Stone Circle better angels

It'd taken a few hours for Alya to pick up on it, but as soon as she realized just whose scent it was tickling her nose, she excused herself from Nikai's presence (she'd been hovering protectively, and would likely continue to do so until she knew the wolves of Easthollow better) to track down her pale littermate.

It had been several months since she'd last seen @Korei Julia, and before that chance meeting, it had been almost a year. She'd tried her best not to think about it between now and then, but when she realized that she was now in the same pack as Korei, she knew that she would need to confront the other woman. More than that, Alya was beginning to realize that she'd been rather needlessly cruel to her. Perhaps not just in their last meeting, but her whole life. She didn't necessarily believe she'd been wrong about the things she said to Korei, but it was true that much of it hadn't been necessary. Hadn't been kind.

This in mind, she sought out her sister, tracking her down by scent rather than howling for an audience.

Korei Julia had gone to where she had found that whole, or rather found that wolf that fell in a hole. There seemed to have much snow, plenty of places to hide into the white on the ground, camouflaging. It was her safe space. Even if others tended to find her by scent, she never was skilled at hiding.

But Korei felt need of her safe space. Those she knew she could not find anymore. The scar on her shoulder felt like it was burning yet it was healed. The thought of it tugged at her heart. She whimpered at the thought.

Although by scent it seemed she was closing in on her quarry, Alya still couldn't see her anywhere. Her eyes were focused on the horizon, so she almost dropped into the pit that Korei was lying in. Alya stopped herself just in time, although some snow fell from the ledge and landed on her sister's head.

For a moment, she was so shocked by Korei's sudden appearance and confused by her weird hideaway that she didn't know what to say. It was rare for Alya to be struck dumb - she played that way sometimes, but she was the loud one. The one who always had something to say. This time, she couldn't find the words to bridge the gap her previous ones had created. She swallowed against the lump in her throat and tried anyway,

"Can I come down there with you?"

Korei Julia perked her head up slightly upon hearing something, a quiet sound. Her ear flicking momentarily. But it was too late to look up when snow dropped down upon her. She cried out in alarm as she shook it off quickly, thinking some predator had found out, Her tail curling around, till she finally looked up. And stilled. It was one of the sisters...which was it?

"I...what do you want?" she asked, a surprising edge to her voice. After the last meeting to one of the sisters had gone bad. And with her only friends having left, she felt severed from the rest of the world.

That was a no, then. Except Alya had never really been one to take no for an answer, so she considered it a not yet and tried again, figuring she would have to give a little in order to get a little. It was only fair, given that Korei had only given as good as she got during their last conversation - and not in a good way.

"I want to apologize," she said in her firm, strong voice. "I don't agree with all that you said when we last met, but I said some hurtful, unnecessary things as well when I should've just been glad to see you alive. So I'm sorry. And I'm ready just to be glad."

Her piece said, she peered expectantly down at Korei, waiting for her to offer some sort of rebuttal so that Alya could tear her argument down, piece by peace. She was already trying to guess at what the other girl would say so that she could lay traps and manipulate until she got her way -

- but slowly, piece by piece, she was learning to dismantle those traps and speak only the words she believed in, nothing more and nothing less. It was difficult, but for her sister - once lost but now miraculously returned to her - she had decided she would try.

Korei turned her head away as she began to speak. Apology was meaning less and less to her. Just as much as promises, empty promises. But as Alya went along, there was a light peeking through the dark cloud around her. She slowly was turning back to face her sister. A certain fondness in her eyes. 

Once Alya was done, Korei stood up and shuffled over. Then directed her gaze to the ground next to her. "I...I have seen a lot of the world...seen a lot of the worst in others...I was naive." And still was.

It was subtle, but Alya thought she saw the slight shift in her sister's demeanor. Hope sparked in her chest as Korei took a step toward her, somehow the girl she'd grown up with an a complete stranger at the same time. She refrained from agreeing with the girl about her naivety, sensing that this was not her judgment to pass, in the other's eyes.

"We were girls before," she said, her voice as gentle as it ever got but still filled with that same firmness. "There are a lot of things I've done wrong. I'm trying to set those things right. But more than that, I don't want to be at odds with you. You're my sister. You'll always be my sister. But I see now that I can't take that for granted."

Here, Alya dropped her gaze to the ground. She'd almost said, I missed you, but that would have been a lie. She'd hardly known Korei at all, and she had mourned for her because they were sisters and she loved all of her family, even if they were not vital to her existance. But she had not missed Korei because they had not truly been a part of one another's lives. "I want to get to know you," she said instead. "Please? You don't have to forgive me. I'd just like a chance."

