Blacktail Deer Plateau your scent is a sweet felony

@Spiritwalker or @Grayday ♥ @Stockholm is welcome in all Seelie threads, of course!

This post is dumb because my brain is dumb.

The feather-furred sheepdog crept across the muddy earth in a low-slung shimmy, her tapered muzzle practically bumping along the ground. She was a comical sight, her bright cerulean eyes fixed with desperate [and slightly cross-eyed] intensity upon the set of prints she’d come across, whiskers and nose quivering busily. Catori! The Spiritwalker’s scent was unmistakable, too beloved to be missed despite the layers upon layers of other smells that sought to shroud it.

The first time Coelacanth met her cousin had been a disaster.

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No longer the perfect replica of his twin, Undertow Corten still looks enough like Crosscurrent at a distance that even their most longstanding pack members have trouble telling them apart. His six-month-old niece, newly arrived and barely acquainted, harbors no such apprehension. There is only papa, so she doesn’t bother to get closer and make sure that she’s got the right Corten before she collides with the male’s tawny forelegs and begs him to make everything all right.

She misses the sheep. She misses the barn and the hay and the neighborhood dogs. She misses mama — and she still doesn’t understand what she did to deserve being sent away.

Was she a bad dog after all?

She cries to him, settling her weight on her feathered hindquarters to press her face — just her face, for her forelimbs are tucked against her breast like an oversized rabbit’s — into the fur at his neck, and only then can he hear that she is whining. It is a sound so light and airy that at first it doesn’t register. Then he remembers that his niece and nephew can’t talk. Speaking of his nephew…

They’re never too far from one another, so by this point Undertow isn’t surprised when another shape smashes into him, gluing itself to his hip. This one is tawny, all fire and embers, and he trembles hard enough to make Tow’s haunches go numb. He needs help. Fast.

“Catori,” he howls, and his daughter — the Spiritwalker; the only wolf aside from Undertow and Crosscurrent’s wayward littermate to carry a title; yeah, it’s safe to say Tow’s a big smug about it — comes running. He doesn’t know how she does it, but she understands things almost before people say them. Maybe she can help understand these babies, robbed of their voices before they have words enough to use them on. He disengages carefully, makes a beeline for his grieving twin.

Thank all the gods for his daughter!

---

Over time Chelan, Catori, Amoxtli, and Coelacanth had grown to be more like siblings than cousins — and by the time the inky Groenendael reached Morningside’s borders, she was so excited about seeing the Spiritwalker again that she nearly crossed right through. Her natural shyness was what saved her from doing a Very Bad Thing, though, and she curved her gamine frame into a seated position a few respectful yards away. Without being able to call for the other female, she could only hope that Catori’s uncanny intuition would send her wandering this way.

 

Catori might have claimed it was intuitive fortune that lead her to the borders but in truth, it was Instinct. The seasonal shifts had already begun and Catori felt her body tensing and yearning, soon she'd be feisty and probably standoffish to the females of the pack and perhaps even worse to the males. She'd marked about half the borders when a faint scent caught her attention and she let out a near yelp - startled as she was by the approaching drift across the wind that sent her sprinting. 

The confirmation in the visual of the dark inkblot made her heart soar and at the same time sink. Seelie, who was more sister than mere cousin, was important enough half of the pack knew about her and yet Catori still had not swung back across the brine to introduce her mate to her family. "Seasprite," Came the breathy response straight from her heart, because still she had never seen anyone look so natural among the salt and the waves as Coelacanth. 

Catori sprinted, all worries forgotten and perhaps to a packmate she might have had a crisis. In truth, there was an elation at reuniting with her dark cousin that Catori made known by the whispered words of love as she nuzzled against the silky tresses the moment she was near enough to do so. Their love language was unique, formed with soft whines and gentle mouthing at one another - it was almost like regaining a sense she'd lost long ago. 

Coelacanth’s time in the Teekons had changed her, and although the new scars she bore were small and easily ensconced in swathes of inkdark silk, the greatest transformation could be evinced in her behavior. The thundering of faraway paws would have brought her younger, less sullied self joy; now, though, she feared what she could not see and flattened herself to the earth with Neptune eyes squeezed shut. Fortunately, Catori broke the silence not only with the glad drumming of her paws but with a sweetly murmured, “Seasprite,” — and her baby cousin rallied and rebounded with fierce alacrity. “Oh, it is you!” lilted the song of her reed-thin body as she flowed to all fours and fairly levitated, entangling herself with the girl who looked and smelled and tasted of home.

