Silverlight Terrace Coloring book of cats for adults

@Hydra 

Wraen had caught a promising scent trail right on the northern edge of the Sun mote copse and followed it through Ghost Lion Crag, corner of Deepwood Weald into the Silverlight terrace, where it eventually faded. She stopped, wondered, if she should head on, or return. Now was not the right time for having long journeys away from her home. Towhee was recovering and they still had to figure out, how to save the rest of the trapped Asterism Grove wolves. The only feasible option now seemed that they all took the brave climb their leader had and make their way to the other side.

But so far there had been no news of anyone braving that route and that left everyone else in the standby mode. Wraen stood for a while, looking longingly in the distance, then turned around and made her way homewards.

The Queen had caught the very same trail as Wraen. 

She sought more than one thing, drifting also to find if there were any scents from Isilme, new or otherwise. But in the midst of this Hydra had detected something other, and pursued it hungrily. Hydra was hardly starved or even starving; Moonspear had the good fortune of having their caches filled, and being as well-hidden as they were (and well-marked, too) scavengers had found only the ones nearest to the borders. 

Moonspear had been fortunate enough in finding those scavengers, too, filling their belly double with whatever they had stolen... and then some. Having fed on the moose carcass more than several days ago (as what was left of it was taken and stored by they and the Nightwalkers), she had the good fortune of it not having been two weeks since she had had a decent meal. But if large prey could be found? They would hunt it! 

As she searched, Hydra turned to see another familiar face there. It took a moment for Hydra to register who she was, and that moment had not yet clicked into place as Hydra adjusted her trajectory to head straight toward the (at present, thanks to being downwind and seeing her backside) stranger. She knew but one thing: this was not a Moonspear wolf. If they had found food, Hydra would chase them from it... but they looked empty-handed. So perhaps they knew something of Blackhead that could be of use to her, or Merrick... who Hydra was not entirely convinced was not the boy with several names, Screech. 

There was an intentional sweep of paw against rubble, and it then skittered downward loudly; she had deigned not to sound off in any other way as she had not yet decided what sort of manner of interaction this might be in not knowing for certain whether or not they had food or not. Or even if they were an ally; more than one had seen fit to investigate the Wilderness.

Wraen retraced the steps she had taken previously in hopes that she would find a new lead. But she did it only half-heartedly, her mind occupied with many thoughts and matters that needed to be taken care of. She had seen little of, how tough the competition was, where more than two packs inhabited the same premises, but Firebirds and Asterism grove were in a good place for these trying times. Most of the valley belonged to them only, free to go and search for food and have no fears of running into a hostile force. With a huge block of mountains between copse and Moonspear, Wraen hardly considered them as competitors.

She did not think of them that often, unless she crossed paths with them. This happened now. A sound of falling pebbles under one's feet made her stop and turn around. She observed the dark-pelted wolf carefully - the other had an air of decisiveness and focus about them, which meant that the noise had not been an accident, rather an attempt to draw attention. They achieved. Wraen said nothing to encourage, but kept her posture neutral and mildly interested. From her point of view it was still difficult to tell, which of the black wolves from her circle of acquaintances this was. Unfortunately, with no signature scent to guide her, they looked all the same from afar.

Hydra did not think of those in alternate jurisdictions, so to speak, as competitors. They should not be, within her mind, in any case—and were not when they kept to their neck of the woods. But there was no other word for a wolf that fed on food within areas far beyond their claim but that, and so individualistically Hydra saw what she saw. She could understand why, of course, but that did not mean she accepted it. Hydra suspected they would not accept it either. Investigation was all well and good, but to hunt and feed and take away from her family? How could she permit it? 

Wraen was similar in appearance to several other silver agouti wolves, but it was her apple-green eyes that made her stand out from the rest. Seeing her without food did little to slow the Queen of Moonspear, and she regarded Wraen neutrally. Her dislike of the woman had not faded, but Hydra could be civil when it called for it. The she-wolf beside her Hydra had once believed to be a friend... but leaving without a single word proved otherwise. 

And here she was. 

Hydra regarded her stonily, finding she really had nothing to say to the woman. Not anymore. Hydra had opened herself to the other once, truly, as she did for very few... and found that as she approached Wraen, her desire to say anything at all was nonexistent. Even on a superficial level Hydra did not desire anything to do with the green-eyed woman, and she could not imagine Wraen would want anything else to do with her either.  