Korei Julia tagged her tail slightly at that. Girls...and in her mind, still she were a girl. A young girl, who had a lot left to learn in this world. But now she had someone back to help her with that. Her sister. Once Alya dropped her gaze, Korei thought over everything. Her eyes a tear dropped. 

Alya asked to her for another chance...Korei gave her the answer as she put her head against Alya's, a sign of trust and assurance that she was willing for so. "Yes...I will."

Alya let out a silent breath of relief as Korei gave in, and mirrored the other wolf's show of affection with one of her own. She really did want to do better and to prove herself a good sister to Korei, but humbling herself in that way had been one of the more nauseating experiences of her lifetime. She was glad she hadn't been made to grovel too much.

"Thank you," she said simply, hoping to move past that part of the conversation. There were more pressing things to talk about, and she was practically bursting to share her own news - but she wanted to hear about Korei first. "So, what have you been doing all this time? It's been so long since - well, it's been a long time. How'd you end up here?"

Korei Julia sighed quietly. It was a very comforting feeling, to once again feel the affection of family. To have a sister again. And it all seemed to just, come right out. As she began to quietly cry against her sister, her body shifting with near silent sobs. 

"I...I lost everyone. Everyone I was with are gone, everyone I was...everyone..." she continued to sob quietly. Truthfully, she needed someone close. "They're gone...I came here with two others."

To her surprise and abject horror, Korei began to cry - which, to her chargin, she realized she should have been more prepared for. "Korei?" she asked, steeling herself and then moving to sit by her sister's side, her own dark fur mingling with Korei's pristine pelt.

It was loss, of course. Wasn't it always loss? Alya felt an unexpected well of sympathy open up in her chest. "Is it - is it that man you were with?" she asked gently, thinking of the thin, scarred wraith that'd accompanied her when the sisters had last met. She'd wondered, on and off, who the man was to her pale littermate, but had put it out of her mind assuming she'd never know. Now was her chance to find out, and yet, she found herself reluctant to pry. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she said to the other woman, thinking about her own experiences with loss. "But I'm here if you do."

Korei Julia glanced up for a moment as she felt her sister move to her side, pushing up against her in a soothing manner. She nodded without saying a single word. The man she spoke of. Alya offered her ears, a shoulder to cry on. Korei had never spoken of him to another...not this way.

"I...he cared for me...cared so much for me. When I was down, he cheered me up...when I got sick, he put me first. When I was in danger...the cougar, those that tried to take me, he jumped in" she sobbed, trying to regain herself.

Although she tried her best to keep an open mind, Alya couldn't help but think poorly of the male she'd last seen her sister with. He'd stood by fairly idle while the two of them had had it out. Of course, if he'd intervened, she'd likely think even less of him - but at least she could know for certain he'd had a spine.

Of course, she couldn't say any of that to Korei. Clearly, she cared deeply for the man. "Did something happen to him?" she asked in a carefully even tone, neglecting to insert warmth into the words as she did her best to keep neutral on the subject - even though she had sympathy in spades for the other woman.

Korei dared not think back. Back to when Ali disappeared. Back to the injury on her shoulder...she shook her head, pulling away from her sister. She could not bear it. "I...I can't. I can't talk about that...I promised..." Had she? In her mind she felt she had told him he would never tell. But, she could not eremember the moment clearly enough. "He's gone...and I can't say why" she said almost defiantly.

Although Alya certainly wanted to know more and didn't appreciate being kept in the dark like this, she did understand that it wasn't really her business. She pulled away from her sister a fraction, but kept up with her pleasant mien. There was no reason to get nasty, after all.

"I'm not trying to make you," she assured. "I was just asking. Is there anything you can tell me? You've been gone for so long."

Korei whimpered slightly at the thought of it. The scar on her shoulder seemed to stand out on her skin, at least to her. As if she could feel it. Feel the teeth again. It took a lot to hold another whimper back.

"After...after I ran away. I was found by another...Lennon." Saying the name made her throat seem to tighten like it felt so out of place to say, that it should stay back. She continued her story. "We traveled together. He saved me from a freezing river...we then found Alarian. They took care of me, both of them. As if I was fragile. Saved me from other wolves, from a cougar." She paused, shaking a little. Was it really that hard to talk about all of it again? 

Korei tried to reign in control of herself. "We...we found others. Made a pack...I had many friends. Lennon left one day...then cats came, everyone got sick...I found you and...and now I am here."