Into The Mouth Of The Unknown [Open/Val/Joining?]

[Zirena]

Zirena was sick of this shit. She loved her father, she loved her family but she could not do this anymore. She needed to put her eggs in another basket. Descai had been her home her whole life, her safe haven. But there comes a time when a wolf has to grow up and make their own decisions. Her darling brother, Ryker, had decided to up and leave Descai after practically making enemies with their neighbor. Descai was in ruins, shambles. Zirena had grown up believing that Descai was the biggest and the best pack that ever was and ever would be but at two years old, it had been made abundantly clear that that was not the case. A part of her felt dirty for leaving her homeland in it's time of need. Perhaps she could have stayed and helped rebuild it and bring it back to it's former glory but this decision felt right for her. She had constantly felt like Descai needed saving or that it was just hanging on by a thread. After all, she had had to save Ryker's ass by promising her body to a stranger whose name she wasn't remembering. The pack was a mess. She needed more stability, more safety. That was why she was here.

Zirena had come to the only other family she had, her half-sisters. Maybe they would accept her here and she could really start living her life instead of constantly fretting over the state of her home. Descai wasn't all bad but enough of it was to make Zirena chose to leave it. It broke her heart to leave her father, who in many ways had become her best friend, but this was her life they were talking about and she needed to do what was best for her. Right now, what was best was looking for a home elsewhere.

The young she-wolf threw her head back and called to her half-sister. These were her lands, after all. One couldn't just go traipsing through like they owned the place, sibling or not. There was no fear or nervousness in Zirena's call. There was no reason to be afraid. Val was her sister. It was still up for question whether or not her sister would allow her to stay here but Zirena was hardly afraid of being attacked. She planned this to be a pleasant, hopefully short, conversation between sisters who hadn't seen each other in what seemed like ages.

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Valeria
Notes: Not horrible for the first post with her in forever?
Muse: Super short post, starters aren't my best but hopefully it'll get better as the thread goes along.  

[Valeria]

Val could hardly believe her ears at the call that rung out over the territory. While it seemed so unlikely after all this time of not hearing from any of her siblings other that Zofia who had come along with her in the first place, here was her little "big" sister. While Valeria was acutely aware of the fact that Zirena shared a different mother - I mean who could miss it? She was tiny and akin to a red wolf, not the hulking size of the rest of her kin - she was still family. Family, particularly her sisters, were always going to hold a special place in her heart.

So as the alphess strode up to the boundaries of the jungle territory, she yipped out a short greeting to Zirena. Valeria strolled up to the little wolf, a soft smile gracing her golden lips. "Zirena, it is quite a surprise to see you here," she offered honestly. Zirena had always been like a hair on their father's back. Wherever they went, Zirena was clinging to their father. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, but Valeria had never had quite that close of a bond with either of her parents. "I figured you would have stayed back in Descai... What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

To be honest, it was a blast from the past. Valeria had all but turned her back on Descai. Yet she could not help but wonder if their father had sent Zirena here in an attempt to convince Valeria and Zofia to come home. If nothing else it was likely that Zirena would be bringing some news of Descai. But she had always been pretty close with Ryker, and it was no secret that Val was not his biggest friend. "I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just shocked to see you here."

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Word Count: 314 words
Tags: Zirena
Notes: Bad muse is bad.

[Zirena]

Zirena had never done anything like this before. She had been born into the mighty and feared Descai. She had been a princess, the daughter of the great Vorilye. She hadn't ever thought that she would leave and ask for acceptance into another pack. She had planned on living in Descai forever but with her father aging and the pack in shambles, she couldn't sit there and watch everything that she had once loved fall to pieces. Maybe she should have stayed and tried to piece it back together but with news that... the island pack (she couldn't remember it's name) had taken Acerbus, it was unlikely in her mind that they would ever return to their former glory. It was heartbreaking, really. However, just because Descai seemed to be dying didn't mean that Zirena would die with it. She had made the mistake of falling in love with the pack, staying there too long, but she had gotten over it. She needed to ally herself with a pack that she thought would be bigger and better than Descai ever was. That pack was here. From what she knew of Valeria, she had the makings to be a great leader. Someone that Zirena could put her faith and trust in.

Zirena returned a light smile to her larger, younger sister. Looking at the two of them, it was hardly believable that they were related. Zirena couldn't blame Valeria for being surprised. Zirena loved her father and she had always been close to him but this wasn't about love - this was about survival. Her brain knew that this was the right choice, coming to live here. Or at least leaving Descai. Her heart had told her to stay but one's heart could only bring them so far before their brain took over. Zirena wasn't going to place her bet on a dying pack.

"It is pretty shocking, isn't it?" Zirena couldn't help but chuckle a little at the situation. She thought for a moment about what she was going to say and how she would word things. "There is no easy way to say this, is there? ... Descai is in ruin. No one has seen Ryker in months. As far as I know, Acerbus has been taken... and I can't stay with them anymore, which is why I'm here, to join you - if you'll have me, of course." If Zirena had been able to see the future, she would have left with Valeria in the beginning but no one knows that the future holds. Zirena had made her decision to stay with Descai back then based on it's current situation and now she was choosing to leave based on the same thing. Zirena had chosen Valyn not only because she had family here and she felt that family was always more trustworthy than strangers, but because she had heard rumors of how strong Valyn was and how able-bodied they were. Valyn seemed like her best option.

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Valeria
Notes: joining threads >.e
Muse: Still not great but getting there  

[Valeria]

It was interesting to hear from the mouth of the beast, but here was Zirena in all her glory speaking tales of the downfall of their birth pack. It took all of Valeria's restraint to not roll her eyes with the news. Of course their brother had run the pack into the ground. Father was foolish for putting him in charge in the first place. His emotions ran rampant, and that had likely driven Decai into the dust. "I cannot say I am all that surprised to hear," she admitted almost sheepishly. "But what of father? I thought he was Ryker's beta. Surely even he could have kept Ryker from destroying the pack." The last few words were nearly snorted out. She had predicted this day would come, but there was something satisfying about the fact that their father's judgment had been poor and she, in fact, had been a proper successor for the pack. After all, Valyn was thriving, and Descai was most likely no more. It was a bad decision that their father had made. It was one that he would have to deal with in the wake of a demolished pack. That was, if he was even still around.

It was almost a surprise to Valeria that Zirena wanted to join the pack. Sure, they were family, but Val had always thought her to be far too loyal to their father to ever consider walking away from him. Perhaps something really had happened to him. "Zirena, you are always welcome here. Zofia is here as well... I sure you will love it here," she offered with a soft smile. Her sister would make a welcome addition to the pack, and hopefully her sisters would believe so as well. Sure, she felt as if the members of Valyn were all her sisters in a way, but there was something about the blood ties that held Valeria to a sense of dutiful loyalty to her blood sisters. "There is something you might want to know though, so it doesn't catch you off guard," she murmured sheepishly, her golden eyes glinting with mischief.

"Zi, you're an aunt," she burst out excitedly. Valeria was so proud of her babies; surely everyone else would be too! It was so uncharacteristic for her to fawn over the little ones, but her pups were bringing out a side that she had never known before. The overwhelming tenderness and desire to see them happy was bleeding into how she led the pack as well. It was overall a good thing; she believed they all deserved to be treated equally, and Val felt it was a quality that led to an even better pack environment in the long run. They would thrive as a family, not as a dictatorship. "If you want, we can head back to the dens... You can meet the others there?" she offered with a gentle smile, hoping she was not overwhelming her baby big sister.

Tags: Zirena
Notes: It's a really good thing I knew what Zi's name was supposed to be before otherwise I'd have issues tagging her XD