The two wolves walked for so long their legs were numb by the time they collapsed under a fallen, leaning tree which crushed branches cast a protective veil over their exhausted forms. Falco did worse than his sister; his incredible size came at the cost of his stamina and a vast hunger. The young wolf kept quiet though, as did Aves, who seemed withdrawn into herself after everything that had transpired back in Death Valley. He was glad enough when he got off his sore paws and they rested for a day and a half under that dying, weeping tree.

The air was colder and wetter here and the two hothouse flowers sometimes struggled to adjust to the coolness. Falco thought it was a nice change of environment from the harsh, miserable land they grew up in and he momentarily wondered why Oukoku-kai never sought to find a more agreeable home, but he concluded that he knew exactly why. He couldn’t tell Aves the truth that they had to leave their homeland because their fanatical belief was causing them to stagnate and Falco would never see his rise to power there. He knew he was a heathen long ago, just as any wolf worth their merit in that place would. Their religion confined them, kept them scared and weak, and mother was content to let it be that way if she sat prim on her lofty throne. Falco loved her enough that he didn’t want to pull that throne out from under her (surprisingly sentimental) but that meant he had no choice but to leave and go against the very thing that dear old mom represented.

The truth was, maybe she had died in the war. He would never know, would he?

Falco watched as Aves slept beside him. They had been sleeping in turns, watching each other’s back. Ears flicked forward as he caught a sound. Close. He gently nudged Aves and said nothing. She would know not to cry out in alarm.

The world was so different out here, but there was little time to take in the sights the forest when on the run. Aves was growing wearing, physically as well as mentally. She was sure he didn't want to show it, but she was certain her brother was tired too. At times she would slow her pace, feign exhaustion, so Falco would be forced to slow down himself. It didn't always work. Thankfully they finally stopped to rest.

It was Aves' turn to sleep, a welcome rest when it came. The young wolf was still coming to terms with all that had transpired. She dealt with the guilt of her betrayal in silence. The first few nights it ate at her, gnawing the back of her mind and robbed her of sleep. Being stripped of faith would leave a permanent scar. But one that could be ignored most of the time. This relatively small time in the woods had already done wonders, time to ruminate over Falco's words. Her faith had betrayed her mother, betrayed her. Time helped her learn to abandon it.

This time she succumbed to sleep, though not the deep, dream filled sleep of her youth. Life as an outlier taught one to sleep with one eye open, so when Falco nudged her her eyes snapped open. She lifted her head to look to him, then heard what he had heard. Head turned to try to peer through the downed branches, getting ready for whatever was to come.

Whatever they faced was no wild hare or fidgety squirrel. The sound of paws against the soft needles that littered the forest floor sent Falco up in a spray of dirt, muscles in his face twisting in threat of showing his teeth, and he darted forward. The face that greeted him, that moved so surely through the shadows was a familiar one; graying light reflected off deeply scarlet eyes and two harsh gazes burned through one another with an intense fire of distrustful familiarity.

“Kanji.”

The ex-priestess looked every bit a warrior as she had as a pup. Though he now outweighed her and was much taller she had a learned and confident walk that nearly put him in his place. He knew better, despite her airs. She didn’t fight in the war. She vanished into the maze before the war ever started. She was a defector just like him and his sister. The snarl that had nearly graced his face instead twisted into a wicked little smile, pulling his oily black lips back in a most unnatural manner as if he were a man instead of a wolf.

“Funny meeting you here.”

“Falco. Is it so funny?”

She recognized their scent before they caught onto her, but she had to see them with her own eyes to believe it and when she did the realization needled her. Kanji may have always been a heathen but Foetida had been a glue that held her people together and now it seemed all the people who mattered to the Yellow Rose had left her. Kanji had no doubt that Foetida had taken her rightful seat when she returned to her homeland, but shame burned in the back of her throat and she swallowed hard at the full realization of the disloyalty of her people. Her priestess had gone and so had her children.

“You shouldn’t be here,” for once her voice was weak, unconvinced of the words it created. “If they find you’ve left…”

What would they do? The valley was at its weakest after the war. If it ever recovered it would be years and by then only the Yellow would remember any of them, if she was still alive. If she sent assassins after her children…well, would she do that? Maybe. Many things could happen in just a few years though. Even Kanji couldn’t convince herself anything would happen and all protests died instantly.