But the Queen was concerned less for their personal relationship and more for Moonspear. She candidly asked, once the distance between them had dwindled: have you found anything other than dead-end trails? It seemed not, for Wraen hardly looked to be a hound that had picked up on a scent... but she did not just mean here, either.

Wraen had never truly considered Hydra as her friend or appreciated that the dark Ostrega had singled her among few to open herself up to. Were it not for the incident of Titmouse, perhaps, in time friendship would have bloomed. But things had taken the route they had - they had given Terance's sister a chance to see, what she believed to be two-faced nature of her then leader and good acquaintance. Where two people have fundamentally different opinions about justice and loyalty, what kind of friends can they actually become?

After setting her records about the past straight with Charon, Wraen had moved on from almost two years long history. Hydra - it seemed - was of less forgiving nature than her father had been. She thought she could sense the Moonspear leader's icy resentment in her posture, gaze and tone of voice. As long as the dark lady lived, the past would stay alive. Wraen on the other hand felt nothing personal, there had once been justified anger and an idea of being better than the Ostregas. But fate had put her in a similar situation (regarding pack members leaving suddenly) and she had found out that she was exactly the same as them.

Humbled by experience, she could face the reigning Queen of Moonspear with calmness and sincerity. She was - after all - the sister of Vela, Arcturus and Jarilo (Ostregas she liked and enjoyed having their company) and with the thought of her friends in mind, she would never treat Hydra disrespectfully. "Hydra - it has been a while," she greeted her. "No, this trail was not that lucky, but I am heading to the coasts. With the recent storms, there might be foodstuffs that are worth scavenging for. You can join me, if you wish."

Speaking simply to hear herself was a thing Hydra quite frequently did, but not here and now. No, better to save her breath than utilize small talk; it was a road that led to nowhere. It had been a while, Hydra was aware, but she need not say as much to confirm what they both already knew. Glad to hear Wraen was headed to the coast and away from the mountain range (even if only for a time), Hydra considered the invitation. The last she had seen the coast from her own dominion, it had looked like hell on earth; beautiful from the distance she kept, but not somewhere she wished to be near personally. 

Not at present, in any case. The risk did not seem worth the reward. The coast looks less like the coast these days, she forewarned, but perhaps you might find something. It looks as though it is only ever high-tide, lately, Wraen had the right idea, though. Perhaps it might be worth investigating when it seemed to be low-tide. Something was bound to have come up. She would need to observe from Moonspear the turbulent oceans patterns, if there even was one. Nature was not making much sense lately. But if a prediction could be made? Perhaps she might get lucky. 

As for the invitation? Thank you for the offer. I will likely go some other time, with one of my own, she hummed. Not only did she not trust Wraen fully (knowing she could simply leave when it was convenient for her, as she had seen it), there was also the greater reason: if any food was found she would rather know it was in the belly of her subordinate or mate. And with taking more than one wolf, perhaps some fare could be brought back. Wraen might get more spoils for it here and now... or she might get caught up in what looked to be permahightide.

Wraen had been a frequent guest at the coasts - after all her very first hunting lesson had taken place there and she still recalled, how her mother guided her through all the inedible stuff to find that one valuable morsel in the middle. She did not fear the ocean-side now either. Yes - the storms and waves that raged there were more frequent than they had usually been, but their strength was not equal at all times. She had learned the patterns of the weather and along with her knowledge of the local geography, the she-wolf knew, which place to visit and when. It was Hydra's loss then - she had passed an opportunity to learn.

Had there been more, when the Queen of the mountain had refused her offer? She watched the other's expression and her best guess was "distrust". But so much to fear Wraen, who was weaker of the two and not with an advantage of a whole pack to support her? "Spill it," she finally told her and sat down. "I did not finish matters with you, when I left. Might as well do now," she offered, not because there was any remorse about her past actions, but out of amused curiosity, just to hear those justified and one-sided arguments.

There were plenty of other seafaring folk for Hydra to have learned from. She learned enough from her father on the occasions he took her to where he had come from—the Bay—but could always afford to learn more. From Wraen, though, Hydra had learned all she desired to. As Wraen had come to her conclusion on her own character, Hydra felt quite the same on her; their chapter, as she saw it, was ended—and there was no more she desired to be written. Hydra liked to think she learned from her mistakes. 

