It had been pleasant to say the least, and it had brought back some measure of peace to her. Her time with Archangel, that is. He had acted like… friends would. Listened to her grievances, consoled her, offered her advice. It was like what Losa always did… only… Not at all the same. Losa was family, and Zawyne’s role model. Archangel was… Different. He had not gone through her life, but he seemed to understand the bigger picture despite that. And it made her feel special, the fact that he stuck around to hear her, to listen to her. And now, it seemed that Zawyne was almost back to her normal self - with a stupid childish grin firmly planted upon her maw, and fully equipped with the occasional giggle that seem to come from nowhere. It was the oddest feeling, being able to be made happy by a single simple memory of another being. It had been so long since she had one so clean and pure. Once, before they came to this land, thoughts of her sister, her guardians, her parents, could all bring her happiness and a smile. But now thoughts of her parents being dead, her guardians dead or corrupted, her sister‘s own pain… All of it was ruined, marred by the murderous and heinous crimes of a single individual. Duma. Although the sorbet sunrise princess still thought herself responsible for what he did, a little bit of added age had provided her a little bit of wisdom, and had relieved some of the weight from her shoulders. She had yet to tell Archangel of her own sins, but somehow, somehow she hoped that he would understand. And if he could forgive her, perhaps she could forgive herself, and gain the courage to tell Losa what she had done.

She had slept in this morning, and had not risen with the sun like she usually did. Instead, she had awoken with a terrible sense of foreboding, of fear and anger. Even as she opened her eyes, heart was galloping one thousand miles an hour, her adrenaline pumping and something both pulling and pushing her away from the mountain that sloped up nearest to the southern gate. She gasped for breath and wiped at her face, trying to clear the remnants of sleep from her mind, and that was when it all became crystal clear.

Losa!

Zawyne wanted to stop herself, to think rationally, to find a Tempest to come with her. Once, there had been a time when she wanted no guardians, but now, now that all the monsters were real and the danger was palpable, she hated to travel outside of the pack alone. But her own Oferweder, Adara, was out and gathering the corpses of the fallen rainbows. And the lass had no idea where Aindreas would be… Nor Vladimir… Or really anyone. So it was up to her, and she was really hoping that her Tempest would be there already, feeling her fear. Eventually, she would get bound to a second Tempest, and then a third and a fourth. But she had only just come into her teenager years, and had not truly even recognized or appreciated the changes in herself yet - she had been too tightly wound up in her depression to notice the lengthening of her limbs, the slendering of her body and the loss of her puppy fat. She no longer would be considered cute and adorable, but pretty or beautiful. She was a young lady now, and would need to realize that others would notice her as such.

Zawyne scrambled out of the den and ran across the forest floor, and did make the sudden note, however, that she was no longer as awkward as she had once been, and didn’t stumble over her laws as much… But it was a fleeting thought, and she mainly thought of her sister. Although the pack was large, Zawyne herself had taken to sleeping near the lake, unbeknownst to her quite near to where Vladimir also made his home - if she knew that he and his mate and their hoard of pups were so close, she would’ve stopped along the way and asked for him to accompany her, to escort her. And it would have meant the reunion of two brothers long in the making… But she did not, and so there would be no reunion, not yet. Instead, on her lonesome, she dug her paws deep into the silt shore of the lake and ran across its edge and toward the mountain, ascending up the trail, and with each step she felt the emotions of her sister drawing nearer and nearer to her, until it last she was at the opening of the mouth of the cave and the inside of it was blaring with her sisters signature. She swallowed, an audible gulp, and ducked her head inside, her fear of the darkness less than her fear for her sister’s wellbeing. And then, the femme heard the echoing of her sister’s voice, and the pounding of steps.

Zawyne hurried her entrance, going deeper and deeper until she saw a flash of color, but before she could rush to her sister‘s side, she saw that there was a little pup already there, and then a flash of one body heading toward another. But there was no sudden sense of nausea, of revulsion - did not that mean that there were no vampires? Who then… Who then could set off her sister so quickly? She saw the fight that about to occur, but there had already been so much fighting, so much hatred, so much death. Though she have been shielded from much by her sister, Zaffy still had seen the bodies gnawed open by claws and teeth, had seen the pools of blood that seeped toward her paws with each second, that stained her impeccable coat. A hoarse whisper fell from her lips as if she had been screaming for hours, it was only then that she realize that she was crying, the tears stinging her eyes before they streamed down her face.

“...No more…”

But whether the first male actually collided into the second or not, she couldn’t stop them, and they didn’t hear her. “… Stop…” Zawyne took a step closer to the scene, and then another, her eyes glued upon them unblinkingly. “… Stop it…” By now, the two were likely in combat, and she feel heat flaring up into her face. She did not want this, and never wanted this. All she ever wanted was for the best life for everyone possible, for peace, for love, for family. The family was not simply those related by blood, no. It was all of those close to her, all of those whose life she became intwined in. Though both of these vargs were strangers, that did not mean that their futures did not lie along her path. The princess took a single step more and she was side to side with her sister, and she leaned against her slightly both for strength and to let her know she was there. This time when she spoke, her mouth was open wide and all hoarseness was gone from her throat, her voice was like a clarion bell singing sweetly but with a sharp demand. “Stop fighting! There will be no more bloodshed!”

⁂Here^I_{am a}Commoner⁂Teen⁂