Pert pink tongue darted from her tapered muzzle to bathe the pale, slender jaw in a confusion of kisses. A soft, kittenish purring took up residence in the emotion-thick column of her throat, ticking like a metronome thrown off kilter, and fought for the narrowed space with an entanglement of airy whimpers. She broke away, unable to stand in one spot, to zip about in widening circles and stop abruptly with little rhyme or reason. Rump in the air, shoulders dipped down low, she threw back her finely-sculpted head with wide, love-crazed eyes, and allowed her feathered plume to stick out, ramrod straight, like a bold exclamation point. She had All the Excitement! For a prolonged period of time she alternated between smashing herself lovingly into whatever part of Catori she could reach and then zipping away to do the Crazy Dog Face; and then she “howled” — tipping back her head and making these faces with the sound on mute.

Catori could scarcely believe her good luck, the thing she'd wanted so desperately finally coming into fruition seemed to be beyond her luck. Well, she'd rather be lucky than good most days anyways, and so when Coelacanth swept up into her precious frenzy so did Catori. It felt so good to run and dance around one another again, tails whipping in near comical form - anyone who might have seen them might have questioned so much but Catori could only usher herself against her cousin only to nip and then dance away once she'd found a silky flank or a longer tangle of hair from her scruff. "Seelie, I missed you so," She half whined, wanting to offer her cousin the earnest promise that she had been missed. Even if Catori could have taken it back and changed the timeline, maybe it all worked out the way it was supposed to. 

Once their greeting had ended, Catori surveyed her cousin with a scrutinizing eye, suspicious over the scents clinging to the wolfdog's dark tresses. "We've missed a lot -" Catori said, butting her head against Seelie's shoulder and near grinding her skull against the smaller female. Catori had never been capable of calling herself huge but she'd always felt larger - more capable of protection and defense - when she compared herself to Coelacanth's slim build and streamlined body. "I uh....well. I met someone. Like Mama had Daddy, and....well. Maybe we'll even have kids this season." It was blurted out in a rush but she couldn't help herself, pressing a kiss to her cheek. There was of course a nervousness to admitting it, if only because it almost felt like she'd hidden it from her cousin since she hadn't come home in so long. At the same time, she hadn't done anything out of malice - she instead had only been so preoccupied with everything that had happened inside Morningside since she'd become a member of the pack. 

Still, over all, Catori could only breathe out her anxieties and inhale the comforts of home that came with being so close to Seelie again. It felt right, like being home, even if she knew she wouldn't end up going home for quite some time. The likelihood of seeing Chelan again, too, was slim to none. That came with it's own costs and she had to focus on what she could handle which was things here. She couldn't let herself feel guilty - and truly, she didn't want to either. She just had to focus on moving forward and maybe this would be the start of bringing both sides of her family into one large unit like she wanted. 

Once the initial frenzy of their reunion subsided to an eager hum, Coelacanth inspected her cousin in turn. Though her tufted ears turned eagerly toward the Spiritwalker as she began to speak, Seelie busied herself by burrowing her sharply tapered muzzle through the cream-and-ginger fur with unfeigned interest. Her feathered tail continued to whip heartily against her hocks and a kittenish purr fluttered in her throat. As a puppy she’d always enjoyed the slightly squished feeling of being at the bottom of the dogpile composed of Amoxtli, Catori, and Chelan — so when Catori snaked her body against the sheepdog’s, Coelacanth uttered a blissful grunt-groan and turned to jelly. She flopped down on the ground, rolling onto her back and exposing her abdomen.

News of Catori’s marriage — and impending motherhood! — buoyed the tiny Groenendael back to a hasty sitting position just in time to catch that kiss against the velveteen of her cheek. “Congratulations!” bespoke her exuberant body language. She couldn’t sit still! Catlike paws brought her in a dancing circle around the taller female, and as she pirouetted haphazardly and inevitably lost her balance, she braced herself against Catori’s hips — and then she fell over anyway. She didn’t harbor any resentment toward the Spiritwalker, and she knew the rest of the family wouldn’t, either. One of the unofficial tenets of the Corten bloodline was a certain independence; you loved and cherished your family, and sure, you stopped home when you could, but if your path led you elsewhere, well, you followed it. Chelan’s place was the island, to preside once Crosscurrent stepped down. Undertow had no interest in the throne, but Chelan?

Chelan was literally [and figuratively] born for the job.

There was something familiar about the scents that lingered in Catori’s fur, and Coelacanth pressed even more tightly against her cousin, a questioning whine interjecting itself into her rhythmic thrumming of happiness and contentment. Just who was Cat hanging around with these days? One scent threatened to cleave the girl’s heart in two, for she didn’t dare believe her own nose — Amoxtli?! — but she couldn’t stop herself from hoping. Please let it be true!

