COURAGE, DEAR HEART ; joining

[Freyja]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]Dazzling emerald eyes peered into the vast stretch of wetlands before her. A smile was poised upon the young fae's lips as she stared at the new life ahead of her. The pretty seal point tabby saw beauty even in the horribly deep and dark swamp lands that she would soon call home. She saw beauty in most everything - she had since she was a young girl.

The girl looked so graceful, so beautiful. She carried herself like a princess despite having lived her life among common folk. She had been a princess. She still was, in her mind, though her title had been granted to her long, long ago. Mother One had died during childbirth, and the tabby femme knew not much about her (Mother Two did not know much either, or maybe she was just not letting on). She was a queen though, Mother One. And the girl's father was a king. Father was... She frowned as she thought of him. In her heart, she wanted to believe he was a good man, but he had cast her out at a young age in favor of her older sister. For the life of her, though, she could not blame Father. He was just trying to protect Sister, wasn't he? The feline let the frown fall and instead replaced it with that smile she carried from earlier. Silly Father! If only he had known that Freyja was a goddess in her own right - the goddess of courage. She wondered if Sister knew.

Sister. "Nayru." The name was not foreign to her. Mother Two had told her countless stories about her older sister. The girl loved sitting and listening to the tales of the young goddess, her sister. Never once had Freyja found herself envious or angry; she was excited to hear all the wonderful things her big sister would accomplish! Nayru was so important to Akala! Freyja felt nothing but pride at her sister's abilities. Freyja had not come into her own powers, and although it would be some time before she acquired any abilities, she was born ready.

"He-e-ello!" the girl called in a singsong tone. "My name is Freyja! I'm looking to join - er, uh..." She bit her lip. What had Mother Two called this place? Darn Frey for not paying more attention! [color=#A36B5E][b]"I'm here to join Banglehood?"

[Nayru]

[color=#6b7e99]✦ ✦ ✦

Throughout the course of her short existence, Nayru had been told time and time again that she had had sisters, yes, but that they, along with her mother, had perished at birth. Her father had reassured her that she was a gift from the Goddesses themselves, a harbinger of peace and prosperity for their people. He had always been aware of her divine nature but had grown frustrated with her quickly, unable to understand why she was seemingly incapable of channeling the gifts she supposedly inherited. Sometimes, she had even wondered if her deceased sisters had been the ones blessed with clairvoyance- not her, not the heir to a throne of nothing.

Because of all that, Nayru had grown up in a restrained, protected place, never once being able to thrive as she should until she abandoned it. Here in Tanglewood, here in the wild, she was learning what it was like not to be a princess. She was escaping her familial duties because she knew with the utmost of certainty that there was nothing special about her. Nothing at all. Where once she had contemplated returning home, she knew now that such a possibility was out of the equation. This was home now and she'd never leave.

The tiny medic had, as usual, been out collecting herbs for her overflowing stock when she first heard her name. At first, she believed it to be some trick of the wind or even her own mind but as it continued, chattering on happily about a place called Banglehood, Nayru knew that this was a genuine anomaly. Abandoning the yarrow she had once been so keen on picking, the cream tabby quickly made her way towards the source, eyes widening as they landed upon the seal point tabby.

[b][color=#6b7e99]"Freyja," She echoed softly, her own lovely eyes studying the girl softly, [color=#6b7e99]"You're free to join, of course. My name is Nayru... was it you who said it just a few moments ago?"

[Freyja]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]That voice. Freyja's eyes sparkled as she heard that voice. Only once in her life had she ever heard it: she had snuck away from her home in the middle of day while Mother Two was out. She had found her former home (with help from a kindly old lady), one she had never truly known. She had hesitated outside, trying to find the courage within herself to go inside. She had tentatively knocked on the door of the home, and the voice that responded in question was the voice that greeted her now.

"I knew it!" Freyja cooed, a radiant smile blossoming on her pink lips. She laughed as she strolled forward, having been accepted by Nayru. "Oh, yes, it was me that said your name! Mother said you were here - not our birth mother, no! My foster mother. I almost did not believe her, but -! Here you are!" Her voice was song-like still, and happiness was within each note as she babbled. She danced around the Nurse, giggling lightly. "Sister, I would not have believed you would leave Akala, but I'm glad you were brave enough to! See, Sister, I was brave like you. I left Akala too. I had to meet you." She had stopped dancing as she spoke her last few lines. Instead, she stopped inches in front of her older sister, grinning from ear to ear.

