Fantasy Immortuos

[Kaya]

Sol had been unusually silent, by his standards, while Isla had apparently made it her mission to buy every product the gardening shop had to offer.
He gave his occasional answer when she asked for his opinion, but aside from that he seemed to be busy with an inner debate.

And what an inner debate.

Diavel, despite having brought an era of peace to at least half of Naphuron, had the capability of being unbelievably dangerous.
He sure spread an air of grace, but he knew that this man was graceful the way a forest fire was; something to be watched from afar, not up close.
And while he did believe in the strength and power of his pack, he knew that a direct confrontation would most likely wipe out most of them.
But he also knew that Diavel and Lucian were relying on the alliance with the entire pack; as long as their covens held up their end of the contract and protected the people, the pack protected the covens. If another war should break out, Irewood and Athera would be aided by the force of every single werewolf of Naphuron.
Their strength had always been to lay low. It was the only reason they were even able to plot a revolution.
But was he supposed to lay low right now or warn Isla?

Her question whether he was strong enough to carry the supplies brought him back to the here and now, and honestly it was a welcome distraction, if only momentarily.
"The only problem I might get is having to grow one or two additional arms", he commented on the amount of supplies she had bought as he threw the bag of soil over his shoulder and lifted up the basin. Thank the gods that the moon was waxing; the little boost in strength made this much easier.
"Can you carry the pots?"

On their way back to the mansion, he occasionally watched her from the corner of his eye, back to debating until he finally figured out that what Diavel didn't know...

"About your question regarding Diavel...", he started a little hesitantly, "You didn't get this from me; it's just a little... unexpected, to hear things like that about a mass murderer. I mean, he only ended vampires, but-..."
Wow, he hadn't expected this to be so uncomfortable. It probably was because he understood that Diavel probably was the only person Isla felt like she could always turn to, he just didn't want to burst her bubble and make her time here harder, but after what he had seen in that room...
Well there wasn't any proof that the vampire had told the truth about having changed his mind regarding the Soul binding.
And on top of that he really didn't want to risk an argument.
"I feel like this is not my story to tell, honestly. I'm just a little worried, you know? Dog coming through."

 

[AccioProphecy]

Isla merely nods enthusiastically when Sol asks her to carry the pots. So, carry the pots she did. She hummed a little random tune on their way back. Mind filled with different ideas on what to plant and how to make the placement of flowers pretty. Aside from that there were a few hedges that needed to be trimmed. She remembers that there was also a flower arch in the garden which vines were already running wild. She had to fix those too.

As she hugged the pot to her and walked, Sol's voice causes her to turn her head towards him. He seemed a little hesitant and she herself grows silent at the mention that Diavel was a mass murderer. Isla turns away and stares straight ahead, a slight haze entering her thoughts. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew what Diavel was really capable of. Common sense dictated that there must be a reason people went silent when they saw him. Other than that, for someone to be alive for such a long time... there must have been instances where he needed to kill to survive. The image from her first night was also another thing that crossed her mind form time to time, his hands digging into the other vampire's shoulder.

"...I understand," Moments from last night flash in her mind like a movie reel, likewise, the picture of rage in his eyes and actions when she had walked in his room without notice. "There's no way that I can understand what he really is in two days... And with how long he's lived... I think I'll always feel like there's a part of him that I won't really know. How can I? 700 years of history is not an easy thing to understand..." She unconsciously grips on the pots tighter.

"But... He's actually... A pretty simple person... Or so I've seen..." She doesn't utter a word about him telling her his life story and the incident with the mask. Just as Sol said that it wasn't his story to tell, she thought the same for what she witnessed last night. "I'm going to believe in the good in him for now," she smiles a genuine one, knowing how dangerous and reckless that kind of mindset could be.

She turns to Sol though, and adds. "Don't worry too much over it, Sol. If it makes you feel better I'll come looking for you if he starts bullying me, how's that?" She laughs a little under her breath.

 

[Kaya]

"I really hope you're right", Sol answered simply to Isla's statement about believing in the good in Diavel for now. The last thing he wanted was that his suspicions would prove to be true, it wasn't like he wanted Isla to make bad experiences regarding the duke just because he didn't trust or like him.
All alone in this world she barely knew, he knew friends and people to turn to were invaluable, he didn't want her to lose that.
He just prayed to all gods that Diavel was, against all expectations and past experiences, the good person Isla saw in him.
"But you really have to promise me to be careful, okay?"

Back at the mansion the first thing Sol noticed was... music? He couldn't remember a single day in his entire time here that these halls hadn't been filled with an oppressive silence, but he definitely heard the music of a piano from somewhere upstairs, an intricate melody somewhere between melancholic and hopeful.
What in all worlds...
Rain, who crossed their path heading for the basement, gave him the same quizzical look that had settled on his face. "What's going on here?"
"I don't know, I found him in the kitchen preparing a bucket of water. Said he couldn't sleep and the floors needed cleaning. Don't ask me why he didn't let the gargoyles take care of it. After half an hour of scrubbing around in one of the guest rooms he dropped the bucket off by the kitchen and hasn't left the library since."

"...Vampires... ", Sol just sighed under his breath. Though he did wonder if what Rain had told him meant that Diavel had been removing the rune circle in that disturbing room.
That would be a good sign, at least it would mean one less danger for Isla.
"Let's just... Go and take care of the garden before it gets even weirder", he suggested with a nervous chuckle before he lead the way to the garden, unsure whether or not Isla had already memorized it.
"So, tell me... What can I help you with? I guess step one is to dig up the flower beds?"

 

[AccioProphecy]

When they arrived at the mansion there was music playing. Isla strained to listen to it a bit more over Rain's talking and realized that it was piano music. Was Diavel playing? "Guess he's in a good mood?" Isla suggests with a shrug and moves on to following Sol's steps to the gardens. The whole thing about scrubbing for half an hour was weird but... Maybe he was just in the mood to clean. When Isla didn't want to do any of her work, she usually just defaulted to doing house chores, trying to escape from work.

She was getting the hang of the twists and turns in the mansion, but nowhere near confident to walk alone and find things by herself. Perhaps she should practice one of these days, go on a mansion treasure hunt and see how well she knows the rooms and areas. They step out into the garden and walk towards the pavilion, setting down the pots there. It was in the centre of everything, so it shouldn't be too difficult to access.

"Hmm..." she starts, looking around, "Yea I think we should get rid of the dead flowers and plants on the flowerbed first... Since you're the one helping me, let's plant sunflowers!" She had no idea how to take care of sunflowers, but she pointed at the left of the pavilion, "I'll work on that area over there, just to make it easy can you work on the other side?" she said, moving her arm to point to the right for him.

She thanks him for his help before going off on her own, they weren't too far from each other. Isla yet again wore the most comfortable clothes she could find, but, knowing that she was going to work with soil today, she chose the colour furthest from white. She couldn't find black though, so she settled on a long sleeved dress that was a weird pale brown colour. As she kneeled on the ground and started shoveling out weeds and dead plants, also brushing away fallen leaves, she started to yet again hum another random tune.

