Fractured Family (Kura)

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

40th Ymiden, 718

Ela sat and pondered for a trill, remembering what she had done this season. Something about it had been bothering her, though she couldn't tell what. It was as if what she did felt wrong to the girl, which was beyond unlike her. She was Bloodclaw, the Mortalborn of Karem. Predatory instincts filled her, as did a craving for blood. Why would she feel remorse, ever? Of all times, why now? She'd killed many people, torn them apart herself or had her animals do it. What was so different now?
Sensing her frustration, Redfang rubbed himself against the girl, before resting his body lightly over her legs as she sat against the wall. Ela lightly stroked him, while Aila sat at her side and nuzzled lightly. All of her animals had an affinity with her, a bond, one that grew with each hunt. They all respected one another, cared for one another. Every animal had a place in her heart, and these were no exception.

Meanwhile, at the mouth of the cave, two animals waited patiently, resting while also keeping their eyes open for anyone passing by. Alrur and Darkfur had been sat there quietly for almost a break now, with nobody or nothing passing by - until a silhouette came closer. Immediately, Alrur started barking, causing Darkfur to roar incredibly loud at the woman that approached. Instead of leaping for an attack, however, Alrur ran inside to the Mortalborn - Darkfur following.
When they got in, Alrur bit lightly at her clothes and tugged. Ela knew that meant one of two things - Karem or Kura. At least, she assumed so. Alrur had never met any of her other friends, and if it had been an enemy he would have kept barking until they got too close, then pounced. Neither had any business with the girl, as far as she knew. Curious, she whistled the animals off her, all standing to her side, before walking to the mouth of the cave.

"Kura?"

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura had heard about the attacks by someone calling themselves "Bloodclaw" and had, at first, disregarded them as a bandit or some such. Then someone came in with a description and she known immediately that there was a problem. Fortunately, it had been a short work day and the Mortalborn had ridden home immediately after work. From there, she'd headed into the Sweetwine Woods. Fortunately, she knew the way to her sisters cave pretty well, since Ela had shown her the way. In addition, one of the gifts from that adventure with the tree was that she wasn't bothered by the local wildlife unless she bothered them first, so she didn't have to worry about bears or any of the other predators.

She heard Alrur barking as she reached the cave, plus some new arrival that did nothing to ease her mood. Still, having pretty good manners, she waited outside her sisters cave for Ela to appear before she spoke. "Bloodclaw, is it? You know, when I first heard it, I thought it was some bandit, but then someone described you. Do you have any idea at all how bad this is?" she snapped, her irises gold. Kura's tone, her body language, her eye color, and the slight echo to her voice all made it clear: she was not happy with her little sister.

Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Then she opened her eyes and it became clear that she had not calmed down much at all. "Explain. Tell me what you thought you were doin'. Because at this point, I'm wonderin' if you're genuinely tryin' to cause problems for both of us." she said, her tone controlled, but very far from calm.

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

When Ela saw Kura, she had wondered what would be going on. Though the woman left nothing to her little sisters imagination. Bloodclaw, Ela's new title, were the first words out of Kura's mouth - and in that moment Ela knew what this was about. After all, Kura cared for Scalvoris, cared for its people. Ela didn't. But that didn't mean upsetting her sister was something she enjoyed. There was just one obstacle between the two - her pride.
"How BAD this is? Kura, this is fucking perfect" she said, genuinely meaning it, her eyes almost hurt from Kura's response. "What do you mean bad?! Kura, these people know who I am. Know that these woods are mine. This is everything I ever wanted, everything that could have gone right for me has gone right for me" she growled with genuine joy. What more could the girl want? She wanted to become the Apex of Scalvoris and now, that's exactly what she was becoming.

When Kura asked if she was trying to cause problems for them both, pain filled her eyes, followed by a tear of anger. "Both of us?" she snarled, looking at Kura with a tint of red forming in her eyes. Instinctively, her fangs were bared, like a territorial animal. "There is no both of us, Kura. That's the fucking problem!"
"You have your politics, your people, your diplomacy, our families blessings and all that other shit. What did I get left with? A dead father, fangs and a constant, unstoppable lust for blood that will NEVER go away. Never! Do you understand how hard that is? Do you even know what that does to you? When your sister is the big success, and you're a freak that needs blood to survive. When your predatory instincts make everyone look delicious" the girl cried, a mix of vicious snarls and painful sobs. Without meaning to, her claws remained ready at her side.

Ela took a pause to take a deep breath, calming herself down. "This is all I have. This is everything I work for. Don't you dare take this away from me."

