Northstar Vale the snow carefully everywhere descending

✹☾❂

 

"Eleuthera…?

The woman lifted her maw from the river, pausing in her drink. She certainly hadn’t expected to hear her own name, or that she be the one greeted before anyone else. Her curiosity instantly piqued, Eleuthera turn her finepoint head to the side, but nothing in the world could prepare her for what she saw.

“Ibis…?"

The name fell from her lips before she could stop herself; before she could really think about it. It was instinctive. She didn’t think about it. Eleuthera did not have to stop and wonder who this person was. There wasn’t a question in her mind, when she saw the girl's — no, woman's — fine features and coloring that so closely resembled momma Seabreeze.It was her sister; maybe not of blood, but of heart. It was immediate, instantaneous, and it hit her like a landslide.

Eleuthera’s entire body had stopped moving for more than several moments, but life rushed back into her body; it actually made sense that she might run into Ibis here. Lumiya had mentioned seeing her at the Hushed Willows, and truthfully, where they were right now was only a hop, skip and a jump away from where they both had grown up together. Just because it made sense didn’t mean that it was any less astounding, or that Eleuthera could be any more eloquent about it.

“Holy crap, Ibis! I… I heard you had visited the willows but I…" Eleuthera stumbled forward a step or two, as if she might breathe too hard and blow away the mirage in front of her, or scare Ibis and she would cut and run, never to be seen again. Might this even be a dream—? If it was, Eleuthera would gladly play along. It was many a night that she and Séamus had laid awake, wondering about the goings-on of their family, Ibis being one of the more prominent members of their memories.

Eleuthera hauled in a deep breath. Even though she had the sudden impulse to run and embrace the sandy shewolf who smelled so strongly of babies(!!!!), Eleuthera did not indulge such longings. It had been many years, and they were different wolves now. Not girls, but women with an entire lifetime of experiences that created their individual frameworks for viewing the world. Eleuthera would feel this out a little more before offering the sincere affections that she felt overwhelmed her. Instead, she sputtered so beautifully  “I — you — you were so close this entire time…" and shut up as an elegant, regal looking shewolf entered the scene. Reiko.

The snow-wolf that introduced herself so kindly and warmly elicited a humble bow from the lilac woman — her stature and elegance nearly demanded it from her, and Eleuthera turned to offer such cordialities to Ibis as well. She was one of the wolves with authority that she had summoned, it seemed to be. “Leadership, eh?" Eleuthera could not help but quip from her low bow, throwing Ibis a grin and a lifted brow. Of course she was leading a pack, and had a family. A real life; which was something Eleuthera lacked.

Okay, business time. Loving-on-your-long-lost-sister time could come later. “Ibis and Reiko, thank you for meeting me. I come representing Seelie Court," but Reiko already knew that, you dunce. She wondered what Ibis might think, that she was once again living in their old home, but Eleuthera bit her lip and pressed on. “but I do not come bearing auspicious news. There have been further incidents with the pack of outlaws, the Saints." Her mind flashed to the events that took place just the day before. The fight with Orlaith, and the trespassing man. The marking. The lies and the trickery. It all perturbed her quite deeply. 

“They have moved from our doorstep to yours." She stated, quite solemnly. “We fear, while they are so close, that no pack is safe."