Private See the End as We Begin (Completed)

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

This is the story of how Larentia walked into my life many years ago…​

Katrine stared in the mirror, brushing her long blonde hair on autopilot. She wasn't thinking about her present actions but the budding future ahead of them. Mandragora was thriving, the spirits calling upon new members, and the Confederacy was growing. It was not at all what the world mother told her about growing up, but it was a future that Katrine was helping to build. She had discovered wolves in the galaxy and adopted a sister.

She had every confidence in what was coming. She wished for Chloe to be part of her life, but it felt like centuries had passed since Katrine left her life for the sake of her older sister, since she had broken her curse and found her people among the Confederacy.

The Lupine had embraced the galaxy she was living in now.

She had found family and love and was slowly discovering her history.

Everything about her life at the moment seemed perfect.

A shiver ran down her spine as Doashim roared quietly. Her hand stopped moving as her head turned to the side, listening to the vibrations in the Force. There was something that had startled the demon and made him call out into the ichor. It was different from any other summoning; it was as if it was calling someone home.

"Hello?" The Nightmother called out. The newly created Nocte Aranea was meant to be abandoned; only Katrine and the three spirits are currently here. No one answered. She has come home, Doashim suddenly answered, startling her with the statement.

Katrine stood, stepping out of her chamber.​

 

[Larentia]

The main entrance to the Norte Aranea was locked, and her gloved palm touched against the metal. Her exposed fingers pressed into it. She had been here so many times that it was a playground of her youth. It rarely flew when she was a child; it seldom left the moon anymore, but there were times when echoes would speak to her. There were many stories behind this massive vessel, stories of her adventures and her remarkable tale.

Katrine Van-Derveld resided here, she knew. This was not the time the girl knew; it was ancient history, stories of youth and maturing. She was only becoming the woman she would become, the woman whose future was set to be bright and strong.

It was years before the second Winnowing, years before the bloodbath would begin, years before Lupine would fight Lupine. It was years before she was going to die.​

He roared in his human form and appeared at her side within seconds. Larentia didn't get a chance to inhale, the blood of his mate dropping from her sword. It didn't hit the bloodied ground before he ripped her throat out. No hesitation, no consideration. He didn't care what she was to him; all he cared about was that in this pointless war of wolves, she had been the one to kill the love of his life… even though she had attacked Larentia. ​

The Lupine shuddered at the repeated vision. She could never be free from the nightmare, the future she was desperate to avoid. Larentia would be the death of Curupira Hawk, and Ket Van-Derveld would be the death of her… unless she found a way to end the war before it began unless she found a way to stop it.
​

Blood must not have blood; the wolves could not fall.​

It was a mantra she repeated to herself every day. Larentia didn't know what had happened to Ket or Curupira; she didn't know why they had become these monsters, but she knew that in the past, they had been far from this. They were not even meant to become this – in Katrine's future, they were not monsters at all; they were loving parents.

So, what happened?

These were the questions that plagued the Lupine's mind.

When she arrived, she knew the time was right – to ensure she didn't go too far and destroy her existence, Larentia had waited until after her mother had met her father after he had left the world he once called home.

There were two ways into this ship – the first one being biometric scanning, but Larentia knew hers wasn't registered yet. How could it be? The second one was the keycode access behind the panel, which was nearly invisible unless tapped in the right spot. She knew its hiding place, though, showing up under her touch. Putting in the code was the easy part: stepping inside before the doors were completely open.

Welcome home, child.

A familiar voice called out in her head. Larentia smiled at the demon's presence. It knew her when no one else did. Doashim had made her a promise before she had left her time: he would not reveal who she was to Katrine until it was time. Part of her wished that time never had to come because then she would have said why she was here.

Katrine would have a hard time accepting the truth of her future.

She moved through the familiar levels, from the cargo bay and the crew quarters, and then proceeded up to the command level. It was when she heard her calling out.

"Hello?"

She has come home.

One voice belonged to Katrine and one to Doashim. One who knew her and one who didn't. Larentia knew there was no going back now as she stepped forward into the suite, meeting the younger version of the Van-Derveld queen for the first time. She was not the queen yet; she didn't even know this destiny was to come, perhaps. Larentia did.