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

As Ela started to go on about how perfect the mess she had made for herself was, Kura's frown deepened. Then she started on her tirade about how she was a freak while Kura herself was a big success, then said that Kura shouldn't take it away from her. "You're actin' a fool, Ela." she said, her tone blunt and simple. "The only reason people think you're any kind of freak is because you won't let them see anythin' else. If you'd payed attention, you'd have learned that yourself during that mess with the tree. Do you think Tio and Rynata thought you a monster? Or Amaris when you comforted her?" she said her tone blunt. Then she sighed. "And yes, there is a both of us, whatever you think." she said, before she gave her sister a very steady look.

"But you're wrong. They don't think the woods are yours. They think there's a killer loose in them, and they'll send soldiers to catch you next. If they do catch you, they'll kill your animals and drag you off, either to be executed in public or thrown in a very deep hole." she said, her tone blunt. "And if they don't catch you, then they'll either send one of the islands problem solvers, among which are me and Tio by the way, or worse, they'll encircle the part of the forest you live in and then they'll burn it down with you inside it." she said, the worry in her voice showing.

Then she let out a low, pained sigh and her eyes turned back to their now-usual icy blue. And with the anger induced gold gone, Ela would be able to see what had spawned that anger. Worry, pain, and above all, fear. But it wasn't fear of Ela, but rather fear for her. "I don't want to see you dead or worse, Ela." she said, before letting out a shuddering breath. "We're more alike than you think. My father died right in front of me, saving me from my own idiocy. I...the reason I can't let my own wild side show is because it isn't animalistic, Ela. For you, or anyone else I love, my feral would reduce the island to an uninhabitable pile of slag in the ocean without a second thought or a regret." she said, before taking a deep, shuddering breath. "But I healed from that. You haven't yet, and you hide from the world because you're afraid they'll see you the same way you see yourself, don't you?" she said, reaching out to put a hand on her sisters shoulder.

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

"Rynata and Tio...they don't know what I am. What I do. What I HAVE to do" the pup spoke, all anger gone, pain in its place. "And maybe there is a both of us, but when it comes to me or them, what do you choose, Kura? I'm your sister, but this is your life. And this?" she asked, pointing to the animals and trees around them. "This is mine."
Then Kura explained that they would come to the forest and either lock her up, or kill her in a number of ways. Ela wanted to protest, wanted to argue. But she couldn't, she had no argument. What would she do in any of those situations? Fire would end her and all her animals, and when soldiers came knocking what could her and some predators do? If she killed them all, they'd send more. And then, Kura or Tio would be sent for her. What argument could she have for that?

"I-I'm not afraid" the girl almost pleaded as Kura told her she was. Then she extended her hand, and Ela was conflicted. She wanted to take it, but at the same time she was Bloodclaw. The question was, is that who she wanted to be? Did she want to be an animal? Perhaps Kura knew more than Ela had thought, she did fear that the world would see her like she saw herself. After all, who called her a monster more than anyone else? It was all her, all in her head. But the girl did not take Kura's hand, or allow it to touch her shoulder.
Instead, her knees gave way as a mass of tears ran down her cheeks. "Inside, now" she ordered the animals, all of them obeying. Then her clawed hands went to her head, covering her eyes with a frustrated growl as she wiped away tears. Words tried to come out, but the girl had to pause for a moment, catching her breath from the emotion that overwhelmed her.

"I'm scared of them, Kura. All of them. I want to fit in but I know I can't and it terrifies me, because when they see me they see a monster, or a girl or whatever they see. And when I see them, I see a meal."

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura didn't react to Ela's question about which side of her life she would choose, mostly because Kura chose both sides, even though it might not always seem that way to Ela, or indeed most people. But when Ela collapsed and poured her heart out about her fears, Kura knelt next to her little sister and wrapped her arms around the pups shoulders, though she was careful not to cut herself on Ela's arm spines. "Oh, Ela. I don't have any easy answers. There are things that could hide your claws, your spines, your fangs, but I wouldn't want you to have to. They're a part of you, and you shouldn't have to hide." she said, her tone gentle.

"There are ways to make them accept you, consumption of raw meat and all. Be a hero, someone who saves them, and people will overlook all sorts of things that might otherwise alarm them." she said, before laughing slightly. "To prove my point, I hijacked an owl wing and dropped into the middle of a riot, doing the thousand owl scream and everythin'. No one batted an eye, because of what I've done for them in the past. And I have a known bodycount nearing, possibly surpassing, a hundred." she said, letting go of the embrace and looking her sister in the eyes. "And even if you'd rather be left alone, that's fine. But you have to heal, you can't keep lashing out tryin' to keep the world at bay." she said, her tone gentle.

