Sunset Valley And she'll do what she pleases

Due to this getting old, it'll be set whenever it is it gets a reply :)

The valley made her yearn for the Rise. After having drifted through several lands surrounding her pack's claim, she found herself wondering if anything new had happened. She intended to be away only for about a week- and then she would return home, fresh with information, so she couldn't turn back just yet simply because she wanted to stop by. On the peak, she had been able to see the mountains and the forest nestled at its side that belonged to her pack- and now that they were out of sight again, she felt very far away. 

She did not find valleys or plains nearly as engaging as forests or mountains. It was an open expanse, just like many she had seen before. A good place to hunt at dusk- when you had a few other wolves with you to help. She snuffled around, and managed to locate a small den of mice below the snow's surface by following their tracks. They were a small snack- but just enough to stay her apatite while she explored the valley that led toward the Glacier she knew so well.

In the aftermath of her meeting with the man at the Sound, Rae decided to venture a little further from Sapphique. Searching, though she did not have anything specific in mind. She was just... bored.
Most of her time at Sapphique was spent hunting and sniffing out new plants; keeping her own company, in general. It wasn't that she was trying to be reclusive. Everyone was just so... busy, or young, or indifferent to her existence. The man at the beach had been more attentive to her. At that realization, Rae finally decided what her goal was for this outing: she wanted attention.
So when she caught the scents of mouse blood and wolf mixed together, she followed. She didn't intentionally make herself known, not yet. Instead she silently trailed after the dark figure that came into view in the distance.

Lilia hunched, and made quick work of the nest of tiny mice. Each one was barely more than a mouthful, and after consuming two or three, she began to make it a game for herself- as the tiny things could neither fight back nor run away. Still naked and sightless, the fresh brood of baby mice were bite-sized snacks to her.

The next one she flicked into the air and caught, hardly needing to chew before swallowing it down. The one after that, she tossed a bit higher, raising herself up onto her hind legs to catch it before it fell. It was only once she’d tossed the last into the air that she caught sight of the other wolf.

She froze for a moment, while the tiny mouse hit the top of its arch in the air. She did not leap to catch it- but snapped at it as it fell past her muzzle, without taking her eyes off of the stranger who’d been watching her. 

Purposefully, she crunched the mouse loudly; a flaunt of her reflexes.

She stopped when she was close enough to see what the dark-furred girl was doing. For a second she couldn't believe it. A perfectly healthy pack wolf, eating mice — choosing to eat mice. Rae, who had raised herself involuntarily on a diet of mice and rats both fresh and rotted, grimaced. Her own show of reflexes was in her immediate and instinctive disgust.
Rae figured she could afford to be a little judgmental, now that she was a pack wolf herself. She eyed the girl in silence, outright disgust morphing into contemptuous pity with each passing second. Must suck, she thought, to have such terrible taste.

Lilia was no stranger to the look of disgust- she saw it almost every time she looked at her own reflection. The girl's face was almost a mirror image of the expression that Lilia usually bore, especially when regarding strangers- and while it could have been a hint of their relationship, Raelle's name, features and scent had been buried well beneath all of her new memories. 

Once the mouse was swallowed, she took a brief inhale, and licked her lips. "Tho, you're one of them wolveth from Thappique, huh?" She stated. She looked the girl up and down; possibly the same age as her, she thought. Not exactly a threat, though. She summoned a false smile, one that reached her eyes but simmered there. "Gueth that maketh uth neighbourth."

When she started to speak, Raelle did a double take, and promptly found herself fighting the urge to burst into laughter. Why was she talking like that?? It didn't seem like it was on purpose, but Rae genuinely couldn't tell, so she decided to play along. If the other girl was just trying to throw her off, she wouldn't get that satisfaction.
Redtail Rise? She guessed, placing a slight emphasis on the s without really thinking about it. We're assuming Rae has heard something about Redtail Rise, at least. She considered adding more, but opted instead to look the girl up and down as if assessing her.

Satisfied that she would be recognized by her scent, her ire toward the other teenage girl faded a bit. She recognized the same four look she too gave from Raelle, but did not scorn her for it. If anything, it was nice to have another girl in the world who looked this fierce. 

She didn’t notice the emphasized letter; it wasn’t something she was terribly defensive about anymore. 

”Yuhuh.” She affirmed with a nod. ”I’m Lilia; I’m one of the Rithe’th guardianth. What do you do for Thapphique?”

Maybe it wasn't a joke after all. Rae quickly found herself growing irritated, but tried to stifle the feeling. Rae, She said by way of introduction, and added, I study poisons. And hunt, I guess. Truthfully it was more the other way around, lately, but Rae didn't want anyone to know that. She just hadn't had much opportunity or cause to test any out, and hunting seemed a far more useful activity to Sapphique right now.
Her time would come, though. She knew it would. It was just a matter of waiting — and trying not to bite the head off of annoying neighbors. She didn't think Mireille or Chacal would appreciate that.

Rae.

Lilia blinked. Something small nagged at her, and she wondered if she'd heard the name before. She tried to place it, recognizing a bit of its familiarity, but couldn't put a name to the face that should go along with it. For a fleeting second, something passed in front of her mind's eye- but the features were a blur. The sensation was odd, but she pushed it aside- as her interest was piqued when Rae's speciality was mentioned. 

