6/27/2025, 8:11 PM
It wasn't necessary for Aurelia to close her eyes to envision it. She could see them all, her mind conjuring shapes and shades of grey and black as their sides gently rose and fell in the darkness of sleep, Solulfur a small figure buried somewhere amongst them. The vision reminded Aurelia of her own youth, she and her siblings piled eagerly against Mother as they soaked in her scent and her warmth and her love.
How deeply she regretted the distance placed between them before her passing. Mother hadn't deserved it - Aurelia had been young, petulant, a child lashing out under the burden of loss and responsibilities she did not feel ready for.
Her attention returned to the present; to Solulfur. Aurelia distantly wondered if she had ever been cold a day in her life - the woman had an exterior chillier than ice, and her words were sharp enough to cut down even the strongest wolf from sheer force of will alone.
Solulfur was far too strong to let cold bother her.
Despite the ledge being out of view from their current vantage, she turned her head regardless to look toward its general direction; Aurelia resisted a small, shy smile that tweaked the corners of her mouth, realizing this was perhaps the first time Solulfur had offered such gentle pieces of her soul so readily.
Aurelia realized her eyes were lingering over Solulfur's own golden gaze as she said it, and her breath quickened as the same uncomfortable feeling from before clenched at her chest.
At the Black Sun's next admission, her expression - normally so controlled - broke into one of astonishment.
Solulfur truly had been forged in a different fire.
But to then say that she - no, it is not so selfish - Dawnbreak - the Vale itself was the best choice she had made in her life saw Aurelia blinking in stunned silence, and to her dismay, she felt her throat tightening with emotion. She was growing soft as she aged, she thought agitatedly. The Shakti-Vaes swallowed the lump with as little noise as she could manage.
It sounded so formal, she stopped herself. This was not just anyone, not just a packmate. This was Solulfur.
The Black Sun sent her a curveball.
Homesick. For the past?
Aurelia had never thought of that before.
She thought back to her childhood, when the world was simpler and full of comfort and love; all of her siblings together and safe, her parents alive and warm. It was not many moons into her youth, however, when her innate personality began to develop. Even at the tender age of three months, she had already felt determined to make herself useful, struggling to teach herself and her sisters how to patrol the borders, attempt smaller hunts, anything to be better, more helpful, more productive. Aurelia had never been an idle child.
Now she had grown, and all of the things she had fought to master and learn were so much closer.
Her gaze flickered up.
The question seemed to answer itself.
Aurelia quirked a brow.
How deeply she regretted the distance placed between them before her passing. Mother hadn't deserved it - Aurelia had been young, petulant, a child lashing out under the burden of loss and responsibilities she did not feel ready for.
Her attention returned to the present; to Solulfur. Aurelia distantly wondered if she had ever been cold a day in her life - the woman had an exterior chillier than ice, and her words were sharp enough to cut down even the strongest wolf from sheer force of will alone.
Solulfur was far too strong to let cold bother her.
Despite the ledge being out of view from their current vantage, she turned her head regardless to look toward its general direction; Aurelia resisted a small, shy smile that tweaked the corners of her mouth, realizing this was perhaps the first time Solulfur had offered such gentle pieces of her soul so readily.
I have always enjoyed sunsets,she said after a moment, taking an idle step closer toward her companion.
The sunrise often reminds me of how much there is still to do, but I agree it must have been... beautiful.
Aurelia realized her eyes were lingering over Solulfur's own golden gaze as she said it, and her breath quickened as the same uncomfortable feeling from before clenched at her chest.
At the Black Sun's next admission, her expression - normally so controlled - broke into one of astonishment.
Only six months? That is how old you were?she said incredulously. That was far too young to be on the move for so long, Aurelia thought; perhaps it was her own sheltered upbringing, but to her, skills were better learned within the safety of your home territory in places that were familiar, and even then they only hunted in short outings.
Solulfur truly had been forged in a different fire.
But to then say that she - no, it is not so selfish - Dawnbreak - the Vale itself was the best choice she had made in her life saw Aurelia blinking in stunned silence, and to her dismay, she felt her throat tightening with emotion. She was growing soft as she aged, she thought agitatedly. The Shakti-Vaes swallowed the lump with as little noise as she could manage.
I cannot express how much I am honor-
It sounded so formal, she stopped herself. This was not just anyone, not just a packmate. This was Solulfur.
... How much that means to me. I still can't believe you've... stayed, for so long, and given us - given me - so much of yourself. It is more valuable than any reward, any prize I could imagine.
The Black Sun sent her a curveball.
Homesick. For the past?
Aurelia had never thought of that before.
She thought back to her childhood, when the world was simpler and full of comfort and love; all of her siblings together and safe, her parents alive and warm. It was not many moons into her youth, however, when her innate personality began to develop. Even at the tender age of three months, she had already felt determined to make herself useful, struggling to teach herself and her sisters how to patrol the borders, attempt smaller hunts, anything to be better, more helpful, more productive. Aurelia had never been an idle child.
Now she had grown, and all of the things she had fought to master and learn were so much closer.
I miss...she struggled.
I miss Mother. I miss Father. The sound of their voices; her soft sighs, his deep rumbling. I miss their scent over the snow, and their absence is a hole I do not know will ever fill.
Her gaze flickered up.
I don't miss being helpless. There was nothing I could do when we experienced our first disappearances and panic set in; I couldn't even venture out alone to help search for them.
The question seemed to answer itself.
Perhaps in a broad sense, I don't. I'm not homesick because home is - where you feel right. It is, I think, a present state, and I have already lived the past; there is so much more to experience, and maybe even better things.
Aurelia quirked a brow.
Complicated question, though. Did you have friends, growing up?
![[Image: AureliaSignature.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/AureliaSignature.gif)