Aves was behind her brother in a second. Falco could take care of himself, she no doubt, but their journey had left them both exhausted. Two sets of teeth were better than one, and hers had no inhibitions in being flashed. The crested Fringe barreled out of their shelter only to slam on the breaks a second later.

"Kanji?"

He voice was quieter and less confident than her brother's observation. Her budding paranoia told her they shouldn't be surprised to see a familiar face, though to be honest she was expecting a sharp eyed Jin. Not the renegade high priestess. But the fight she expected was not off the table yet.

"Is it so funny?"

No. It certainly wasn't. The chances of Kanji just stumbling across the fallen godlings were slim to none. Had she returned to their homeland? Had she been given this task to redeem herself? The logical part of Aves knew that couldn't be. Even if she returned willingly the valley would have set her afloat in the tar pits. But growing paranoia took her on a ride of conspiracies. Maybe Kanji hadn't defected. What if she was sent on a mission? It was only shortly after the war with Alteron erupted. What if Kanji really was still loyal? What if she was there for them?

"They won't find us," Hackles raised she took a step forward, "Unless that's why you're here..."

Kanji’s eyes locked on Aves’ hard as the younger she-wolf bristled at her, stepping forward defensively. Aves was huge compared to the compact warrior; a full-blooded Fringe dire of the Yellow Rosa’s own. Regardless of her height and weight advantage, Kanji was a seasoned warrior by years; the darkspawn fighter did not flinch.

“No,” she answered coldly, “that’s not why I’m here. I couldn’t drag you back even if I wanted to and anyway…there is nothing left in the valley for me anymore. I forfeited my priesthood. The Yellow Rosa let me go. I’m but a heathen now.”

Much like you, I suppose.

She watched Aves’ expression very carefully, lips sealed, unsmiling. Her body language was stiff and careful.

“It does beg the important question of why you’re here,” Kanji asked. “The Yellow Rose would have never let her own spawn abandon her, would she?” Scarlet eyes narrowed as she considered the two siblings.

The beast was aware of his sister finally spurred to her paws by his action. Though he had become relaxed when he realized the nature of Kanji’s visit, long before it dawned on his smaller sister, the more she spoke the less amused he became. Muscled tightened. He didn’t want to do this. He never particularly liked Kanji; he always thought she had cozied up to his mother too much and if it hadn’t been for the Yellow Rose the noble wouldn’t have amounted to anything. Her father was spurned by Crow, wasn’t he? She had only been a noble by threads.  He still had tenuous respect for the ex-priestess. She had contributed much to the valley in her time of active duty and her disappearance surely hurt his mother’s order; he couldn’t blame her for that, she was smart, and she saw what he had seen.

But she just couldn’t shut her fucking mouth when she needed to, could she?

“Mother is dead,” Falco said forcefully. “Betrayed in the war, or so I’ve heard. There were whispers the White order was consolidating power, the White Rosa might have been a fake—whatever you believe. Funny how fallible our supposed gods are, isn’t it, Kanji?”

He saw her stiffen, her ears fold back slightly, and he began to rankle at what he knew she was about to say. The truth that he had never wanted to expose to Aves.

It doesn’t matter. It’s too late. Aves can’t defect now. She can’t go back. She has only me.

Kanji didn't budge, which shouldn't had surprised her. She was outnumbered, outsized, but she still held a certain authority in her demeanor. Ears came forward when she confessed to being a heathen as well. Aves had known she had left but not under what pretext. She imagined that even if the valley had turned their back on their own high priestess that her years of devotion would weight heavy on her heart, forever longing for the comfort and guidance of the Rosas. But it seemed gods were fleeting things, no matter how branded they were on one's soul.

The ex priestess started to pry and Falco took it upon himself to drop the news. Aves watched her just as carefully in return. Was that surprise? That would bet he most logical, Kanji had left far before the Rosa was betrayed. Perhaps the idea that the pantheon turned in on itself, that had certainly shocked her. Aves lifted her head slightly, awaiting a proper reaction.