No? Hydra asked, her eyes looking over the womans features searchingly, I think you finished things quite effectively, she said flatly, though without ire. Wraen had made clear that her kindness had simply been due to civility, not loyalty or kinship, and Hydra now had accepted this. The most civil thing Hydra herself could do was this; she did not wish to fight Wraen over it. Hydra did not fear Wraen, but knew not to underestimate nature (strange as it had been as of late) and put her faith in the other. The Queen had seen for herself what Wraen did when things went wrong: ran. Her actions told Hydra far more about who she was, and what could Wraen ever say to change Hydra's mind? The Queen had nothing to explain; if Wraen did, Hydra did not desire to hear it. 

And maybe Wraen had changed in all of those years for the better—Hydra imagined she might have. But really, it was a risk she had no interest in taking. She had moved on enough to not wish Wraen ill (all of the time), and was content to treat the woman as she had been treated. Never badly; Hydra understood well enough that Wraen was not a malevolent force and had never acted as such toward her, or her family.

Her gaze traced the contours of the silver woman. Sniffing the air once again, Hydra caught on to something, you do not smell as though you live with Terance any longer, which was interesting to her; she had thought them to be very close. Wraen had left with him, after all. Why discuss the past when the present was more relevant, in any case?

"It is good to know. I had a lot more to talk about, when I met your father for the last time," Wraen explained, glad really to realize that there was far less personal insult in Hydra's attitude towards her than it had been with Charon. Probably because his daughter had not been a good and intimate friend of her mother. The former King of the mountain had always seen Osprey in Wraen and not valued her for, who she had been. "We made our peace," she said with a smile.

"No, I do not," she told Hydra. "We grew apart and in the end it was clear that we are better off, if we go our separate ways," that had been her argument a year ago, when she had split off from the Sunspire and set out in the wilderness on her own. "Kind of like you and Korei Julia. It just did not work anymore," she added. "I lead a pack at the foot of these mountains," she beckoned in the approximate direction of, where her home was located. "Firebirds. I have run into your folk from time to time near my home, so maybe you knew already." 

Hydra's ears flicked as Wraen spoke of her late father. That he had forgiven her was not known to Hydra, but then that fact made no difference to her. Wraen had left without a word; she had abandoned her pack, and went with wolves who saw fit to make a monster of her. Oh, to be sure she was one—but only to defend those that she loved. And Hydra as of yet did not see she had ever been wrong; she only ever felt more justified, as time passed; Titmouse had come to attack his own pregnant sister, testament to how right Hydra had been about him. She only wished she had killed him before any of that had occurred... but alas, she had let the wrong opinion of others get in her way. 

Never again. 

As Wraen went on, Hydra blinked. She tried to compare herself to Korei Julia, and to Wraen's credit Hydra could not at all see the comparison between their sibling-bond. Korei Julia was entirely dependent on others around her; alone, Hydra doubted her capability to survive. They had never grown apart; Korei Julia simply ran away after Galaxy died. For all that time after Hydra had assumed her dead, until the day she had come with Ira to their borders. It had been a surprise to find her alive... but the way Korei Julia had gone about leaving had severed their own bond for good. Wraen, having left in much the same manner—without a word—was only viewed similarly in that vein. 

Ah, she drawled; Arcturus or someone might have mentioned it to her, but then and there she could not recall. Hydra hardly cared for their own personal relationship. She did not project her opinions onto others; let them find out the nature of them for themselves. Hydra could not help but find it amusing that Wraen kept up with those of her ilk; it seemed she could not help but stay away, in some capacity. so there is no food there either, then, she understood, and Hydra sighed. Easthollow has also observed a shortage. Winter comes; things will likely only become more difficult, she shook her head to think of it; she had her children to consider, and it did not bode well to think of not finding larger game in the days—or months—ahead. This was abnormal, though the world had stopped shaking... for now. 

As of now, she had no real plan in how to deal with it; but her mind worked as she thought on what to do about it, and how to best handle this.

"No," Wraen agreed and bit her tongue in oreder not to say too much. No large game for sure and she did not know, how long would the small animals keep them rolling. For now, they got on by and the last thing they needed was more competition on, what already was not easy to find and catch every day. 

