Romance is in the air...this is probably the most beautiful and scenic place in Blossom Forest. For the athletic and determined to come with their mates, for time away from pups. Only adults may come here; some of the ledges are too far apart for teens or pups to cross and some too high to scale.
| Be careful of what you touch lest the grave be what you lust |
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‘Athene? What happened? Is this just a dream?’ Athene did not say anything, just shook her head in disbelief. If she did not have the control or the training that she had received, she would be asking the same question. Blurting out any thought that came to her, spilling her guts with her questions, her fear. Months ago, she had thought of the wolf in front of her as her own, thought of Sabelle like the pup that should have been hers. Athene had given up her own to unborn pups in order for this one to live unchallenged, without having to face the horrors or the pain of the Trial. Sabelle was meant to be every thing that Athene ever wanted in a child, in her apprentice. Sabelle was meant for great things… That is until she disappeared. She had been… So perfect for the role too. She had interest in everything that Athene had to offer, showed personal intrigue in the wares that Athene was selling. She was smart, and more than that, she constantly wanted to learn. Athene had invested time into the femme, and had even become emotionally attached. But it all had been ruined, wrecked. Pierce had taken his daughter and left Athene, breaking her heart and destroying all the goals that she had set plans for the three of them. So she had made a new way for herself, joined a new pack. So why, why was the past coming to haunt her now? Athene did not know how to respond to Sabelle - it surely did seem like a dream. But it was all too odd for a dream, too real. But she did not have an explanation either… at least not one that made sense. The timberess shook her head, glad that the odd weight of the antlers no longer was upsetting her. Just like she always did, she thought it all out to before responding - if Sabelle had only just now returned, would she have noticed all of the changes thus far? Would she have noticed that the packs had changed location and size, but even the free lands were altered and their appearance, their composition? In truth, nothing has been normal, nothing had been right since Pierce and Sabelle had left. Magic had infiltrated the lands… It had to have been the will of the gods. But this? The sudden appearance of Lera adornment upon the Putnar? It wasn’t right… She could only hope that the antlers were gone for good, but seeing as they were still upon Sabelle’s crown, she assumed that they would return. Who else have been affected? And perhaps most important of all, what would Kershov think? Her pools of honey peered down at the wolf she used to call daughter, and took note of the fear in her eyes, the confusion. Some part in her chest ached, and wished only to be able to sooth her with some answers. “That is indeed my name, you have it right. Let me counter with a question, were you blinded by light? A bright beam of sun that emerged from the earth, That is, by my estimation, which has caused our rebirth. You have been marked by the same blight as I, Though I cannot, for the life of me, give you a reason why. Antlers do not belong upon the head of our kind But without a way to destroy them, we are rather in a bind. Stand up now, Lassie, on your pause Didn’t I tell you never to show your weaknesses or flaws? Yes, on your pause and then tell me post haste Why it is with your presence I have now been graced. Where did you and your father depart to? Who did you meet, what did you see, what did ventures did you do? Has he brought you back home with plans to reclaim his throne? Or did you manage to wander here all on your own?” Perhaps Athene was grilling her a bit too hard. But she could not hold back her curiosity, not when it came to Sabelle and her father. It was not like Athene to develop romantic emotions for anyone, and when he had left her, it had wounded her deeply.… Of course that pain was something she had hidden deep within her, seeing it as one of the pesky weaknesses that she had just interrogated Sabelle about. But with the return of Sabelle to these lands… She could not control the curiosity that was flowing from her, nor could she stay the questions. But before she said anything further, she inhaled sharply and held her breath, silently counting backwards from ten as she had done already earlier in the day. It was a technique she had learned when she was much much younger, hardly more than a puppy herself, but it was a good way to manage any stress or fear. Neither of those emotions were ones that the warrior was used to dealing with … At least not anymore. Still, she had stowed away that particular little technique in case it ever came in handy again, especially for time such as this. Athene could handle enemies, both seen and unseen. The ones visible to her, she would attack and destroy. The ones unseen, she would hunt down, or perhaps puzzle out until she figured out motive, and then those, too, would either be destroyed or be nullified. But magic? It was not something that she had ever been taught how to deal with. Still, she had her morals, her ideology, her general rules of self - ‘don’t show your weakness’. Slowly, the warmed breath left her lungs and she managed a smile upon her kissers, her lips curling upward. She hoped that it would be reassuring to the young fae… And carefully, she reached her paw out, aiming to swipe at the blooming rack growing out of Sabelle’s head. She wanted to see whether the antlers would fall from her as they had fallen from Athene herself… Was this all just a terrible prank? Or was something more unnatural going on…? |
| .Athene. |