"Mother always told me I would never get to meet you because of our different circumstances - and because of Father. But they both aren't here!" She giggled again, reaching forward to pull Nayru into an embrace. "Oh, Sister, I am so glad to really, truly meet you!" Freyja spoke, her voice growing soft as velvet. "Who would have thought this place - this Banglehood - would bring you and I together at last?"

[Bean]

[COSMIIX]

AMUNET GHANA ✧ FIREBRAND — TANGLEWOOD — TAGS

Oh?

It seemed that Nayru had some family. Amunet wished she had her own family here but they were all off elsewhere and she knew that they were safer there than here in Tanglewood. Banglewood? She couldn't help but feel a smile sneak onto her face and a giggle escape her slightly parted jaws, she would stand by with her ears angled forward. Victory watched with curiosity and would step forward to introduce herself "Hello there." She started with a gentle greeting only to dip her head briefly "I am Amunet, a pleasure to meet you." There was a pause as she decided whether or not to correct the small femme but she decided not to as she added with an amused glow in her golden eyes "Welcome to Banglewood,"

© madi

[Luciferr]

FENRISULFR

▼ — when the weak court death, they find it.

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/more to be protective of oh NO

seems his days of being the first to a border were over, not that he mourned them, it was always nice to have company on what was usually a mundane name and business route.

striding up beside Iota and Amunet with a brush against the firebrand and the soft nudge of greeting to Iota, protective as he was of all of them - this one was clearly not a threat, and Nayru's sister? his brows rose in suprise, well, this was unexpected perhaps.

he shot Amunet a brief look before his gaze flickered back to the scene and he nodded to the much smaller newcomer "you were one letter off, but welcome, Fenrisulfr Grimm, a pleasure" his gaze moved to study Nayru's reaction.

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▲ — TANGLEWOOD. PROXY. VERY HARD. REF. BIO. — ▲

#psychosocial.

[Nayru]

[color=#6b7e99]✦ ✦ ✦

Suddenly, Freyja was talking too fast for her- babbling on and on about their mother and her foster mother and the fact that they were sisters. Sisters. That was impossible... It had to be impossible. Her sisters had perished at birth, gone unnamed because his father hadn't seen the point in naming things that were lifeless from the start. Only Nayru survived. Nobody else. Nobody else. But obviously that couldn't be true, even Nayru realized this. The girl that currently danced around her had that same sort of otherworldly beauty that Nayru did... there was no denying their blatant resemblance either.

It felt as if she had been punched in the stomach, an obvious frown decorating her pale features as she tried to work through this... this... complication, for lack of a better word. Why had father hid her sister away from her? Why had he lied to her as he had? She couldn't understand - didn't want to even attempt to understand - she knew how her father was, she knew how awful he could be. This wasn't out of his realm of possibility, not in the slightest. He probably saw Freyja as something that would only prove to distract her from her training as they grew older.

What surprised her most was how happy Freyja seemed to see her. There was no bitter resentment, no jealousy, just genuine excitement to be reunited with the sister she had been parted from. She knew that if she had been placed in that situation, forced to grow up hearing about a Princess who lived a life much different than her own, she would have grown to hate her sister.

[b][color=#6b7e99]"Sister," She echoed quietly, shooting a helpless look in the direction of her clanmates, [color=#6b7e99]"I didn't know I had a sister." Her confession trembled just as she did now, cerulean eyes brimmed with a jumble of emotions. [color=#6b7e99]"Father always told me that my sisters died but... Father always told me a lot of things. He called me an Heir to a Throne of Nothing... he told me that the common people hated me," She continued, biting a lip. She was oversharing parts of her history that she kept hidden away, too afraid to come to terms with them until now. [color=#6b7e99]"Leaving Akala was a choice I had to make. They all think I'm coming back but I'm not. Um... you're glad to finally meet me? Really?" Nayru inquired, doubt clear in her voice. She had been taught to question every aspect of herself and now would be no different.

[Freyja]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]The young goddess perked as three more arrived. She looked to Nayru, eyes seeming to ask, 'Are these your wonderful friends?' She giggled in delight before stepping away from her sister and towards Iota, Amunet, and Fenrisulfr. They were all so different and more wonderful than the creatures she often encountered back home in Akala. It was a welcomed difference. She ate it up hungrily.

"He-e-ello, Iota! Yes, I'm Nayru's sister. Ooh, I love your tiara. Are you a princess?" she hummed, eyes wide and bright as they focused on the tiara Iota wore. She did not know she would encounter other princesses! Banglehood was producing one surprise after another. She had a very difficult time tearing her grassy-hued eyes away from the tiny crown. It was so nice to see, but she eventually let her gaze land upon Amunet.