Kanji’s ears pinned back, a tense feeling rising in the pits of her throat as Falco spoke. He was starting to show the schemes grasped in his fangs one by one, but Kanji was not certain of the game he played. Surely, he knew the truth. Her eyes darted to Aves and she thought they asked the question she needed answered, but she could not see how unreadable she truly looked. She didn’t even know if it was fear or anger that was stirring in her breast. She would soon find out.

“Dead? No,” Kanji said. “I brought her back to the borders after the war, she was going to reclaim her place as God. Unless she was killed after that…did…were those the rumors that spread in our absence? That she had died?”

The bitch just said it. His eyes shifted to Aves, searching for her reaction. They would have left before their mother’s return, so Falco could claim he didn’t know. He really didn’t, but he assumed mother hadn’t gone down so easily, he just needed the excuse to pry his useless baby sister from the dying culture she so coveted.

“Yes,” he answered Kanji. “That is what they say and if she didn’t die in the war she certainly died when she came slinking back home, wouldn’t you think? It doesn’t matter now.”

Dead? No.

"You're lying."

It slipped out before she could even think. Ears were forward now and head back up. What a lovely job the ex priestess was doing, weaving her words of deceit. But to what end? What was Kanji's game? Falco had no reason to lie to his sister, and that she firmly believed. When he spoke again her green eyes fixated on his words. Aves had been properly molded, less than gently at times, but his words didn't sit well. It doesn't matter now. What was being implied? Could he have been wrong? Could Mother...

"No." The word may have been to herself but expressed itself out loud. Hard eyes turned back to Kanji, "No! She's gone!"

Retreating into blissful denial was far less painful than the truth. Whatever the truth was anymore.

Aves shouted and Falco saw his chance; he could stoke the burning fires in her heart, send her passions wild, turn her into the machine she was meant to be. Kanji’s mouth opened in protest and Falco spotted the rising fur at the nape of her neck before the answer left her maw. He cut her off abruptly.

“She’s playing with you, Aves. She was a priestess. She knows all the tricks to manipulate your heart and mind,” Falco barked at his sister. “There is no chance mother is alive, this is all a cruel jape. Don’t let her tell you any different.”

Kill her, kill her, KILL HER!

He immediately snapped back to Kanji and barreled into her like a wild aurochs. She tried to dodge, ever vigilant on her feet, but the mass of him caught her by the shoulder and sent her spinning through the forest. She crashed through a bush, rolling head over tail, and somehow landed on her feet, snarling as a feral beast. Falco burst through the bush, snapping at her, going for her face and she nimbly ducked out of the way. It mattered not. Hopefully his sister would follow his lead and help to pin her down. She was more the warrior than the godspawn ever was, but she was outnumbered here and he would silence her sabotaging tongue.

Playing with you...manipulating you...japing you

Aves would not allow anyone to treat her like that.

No words were needed, she charged shortly after her brother, taking a sharp turn to follow her tumbling body. Falco was doing an admirable job busying her jaws so she would attack from behind, trying to sink her teeth into the fallen priestess' flank. If she missed, she'd scramble to try again. If Kanji turned to face her, she'd take her brother's place in trying to bite into her face. She wanted to rip that deceitful tongue out. The valley had raised them all on the virtues of battle, but truth be told this was the first true battle Aves had set her paws into. But she felt no fear. Foolishly. Kanji was a seasoned warrior, blind rage held no candle to her ability.

But if granted she would send her to her Rosa soon enough.

Teeth scraped against her flank, raking against her skin and drawing blood, but the damage was still relatively small. The bush cushioned Falco’s blow against her and Kanji was able to throw her weight and use the foliage to flip herself back on her feet, avoiding exposing her tender undersides and neck. She quickly realized the bush she rolled through would give her a split-second cover to turn tail and run, which is exactly what she did. She could disable Aves alone, but Falco was a monster and unless she got a fatal hit on him, she could only count on bleeding him out and it wouldn’t be fast enough unless she took down his sister.

Fuck.

“Get her!” Kanji heard Falco shout behind her. Of course. If they were on flatter terrain Falco’s long legs would be of benefit to him but in this tangled underbrush he would have to work twice as hard to keep on the smaller wolf’s tail. It was smart to send in Aves, if he stayed behind her, because Kanji knew she could best the young wolf in one on one combat any day.

We’re heading towards the river…I’ll be cornered…

Cornered and out of breath.

