Haunted Wood I know there’s no saving us now

@Conquest. Tags for reference.

Vanity took time away from @O’Mally.
She had the skull clasped in her jaws.
She was showing the man what had come of his forest.

Gristle still clung to the skull.
Fur clung to parts of that. The teeth were intact. They were horridly yellow. It stunk really, as he did in life.
Look my love, how it all fell apart after you were slain by a child.
Nothing stirred in the forest before her.

She wandered towards the willowy section of the forest. Where her den had been. Where her children had grown. Her steps became lighter as she stepped gingerly into the lightening forest.
Safe.

A new scent came into her forest. One strange, and the other... only half strange. As if time was stealing the familiarity of one of these two individuals from her. The growing youth took careful notes of their stench, how they belonged to the same group... were they invading her woods? Her home? A hardened glare cast itself out into the thick fog of the creeping woods, she wouldn't let it go, not without a fight. 

Following one of aid smells as it wandered deeper into the flame's territory, Conquest eventually came upon the strange sight of a dark woman with what she could tell... was a skull in her jaws. Bristling fur glimmered in the dim light with a light golden hue as it caught the dull light through the shaded woods, a growl humming through her chest as she announced herself, her presence, to the stranger before her. 

What are you doing? A harsh hiss cut through the silence.

She paused.
A rumble cut through the heavy air; the sound barreling for her.
She placed the skull down with as much care as she could be bothered to give the bastard.
She knew someone else would be here, if that Vein was. What she didn't expect, was for it to be one of the bastards.
Conquest, for her fur was made of deep auburn flames.

Vanity looked over to the demanding yearling.
A smirk graced her lips.
"My, you've grown." Should she answer the question?
"Vanity Valadez, former Nightwalker General." She sketched a mocking bow. The Nightwalkers weren't meaningful anymore.
Her eyes didn't leave the girl.
She was already bigger than Vanity herself, and if she had any semblance of her lineage, she'd be good in both speed and might.

"Where'd you run to?"

Carefully the behemoth watched the woman put the skull down, every movement was dissected and cautiously observed for any signs of trouble... Conquest was already on guard, waiting for any of this woman's companions to come to her defense, and so the fiery girl's ears were on a swivel, picking up any off-beat sounds coming from the forest around them. So far, they were alone... if she could pick each of this woman's companions off one by one, it would be the optimal plan.

Ruby eyes narrowed further as the woman turned around, the giantess' body stiffening as she prepared for the worst - and yet, all she found now was curiosity. The name was familiar, the smell too - just a little to pique her mind, but not enough to calm the beast that stood in front of the white-faced damsel. Then the word Nightwalker came General too. The coiled muscles eased up their tension, a sense of familiarity spreading throughout her body. 

I got lost. She said flatly, an almost accusing tone directed to the one who was supposed to be leading the pack, one of the leaders at least. What happened? Why are you back? She frowned, hardened brows tilting down while judging the woman and once again glancing down to her prize... unaware that she was looking into the face of her father.

She was cautious. Conquest knew Vanity hadn't come alone.
You weren't scared if you had your target in front of you.
Her stance was ready...she'd been trained by someone, even for a little bit.
Or managed t get into enough fights to learn, but she didn't seem too worse for wear.

She seemed to accept the words, but she barely knew Vanity. A fleeting name and face in her early life before she wandered too far away.
If she'd simply been lost, why couldn't she be found? Vanity looked when she could...when her own kids were old enough to be left long enough to look for everyone elses.
And no one helped when her's disappeared.

"I came to pick up an old friend." She wouldn't tell her that is was her Father. Perhaps lie and say it was Rokig. He might as well be dead. Very likely was...poor guy.
"You made it back though." She didn't know what to say to her.
She didn't look like she needed comforting.

No, she barely did know Vanity. Just a familiar name in the wind, a familiar scent that tainted the grounds and memories - but nothing more. If only she knew what her father thought of the harlot, how she was possibly one of the only loyal ones left to his name despite all the shit he put them all through. Perhaps the flame's current mood and outlook of the situation would change and soften. Instead, she remained suspicious. Of her recollection, most hated him, so why would this be any different? 

Who were they? And why were they burried here, she assumed they were considering the state of the skull and how dirty it was... it smelled of these lands too from where she stood. Was it an old friend of her father's too, or some unworthy trespasser that they chose to kill, an unfortunate loss of Vanity's circle?

I am the only one left. She corrected, assuring that she was patrolling these woods now as the only one claiming these lands. Who knows what would happen should a pack come to claim the misty woods for themselves... Conquest would not let them go, not without a fight... not for very long that was for certain. What happened?

