[Alana]

It still felt surreal to the matriarch to have her sister home at last. Mercury had been missing for what seems like eons, leaving Alana to many sleepless nights and uneasy days worrying over her sibling's fate. Where had she gone, what had happened to keep the dark sister from her home, from her family? Alana frowned deeply, the corners of her mouth falling downward just as her ears fell. Alana could only imagine what horrors her sister had gone through.

It had seemed.. inappropriate to interrogate her sibling just after Mercury had been returned to Nardir. With a few days come and gone since that time, the Lunar Queen felt it was finally time. In truth, the woman had absolutely no idea how to approach her sister after so long away from one another. Things couldn't just go back to the way they were - that would have been too easy - but Alana had high hopes. Nardir had certainly changed during Mercury's absence, and Alana had changed along with it. This was a different Nardir than the one that Mercury had left, and Alana fret endlessly over it. Would Mercury feel at home here, would she settle? Or had her homecoming been tarnished by a new society and new faces?

The moon queen shook her head, blinking the thoughts away. What good would thinking like that do her? Dainty paws fell quietly on the frosty ground as she made her way to the area Mercury was staying in, hoping to find her around. "Mercury?" she called softly in the early morning light, the name sounding strange on her tongue. It had been so long since she had said it like that, like she expected Mercury to answer - and finally, perhaps, her sister would.

"I brought you some breakfast.. I was hoping we could talk." Why did she sound so formal? Her tone was as stiff as her body, and not from the chill of the morning air either. Alana supposed it had a lot to do with nerves; she was extremely anxious and worried for her sister. Mercury had always been her rock, the one wolf who could level out Alana's emotions. Times had changed so much in the time Merc had been gone. The milky white and cream Nardiri couldn't decide how she felt about that fact, either. She slipped her makeshift vine-and-leaf pouch off from around her neck, placing it gingerly on the ground. Inside were some small food items, skinned and herb-rubbed rabbit legs with dried strips of deer meat.

Mercury's scent was fresh around the area, but where was Mercury?

[Mercury]

Alana had come to visit an empty den.  It wasn't all that unusual, and if the full moon sister had remembered her counterpart, she would have remembered what an early riser Mercury was.  She had already been up and out hunting. While a few of her catches were promptly devoured, she also brought food back for herself, and was now carrying a freshly killed squirrel in her mouth.  Her intent was to stockpile a small cache of food in her den, in case the snow got bad enough that she wouldn't be able to hunt.  Winter brought a unique set of challenges, and she was, as always, prepared.  As she came down the path towards the hole she was currently calling a den, she caught the tail end of Alana's words.

"I was hoping we could talk."

The Dark Moon hesitated, halting just out of sight.  Her emotions warred, and she contemplated simply turning away.  Mercury was out of sync with Nardir, with the land, with her sister.  Where once they had been as inseparable as twins, they were now strangers.  She had been naive to think that Nardir would be the same as what she had known.  Alana was naive if she thought Mercury was the same.  Now she felt so at odds with everything around her, and she wondered if it had been better if she had remained a dog, dead to these people.  Alana had outgrown her, it seemed.  Certainly the pack had.  This was not her land, and these wolves were not her family.  She had no purpose, and seemed as much a ghost in their midst as any honored dead.  Politeness and recited courtesies were what she got, as though they spoke as much to a grave as to her.

Mercury stood on a straight path and at a mental crossroads.  She could go, exclude herself and go back to her haunting, or she could, at least, talk to Alana.  But what would she say?  She had no right to come barging back into her sister's life.  She wasn't her protector anymore.  Alana was grown and strong and didn't need a shadow.  And that was what she had been, wasn't it? A shadow to allow her sister to shine.  She had never resented the role, never felt burdened to lift up Alana's peaceful light.  But the weight of losing their home, and the destruction of the Nardir she knew... that was a burden to which the greek Atlas could not compare.  She had been crushed by it.  A Queen no more, but a broken and battered dog.  She had thought the aching in her soul would ease if she could only find Alana.

