Dead Empress Backwater bad baby on my heavenly side

@Oleander

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

Torianna had been… quiet. Almost suspiciously slow. Even now as she slunk through the territory in a bitter move, there was a lack of dedication or commitment to her step. She was, without a doubt, inherently not Tori. She’d had fits of rage, but for the most part (especially with her usual punching bag gone) she was uncharacteristically peaceful. It wasn’t that she was truly peaceful, for her thoughts were a torrent of rage and violence… but they lacked action. What was the point? Why was she doing it and who was it to impress? She’d always done it for the attention it brought, and her desire to be the best.

And yet her world had come crumbling. How could she be the best without her father? Wasn’t he supposed to teach her that stuff? And her mother was moping and sad and it made it difficult for her to get attention that she wanted and in many ways needed… it caused a deep frown and her sullen mood both. It had taken her plans for the future, uprooted them, and stomped mercilessly on them. Her nose twitched in the light agitation she would allow to show, her feet stomping across the ground.

And she was making her way towards the borders in the vain hope that arriving at them would simply fix all her problems despite knowing that it would not… knowing that her father and sister were still gone, her mother was still miserable, and everyone else seemed… hell, she didn’t know. Apathetic? Perhaps she was just bad at reading emotions, a likely case from a callous girl who had never considered the thoughts or feelings of others.

(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2024, 06:41 PM by Torianna.)

Oleander was trying his best to keep his nose in his work and his head on more important things. Temptation was easy to get wrapped up in, but with his blossomed loyalty to Sage, he held fast. After processing his family dynamics, he had made up his mind. Having a father, two mothers and an uncle as a step-father was a bit much in the end. He wanted that kind of love that Viorel had for Vanadis. In his eyes, it felt concrete, everlasting. He wanted to give himself completely to Sage. And, Sage alone.

He had been wandering along the borders when his mind wandered to check on his mother. Whatever had transpired, he was unaware of. All he knew in his gut was that he despised Vayko Valle with a fire that could have rivaled Hell itself. Now he felt the obligation to step up and be there for the younger half-siblings he tried so hard to avoid. Even if they were all nearly yearlings now.

Off-white paws came to a stop, the whole of his body turning until his ears caught the sound of footfalls nearby. He lifted his head and scented the air. Speak of the Devil...

Oleander knew little to nothing about Clover and Vayko's litter. But, his daily check-ins with his mother at least provided him with their names. He memorized their signature scents and the color of their adult pelts. That was it, though. At that time, that was as far as he wanted to be involved... From the moment Vayko had stepped in, Oleander had simply become Viorel's son. It was a shame that the idea was short-lived... not having to straddle two branches in a family tree.

"Torianna," he called, stepping through the twisted trees and moving around a fallen log. His tone was firm but not scolding or vexed. Just four syllables of musing, wondering what she was doing out this far on her own. As if she had been caught with a hand in the cookie jar... or, well, her nose in a treat cache that was not meant for her.

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

She had stuck mostly to herself… to her siblings. She seldom interacted with the other wolves of the pack. There had been no need… apart from Eros and Viorel who had seemed to take some interest in them. She had briefly known Seri when he had been in the pack but he had left some time ago… a frown formed on her features when he heard the voice, a firm tone but it lacked the usual bite the adults carried with her, telling her that perhaps she was not in trouble this time. Her ears pressed down, a melancholic frown on her features as she turned her head to look at him.

Oleander. Her half-brother. She knew that to be the truth because her mother had told her so… they shared a mother but not a father. Why such things mattered, she was not entirely certain… it was strange to think that her mother had pups with her Uncle Viorel before having pups with her father, but she was still a little too young to grasp such complex family dynamics. At first, she said nothing… simply staring at him. She did not care if she was scolded, though she preferred to avoid it.

“Oleander.” She would state back, a certain formality but it lacked the usual bite that it carried when interacting with her littermates. “I… I was just—“ She uncharacteristically lacked words as she glanced back towards the border. “I was looking for Da…” She offered, her voice muddled and just under her breath almost as if she was afraid to say it aloud… to show such weakness so openly to someone she did not know well… it was almost as bad as showing it to someone she did know. Either way, she despised it. She did not want it.