She blinked.
It really was inevitable. The youth were so curious. And often demanding.
She didn't seem too pleased thus far.
Like Vanity walked in on something.
Her gaze narrowed slightly, trying to figure out this kid.

She chose to answer the second question first. Just for her own ease.
"Our numbers grew too weak, and the rest left. Valour, my children, and I were the last to leave." If she could recall correctly, which was unlikely these days. She wasn't fully senile yet, but things were getting patchy. 

"This is a lover of mine," not a lie. She didn't want to lie really.
She swallowed. This was her father. Her blood. It was wrong to not tell her, right?
"Vengeance." Fuck. Fuck sakes. Vanity was ready to pick the skull back up and leg it. She wasn't giving it up.
Not for the kid that never even saw the bastard. Did she even know his name?

Well, the story sounded about right. Perhaps it was the lack of strong leadership after her father passed away or the distrust between them that caused the pack to fall apart. It was a shame to hear, for such a light to dwindle and die rather than the glorious bang it should have through war - but, then again, perhaps it was for the best. They weren't seen as weak to die at the fangs of another, they simply scattered to new corners of the earth. So she took that information and let it be. 

That was until the new fire was brought to her chest as the explanation of the skull came into light. A lover, okay, that wasn't strange to want a memento of a past lover despite how strange it was to dig up their skull and carry it around. Conquest could respect that to a certain point, but it was who she was looking at which birthed a growl to roll forth once again. She stepped forward, ears drawn as her eyes flickered from Vanity and into the face of the man she wondered about almost daily. 

They were lovers.

She reminded herself, halting on the spot at the thought. Confused with the new information, she pondered... long and hard on it. Why? She snapped, just grasping for more to understand - still the haunting figure of his face, of the hollowed eyes burning into her skull that bore the same damn eyes - if only she knew. What are you going to do with him? She remained harsh, only for the following words to come out a little softer. A lost pup still trying to figure herself out, a puzzle with missing pieces. Do you still love him?

She returned the growl with a softer echo of her own.
She wouldn't be intimidated by a child. She may not look like it, but she was certainly thinking like it.
Still full of angst, still with unresolved issues of where she came from.
Vanity might be inclined to say if she wasn't so involved with that Stormbound.

Why.
Well, she couldn't really answer that. Vanity was losing the plot a bit, but the next demand gave her more to work with.
"So he isn't forgotten, for as long as I live." So his soul isn't lost. Connie never met her father. There was no memory to remember.
"If I didn't love him, I wouldn't have bothered returning. Hm?"
A sound bit of logic there for the fire kissed hija.

She swallowed. "I'll return it when I'm old and dying if you wish. And you can find him then."
To her it seemed like a good compromise. Vanity only had, what, a year? Two at most still on the clock, so spending her last moments turning Venny over to his daughter wasn't such a bad thing.

"I think you'd be his favourite." The matching size, those big red eyes, and demanding strong-headed nature.
Just like the man himself in some ways.
Would it be wrong for Vanity to have a crush on her late lover's daughter? Probably.

So far so good... Despite the child's reaction, she was rather calm. Vanity was saying all the right things, the tranquility of the white-faced woman was also enough to keep Conquest from burning bright with rage and instead, kept her at a simmering flame. So he wouldn't be forgotten. The words sounded sweet in her ears, nearly a song as it lifted her spirits in a similar way. 

It would be appreciated... call for me when you do, I will never be far. A simple request. That time would be quite a ways away and in that time, she was certain she would grow closer to her father spiritually somehow. To truly appreciate the return of his skull when the time comes and guard it herself after Vanity was gone. 

A flicker behind her as the giantess' tail found life once more, slithering in a near happy fashion at the final words being uttered. Do you truly believe that? For now, she didn't know why that would be. Knowing little about her old man, all she had to go on was the little bits of information fed to her by others he had affected in his time here. To think she would be his favourite, it was incredible - almost too good to be true if Vanity wasn't playing a cruel trick on the girl.

Vanity was surprised, to say the least.
She thought she'd be possessively aggressive. Vengeance never was - at least in her mind - so why did she expect it? Probably because it's what Vanity would have done.

"Of course. If I die before I can return, I will send my most trusted in my stead."
She hoped the teeth didn't fall out. They were rather impressive. Even more impressive was the fact she'd managed to keep the jaws together. Should she separate them? No.
She'd have to find some good sap.

"Yeah. You have his size, his fire, and his eyes." She laughed softly. A picture of the old man.
"Your coat is lighter than his. Though it's hard to tell when he was such a state," she smiled softly now. A hint of disgust. He really never cleaned.

The girl offered a solemn nod. If that be the case, have them state your name so I know who sent them. She trusted few, and so, the girl was cautious. Even in her earliest memories, that's all she could remember was pain, fear, cold, and vigilance for her own safety that her own mother didn't care to offer. As for Vanity, if she was as honest as she sounded - hoped they could get along someday.

