Winter had never been his favorite time of the year. Being cold constantly and having to brace for the unknown amounts of snow was something he always dreaded. Even when he were younger he couldn't really recall anytime where he enjoyed this season. But one thing he did enjoy was being able to visit the springs and soaking to warm up his body.

And that was what brought Valerius here today.

He had taken a small jog before deciding to come here, wanting to start working on keeping himself in shape as well as wanting to sharpen his fighting abilities. Being in and out of Amaryllis caused for him to simply wander and not really focus on himself, but he told himself that if he were going to come back here that it needed to be for good. He needed to begin his search for his sister, if she had decided to stay here while he once again abandoned her without notice. A heavy sigh would escape the Nikolov as he submerged his body into one of the several hot springs, the fog from it rising all around and creating a kind of privacy blanket so that he could soak in peace.

@Nadya

art by irish; stock from flickr

The siblings were too alike for their own good, not that Nadya would know at the moment. Since leaving Andal, the scarred woman had done little to take care of herself. Winter only worsened her abilities to survive and her will to keep going. Maybe it would be for the best that she just leave Amaryllis and start fresh somewhere new. Her frame had grown thin, which allowed the bitter coldness to seep in all the quicker. It would seem counterintuitive to venture out into the tundra to the north, but word had it that it held a special kind of warmth. Hot springs. While water was never quite her favorite endeavor, for a reason she could not remember, the thought of enveloping herself in the warmth of a hot spring was all too appealing at the moment.

Ragged in appearance, the snow of the terrain clung to every bit of dirt and debris that littered her pelt as Nadya made her way in search of the sacred springs. Were they really 'sacred?' Probably not, but when one was as cold as she was, they were a goddamn blessing in her mind. It was a slight struggle to even find a vacant pool of water amidst the fog that billow around the springs. Nadya nearly tripped into one before overcompensating her steps and sending her the complete opposite direction. The brown lioness's stumble would send her crashing right into the same pool @Valerius had chosen to soak in. Frantic thrashing occurred while trying to find her footing, only to desperately splash her way to the edge without ever realizing someone else was in the water. Forelimbs made their way to cling at the edge of the hot spring while Nadya sputtered the water from her mouth, catching her breath, unaware of who she would find if she just turned around.

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Relaxed was one word you could say Valerius was. He could feel his body loosening up the tensed muscles, the warmth of the water causing for his lids to feel a little heavy, threatening to make him accidentally doze off. And perhaps that was the reason why he didn’t hear the paw steps growing closer and closer, and when they finally reached him it would be too late to react appropriately. Instead, a crash of water would cause for the lion to come back to reality with a start, his body slipping back into a tensed posture and his ears pinning back into his mane. His lie would curl slightly and a shocked hiss would escape him, sea foam eyes frantically searching the water before him on what had just fallen into the water with him.

Narrowed gaze would watch as the woman surfaced, spluttering and catching both her breath and footing. It would take Valerius several moments to realize just who she was, but once he did would he release a rather surprised yet giddy roar, a short lasting sound. “Nadya!” Tone of voice was obviously pleased that he had found her sister - or rather, she had found him. He waded the short distance between them, aiming to press his nose against the side of her cheek as a deep purr began to rumble within his chest. “How are are you, dear sister?” He couldn’t tell the exact state her body was in from the water and the fog, as well as not knowing she wouldn’t remember who he was.

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With her back facing the man, the chocolate woman mustered a few more coughs to get rid of any lingering spring water caught in her lungs. It was an odd sense to actually drink such hot water, not used to anything other than a cool drink by a river or pond. The feeling was.... interesting, but Nadya was quickly shaken from her thoughts at the sound of a quick roar behind her followed with a name that she didn't recognize. Scarred head whipped around frantically to find a large male appearing rather pleased to see her. Did she know him? He apparently knew her, but that didn't mean she instantly trusted the stranger.

Before she knew it, @Valerius was coming towards her which prompted Nadya to scoot that much further back, but she was already up against the edge of the pool. With neck craning back as far as it could, the Nikolov went rigid as the stranger pressed his nose against her cheek. Everything within her screamed to smack him away, but she was still so out of place in the water that she didn't want to slip right back in if she let go of the edge. Instead, the scarred woman's lavender gaze shot wide, brows raising with him as her tattered ears pulled back. "Uh..." But before she could even question the man, Valerius had a question of his own. How are you, dear sister? Wait, what? Sister?! Was.... was he serious? Was this really her brother? "I... um... we... we know each other?" Well, duh, Nads. He obviously knows you, but the scarred woman didn't know what else to say. Putting a coherent thought together was a tremendous struggle at the moment. Don't even ask her to say something helpful aloud. Gosh.

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Valerius didn't realize she had pressed herself up against the side of the spring, but once his nose touched her cheek could he feel how tense she was. With a rather confused expression would he push himself a few steps back, brow rising as he watched @Nadya. But before he could speak she would respond to him, but not how he was expecting. Instead of her going on to tell him about her life here while he was away or even scolding him for leaving her she would instead ask if they knew each other.

