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[Aurèle Aston]

     The sky had been gray for two days. It had rained in the morning, leaving the ground spongy and moist. All around the air smelt like rain, but that scent was mingled with others—wolves, coyotes, numerous animals and the faintest smell of the sea. She had come south, following the migrating birds, unwilling to spend another winter alone. Four years alone had been enough to teach her that was something she did not wish to do again. Luckily, the summer had proven hearty, and showed. With a large build as it was, Aurèle’s muscles had filled in and her winter coat had just begun to grow in. Multiple shades of tan and crème mingled with pristine white, though her feet had long ago picked up dingy, no-color dust socks from the roads.
     Frowning, the she-wolf eyed the stormy clouds. Though her plan had been to cut south, she had elected to move east as well, and now was moving north again. Experience had taught her that if she went too far south, the heat would be devastating. Though it had cooled, a heat wave was due anytime. Aurèle did not plan to intercept that. Shaking out her coat and moving on again, she continued following no specific route and aiming for nothing in general.

[Tayui Aston]

Watch the skyscrapers as they melt away

      The dead would not leave her alone, it seemed. She had long since accepted that ghosts and spirits were as much a part of her life as anything else was. They were just as real as the living, and they possessed thoughts and feelings like those of flesh and blood did. But why did they keep coming for her? Tayui could see the ghost of her sister moving through the lands with ease, her large arctic paws taking her closer and closer to Tayui, as if she really were alive. She moved with precision, but looked like she was weighed down by mass-- as if she somehow was alive. Living, breathing.
      This had to end. Even if Aurèle had never been all that kind to her-- or anything at all-- she deserved to move on. Tayui did not know what was holding her sister back, or why she had not passed on to the other life yet, but she would have to try. As in Karina, Éloise and Ueli's cases, she knew Liesl must have murdered Aurèle on the night she had committed suicide. After that, Tayui had left the pack, determined to put everything behind her. But why, four years later, was the past coming back to haunt her?
      She trotted over to where her sister was walking, keeping a respectable distance. She did not know why Aurèle had not passed on, or if she was a malevolent spirit. It would be best to put some space between them, just in case. "One day, sister, you will have to move on, you know." She frowned, worried this might upset the ghost, but also hoping her sister might ask for her help. She had never assisted a ghost in passing on, but perhaps now was as good a time as any to learn.

[Aurèle Aston]

     It was the scent that made her stop, one that was both strange and all too familiar in one breath. A rush of images flooded her mind, but they were hazy, like aged film. Aurèle’s eyes darkened remarkably fast, turning to a malevolent, murky green. The figure was there, she was as Aurèle remembered (except for the right side of her face, scarred and changed). Shifting her feet and feeling the tension seep into her body, the five-year old pointed her ears forward and frowned.
     “Still talking to your imaginary friends, I see,” she said smartly. That had been one thing that always drove Aurèle mad, especially since she had never been able to see these so-called ghosts.

[Tayui Aston]

Watch the skyscrapers as they melt away

      Tayui frowned; her sister had not changed, even in death. "I am talking to you, Aurèle. You can't stay like this. How many years has it been since you died?" She shook her head numbly, trying to convey her emotions to her sister, but failing in the end. It seemed as though Aurèle was still just as pigheaded as she had been when they were younger. Tayui still remembered how her sister had always been the first to laugh at her tales of ghosts, especially aunt Lys. Tayui had never realized Lys was dead, and had always thought their aunt was... overlooked. No one ever talked to her, so Tayui had taken it upon herself to interact with the elderly luperci. Aurèle had taken it upon herself to laugh at her.
      Even now, it seemed as though her sister was amused by all this. How could Aurèle deny the existence of ghosts when she, too, was one? Tayui knew her sister had always been unwilling to accept defeat (or, to some degree), but wasn't this taking it a bit far? Tayui had always felt inferior to her sister, but even now, did Aurèle have to continually prove that she was right even when she wasn't? Tayui sighed, exasperated; she would never understand her sister. She shouldn't even try.

[Aurèle Aston]

     Not only did her sister still seem to talk to imaginary people, but she was also a moron. Four years hadn’t changed that, but Aurèle hadn’t really expected that. Letting out a scornful laugh, the green eyed female advanced and walked by her sister, smacking her on the nose with the tip of her tail as she turned and closed the distance between them. “I’m quite alive, dear sister. I guess you made it out too—though you look a bit worse for wear,” she added. Though Tayui had never been quite beautiful, that scar and ruined eye weren’t helping her cause.