She wore what were supposed to be gardening gloves, but they were nothing like the gardening gloves she had back home. It was slightly flimsy and thin, but it did the work of keeping her hands clean. There was one particular weed that was being a headache. It just wouldn't come out no matter how she pulled at it. She ended up digging where the roots should be, trying again but failing. She tilts her head in question, wondering why it was being so stubborn, and yet again digs deeper, by that point, some of its roots were sticking out but the main one was still buried deep. The hole she dug looked a lot like it was nearly three pots deep but she kept on going.

Something strange happened then, when she struck the soil and it suddenly opened up a small hole, instead of digging the dirt out, it had fallen into the hole. Isla narrows her eyes at it, sweat trickling down the side of her forehead with all the effort she had put. She leans forward towards the hole she has dug, trying to get a good look, one hand maneuvering over to lean on the soil and the other still curiously digging.

It all happened too fast, the hole suddenly opened up at her next strike with the shovel, the soil where her hand was leaning on caved in and she was instantly plunged into an unfamiliar darkness, the wind wisping around her on the way down, her surprised shriek cut off short as the ground knocked the wind out of her. Isla doesn't know how she lands, she just knows that her body ached and when she sits up to open her eyes, it looked as if she was in a tunnel that stretched on for ages.

The thing that bothers her is that she's alone, never mind how her body ached or how her foot was shooting pain up her leg every few seconds. She looks back up towards the hole that she dug, there was light coming from there and she now realizes how far up it was. "...Sol?" She slightly whimpers in distress, her imagination going haywire. What if something appears down here and eats her up? All the scary creatures in her mind start invading her imagination.

 

[Kaya]

What does Diavel act like when he's in a good mood?
... Does he even know what good mood is?
Those two questions kept occupying Sol's mind as he plucked weed by weed, dead flower by dead flower, and dug up a few especially stubborn plants.
He'd let his mind wander around everything and nothing in particular, that was why he didn't notice Isla disappearing right away, but when he heard a thud, followed by a meek whimper calling his name all he did was grin teasingly.
"What, big bad spider?", he asked upon turning to where she had last been... Just to realize that she was nowhere to be found and a big hole was gaping in the middle of the flower bed.
"What in the-..."
A tunnel? The tunnel?
If so... Well fuck. He'd have to hope that Isla wouldn't question why there was an secret tunnel starting in the dungeons.

"What happened?!"
The scents of werewolves, Isla and adrenaline were wafting from the exposed tunnel. Damn. This hole needed to be fixed right away, they couldn't risk Diavel finding out about it, although he sometimes suspected that the vampire was long aware of the fact that the wolves had their secrets down there in the dungeons.
"Hold on, I'll be with you in a second!" Lacking other options, he jumped into the hole after her and skilfully landed on his toes and hands. Only now in this utter darkness did his golden eyes reveal to glow like embers.

He took a short moment to look around, yep, it definitely was the tunnel. He'd have to tell the others to support the ceiling with wood or something...
That's when he noticed how Isla was holding her ankle, clearly in pain, though the fear seemed to suppress it a little.
"Hey, you okay? Let me see this", he said, making sure to radiate calmness as he carefully inspected her injury. It had an unhealthy purple color and was obviously swollen.
"Ouch", he mumbled sympathetically. "Sprained, I guess... Hopefully not broken..."

He was at a bit of a loss right now... The next available doctor lived at the outskirts of Paravel, almost an hour's walk away, and he'd be surprised if Isla was even able to walk right now.
On the other hand there was one of the best doctors of the country in Amalthea...
The big question was whether or not Isla was trustworthy...
"I'll quickly go and see if we can get out of here in that direction", he explained before he shifted into his wolf form. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you can even call my name."

And off he ran in the direction of the door that would lead to the dungeons.
The only problem, he realized as he arrived, was that said door was locked.
Well, fuck. For the second time. The only other way leading out of Amalthea was on the other side of the underground city.
Seemed like he had no other choice but to reveal this secret to her...
He just hoped she'd keep it to herself.

When he was back with Isla and had morphed back into his human shape, he seemed hesitant to speak.
"Let me help you up...", he said, trying to support her with his arm and shoulder, but, frankly, she was too short.
"Um-... Can you walk? I can carry you if it's too painful. There's no getting out of here in the direction I tried, but the other direction..."
His golden gaze bored into her eyes like he was literally trying to see her through.
"How far can I trust you? Would you keep my secrets if my life depended on it? The lives of countless of others? Even when it would mean to lie to Diavel?"

 

[AccioProphecy]

Isla's big sigh of relief was not enough to show how really relieved she was to see Sol in front of her again. Only when she relaxed did she feel the painful throb on her ankle, she glanced down at it and knew that there was something obviously wrong with it. She looks up at Sol, from her sitting position it dawned on her just how tall he was.

Isla wasn't sure but he seemed to be in a bit of a panic. She stayed quiet, not really knowing what to do except to nod at his suggestions. It took her a lot of self control not to ask him to stay though, not wanting to be by herself in an unplanned situation. She was already awkward enough in planned ones.

When he came back and helped her up she tried to put some weight on her bad ankle. It was painful, but not to the point where she was totally incapacitated. "..." she decides whether or not to lie and just grit through the walking, but remembers the stabbing pain and imagined feeling it with each step. "... Depends... How far are we going?" she cautiously asks and tries to put weight on her bad ankle again. That one made her wince. "... I can manage five steps?" She meekly responds with the tiniest hint of a sheepish smile.

She pauses when Sol asks her a seemingly loaded question. She blinks up at him, gauging the severity and weight of his words. He was serious. Gone was the mischievous glint in his eyes and all that stared back at her was a stone-faced Sol. She picks her words carefully and thinks about her answer. Specially when he says that she would have to lie to Diavel about it.

But while I enjoy their company and trust them both blindly, it's something different... With you.

Diavel's words echoed in Isla's mind. Lying to him felt like some sort of breach of contract. But Sol also said that his life depended on it. She opens her mouth to say something but closes it again. When she finally settled on an answer she speaks, "If it's to protect you and with good reason... Then I won't turn my back on you,"

The image of Sol's back as he shields her from the fae folk runs through her mind. "I think you're misunderstanding a bit..." she continues. "Apart from Dia, I owe you a lot too... It might not seem like a big thing to you... But to me, who was lost and afraid..." He was always smiling. "I don't ever want to be the reason...to put you into trouble,"

and how could I ever be the one to take away that smile from you?

She ends her lengthy explanation with a small grin, "That, and, I mean, I'm a pretty good secret-keeper, regardless," she manages a half-laugh.

 

[Kaya]

At Isla's affectionate words, the old smile returned to Sol's face, mixed with excitement and a hint of nervousness. He was about to literally lay his and the life of his entire pack into her hands; a big responsibility, for both of them.
But it was exciting, too!
He was proud of what his people had built up for themselves, despite the less than good circumstances they were facing every single day.
"Come here you", he said with a grin as he swept her off the ground and into his arms like every prince did with every lady in distress in every single of those boring tales. Five steps wouldn't be enough to reach Amalthea, but carrying her was no problem; did she even weigh anything at all?
A slight shiver ran through his body when he felt her cooler skin against his naturally warmer, bare chest. While vampires were colder, werewolves had a naturally higher body temperature.
"Let's get your ankle treated, hm?"