"Poithonth?" She asked, a bit awe-struck. A light, crooked grin tugged at her lips. Clearly impressed, she sat down, hoping to invite a bit more conversation on the topic. "Where'd ya leawn that?" She asked. "Have you ever poithoned thomeone?" She goaded, with morbid curiosity.

Rae couldn't help but warm to the other girl slightly, filled with a glowing sense of pride at Lilia's visible fascination. Yet her expression was somber as she nodded to the second question. Learned outta necessity. Raised myself - lotsa wolves try to come up on ya when you're young and alone, She grimaced to remember her childhood.
It was the combination of growing warmth and reluctant recollection that stirred her own sense of familiarity toward Lilia, and Rae frowned thoughtfully after a moment. She'd known a Lilia once, hadn't she? But this couldn't be... You know anyone named Antha? Or... She tried to dig up another name. Noatak. All memory of her brother was lost to her, yet Raelle still vaguely remembered her pale sister.

Lilia leaned back, as if somewhat skeptical of the girl’s claim, though in truth she was puzzling over the similarities they shared. Something akin to dread awakened within her as she regarded Rae, noting again how similar in age they seemed to be. When the two names were voiced, she forgot the topic of poisons.

The first name wasn’t recognizable, at first, but it the second- she could have sworn she’d known that name. She tilted her muzzle down, frowning with thought, ears turned back lightly. 

She could remember a mountain, where the air was cool. She remembered a log near a den where she’d practiced balance, not long before she’d lost all track of her family. And when she looked up again, she saw eyes of a pale blue that seemed familiar. She bristled- not in distaste, but from shock.

”Waelle?”

Rae took no offense to Lilia's bristling, primarily because she herself was battling a number of feelings. Discomfort, mainly — but there was an inexplicable hurt there too, and more infuriatingly, something like hope. A very specific sort of hope, one she had long since abandoned and thought lost forever to her.
Lilia knew her name.
Her hackles rose, and she took a step back. Raelle Shila Blackwood-Mayfair, She corrected quietly, steeling her voice to hide the storm of emotions brewing within her. And you - you're - you're her, aren't you? Lilia Sakari. These names had become her mother's mantra in her last days, a desperate bid to ensure Raelle remembered, because she had been the last.
The last to see Antha alive. Guess I should tell ya - our mom is dead, She added flatly. The mix of emotion within her was quickly boiling down to pure, misdirected, unjustified anger. Her ears flattened, and she took another step back. Been dead for a long time. Not that you would know.

She remembered very little of the girl who belonged to the name, and could only recall vaguely a growing sense of competitiveness that seemed to have stemmed from their earliest days. The name Noatak was only vaguely familiar because she’d spoken it before- but Antha? While she’d never spoken it herself, she knew who it belonged to, now.

Raelle’s longer name was a surprise to her- as was the addition of a middle name to her as well. It felt uncomfortable, being given a name that had been given to her against her will. It was like trying to be fit into the husk of a skin she’d shed long ago. Pretty, though- perhaps something she might think of keeping, but only if she felt like it.

Known to each other now, they looked at one another as nothing less than strangers. Lilia had become so comfortable with her narrative that it felt wrong to know the truth. She didn’t grieve for a mother she could barely remember, though Raelle seemed to.

Something in her tone implied resentment, though Lilia had no idea what was meant by it. ”I din’t know,” She said, her own tone souring slightly. She did, in fact, resent her family for disappearing- though she couldn’t correctly recall how exactly they had been split apart. All she’d come to know was starvation, cold, and loneliness- until she’d found a new family. 

She wondered how long Raelle had had with her- obviously, longer than Lilia had known her, which made her a bit jealous. Why was it that they’d cling to Raelle, but not her? 

”I don’t remembuh huh,” She admitted lamely, with a shrug. It was a loss she might have felt, but very long gone. ”Thorry for yuh loth.” She said, and sniffed lightly.

Mind if I start a follow up for us? <3 Present-dated, Rae would probably take awhile to process this LOL

Rae was overwhelmed. She shook her head, and took another step back. It was a long time ago. Doesn't matter now, But her voice trembled, and so did her paws, and she couldn't stand that. Her ears twitched a little frantically, and finally she caved to the inexplicable rage and anxiety surging through her.
I should get back, She said, and without waiting she turned to take her leave. She didn't look back. Couldn't, really, even if she wanted to. It was just... too much. Why now, of all times? Why here? Rae hadn't wanted this.
But now she did, and it scared her.

I have an AW set in Redtail Rise that you’re welcome to have her join!

She felt no sense of belonging when she considered that she now had living, biological family members. Their importance had fallen the more she had acclimatized to the Rise, and had become one of them- but similarly to Raelle, the news wasn’t completely unwelcome. Just…Uncomfortable.

She felt bad that she didn’t feel worse about the news that her mother was dead- and that Raelle seemed to grieve still. She shrank back, and made to excuse herself. Lilia nodded, numbly. 

”Yeah, uh…” She said, ears flicking. The valley felt so open now, too large around them. It made her feel as though she needed the closeness of the forested parts of the Rise, where new trees grew from where the land had once been burned. A place of renewal. ”Hey…I’m not far away, huh?” She pointed out, with a slight shrug, before she stepped back. ”Get home thafe. Maybe I’ll thee you around, thinth we’re uh…Neighbourth.” 

Sisters was too uncomfortable yet- but having a new neighbour was something she could weather.