[Tayui Aston]

Watch the skyscrapers as they melt away

      What? Tayui felt as though she had shouted the question, for it was resounding loudly in her mind. That was not possible-- no, it was not possible. They were all dead. Daedalus had killed them, all of them. Daedalus had betrayed the pack and Daedalus had killed them, so Aurèle could not be alive. If Aurèle was alive, then... then Tayui did not know what to think. But that was it; Aurèle was not alive, she was just some wandering spirit. Or a poltergeist, maybe? But... that did not make sense, either. Karina, Ueli, and Éloise were all dead. Tayui had seen it-- she knew Daedalus had killed Karina, she had seen the blood. And if Daedalus had killed Karina, he must have killed Ueli and Éloise, too, hadn't she...?
      "But how? I thought Daedalus had killed you, and Éloise and Ueli and... I saw it. Daedalus killed Karina, I know he did. How are you alive?" Tayui grimaced; if her sister really was alive, and this really was Aurèle, why didn't she feel any happier? She only felt numb and hollow, as if her insides had frozen over and refused to move. If Aurèle was alive, that meant she would only be able to betray her like Daedalus had. Tayui would not be hurt again; not again.

[Aurèle Aston]

     There was one moment in which Aurèle saw panic in her sister’s eyes, saw her face drop and change and knew that Tayui did not know the whole truth. Not that such a thing had really come about, though, but there were signs. Enough of them that she had jumped to her own conclusions. Hatred flooded into her eyes, and they darkened to the point they were nearly black. All along her spine hair began to stand on end, and her lips pulled back doggishly. “That manipulative bitch,” she spat, looking at Tayui but not seeing her, eyes hollow and far-off. “I knew she was no good, I should have taken her—“ Her voice caught in her throat.

[Tayui Aston]

Watch the skyscrapers as they melt away

      Tayui flinched at her sister's words, recoiling at the utterance of bitch. She did not understand Aurèle's anger, and found herself wondering how her sister could have taken offence to what she had said. She supposed Aurèle had a right to be angry, for if she was in fact alive, Tayui's comment about her death could easily be taken the wrong way. But Tayui had been saying it for the past few minutes anyways, so why was Aurèle suddenly angry now? Where were her laughs, her jeers and taunts? What was it that upset her sister so?
      She didn't know. Tayui frowned, flattening her ears against her skull, narrowing her eyes slightly. "What are you talking about, Aurèle?" Her voice was cold and flat; curious but wary. Her frown deepened and she leaned forward a bit, trying to figure out the puzzle that was her sister. She was anything, if not unpredictable. Perhaps her predictable unpredictability was what made her so hard for Tayui to understand.

[Aurèle Aston]

___ As suddenly as the rage had come, it was washed away by that glass bottle, washed down and away and Aurèle’s fur smoothed down as if by will alone. The color bled back into her eyes and she took a deep breath, tasted the rage, and let it go. For now, at least. She knew she would need it in time. “Nothing,” she lied. “What are you doing here? Were you in that fire?” She motioned to the east, playing a tactic, hoping to avoid the explanation. “The word is someone started the fire, or at least that's one of the explanations out there. Someone else thinks that lightning struck, and other figured it was some freak accident that got out of control,” She kept talking, and then focused her attention back on to her sister’s face. “I’m surprised, I though you would be dead by now. You never were good at hunting, but you never were good at much of anything,” she added, almost as an afterthought, and laughed.
___ At least that way, she could hide the truth. She could hide everything that had been done.

Table by Tammi! + image creds

[Tayui Aston]

      Firefox managed to save this post when my power went out. The might and sheer awesome that is FireFox constantly amazes me.

