relief, for that; more of their family were being found as time passed. Who else would return to them soon? What answers might come then, if any? They were surely enough, but the matriarch's curiosity was a bothersome thing as of late. It was all very strange to her, was all; how was it this happened...? Was it important, when so many others were coming home to her here? 

Home...

It had not always been here. Moonspear, she remembered, had been home—but that all felt so faraway now, in mind and surely in geographical distance. Maneuvering through the territory, the matriarch navigated a more difficult climb only to arrive to a gentler plateau she had yet to visit. Spruce trees dotted the place, and she wondered what might be found here. Perhaps another wolf, or perhaps some interesting sort of landmark. Maybe even something to evoke some sort of memory. 

As she moved slowly, she caught a whiff of the sister Dirge had mentioned. Hydra's route altered to trail her, using her keen nose to embark on the task of finding her.

+1 Discovery Point

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The tawny Ostrega tried to settle, and lowered her raven-tipped crown to prop her chin atop an outstretched forelimb. There was relief in having found one of her siblings, but worry was woven deep into her gut in the absence of the others. Her worry for Keres, her nieces and nephews ran strong, but to be apart from Ciri and Elke was like losing a huge part of who she was.

Whoever that might be.

Her memories were few and fractured, which was troubling. Who else was there to miss? Who needed to be grieved?

The earthen wolfess huffed a sigh and closed her eyes, but her rest was short-lived. The sound of approaching paws on fresh snow broke the silence, and a sable ear pricked in the direction from which they came. Pulling herself upright in a sit, suddenly alert, though maintained her silence until a pair of dark eyes glistened in the moonlight.

Hydra, her mind recalled. Though Nyx had not known Moonspear's Queen as well as she'd have liked, Hydra was unmistakeable. The gold-tipped wolfess welcomed her kin to her with a low rumble, suddenly glad for this opportunity to share in her company for a time.


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No doubt her deep blue eyes were fractured into green as the moonlight hit them proper; they were well adjusted to the dark hours, and it was her typical preference to navigate in them during the warmer days. In Winter, the sun was not so terrible; but when it came to hunting, her dark furs were all too easy to spot against the winter white landscapes the snow created. Movement caused Hydra to discern Nyx was close, and by the time Hydra saw the woman she was sitting upright. 

“Nyx,” Hydra greeted, voice soft. Nyx had lost Ciri and Elke, her daughters. Now more than ever Hydra understood the pain of such loss, her own children seemingly scattered to the wind. Drawing nearer to the woman, unbidden Hydra drawled, “they will come home to us.” A comfort, said as much for herself as for her fellow mother. Hydra believed this wholeheartedly, however. They would make this place their home, and no doubt their wayward children would recognize this place as the most magnificent within the ranges here and expect this to be their settlement. The thought amused her. But their family only deserved, and would have, the best. 

Drifting alongside her, Hydra invited, “walk with me?” While she would not have minded resting for a time, idling often sent her mind into quite the opposite state.  

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The raveness greeted her softly by name, and Nyx did not respond with words. Instead she offered a lazy flop of her earthy tail, and a polite dip of her paler snout as her companion drew nearer. The words that came next from Hydra disturbed her a little, as though she might be a witch with an ability infiltrate one's mind, before realisation settled in its place. The Queen had been separated from her own cubs; she could relate to the lioness' heartbreak better than anyone.

She wanted to believe her, so held onto the sliver of hope that the comment bolstered in her. "Yes," was her simple agreement, and she gathered onto her paws to turn and better regard her brother's mate. "They all will." Mine, as well as yours.

An invitation then, to wander with her, and Nyx twitched an ear as she canted her muzzle to regard it with quiet acceptance: lead the way.


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Perhaps it was awful, that this was what Hydra thought immediately upon seeing Nyx rather than assigning her any variance or independence from her role as mother. The woman was more than that, after all—and Hydra knew that. But this was a present commonality between them, and seeing her, it was precisely what rose to her own mind. That awful knowing that she (herself) was missing something. That Nyx, more than anyone else here in her fellow role as mother, might understand it. Things that grew within them, that they brought into the world after the pains of their labor. Not things at that point, but beings—beings that they had once been lucky enough to watch become. To guide. 

Where were they, her mind whirled; when would they come? 

When they could, she knew. When it was right. In her bones, Hydra felt the words of Nyx to be as true as her own. Their children were Ostregas, and raised by the strongest of women—it would only be a matter of time. 

But the matriarch could not let herself linger on those absent, important as they were to her, lest she be consumed by it and their absence both. Nyx rose and made to follow, and Hydra moved onward from there. Those missing to her she could remember; more names came to her by the mere mention of Ciri and Elke. Antares. She hoped the thought would conjure him. Blinking herself into the present, her gaze looked at a particularly broad spruce tree they moved alongside. Her ear twitched as she heard the sound of running water, and Hydra altered her course to head that way.

+1 Discovery Point

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Together they moved wordlessly, the soft crunch of snow beneath each stride being the only sound for a time. Nyx drew strength from Hydra in those quiet moments; their losses were devastating, but there was an undeniable comfort in knowing that she was not alone in experiencing the ache only a mother would know. Did the Queen, poised and stoic as she oft appeared, feel the emptiness right at the womb of herself, too?

