Pleasant Surprises (Arya/Nerah)

[Deleted]

She had never been this far, before.

Nerah looked around as she crossed the shallow water to the island. She had intended to teleport elsewhere, but her lack of mastery under ideal circumstances combined with the weather affecting the ability for all creatures evolved enough to teleport meant that she was way off her mark. She didn't mind though. If she had to, she could keep teleporting until she found somewhere familiar. Right now, she intended to take advantage of this opportunity to look around and discover new things. Maybe she'd even find a new breed of intelligent creature out here. Something that did well in the water and maybe formed underwater dens the way she and her pack mates formed one in the ground. She wasn't quite sure if that would even work, but it was an interesting idea.

As she reached the shore of the island, she stopped to sniff the plants. They had a scent she associated with something that had been under water. Maybe they had, at some point. She knew that rain swelled the rivers and creeks so that they were wider than normal. Maybe it swallowed up parts of this island, as well.

She sniffed the air, attempting to pick out individual scents. It...wasn't easy. Everything was unfamiliar, and her nose was overwhelmed as each scent bled into the others, forming an almost perfectly-blended mesh that she couldn't hope to identify. Maybe she'd get better at it the more she visited this place...if she could ever find it again.

She padded inland, sitting on a dry path of ground and taking the scenery in. It was gorgeous. All of it. The watery plants that ringed the shore, the colossal trees and their impressive blossoms, the birds... The thought crossed her mind to form a second home here, but she wasn't sure she'd enjoy living here. It was...noisy. Also, there was the worry of rain. Would there be any part of the island dry enough to be comfortable and safe during a storm? Besides, she loved the pack's territory. That place felt safer than anything she knew, and was beautiful in its own way.

I wonder if I should go further...

[alehue]

She hated the water. Absolutely detested it, in fact. If the isle ahead had not been so alluring, she would not have braved the stupid substances to get there. Arya did not know where her sudden aversion to the liquid had grown from - perhaps when she had become this bigger, more muscled brute of a canine, something inside her psychology had changed as well. Even though the water barely came up past her paws, she felt as if it was invading her privacy, worming its way through her every pore. Only the thought of the island kept her drawing closer and closer to it, enduring the emotion that borderlined on physical pain from being in the water.

When she finally reached the shore, Arya was immediately enchanted. The colors were so vivid, even on the narrow strip of beach she was currently on. The sand gleamed a bright white, there were reeds that had screaming lime undertones, and coral that was a perfect balance between orange and pink was littered nearly everywhere. The assault on her eyes was not unpleasant for Arya, even though normally these colors against each other would’ve given her a headache. Instead they just brightened her life once again, reminded her that even though Elena was gone, her life wasn’t over. She had other things to live for – her son, Hershey, and maybe even a different love.

Here on the beach the scents of the forest were an undertone to the salty water, the fragrant blossoms and the stench of the birds. It was for this reason Arya was perplexed at her ability to pick out a single scent from the mish-mash. Nerah? There was no way that was Nerah, she was hallucinating! Nerah had never quite exited Arya’s mind ever since Elena left. She was always the yin to Elena’s yang, the hot to her cold; the two were utter opposites, yet somehow Arya had fallen in love with both. She was sure that it could not be true, yet following her trust nose, Arya was sure she could pick out the ambers, browns and whites of Nerah’s coat from the green foliage within the forest. When her jet-black eyes skipped over Nerah’s frame, Arya was sure that she fell in love all over again.

[Deleted]

Nerah wasn't sure how long she had been admiring the sights, sounds, and scents around her. She had been so entranced by it all that it could have been quite a while or only a moment or two. She wasn't on a schedule, so the time didn't bother her. What did bother her was a ghostly sliver of a daydream or vision - she always had trouble telling the two apart - where she encountered another canine in a brown and white pelt. Off-hand, she could remember two canines like that, and it had broken her heart long ago when she stopped seeing either.

It's not Arya. She has her new love now. And Hershey... The multi-colored canine drew in a shaky breath and forced herself to calm down. Hershey's loss had hurt more than Arya's, though she loved them both an equal amount. Arya had been her love, an equal (well, outside the cult). She could take care of herself just as easily as Nerah could. Hershey, though...he was her son, and it was her instinct to make sure he was safe. She hadn't been able to do that, hadn't been able to find him, and she had feared the worst. She couldn't let herself hope. That would break her heart all over again.

Except...the vision flashed in her head, more clear this time, and she recognized the scenery behind her.

It can't be! ...Can it...? She turned around, staring when she saw one of the very canines she had been thinking of. She was larger now, shaped different than before, but Nerah was sure she could recognize her first love regardless of what she looked like. What puzzled her was why Arya was here of all places, and alone. Was something wrong? It had hurt her deeply when Arya left her for someone else, bug she couldn't just turn away. The feelings were still there. Repressed, but there, and impossible to ignore.

Taking another breath to steady herself, Nerah stepped slowly toward the other canine. "Hi." An awkward start but she wasn't sure how to handle this situation just yet.

