i stood for nothing

OOC: No sweat! I've been busy too anyway. :P

IC: Although thoughts swirled through her mind — such as “is this real” and “what if this is the dream, and the vision the reality?” — she pushed them all aside and focused on Kerberos. Her body was tense, perhaps the tensest it had ever been, as she awaited some news of home and its wellbeing. She thought, in a way, that if Kerberos had come here, perhaps the others had as well; perhaps their beloved Bay home had been razed to the ground and the survivors had come here. But if that was the case, where was Kaskae? Why had she not, as Jinx would have expected, formed a new pack for her family?

Her bated breath slowly exhaled when Kerberos confirmed that the Bay was fine, and relief fluttered in her chest. She hadn't realised he had left the pack, much like he hadn't realised she had. She wondered if it had been simultaneous, a work of the Gods, but that would mean Atka was still present in their lives. Truth be told, Jinx had believed Atka corrupt, if only because Kaskae had dared claim to be her Vessel when the Oracle, their grandfather Nutaaq, was the one true Vessel; it occurred to her now that she might have been very wrong about that.

“Thank Sos,” she breathed, woefully unaware how her panic could have affected her dear friend, who once so long ago had been nothing but a crybaby to her. “I saw the Bay in flames, and her wolves in strife... I saw Kaskae standing me down, with the fury of Atka in her eyes, while Sos urged me on to slay Her, and my own sister. I... Took it as a sign that the Gods are not at peace with one another there any longer.” Kerberos would have seen the sisterly struggles between the pair of leaders; one always wished to be the most dominant. Wolves could not co-lead in such a fashion with the same sex, and less so with family; Kaskae, upon acting the part of Vessel of Atka, had superimposed spirituality on herself, which had stepped into Jinx's realm of command; and Jinx, always wanting to be the better, had oft attempted to control the physical domain which was rightly her sister's.

Perhaps then he would understand how the Gods, who had chosen the Kesuk daughters for Their own, might have struggled there, so representing — or rather, being represented by — the two headstrong children of Nanuq Kesuk.

“I left to keep them safe,” she murmured, “but I'm afraid Sos has not given me any hints as to whether it is right or not.” Kerberos parted with his own reasons for leaving, and though they didn't involve any impending doom for Shearwater Bay, they were remarkably similar to her own; so much so that she drew the conclusion that Atka may have chosen another to walk in Her light and do as Her will commanded. “I suspect Atka may have the same design for you, but I am uncertain where He leads me, or She leads you.” It was cryptic, and there was much to think on; but he soon took her from her thoughts with his confession, and she smiled warmly.

“I have missed you too, Aok,” she murmured, moving to place her muzzle beneath his; it was a brief gesture of friendship, of respect, and of course, vulnerability. They were here alone, enemy aliens, and their Gods were giving them no guidance, so here there was no ruler and no ruled. They had to stick together, or so the slim Kesuk believed.