She also wondered how she got caught… or perhaps caught was the wrong word as she had not done anything wrong. Her parents said no further than the border, not that she could not go to the border… technically she was within the confines of the rules set for her… a rarity for her.

The girl's ears lowered and she turned to face him. There was a moment where they simply stood and regarded one another. She reminded him of their mother, right down to the sadness that touched her pale features. Protocol for wandering and wayward pups called for discipline. Her older brother might have had a healthy respect for rules and boundaries, but he opted to hear her out first.

"Oleander," she addressed him with what sounded like the same primness he offered her. This was not Tori and Ollie, younger sister and older brother, having a chat. He stepped forward, large ears facing her, listening as she faltered. "I was looking for Da..."

He gave a crooked but sympathetic smile. Of course, she would go looking for Vayko. "Well," he started, eyeing the forest beyond the marked border and then looking back at her. "You know pups aren't allowed out-of-bounds, but I could help you look." She was half his size now, but something told him that he was in for it, if he had to get into the thick of it with her. His tail gave an airy wave. "Only if you'd like, of course." It was the only thing he could think of to help ease the yearning for someone who had been left behind.

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

He seemed to listen… to hear her out, and she had hope that perhaps he might understand… it was not usual for the girl to be so uncertain her step, or in her words… she almost always knew what she wanted. His smile gave her more hope, perhaps traitorously so. She thought hope a silly thing… an even sillier concept that often bred disappointment and yet he offered to help her. Her ears slowly leveled from their flattened position, standing as if reversing the process of a wilted flower though her frown remained on her features. Did she really want help looking?

Of course she did, she wanted her father… but… “At what cost?” Surely everything had a cost, right? She knew she often charged for things like a moment of peace… the entirety of the world she knew was an equal transaction of checks and balances that she did her best to level in her favor.

And so she would find herself ignoring the way his tail gave an airy wave, finding herself a little more rigid with caution, carefully placing her words. She was to be an adult herself soon, coming upon her first birthday more rapidly than before it would seem. “I don’t understand… everyone says he left but why would he leave when we are here?” Except Euna who had run off after him.

"At what cost?"

It was a strange question, coming from a young girl, but Oleander knew what she was getting at. The whole 'what's in it for me?' type of thing. He had that mindset when he was her age. Perhaps they had more in common than he liked to believe. For that, he had no answer. His aid and support did not come at a price. Torianna was family and, true to Valle virtues, Oleander would help her no matter what.

"I don't understand..." she continued, "Everyone says he left but why would he leave when we are here?"

His smile ebbed away, his heart breaking as it beat in his chest. He had wondered the same thing time and time again. With Violet, Marguerite, Sharlee, Vanadis (despite her recent return)... then there were others he knew were family but did not miss as much: Modesto, Rochus, Xulia, Hazelnut, Andrey... Why had they left?

"I wish I could tell ya, kid," his cheery tone took a turn. His tail lowered and his words became laced with a sadness he had been bottling up for a long while. "Wolves come and wolves go." It was the way of the world, but he didn't want to tell her that. It was too... detached and impersonal. This was his sister he was talking to. As an older brother, he wanted to protect her from the world and the pain it caused. Empathy was the only thing he could offer. "Sometimes we don't have answers. I've asked the same thing before when my sisters, your older sisters, left me and Mom here. They had their reasons; it just wasn't for us to know."

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

He would not answer her question, and so the tension would remain lingering subtly in her body, accentuated through her shoulders and into her back as she puffed her chest out lightly, as if to point out she was grown now… not that she didn’t want the help. The last thing she wanted to deal with right now was any adult droning on about the rules. How was she supposed to care about any rules, or about breaking them, given what had just happened? The answers her elder brother did provide left much to be desired, that frown continuing to cement across her features as if it had become a permanent fixture on her face.

It did not seem like he had an answer, and in that moment she considered whether or not he still had worth. She knew he did, for he was old enough to escort her places without her being scolded… and yet, she wondered if he truly intended to help her, or if he was merely placating her out of pity. Poor Tori, who had just been abandoned… except she would not rely on such things as her sister had.