She had been wrong.  The wound on her heart ached more than the scar on her breast.  She had lost the land where her parents lay buried, she had lost the pack who had raised her.  And now, she had lost her reason for being.  Wasn't she better off being a ghost?  She moved to back away, and a twig snapped beneath her paw.  The thunder crack announced her presence, and now it was too late to run.  So instead she simply stood in the road, her crossroads narrowing into a single, uncertain future.

[Alana]

What felt like hours passed as the woman sat in silence among the trees, her heartbeat thundering in her ears and against her chest. Where had her dark sister gone? She knew that Mercury had been one to rise before the sun did more often than not, but the thought didn't cross her mind - perhaps due to nervousness. Alana sighed forlornly, her ears pinning back against her head. Had she been foolish to come? Was she crowding her sister? It must have been strange for Mercury to return to a place called Nardir, but that was so different from the one she had left. Nardir had went through many shifts, moving from one place to another and undergoing cultural changes because of it. Alana was proud of the sanctuary they had all made for themselves, tucked away in the mountains. She wanted Mercury to feel that way too, to feel at home and safe there.

Just after making the decision to leave, a twig snapped nearby. Alana's ears shot up, seafoam gaze darting around until she picked out the fresh scent of her dark sibling. "Mercury," she breathed in a mixture of both surprise and relief, a small smile creeping up on her slender muzzle. "I wanted to check on you and see how you were getting settled." Following her nose through the undergrowth, Alana found Mercury just a short distance away. Her sister looked a little uneasy, which brought worry to the woman's heart.

Things were different between them now, that much Alana was certain of. Mercury had been through a lot in her time away from Nardir, the collar around her sister's neck evidence of that. Had she encountered humans, and had they been cruel to her? She remembered the horror stories that were told of the Gesshoku, awful evil humans that used sabers and spears to slaughter wolves out of nothing but pure hatred. But then, there were the humans of the man village Puffin had lived in, and he had spoken fondly of his times there and of the humans who kept them - Alana supposed there were likely good and bad humans just as there were any other sentient creature. What had Mercury's experience with them been?

Without hesitation Alana closed the gap between them, embracing her sibling (provided Mercury didn't draw back) for a short moment before stepping back. "It's still just.. surreal," Alana commented, eyes searching Mercury's face and imprinting the details in her mind. "I'm glad you're here." Was Mercury happy about it, though? "How're you settling in?" It had to be strange for her, almost entirely alone in a new land. She wished for Mercury to feel included and whole in Nardir, and the first step towards that was finding out where her sister stood at present.

[Mercury]

"Mercury, wanted to check on you and see how you were getting settled."

Mercury looked down at her paws.  Of course Alana had been worried... Kind, caring Alana.  What hardships had she faced in Mercury's absence?  Had events been harder on Mercury or Alana?  Despite the initial events of her human capture, She had adapted and lived quite well as a dog.  The fights had been brutal, and her pelt hid a plethora of small bites and scratches.  Luckily for her, that time had been brief, and the human dens she had lived in afterwards had been more hospitable.  She had filled the role she always had, that of protector and provider.  She had hunted with man; she had defended his den, mate and pups;  She had pulled his sled.  There had been a team, and they had become her pack.  In a way, Mercury had moved on.  She had lived her life, content to be a dog, until something called to her from the forest.  Not quite a sound, not quite a memory.  She had thought she heard her mother singing, but Shenandoah was long dead, and her bones were lost among stolen stones.  Family had brought Mercury back, for she and Alana had always only had each other.

But now Alana did not have just her.  She had a mate and a family and a pack.  Mercury felt cast out, not by Alana herself, but by fate.  While Alana had grown and matured, it seemed that Mercury had been frozen in time.  While she was a dog, the world had moved on without her.  There wasn't anything she or Alana could have done.  It simply... was.  Alana stepped forward to embrace her, and Mercury conceded, but it was not the warm embrace they had shared upon their first reunion.  Now it was awkward, as though Mercury had forgotten the action.  When Alana stepped back, they stared awkwardly at each other.  She did not see much of a difference in Alana's features, aside from her full maturity.  She was still bright eyed, with that hopeful expression.  Bright as the full moon.  She was always shining.

