Ktulu

All roads lead back to the Thistle Meadow, it seemed. The place had something about it that constantly pulled and tugged at Ktulu and before she knew it she would be standing knee deep in the thick grass that had sheltered a younger version of herself from the outside world. So much had happened in this place and as she walked it played through her mind, watching Ophelia sleep, using her magic for the first time on her father, bringing her son there to graze, giving Tinek to Ophelia, conceiving her daughter. The open meadow felt more like a home than she remembered the Tides feeling and perhaps because the meadow was home to no herd was why she felt that way.

"We're not alone." Eytan's voice rumbled and Ktulu nodded her head at him, though she wasn't surprised that there was someone else in the meadow. It was large enough that she could have her own space and leave the visitor be. "Smells familiar." The bear turn his large head and settled his caramel eyes on his bonded. Ktulu returned his gaze then breathed in deeply and she could smell it, however faint it was. "Ophelia?" But how could it be Ophelia when her sister had disappeared after making her renegotiate the Basin Contract that had been the beginning of the end? She had just disappeared and Ktulu had never seen her again for months on end. Birthdays had passed without hide nor hair of her pale sister and Ktulu had come to accept that she would probably never see her twin again.

The Constrictor raised her head and as she looked around the meadow she saw what she was searching for. There standing in the grass was her alabaster and crimson sister. "Tinek." The grizzly pushed his weight against Ktulu's foreleg, forcing the mare to take a step forward and when she did he set off at a jog toward Ophelia. Part of Ktulu wanted to run to Ophelia and embrace her and another part of her wanted to turn and disappear in the same manner that The Forsaken had done so many months ago. The mixture of emotions lead to a slow approach on Ktulu's part.

"Phi..." She came to a standstill several feet away and stared unblinking. What did she say? I missed you. Where did you go? Why did you leave? Why did you come back? All were things that Ktulu wanted to say and questions that she wanted to ask, but instead she remained silent and stood stoically as she watched her pale sister and her silver dragon.

"."

Ophelia felt the way about the north that Ktulu did about the meadow. The mountains of snow were so unchanging and constant. She could lose herself in the whiteness and beauty of the eternal winter. The less her memory had to write, the better she felt, and nothing was quite as steady as the mountains, covered in snow. Everything that had happened to her had happened in temperate climates, good and bad. Being in the snow was outside of everything, outside of existence, a place of solitude and recharging. Anything without change was a good place as it was less stress on her already full mind. Some days she wondered when she would burst or go entirely mad.

A voice reached her ears, and she struggled to contain what she was feeling. Ktulu... A part of her wanted to smile happily and go join her sister after her vacation, but she knew that she could not do that. After she had visited the Dragon's Throat and learned that the Basin had invaded with the Foothills, she knew that all of that had been her fault. And though she had left for reasons, that at the time, seemed just and right, the fallout had been anything but. In hindsight, she had left the herd moments after putting them on this path, seemingly running away from the trouble she had thrown them in.

In reality, she was trying to prove to her sister that her path of war and destruction was going to end up hurting everything that she loved. The life of a mercenary was no life at all. After trying to prove to her sister that she could not deny anyone help, including the Basin, and not be a hypocrite, she had just... left. Granted, she had spoken to a wise, old mare before making her decision, and she had done so for herself and for Tinek. Those choices hadn't seemed so selfish then...

But now?

Tears flooded her strange, dual colored eyes as she heard Ktulu's steps trot closer, and she hitched in an emotional breath. She was happy that her dark sister said nothing. In a way, the silence was merciful as it kept the only voice of disappointment her own mind. Ophelia blinked roughly and winced, unable to meet her sister's gaze. "I know it's too late for an apology," she said, half-whispering her strangled response.

Ktulu

Eytan was all toothy smile and happy grunts as he lumbered toward his bonded's twin and the dragon that had been his friend when he was a cub. Ktulu's own hesitation did nothing to lessen his excitement and as he reached the pale version of his bonded he acted more like a dog than any bear. He rolled onto his back and wriggled, still grunting and grinning, caramel eyes shining with excitement and happiness despite the atmosphere of heaviness that seemed to overtake the surrounding area.

After speaking her sister's name she remained silent, her hooves rooted to the spot that she was standing while her mind moved in a million different directions. She thought back to the day when Ophelia had left them. Had left her. She'd accepted Ophelia's decision, though she had felt some disappointment. Phi had started to change, as had she, and Ktulu had been forced to accept that Phi had changed because of her. Every decision she'd made had affected her sister and she'd been too blinded by misguided ambition to see and accept it. She'd been too stubborn to change, too angry at nothing to do what was right and because of it she'd lost her entire family. It was too late, she felt, to get her father back but maybe, just maybe, she could make amends with her sister and have the other half of her soul back.

