pick a star
on the dark horizon
and follow the light

Lyudmila had nearly exhausted herself running laps by the ocean, paws pounding the white sand and lungs sucking in the delicious fresh air and muscles burning. Once she’d actually seen the sea - the Diamond for which Uyaraut was named - the girl had fallen in love. She could spend hours simply sitting on the beach, watching the glittering waves change color by the hour as they spilled their foam onto the land. Her curiosity had nearly burned a hole through both eyes when she first glimpsed a group of triangular fins cutting through the water from leagues away. Even in winter, when the frigid current numbed her toes, the girl would still go looking for starfish in the tide pools. Saltwater kept her fur in a constant state of gritty disarray, little feather cowlicks sticking up all over her ivory pelt. Kershov did not expect much of the girl except that she stay out of everyone’s way. Why not waste all her time here, in a place that was in every way the opposite of the home she’d been forced to leave?

By the time her tendons were screaming for rest and her lungs strained to pull in air, the sun had set fire to the ocean, limning the pounding crests with pink and gold. Lyudmila slowed to a halt, facing the sea, maw open in an ecstatic smile as cool spray peppered her masked facade. Yes. This is what it’s all about. Absolute serenity: the sound of water rushing in and out, of wind flowing around the harsh black rock of the cliffs at her back, of gulls crying as they swooped among the surf. Eventually, night would swallow this fiery light . . . and her precious ocean would gleam all silver and black, an endless horizon of ink laced with mercury. Then, Lyudmila might return to the den she’d claimed for herself. She might drift off into uneasy dreams of familiar red rock and terrifying teal eyes . . .

A shudder danced delicately over her shoulders, breaking the peaceful grin from her young face. Nah, Mila didn’t want to think about that. Nightmares about that still plagued her now and again, slithering in without warning to wreck the confidence she had worked so hard to rebuild here. Uyaraut was not Crith Thalmhainn; a vicious tundra warlord protected its land, along with a contingent of powerful Kings who had been deemed the best at their craft. All her pretty desert home had to defend it was Lyudmila’s mother . . . and while the snowbird adored Nimueh, she was old enough to understand that the mother she’d once thought of as omnipotent could not withstand the violence Sindicate threatened. In order to save their family, the cunning herbalist had decided to abscond with Mila’s father, Kershov. Or at least - that’s what the lass had heard. She didn’t really remember the flight from Crith to Uyaraut. Part of her mind seemed to have been paralyzed by trauma, refusing to budge even when Lyudmila tried desperately to pry it free. Oh well. It’s not as if remembering would change anything. She lived here, with an aquatic world at her doorstep.

She’d just decided to take one last stroll along the damp sand when a strong, masculine howl rang across the atmosphere. Instantly the alabaster princess’s head whipped toward the sound, ears perked and tail switching against her hips. Someone was calling for a meeting - an opportunity to test one another’s strength. The grin returned to Lyudmila’s features with ferocious intensity. If there was one thing she wanted to learn how to do, it was kick serious ass. The fluffy faerie darted up a path etched into the sides of the cliffs to reach the higher ground that the rest of Uyaraut settled upon; she brushed by tall grass, still newly green, and under the dimming open sky. It did not take her long to find the source of the call: a large steel-colored brute with armor the color of polished bone wrapped around his limbs and muzzle. Mila trotted up to him with her head tilted in wonder, fascination burning clearly in her white eyes.

“I am Lyudmila, daughter of Kershov and Nimueh. I don’t think I’ve met you before. Are you one of the Kings?” She gestured to his impressive albino gauntlets, admiration making her appear like an innocent pup. “I like your scales!”

Teen | Kershov x Nimueh | Uyaraut | xathira