[alehue]

Shaky breaths moved Arya’s whole body from head to toe, every part of her trembling as Nerah came closer. She had nearly lost control of her muscles as soon as she had seen Nerah, but now that the other canine was heading towards her, Arya was frozen in place. She felt as if someone was stuffing her lungs with huge wads of cotton, and she couldn’t get in enough breaths. There were three things she was absolutely sure of. One, Nerah was back. Two, there might be a part of her that wanted to kill Arya for all the pain she caused. Three; Arya was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with her. Despite her theory that her muscles couldn’t move, Arya took a shaky step forward, then another. “Hi,” she managed to choke out as Nerah looked at her, seeking a response.

Arya couldn’t control herself as she lurched forward in Nerah’s general direction, but she was able to control herself as her lips parted. “I love you.” Once she said it, the words got easier and easier, and began to spill out of her. “I love you, I love you, I love you. I never stopped loving you; I just tried to hide it because I was worried what you would think of me. I love you more than anything else in my life. I love you so much it hurts. I love you so much I cry thinking about the fact that I lost you. I love you so much, Nerah, it’s not even funny.” Each word was clipped and distinct, despite the tears now leaking out of Arya’s eyes. Once the words ended, it was all Arya could do to not cry harder. She turned her back on Nerah, and walked decisively away. If only she could’ve been that brave earlier. Now Nerah would just think she was the consolation prize, the only thing left for Arya to love after Elena had left.

She began to wander away; glad she had taken everything off her chest, but at the same time sad that the feelings were probably not reciprocated. If only she was an Absconding, like Nerah. Then she could teleport away, back home, leave the pain behind forever.

[Deleted]

Arya had noticed her, as well, it seemed. She remained where she was as Nerah approached...at first. Then she began to step forward, her movements as shaky as Nerah felt. This would be awkward for the both of them, Nerah realized.

Arya responded to her greeting with one of her own. It sounded like she had to force the word out, and Nerah's worry increased. Something felt wrong. She couldn't figure out what it was, and she didn't know of a tactful way to ask. Even if she could think of one - or think of much of anything, for that matter - she wouldn't have had time to voice things, as Arya lurched forward and started repeating the same three heart-breaking words all over again. It would have been like something out of a dream if not for a certain factor, but she was struggling for a response. What did someone say when their ex that they still loved proclaimed love to them once again?

Arya was crying. When Nerah noticed this, she also noticed she was crying. She fought to keep her breath steady - an act that grew harder when Arya began to walk off. No! She couldn't just say all that and walk away! The old wound was torn open, and she couldn't let Arya run off and leave it to heal worse than it had the first time. Things had started, and they were going to be resolved or it was going to kill them both.

"W-wait!" Nerah bounded after the other canine. "Please don't go yet! I...I love you, too!" If that didn't make Arya stop, Nerah didn't know what she could do. And it was true. That was why all the pain was there between them.

[alehue]

Arya stopped so fast she nearly fell on her rump. As it was, she had to splay out her paws and tilt her neck down towards the ground to stop herself from falling. She could not have just heard those words, she must have been hallucinating, and this could not be true. Her head spun with conflicting emotions as she let those words play around with her mind. I love you too. Four words could really make a lot of difference in one’s life, Arya now knew. Four words and suddenly, she went from being a dejected wreck of a canine to something even better than she was before.

Arya spun around on her heels to face the direction from which she had come, and immediately began running back to Nerah. She could already see the mishmash of colors that made up the female’s coat, blurred further by Arya’s tears. She didn’t stop running until she had reached Nerah, and even then tears still seeped out of her eyes. Arya pressed her slightly-damp muzzled against Nerah’s neck. Arya hadn’t realized how much shorter she was than the other canine. She had undergone a transformation, thankfully; otherwise Nerah would have totally dwarfed her. Size or not, though, Arya did not think she had ever been more deeply in love. Elena had just scratched the surface, opened the wound that was Nerah’s love further. And now, did Arya finally have her?

[Deleted]

It looked for a moment like Arya was going to fall, but she seemed able to stop herself in time. It was a clumsy movement, but Nerah was glad she had decided to stop, and the larger canine slowed to a stop nearby. Ears and tail were down, and eyes were full of concern as she studied the other female. She wasn't sure how this was going to go down, but it seemed off to a good start, and that lifted some of the weight from her heart.

Arya turned to face her and then ran back to her. Nerah's tail wagged twice - slowly. She really didn't want to get her heart broken again, but she couldn't help the hope she was starting to feel. When the smaller canine nuzzled her, she nuzzled back, fighting off he stream of questions that wanted to spill out. There was plenty of time for everything, she assumed. They had to take this carefully. Slowly. Make sure everything really was okay and let the situation sink in so they didn't run into trouble. She was sure something had happened to Elena - either the feline had died or the two split for some reason - but right now did it really matter? Well...yes, yes it did, but there was time to figure out that situation as well. Later. Once she was sure of her emotional footing again.

"I haven't' seen you in so long..." Her voice was a near whisper. "I had begun to fear the worst."

