Meadowlark Prairie Surprise!

He appeared worried, and Althaia was about to tell him off when another appeared. Her ears pricked, ignoring Harley's touch for one, eyes fixed on the approaching dark blob. For a brief moment, she had panicked, thinking it Amekaze, but it was not so. This woman walked with a bold demeanor, self-confident and prideful. A breeze pushed by Althaia's fur, exposing scars that lay beneath her thick coat, and also obscuring the scent of the newcomer. She became wary, not knowing this one's intent, and having no wisp of her scent led her no advantage. 

The other slowed a few meters from them, Althaia on her feet and holding her ankle slightly elevated. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed this woman was carrying pups, for her stomach was swollen and distended. She was significantly further along than Amekaze had been, and yet the similarities between them invoked worry in the pale girl. Her ear flicked nervously, but she did not look back at her mate as she kept her gaze fixed completely on the other. 

Before she could speak, the other did, and the voice in which the simple words were spoken struck a chord. She remembered that voice, long before Teekon, before her home by the sea, back when she had still been a part of the pack she had been born in. Disbelief echoed across her features, and she said simply, unbelievingly, "Nemesis?"

So this is what had become of her older sister? She too had found her way to Teekon, supposedly found a mate, settled down, expecting pups? Nemesis was alive. She was here. Her face twisted into awe, memories surging to the surface of her mind- Nemesis playing with her, Nemesis talking to her, Nemesis protecting her. And now she would be an aunt, judging by the pups within her sister, her sister who she dumbly realized emitted pack-scent. 

I will end him.

That jolted her out of her awed reverie, the words spoken while her sister, her sister, stared at Harley. While it was certainly good to know she had a sister willing to end people for her, this was not who she intended to be ended. Harley, being the forward wolf he was, spoke out immediately, his words abrasive and bold. She shot him a glance, a single one that spoke volumes. She wanted to reassure him that she would handle this, his words would probably earn him a new scar. 

She turned to Nemesis, closing the distance between the two with a few steps. She stood a mere meter from her sister, green eyes travelling all over her, noting the new scars, the new confidence in her step, the red pawprint on her side. A thousand questions rose in her mind, but all were ignored for now. Now was not the time to spew forth queries. The scent that clung to Nemesis was changed, she thought, but it was still her. Still Nemesis. Her gaze fell upon her sister's face, and though she tried to speak calmly she could not keep the excitement from her voice. 

"Nemesis...sister. I've missed you, all these years." Those words alone were not enough to encompass what she was feeling, but really, what could? Gesturing at Harley, she continued in a soft voice, awe twisting her features into a smile. "This is Harley. He helped me escape." There was so much to tell her, but Althaia spoke only the basics as she hurriedly retold her story. "During the famine, I chased a fox into their territory. They caught me, tore up my leg and made me a thrall. Harley, he...helped me heal, we grew close." Her face fell, gaze falling to her sister's paws. "When my heat came...things happened, and we had to run." She did not elaborate on what "things" had happened, but it was pretty obvious to what may have happened. But what had her sister gone through all these years? Life had not been pretty at her birth pack, and she must have endured much.