"Hello." She returned the greeting.​

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Katrine blinked at the sight of the brown-haired woman with shining blue eyes. It was an undeniable glow. "Who are you?" The Nightmother didn't wait to ask the question. There were other questions she could have asked, perhaps more pertinent than that one, but the blonde didn't care to wait to find out.
​

She is mine, " Doashim startled her with his statement.

She didn't know this woman, yet Doashim claimed he had already claimed her.

She didn't know this woman, yet she had walked into the Norte Aranea easily.

She didn't know this woman, and yet she was here.

"Can you hear him?" The blonde rose to her feet, coming to face the woman in front of her. They weren't that different in age, she came to realise. The woman was slightly taller than her, with darker hair but similar skin and the same eyes and firm lips. There was a familiarity about her that Katrine couldn't place.

It was as if she already knew her.

Her first instinct would have been to think her a Hawk, but the eyes made it improbable.

Her scent made it impossible. This woman was a Lupine.

"I'm Katrine Van-Derveld," she finally offered, extending her hand out to the stranger. Whoever she was, there was something about her that the Force whispered to her was important enough to know.

 

[Larentia]

She heard the first question, it was the most important question of all, skipping through all the little ones that could have been asked in the process. Larentia stood perfectly still, her patience grown in the years of her later youth. She was impulsive as a child, much like her mother, often curious and reckless in her pursuit of knowledge. It had only been some years since then, but the calm had settled into her in her later teens.

"My name is Larentia."
​

She is mine, the girl who heard the demon speak.

"I am. I can."

There was no denying that it had been years since she had been claimed. Larentia couldn't quite remember how it had happened. She was still young, a child, when she touched the grimoire for the first time. The spirits had told her it was time, and she reached for it. The connection to the monster was instant – no hesitation, no doubt for them. Larentia pushed the jacket off her right shoulder, revealing the claiming brand on her skin. She had always belonged to the spirits, but she answered to the demon.

She was his shaman… no, she would be his shaman. For now, another had this role. One Muad Dib who had first taken on this calling. He would hold this until he had betrayed the order. Time does not matter, little monster, Doashim whispered into her ear. She could feel his large arms holding onto her shoulders as she shrugged the jacket back on.

Larentia knew Katrine was inspecting her appearance, as well as her scent. She also knew that the amulet around her neck did its job well; it had been tested on Katrine herself. Taozin's amulet clouded her presence in the Force, hiding the truth of who she was.

Her scent had been enough for Katrine to introduce herself and extend her hand to her.

"Your reputation precedes you, Nightmother," Larentia returned, extending her arm. Katrine wore no sleeves on the offered skin, and her fingers were exposed. Immediately upon contact, she could see something.

"I am Larentia Satara, Katrine. I can save her." The child lay bleeding; she was dying. Larentia knew everything had changed; her life hung in the balance. It was now or never. Either one would live, or both would perish. ​

Her fingers instantly parted from the woman's arm, breaking the vision that had taken her.

Something about it felt final, but the vision itself offered no content.

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Larentia. It was a nice name, Katrine thought. It felt unusual and unique, something she would remember. Larentia answered Doashim's words and her question as soon as the demon spoke. So she could hear the demon talk.

The other woman revealed the spirit's brand on her arm. It was a significant mark, one that was obvious. Katrine didn't need more explanation, even when she didn't know when this had occurred. The spirits didn't always reveal everything to her; she was aware of that.

When their arms held, she caught a flash of something in Larentia's eyes, but Katrine didn't know what it was. She had never seen anything of the sort. Or she had, and it came out differently. Katrine spent time on Dathomir, among other Witches, yet looking at a Lupine, experiencing a vision right before her eyes, completely escaped her. It was different from how she had seen the Singing Mountain witches experience it, except for how Nona had explained it to her.

She completely missed this happening when it did happen.

"Where do you come from?"
​

Scherezade deWinter

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Before she had fractured and broken. Before she had become a Blood Hound. Before everything, but slightly after becoming Kat's ward.