"It's still just.. surreal, How're you settling in?"

The truth? She wasn't.  Mercury got up before the sun and practically ran herself into the ground.  She ran the trails until she memorized them, ran the borders to learn them, and ran down prey to feed herself.  She slept only because she was bone tired.  She didn't know what else to do.  These were not her people to lead, and she felt she had no right to do so.  Instead, she avoided them, not wanting to interfere with lives that were so firmly rooted in this new land.  Alana, too, had put down roots here.  She was nervous, but not scared.  This was her land, her home, and they were her people.  Mercury's Nardir had been ruled in duality.  Alana and Mercury had ruled as their father had ruled with his brother. A family that ruled together.  But Alana had a different family now, and Mercury was not sure if she belonged to it.  But how could she say such a thing?  It would break her poor sister's heart.  So instead, she would give a nice, surface reason.  Something to make Alana stop asking.  Mercury would rather quietly bleed to death than have Alana worry.

"I am at a loss as to my position."  She said, which was true enough.  "My idle time seems... detrimental."

What was her purpose in this new Nardir where the Full Moon ruled?

[Alana]

Alana knew not what thoughts were racing through her sisters's head - and probably for the best, as well, as they would have devastated her. Alana had gained a husband and children that she loved beyond description, but she had never left her sister behind. Every day she rose and thought of Mercury, of her missing sibling. Alexander had been gone for so long, since childhood it seemed - where he had fled to nobody knew. She and Mercury were the only two remaining members of their little nuclear family, and having Mercury there with her did wonders for Alana's soul. Still, she worried for her dark sister, lost for far too long. She felt guilty for not striking out to find her sister, but with Nardir needing her as it had been.. the woman sighed softly. The guilt would always be there, the matriarch supposed.

"I am at a loss as to my position. My idle time seems... detrimental."

The Nardir that Mercury had been delivered to was not the same one she had left, and it negatively affected the dark sister. Alana could tell that much just by looking at her sibling. Creamy ears fell back, uncertain as to what to say in response. Her position? Idle time.. ? It felt a little strange to Alana that Mercury would find idle time within Nardir, with so many places to explore and so many new faces to get acquainted with - but then, if Mercury did not believe she had a place within this new Nardir.. what would drive her to socialize? Her sister felt like an outcast, and Alana wanted to fix that. She had to.

"Maybe we can fix that." Alana's voice was light and optimistic, something she had to put considerable effort towards in that moment (not that anyone would notice). Things felt tense between she and Mercury, and Alana couldn't stand to let that continue. "What would you be interested in doing?" She phrased her question so that there were no rank names, and left it open for Mercury to simply describe what she'd enjoy spending her days doing. Giving her sister a job to keep her busy, and help her meet other Nardiri, would do wonders for getting Mercury involved with Nardiri society once more, for making this her home.

There were a million questions swirling in her head that she wanted to ask Mercury. What had happened to take and keep her away from Nardir for so long? What had she gone through, and where did the collar come from? The matriarch had to force herself to concentrate, focusing on her sister and waiting with patience for her reply. There were many ranks within Nardir that she believed would fit Mercury - but it all hinged on what Mercury herself wanted.

[Mercury]

"Maybe we can fix that. What would you be interested in doing?"

The Dark Moon did not answer immediately, taking her time to consider her sister's question.  What did Mercury like to do?  Her life away from Nardir had put her through many roles, but in the end, they all amounted to the same thing.  Mercury was a hunter, a fighter, a guard.  She was the strength that had sheltered Alana's gentleness.  She supposed she was still all of that, but she wasn't so sure that Alana needed her for that, not anymore.  Aylie had told her that Alana now had a mate, Nardir had a king.  Alana did not rule alone, and probably didn't need her at all.  Still, if she could not do as she had always done, what should become of her?

"I would like to do as I always have done. Defend and protect.  I would be your voice when you are not there to speak."

