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+--- Thread: PRP a dance with wonder (/showthread.php?tid=9646)
a dance with wonder - Wardruna - 12/18/2025
Many questions still roamed the mind of Wardruna. Her thoughts going back to just days prior, where she and Sreda had taken a little trip to the great Tree of Life. Wardruna simply just felt she didnt know enough - maybe she knew more then she should yet to sooth her wondering she decided it best to seek the audience of those she knew very well had first-paw knowledge of this themselves: The High Priestess and High Augur of Elysium, Valeska and Amaranth.
Her journey would take her south of Avon claim and she would call out for the leaders to waste no time in seeking them, yet still would keep up her pace as she sniffed for any fresh scents of them. By the time dawn broke, she found herself north-west, skirting at the edge of the royal wisteria woodland where death had squeezed the color from the once vibrant leaves into dead and withered sticks. If her first time coming here had been during fruiting season, perhaps she would have found it far more remarkable.
RE: a dance with wonder - Valeska - 12/20/2025
Understandably, Valeska needed space.
It's not that she didn't still love her mate. Amaranth was a part of her very being, etched indelibly into the frame of her soul, the air in her lungs, the star to guide her path...
She was also the woman who had just chewed her fucking tail off.
"I did it to save you," she had said, or some variation of the phrase. "The Plague was killing you!"
The crease between her eyes deepened as she stole a glance back toward the nub where once a glorious banner waved. Never again would her tail thump the ground with joy at the sight of her grandpups; never again would she curl it warmly around her haunches, never again bury her nose in its plush softness.
A strangely familiar voice called out through the breaking dawn, one she had rarely heard so far from its home. Wardruna? What could have possibly brought her out this far from the mountains?
Valeska broke into a trot, hurrying to meet her. It had been some time since they'd met last, and she was always delighted to see any of Ragnar's blood; he had meant a great deal to her in life, a longstanding friend and ally, and his legacy in death had only grown.
Wardruna!she called out, closing the gap between them. Her rump began to sway, looking for its missing tail, and she nearly wept. She must rally.
It is good to see you! What has brought you so far from Northfall? You look well.
RE: a dance with wonder - Wardruna - 12/20/2025
Valeska, there you are! Hello!Her nose had led her this far, yet it must have been her call which had brought the High Priestress directly into Wardruna's path.
Large paws make quick work of the snowy earth, closing the distance in heavy foot falls as she made her way into the short, curvy woman's direction. All the while, her thick tail waving, a smile - Wait. Where was Valeska's tail!?
What happen??Her head tilts, neck cranning to the side as she was quickly distracted by the obvious difference in the woman's appearance. And here Valeska had been doing her best trying not to think about it.
RE: a dance with wonder - Valeska - 12/21/2025
It was no use; Valeska despaired. It would be the very first thing anyone noticed about her for a long time to come, and she felt a heaviness in her heart as she further realized the words that were about to part from her lips would be spoken until they became a well-practiced phrase.
Best make it succinct.
My wife chewed it off and pushed me into a magic blue fire?
But that made Amaranth sound unwell. She was unwell, clearly, but it wasn't fair to paint her that way to anyone else.
I am told it was infected,she said carefully, still not entirely certain of the truth surrounding its departure herself. Everyone had told her it was infected, damaged beyond saving, but - well, who's really to say? It hadn't felt bad. In fact, she thought serenely, she hadn't felt it at all toward the end.
(It was really, really bad.)
There were very obvious scabs where someone's fangs had worked very diligently to remove the offending tail, but she didn't think it worth mentioning.
Now, tell me about you!Valeska said, mustering up every ounce of cheer she could to try and distract from the obvious.
It is not every day a wolf of Northfall ventures out this way.
RE: a dance with wonder - Wardruna - 12/21/2025
skill: Orator
Wardruna nodded curtly, her expression revealing not an ounce of doubt in the subtle explanation which Valeska had given. Wara did not, of course, make her way around her to take notice of the slices of scabbed bite marks, either.
Look - best it your tail then all of you. You are Callosum Matriarch.Of course, Valeska was obviously already well aware of this, but the words were meant to make Valeska remember this, should she have faltered in her image of herself due to this unfortunate situation. Honestly, Wardruna would have held her down in the fire right along with Amaranth. Funny how intense Wardruna could be emotionally and still would spill blood and set someone on fire without second thought.
It is not.Wardruna said with a smile, sitting down so that she might allow invite for Valeska to speak with her awhile this dawn of a new day.