The bag on her shoulder clinked with every step she took; glass vials, tiny bones, and a single squishy mushroom that still pulsed faintly. Scherezade didn't know why Kat had asked for these things, but the list had been very specific. She'd even triple checked it to make sure she wasn't missing anything, even if one of the vials collected had tried to bite her before she bit it back with vengeance. Jart, a spirit of Wisdom, had tried to warn her not to do it. As was often the case with teenagers and their guardians, Scherezde hadn't listened, and was now stuck with a yucky taste in her mouth.

Her boots crunched against the dust of the canyon pass as she emerged into sight of the ship. Finally! At the time, the ship was the only home she had known. Seeing the ship meant safety, meant familiar. She skipped the last few steps before starting the ramp and paused. The door was open. Had she left it open? The Sithling sniffed the air before raising an eyebrow to Jart. She wasn't sure if her connection to it was experiencing a burp or it was still angry at her for earlier, but he didn't answer.

She straightened her spine. Now she could feel the presence of another, and that was not something she was used to 'discovering' while being outside. At least, not without Kat mentioning it first. If Kat was in any danger…

Scherezade's fingers wrapped tighter around the sack. She hadn't taken her knife with her when she left, but she was creative enough to use anything for a fight. Especially if it meant protecting her chosen sister.

Another step in. She raised the sack, ready to slam it into whoever might be hurting Kat. She could already see their backs, and the bag swung into the air.

Scherezade screamed as she realized this wasn't someone hurting Kat. They were holding hands. And she was a mere few inches from slamming a possibly sentient mushroom into the stranger's skull.

Oops…


Katrine Van-Derveld Larentia

 

[Larentia]

The question was somewhat surprising, but not so much. Perhaps she had hoped that the subject had been closed for the moment as they shook hands and made introductions, but Larentia should have known better – Katrine had always been an inquisitive being by nature. She had watched her ask many questions of those around her.

Where did she come from?

From the future, from your dark future, from a horrific time that you couldn't begin to imagine or accept, Larentia thought to herself for a moment before pushing those thoughts far inside her. She shouldn't have been thinking about that.

"I…," the wolf began as her ears picked up a sound, only to see something flying in her direction. There was no time for magic, no time for the Force. Larentia still reacted on instinct, activating her light-shield bracelet. It was rusty technology, outdated, but it would have been enough to protect her from whatever was coming in her direction.

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Just because Katrine couldn't quite read the woman in front of her, she didn't miss everything about her. Like the way she looked, slightly startled by her question, filled with hesitation in her willingness to answer.

Larentia was looking to hide something from her.

Everyone had secrets and a story they weren't willing to divulge to a stranger. Katrine could recognise and accept this. Everyone had a story to tell, and right now, she wondered if she should have pushed. She could feel her Ward coming up, though. Unlike the stranger in front of her, Pebble's signature in the Force came much easier to the wolf.

It was too late for her to prevent what happened next – Pebble was able to attack Larentia with the bag of items she had purchased. Which would have been an entertaining sight, considering the content of the list Katrine had given her, but she needed those ingredients.

Her hand rose as the shield went up, suspending the bag in the air with her telekinesis, holding it in place, inches away from the shield.

"Pebble, we don't attack our guests. At least not until we find out who they…," Katrine began to explain when she took another look at the shield Larentia was holding from the bracelet. The shield was cracking as if the technology were outdated, but it had only been a couple of years since the first bracelet had been made and barely a year since they had gone into production. It couldn't be so weak and outdated.

"What's wrong with that thing?"
​

Scherezade deWinter

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

The bag in Scherezade's hand, ready to explode all over the back of Larentia , froze mid-air. Katrine Van-Derveld was trying to explain something about not attacking guests, and Scherezade was all too happy to reply that she had no way of knowing if the ship was invaded by friend or foe so better stab first and ask questions later. But as Katrine asked the question, the Sithling noticed it too. And while she wasn't as versed as Kat in the tech (not yet, anyway), she could easily understand something was wrong.

"That's… not supposed to happen," Jart murmured, the mental tone somewhere between warning and exasperated sigh. Scherezade took another look. "Clearly," he resumed, "we're surrounded by amateurs." Another pause. "Something in her energy is bending what should be stable. I suggest you watch, child, rather than flail bags at it."