"I know its too late for an apology."

"No." Ktulu whispered, her own gaze falling to the ground at the sight of the tears in Ophelia's eyes and the way she winced. Suddenly her hooves didn't feel so heavy and Ktulu was moving, her strides purposeful as her body was carried toward Ophelia. "I don't care anymore." She said roughly as she hooked her neck over Ophelia's so she could pull her sister close and hold her. "I don't care." What had happened in the past seemed of so little importance now that Ophelia was standing in front of her, alive and healthy.

Despite herself, Ktulu's eyes filled with tears and she blinked furiously in order to drive them away. "It doesn't matter anymore. Whatever we were fighting about ... it doesn't matter." She couldn't even remember exactly what they had fought about but she knew that Ophelia would remember. "Its not important now." Her hold on her sister tightened and a sob managed to escape her throat. "Welcome home."

"."

Tinek, now fully grown and very heavy, excitedly chirped and flew down from Ophelia's back. His childhood friend, bear, had come running toward him and was now wiggling on the ground. The dragon joined him, careful not to spear the chunky, furry flesh with his spines. In the back of his mind, he was worried about his pale bonded, but this was his friend. He wanted to spend time with his friend.

Ophelia had fully expected Ktulu to stand there, judging her words and decisions. Why? Because she deserved the anger. A just world was one in which her actions were punished, and she believed in a just world - no matter how unjustly it treated her at times. So, when Ktulu approached swiftly, she furrowed her brows in surprise, hearing the words "I don't care" reach a disbelieving heart.

Ktulu's neck hooked over her own, and she accepted the contact gratefully. She hitched in a painful breath and hooked her jaw under her sister's neck, trying to return the contact as much as she possibly could. How long had it been since everything had been right between them? How long had it been since she had been able to confide in the only being who truly understood? Ophelia sniffed hard, trying to blink away tears as Ktulu selflessly ignored the transgressions between them.

She was officially welcomed home, and Ophelia smiled, a pained, cracking smile through wincing lips. Finally, she pulled away, though only slightly. She was standing shoulder to shoulder with her sister again, and she wasn't willing to quickly give this up. Ktulu forgave her, and things seemed... right - at least a little.

"I'm... I'm so sorry," she murmured quietly. "I heard that the Basin invaded the Throat from Midas, but everything is different now. Some sort of sickness, right? I know that this was my fault. I know that I pushed us and the Basin together, but now I haven't even seen Psyche." Ophelia blinked, sniffling a little and shifting her weight. "I was attacked by some pegasus who said something about Mauja disappearing into the sea and also about the Throat being attacked by unicorns, so that confirmed my suspicions. I just had to get away from all of it," she whispered.

"I... go north, when I need peace. The snow is calming. My memories are getting harder to keep in their place, and I just... I need my family." Ophelia smiled softly and then hitched a breath. She leaned against her sister, closing her eyes. "Where do you live now?" she asked.

Ophelia felt glad that Ktulu was sorry too. Maybe they were equal now. Maybe both of their regrets could be fully put to rest. Hearing about the battle was perhaps not something that she wanted, but she knew that she had to. This was her punishment for fucking everything up and then walking away from the fallout. She had to know what happened, and she had to know how it all felt. Going into her sister's mind was something she had done many times before, but somehow, this time, it seemed so much harder.

Much to her surprise, as she peeked inside, she saw that Ktulu did not go into battle. Where she expected to see blood and chaos was quiet, nothingness. Ktulu did not fight. Ktulu was with her youngest, Ranjiri, who was still very young. How could Ophelia have pushed for this, knowing that her sister had been carrying Midas' child? However, she watched as she approached the dead form of Donovan after Archibald had informed her of the battle.

She had set fire to his body in a conflagration of a warrior's honor, feeling enough guilt to bring tears to an army. Ophelia felt the pain in her own chest, then stopped the connection, returning to the conversation that she had been listening to as if underwater. "I am sure that he felt honor, dying in battle," she replied in an honest attempt to help her sister let go of some guilt. "Our family seems to arrive and leave in violence."

At the mention of Lakota, Ophelia raised a brow. What of Midas? Did she not want to return to the Dragon's Throat and live with him? She had found Lakota, long ago, and now it was curious that Ktulu was so close to the other mare. Jealousy was an ugly word, but it certainly fit the ugly emotion that settled like a cigarette burn in her chest. As she continued explaining, everything started to make a little more sense.