Amunet. She felt a certain power drifting from her, but Freyja could not place her paw on it. She could feel it was something commanding, noteworthy. In time, she would learn of the gods and goddesses here, and she would learn Amunet resided within those ranks. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well!" Her face screwed up in confusion as the firebrand called this place Banglewood. Wasn't it Banglehood? She opened her mouth to ask, but her attention was drawn by Fenrisulfr.

'One letter off'? She let a giggle fall from her lips at that. "Miss Amunet, I believe he means you." Silly, silly Freyja. She thought Fenri meant Amunet was missing things when, in fact, she had the entire name of this place wrong. Oh, well. "But it's wonderful to meet you, Fenrisulfr!" She felt the same power drifting toward her from the male. She wondered what this was...

Before the fae had time to question it, Nayru was speaking. Whirling back to face her sister, she grinned. "Yes. Sister. My adopted mother told me from the beginning about you. She wanted me to grow up knowing who I was, where I came from. I think it was so I could eventually find my way to you, Nayru." Her smile was hopeful, certain. This had to be the reason, didn't it? Her smile dipped as Nayru grew emotional and uncertain. Freyja reached out, gently reaching for her older sister's paws. "Please don't believe Father, dear Sister. He doesn't speak the truth - we loved you in Akala. So many people would whisper wonderful things about you, Nayru. Do not let Father's opinions cloud your own. You were and are still loved." Heir to the Throne of Nothing? How cruel... Maybe Father was not a nice man. Nayru's next words caused Freyja to nod slowly. "... We - they - all do think you're going back, but it's okay. You seem to be needed here just as much, Nayru. Our people will not be mad at that, surely." The seal point tabby nodding several times as her sister's final words. [color=#A36B5E][b]"Oh, well, yes! You're my sister, Nayru. Even if we didn't grow up together, I still love you like family, silly! I've been waiting all my life to finally meet you."

[Nayru]

[color=#6b7e99]✦ ✦ ✦

Nayru had to feign a weak smile as her sister so charmingly babbled to their clanmates. Banglehood, goddesses above where did she learn that one? She was halfway tempted to correct her but hesitated. Freyja was so visibly happy in knowing that this place was called Banglehood and, admittedly, the tiny medic wasn't too keen on taking that away from her. They had only just met and she already felt a strange sort of protectiveness over the girl. Despite being small and delicate and oh so frail, Nayru realized with astute clarity that if things came down to it, she'd gladly fight  for her.

She still gasped softly as Freyja touched her though, not used to such gentle comfort exhibited by one of her family members. [b][color=#6b7e99]"You're a blessing from the Goddesses themselves," Was all she could manage to begin with, blinking away tears that had started to collect in the corners of her eyes. [color=#6b7e99]"They don't hate me? I... I find that hard to believe. I was supposed to see the future for them, to protect them from impending doom by adjusting. Adapting. My powers never developed and I don't even think they exist. I was hardly in the public light either... Father ensured that. I... I don't know how to feel." All her life she had been pressured and forced to do things that she had not wanted to. She had never wished to be a princess. She had never wished to bear the weight of her people's needs. She had never wished even to have the same name as a Goddess. That's why she had left, telling everyone and convincing her father that she would return once they developed. She had lied to them.

And yet, they still loved her.

[color=#6b7e99]"I'm so glad that you're here," Nayru finally decided, [color=#6b7e99]"I'm so glad that you exist."

[Freyja]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]"You're a blessing from the Goddess themselves."

The words caused her to stop. The girl waited, half expecting for Nayru to take back the words, for she had never heard anything so kind in her life. Something about Freyja's expression seemed to soften (if that was even possible), and the kindest, warmest smile slowly sprouted on her features. It was like the morning sun as it climbed its way into the sky - soft, welcoming, warm. "Thank you, Nayru. Thank you really," she murmured, voice having grown tiny in the midst of the massive compliment.

Concern washed into her sunrise like rain clouds when she noted Nayru's tears. Had... had she caused them? Freyja bit her lip, wanting to draw back, to apologize, but her sister blinked them away with ease. "No matter what, I promise you they still love you." She would nod to reaffirm her words. "I don't know a lot about this whole situation that you were in, Nayru, but I think Father only told you what he wanted you to hear. I don't think he told you enough how much you were really loved back home. Our people adored you, I promise. I did."

She smiled at her older sister. The next words Nayru spoke made her heart swell and burst, and she beamed brightly. "Right back at you!" she purred.