Scherezade let go of the bag, letting Kat decide where to set it down. Jart wanted her to watch. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if he actually knew her, making demands recommendations like that.

"Amateurs? Rude!" she tried to mumble under her breath, but it likely came out louder than intended. Scherezade stared harder at the bracelet now, eyes narrowing. Were those cracks in the bracelet on Larentia 's arm? It didn't look like a mundane thing. Something deeper buzzed at the edge of her senses. Jart's whisper had stirred that much, at least.

"That thing," she pointed at the bracelet on Larentia's arm, "isn't supposed to be doing that, right?"

Without waiting for permission (because when did she ever?), Scherezade reached out, not to touch the bracelet, but to let her presence brush against it in the Force. Testing. Prodding. The way a child might poke a strange bug with a stick, equal parts curiosity and potential chaos.

"Is it broken? Or are you broken?" she asked, eyes fixed on Larentia now, the question more sincere than mean.

 

[Larentia]

Larentia never took notice of the bracelet's behaviour; it was normal to her. So, she wouldn't have known it would have caused such a discussion. When she looked up, the bag, which she could now tell was a bag, was suspended in mid-air.

A glance to the side showed her that it was Katrine who had done it.

Her blue gaze moved to the other woman as Katrine began to lecture the other girl. Pebble, she had heard, recognising the name. Scherezade deWinter. It was a name Larentia had heard about, the once Ward of Katrine, a little sister to her. She wasn't in her life growing up, and she understood the reason in minimal detail. Larentia understood there was cause for this, but this was far in the future. The Lupine knew she could not interfere in the actions that were to come. Her existence could depend on it.

As she shut the shield down, the question from Katrine startled her.

What was wrong with that thing?

"Nothing," Larentia dismissed it.

She heard the whisper of a familiar spirit, her head turning to the side. Larentia recognised Jart's voice, but his words seemed to be distant and muffled. It had been years since the two spirits spoke to her; only Doashim had remained, overpowering the two.

Larentia could almost make out his words, though.
​

Not supposed… amateurs… her energy… should be stable…​

She narrowed her eyes. Doashim knew who she was, and she had to assume Jart and Lylek knew who she was as well. Why the wise spirit was now throwing out words like that confounded her. Did they not know? Doashim squeezed her shoulders tighter, urging her to silence her thoughts.

As Scherezade spoke, she focused on her.

It, being the bracelet, was not supposed to do that… why were they saying that? The bracelet worked precisely as it had in the last ten years. The shield cracked more than before, and the bracelet itself had become worn over the years, but it had always cracked a little bit.
​

Is it broken? Or are you broken?​

Larentia blinked at the question.

"I'm not broken." She refused the possibility. She wasn't broken. "Pebble, is it? That's not very nice of you to say." It was on purpose. Larentia had no right to call her that, yet she hadn't been introduced to her.

The Lupine felt a delayed reaction as it tried to pierce through the protection the amulet provided. Scherezade was probing at her, trying to read her.

"Hey, what are you doing?​

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

As Pebble released her hold over the bag, Katrine refocused on it long enough to gently place it on her desk, then turned back to look at Larentia when the shield was already gone. Jart had something to say about it. Her head tilted as she listened. The spirit wasn't pleased with the work, calling it amateur.

This shouldn't have been the case. Katrine had personally designed the piece of jewellery, and it was Uncle Isley's company that had seen its production. She, too, wore one on her wrist, and it didn't do that.

While the spirit considered whether Larentia's energy was making it unstable, Katrine looked at the item, as Pebble noticed it too. The bracelet looked old. She looked at her own, which was pristine, showing barely any sign of age. Her Ward commented on its look as well. "Where did you get that?" Something else occurred to her. This bracelet was a gift for all of Mandragora, but one had to know where to get it. Katrine had the most access to it, having a small collection intended for new members. Her Shamans had some as well, but none of them should have looked the way they did.

She watched her Ward, feeling the Force at work. Katrine chose to let this play out to see how Pebble would perform and what the outcome would be.

Katrine let out a tiny chuckle at the choice of Pebble's questions. She did partially agree with Larentia about it, it wasn't nice to ask at all but still funny. However, Katrine didn't appreciate other people using her nickname for her Ward.

