The overwhelming scent of seasalt lingered beyond these mountains, and the young femora was able to smell it amongst damp air. Izumi absolutely loved the seaside — It was one of her favorite spots to temporarily break free from the shackling duties of royalty and admire mother nature. One that sat a couple miles away from the wisteria grove was ecspecially a sight to adore — more rock than sand — but a pleasant veiw nonetheless. And the best part about it? No one ever stopped to search there whenever Izumi went missing.
No doubt would Izumi choose to go back there if ever she'd be given the chance, but those dark rocks and pale sands were now soaked in blood; the blood of her pack members, and probably members of her family as well. All of the grove was littered with bodies too and the sight of it was all around dreadful. A wave of unease always haunted her whenever she thought of it and behind that expressionless face of stone, Izumi wanted to cry. There was no time for self pity though — Izumi needed to find shelter soon before she could even think of searching for her missing siblings. And Luckily for the fae, the smell of a pack was nearby.
These trees that surrounded the place with its branches; they were long and draped their leaves like the skirt of a beautiful dress. They weren't as showy as the trees back at home, but they still had their own little charm to them either way.
No time to waste lolling around. Izumi bellowed a long, smooth-pitched howl to announce her presence towards the pack nearby.
The fae queen was inside her den, seeking shelter from the rain. Though the domes of willow branches kept most of the pour at bay, it wasn't completely water-proof and she was sick of getting soaked. Her once beautiful lush pelt cling to her like a babe to its mother, her distinctive markings now more like sweeps of ink instead of regal decorations. The only thing that hadn't changed because of the sudden, summer downpour was her gaze of wildflowers, looking to her forest with admiration and pride.
Ashen ears swiveled atop her head at the sound of a call, not recognizing the voice. Perhaps it was a fae like Rafferty, hoping to join - or a messenger from the mermaids, the empire or the stream bearing good news. She even considered the possibility of it being one of Donovan's wolves, if only because of the woman he had brought with him on the day he came to offer them "peace". Well, there was only one way to find out, and so she whistled to Loinnir, the albino screech owl, to come join her. He reluctantly agreed, landing roughly on her back with a grumpy expression, not looking forward to getting his white feathers wet.
The pair approached the border - the rain revealed how truly tiny the queen was, though she was a healthy weight. Even more apparent became it when the purple-eyed woman - with her long, svelte legs - was met with a smile and curtsy. Greetings.
Lumiya said sweetly. How may I help you?
Fujiwara's call was heard and, from a distance where a den she hadn't seen beforehand was, emerged another she-wolf. They were a petite woman with a lovely aray of greyscale that colored her pelt. It was similar to the coloration Izumi's family carried with pride, but more dispersed and freely patterned. Their eyes were unique as well — a heterochromatic combination of pale violet and grey. While Izumi could spend all day assessing them like she did with everything that looked visually appealing to her, it came the femme's attention that staring someone down like this was nothing short of ill-mannered. It probably even seemed like she was sizing them up.
Straight to the point.
"Greetings. I am Izumi Fujiwara of Wisteria Grove..." she respectfully bowed in their presence, as it was assumed that the small woman before her was the owner of this territory. "I come from faraway land. Home was violentlly conquered and seek new pack for shelter..." The young girl's English probably sounded very crooked, but hopefully those bits and peices she managed to fit in a sentence sounded good enough for them to understand the gist of it. She didn't bother mentioning anything about her siblings — at least not yet, because a girl escaping a now destroyed clan was already a mouthful.
Izumi lifted her head up to stand at her height once more and asked: "Is there room left in ranks?" to actually see if the woman was willing to take her in. In the meantime, Fujiwara's eyes trailed behind the she-wolf's and she'd spot a pale colored avian, resembling an owl, that was neatly perched on their back. "What strangely well behaved prey..." Izumi mumbled softly to herself in a state of captivation. That wasn't something you'd see everyday...
She'd gotten used to the stares - she'd had to face the fact that, yes, she was beautiful. What some failed to see however, was that there was so much more to her. She'd not gotten this far in life by having a pretty face; she'd worked hard, and worked harder every day to make sure her success did not slip away. She thought she'd lost it all when the Saints arrived, but they were surprisingly quiet and hadn't caused trouble in a while... perhaps Donovan had listened to her, though she doubted it.
The girl's eyes reminded the little queen of her family - it struck fear in her heart for a moment, thinking it was a Melonii on her doorstep, not that they were all bad... She didn't trust her own kind, much like how they'd distrusted her as a wee babe with no power, just a want for affection and understanding. She'd found it at last, but not thanks to them.
But no, this was Izumi Fujiwara - the name sounded foreign, so did her accent. She spoke in broken English, much like the leader of the mermaids did, as well as Caw and Teya. The fae wasn't bothered; she had a quick mind and would easily puzzle their sentences together. Her eyes glinted as it was revealed the other wished to join them - their numbers had been slightly lacking, so this came as nothing but good news. There is.
She answered rather whimsically.
Every peaceful soul is welcome here - I am Lumiya, queen of the faeries that live here.