The walk through the tunnel wasn't exactly long, maybe ten minutes, before it ended in an enormous underground cave. The ground was lost in an abyss of thick, white fog, save for the island seemingly floating in the middle with waterfalls falling into the nothing below.
Veins of luminescent minerals were spreading across the cavern's walls in spiral patterns and providing a soft light, shimmering in shades of gold, green and blue. Fireflies were dancing all around like stars come to live and a bunch of massive roots coming from the ceiling held the biggest of those glowing gems, an enormous one, tightly entangled, like it was holding the sun in place.
A broad suspension bridge provided a way into the city built on the floating island.

Countless of cozy, small wooden houses with thatched roofs were built around the natural flora that had existed on the island from the start, some so entangled with plants that they were hard to spot.
The center of the island was free, a big open space with small, natural springs and rivers and a single, big fireplace, around which a couple of werewolves had gathered to share lunch.

Towering above all was the enormous rock right off to the left of the bridge, on which a snow white wolf was laying and watching the bustle all around. Sol already was everything but small in his wolf form, but this one could easily compete in size with a polar bear.
Four long scars were parting the fur on its side and one hind leg seemed crippled, but it did nothing to lessen the power it was radiating.
As it took notice of Sol and Isla, it jumped off its rock and sat at the end of the bridge, clearly waiting for them.

"Sol", it spoke, voice bearing pure power and tranquility all the same. "I see you brought a guest. Have you seen into her heart?"
Sol looked down, his golden gaze searching Isla's face for a moment before he turned to answer the giant wolf with a smile.
"I trust her, father."
The Wolf nodded, the same smile playing on his face as he looked at Isla.
"Very well. Welcome to Amalthea, dear. I am Akeela, alpha of the pack. You seem to be injured. Do you need help?"

 

[AccioProphecy]

Isla yelped when she was suddenly and quite literally swept off her feet. "Sol!" she utters in alarm, one of her hands clutching at his fur lined vest at the sudden change of height. She relaxes though when he starts walking rather easily, as if he wasn't carrying anything at all. He was incredibly warm, it took a lot not to just sink into him and fall asleep. She wasn't going to tell anyone, but her quality of sleep in this world wasn't the best. Mostly because it was an unknown space and her imagination was really worse at night. She thought to herself how nice it would be to have this kind of warmth in bed, but abruptly stopped thinking about it at the image of having Sol in bed with her. Well, it wasn't too embarrassing of an image when she thought of his wolf form instead.

As he walked, she paid attention to the structure of the place and was struck with awe when they arrived at the cave. It wasn't much of a cave, really. It felt more like a... sanctuary. The crystals lining the walls were beautiful and the particularly large one on the top tangled in roots made her mutter a soft "Woah," like a child seeing a cool toy or the first time. She was so distracted by the newness of the place that she jumped a little in his arms at the sudden sound of someone else talking. She hadn't noticed there was someone else at all for her eyes were glued to the gem on the ceiling.

The white wolf was enormous, there was no other way to describe its size. Isla stared at it as it talked only snapping out of it when Sol addresses the wolf as father. "F-Father?" Isla reacts, suddenly feeling shy with the whole scene.

'He didn't tell me he was taking me to meet his family. What is this situation? Ack, I feel like I should've brought some kind of present or something.'

Perhaps it was a very human and her world way of thinking, but you didn't just randomly go into people's houses the first time without announcing yourself beforehand or bringing something as a small gift, like those generic boxes of chocolate or home baked cookies of some sort. But she smiles none the less, not wanting to seem like a mute and muttering mess. Plus, it seemed such a big deal to Sol to reveal this place to her, the least she could do was be respectful.

"Um, hi, hello, nice to meet you. I'm... Sorry for barging in unannounced," yes, she seemed to like doing that. "I'm Isla, and yea, Sol was nice enough to carry me all the way here. My ankle is a little... swollen. I'd very much appreciate some help... And I'll make sure to bring a gift next time!" She rambles on and looks back at Sol "I mean...! Only if I can come back again, that's totally fine if I'm not allowed to."

She had so many questions to ask. First off, what is this place and why was it underground. Were they hiding from something? What was that large jewel on top? Of course, she held it off until the right time. She trusted Sol would give her answers when she needed them.

 

[Kaya]

Isla's surprise regarding Akeela being Sol's father made them both crack the same, amused smile. "Isn't it obvious? We look so alike!", Sol laughed as he carefully put Isla down on a rock and shifted into his wolf form, to which Akeela nonchalantly swatted his tail into his son's face with a grin, golden eyes that looked so much like Sol's sparkling with amusement.
"Ack, dad! You're shedding fur again!", the younger werewolf complained, trying to get the hairs out of his nose and mouth. "I swear, next time I'll be shedding I'll make sure you'll find fur in every cup of tea, every meal, just everywhere!", he growled as he ducked playfully, neck fur standing up.
Akeela just looked at him with one raised eyebrow and a small grin on his face.
"Don't you dare, boy, remember last time you challenged me?"

At the mention of a gift, he turned to Isla, one eyebrow raised in the same way Sol often did.
"A gift?"
Both wolves exchanged a surprised look. It took a moment, but soon enough Sol seemed to catch on and moved to sit next to her, his fur brushing her shoulder as if to assure her that everything was fine.
"She's a soul traveler, she's not very familiar with... the circumstances in which we live."
"Is that so? Curious...", the white wolf said, obviously intrigued by the fact that she was from another world. "Your kindness honors you, Isla. But while I trust my son's judgement and will gladly allow you to come and go as you please, I must ask you to keep the existence of this place secret, at all costs."

Akeela's eyes were wandering across the hidden city as he recalled the dark history of his people.
"You see, when our ancestors betrayed our gods and their ways, they planted the seed of a curse in their souls. It is this curse that made them animals in the eyes of the other species, and so they were treated. So we are still being treated. This is the only place where we can be truly free. If the wrong people found our about this... I don't want to imagine what would happen to our home."

Sol lowered his head as he shifted back into his human form, eyes narrowed angrily.
It was just so unfair. Yes, their ancestors had betrayed their gods, yes, werewolves had the capability of being killing machines, and yes, many had died at their hands, back in the days. But they had evolved, they had learned to bear their curse and they did everything to make sure that their curse wouldn't harm anyone else.
And still...
"Back then the council decided that we are no people, but animals", he explained silently. "We have no rights, nothing. Most of us are slaves of the vampires. Down here, though, we are free, and we are many. We'll change the world one day, step by step. This is step two on our way to freedom. And no damn leech will-"

"Enough of the somber brooding and talking politics", Akeela interrupted him and gently nudged Sol's shoulder with his nose.
A small smile crossed his face as he ran one hand through his father's fur.
He was right, getting worked up about a history that had long been written was useless; it was the present and the future that mattered.
Well, that, and getting help for Isla's injured ankle.
"We should have Rahna have a look at your injury. Her home is near the center clearing, I could easily carry you there, but I could ask her to come here, too. Whatever you prefer, really."

 

[AccioProphecy]

Isla watched their energetic exchange. The longer she watched the more she thought that the two of them just looked like... two big puppies playing around. In a sense, and if she didn't think about how large they really were, it was adorable. She feels a smile creeping up her face at the banter.

"That's not... A thing here?" She asked about the gift giving. If you were just visiting a close friends' house then perhaps you could be as thick faced as you would like. Open their fridge and eat whatever they had there. Welcome yourself in without even asking or knocking. But she and Sol at this point were like... relatives who hadn't seen each other in a while. You had to do all the pleasantries of "Oh hey, how are you, here's something for you," type of thing. Or at least that's what she thought, she did tend to overthink social scenarios like that.