She had no reason not to trust Vanity so far. After being met with aggression she was nothing but calm... she answered the plethora of questions from a curious young woman with whom they barely remembered one another. It was a small step for Conquest to even have an inkling to trust anyone, and this was one of them. 

Her tail swayed at his description, how she resembled him so despite the difference in colour. State? She had to question, what did Vanity mean by that?

She nodded curtly.
Connie certainly didn't take any chances.
Of course not, she'd not really had a family, no pack. She'd lived alone for so long.
Did she feel like Vanity once had?

But then she questioned her words.
A state? Did she not know?
"A mess. He was never clean. Always covered in spit, blood, and mud," a soft smirk, "it wasn't a look."
Maybe it was hereditary. Maybe Connie would become a slob like Venny.
If so it wouldn't be too hard to find her siblings if that's how they all kept themselves.

Spit, blood, and mud. Vanity certainly painted an odd portrait of her father, it was curious to think of. Conquest wasn't one to keep up with her bathing religiously either, but she wasn't that disgusting. At least once things were caking on she took the time to preen the fiery locks of her fur before it matted. At least she took the time to deal with those before her skin pinched under the pressure of the clumps of matting fur. 

Who knows, maybe she would follow in his footsteps later. It all depended on how much she cared for her outer appearance. Will you visit again? She questioned. She didn't have much and already liked Vanity to a certain point. She was the last bit of the Nightwalkers that remained to her knowledge, the last that cared enough to come and visit - even if it was to take her father's skull like some kind of sick souvenir.

It was almost sweet she supposed.

Having someone even if they weren't always around felt better than no one at all. Maybe someday they could get close too, just as Vanity did with Vengeance. If not, that was okay too.

Conquest didn't seem too assured of the description, but it was the best she was going to get.
If she wanted more, she could keep digging in that hole.
Vanity didn't rebury what she'd uncovered.

"Perhaps. O'Malley and I are thinking of our own pack."
Of course, once Sotrmborn had run its course. It was thrilling to think of.
"I'll visit closer to the time," she smiled softly.
It was too early to tell her what the plan was -or if there even was one. But Vanity suspected that it would involve that fucking God somewhere along the lines.
Oh well.

"Are you going to live here by yourself?"
She doubted she'd go to Stormborn with them. But hey, Vanity might be surprised.

O'Mally, the name meant nothing to her. He didn't sound like a member of the Nightwalkers from her memory... although with her age it was starting to get fuzzy what she did remember from back then other than the cruel cold that seared into her memories. Should she tell Vanity good luck on her venture? It didn't matter, Conquest didn't care what she did after all so long as she treated her father with the respect Conquest truly believed he deserved. 

Yes. Not for long, unbeknownst to the fiery girl, someone would soon come by and sweep her away into their own lands. I want to claim these woods again, in the name of my father, to bring good to the Nightwalkers name... of which was tainted after his passing. Who she had to blame for that she wasn't certain... someone had to be to blame. Perhaps the bitch who killed him? That was a safe one she supposed... but Conquest couldn't even know who to blame for that either.

I suppose we have similar paths. Just on a different trail.

She wondered how long the girl had been alone for.
How much longer she would be.
At least she intended on staying local.
"I'm sure it'll be a worthy empire."
One that might rival hers. Perhaps they could join their forces together. She'd need the support of a seasoned leader...and O'Malley would like supplicants.

She couldn't help thinking of Hela and Valour. The youths of the woods, groomed into being leaders, one taking it, the other having it placed on him.
She nodded. Similar indeed.
"I wish to look around more if that's ok. We can walk together if you like?"
She could tell the girl of the past, and Vanity could see her whelping den.
And remind herself of that time, seemingly so long ago now.

A nod at the approval of the future claim, of Conquest's desire to take back what was rightfully hers. A worthy empire indeed. She would ensure her father's survival through his bloodline and beliefs, gather as many stories of his time here from the locals and create a place where his name would be revered. 

These are as much your echoes of the past as they are mine. Now that she knew who this was, Connie had no problem with Vanity roaming the misty woods for whatever other reason she had to linger a little longer. With a nod, she approached the woman, ready to walk with her as suggested. Wondering if she would learn anything else from Vanity before saying their goodbyes. 

What do you want to see? What little secrets did Vanity have through these woods that she would share with her beloved's daughter? The fiery dame looked down at the skull at Vanity's paws, studying the filthy thing. She was in awe to think that this was her creator, her father, the man that plagued her thoughts more so than he probably should for someone she had never met before. He was like a God to her. Never seen, but she trusted he was great.