It was not entirely surprising, but definitely disappointing to hear that food shortage had affected a pack as far away from here as Easthollow. Which meant that Terance and his family was probably suffering there as well. So much good had the move made in the end. People did the planning and the god played by it's own set of rules. 

"We will live and we will see," Wraen replied, though she hoped that it things would not get any worse than they already were. Especially with so many relying on her - she felt the responsibility to guide them through well and unharmed as good as possible. "I heard about Vela's disappearance - we will keep an eye out for her. She is a friend of mine as well," there was fondness in her tone, when she mentioned the girl's name.

Hydra's tongue was also still, though she and Wraen had the same thought—on more than one account, here and now. For Hydra also wanted to guide Moonspear through this time in a manner that would make her mother and her father proud. The timing of this famine was ill; her cubs were young and ever-growing. She wanted to teach them to hunt, but only twice had they been able to witness big-game hunts; a goat, and a caribou, some time ago when they first grew into the age that they could join her and the pack to observe. 

We will, she agreed, believing this much. Wraen was as much of a survivor as Hydra, after all. In the game of life they would find a way. As Wraen spoke of Vela, Hydra turned to look at the woman. The last time they had seen each other they had both been much younger than this, and a flash of appreciation crossed her countenance. She might never wish to be a friend of Wraen's herself, but she—despite everything—could not find her old dislike of the Firebird. 

She could see Wraen was a good friend to those she wanted to be, and she felt fortunate that she regarded her siblings as such—all the better for them. And though Wraen had never considered her as such, Hydra found that her own days of old had shifted her attitude on the matter. The Queen had once cared for everyone's approval. She had desired to be friends with all of those that ran with her. Hydra had put friendship before duty; she had prepared to go to war over Vaati harming Rannoch. Hydra had been rash, and blindly loyal to those she considered friend. But she had come to see that not all would protect her as she would protect them; some things were terribly one-sided. Like her father, she had been a bit of a dreamer without even recognizing it. 

Thank you, Hydra responded, her words in earnest. Though Wraen might not know it, it was for more reason than one. How did it come to pass that you lead now? She inquired with true interest. It was not that it was not believable, she simply knew Wraen could tell a good story—and before they went their own ways perhaps once and for all, she thought it might be nice to hear one for herself. Firebirds rang in her head, familiar yet not all at once, and Hydra contemplated if it was because she had heard it before or something else entirely.

Through different means Wraen had undergone the same change Hydra had. She had once believed that she would find a similar soul in Charon, just because he had been her mother's friend. And with so many naive and romantic expectations it had been all the more of a disappointment and confusion to her, when she had realized that this was not going to happen. Or the belief that she could change people by helping them along - looking back now at her brief comradeship with Korei Julia - she realized that the girl had annoyed her. Because all Wraen's attempts to teach had fallen flat against the Ostrega girl's unwillingness to make effort. 

However, if someone had ever told in her childhood that she would be completely estranged from her two siblings, with whom she had grown up and been partners in crime through thick and thin, she would not believe them. But it had happened. First with Sarah and now with Terance. How could they have gone from such a close friendship and love to nothing but formal acknowledgement, estrangement, was beyond her. But as in all things, she had accepted that the true reason she would never find out and it was easier to get on by telling herself that these things simply happened. 

"Oh, that is a very long story," Wraen said and smiled at the joke. She had nothing against multi-chaptered and detailed tales. The true question was, whether Hydra had that much time to spare. Probably not. "I happened to be in the vicinity, when Wildfire - she is sister of Towhee's - had split off from Redhawks with intent of founding a pack of her own," she summed up. "I joined her with my sister Maia and some Blackthorns. And unfortunately we lost Wildfire due to illness in spring and Colt - who stepped up soon after - got gravely injured in a fight with a trespasser," that had taken place few months ago already. 

"So, they voted me as the next best person and here I am now. Though I am not the sole tyrant there," she added with a good-natured chuckle. "I have two older and experienced former leaders to seek advice and support, when I need it," she said. "And two people my age to temper and argue with me, when it's necessary," so all things considered, she had a very balanced leadership role. No one expected her to be the hero of the day and each knew that they were responsible for the well-being of the pack just as much their Sovereign was.