When Sol moved up to sit with her in his wolf form her face brightened up considerably, taking her mind off of whatever she was just worrying about and comfortably touched his fur, smoothing down his side, again hoping that he didn't mind. She just couldn't resist when he was in this form. She continues to do so as his dad relays a story about their ancestors, her face slowly darkening as she processes the whole thing. She takes her hand away when Sol reverts back to his human form, continuing the story.

Isla's face scrunches up in confusion. "...You? Animals?" A tinge of disbelief tainting her voice. Out of all the things that she's seen in this world... Sol was the furthest away from what she would think of as an "animal". He was so spirited and helpful and accommodating. That didn't seem fair to her at all. Before she could think further about it though, his dad had cut them off. She looks up at Sol thankfully and thinks on it for a bit.

"I'll go, I don't wanna trouble her by asking her to come out here," she says. "If that's okay, I mean," she grins a bit at Sol, getting her mischievous flair back. "This way I get the privilege of getting carried like a princess again,"

 

[Kaya]

Sol had startled a little when Isla had started to pet him, but after a moment of surprise he relaxed and actually started to enjoy her fingers running through his fur. He was almost tempted to stay in his wolf for more cuddles, but... Not in front of his father.
He could already feel the curiosity growing in the tall, white wolf, and he really wasn't looking forward to being bombarded with questions later.

"We aren't very materialistic", he explained to answer Isla's surprised question. "By common definition we are all poor, but we have more than every rich vampire lord out there. We have each other. Compassion, loyalty, honesty. That's what counts, and that's what you have shown from the start. We don't ask for more."

His warm smile was back by now, it seemed like nothing could bring his mood down for longer than a couple of minutes.
Sol. Your name means 'sun', my little one. You haven't seen it yet, but it's warm, and bright, and no matter how dark the night was, it will always rise to bring light to the world.
He barely even remembered her face, but his mother's voice and the way she had always made sure that he and his siblings would be fine, even in a place like that puppy mill, had burned itself deeply into his memories. After all this time he hadn't found her yet and honestly there was no way to know if he'd ever find her... Maybe she was long dead... But she had wanted him to live the best life he could and make the life of his people just a little brighter, and so he did. One day, he figured, one day he'd meet her again, in one way or another; he just hoped she'd be proud.

As he picked Isla back up and Akeela had returned to his spot on the high rock, he gave her a curious smile.
"You like being carried by me, hm? I've noticed it earlier, you seemed to be quite content in my arms."
Sublety? Absolutely.

He headed straight down the main path, past countless small houses and other werewolves giving them curious looks. Most probably would've expected some hateful glares from at least a couple of them, but as everyone knew that only trustworthy people would ever be allowed into the city and that the Alpha protected them with his life, they were at peace.

Near the center clearing, where most of the wolves had gathered to have lunch together, stood one of the biggest buildings. It was more of a big tent than house with stone walls, really. Just a second after Sol had pushed the curtains that covered the entrance aside, a young woman of about his age perked up from her current work - an elderly man with his back covered in long, bloody weals, clearly from a whip.
The room was packed with people suffering the same or similar injuries.
After she had finished dabbing the blood away and applying some ointment to support the healing process, she wiped her bloody hands with a towel and hurried over to Sol, who was standing still in the entrance.
"Over here, this stretcher is free."

Sol did as she said and carefully put Isla down on the makeshift treatment table.
"I'm sorry you had to wait, Count Carden had a bad day again", she sighed, crossing her arms as she looked around the room.
Her wavy, ash blonde hair was disheveled and the dark rings under her eyes made her look tired, but she was radiating energy
The freckles littering her face made her look unexpectedly cute for a werewolf.
"Sunny!", she greeted Sol happily as she pulled him into a hug, giggling as he ruffled her hair. "Rahna, could you help Isla? Sprained ankle, I think."
The young werewolf's eyes immediately gained a look of curiosity as she turned to Isla with an excited smile. "Oh, so you're Isla! My brother told me about you yesterday, is it true that you're a soul traveler? Lemme see that, what happened, dear?"

Sol just stood next to her with a grin on his face, wondering how Isla would react this time. When she'd met his father she seemed to be quite startled. Oh dear, she'd probably have a stroke when realizing that he had two siblings of his age and about six older ones. Werewolf families were big...

 

[AccioProphecy]

There were so many things to admire in this world. Isla thinks. This time around she admires Sol's tenacity for life and the importance he gave to companionship. A type of I don't need anything else except my friends and family attitude. It was humbling, to say the least. This time, when Sol addresses her apparent need to be carried by him, she doesn't deny it. "It's cause you're really warm, like a fireplace in winter. What's there not to like?" she doesn't think much about her words, just saying as it is.

She watches the road though as he walks and notices a couple of wolves staring at them, specifically her. She couldn't blame them, she was obviously a stranger, someone unknown in their secret and safe place. When they reach the large tent in the middle of the space, and they walked in, Isla was greeted by a grisly sight. There were people who had actual injuries in here, bloody ones that was leagues worse than what she had.

She didn't know what she was expecting but not this, perhaps when Sol said someone could help her, she had thought of something akin to a doctor's clinic, where people came in for mild maladies. Headaches, tummy aches a slight fever and the like. This was not a clinic, it looked to be a hospital. She was struck by a strange feeling, one that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Shame.

Being carried around like she was disabled and all those people in there who was probably in more pain than she was. Her mood darkened, but she bit her tongue and told herself that she should at least be thankful.

Count Carden had a bad day...? Count Carden is...

Isla recalls Diavel mentioning the name before, but couldn't quite put two and two together. She had heard so many names in the past two days that it was difficult to piece some identities together. But whoever this Carden was, he must've been a pretty nasty person. Isla only offers a small smile and waves her hands in protest when the girl apologizes for making them wait. That wasn't an issue at all. Isla watches as Sol and the young lady greets each other happily. One look and she could tell that they were close.

...and they can still keep a smile on their faces.

Isla stares at the young woman face to face as she tells her that Sol was her brother. Ah. That explains the slight familiarity Isla saw in her. "Yeah, everyone's been telling me I'm a soul traveler... I don't exactly know what that means actually," she laughs a little. Sol had briefly explained the concept to her, but she didn't know how she became one or why at all "And it looks like I had a rough landing," she simply says and adds near the end "Thanks in advance,"

She sits back and tilts her head backwards a little to stare up at Sol, a small, solemn smile on her lips and in a lightly teasing voice asks, "Any more surprises?" she thinks about it a little bit, recalling Diavel mentioning his late wife. "Maybe you're actually married?" she asks in a tone that increased with each word.

 

[Kaya]

"My brother and married, hah!" While Rahna carefully palpated Isla's swollen ankle to make sure it was just sprained and not broken and moved it a little while feeling for hopefully intact ligaments, Sol was grinning the most awkward grin of his life, rubbing the back of his head while internally releasing a barrage of curses.
"I-I'm not married, of course", he said, but guessing from the way he sounded - absolutely embarrassed - there was more to it.