Watch the skyscrapers as they melt away

      Her sister must have gone mad in the time they had been apart. Her transition from anger to the easy-going conversationalist was unnerving to say the least. The physical change was alarming, as her face softened and her fur no longer stood on end. She relaxed her body considerably, almost as if her little outburst had never happened. She continued on with this in mind, neglecting to mention to Tayui what it was that set her so ill at ease. Nothing? Nothing at all? Tayui frowned, annoyed that her sister couldn't even tell her what she had said wrong. But Aurèle had always looked down on her-- it wasn't anything she should be unfamiliar with, but the feeling left a bitter taste. She didn't care about what Aurèle thought she knew about Tayui-- everything she had known in the past was irrelevant. It didn't matter because Tayui had left it all behind and started over. But Aurèle would never care; she had never cared.
      Tayui felt the seeds of resentment begin to blossom, planted deep in her heart so many years ago. She had stopped thinking about her birth pack many years ago, for their existence had no influence over her. They were just a part of her life that had ended. But now it was back-- Aurèle was back-- and Tayui wasn't certain she liked it this way. It had to be natural to resent her sister, after everything she'd done and hadn't done. Even so, she felt like her annoyance was somehow unjustified.
      She refused to feel guilty. "I left shortly after the fire was started," she replied. She almost added, and Daedalus chased after me, leaving me with a scar, but did not see the relevance. She frowned at Aurèle's comment, clenching her jaw. Aurèle could never let things go, could she? "I wonder why, sister. Few of you were ever very accommodating. I was expected to learn how to hunt without actually participating in any hunts." She paused, attempting to catch her sister's eyes as she lost herself in the emerald sea. "You still resent me, don't you?" She supposed she was asking herself this, but she knew Aurèle harboured a great deal of ill-will toward her. She had accepted it when she had been younger, but now, she was growing tired of her sister's games, and only wished to know the truth.

[Aurèle Aston]

___ You should totally make my avatar match my table. :O

___ There was no madness in Aurèle’s blood, but there was a mask and a remarkable clutch of bottled emotion and twisted ideas. She believed once that she was special, that she was important. She had been alone for three years and had nothing to show for it. Oh of course, she was alive, yes, but that was nothing unique. Her family was dead and gone, and her siblings had scattered in the smoke and ash. Now that she had found one of them, she acted like nothing changed. At least that way, she could pretend everything was all right. She could hide the damage she felt and the scars she hid under her hair.
___ Remarkably, a trace of regret caught in her voice. “No,” she said. “I think I resent what you embody.” Her eyes told a second story, and told that this was all true. Tayui had been able to see what she could not, and therefore, was more unique then anything her sister could hope to ever be.

Table by Tammi! + image creds

[Tayui Aston]

      How's this? :3

Watch the skyscrapers as they melt away

      Her sister was quiet, and Tayui spent much of the silence watching her. Tayui examined how her sister moved, how she spoke, and how she carried herself. Her sister might have once passed for nobility, but Tayui wondered if this was still the case. They still bickered as they had when they were younger, but Tayui was far more forthright now, and less inclined to be bullied into submission. She had seen enough and become enough to know that it was not right, that it was not something she had to obey. In the past, she had not known better, and had been blinded by youthful naïveté. But there was no need for it now; she had changed.
      Tayui smiled when her sister spoke, uncharacteristically amused for such a statement. "I'm glad; that is an entirely other kind of resentment, one leaning so far into abstractionism it might be swallowed up by its own devices." She paused for a moment, frowning slightly as she abandoned her manners to lose herself in her own thoughts for a moment. "Is that what you want?" Is that how you desire to spend the rest of your life?

[Aurèle Aston]

___ Ooc lalalalala

___ She smiled back to show it was a lie. “No,” she said, eyes an emerald mirror, unreadable and thick with green fog. Shifting her feet and shaking dust from her coat, she flicked an ear towards the forest. Of all the things she tried to maintain, that image was one of them. Anger had been her slip up, that she knew. It was a mistake. What had been done was in the past and her sister had nothing to do with it. The bitch was dead, and she had taken their home with her.
___ “ So where are we, exactly?” Move on, tell me something new, forget.

Table by Tammi! + image creds

[Tayui Aston]

Watch the skyscrapers as they melt away

      No. Tayui had not expected an answer that would make any sense, but she would not have been satisfied with either a yes or a no. She wished Aurèle could have ignored that altogether, and simply answered all her questions, but she knew that would never happen. If Aurèle had replied with a yes, Tayui suspected she would still be just as vexed, for her smile made her response ambiguous and indecipherable.
      The change in conversation was obvious enough, and at first, Tayui only shook her head in reply, chuckling quietly. She would never figure out who Aurèle really was; sometimes, she wondered if Aurèle even knew. But that was irrelevant, and mattered little. Tayui suspected that she would find out the answers she needed if she gave it some time-- assuming Aurèle decided to stick around.
      "These are the lands of 'Souls. If you travelled here by foot, you might have passed the lands to the north of the mountain, Bleeding Souls. I think the humans called the city nearby Halifax, but I don't know the name of these lands." She paused. Tayui wondered how Aurèle had found her, now curious about the details of her sister's life. She cocked her head to one side, trying to figure out how to phrase her question. "How long have you been travelling? To get here, that is?"