Blood had never tasted so sweet and the petty victory only spurred Aves on. She went to take another bite when Kanji rolled away through the underbrush. The command from Falco was far from needed. There was nothing more than holding the priestess' tongue between her teeth that would stop the crested wolf in her pursuit. The fleeing wolf made better time through the bramble but Aves was close behind.

"Where you going?" She managed to laugh, heart pounding as she went. The days of forced march had left her legs weak and she was starting to lose ground. She snarled, willing her body forward. The Fringe wouldn't fail herself, for this mission had nothing more to do with Falco. Aves would do anything to end Kanji, end her lies. Even if it meant pushing her body beyond her limits.

There's nothing like baby's first murder.

Kanji reached the precipitous drop that bordered the river below it and she spun quickly to dive towards Aves’ face and grab her by the chin. She wretched the younger wolf’s powerful momentum along, pulling her towards the drop, for there was nowhere left to run and that foolish puppy would go down with her if it was the last thing she did. The cliffside was not vertical, but a gravelly slope, but that did not mean it wouldn’t hurt to go down it.

Which was why she needed Aves to break her fall into the only escape that was possible in that moment.

Aves became suddenly aware of the oncoming drop off. She has nowhere to to! Kanji stopped, and it seemed Aves' time for triumph had come. Jaws open she went for the disgraced priestess. Which, it seemed, was exactly what Kanj wanted.

For all of her efforts Aves was not permitted to stop. Jaws clamped onto hers and she was hurled towards the edge. She hit the gravel with a grunt, and another followed as her attacker landed on top of her. Still overcome with blind frenzy the young wolf saw another chance to end this. Teeth flashed wildly and would have continued to do so until she felt the earth shift drastically under her feet. They were sliding, quickly towards the river below.

There was a split second choice to be made. Aves could swim, but the river below was tumultuous and she had only ever dipped her paws in a lake. The battle, for this is what she saw this as, could continue. Revenge could be had. But the river was coming more and more into focus, and Kanji's death would mean nothing to her if she wasn't alive to savor it. Paws scrambled at the gravel, and while it was far too slow for her taste Aves eventually came to an unsteady stand still.

Rock struck Kanji’s shoulder as the two wolves tumbled, grinding their flesh against the gravel as they went. They bit at each other, drawing blood, but the fall meant an escape to a fight the warrior couldn’t win and for some odd reason she wanted to live to see another day. At least Aves body broke much of her tumble and they bounced down the hill. Aves released her, as Kanji knew she would, and the older wolf let her body crash into the river below. The dark waters swallowed her, flooding her senses momentarily as they tossed her bruised aching body along. She kicked back to the surface, using all the energy she had held back in the battle to find the air. She knew she couldn’t fight against the current, so she wouldn’t, instead letting it carry her where it would and hoping no powerful undertows caught her in their grasp.

Still. Drowning was better than being gutted alive in an unfair fight.

The larger wolf came to a skidding stop at the edge where he saw his sister go over. He could see her clinging to the side, pebbles and sand flowing underneath her, and he saw Kanji breach the river a couple of moments later. His lip curled. It was a failure on his sister’s part to not kill that bitch when she had the chance but…he supposed in some ways she had gone through the effort of proving her loyalty. Tools were useless when they were broken; he had no intention of pushing her further. There was nothing they could do now.

“Never mind her,” Falco barked down at Aves. “It’s not like she’ll be running back to the Valley anytime soon.”

Aves watched Kanji resign to her fate. The tumble of black and gold hit the water and was lost beneath the foam. The precariously perched wolf panted heavily from exertion, eyes scanning the water wildly for any sign of life. May Kanji's battered body sink like a stone. A snarl formed as she bobbed up to the surface but she had little time to dwell on it. She turned to look up at her brother who looked no worse for wear as he called her off her mission. Looking one last time to the fading form in the river and picked her way back up to solid ground. As she moved and the adrenaline ebbed Aves was suddenly realize how sore her shoulder was from the landing, and being landed upon. First effort was to safely get off the slope, the second was to hiding her pain.

"She won't be running anywhere soon," the blood on her face from the barrage was hidden for the most part on her dark coat. If any bite were to leave a scar it would show up as yet another white tick, indiscernible from the current smattering. Making it to solid ground she gave one more look to the unforgiving river, "Or maybe ever again."