OoC: This RP is for myself, Cookie and insaney. If you post here and your name is not one of those, I shall hunt ye down and smite you with my paw. HAR!

IC:

Kyralie braced herself against a tree, half within the shade of the forest and half in the dawning light of morning. The shadows clung to the chill of the as yet sunless morning, seeming to keep her from warming up beneath the sun's tentative rays, yet she was oblivious to the discomfort, intent only upon the little cottage nestled in the clearing. It was small, cozy and the first home the Valkyrie had ever had, a blessing considering she shared it with someone who she loved more than she thought possible. Just thinking of her luck in meeting her regal partner, in the feelings that had blossomed between them made her tingle with warmth. Yet, beneath that love a little shadow of guilt dwelt.

Larena, as much as she wished it to be true, was not hers alone. The truth, as much as she wished it to be otherwise, was that she had taken Larena from someone else.

Seth. The knight who had been out fighting for a noble cause, leaving behind his lover in good faith only to have that faith betrayed upon his return. Kyralie shook her head slightly, a convulsion at the pain and trouble she had caused so innocently. If it was a matter of love alone, Kyralie was willing to stand up to Seth, to pit herself against this accomplished warrior just so she could stay close to Larena who was like a beacon to her of the goodness and beauty of life. Seth had left Larena alone; Kyralie had been there to comfort her when no message had ever been received on whether he lived or not.

Things are never that simple though, not in life. It was something Kyralie was slowly beginning to learn in her brief time on the mortal plane.

There was a baby to think about. A child fathered by Seth.

With that thrown into the equation, it wasn’t difficult for Kyralie to suddenly see herself as the antagonist, the one who had intruded upon a couple’s life with her own selfish wants. Going along with that thought, Kyralie even considered leaving, to let the two reconcile as though she had never been… but no, she couldn’t leave and hurt Larena in much the same way Seth had left. She couldn’t leave Larena at all.

A glint of light, the sun finally emerging fully from beyond the mountains, broke through the Valkyrie’s brooding mood. Turning her brilliant eyes towards that new dawn, she let it warm her face as she stepped from the clinging shade of the trees. The sun was like an affirmation, a new bright beginning chasing away doubts of the previous night to replace them with new hope.

Sighing, Kyralie sank to her knees and reached out a hand to pat the wolf that had crept from the forest to stand beside her. The pack was ranged behind her and the alpha male, giving her unquestioning support for whatever lay ahead and reminding her exactly what a family was for.

A family was there to support each other, to care and do their best by one another. Larena was Kyralie’s family here, and no matter what the future held for them she was certain she would support whatever Larena wanted.

__________________

RIP Duke
BA Characters:
Joker Kyralie Calista
Artwork - No requests =(