I have come for your knowledge, High Priestess, and perhaps your advice.She would begin and although her words revealed the heaviness of the topic, the seriousness was not at all suggested with a tone of sorrow or malice.
You see, I have tried many times for a family to call my own, one to rival my parents even ...She said with a sheepish smile. She was nearly half into her third year, thus, having a late start if we're being honest.
And after my mate had disapeared,She understood Valeska would not know of this, but the union with Sheauga had been shorter then the time which she had been gone from her.
I had decided not to relay on another (at least not a mortal) for this any longer. I spoke to Sreda about it and she had the willingness in her heart to help lead me to the Tree of Life.
I didnt know which gods to pray to. I didnt know if any, and obviously Mythris magic is unpredictable at best but, we tried. We gave our blood as sacrifice. I just don't know what to expect and felt I'd seek the experience of one who had done this before, successfully.Magic was really the only word to describe it, though what magic and who's magic was uncertain. The Norse? The Gods of Old? The Five? Or even guardian spirits of the forest, Life bringers and protectors? Surely it was benevolent, to grant others children where naturally they would not have them, yet during this blight on Mythris? What if they came out plagued? Deformed? Like the walking disease she had seen in the far north??
RE: a dance with wonder - Valeska - 12/29/2025
Matriarch sounded very impressive, and while she supposed it true that one appendage could not make up for a life lost, she still wished she could have kept her tail. There was also a very small, suspicious part of her that hadn't missed the covetous looks from Amaranth - the way her lips always moistened in close proximity - the way her eyes would narrow with extra focus when it would sway enticingly in front of her, how she would nestle into its plush softness when they would lay themselves down to rest.
If Valeska did not trust her mate implicitly, she would have suspected her of desiring this outcome.
Actually, she had noticed how quickly Amaranth moved to relocate her tail from the scene...
... The High Priestess made a note to check the Augur's den.
Grateful for the change in subject, Valeska sat very gingerly upon the cold ground (a relief to her still-healing buttocks) and prepared herself to offer whatever sagely words of wisdom she could impart. The wolves of Northfall were proud and kept much of their affairs to themselves, so this was quite unusual and - daresay - exciting.
Wardruna started off cautiously enough, almost hesitantly, and immediately Valeska's mind leapt to an image of Alder. He was already a member of their pack, strong and steady - albeit tortured - and perhaps, maybe, she had caught the Stormborn-daughter stealing a few furtive glances toward him during various celebratory events (which could also be reasonably attributed to his absurd coloring against the stark grey and white of the mountains there, but one could not be certain).
Imagine her profound surprise when Sreda's name fell from Wardruna's lips as naturally as one might speak of the weather.
Sreda?
Sreda. Going to the tree. With Wardruna?
It wasn't that she thought her daughter incapable of love - but trying to imagine her as a parent...?
Did she even know what children were?
Oh,Valeska said intelligently, blinking in the dawn's golden light.
Ah - sorry - it is so bright, you see -
She had to excuse herself in the moment. She didn't want Wardruna to get the wrong impression; Valeska was delighted, but understandably confused.
I am overjoyed for the two of you,she said with great emphasis, and as she came to terms with a vision of Sreda teaching the pups how to craft neurotoxins, she found she meant it. Valeska was, in fact, over the moon, and the prospect of more grandchildren no doubt added great fuel to the fire.
I cannot say I am an expert on the Tree, having only visited once, but it accepted our offering - not even blood, but meaningful trinkets from our wedding-day - and delivered three healthy pups not long after. You will feel a - a kind of pull back to its roots when it is time; they will be resting in the hollow.
Valeska decided to leave out the parts regarding emotional trauma and miscarriage that had led up to their journey toward Lake's Halo. She quietly assumed that such things were not a necessary part of the process.
Oh, to think, longstanding allies now bound together by familial bonds - it is so romantic!she crooned, swaying with emotion.
I hope their tails are as magnificent as mine was...
With razor-sharp focus, Valeska snapped back to attention.
When is the wedding?
RE: a dance with wonder - Wardruna - 3/8/2026
Was that shock which struck the High Priestess that Wardruna just saw, as she would than comment on the light? Which caused Wardruna to shift the weight of her wide frame to block any sunlight from her eyes, just in case War was imagining things. Probably not. After all, the flat, inscrutable expression which Sreda often wore made it seem as though she wasn't quite interested or intrigued about much of anything, let alone the high, mewing cries of a baby, let alone the constant nagging and questions of a toddler.