[alehue]

Clumsy tears slipped down Arya's face, staining Nerah's beautiful coat a few shades darker than the norm. She didn't want to cry, but everything that she had ever suppressed about this canine was bubbling to the surface in an unconstrained fountain. She had been worried, too, she has feared the worse also, but yet, she could not bring herself to say that. Instead, she coped in the only way she could - she made a joke. "Me? Kick the bucket? Never." She tried to say it in a joking voice, but tears blurred her vision, sobs raked her throat, and her voice racked on nearly every other word. She most definitely did not expect to feel this way about Nerah. It was the way she had previously felt about Elena, but stronger, more grounded, more lasting.

Arya let a slightly-awkward silence reign for a few moments before finally speaking again. "I really hope we can make this work. I never realized how much I had with you until you were gone, and I thought I fell in love with Elena. You were always there, in my heart. I was just too scared of what you'd think of me to admit it. I'm so glad I found you..." She really hadn't meant to be so over-emotional, but falling in love again was like taking the first step to realizing that Elena was gone, and always would be. There was nothing Arya wanted more than to move on.

[Deleted]

Arya was just as emotional as Nerah felt, possible more. …Yeah, probably more. Something had clearly happened between the canine and her feline love, and Nerah didn’t think she’d be able to bring herself to ask when the time came. It would have to come, though. It looked as though Arya was wanting to get back together. Nerah…wanted that, too. Badly. Could they start again? Erase all the pain between them and create something lasting? It was a risk, certainly, but – though she tried to think otherwise – there was really no choice for her on this matter. Her heart had already decided. If they did make it work between them, she’d be happier than she’d ever been. If not…well…she supposed she’d at least know she tried.

“Heh…” Arya had tried to joke, and Nerah had tried to laugh. Everything was just so…intense, right now. Really, there was too much relief, pain, love, hope, and fear for there to be any room in her for humor. “I’m glad you didn’t. If you’re okay, I take it Hershey is, too? How is he?”

Arya stated that she hoped they could make things work, and Nerah nodded. “I hope o too, and you’ve never left my heart even though I did try to move on…” She sighed. “I think…I want to try again, but – first – we should talk. There are hurts between us we need to heal, and there’s something I need to tell you.”

[alehue]

Arya regretted her joke after Nerah tried to choke out a laugh. Perhaps this wasn't the time for joking - they were both in emotional turmoil, and a cocktail of emotions did not mix well with a poorly executed joke. It took a bit for Arya to get over the fact that she shouldn't have said the joke, but she jumped back into reality just in time for the question Nerah had probably been dying to know the answer to for a while. "Hershey's been well - he decided he wanted to try living on his own a while, now that he's a bit older. I expect he'll come back sooner or later - he just isn't cut out for the life of a loner." Arya sighed thinking about her son. He hadn't left on the best of terms, but Nerah needn't know that right now. There was already enough of an elephant in the room with the subject of Elena still to be discussed.

Thank goodness Arya's mind didn't decide to take another vacation, because Nerah was moving them on to the less pleasant things that they still needed to discuss. The hurts they needed to heal...they were so numerous that Arya wasn't sure if their relationship could survive if those things were not discussed right now, before either made a real commitment. But then Nerah mentioned something that she needed to tell Arya...what could it be? Would it be something big enough to change the game, or just something insignificant Arya should know? Either way, she managed to keep her voice level as she asked, "What?"

[Deleted]

“I’m glad he’s doing well,” Nerah responded when Arya answered her question. She would rather know where Hershey was, but she could understand him wanting to strike out on his own. “It’ll be a good experience for him to have, though I do want to see him again, when I can…”

Arya wanted to hear what Nerah had to say first. It was just as well, she supposed. If what she had to say was enough for their second chance to be ruined, then everything else would probably be pointless, anyway. Nerah took a deep breath and considered for a moment the best starting place for her explanation. “You’re the only one I’ve ever loved as a mate. That has been true since our first coming together, never changing even up until now. But…I thought I’d lost you forever, and Hershey as well…and then there were the plagues. But you know about those, don’t you? They….they took over the Annab tree. I was so scared…I thought the tree was going to die, that it would spread and cause the other trees to die. That there would be no other creatures born…” She shook herself in an attempt to dispel a shudder triggered by the memory. “I didn’t intend to replace Hershey. I could never do such a thing. But I thought…well…I thought that if I didn’t have a child then, I’d lose my chance at being a proper mother forever, with him gone and the trees threatened.”

…And she was rambling, wasn’t she?

“Well…you’ve probably figured it out, but what I’m trying to say…” She took another deep breath. “Hershey has a half sister. She…her name is Seraphi.” Suddenly, it was very hard to look at Arya, so her gaze dropped to the ground. “Antares is the father. He and Silva are mates, and I’ve never loved Antares in that way. He’s a brother to me, and Silva is a sister. But they both agreed to help me, to let me have a second chance after…you know...”

Nerah sighed. “I can’t say I regret my daughter. I don’t. I don’t regret either of my children. I’m proud of them both. If you still want me, knowing that…I won’t ask for anything right now, but I do hope you and Seraphi eventually come to love each other as family. I know it will take some time…”