Faline

or was she faint as starlight at the edge of dawn, faint as a fawn’s flank, spattered with so much universe

She had been away when the challenge had occurred. It had been simply any other day, and the growing Faline had ached to see the mountains in the distant north. No matter how she had come to love the plains, the rolling hills of golden ferns and wheat, there was a part of her that always ached for the bitter cold, the endlessly snow-laden tundras. It was a need sated as quickly as it appeared, though she couldn't help the everlasting desire to know more about her origin, to know the truth of her beginning, as in love as she was with her now.

But as she returned, she suddenly regretted having left at all. The border of the Plains was left scattered, frantic pawprints darting away in vastly different direction from a territory that stood achingly, hauntingly empty. A foreign scent had freshly begun to cover the old, and the sea of grasses were achingly quiet.

Girlish brows furrowed with concern, something driving her not to cross, half-fearful of what she may find laying on the other side. Though it had happened months ago, in a youth almost long-forgotten, she had remembered that same haunting silence long after Jannick had left, long after he was supposed to have returned. A gentle frown tugged onto her lips, pacing the border, attempting to catch any familiar scents against the near-stampede of those that had been left in the wake of their frantic pilgrimmage. Hello? She eventually called out, finding nothing amidst the sea of grass, Hello?

code by cala, art by raph

SEIFRIENRIOSA

She waited in the damned fields.

There was no hiding the attitude on her features - the displeasure from being uprooted from the lands she was born. She hated it, and hated she couldn't even go after her father... wherever he may be now.

Pacing, Seifri did what she could to calm herself, little limbs prowling the area while she awaited her mother to find her sisters. Then she heard something - someone. "Faline?!" A urgency came upon her, eyes wide to find the other cub she had become so fixated on, so bonded to despite their time away. "F-Fae!" She sees her then, and Seifri attempts to pounce on her in a gleeful reunion.

@Faline

code by flea, art by irish

Faline

or was she faint as starlight at the edge of dawn, faint as a fawn’s flank, spattered with so much universe

Faline?!

Fae's head turned, just tall enough now to peer from between the golden wave of grasses. She could not see her through their dance, but she could recognize the voice that rose above them. Seifri? she called back, and was quickly met with her friend's frantic calling. And through the winding tendrils of yellow wheat, she can see that oh-so-familiar deep abyss, so vastly different from their surrounding territory. It were a wonder why her father had ever picked this place to live, but Fae had fallen in love with it.

@Seifrienriosa is upon her before she even has time to react, pouncing, and knocking her into the soft ground below. Instead of shock or anger, a girlish giggle bursts from her lips, paws flinging into the air and desperate to hold onto her friend as they romped around in the grasses. Of all the lions she could have happened upon in that moment, at least it were her.

But eventually, the laughter died down. The uneasiness settled, and the plains remained hauntingly quiet. Faline got back to her paws, wide and worried eyes regarding her smaller, younger companion. Where is everyone? she asked, bewildered by the world's sudden shift. It were as if they all disappeared, slipped free of this magical place as if it were nothing.

code by cala, art by raph

SEIFRIENRIOSA

Reunited with @Faline , Seifrienriosa lost herself in her innocent youth. All the worries, all the loss and anger - it vanished the moment they collided, giggles ringing in the air while happiness engulfed the Saxe as a whole.

While it seemed like an eternity, the few seconds passed in a flash and reality was back upon them. Faline's giggles died down, Seifri's own losing volume as she caught her breath. Rolling to her side, she lays on the ground still, a soft pant on her features.

"At the Brook, under my Mother's reign." Seifri reveals, a flick of pride speckling in her eyes, even though the loss of the Plains still ran deep. "My dad lost his fight for the territory - so we had to leave. You're coming, too." She adds with a firm nod, as if the comment was a mere fact - as common as asking the weather for the day. She didn't think Faline would have any objections.

