Werewolf x Tamiko-chan
Ophelia x Echo
Ophelia x Echo
Limp. Limp. Limp.
With every step came an agonizing wince. She was bloody, scratched up, bound to be left physically and mentally scarred. Blood rivers could be seen down the side of her face, the origin having been her right ear. Though the blood was dried up and clinging to her fur at this point, the pain had never even begun to ebb away.
Don't think, she told herself quickly, hoping that her sister wasn't in range. Ophelia must have been worried sick about her twin, but Echo couldn't bear to let herself be seen like this. It had been humiliation enough to stand there and let her own mother tear her to bits. No, she wouldn't let her sister see her until at least she was cleaned up a bit. So why was she venturing closer and closer towards where she and her sister were dwelling for the time being? Wouldn't that just be where Ophy would be?
Not quite capable of thinking straight, she stopped for a moment, closing her eyes and letting her torn ear and perfectly fine ear fall back against her aching skull.
Calm down! Calm down! Ophy won't find you... no...
Well, so much for not thinking like that so her sister wouldn't find her. Perhaps they wouldn't be in range of each other...
----------
Ophelia had spent a majority of the day feeling nervous. She hadn’t been sure exactly what it was- odd, in fact, for she had been feeling more confident ever since she had spoken to her father last. The growing female had finally seemed to stop- she was still small, and lean as ever. Awkward and bruised, but no longer the child she had once been. Despite all her clumsiness, there was a kind of elegance to the way she moved. It was reminiscent to her mother's walk, which was something that Ophelia was not sure if she liked yet.
But where was Echo? She had waited all day for her, and nothing had arrived. It worried her to the bone. It was one thing for them to be living on their own- it was another to become separated. All of Ophelia's small strength, and tenacity was reserved for her devotion to her strange sister. And although she'd never minded when Echo would go off on her own before, this day had her edgy. She couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t eat. She'd thought twice about going off just to be sure Echo was alright, but something had held her back. Now it was not there anymore, and before the young female knew it she was crossing her way through the woods, desperately trying to feel some sort of connection to her sister.
She felt it finally when a faint echo of thought fluttered through her mind. Ophy won't find you... At once Ophelia straightened, and her eyes grew sharp. "Echo!" She called sharply, and ran into the direction she felt her mind tug. "Echo!"
----------
A voice rang out. In her head? No.. it was real. Real sound, sound that her ears were hearing, not her brain. Suddenly she felt her brain fizz. Her sister was near and only getting closer.
Worried that her twin wouldn't like the sight, Echo looked around desperately. The movements, however, hurt her head even more and she found that she could no longer see. It was all a blur to the strange female, and all of a sudden she felt her fur p***k, her senses go on high alert. She couldn't see. Her sense of smell seemed blacked out for the time being. How was she to detect anything? How was she to...
Her tail twitched. A bird fluttered. The wind blew through the trees and made the leaves dance.
I am here, sister.
And she fell.
----------
Ophelia bolted, her muscles suddenly kicking into full action. She stumbled at first, but luckily she was moving so fast that she half flew before regaining her speed rather then falling. What was happening? Something bad, that she was for sure of! The brown and white female spun a corner, following the scent of her sister- the scent that quickly turned to the raw copper smell of blood.
It was almost enough to burst her heart, suddenly feeling it enter her nose. A thousand possibilities crossed through her mind. Had father been right after all? No! They could do this, they had to! What could have happened? Had she been attacked? Some wild animal- another wolf? Father had once mentioned another family. Long ago- but they were all gone now. So fast could things change! But she wouldn’t- wouldn’t let it change. She wouldn’t let Echo go away.
Ophelia burst through some bushes just as Echo hit the ground twenty feet away. Her body flinched with a simulations wretch, but she kept her stomach down as she ran to her side. "Echo!" She gasped, and slid to a stop. Blood was pooling out from sharp cuts across her sister's body. She didn’t need to ask who had done this. The scent of blood circulated around her snout like a toxin, but it wasn’t enough to keep her mother's odder from reaching her nose. "Echo!" She spoke again, and nosed her. "Echo, what happened? Are you conscious?"
----------
Moments later the younger twin stirred. Something was moving around her, someone. Who? A familiar scent, though she couldn't exactly place it. Mother? She stiffened, thinking that her evil relative had come to finish the job. But no... wait. The scent was similar, but not exact.
"SISTER!" she nearly screamed in her head, the thing suddenly coming up and her maw opening to let out a raspy sound. She was trying to breath, her whole body having had gone in shock with the fall. Now she appeared to have been recovering, but Echo was one of the unpredictable sort. Her body seemed even more so with its injuries.
Finally breath was caught and air filled her tired lungs. Her heart seemed to be beating a million beats a second, the sound reverberating in her ears, causing her torn one to fall back oddly and spill out a little more blood than was healthy. The smell stung at her nose, nipping and seemingly snarling. Shock. Her body shook for a moment.
"Sister... she whispered, gaining control of herself once again. What had happened? Echo tried to lift herself up, only to be struck down again by some never-ending pain.
The female winced, laying back down slowly. "Ophy... where...?"