"He's never even been in a relationship", Rahna added with the most evil little grin.
"Oh wow, thanks Rahna, I love you, too", Sol just grumbled, by now with a deep red blush on his face. "Are you done killing my dignity?"
This was the most embarrassing moment of his entire damn life. Plus, it wasn't like he didn't know how to approach someone, hell he was quite the social butterfly, but... According to his sister, he apparently was completely oblivious to any advances made.

Trying to somehow distract Isla from all that he just added the first thing that came to his mind.
"The only surprise I could offer is that I'm an unidentical triplet- together with Rahna and our brother Rue- and that we have six older siblings."

Watching his sister do her work, Sol took a seat on the next free stretcher and watched in silence.
Normally he didn't really mind Rahna poking fun at him, mainly because everyone knew him and his romantical inexperience anyway, but Isla was the exception here. He just hoped she didn't think of him as a weirdo or something like that now.
No, come on, she's not like that.
Now he would've really enjoyed some ear scratches...

While her brother seemed to be lost in thoughts, Rahna was carefully bandaging Isla's ankle and handed her a wooden cup of tea.
"Willow tea, against the pain", she explained with a small smile. "I'll give you some more you can take home for later."
Her sand brown eyes wandered across Isla's face for a moment before a look of sorrow mixed into her gaze.
She barely knew this young lady Sol had brought along, but her caring nature didn't differentiate between strangers and family, and this stranger looked so tired... Even though most probably wouldn't have noticed it right away. She was only making guesses here, of course, but it looked like something she knew too well. Nervous, restless sleep.
"Is everything okay, sweetheart?", she asked softly, speaking silently so she wouldn't wake Sol from his daydreaming... Or whatever he was doing there, staring into space. "I don't mean to pry, but you seem like you haven't had some proper rest in a while. I can imagine this is all... Quite a lot take in for you."

 

[AccioProphecy]

Isla winces a little as Rahna touches and moves her ankle, watching as she did so, but picks her head up to look at Sol at his stuttered statement about not being married. Her head goes back and forth between Rahna and Sol as they both bicker about his relationship status. Isla lightly laughs at their exchange but stops abruptly when he said he has six siblings.

"SIX?!" Her head snaps back to look at Sol, eyes the slightest bit wider. Well, if she really thought about it, it was no mystery, a wolf's litter was around 4 to 6 on average. She decides to take that opportunity to continue teasing him about his inexperience with relationships, liking the bashful look on his face, "That'll be a lot of names to remember for your future wife huh?" She pretends to have a thoughtful look on her face but ends up breaking out in supressed laughter, trying not to be too loud in there. "I'm just kidding, Sol. You just seem like such a sweetheart all the time, I have a hard time believing you've never had a girlfriend. Honest," She adds the last part to be more sincere, she wasn't kidding this time.

"Oh, thank you," Isla gratefully receives the cup of willow tea, and sips on it. It had a rather peculiar taste but warmed her up right away. She slowly looks up at Rahna when she asks if she's okay, mentioning her quality of rest. She blinks up at her in surprise and immediately acknowledges the fact that Rahna was a lot more observant than she first thought. "...Yeah, I mean, regardless, I've always been scared of the dark..." She whispers. Even back home she would have this little night light whenever she slept, childish she knew, but it was just one of those things that she never grew out of.

"At night its... I mean I have all the candles and everything," Truth be told those candles had actually made it creepier for her, but at least it was a source of light, so she always kept them on at night "But I have... somewhat of a wild imagination at night," she laughs nervously, remembering all those days back home where she would have trouble sleeping after watching a horror movie, almost always regretting it afterwards. "And everything is so new, I'm not really used to my bed yet... I keep thinking some type of creature is gunna come out from the dark and..." she sighs a bit, small smile playing on her lips, knowing that she was being ridiculous. "It just feels different, I guess I just need time to get used to it," she shyly averts her eyes from her and tucks a strand of her hair back behind her ear, a tell tale sign that she was embarrassed. "Oh, but, anyway, thank you for all your help, don't worry too much, it's not a big thing. I'm taking it one day at a time,"

 

[Kaya]

Rahna watched in silence as Sol perked up after a moment, shifted into his wolf form and trotted out of the tent.
Huh, that was unusual, normally he was almost immune to embarrassment... Just leaving like that really wasn't like him... What was up with him that he just walked off like that now?

Isla's fear of the dark was another thing that surprised her, but she could absolutely relate to her statement about having a wild imagination. Whenever she'd go to sleep at night her mind started to reel.
Had she shut the door and windows? Drawn the curtains? What if the ceiling of the cavern would open and the falling rocks would break the roof of her house and the full moon would be shining right into her bedroom?
It was irrational, but she couldn't help it.

Ever since that night, she had slept with her face buried in her mother's fur, and after they had been taken away Sol had been the one to let her hide her face in his fur at night. Now that they were adult and Sol spent most nights at the mansion, the quality of her sleep had been awful to say the least.
Which again made her nervous to make mistakes while treating her patients.

Smiling warmly, she reached out to give Isla's hand a friendly, reassuring squeeze.
It's fine, you don't have to be embarrassed. I understand, and I don't judge.
"I've always been scared of the night", she mentioned, as if to tell Isla that it was okay to be scared. Everyone was scared of something.
"It's not the dark, but the moon... when my brothers and I were little, we saw a wolf going moonblind and tearing his friend to shreds. Ever since, I've always slept with my face hidden in Sol's fur when we were little. I just mean to say... You don't have be embarrassed. I understand."


In that very moment Sol returned from wherever he had been, carrying something of about the size of a fist, wrapped in big petals like a gift, hopped up onto the treatment table and curled up next to Isla. When he was laying down like that he was at about her height, he noticed as he dropped the colorful package on her lap.
"It's one of the glowing gems you see everywhere in this cavern. I don't know, maybe it will help you. Oh and- eight siblings. My twins Rahna and Rue and six older ones. We're nine in total, and some of my older siblings already have kids of their own, so- let's all hope my future wife will be good at remembering names. But till now, guess I just haven't met the right one yet."
He shrugged lightly.
"What about you? Married? Partner?"

 

[AccioProphecy]

Isla glanced at Sol when he left the tent, feeling extremely worried that she had really offended him this time, but was occupied by Rahna. The light squeeze on her hand made Isla's heart squeeze too. The relief she felt to have someone of the same gender to talk to was immense, and she didn't even know why. Sure Dia and Sol were nice company but talking to a lady was different, like nothing had to be held back. Rahna seemed like such a nice soul as well. She wasn't surprised, it seemed like Sol's whole family were gentle souls.

"Moon...blind?" Something new again. Something she had wrap her head around. Was that something that happened to all wolves? A certain condition? She hadn't meant to ask about it, not wanting to stir up bad memories for them but it had come out as a question anyway.

When Sol came back in his wolf form with a package in his mouth Isla had finished her tea by that point and had set it aside. She looks at the package on her lap and feels Sol curl up near her. She smiles a bit and lifts the big petal up, taking a peek at what hid underneath it. It was a luminescent gem, purple in colour. Her eyes widened a slight fraction, looking at the pretty colour and the comforting light it emitted. She tilted her head to look at Sol, hand going up to pat his head, smoothing the fur in between his ears "Thank you, it's beautiful, I think I'll sleep better tonight," she moves her fingers and changes the course of her pets, moving up to his left ear and scratching at it gently while chuckling at his statement of having 8 siblings in total. "I guess the more the merrier, I don't have any siblings,"

Isla hums in wonder at Sol's question about her possibly being married or having a partner, a dejected smile plays on her lips, still scratching at his ear. "No. No one. Just a few people who came and went... I don't think I have a lot of people waiting for me back home, actually," Maybe 3 or 4 people. Her family was out of the question. She was surprised, because it had been the first time she had uttered something about her situation at home and yet... she still had the desire to go back.