 

Catori could only laugh with a chikdish joy, reuniting with what felt like a missing piece of her soul. Coelacanth meant the world to her and everything she was was improved with her cousin's presence. As Seelie melted Cat leaned down to press her cold nose against the warm skin of her belly teasingly brgibe daetida back to see her reaction. Of course Seelie was Seelie and Catori smiled brightly, pressing her skull against her cousin's to just bask for a moment. "I can't wait until you meet him - and our family...he already has children that even kind of look like you do. Whispy pretty hair, you'll have to meet them all."  Catori wanted them all together. She needed that. And now it might become a reality. 

At the soft whimpered whine Catori felt her heart stammer - she knew almost instinctively what was being asked of her. "By the river, before the hot springs - I was so shocked to find him! He seemed well, of course....should we go see if we find him?" Catori had even forgotten about her question of who was the scent twined so heavily into Seelie's coat. There was a lot of questions she had, but right then even the chance to reunite her cousin's had her tail wagging profusely.

Paging @Stockholm! Come and meet Seelie’s beautiful cousin. ♥

On any other occasion, information about Catori’s husband and children would have seemed incredibly important, but the chance of seeing Amoxtli wiped out every other conscious thought in Seelie’s busy mind. She bounced excitedly, slim jaws snapping double-time in a flurry of airy “barks” — a resounding, “Yes!” — and threw her tiny body into a grand jeté in the direction of the springs.

Speaking of the hot springs…

Though she wouldn’t have called the Gampr her mate or husband, Stockholm was in a class of his own. She had no name for it. Oh, she had been fascinated and even infatuated with other males — Marbas and Kierkegaard had been chief among them — but only Stockholm had withstood the test of time. Like her previous beaux, the Gampr cut an impressive figure but seemed to possess a niche in his life just large enough for a certain feather-furred female — a missing element or a hurt for which she possessed the perfect panacea. In Stockholm’s muddied bloodline, though, she saw a reflection of herself. His grief on the beach had shown her what she’d been too young to understand when Selkie had driven her away. Stockholm’s loyalty to the Man, while it could not wipe away the entirety of the betrayal she felt, had helped her to understand that Selkie’d had no other choice.

Seelie didn’t really think of these things, though; she simply understood them in a subconscious way, and recognized that her dependence on and affection for Tovarisch was special and different from other wolves. The idea of making any journey without him — even a short one to find her twin! — was inconceivable. Her tail, which was whipping her hocks a mile a minute at the prospect of seeing Amoxtli again, somehow managed to quicken its frenetic pace as she emitted a soft, almost feline chirping. She adopted a hesitant stutter-step of bounce, chirp, pause — bounce, chitter-chirp, pause — and seemed to light up like a tree at Christmas when she spotted someone in the distance. A bright, two-toned whine whispered from her smiling lips.

A wolf who didn’t know Seelie as well would perhaps wonder if she’d stumbled upon Amoxtli to elicit that sort of response, but Catori would know otherwise — Coelacanth had spotted someone she expected to see. This was a warm greeting, but the Groenendael was not surprised.

Though protective, Stockholm was infinitely trusting of Seelie, and when she conveyed to him that she needed him to wait here, but that she would be safe – that is exactly what he did. Wait. Sitting quietly a fair distance from the border of what was clearly pack territory, an unmoving statue. Until he caught sight of her approaching in the distance, accompanied by an unfamiliar face.

The Armenian rises to his feet immediately, tattered ears perked forward intently, curiosity dancing in his sharp yellow eyes. He draws forward a step or two, but she told him to wait, and he is loyal and obedient to a fault, letting her close the distance between them. He dips his head as she wedges into his personal space in exuberant greeting even though they really weren’t apart all that long, and rubs his muzzle across the top of her head. Missed you too.

And then he flicks his gaze up towards Catori, his tail swaying back and forth congenially. Seelie’s body language clearly conveyed to him that this was someone of great importance to her. “Hey. I’m Stockholm.”

 

Catori watched Coelacanth carefully to gauge the response of the dark sea sprite. She breathed out slowly and drew in another greedy breath of Seelie's scent - if Catori missed the clinging of brine to her coat she missed the mapping of her sister-cousin's even more. She just needed her and being apart for so long, even through no fault of their own, had amplified that sensation. Her behavior was expected when it came to news of Amoxtli - her more golden colored cousin with his distinct markings cut a different figure than his slim sister but they were so very alike. Yin and yang. Catori might have been jealous if not for the fact that she had Chelan and understood so perfectly how that felt. Her steadfast brother was the rock she clung to during times of storms and served a purpose like a limb of hers that just wasn't attached to her body. She longed to have her brother present, but, she knew she wouldn't take him away from the Island. He had a great purpose there and the Corten that inhabited the island would need him and his guidance. 