----------
A low squeal ushered itself from Ophelia's lips, and she began to lick at the wounds which wrapped around Echo's body from all corners. What in the hell had happened? "Echo, Echo!" She gaped again, crossing her tongue against her sister's muzzle. The blood coated her tongue red, and she chocked as she swallowed some. "Echo, I'm here-" She spoke, liking at a particularly bad cut on her head. And her ear! The poor ear was tattered, but it looked so sore that Ophelia gave it only a quick flick with her tongue to remove the dirt.
"Echo, it's alright. I promise it's alright. What happened Echo? Is mother coming?" Ophelia gasped, wondering if everything had truly gone mad. Would she need to defend herself too? A bristle fell through her shoulders, and her hackles stood on end. She would fight if Kalia came here looking for Echo. How dare she! How dare she! She! Who kept them away just because she claimed they would be hurt from the outside. They didn’t need the outside to hurt them, with a mother like this!
"How dare she-" Ophelia shook, her heart burning. "She'll- I'll make her-" She stammered, and licked Echo's brow again.
----------
Echo took in a deep breath and let her body shake once more. Anything to keep herself from attempting to run off in humiliation and then only hurting herself further. The licks to her wounds stung, but she knew that was only the healing touch. There was pain in healing, she had realized, and so let herself be and her sister set to clean her wounds.
"I'm here.." she echoed, staying true to her name as she knew she always would. More stings. But she beared through it all.
"Mother coming?" She tried to shake her head in an answer, but found her neck too sore for even such a small motion. "No.. mother is not coming. She won't be. Not now, not for a while, and perhaps not ever." It hurt but made her glad all the same. Kalia was too busy with the pack to bother chasing after some silly little things like her offspring.
The twin scoffed, the sound eventually turning into a fit of painful coughs, blood accompanying the sound. She was definitely not in a good shape.
When Ophelia seemed to be angry with her mother--as she right well should have been--and began speaking something that might have been terrible, her sister shook her head.
"Ophy.. no. Don't. It was blind rage." Was she sticking up for her mother? Another cough. Some more blood. "She will only go after you, or get Catalyst to." The first time she had called their father by name. Did Kirra have something to do with all of this as well? No, despite the other female's brutish appearance, Echo simply couldn't imagine the sweet being to have had any part in this monstrosity.
"Be calm.."
----------
To think, her poor sister so ravaged and telling her to be calm? But Ophelia found she couldn’t be. She felt betrayed. No- it was worse then being betrayed. They were liars. Both of them. They claimed to love them, and this was what they gave in return? They drove them away with their protection only to mangle them at the next instant? Her eyes went wide and she licked a bit more forcefully, her body shaking with rage. No! Liars! "How dare they-" Was all Ophelia could say for a moment, before swallowing and straightening her face.
"I dare her to come after me!" She raged, even though she knew she stood no chance. "Blind rage?" She stammered. "I'll show her blind rage--" Continuing to tremble as the adrenaline poured through her system, Ophelia walked a careful circle around Echo, and gently leaned against her shoulder.
If Kalia was not after them, then she needed to move Echo away from this place. They were just two wolves, and if Echo had a major injury, they were sure to only attract trouble. "Echo, please- we have to move you, alright?" She spoke sadly, her body quivering. What would she do if they couldn’t move her?
Damn them both, she seethed.
----------
Echo shook her head, for once actually attempting to rise to her paws despite all of the pain that overwhelmed her entire body. She had to show her her mother, her sister, herself, everyone that she was no weakling. Here she was, torn to shreds, but did that stop her from trying to go on?
But the anger from her sister knocked her back down again with an invisible force. She could feel it in her mind, and she didn't once enjoy the feeling. It hurt to see her sister like this, probably as much as it hurt Ophelia to look at her damaged twin.
"Ophy!" she cried, shutting her eyes in a great wince. "You are scaring me, sister."
She bit her lip, her tongue soon finding a bit of blood filling her mouth. Opening her eyes, she attempted to stand again. Eventually she stood on her paws, if only warily and not at all stable.
"The den," she said shortly, moving, though slowly, towards their dwelling. But in the middle of her first step she stopped. "The river," she corrected herself, changing her course. Ophelia would follow, she had no doubt. But she refused to look at her sister, a sort of fire burning in Echo's eyes. It was the fire of life, one that wouldn't burn out until it was indeed her day.
----------
Ophelia snorted bitterly, and shook her head. Words couldn’t form out of her mouth correctly so she nodded her head and leaned herself against her sister's body for support. The scent of coppery blood was still swirling in her nose, and despite a sudden snort to clear it, the smell remained. It made her hackles stand on end and her jaws nervously grind together.
"It's alright." She finally managed raggedly. "I'm alright, don't be worried. Let's get you someplace else." But in her mind, all she could think of was constant rebuttal against this event. How? How could this happen? How could their mother do this to them? To Echo-! Of all people! She would have gladly traded places. Why her? Did they finally get tired of the repeating phrases?
It was hard to think that it had all started with one of them. But if anyone, Ophelia decided that Echo had received the harshest treatment. Sure, Talamar was in no better shape then they… but Echo! And she, Ophelia, who had been last to leave. Well, she'd be the first of their children to see back after this.
"We'll go to the river." She repeated.