...A slightly... dwindling one... Is that... a crime?

There were still quite a lot of things she wanted to do back home, she had goals and a few people that she didn't want to worry. But the longer she stayed here the more she found that perhaps... There was something here for her after all. Isla looks up at Rahna and takes her hand away from Sol's head, looking at her in a somewhat curious way. "...Do you think... You can teach me?" Perhaps they were confused as to what she was talking about. "I mean, medicine and treating wounds..." Isla looked at Rahna's face, noting the dark rings under her eyes... She was clearly trying her best for this place, but Isla wondered if she actually needed help from time to time.

"If it's not a bother... I kinda want to learn and when I'm good enough--God help me so that I don't mess things up too much--" she lets out a nervous laugh at that but continues "I can help out whenever I'm here, if not then... At least I can assist you?" It wasn't solely for the wolves sake. Isla had been wondering and been overthinking a lot lately about certain circumstances. What if she was injured just like she had been today but no one was around? She at least wanted the basics to help herself, and not be such a damsel in distress.

Besides, even though she and Rahna didn't say much to each other she really liked the company of another woman and she felt as if it was the least she could do to say thank you to her and Sol. Perhaps it was also an excuse to spend more time with the girl. She had the same reasoning as she had before.

If she was going to be stuck here... She had to find something useful to do and not be a deadbeat human hanging off from everyone. Granted that she didn't know how she would even visit this place again, if she was even allowed to--seeing as she didn't actually even know what this place was, a secret base of some sort?--but still... She wanted to try.

 

[Kaya]

Rahna's smile seemed to falter just the slightest bit at Isla's question. Moonblindness sadly was a hardly avoidable part of the life of every werewolf, their greatest weakness, although it came with a horrifying boost of strength, too.
She had just wanted to tell Isla what it was, but Sol asking about the people waiting for her in her world had beat her to it.
Meanwhile her brother seemed to be in his personal paradise - -


Oh God yes, right there -!
The second Isla started scratching his ear, Sol's head dropped down onto her lap with a slightly stupid, enraptured grin, tongue hanging out.
That had always been his soft spot, nothing was more relaxing than some good ear scratches.
A pleasant shiver made his fur stand up, making him look twice as fluffy as usually. At her statement about not having many people waiting for her where she came from, however, he lifted his head up to look at her with a mix of wonder and worry in his gaze. So she basically was a loner in her world?

Just the thought of living without anyone to turn to seemed so scary to him...
He wanted to ask why she wanted to return if she felt like barely anyone was waiting for her there, but he didn't want to rub salt in a possibly open wound, so he just did what he would've done with every member of his pack and comfortingly pushed his nose against her shoulder. He didn't know if she would understand, but he meant to show compassion.

That was when Isla asked if Rahna could teach her, and just a look at his sister's excited grin was enough to let him know that she'd be absolutely down for it.
Her big, sand brown eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm as she clutched the fabric of the teal drape she wore over her long, red and orange skirt, tightly.
But instead of answering, she was looking at him like a little puppy asking for permission to go play with its friends. A smile crept across his face.
"Well, Rahna? I think that question was directed to you."
It seemed impossible, but her eyes widened even more.
"But- you are the Beta. You and father lead the pack, you get to decide, not I."
Sol just tilted his head as his eyes wandered from his sister to Isla and back. "Nothing about us without us. I won't decide anything over your head."

At that moment she couldn't hold back a happy squeal any longer and, beaming with enthusiasm, nodded at Isla, hands on her hips like she couldn't wait to get started.
"Okay then! First of all, I can answer your question about moonblindness right away: the eyes of werewolves work differently, they allow us to see in the absolute dark, but react strongly to moonlight. The more moonlight, the stronger the reaction. The time around full moon triggers a reaction severe enough to make us hallucinate our worst fears. In that state the panic forces us into our beast form, makes us blind for what is real and what is fantasy and makes us lose our minds until we don't see the moon anymore."
"It's a rite of sorts, too", Sol added.
"The first time a werewolf goes moonblind it will develop its beast form. Most of us decide to face the full moon on our sixteenth birthday. It's a gruesome experience, but our beast forms do make it easier for us to defend us. Basically you chose between peace and power."

 

[AccioProphecy]

Sol's little "I'm a very happy pup" reaction earns a chuckle from Isla. His act of comfort, nose against her shoulder was not lost with Isla as well. She gives him an extra scratch on the ear for that, before turning to Rahna to listen to her explanation of what being moonblind is. She tries to process the whole thing, but seems to have more questions than answers. None the less she lets it drop first, not really knowing what to say and not wanting to ask too much. "I see..." She merely lets out.

At the exchange between the two siblings, a question yet again surfaces in Isla's mind. Sol was the beta. Isla understood the lingo enough to know that it basically meant second in command, but she was confused with the hows and not the whats. Sol wasn't the oldest among the siblings it seemed and it also didn't seem like he was the only male. Perhaps her concept of it was skewed. Other than that, she was still waiting for a complete explanation about what this underground place was. She stays patient though, and pushes the question off for now.

"Umm... So..." Isla starts again, looking at her bandaged ankle. It was not as painful as it was before, just a dull ache. Whatever Rahna gave her to drink worked like magic. She gingerly tries to put some pressure on her ankle and finds it somewhat manageable. Perhaps the effects of the tea will wither out later. She moves to stand, finding that it was still more comfortable putting more pressure on her uninjured leg, but otherwise she felt fine. "Should I try and help you out now, or some other time?"

Rahna did look like she needed some help, what with "Count Carden's" circumstances today. Either way, Isla was willing to help. She did start to get worried about what to tell Diavel though. If she showed up with a bandaged ankle, and she didn't know how his sense of smell worked but she was rather anxious about what he would smell on her. "Sol..." Isla starts, turning to him. "I'm... a bit worried about the hole we left back there..." She says.

And a bunch of other things... If you know what I mean... Including the master of the mansion.

 

[Kaya]

Right... The enormous hole in the garden, leading straight down into the tunnel to Amalthea... Something like that shouldn't have slipped his mind, and normally it wouldn't have happened, but the whole thing with Isla being injured and Count Carden having maltreated members of his pack again had kept his mind so occupied he'd actually forgotten to take care of it.
That was not okay.
But now want the time to drive nuts about what could have happened; he'd do that in his sleep... Through nightmares, most likely.

Now, during the day, they could be relatively certain that Diavel wouldn't notice the hole, after all there was no way he could go outside without suffering burns and pain, but as soon as the sun would have set there was no way to be sure that it would stay unnoticed. Just the thought of Diavel finding the way to Amalthea made his skin crawl. Compared to other vampires he was very civilized and treated them fairly good, he had to give him that, but he wasn't keen on finding out what the duke would do if he found out about the underground revolution boiling down here. They'd need to get it fixed asap, but with Isla's sprained ankle she probably wouldn't be mich of a help.
No offense.