Then she said and sat down across from her sister. "You know, I know what it's like to want to avoid confronting loss, pain, fear. After my fathered died, I triggered Parliament of Owls for the first time in my life. And I used it to attack and kill any living thing in my reach. It wasn't revenge, it wasn't...all it was a desire to make them suffer. I wanted to ruin and destroy. Even now, it's...there. It's part of me." she said, before shaking her head. "And for a while, I couldn't properly control it, the same way you can't always control the feral side of your own nature that well, even when you're tryin' too." she said, before smiling slightly. "It's somethin' neither myself or mum have been able to properly teach you. You can't control somethin' you're afraid of." she said, before sighing and looking away in thought.

"I...I know a way that'll help you heal. It will be painful for you, but I think it will help with the way you see yourself. But you'll have to trust me." she said, before looking at her sister and smiling. "And for what it's worth, pup, I never saw you as a monster. True, sometimes I look at you and see the little girl who followed us around with a toy bow. But even then, I see someone who survived somethin' that would have broken so many others, even if you haven't fully recovered yet. Even when you're makin' mistakes, I am proud of you for survivin'." she said, her tone gentle.

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

As Kura wrapped her arms around the girl, Ela's sobs broke free, rushing down the Pups cheeks and on to her sisters arms. Kura understood more than Ela ever knew, said the things that Ela wanted to hear. All the pup wanted was to be herself, and when people accepted her for that she loved it. Devin, calling her fang-girl across the river and yet not in fear or hate or any prejudice, but with some level of interest - it made the girl happy. Rynata brushing her hair despite the claws on her hands that could have torn her apart. Tio, offering her a gift that she might like, despite feral eyes staring back at him. All of them had seen something in her more than just the claws, and the fangs and the eyes and the spines that now decorated her arms.
"What if they find out, that their hero was the killer called Bloodclaw?" she asked, in question to becoming a hero. After all, she could save the day as much as she wanted, she had still committed the crimes. Her animals had feasted on blood of innocent men and women at her order, and she had feasted all the same. What amount of heroism would protect her from that knowledge. A man had seen her, and knew of her animals. If she were to start a new leaf, like Kura was suggesting, she'd have to...could she do that?

As Kura spoke of her father, and how she had unleashed power and killed for the sake of destruction, Ela looked with surprise. It was what she was doing, and Kura had done it. Perhaps more ran in their blood than Ela liked to admit, even the feral nature at times. Yes, it was more prominent in Ela, but Ela was also significantly younger than her sister. Carefully wiping a tear from her eyes, the girl let her eyes meet Kura's.
"I trust you. I always try to" she smiled a little, though the pain was still spread on her face. Of course it was. As much as she had a solution possibly by her side, the girl still knew that she would always have to fight away the instincts, the demons inside her. Nothing would change that so easily. But perhaps she wouldn't be fighting alone, and that would be the difference between winning the fight or giving in to her demons forever.

"Kura, if I do this - if I become a hero...those animals aren't made for that. I've had them feast on people, and they are predators. They deserve to be free. Do you know someone that will take them, somewhere safe? Or even take them off the island to a wild somewhere?" she glanced back, seeing Alrur in the cave entrance, before he ran over and nuzzled against the woman comfortingly at the sight of her tears. With a tear streaming down her cheek, she rubbed the small dogs head behind the ear. Her eyes fell to Kura again, the thought of giving up Alrur hard - but one that is needed. Again, she began to cry. "All of them."
Lowering her head down and kissing the feral dog, the girl pointed back to the cave and whistled, Alrur hesitantly following the order with one last gentle lick to her cheek. Ela then stood, looking to Kura. "Let's go. I'm... I think I'm ready."

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

When Ela asked what would happen if people found out their hero had once been Bloodclaw, Kura grimaced. "I don't have an answer for that, Ela. I really don't." she said, letting out a sigh. It was true, she didn't have an answer, and she could only hope that the island would forget about Bloodclaw before too long. It had been a rough couple of seasons, so there was a chance of it, fortunately.

When Ela talked about her animals, what she might have to do with him, Kura smiled sadly at her. "That'll be hard on you. The new ones, I think I could get them relocated somewhere suitable for them." she said, looking at the big cats Ela had gotten somewhere. "I'll talk to Amaris about finding them a place, she's our Councilor for plants and animals, so she'd know better than I." she said, before looking at Alrur and sighing as the dock went back to the cave. "But he won't leave you. Canines of any sort, they have a fundamental need for a bond, and it's almost impossible to break once established. It doesn't really matter what you do, that dog will always try to find his way back to you." she said, before smiling slightly. "He'll also have an easier time adjusting than the others will, though. Canines are adaptable, and by now I think the bond would be more important to him than anything else." she said, smiling slightly.