She added, making sure Izumi knew this was no ordinary pack - it was a court, built in the shadows of Elysium and now flourishing with the willow's magic.
Izumi's slender features remained void of visible emotion, but her violet orbs glossed and ears stood up right at her answer — indeed, she did have more room for Izumi to join her pack. This was good news; She'd have the safety and security of a different pack and a location to return to on the days where she wanted to search for her lost littermates. A pleased sigh left the dame's lungs at the sound of it, but then...
Her head visibly tilted when the small femora, who now identified as 'Lumiya', referred to themselves as the 'Queen of faeries'. 'Queen' was a title she'd heard many times before in her diplomatic studies - but 'Faerie Queen'? Not so much. And that could be seen clear as day by Izumi's puzzled expression. The young fae had been confined in her home with family to be taught about different political structures and (due to her age) was only allowed to leave the clan's territory whenever accompanied by her parents. That being the case, when word of a rank title Fujiwara could never fathom the existence of came to light, it was by then that she asks herself: "How far have I truly strayed from home?"
For now that was just another topic to be put into fruition later down the line. Izumi was grateful to even have a pack which welcomed her with open arms and wanted to prioritize on it now. lowering her white crown to meet their heterochromatic gaze, Izu took her attention away from the pale owl and spoke again: "A pleasure to finally be acquainted with you, your majesty. But I confused, what you mean by f...fae....faeries?" the she-wolf's tounge stumbled trying to pronounce the strange word and nearly bit it.
She wasn't expecting that the other know of their kind - the only one she knew with prior knowledge of the ancient tales of faeries was Caw, and it was most likely because of his heritage. Her tail waved from side to side, always happy to teach others something knew. She couldn't say she was a great teacher, her thoughts usually slightly disorganized and coming out in the same way, but she had the passion and the drive for it.
Faeries — We're a peaceful court of them, in balance with nature and the magic that's all around us.
She told, pride in her eyes. We belong to the earth and the elements, and will return to them when our time is up. It probably sounds a bit vague, but don't worry - we don't force some kind of religion on our members. We just... are.
She explained.
Her ink-dipped ears swiveled inquisitivly while the small femora spoke of these Faeries. From what she could register, they were a group in touch with things such as nature and otherworldly mystics. Izumi was not one to hold the belief in things such as magic, but she could share the appreciation for one thing — and that was nature. All her life the young girl had visualized nature as a separate realm from reality, a tranquil wonderland she could not describe in words, but feel within her heart. Most within her clan did not appreciate the beauty of the large wisterias that grew within the grove like she did, or the foamy sea shores littered with seashells that they'd lived by. It was only her who wished to delve into such a realm.
Fujiwara had no idea there was another who fancied the smaller things in life, much less an entire pack, which didn't revolve around stress-inducing politics such as the others she came across (including her own.). Rather, they prided themselves as 'belonging to the earth and the elements' — at least thats how Lumiya described it. A wave of content washed over the young girl that could be seen in the slow wave of her tail, but not her placid features. "Well, I can not say I believe magic, but...nature something I can understand. I don't know what I can offer Faeries, but want to offer my best."
The young queen believed there was no difference between magic and nature - this forest had changed her mind on her views. It had sounded a bit silly when the old queen had told her the ins and outs of faerie life, but it had grown on her and she could honestly say she enjoyed life more thinking about it as a faerie.
That's all we ask for.
She commented sweetly. If you want, I could show you around? Perhaps this very forest will change your mind about what is and isn't magic.
She added with a small chuckle, making clear she wasn't very serious. Magic in the sense of powers didn't exist, Lumiya thought, but it didn't need to exist in that form to believe it was real.
![[Image: 20200903-202247.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/kM87NhVs/20200903-202247.png)
Izumi was greatful for her newly found leader and the generosity she provided. A court ruled by a female nonetheless — back at home, it was completely unheard of for a woman to run a pack without a male at her side. Even the mention of such an idea would be considered nothing more than a humorous joke. But these were different lands; ones that probably did not see men as superior versions of their counterparts, and Lumiya was living proof of that. Fujiwara's clan will be missed, that will never change, but maybe this is the start of something excitingly new...
"I would love to have look around, if you allow me, queen Lumiya..." she said, walking to Lumiya's side as a way to say "lead the way". If possible, a smile would be appearing on the young girl's face with anticipation of what was yet to see in these foreign lands.
Sorry for the wait! Did you wish to close this?
Though her bloodline had placed males at the top and most women as breeding fodder, it wasn't unheard of to have a female leader in the Melonii/Blackfeather family. Her mother had been one for a while, but only because her father had been unable to for a short while. Now he was very much the head of the pack, if you could call the cult she left behind that.
she awaited Izumi's reaction, then slowly led them to the right path to take to make sure they enjoy the scenic route. you don't need my explicit permission to partake in the tour.
she chuckled softly. Shall we?
when agreed to, she'd take Izumi to every wondrous place in their forest, spinning tales of their histories and answering questions when asked.