Rising back to her paws then, she peers to her long-lost friend. "But you need to be a Saxe now. We can grow powerful and amazing together!" The idea hadn't been sudden - she longed for Faline as a sister, even while she had many.

code by flea, art by irish

Faline

or was she faint as starlight at the edge of dawn, faint as a fawn’s flank, spattered with so much universe

So they weren't entirely scattered. They were somewhere. And wherever the Brook was, Fae was certain it would be just as pleasant and plentiful as the plains, no matter how much she'd missed them. The unease written into her expression fell away, replaced instead by a look far more relieved, comforted. Yet, the bittersweet resolve that came afterward in the wake of Aeistrios' loss left the air heavy, melancholy. While Fae hadn't gotten to know the plum King quite as well as others in the pride, he'd been a steadfast leader, and had never fettered her to the borders of the pride.

Is he okay? she asked instinctively, worried about who, or what, may have felled the King. She'd thought him infallible, untouchable. But if they were all holed up in the Brook now, perhaps they'd managed to escape just fine. Suddenly, she both felt relief and regret for not having been there for the challenge. She was thankful, at least, that their new home was still safely within their family's paws. Is your mom okay?

As @Seifrienriosa rises to her paws with a renewed sense of joy, Fae cannot help but match her energy. Yet, her proclamation quickly causes a heat to sprawl across her cheeks, a turn in her stomach that was both nervous and excited all at once. Whatever pride she had for her old family and her name, it felt comforting to have an actual family. Really? she gasped, too rising to her paws, D-does that mean we're— sisters?

code by cala, art by raph

SEIFRIENRIOSA

A shrug on the question to if her father was okay or not, having not seen him since the challenge itself.

"She's doing good. Strong." She confirms when it was Renfri asked about, someone important to Seifri. Her focus was intense then, desperate to see what reaction she would have to becoming family. Ever since meeting, Seifri had felt a strong bond to her, even favored her over some of her true-blooded sisters. She'd not have anything less than @Faline being a Saxe.

"Yes! It means that completely!" She grins, the joy on her face astounding as she barrels onto her feet, leaping a few steps forward and encouraging Faline to come with her. "Lets get back to the Brook so you can be royalty with me." She aims to heighten the confidence in Faline, to boost her ego - raise her spirits.

code by flea, art by irish

Faline

or was she faint as starlight at the edge of dawn, faint as a fawn’s flank, spattered with so much universe

She is not unaware of the fact @Seifrienriosa doesn't elaborate on the status of her father, and though she does not quite understand it, she does not question it. Aeistrios had always been a large and imposing man, and their paths had not crossed often enough for the former King to quite give Fae the time of day. Much to her delight, however; it were far easier getting along with those more akin to her nature, more willing to humor her girlish curiosities. She is happy to hear, however, that Renfri is doing just fine; it would be far too sore a wound if her friend were angry at both her parents.

Fae had no strong ties to Renfri, either, content to live among the wildling girls of the Plains and cling to a youthful independence. She'd long begun to catch her own meals, keep herself entertained, train herself on the fleeting memories of Janni's ramblings. And yet, as Seifri welcomes her into the fold as a sister, Fae feels an overwhelming sense of relief as much as she does nervousness. Would this erase her history, she thought, what sacred dynasty Sigrid had told her to cherish, to remember well? Her mother had expected her to be well within the protection of her grandfather's tutelage, after all; she would well be rolling in her grave knowing she'd ended up in a place such as this.

But more than anything, she needed to survive. Faline would always be a Larsen. But so too could she be a Saxe.

She wouldn't mind, either, being closer to Seifri and her sisters. She'd long come to enjoy them as she would littermates she'd never quite gotten to have, she imagined, and it were something she'd never shy from. A broad smile unfurls across her lips toward the princess' suggestion, before nodding, eager to make the journey home so she could rest her paws, and dream of the distant rolling hills of the Plains they'd leave behind.

---

Exit with Seifri.

code by cala, art by raph