Hydra listened to the whole of the story, interested. Towhee—that was a name she had not heard of in a while. Now and then Hydra thought of her; the girl had once been her best friend. How was she now? And where? She had thought that they had departed the Wilds entirely, but it seemed this was not the case. The tale had its ups and downs to say the least. Wildfire was dead, and Colt, too; her muzzle wrinkled some at the mention of trespassers... it was well known how Hydra felt about the sort, and what she would do should she got her teeth upon one. 

It all came to pass upon a vote; she could not find herself surprised by that either. Wraen was a likeable wolf, most unlike Hydra. Personable, affable, friendly—that was the face of her that Hydra had been taken with. No doubt the others had seen this side of her, too. But Hydra could see past all that; she knew there was more to Wraen than her just being a friendly story-teller. 

Wraen went on, and Hydra nodded as she came to her conclusion. With a wave of her own tail, Hydra asked (referring to the point she had made about those around Wraen's age): Towhee? Wondering about how she fared within all of this chaos. It was easy for Hydra to forget Towhee's handicap altogether as she thought of the Redhawk—it had never slowed her down before. She wondered how Wraen might have fallen into such a friendship; she and Towhee held very similar viewpoints, or at least they had, on several matters. But then she had envisioned Towhee leading herself! Had that not been the case when she ran with the Redhawks...? So much time had passed.

"Towhee - yes. She and her pack Redhawks moved away from caldera over to a plateau not too far from, where I live, after they no longer deemed their former home safe. I think that it had to do with the Blackfeather pack," Wraen did not know all of the details in the story, but she could see, why a family with children would not wish to live near wolves with whom they had had a past conflict with. Staying out of principle or worse - pride - was most unwise.

"Because of differences of opinions - first Wildfire split off with a group of wolves, then Towhee and Phox, along his children and a pawful of followers established a pack nearby. And her sister Raven and her mate Quixote were left to lead, what remained of Redhawks," she shared. "I think that the latter moved south right before everything began," she referred to the earthquakes and rockslides, and all of the bad things that had befallen the lands afterwards.

"And - unfortunately - another earthquake, trapped most of Towhee's pack inside their territory. She made it over and alive, there are people that are left behind and we are trying to figure out, how to get them out," she added, furrowing her brow, because a lot of precious time had passed, but they had found no feasible solution up until now. "She's staying with us right now," Wraen added. "You can come to visit - she is recovering from injuries she sustained, but, if not for the strict orders of the healers, she would be up and running."

The story was long-winded, but one Hydra found herself invested in nonetheless as its main character was one of her favored companions. Hydra recalled their initial move; the scent of Redhawks was scant upon the Plateau, then. The history was interesting enough, though many more became involved; her eyes brightened at the mention of Raven, whom Hydra had always liked. She had been a good caretaker to Towhee, and a kindly wolf in general. Plenty of misfortune had befallen her, none of it, Hydra thought, deserved. 

Hearing of the calamity that had befallen Towhee's own pack, though, Hydra felt concern lance her heart. To hear she had made it over and alive was a relief; Hydra might have sought to cause some sort terrible landslide to the slab of stone that had brought end to her otherwise... perhaps saving the rest of the wolves stuck there. 

Her mind whirred, and Hydra shook her head as she considered, looking away for a moment. The only thing that might be able to get them out is another quake, or landslide, if it is too dangerous to climb, she thought aloud, and when Wraen invited her to visit, Hydra's eyes came back to her. She nodded to the invitation, appreciative. Perhaps I will, she revealed with a thoughtful look. It was olive branch enough for the day; Hydra did have to be elsewhere, in order to scout for more food with her children. 

I wish you luck on the coast, she said at length, nodding slowly. Hydra needed to say not much else than that; Wraen knew well enough to be wary of coming too close to Moonspear for food these days, she was sure. Some things went without saying. Hydra prepared to move on, though listened for any other words the other might have before she did so.

"You are welcome to do so," Wraen replied and only when the invitation had left her lips, did she realize that she had done something that had previously felt unthinkable. She had given an olive branch to Hydra. Funny, really, how diplomatics worked. You did not have to like the other person, you did not have to have anything in common with them in order to remain polite and respectful. They would not be friends again, but maybe in time and, when the circumstances improved, there could be a tiny, cheerful thought of becoming allies in the future. They would have to live and see.

"Good luck to you too," Wraen bid her farewell to the dark queen of the mountain, dipped her muzzle politely and was on her way without further look back.