"Right... The hole", he groaned. "Uh... I doubt you'll be able to help much with the repairs with your foot, but I should be-..."
He didn't want to just flat out tell her to wait for him here, with how insecure she occasionally seemed to feel among strangers...
Would his sister be familiar enough? They had only met a couple of minutes ago, but they seemed to get along quite well...
He was happy about that, honestly; there surely were some things she'd rather talk about with another girl, so maybe having Rahna as a friend would make her feel a little more at home here. And his sister could use some friends, too- the whole pack loved her for being an endlessly caring and optimistic person, but she rarely ever had interaction with other people aside from treating their wounds.

"If you don't mind, I'd gather a group of volunteers and go take care of the hole. Would you like to stay with Rahna in the meantime? Or should I bring you home?"
"I could teach you some basics", Rahna added as a suggestion. "Or I'll tell my assistant to take over for a bit and show you the town. I can imagine you'll probably have loads of questions."

 

[AccioProphecy]

"... I'll stay," Isla said after some thought, specially since Rahna offered to teach some basics and walk her around town. In her mind she was a little confused as to how she would get back up to Dia's mansion if the hole was filled in, but she guessed that there must be some type of other way out. She was rather reluctant to stay without Sol, but Rahna seemed to be pretty trustworthy and it didn't seem like anything bad would happen if she stuck around for a bit. That didn't mean that she wasn't nervous about being left behind though. She still had her doubts about it but decided to trust Sol.

However, she still turned towards him, the wrapped up gem still in her hands and averts her gaze to the ground, a slight pout on her lips as she mumbles, a little embarrassed about acting like a child. "Just promise and make sure you'll be back..." no offense to Rahna, but Sol was like a lifeline to Isla, one of the two people she could almost call a constant during her short stay here. "I'll wait and I'll definitely make the most of the time with Rahna too," She reverts back to her own self and turns to the other girl.

"Basics would be good! If we have time and if it's not much of a bother maybe we can look around town later too," Isla's smile turns mischievous "Ah, you can tell me some stories about Sol when he was younger too!" Isla recalled the scene earlier with Mazelinka, knowing that Sol would protest at the idea but loving that he could do nothing about it since he would be away.

That got her slightly excited to be left behind alone with Rahna, all the stories and the chance to get to know Sol a little better through his sister's eyes.

 

[Kaya]

When Isla asked him to promise that he'd be back, Sol looked surprised for a moment, but soon enough he gave her a warm, understanding smile. It was sweet how she seemed to feel safe when he was near. He had seen how protective Diavel was of her, the way he had lost his temper upon realizing that they had been visiting the infirmary; it was clear that the vampire was the kind of person who'd rather keep her out of any and all risky situations, even if it meant restricting her in making her own choices, but that wasn't the right way, in his opinion.
He'd rather let people make their own experiences and choices and stand by to help when he was needed. Giving up all freedom for safety just didn't feel right, especially if he'd be making this choice for someone else.
But the more he was happy that she did seem to feel safe around him. If she trusted him to be there when she'd need him, that was all he needed to put his mind to rest.

He chuckled silently about how embarrassed she seemed to feel of asking him to promise to come back and shifted back into his human form, still sitting on the treatment table with his legs dangling over the edge. Right now he was at eye level with her, but sometimes he wondered if the massive height difference between them looked at funny ad he imagined.
"Come here", he said with a calm smile as he spread his arms to pull Isla in, giving her a tight bear hug. She had enjoyed his warmth before, so maybe it'd help her relax now, too.
"I promise I'll be back as soon as the tunnel is fixed. Won't be long", he said, before he pulled back a little to look her straight in the eye. "And if my sister tells you any embarrassing stories I trust you to forget them immediately", he added with a laugh before he let go and hopped off the table. With a last wave, he headed out of the tent.

Rahna was watching with a curious half grin on her face, but didn't say anything. Her brother was a hugger, she knew that, and she knew that he knew that he often had this kind of calming, uplifting effect on people, like the golden sunshine on an autumn day. But still she wondered...

"Okay, basics!", she said, enthusiastically clapping her hands twice. "Well the most basic basic I can think of right now is how to dress a small wound. Imagine a scenario like... A patrol is out in the woods to hunt. They are chasing a buck, but it doesn't go as planned and, in a last attempt to save itself, the buck attacks and one of the wolves gets injured. Nothing severe, just a bleeding scrape across the shoulder. We want to make sure it won't infect and keep dirt away from it. What do we do? Grind a couple of leaves of ribwort, the juice is an excellent disinfectant and the best, natural Band aids are spiderwebs. Layer several on the wound, give them some time and they'll dry out and effectively protect it from dirt."

With a grin, Rahna poked her head out of the entrance to see if her brother was already gone.

"Okay, Sol's out of town, now we can get to the fun stories", she chuckled mischievously.

 

[AccioProphecy]

"Hm?" Isla squeaked out as Sol pulled her into a full hug. He was holding on to her so tightly that she nearly forgot to breathe, a slight blush dusting her cheeks both because of how warm he was and how eager he was to be giving her a hug. The way he pulls away and looks her straight in the eye is another thing that she wasn't very used to "Okay..." she sighs out contentedly, hoping that she wasn't being too weird about it.

When he had gone out of the tent and left her and Rahna alone she sighed a little and inhaled through her mouth, pushing back the shyness she felt at the moment that had just passed. Not long after, Rahna started to explain about how to dress wounds. Isla was with her up until ribwort and spiderwebs wanting to ask where she could even find those.

In the next moment, Rahna was chuckling mischievously at the fact that Sol was now out of earshot. Isla blinked a bit, not catching on until it hit her a few seconds later, her face mimicking the mischievous smile Rahna had. She claps her hands together "Tell me EVERYTHING," she demands, as if a high school girl yearning for gossip. "Something I can blackmail him with!" Isla laughed, clearly joking but also very interested.

She calms down the slightest bit, "But honestly though, I'm also interested in him," realizing how that might have sounded to Sol's sister she quickly corrects her sentence, "I mean! I'm interested in knowing about him as a whole. Sol always seems so happy and everything, I just wonder if he's actually really doing okay," Isla saw that Sol seemed to really care for his family and his kind. He always looked as if he didn't have any burdens to carry but Isla wondered if that was really the case. "...but fun stuff first!" She suggests with a smile.

 

[Kaya]

Rahna couldn't help the laughter escaping from her, caused by Isla's unfortunate phrasing regarding her interest in Sol as well as her reaction to his hug.
As I said - he has an effect on people.
It was kinda funny, how Rue and Sol, despite bring twin brothers, were so very different. Isla hadn't met him yet, but unlike the lively and energetic Sol, Rue was quiet and more of a loner. Which... Probably was the main reason why the two never really got along.

"Let me just clean up in here for a moment. If you want to help you could wipe off the treatment tables on the left, I'll take care of the ones on the right", she said with a bit of sigh and took a moment to clean up the tent, wiped blood off the treatment tables that had been occupied by the victims of Carden's wrath, sorted through some herbs she was running low on and sweeped the floor. Everything had to be prepared for the next patient anytime, so she'd rather care of all this right away.

When everything was in a good condition again, Rahna let out a contented sigh and pushed some curtains by the left wall aside that had been covering an entrance that led into another, secluded part of the tent.
"Let's chat in the living room; more comfortable, don't you think?"