"Her name is Scherezade, not Pebble." The Witch corrected.

Scherezade deWinter ​

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"Pebble, is it?"

The words weren't mean. But they still struck harder than they should've.

Her name had always come from Kat. From safety. From being hers. No one else had the right to use it. Especially not someone who looked at her the way this woman was, as though she knew something. As if they were supposed to be in the room with her but hadn't earned it. Scherezade opened her mouth bite back, don't worry, only with words, but Kat beat her to it.

"Her name is Scherezade, not Pebble."

The correction made her flinch. Just a little. It wasn't a scold. But it wasn't what she expected. She didn't want everyone to call her Pebble. But right now, she wasn't sure who she was supposed to be. She took a step back, eyes flicking between them.

Jart stayed quiet. That almost made it worse.

Something still echoed against the Sithling's senses, but it wasn't the bracelet. It was something else now. For a moment, she ignored the other two in the room, and focused on those echoes. Not the bracelet. Not the armour. Not the eyes. Not the- there. She wasn't sure what it was, but her sense grabbed it, swirled around it.

The room disappeared from Scherezade's vision, instead she saw only Larentia's face. Something or someone in the background roared and the next thing she knew, Larentia's face had become bloody, and the sounds of an entire existence shattering filled her ears.

Scherezade blinked, and she was in the ship again, still looking Kat and the other one.

Her breathing had stopped, the echoes of the vision clinging to her throat like cobwebs she couldn't react to. Something ancient, something half formed. Was it the future? A warning? Madness…

And then she moved.

Scherezade lashed out with a sharp breath, uncontrolled but extremely directed, towards the table. A small and hopefully empty glass container skidded off the edge, and she could hear the shattering. Not an attack. A surge. A reaction.

She turned to Larentia again, fists clenched.

"You didn't answer," she said, voice low. A low voice was dangerous territory with Scherezade. It wasn't when her brain was hot that she was an actual danger to anyone unless she chose to be, but when the temperature fell, even if only in vibes, the old deWinter ice could easily mount and kill with absolute silence. "Where'd you get that bracelet?" And then added, "…Do you even know what you are?" And then she turned to Kat, "Do you know?"

Katrine Van-Derveld Larentia

 

[Larentia]

"Her name is Scherezade, not Pebble."​

Larentia looked back at Katrine at the words. She recognised the tone used; it was a line she had crossed. "I apologise," her gaze wandered from Katrine to Pebble when she spoke the words. She didn't need to antagonise the future queen with her behaviour, not when she needed to be close to her in this life.

Her eyes remained on Pebble. "I'm Larentia, Scherezade."

The amulet itched at her skin; the probing continued. It was coming at her like nails scratching through the surface. She could hear Ket's roar in her ears; she could feel her throat being ripped out, as real as any vision she had of it, but coming at her like an echo rather than a vision. Scherezade was piercing through the veil of her truth.

Larentia summoned the ichor in her blood to fuel the amulet as she took a step back.

She needed this intrusion to stop. The echo faded just as the small glass shattered, making her flinch. It was over. Scherezade was powerful enough to distinguish a trace of her through the Force, sufficient to see the darkest part of herself, the truth she was hiding from. It was the fuel that brought her, what defined what was to come, the death of a bloodline. Larentia was here on a mission, more important than herself.

Without a chance to respond, Scherezade pointed out she hadn't answered her question – where did she get the bracelet, did she know who she was?

There was something in the way the girl had said it. It was low and menacing, intense and piercing through. Larentia never knew Scherezade, so she never knew the girl's strength. There was a power within the girl. Suddenly, the loving nickname Katrine gave her didn't make any sense. Scherezade wasn't a pebble; she was far greater than that.

"I was given this bracelet when Doashim claimed me."

She belonged to the spirits from the moment she was born, but was later claimed by the demon. Though she wouldn't admit to hearing three spirits, she could confess to hearing the monster that was among them. It was Doashim who had given her the bracelet. From Katrine's collection, she had assumed, but it was he who had wrapped it around her wrist, calling her its little monster. This was who she had always been.

