2/25/2025, 5:31 AM
The sun felt warm against her fur as she padded quietly through the Vale.
Loss weighed heavily on Aurelia's mind, flickering between visions of Olive, of Tiberius, and of Genghis - not as she had found them, but as they had been. Olive, gentle and comforting with her pale coat of white shimmering in the dawn; Tiberius, proud and upright, a dark monolith of strength and stability that had carried them through so many seasons, weathered so many storms. His scarred hide had been part of who he was - a story behind every jagged line that cut hard through his flesh.
And Genghis. Not cold, drowned, sinking beneath the frigid waters. She could see him against the horizon, a constant presence, ever-watchful and ready to catch any who might find themselves falling.
Like fine grains of sand they all blew away, and then Aurelia was alone.
She once found solace in solitude. Now it was almost as if she feared being with her own thoughts, plagued by the endless parade of vignettes that showed her the faces of the dead staring back at her with empty, hollow eyes.
Could any of their deaths - or her father's absence - ever have been stopped?
Maybe Tiberius had left them because he couldn't bear to be reminded of the woman, of the life he had lost. As different as they all were, her fine features were etched into her children's faces, carried on in their gait, their eyes, while some even echoed her voice - Euphemia and Dalmatia had always taken after her the most.
Perhaps it had been too painful to stay.
Solulfur's scent drifted along the wind, and Aurelia changed course. A hunt would be a nice distraction, she thought tiredly; it didn't need to be anything grand. Even a hare they might chase together through the trees would be better than the yawning emptiness that threatened to swallow her hole.
With the Black Sun's scent came a strange sweetness, and she found herself surprised as a sudden wad of floating flower petals clustered themselves against her face. She shook her head, scattering them in an arc around her - and blinked as a path appeared before her, lined with flowering, high-reaching trees in such a way as to suggest it had always been there.
It hadn't.
Solulfur's trail led down the path.
Aurelia followed it -
- and found herself somewhere entirely new, far from any landmark she could recall. Was she dreaming? How could she tell if she was?
There were indentations in the snow that led up a dangerous trail toward one of the high peaks looming overhead. Solulfur must have gone there - but why? What was she tracking?
With nowhere else to go but forward, the Shakti-Vaes followed.
Loss weighed heavily on Aurelia's mind, flickering between visions of Olive, of Tiberius, and of Genghis - not as she had found them, but as they had been. Olive, gentle and comforting with her pale coat of white shimmering in the dawn; Tiberius, proud and upright, a dark monolith of strength and stability that had carried them through so many seasons, weathered so many storms. His scarred hide had been part of who he was - a story behind every jagged line that cut hard through his flesh.
And Genghis. Not cold, drowned, sinking beneath the frigid waters. She could see him against the horizon, a constant presence, ever-watchful and ready to catch any who might find themselves falling.
Like fine grains of sand they all blew away, and then Aurelia was alone.
She once found solace in solitude. Now it was almost as if she feared being with her own thoughts, plagued by the endless parade of vignettes that showed her the faces of the dead staring back at her with empty, hollow eyes.
Could any of their deaths - or her father's absence - ever have been stopped?
Maybe Tiberius had left them because he couldn't bear to be reminded of the woman, of the life he had lost. As different as they all were, her fine features were etched into her children's faces, carried on in their gait, their eyes, while some even echoed her voice - Euphemia and Dalmatia had always taken after her the most.
Perhaps it had been too painful to stay.
Solulfur's scent drifted along the wind, and Aurelia changed course. A hunt would be a nice distraction, she thought tiredly; it didn't need to be anything grand. Even a hare they might chase together through the trees would be better than the yawning emptiness that threatened to swallow her hole.
With the Black Sun's scent came a strange sweetness, and she found herself surprised as a sudden wad of floating flower petals clustered themselves against her face. She shook her head, scattering them in an arc around her - and blinked as a path appeared before her, lined with flowering, high-reaching trees in such a way as to suggest it had always been there.
It hadn't.
Solulfur's trail led down the path.
Aurelia followed it -
- and found herself somewhere entirely new, far from any landmark she could recall. Was she dreaming? How could she tell if she was?
There were indentations in the snow that led up a dangerous trail toward one of the high peaks looming overhead. Solulfur must have gone there - but why? What was she tracking?
With nowhere else to go but forward, the Shakti-Vaes followed.
![[Image: AureliaSignature.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/AureliaSignature.gif)