When Ela said she was ready, Kura nodded and helped her sister to her feet. "It's a long walk, do you need to eat before we go?" she asked, willing to wait until Ela was fed first before they headed towards the coast of the island. When they arrived at their destination, they found themselves on the edge of a cliff, looking at a bridge connecting them to what looked like the most haunted of houses. "Bet that places has all sorts of hidden rooms." she muttered, before leading Ela out over the bridge. It wasn't a dangerous crossing, but if Faith and Padraig had been looking for the most defensible house on the island, it was a near miss. The bridge made it hard to access, but if it got destroyed, the house would quickly fall to a siege. Still, she doubted that had been on their minds when they bought it, so she didn't bring it up, merely knocking on the door. "Faith, you home? We could use your assistance with somethin'." she called out, waiting for an answer.

[Faith Augustin]

As Kura and Ela made their way over the "bridge of doom" as Faith called it, cheerily, she was sitting in the play room and clapping her hands, excitedly. "Oh you are just the cleverest little girl, yes you are! Well done, Madison!" The clapping was due to Madison pulling herself up to stand, looking around with interest shining in her deep amber eyes. Faith was delighted and watched as Nova, the white wolf who was very much attached to her daughter, stood next to her. "Isn't your sister just the cleverest, Noah? Just like you, yes she is. Oh, what are you doing?" Faith watched as their dark haired, silver eyed son currently sitting and leaning against Starr, his black wolf pup, started to clap very solemnly too. Faith beamed in delight as Madison sat down with a bump. "You are just the cleverest children on all of Idalos, aren't you?" As though they understood her, Noah and Madison looked at each other and, in the same moment they started to babble together. Madison making a "Papapapapa" noise and Noah harmonizing, it seemed, with a "Mamamamamama". Faith's delight was obvious and she lifted her hands to the two of them, wiggling her fingers.

"You're so clever that Mama has to... has to... haaas toooooo.." Both babies were gurgling with laughter before Faith pounced with a "Tickle you!!!" She could spend all trial like this, here with her children, but she heard the deep wuff of Cosmo and she glanced towards the door. Cyrus, her father in law, walked in and smiled at her. The young woman was never as relaxed and happy as she was when she was playing with the children. "Your friend Kura's at the bridge. Shall I put some food in these two?" Four small arms lifted up in readiness as Cyrus scooped them up and Faith watched them as he did.

Sometimes, she thought most seriously, she still wondered whether this was just a dream. If it was then please, she prayed to Vri who understood love so well. Please let me never wake.

The house which Kura and Ela came to had a single front door, and Faith opened it with a smile. "Kura! Come in, both of you. Hello," she said to Ela, not sure if the woman remembered her, but her smile was genuine and she was pleased to see them, both of them as she ushered them in. The large glow in the dark dog, who was still growing but not much any more, wuffed and wagged his tail docilely to Kura and sniffed at Ela. "Friend, Cosmo. Friend." Faith said and he wagged his tail some more. The front door opened into a winding corridor, off which were a number of doors. Not a one of them was the same as any other. Faith led them into a lounge area, with high ceilings and lots of windows. It was light and bright in here, and she motioned to the sofas. There was nothing formal about this house, it was comfort and comfortable. "How can I help?" Faith asked, looking between the two of them. "What do you need?"

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

When Kura spoke of the animals, Ela nodded, though her heart broke a little. Despite the little time she had spent with them all, they all had a special place in her heart. When they hadn't been out killing together, they'd been hunting or just keeping one another company. Time had left Ela used to the feeling of waking up to a mass of animals, resting all around her, some even allowing her head to lightly rest on their stomach. It was comfort, it was love - and it was hers. Or, it had been. Not anymore. At least she would have Alrur, she was grateful for that.
"No, I don't need to eat" she muttered, never wanting to eat when she was down about something. It wasn't often it happened, but when Ela found herself in a bad place it became harder and harder to muster an appetite, until she was on the verge of a bloodlust. Fortunately, it wasn't close to that yet, the girl still had a few trials before that would come around. So long as she ate before then, nobody would be harmed by it.

Eventually, the two made their way, Ela gently resting her head on Kura's shoulder as they went. Despite the strange surroundings, the long and unpleasant looking bridge and the weird house on the cliff, Ela paid no attention to any of it. Right now, her head was running with thoughts, and all she could do was to think them. Sometimes, to the bane of many people, all you could do is simply stand and hug. Of those times, Ela had found the ones with Kura to be the most comforting of all. Her big sister, who stood by her despite everything Ela had put her through, despite all the problems she caused. She was, Ela believed, the best sister she could ask for - even if she never showed it.
When Faith answered the door, Ela gave a small smile. "Good to see you" she tried to muster with as much energy as she could, though there was no hiding the emotion she felt. From a young age the girl had been emotional at the best of times, never being able to hide waht she felt. Usually, however, that had been frustration and anger. Despite her inability to hide it, though, the girl managed to hold back any tears. For now, at least.

Once in the living room, Ela kept her head on Kura, waiting for her to give an answer on what they needed. Lightly, her clawed hand gripped Kura's - for that last bit of comfort she needed.