"What?" The word would be spoken in a half chuckle, thinking his sister were playing some sort of joke on him. "Is this for me leaving again? Acting like you don't remember me?" Maybe she was trying to guilt trip him in some strange way... Valerius wasn't too sure, but the look on Nadya's face was causing for a slow inching of concern to wash over him.

art by irish; stock from flickr

He really knew her. Or maybe @Valerius was just playing some sick joke on her, but Nadya was leaning more towards believing the former as she watched the brown lion give her some space. It was the first anyone had shown any type of recognition towards her, not that the scarred woman had ventured close to many other prides. At least no one in Andal had seem to know her. There was something nagging in the back of her foggy brain, though, that pulled on this man's image.

Now that there was space between them again, the Nikolov's tension lessened, but still did not move any closer towards her brother. The confusion was plain on his face, even as Valerius seemed to think it was a joke on her end of things. For leaving? She didn't understand. As much as she wanted to, the rogue could simply not put together the memories that she needed in order to know this man. "It... It's not an act," Nadya admitted quietly, averting her gaze from her kin as if ashamed that she couldn't remember him. "I don't remember you.... There was an accident. And I don't... I don't remember anything." Bits and pieces had struggled to come to the surface of her memory, but with nothing around to confirm her thoughts, they had dissipated as quickly as they had arrived. Majority of things Nadya cast away as just a fragment of a dream, wanting to believe something, but unable to fully grasp it and hold on long enough to retain it. She was a blank slate, but was that even a good thing? "I'm sorry." Soft words were added.

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He could feel his heart drop and his throat tighten slightly, a pit in his stomach causing for him to swallow hard. 'No, she has to be kidding.' His thoughts were trying to disprove what @Nadya had said to him, still trying to see it as some sort of prank she were pulling on him. But the longer he watched her face the more he would begin to believe her words. "An accident?" Valerius would ask in a tone of concern and confusion, his ears flicking backward into his mane slightly, standing still in the warm water that they were both standing in. "What kind of accident?" Did someone harm her? Did she do this to herself somehow? He was feeling so many emotions and so many questions whirled in his mind, questions he knew would probably not be answered if she truly did not remember him or anything else. "You don't remember your brother?" It would be spoken in a now hushed tone, feeling his throat tighten even more once he had spoke them.

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Nadya could do little more than stare back at @Valerius, wishing she could admit to recognizing him, but to lie to appease him would be worse than the truth itself. There was nothing she could do to force the memories to the surface, as much as this lion made her want to. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I fell.... From the waterfall. I guess I hit my head on the way down." It was all such a blur of how she had fallen, but that was the only logical explanation she could uncover as to how she had ended up in the river when Valhalla found her. Nadya could feel herself shrink beneath his gaze and questions, even more so when his voice grew quieter. You don't remember your brother? The words pierced right through her, causing the scarred woman to look away as her body tensed once more. Lavender gaze squeezed shut tightly, trying to prevent the tears from spilling over her inability to remember her brother. Maybe since they were in the hot springs still, though, Valerius wouldn't notice the tears on her cheeks. "I'm sorry," the Nikolov managed to mumble while fighting the urge to simply sob. This wasn't like her. She could feel the betrayal against herself to show such emotions, getting the feeling that she didn't often break down like this before. Her brother was the first lion to show any recognition towards her, however. Maybe if it had been someone else who didn't know her as well, it would have hurt less, but such was not the case at the moment.

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He didn't realize that what he had said would cause for any sort of guilt or sadness, only that this was not the encounter he had envisioned when finding his sister again. Instead of her giving him grief about leaving or giving him the cold shoulder he was met with a lioness who didn't even know of his existence, all due to a rather freak accident. "Who saved you?" The guilt did begin to settle within him when he heard how her memory loss had happened, feeling as if maybe she would have been safe and out of harm's way if he had stuck around. His gaze would fall from watching her face, now staring at the steam that rose up from the water. He didn't know what to do next, or what to say next. But all Valerius was wishing for right now was to wake up from this nightmare, because this just couldn't be happening right now.

@Nadya

art by irish; stock from flickr

Nadya managed to keep her composure together, but only just, though the emotion was still clearly written across her features. When @Valerius asked about her savior, the scarred woman was more willing to turn the discussion towards someone other than herself, even if she was still involved with the story. "A man name Valhalla." Her voice was quiet. A sniffle pulled back her tears before deciding to go on. "He pulled me from the river. Got me to breathe again. Then took me back to his pride in the Oasis." Nothing had been familiar about it, but at least it had worked as a home for a short while. The Nikolov didn't know what else to offer her brother that might make it all make more sense to him, so she would simply wait for more prompts. Whatever she could answer, she would, but Nadya was fearful in her own limitations.

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