Ophelia strangled her desire to peek into Ktulu's love life, and instead shifted her weight slightly. "How is Mirage?" she asked, unaware that the black night-mare had disappeared. The pale princess had always admired Mirage, Rishima and Hellena, the three, beautiful ladies of the World's Edge. "Maybe... I can go with you, for a little while. Though, I am not one to serve, like you do. If I learned anything from this, it's that I do not belong in a group. You are my only family and the only one to whom I am loyal."

But what about Ktulu and Lakota?

Ophelia listened to Ktulu's words, nodding bitterly. A small frown formed over her gray lips. Were they truly destined for violence? Were her attempts at a normal life just an amusement for the gods? Their father had been a warrior, a powerful one. Their mother had fought too. Every family member, it seemed, was covered in blood, markings in agreement. "I am unsure of fate..." she murmured quietly, thinking on her free will.

If the gods were all knowing, if the God of Time knew what was going to happen, did free will exist at all? Was she only a ripple in an ocean, unseen and ineffective against the might of the unified waves? "You know I like violence, but it... I was changed by it all, and I am not sure that I like the difference." Ophelia tried to shrug it off, but the lingering nagging of fate was stuck in her head.

Phi furrowed her brows when Ktulu answered that Mirage was not in the World's Edge anymore. Where had she gone? The dragon mare had been a unifying force of that herd, a single woman so powerful that she had taken over the unicorns and apparently held them at bay once more. How could she just be gone? The fact that she had killed Donovan had not gone unnoticed, but she could not condemn Mirage for his death. She was a defender, and he had made a choice. "Who leads now?" she asked, suddenly unsure about following her sister.

Mirage would have welcomed her, she knew.

But, she had already at least said that she would try. She could not go back now, and at least she could watch and learn. Ophelia was loyal to Ktulu, not anyone else, and there was a distinct difference. She would never fight against her sister, never harm her intentionally, and she would always support her needs. However, those feelings did not extend at all toward anyone else, even if Ktulu found them to be worthy. They were not her sister. They did not travel hundreds of miles alone together. They were meaningless.

"I love you too," she whispered in return, completing their embrace. Of course she had never stopped loving Ktulu. Did those words need to be spoken? Ophelia took a step back from her embrace.

"As I said, north," she replied, nodding toward the distant mountains. "The snow is unchanging and the mountains are constant. It... I find... that a good place to... clear... my head..." she managed, looking at her sister intensely. Ktulu would know what she was talking about. "The memories are starting to blend with reality at times."

Ophelia raised a brow at her sister's apology and snorted, shaking her head. The Grey had been good for her and bad for her at the same time. Now, she knew how to shut off her feelings and her emotions to act without fear of emotional injury stopping her body. She had learned how to gain another's trust, care for a her, and even how to better defend herself. But, she had also learned just how much she enjoyed the violence, manipulating and playing at the herds, hurting one to gain trust with another. Ophelia did not enjoy that side of herself. Being a spy meant having powerful knowledge, and then having the power to rule on top of that made her euphorically invisible.

Constantly facing that temptation and responsibility had worn her down. "I do not blame you," she said quietly. "I started life in the Dragon's Throat as a spy," she snorted in amusement, smiling wryly. "I was not better off being who I was before, and I learned about myself with the Grey. But, I cannot experience that temptation again. So easily I can be swayed to shut off my emotions and play with others is if they were children's toys. I was not proud to find that I am manipulative." Ophelia sighed and shook her head. "Father blames both of us equally. I believe he saw us going down the same path as Psyche and Giselle. How could he not, given that we were making deals with the Jackal?"

When Ktulu began speaking about the new leaders of the Edge, Ophelia frowned, her expression tight. She did not recognize the names. Her sister's words made her chuckle lightly, and she could tell that the violent mare possibly thought them too soft for their own good. "I am guessing they do not have a standing army or spies worth their own weight?" she snorted in amusement, eyes glinting with dangerous humor. Ophelia was beautiful, delicate, but quite dangerous in her own way. She remembered everything, and her soft mannerisms were incredibly disarming.

"Do they know about... you? And the Grey?" she asked curiously. She did not think Ktulu was dishonest, but Ophelia would find it interesting if she had told them and if she did not tell them. Or, did they know? Unfortunately, Ophelia had left Ktulu with a contract to fulfill, and she still felt immeasurable guilt over that betrayal. The pale princess would need feel a flicker of anger if Ktulu had blamed it all on her, as she deserved it and it was true.

Opheila frowned at Ktulu's question and hummed thoughtfully. "I... would, if my memories would not over power you and if I was able," she finally said honestly. "But I worry at another mind's capability to handle the detail."

Phi looked to her sister then and smiled. "If you need to return home, return home in peace sister. Perhaps I will visit you soon, and if not, meet me in the Deep Forest some time?"