She frowned sadly to herself, to think how her sister by law might suffer in silence by shielding behind a brave face. Nyx, despite her fractured memories of a past life, could vividly recall how it was to be alone with her woes - despite surrounding herself with others. Acquaintances, friends, pack-mates, strangers... men. Unable to recollect the exact circumstances that made her feel so small, all that remained was the crippling fear of loneliness.

Yellow eyes followed the deep sapphire of Hydra's as they reached to look upon an impressive evergreen that stretched up into the night sky, its dense branches having collected additional snow in the most recent flurry from the day prior. Still it stood strong despite the weight of its load, with no sign of bending to its will.

Nyx knew she would be wise to do the same.

They passed it by, carried on across the rugged slope until the sound of flowing water brought their ears forward. Veering with Hydra and keeping close to her flank, the tawny Ostrega padded smoothly along their chosen path to investigate this newest discovery. 

+1 Discovery Point

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The silence was something Hydra typically appreciated. But as of late, when it came so did the wondering. Beyond her cubs, it felt like there were other things that were lost; thinking on such things was frustrating, as Hydra was not one to misplace anything. The unknown was a bothersome thing; it was why the matriarch was ever on the pursuit of knowledge. Part of her felt excitement for the pursuit of all that could be learned and gained here... but the forgetting, that was worrisome. She was not one to forget much of anything; it was why her old resentments never died until the resented party did. Even then... 

Pondering on that gave Hydra pause, as she sniffed at the base of a cumbersome pine tree with roots that reached out from the earth. Old resentments. She could remember reasons for them, but not the faces behind it. Strange, that. But before she could make any headway on that train of thought, she heard the bugle of their prey even over the churning water ahead in the near distance. She wondered if one might lead to the other, at least to inspect the quarry to be had here. 

Pushing ahead, her ears twitched as the water grew louder the closer that the duo came.

+1 Discovery Point

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Nyx, from a tender age until her prime, had known that being a mother was not high on her list of priorities. As a young adult she'd been too busy living life with Dirge and Saor by her side to entertain the notion, one where she valued her freedom above all else; her goal was to find each corner of the universe and explore everything that the world had to offer.  After their separation and as she aged, finding a mate and settling down seemed like a hindrance more than anything. Never in a million years would she have considered a future for herself like the one she found herself with - nor would she change it for the world. 

She did not think of much beyond Ciri and Elke. They'd been her life's purpose since before the conception of them, when they were but the beginning of a dream. The wolf who sired them crossed her mind fleetingly, but Nyx did not make room for him to stay. The memory she held of him was weak, but tainted; he'd hurt her in some manner, perhaps unintentionally, though it didn't matter. He was lost to both her and their children, and absolutely not a priority.

The cubs were hers now, hers alone, as it was always meant to be.

The sound of rushing waters grew louder as she and Hydra neared he source, and she could detect the crisp aroma of melted ice on the air. It reminded her of her thirst, but despite it she maintained her pace alongside the raven Queen - it seemed wrong to outpace her. 

+1 Discovery Point

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The duo moved together, with Nyx at her hip; the water grew louder as they gradually drew closer to the source. They did not leave the forest, but rather moved toward something within it... and from where they were, it did not take too much longer to arrive. In time Hydra could see the source of the sound; it was not one, but a series of smaller waterfalls that led into smaller pools and descended downward. It was a lovely sight, and a lovelier sound; Hydra drifted toward it with a swaying tail to sniff to determine if the water was drinkable. One could never be too sure; had the rain and snow caused this, or was it running from another outlet? 

It smelled fresh, and the matriarch quickly enough deduced that it was drinkable. Only two in the series were not frozen at present, their waters falling heavier than the rest and thus applying more pressure... and it was that which Hydra lapped at, making room for Nyx to drink as well should she thirst.

+1 Discovery Point

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Wanna fade with your next post?

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She caught sight of the pale shimmers of moonlight reflected on the surface of running water, and watched with curiosity as they danced. Her thoughts turned to a more peaceful time when Nyx had taken her daughters a little farther beyond their cave to better explore what their home had to offer. She could recall the quiet curiosity of little Elke, the boldness of Ciri's clumsy stride as she eagerly pressed ahead with determination to be first.

Her memories were fractured things, but the tawny Ostrega clung to what precious moments she could recall. They would return, she hoped desperately, just as she yearned to know that her children were safe.

Eyes roved the area as she eased alongside Hydra, searching for any sign of life - or threat, more specifically. The Nameless Mountain was set to be her home, but it still felt like such a foreign place to her. Once satisfied that nothing lurked in the darkness beyond the falling waters, Nyx dipped her crown to lap at their crisp surface.

"Fancy a hunt?" Nyx asked suddenly, when her thirst had been quenched. She figured the chase might blow off some cobwebs and free each of them from solemn thoughts of lost family, at least for a little while.


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last from me! edit: aka faded LOL

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The frigid waters ran over her broad paws, though she was not at all bothered by it; built for winter, as most every wolf was, it took more than this to chill the woman. When Nyx began drink, Hydra lifted her own head to stand vigil—the beginnings of a memory stirred in her mind as she watched the stream beyond the falls churn, ears flicking as it gurgled...

Nyx's voice dispelled these thoughts, and Hydra, with a thoughtful look on her features, nodded and said, “I do,” in her low drawl. Not wanting to linger or become lost to thoughts, Hydra thought a hunt would do her good then. The matriarch made short work of finding a trail for them to follow—and thusly, their hunt began.

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