She had always been a protector, guarding would be right in her wheelhouse.  She already patrolled the territory, and was getting better at navigating herself.  She had always handled acceptances and border situations in old Nardir, surely there was still a job like that?  She could probably avoid the awkwardness of social interactions if she was on the job and had protocol to fall back on.  She would be able to learn the workings of this new regime, and maybe, just maybe, she'd find her place in it.  Until then, she felt it would be best to simply fall back on the one thing she knew she could do.  Be a good soldier, be a dog.  She had no right to be anything else here.

[Alana]

Mercury's return had come with great joy, but it also brought its own unique set of problems. They had been separated for so long that Alana had no idea where she stood in Mercury's life. All Alana knew was that she wanted to be a part of it, and to have her sister be a part of her life as well. It seemed naive to hope that things could be as they once were between the sisters, and yet, that hope still burned within Alana's chest like a flame that refused to be snuffed out.

"I would like to do as I always have done. Defend and protect.  I would be your voice when you are not there to speak."

Her dark half's answer came at last, and was much to the tune of what the Mercury she knew and loved would have wanted. A smile bloomed on the Queen's slender muzzle, soft eyes sparking with an idea. While she liked to speak for herself most of the time, it wasn't always possible - and Alana trusted her sister to do what was right, always; Mercury was a dark paladin, a defender of justice and of her people. With help, the Nardiri would one day be her people again. Alana was sure of it.

"We have a rank, the Parallax," the matriarch began in a thoughtful tone,"That may be what you're looking for. Handling recruits, acting as an emissary, helping to train other ranks.. does that sound appealing?" She had a feeling that her sister would definitely approve (at least she hoped so). It seemed to be a perfect fit. "If you think it would suit you, you can consider yourself in-training for the rank - just until you're on your feet here." It wouldn't do any good to have Mercury handling political relationships when there were so many changes to Nardir's culture that she had to catch up on. Knowing Mercury though, the dark sister would get a good grasp on things rather quickly, especially once she had a task to throw herself in to.

It occured to Alana then that there weren't many Parallax. Vidar was a ghost more often than not, and Cale had not been seen in quite some time as well. Sansa had moved to the rank of Hydra, leaving the position vacant, and without a Parsec there to lead them.. it had stagnated. Perhaps her te innovation and drive that Mercury brought would be enough to kick the Parallax back into action, and hopefully it gave Mercury a way to bond and become part of Nardir, truly part of it, once more.

[Mercury]

"We have a rank, the Parallax, that may be what you're looking for. Handling recruits, acting as an emissary, helping to train other ranks.. does that sound appealing? If you think it would suit you, you can consider yourself in-training for the rank - just until you're on your feet here."

Mercury nodded with a slow, regal gesture; bowing her head ever so slightly as dignitaries do.  She had figured that Alana already had something in mind, and the two appeared to be slipping back into sync.  Alana understood Mercury's need to provide for her people, and Mercury understood that Alana could not just dust her off and once again call her Queen.  The in-training label would not ruffle any feathers of her acting subordinates, and would allow Mercury to return to active duty in a quiet role that could be quickly discarded.  She would learn the workings of her rank, and then become a true Parallax.  From there, she would be able to have an easy job doing the day to day of the pack.

"To whom will I be reporting?"  Mercury asked, her tone mild.

Merc did not doubt that Alana would consider her opinions when they counted, but she was unsure of how the power was spread these days.  She would also use her time to observe the hierarchy of Nardir, and to make an unspoken assessment about this mate Alana had taken.  The pack may have approved of him, but from the sounds of things, the pack was very different from the Nardir of old.  No, she would pass the judgement of family.  The judgement only a sister could give.  Julek would have to meet Mercury's approval, for she had always been Alana's protector, and if he were taking advantage of her in any way... He would have to answer to Mercury.  She wasn't going to overlook anything, even if Alana brushed it off.  Alana was Queen of Nardir, and Julek's job should have been Consort.  Trusted advisor, mate and friend.  A shadow to support her light.  As Mercury had done.  If he was overshadowing her, Mercury would point it out, even if Alana didn't want to see it.