“Like Euna too?” She would ask, acutely aware of her sister’s absence. There was another pregnant pause before her voice carried out, each syllable staccato as she asked. “Will they ever return?” There was a certain measure of apprehension that carried her tone as her dark amber eyes remained fixed on the similarly pale form. “Will they have good reasons if they do?” Perhaps it had not been a choice… perhaps it had been a matter of extortion, or illness, or confusion?

Torianna hated hope… but she hoped it was the case.

She continued to frown. Oleander could not say or do anything to relieve her of it.

"Like Euna too?" First, one question, then another. "Will they ever return?" Then, a third. "Will they have good reasons if they do?"

Oleander's gaze lowered as he focused on her feet, half-anticipating her to make a run for it. "Like Euna," he confirmed, his voice low as he remembered how he basically woke up one morning and Violet was gone. Then, when he expected to nestle down with Margo for the night, he found himself alone. He cried into Clover's fur that night, inconsolable. The day he realized he was missing yet another sister, he had to look after his mother, even if only from a distance.

"I..." he searched her eyes as his ears fell. He had to sit. "Maybe they'll come back." His mind went back to Vanadis, who had come home in shambles. "Maybe they won't." He hadn't meant for his words to cut or wound, but it was a truth he knew all too well. "I'll be honest with you though... It'll be better to accept that they've gone. The sooner, the better. Because they're being gone will hurt." He blinked, eyes becoming glossed over to a point where he had to look away and focus on something else beyond Tori. "For always."

"If there's anything I can tell you, it's to keep going. Keep going for you, not for them. Hoping will do nothing to bring them back." His lips pursed to keep the corners of his mouth from turning downward. "If you're going to go after Da, I won't stop you. Just..." He returned his gaze to her petite form, "Don't be like them and if you say you'll promise to return... don't make promises you can't keep."

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

Like Euna. The words settled her slightly… to know she and her father were not the only ones… that others before them had done the same. Even then, his words cut sharply into her… a warning that they may never return. A warning to her that hope was dangerous. She had already known such things; she had seen it play out in the way her sister pleaded for her to get off of her with the thinly veiled hope that it would free her. It hadn’t, and she’d laughed in her sister’s face for such foolish wishes until her father had come along to scold her.

He had been her hope… perhaps it was better that they were both gone. Perhaps then Tori could breathe without the looming expectations of behavior pressing down on her. Her mother could still, but ultimately she seemed too sad and distant to do much of anything.

“I have.” She stated, a certain numbness in her tone, as if she was trying to disconnect from the unpleasant array of emotions she was feeling. She loathed feeling anything other than accomplishment… of pride. It was a bit much for the young girl to process and understand how her life could have changed so much so suddenly.

If you’re going to go after your Da, I won’t stop you. Just…

Her amber eyes would snap to his, her face growing irritated as she shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere.” She stated, a certain vitriol in her voice was that clearly directed at herself. She hated the fact that she could not go… that something stayed her paws from traversing the border after her father. “I can’t do that to Ma… or anyone else.” She was frustrated that she cared because it interfered with her goals.

(This post was last modified: Mar 21, 2024, 12:27 AM by Torianna.)

Tori was growing agitated and Oleander could only relate. He felt this sort of loathing and frustration when he had been her age. Again, inconsolable. To think that he could soothe his baby sister and make things all better was for naught.

"I'm not going anywhere," she answered, the sting back in her voice. She couldn't do that to Ma or, better yet, anyone else. It was good to hear.

"Good," his tone had picked up some, unbothered by her annoyance. "A Valle's only as good as their word." A sense of pride dared to glow in his chest, if only faintly. Torianna was not the woman she was to be just yet, but it was nice to know he had someone he could relate with. He stood up, pausing to shake the fur at his nape.

"So, you still gonna look for 'im?" Oleander gestured with a jab of his nose in the air towards a tree in the distance. He remembered why the two of them had just been standing there. "Check in with me when you return?" He figured he could be an alternative to not having to deal with Viorel or Eros.

they say pray it away, i swear,
OLEANDER VALLE
that I'll never be a saint, no way