Said living room was probably the coziest place in the entire town. Lengths of colorful fabrics were covering the ceiling and walls, candles in Kars were hanging from long, silver and golden threads to cast a soft, warm light across the room and the couch and armchairs looked like they were soft enough to comfortably sleep on them; which Rahna seemed to do, guessing by the pillow and blanket on the couch.
She quickly threw them aside to make some space.
"Would you like something to drink, or a snack?", Rahna offered while she already poured herself a glass of lemonade. "Got... Tea, lemonade, water, umm... Juice. Oh and, serve yourself", she added, pointing towards a bowl of all kinds of fruits from berries to weird, spiky, purple things with orange dots.

Plopping down on the couch, she gave Isla her most misterious, evil grin.
"So you are interested in my brother. I mean funny stories about him."
She winked at Isla, chuckling softly as her mischievous side showed, but for a moment there was a wistful smile crossing her face.
"Sunny is very much like our mother, you know? It's weird, when we were younger he'd do everything to find her, but ever since he's become the beta... He just stopped. But he won't talk about it, just keeps telling me everything's fine..."

To be honest she had been misterious taking to herself, at least regarding the part about him having changed, so when she noticed that she had just basically... Completely missed the point of what they had actually wanted to talk about, she bashfully rubbed her neck.
"Sorry, that's besides the point. Ohh-! Has he told you about that one time when he got stuck between wolf and human shape?! He looked like some freaky piece of modern art - for days! Or when he hit puberty and lost control of his instincts! Hah, he was chasing cats and squirrels all day, even followed them up into the trees. Just to get stuck dangling there like a Christmas tree ornament!"

 

[AccioProphecy]

Isla followed Rahna's instructions and earnestly assists her in cleaning the treatment table. There were traces of blood on them, some more than others. She looked at one particular table carefully, wondering how someone could physically hurt someone so much. The blood was something she wasn't used to. Back home blood was not an every day sight for her, but seeing as how Rahna was equivalent to a doctor, Isla understood the circumstances.

She continued to wipe tables, occasionally making sure the gem Sol handed her was safe in her pocket. Once she was done with the treatment tables she went back to Rahna who was now doing other things and tried to shadow her as she was sorting out herbs, trying not to bother her. The herbs were quite tricky. Isla had never had the need to learn about those before. All she needed was a pharmacy.

Isla wasn't expecting the fact that there was another part of the tent, a living room that looked quite comfortable. It seemed like a sanctuary of sorts, something someone would go to to unwind and just take a breather. There was a table of fruit on the other end, along with a few armchairs and couches littered in the place. Isla took a seat on the one where Rahna pulled the blanket and pillow off from. She sits, takes off the brown medieval latchet shoes she had on and tucks her legs in carefully as she sits on the couch comfortably, being mindful of her injured ankle.

It was such a nostalgic feeling, sitting like this and seemingly just talking to a girl friend about everything and nothing at all. She returns the mischievous smile Rahna gives as she taunts her for her choice of words earlier. She talked about their mother and before Isla could ask about that she had apologized and gone for something more light-hearted.

Isla laughs at the stories, particularly the one where Sol was stuck between wolf and human, not knowing that such a thing could happen. It was funny to her now but she could bet if she saw that in the middle of the night she'd cry her eyes out getting scared. "For days?? How did you fix him?" she snickers again at the thought of 'fixing' him as if he was some broken piece of furniture. Getting stuck on a tree actually seemed like such a Sol thing to do and she tried to imagine a younger Sol hanging on for dear life. "Poor thing..." She let's out with another giggle.

She momentarily glances at the fruit table, not really feeling hungry but just a tad curious about what those unidentified fruits were. She would explore it later though as she turns to Rahna with a slight nod. "I don't mind hearing about the rest of the family too..." she states, going back to Rahna's statement about their mother.

Judging from what she said they definitely missed their mother but she wonders what had stopped Sol's determination from finding her. "About that..." Isla starts,"Sol is... The beta?" She asks, wondering if her question was clear enough. She steps back from the question a little bit and asks about the bigger picture "Are you guys, a big pack? I mean... This place seems huge? Is this where all wolves live?"

Isla asks, oblivious to the way that things worked here and unaware of their reason of residence underground. She just assumed this was all normal.

 

[Kaya]

As she was laughing along when Isla enjoyed her stories about Sol's misadventures, Rahna started to ponder about when she had last taken the time to just spend an afternoon with a friend lately. The day just didn't have enough hours, it seemed... and she couldn't just forget about the responsibility she beared; she was no fighter, absolutely not, the more it was important to her to contribute to the pack's life in her own way, as a healer.
She needed to be ready to jump into action at any given moment.

Funny enough that same attitude had always been what made her worry for her brother. Sol was always giving two hundred percent, he was going a thousand miles an hour, but she knew he couldn't keep that up forever.
The same applied to her, though.
But Sol, he was one hell of an actor. Always seeming so at ease and carefree, but she knew him well enough to know that he was hiding a lot. It wasn't like she could do anything about it, though. His facade was close to perfect, probably so perfect even he himself was fooled by it.

And here I am, worrying about everyone and their grandma again.

"Well I caught him silently singing the lullaby our mother used to sing for us. Startled him so much he accidentally shapeshifted- and got stuck. Our foster mother, Mazelinka, tried for days to startle him into accidentally shifting back again. But hey, he learned to be ambidextrous thanks to that little mishap- his dominant hand had turned into a paw", she recalled one of the funniest memories of her childhood. Ahh... When had her stupid twerp of a brother turned into the workaholic he was now? One day, hopefully, he'd allow himself a moment of calm and silence.

Isla woke her from her oberthinking when she asked about Sol being the Beta, sounding somewhat confused.
"Yeah, why?", she asked back, but caught on a couple of seconds later. Right, human traditions worked a little different than theirs, didn't they?
"Oh, you must be thinking that a leader and their successor work like human monarchy! No, that's not- the Alpha chooses the Beta. Before Sol, our Beta was Willow, but she died two years ago. That's when father chose him."

Her next question however caught her completely by surprise. She would've expected Akeela or at least Sol to fill Isla in on what exactly this place was, but apparently they hadn't bothered to do so.
Was it because Isla was acquainted, maybe even friends, with Duke Aurelius? It was a risk, of course, but she had seen Amalthea already, and neither her father nor her brother would've ever allowed her into the town if they wouldn't trust her...

"You have no idea, do you?", she asked stunned, eyebrows knitting together as she tilted her head, searching Isla's face.
"I would've expected that someone has told you.. This is only a small part of Amalthea, the capital, more or less. But the city spreads across twelve more caverns like this one, it's an enormous cave system under the entire land. Funny enough the one who united our pack was your... Friend. The vampire. He asked the werewolves across Naphuron to support him in his war against Sigrid and Vesuvia, four hundred years ago, promised them safety on his land in return. We became a pack, a force of nature, to fight by his side, but what he doesn't know is that we never parted. We realized we could be more; free, for once. And ever since the leaders of our pack have prepared the revolution, for centuries, waiting for the right moment. One day we'll steal our place in the sun."
The same hateful fire that had flickered in Sol's eyes appeared in hers for just a second, before she sighed silently.
"Honestly I hope we won't have to fight. I don't care about the leeches up there, but a war wouldn't just decimate them..."