The Dark moon kept these musings to herself, and instead gave Alana an encouraging smile.  She said nothing that could cause her sister any anxiety, and kept her mole hills at the proper size.  No use making mountains where there were none.  Still, she was cautious about this new Nardir.  Aylie's account of events had not been an advertisement of good cheer, and Mercury intended to speak to the Nardirians who could provide her with a more consistent timeline. She still had a lot of work to do, but now Alana had given her access to the inner workings, and Mercury could hunt for the truths she needed to formulate her opinion of this new Nardir.  She had to make the pieces fit, or she could never belong to this puzzle.

[Alana]

"To whom will I be reporting?"

Her sister's question brought about feelings that Alana would have rather left alone. It was no fault of Mercury's, though, and the dark woman could not have known. The leader of the Parallax was the Parsec, a position once held by her beautiful daughter Terebellum. Many months had passed since her brilliant daughter's disappearance, and Alana's heart felt great pain and longing. Where had Bell gone, and was she safe? Was she-- no, Alana refused to even think it. Much the same as her dear sister, Alana believed one day Terebellum would come home to them safe and sound. The matriarch blinked those thoughts away, focusing instead on Mercury.

After some thought, an idea came to the Queen. "As the Parsec position is currently unoccupied, I believe it best that you train under our Hydra, Sansa. She was a Parallax for a long while, and could teach you all that you need to know." The grey Bacchus dire was rough, but reliable. Alana thought that Mercury and Sansa might even get along with one another - hopefully much better than Ayliyra and Sansa had, at least.

"And.. I want you to know that I'm here for you, always. If you have questions, if you're bored and just want to talk.. " The matriarch's voice softened into a more personal, affectionate tone as she spoke, trailing off towards the end but offering her dark counterpart a loving smile. Alana had truly missed her sibling, and it still felt like she needed to pinch herself every time she saw her dear Mercury. In time, perhaps their bond would strengthen into a better, more wholly developed version of what it had been before the dark sister's disappearance. Although Alana wanted to know what had kept Mercury from returning to Nardir for so long, the Moon Queen felt it best to let her sister tell that part of her tale when she felt comfortable doing so. Alana would not pry. But.. "Whenever you're ready to talk about.. what happened, I'll be ready to listen."

She wanted Mercury to know without a single shred of doubt that her sister was there for her, through thick and thin, and no amount of time away from one another would change that.

[Mercury]

"As the Parsec position is currently unoccupied, I believe it best that you train under our Hydra, Sansa. She was a Parallax for a long while, and could teach you all that you need to know."

Mercury did not realize that she had caused Alana pain, but something flashed in her sister's eyes that ran a cold twinge down her spine.  Then the moment passed, and Alana spoke back.  Mercury nodded, indicating she understood.  It would not be difficult to locate the... Hydra?  Mercury had no idea what that meant.  In fact, none of the ranks Alana had named were familiar to her.  She would ask, and Alana would take the time to explain them.  It would probably take them a while to go through them all, but if the sisters were anything, it was patient.  Mercury gleaned that she would be akin to a messenger, and that she would represent Nardir both within and without the border.  While she would be able to accept, it would not be her main duty, instead, she would keep her paw on the pulse of Nardir.  That suited her just fine.

"And.. I want you to know that I'm here for you, [i]always. If you have questions, if you're bored and just want to talk..Whenever you're ready to talk about.. what happened, I'll be ready to listen."[/i]

"I am not." Mercury said sharply, then added more softly. "Not yet...  You must allow me time, Alana."

The Dark Moon turned her head away. She was not ready to talk about what happened.  Her fears at being unable to come home, despite physically being back among her pack, were still fears of the present, not fears of the past.  She could not let Alana know how adrift she was, and resolved not to until she met this Sansa.  Once she got an idea of how well she got on with her new superior, the better.  She needed to know if she could even fit here, and did not want to admit to Alana that she had felt more comfortable around humans than she currently did her own pack.  Concealing her story was the lie that allowed her not to voice those fears. Until she got things sorted, she would let Alana think it was her time away that was causing her aloof demeanor, not Nardir.

"I would, however, like to hear about what happened to you. A mate?  And pups?  How many nieces and nephews do I have?"

Mercury diverted, trying to steer them back to an easier subject.