Wapun Meadow don't be afraid of what you find

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something had indra on high alert that night; @Laurel had disappeared a few hours earlier, which was not unusual except she had yet to return. indra, torn between going to find her sister and staying behind, paced anxiously just outside of bearclaw valley, retracing the same paths she had walked upon a thousand times almost a year before.

despite the sun settling later, indra couldn't help but feel unsettled out there alone in the meadow. she shivered and watched a column of her breath rise to the wind, wondering and hoping laurel had some good news once she returned.

For hours she had wept in the meadow while trying to deal with the grim reality of it all and tried to piece together what and how she would tell the children and Indra. She couldn't possibly tell them what had actually happened. Maybe she could say she was being attacked. Maybe she could say she had run into someone fancy and had been unable to control her raw instinct. But the latter would make Indra be wary, especially after the talk they had had recently.

After she had dried her eyes and taken a few deep breaths Laurel decided she would tell them nothing, for now. She started heading in the valleys direction, unaware that her sister was there too rather than exactly where she'd left her, looking for some water to clean herself with first.

indra could sit still no longer. stealing one last glance at the kids, she stole from the fringes of the meadow and started to call softly for her sister in the twilight.

her voice was hoarse by the time something besides night-time silence returned her calls: she froze, picking up the stiff steps of a wolf near by. "laurel?" indra called quietly into the night, hearing her own breathing as she strained her ears for a response.

When she heard the voice through the night Laurel froze instinctively. Where normally Indra's sweet voice would've been a relief after being on her own for a while now even the voice of her sister called to life a fear that it might happen again, that someone was out to hurt her. After a second or two she assessed it was Indra and then a mixture of relief and uncertainty filled her. Laurel had always held strong in front of her sister, and hadn't wanted to tell her at all, but she would know -- would smell -- immediately of what had happened.

Shame befell Laurel and after a moment of deer-in-headlights standing still, she took off, started to run. Unfortunately for Laurel she wasn't built for sprints not outrunning Indra, but she tried anyway.

indra's ears, cupped forward in alarm, instinctively fell back as a crash and then a scatter of footprints sounded through the woods. her heart-rate nearly quadrupled in surprise, and the fur along her spine lifted in unpleasant fear.

she smelled laurel. with a grunt she was running too, blindly through the forest. "laurel, what the fuck!" she cried, dodging a low-hanging branch as she followed after the blundering of her sister. "hey!"

Panic gripped at her heart as she ran. It didn't matter that she couldn't keep running forever, for now all she had was flight. She heard Indra's indignant voice and breathing close in on her, and her hackles raised as it felt as if she could feel her sister's breath in her neck, on her skin.

Before her sister reached her Laurel took a dive to a bush patch on the side, hiding between the plants in hopes their pollen would mask her scent well enough; a hope in vain. She curled up into a ball, hoping that everyone would go away.

indra had never seen laurel reduced to this; her eyes were wide as she pursued her sister, feeling choking fear build up in her. as laurel dove aside indra slowed, her heart thudding dull and loud.

what the hell?

indra peered into the bush, her lips trembling as she beheld her sister -- she was curled into a tiny ball, in a posture of defeat indra had never seen her sister wear. "laurel?" indra whispered, voice hoarse as she lowered herself to the ground and started to crawl towards her. "laurel, what's going on?"

Her breathing was heavy and her heart thudded in her chest. Please don't find me, she thought, but they were idle thoughts for she soon heard her sister's voice call out her name. It was too late to flee now. She tried to steady her breathing. Indra would know, the instant she followed her sister's scent to this bush. Everything about her still smelled of horrid, despicable sex.

Don't tell anyone, Laurel hissed, her voice bitter and with warning. She would rip her own sister's throat out if she found out that she had told her sweet Lucas or anyone else about this.

it killed her to see laurel like this, like some crumpled ball of paper, useless and wrecked. indra felt sick, but even moreso as she caught the scent that wafted from laurel -- not just her heat, but something else. someone else.

but that couldn't be the reason for laurel's shame, could it? she had to know indra would have accepted it, even if they had made a pact. sweet, stupid, enduring indra wouldn't truly look at her sister any different if she had gone for a frolic in the woods, so why was laurel so panicked?

it was then it hit her.

indra's face fell, and the tension and strength in her limbs seemed to give out. she wanted nothing more than to make everything right right now, but they were so far from right, so far from okay, that she didn't even know where to begin.

she swallowed, her throat dry. her eyes stung and a heat had rushed to her cheeks; somewhere a buzzing in the back of her mind seemed to consume her, a fitful and restless fury.

"who?" indra snarled, burying her face in laurel's scruff for a moment before rising. she would make things right -- for her, for laurel -- all that consumed her mind in this moment was not thoughts of her family, but thoughts of what she would do to that spineless piece of filth when she caught him.

Laurel felt restless through the silence. Where normally Indra's presence would've easily made her feel better, now she didn't want her sister near. Don't touch me! she screeched hysterically at Indra, flinching at the touch. Laurel wasn't sure yet how she would pull through this, but she didn't need more others to touch her. If anything, she didn't want anyone near. But she knew she'd not be able to shake off Indra, so she tolerated her sister's presence, so long as she did not touch her again.