It was probably why Wardruna would have never imagined in all her years that Sreda would be interested in her. The signs had been there, though; the subtle brightness in her eyes, the just-so-barely curve of her mouth, the one, maybe two, sways of her tail in any given time. Signs which made it known for those who knew Sreda well that she quite enjoyed Wardruna... but as anything more than just friends? It didn't help of course that after quite a few failed attempts at courtship, Wardruna felt a bit, cursed.
Slow nods come as Valeska (future step-mom!?!) explains her experience, of feeling a pull towards the tree again and that they would be found within the open hollow beyond its tangled roots.
Wardruna's tail is sliding back and forth over the cold earth, a grin on her face as Valeska continues on about how that finally the alliance between Callosum and Stormborn had become tied by blood. After so many failed attempts (was that a sign?) as it were. Yet something in Wardruna found it almost to be fate that her and Sreda's lives were now locked together in this way. After all, the northern girl's life had always seemed to be intermingled with the first Callosum litter. She was but ten moons when she met Sreda first and she had come to be a well friend in the years despite time and space between. Wardruna had also had her first crush on Alder. Had been first betrothed to Dimitri. Even her brother, Hvisterk had been engaged to Narcissa.
Wardruna was just grinned away, nodding as Valeska mentioned the hope of their tails being just as impressive as hers had been and - Wardruna froze. Eyes which had lingered shut a moment opening wide and ears perking high.
Oh- Ahhhh...wedding?? We um...her paws began to shuffle over themselves with nervousness before the High Priestess.
I don't think... We haven't gotten that far. I don't know if, if Sreda would want all that.She stammered through her words.
RE: a dance with wonder - Valeska - 3/8/2026
It still seemed so impossible that Sreda had found her other half at last. To think she was even capable of love! A tolerable sort of fondness, perhaps, but this was unprecedented. Oh, if only she had her tail to wag!
Wardruna had suffered so long in love, she thought; she had distantly known of her affection for Alder (it was quite obvious even in those days), who had always been chronically self-loathing to a point he deemed himself utterly unlovable, and it still brought a bitter taste to her tongue when she recalled the ill-fated 'arrangement' her sister had forced between Dimitri and the Stormborn woman. She had never truly forgiven Harper for overstepping in her own children's lives so cruelly - especially when Dimitri, so uncertain of his own wants, had insulted Wardruna by exploring dalliances elsewhere during that time.
Valeska's thoughts drifted to Harper. Wherever she was, she hoped she was alright. For months after her disappearance she had felt overcome by grief and confusion at the seeming abandonment of her own half-sister, but now her absence had settled into a dull ache over which time seemed to lessen.
Sreda would go along with whatever you wished, I am certain,she interjected glibly.
Why, having children is already a far greater commitment than a wedding! I am sure she would be open to the idea.
I am open to the idea, she thought ravenously, picturing the decadent florals and elaborate feasts laid out on their behalf. Imagining the sparkle in Wardruna's eyes, the passive ambivalence of Sreda's weak facial muscles struggling to form a smile - it was rapturous!
But I suppose it cannot be rushed.
(But it would be loudly encouraged, many times, until the day itself.)
Have you thought of - of names? Oh, maybe it is too soon! I am just so happy for you both. I have always admired your strength, much like Ragnar's, and you will make such a wonderful mother.
RE: a dance with wonder - Wardruna - 3/25/2026
It had been many moons since Wardruna had thought of Dimitri . A man she did not initially find in the least bit attractive, unlike her feelings towards his red-headed brother. Still, Wardruna was a committed young woman, dutiful and she had goals. Goals which required a mate, for she would be damned if her children would be seen as basterds.
Men - pah! It seemed almost laughable now. Between all the failed attempts: Alder, Dimitri, Orel… All along Sreda remained the wall flower spider in wait as Wardruna realized she did not need a man all along. She needed commitment and loyalty. She needed faith in the gods. Blood magic wasn't all sources of evil doing.
Maybe it will be held at night…She began to ponder as Valeska spoke of the wedding, her own excitement spilling ideas into Wardruna's head. A decoration of bones with war paint instead of florals, even.
Oh-! So very many names, actually…A soft smile. After all, she had been waiting for this day to come even before she had her first heat. She remembered that time. A sad time in loneliness. Yet Valeska's words broke her thought process, ears sweeping back and her smile deepening. Eyes glistening even, at this.
Thank you, Valeska. That means the world to me. These pups, I've wanted them for so long … They will be my everything.