Catori's brow furrowed when Seelie changed her plan abruptly; she could see the gears near moving as the sprite moved towards a mystery and Catori moved to follow. What she was presented with was an impressively cut figure, her ears cupped forward with the question of just who this was. Was it a relationship that Seelie had hidden? Well....not hidden, as they'd just reunited, but, was this the mystery beau who she had smelled so heavily before? He had such a unique appearance - his long flowy tail and the abruptly short look of his ears, the thing on his neck, Catori wasn't gawking but she wasn't exactly subtle in drinking in how he looked. There were questions but she had but right then they didn't matter too much. She could guess most of the answers somehow tied back to the same ugly creatures that had affected her Seelie. 

He offered her a name and Catori gave a quick nod, letting out a breath as she looked on with adoring eyes to her cousin. She didn't need Seelie's whispered words to know that this man had some meaning to her. "I'm Catori," She offered just as quickly, coming to brush her shoulder against his - a mark of her own, if one of the Morningside wolves found him, but more importantly, as a Corten, to pull him into the fold. "You've taken good care of her." Catori said approvingly. "Which means I don't have to embarrass myself trying to kick your butt otherwise." She quipped with a flash of a smile. He looked like he was built like a mack truck even if he couldn't fight for a damn - she knew that in a pinch she'd throw herself wholeheartedly into a fight but it didn't mean she was really skilled with what she was doing. 

Coelacanth sat at a close perpendicular to Stockholm and Catori, an even distance from both, so that their three bodies formed an acute triangle — the acutest triangle in all the Teekons. Elated, she watched their interaction, her chest puffed with pride and her posture as tall as she could make it — which was, admittedly, not very tall. Then, unable to keep still, she began frolicking around the two with unfettered joy wreathing her delicate features in a silly dog smile. Given her impediment, it was natural and easy for her to withdraw somewhat from conversation; but, although she seemed to tune out, she was always listening. She just wasn’t typically an active participant.

This time, she attempted in her own way to get things moving. She circled round, sidling up alongside Catori like a — well, like a cat — and propping up the Spiritwalker’s chin with her own head. Of all her family members, Catori was one of the dearest. Like Seelie, she was her parents’ only daughter; her brother’s only sister. Amoxtli had been close to Chelan for similar reasons.

She wanted Stockholm to see where she’d come from, just as much as she wanted Catori to see where she’d been — and on that note, she left her cousin’s side to make a tight circle around the Gampr, purring low in her throat and occasionally chirping her approval. “I like him very, very much,” is what her actions said. Coelacanth loved a great many wolves; she’d love you as soon as she met you, if you gave her the chance. Liking of this kind, though, was less common — and quite possibly something Catori hadn’t witnessed before. It hadn’t happened to Seelie until the first day she met Marbas, after all — and being that her feelings toward Stockholm were reciprocated and essentially rewarded, she was three times as ridiculous as she might have been otherwise.

He can’t help but grin playfully at Catori’s words – she is bold and fiery and he takes an immediate liking to her for it. “Ah, actually it’s the other way around, to be honest. She has taken good care of me.” He casts a quick look towards Seelie and winks at her as she loses the ability to hold still and begins to dance around them before turning his attention back to her cousin.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Catori.” He tips his muzzle towards the plateau, always curious to learn more about Seelie’s friends and family when they cross paths with them. “Your pack?”

The inky sheepdog seems to have plans for them though, aside from standing around chatting. He quirks a brow as she prances in a tight circle around him, and he infers that they should be going somewhere. He inclines his head to the side slightly as if to silently inquire where exactly they were headed as he moves to follow her lead. It didn’t really matter, the Gampr would follow her to the ends of the earth, she wouldn’t even have to ask him. It’s just how it was.

Catori gave Coelacanth a conspiratory grin, her eyes glinting playfully as she met the carribean blues of her cousins. "She's very good at that, isn't she?" She said in a near sing-song voice. She never doubted her cousin's capabilities of caretaking as she had watched Seelie for years. It was heartwarming that way to think that she had found someone to stay with her and take care of her in turn. Everything seemed to be good that way, at least going well, and Catori gave a thoughtful hum. Coelacanth took off in her playful way and Catori grinned brightly before turning to look at Stockholm again. "It is," She said with a nod towards Morningside. "My mate, Grayday, founded Morningside with his family. We've moved here, it's a bit nomadic at times." The idea of moving wasn't out the question but for now, they seemed settled. 

"Seelie and I were going to hunt around the springs for her brother Amoxtli; afterwards I can show you around?" Because she was anxious to check too - and if she could reunite them all and show all three of them at the same time she'd be happier than anything. As they headed down to the springs they made quiet conversation about things and plans of their own. Catori was eager for the Hunter's Moon, explaining some of the traditions to Stockholm to save Seelie the efforts of the whispered words she could offer. When they'd exhausted all of the Springs and found no signs of her handsome cousin Catori returned them to the plateau. 

After a quick tour and a shared meal from a cache, they parted ways with the promise that they would meet for Hunter's Moon and that Catori would bring the family to them.