I don't know. It doesn't matter. Laurel doubted she'd ever see him again but if she would, she would make sure to rip his throat out or.. something. Right now though she mostly wanted to not talk about him, or what happened, or admit it happened at all. If Indra hadn't found her here, Laurel would've just washed the scents away and never told a soul of her encounter.

indra recoiled immediately, stung by the hysteria in her sister's snarling voice. it made sense -- but indra was no more rational in this moment than she was normally; she felt clouded by fear, panic, anger, anguish.

she got the message and settled several yards away, her eyes peeled and posture rent with tension. she kept peering into the tree-line, her ears upright and strained, as if laurel's attacker would erupt from the timber.

indra wanted to press for more information, but her sister seemed so fragile -- she worried a single question would unhinge her, and who could blame her? for a while she remained silent, her expression furious. it was hard for her to be the strong one; laurel had always been the leader -- but now she needed indra to be strong, too. as much as indra could tell laurel wanted to be alone, indra would not leave her -- she was at risk here in the copse, and indra was furious at herself for not being there when laurel had needed her the most.

after several minutes of silence indra rose and scented around laurel carefully, taking care not to touch her sister. his scent was still cloaked around her sister and indra swore she would never forget his mark -- if she ever saw him, she would make sure his suffering far outmatched laurel's.

Laurel really just wanted to forget about it all. She definitely didn't want to talk about this, and it showed in her very body language. She frowned as she looked at Indra, and was glad when her sister got the message and didn't further pursue the issue. Laurel felt abused and most of all she felt like she had gotten what was coming to her. She'd made him fetch her food and she had teased so many guys last year too. Was this all her own fault for provoking them? She felt so dirty, and while she wanted to believe that it was not her own fault all the evidence was pointing in opposite direction.

Her teeth peeled back in warning when Indra approached again, though she didn't need to speak for Indra remained far away enough not to actually touch Laurel.

In the presence of her sister, Laurel finally relaxed a little, realising that at the very least she was safe and, after her initial warning, Indra would not touch her. And better yet, surely make sure that no one else would touch her. She let out a tense sigh of relief, and then, after staying silence for a while, said: I should wash the scents off. Unlike Indra, Laurel just wanted to completely forget the dark coywolf existed and wanted to forget what he smelled like at all. He was the embodiment of all that was wrong in Laurel's life, just another thing that had smeered her face across the dirt.

indra detected little else of the man's scent around them -- it seemed only laurel carried him with her, the stench of their union still lingering on her pelt. indra felt a wave of violent nausea crest to the tip of her tongue; her throat burned, and she swallowed back bitter bile. she would fucking kill him - that piece of shit. her throat constricted, the inside of her cheeks burning, a buzzing sensation along her gums and tongue as her anger grew.

laurel was silent for some time, but when she at last spoke indra looked up from her ruminations, dipping her head once in acknowledgment. "alright," she fumbled; there was nothing else she could do, nothing she could say to make this go away -- so glumly she followed after laurel, keeping her distance and remaining alert.

if that scumbag came back, she would rip his fucking throat out and piss on his corpse.

Laurel had no idea of the things that went on within Indra's head; she could barely contain what was going on in hers. Everything was a mess and she felt so disgusting. Laurel slowly unfolded herself from her hiding place in the bush. Every muscle in her body felt tense and bruised. With weary eyes she looked at Indra but briefly before her gaze fell to the ground in shame. Laurel demurely licked her lips and started walking slowly towards the nearest stream.

She just kept telling herself that they would get through this -- that she would get through this -- and that it was just a fluke. Just bad luck. That it wasn't really her fault. These words she repeated over and over in her head, but they were countered each time by the voice inside her head, and each time that voice grew louder while hers became weaker and held more quivers. Maybe she wasn't strong. Maybe it wasn't bad luck, but karma, and she had it coming for her. And who would blame him? An ugly girl, all alone in the meadow, asking for help? What naive girl would she be to expect he would help her and ask for nothing in return?

In silence she walked down to the river, her face stoic but for the smallest twitches of her lips and the scrunching of her nose and face in withheld tears and suffering held within as best she could.

;-; <3

indra may have kept her distance, but her eyes remained on laurel as often as they could without seeming prying. she lacked the insight to delve into laurel's thoughts, but that did not mean she could not read laurel's mood. it was all she could do to snarl in rage as she saw shame flit across laurel's features -- she knew it was not laurel's fault. it was never the victim's fault -- and the only culpable being was whoever the monster was that had touched her.

he was the one that should be ashamed. or dead, if indra could pick herself.

she kept glancing to laurel, noticing as they came closer to the stream that she looked as if pieces of her were fracturing off -- there was a thread, scanty and taut, that held her sister's composure together. indra knew better than to rock it by asking questions.

so she remained silent, her general mien hypervigilant and resentful. tonight, she would be the strong one, and she would never stop loving her sister, no matter what happened to her.

Finally they reached the river. Laurel didn't look at Indra, loathe to look at anyone right now. She just wanted everything to be over now. She wanted this night to end. Laurel had no idea how she would pick herself up, but she knew she had to. For Indra, and for Lucas, and even for Marten. Her family needed her and that was all that kept her pressing on as strong as she could muster.

Wordlessly she washed herself in the river, rolling around in the water, chilled by its cold currents, until she was wet and her fur sleek against her stocky frame. She looked at Indra, sorrowful eyes looking up at her sister, but she did not allow herself to cry even as she fell apart slowly.

fade here? thank you, our girls are so beautifully tragic <3