Did she know what she was? "I am Lupine."​

Katrine had already recognised this; it was not a secret.

Despite the amulet, Larentia couldn't hide what she was.

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Her words altered the girl's demeanour. Katrine hadn't missed that. It caused her to apologise and introduce herself to Pebble. It could have been considered a strong reaction, but it also aligned with Larentia's point that she knew who she was. She was a wolf; she knew who the Van-Dervelds were.

Katrine didn't want the Lupine to go; they were a rarity in this galaxy. Larentia, being one, meant there were more families out there, not just the Van-Dervelds and the Lechners. There were more out there, and Katrine wanted to unite them all.

The Force was still at work. Katrine's attention turned to Pebble, watching her enter a sort of trans. The sharp breath that followed was undeniable in the quiet room. Katrine didn't get a chance to react as an empty vile from her desk fell.

"Pebble?" She called out, from a mix of concern and curiosity.

Instead of a reply, she watched her Ward, her fist clenching as she questioned the new girl again. She sounded different now, her tone quiet. Whatever it was that Pebble found had made her react the way she did.

Larentia answered the question – Doashim claimed her, and it was how she got the bracelet. That still didn't answer the who. I am the who, the demon responded to her question. He wasn't at her side, Katrine realised suddenly. He was standing beside Larentia. This was unusual for Doashim; he usually stood at her side unless Muad was there. He stood by his shaman's side in her presence, but he never faltered from her otherwise. So, why was he suddenly at the stranger's side?

It felt significant, this divide. Doashim was choosing Larentia.

To Pebble's other two questions, the stranger admitted to being a Lupine. She knew this already; she could smell it on her. She was a wolf. Katrine couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it, to the question and the answer expected.

Katrine would allow this to continue for the moment as she remained quiet.

Scherezade deWinter ​

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"I am Lupine."

Scherezade didn't even blink at that statement. There was no reason to. Katrine had told her much of the Lupines, but that didn't mean she knew everything. There had been something about small numbers and all of that, but at this time in the three women's stories, it wasn't something Scherezade comprehended in a conscious way. Not yet.

Something shifted. Not in the room exactly, but inside. Jart's silence suddenly felt too quiet, like a hush falling before something big. Or sharp. Or loud.

Her glowing green eyes narrowed at Larentia, at the bracelet, at all the too-easy answers that didn't quite fit. She could feel a thought crawling just under the surface, like an itch she couldn't scratch.

But then she shrugged, all wide-eyed mischief and too-sudden energy.

"I'm bringing drinks!" she declared with a grin. Everything was fine. Katrine had already declared Larentia a guest. Larentia hadn't harmed anyone. In her short experience as a living and breathing person, Scherezade could safely assume that interesting was going to last, so unless Katrine wanted to take over, she could turn her own attention to more important stuff.

"You vouched for her," Scherezade said sweetly to Katrine, "so if she turns out to be secretly murdery, I'll handle her, but that's your paperwork."

She moved swiftly, and reappeared in the room with two cups of coffee, a big jug of creamer, and a bottle of fruit juice that she knew Katrine enjoyed with her coffee. Katrine was weird like that. And Scherezade herself… A third cup was for her. She didn't like coffee, at all. She was going to empty the cream container after the other two took as much of it as they liked.

---

Katrine Van-Derveld Larentia

 

[Larentia]

She waited. Katrine called Scherezade but did not address her. To her answer of the bracelet, Doashim himself answered Katrine. He was still firmly at her side, her hands reaching over his large arms resting on her shoulders. Larentia knew why he stood by her side, even if Katrine could not yet – revealing that would reveal the future.

Doashim was a third parent to her entire life. He had nurtured her and prepared her for the life of a warrior she had to become. Perhaps the demon had prepared her for slaughter or given her strength and power to fight against her destiny.

She didn't know the answer to this question.

The demon didn't provide one, either.

Her blue gaze remained on Scherezade, watching her eyes narrow at her. There were no more questions to the answers Larentia had given, and she wondered why. Then, all of a sudden, Scherezade declared she was bringing drinks, and the interrogation was completed when it hadn't even begun.

"Is she always like this?" Larentia asked Katrine as the girl disappeared into the kitchen part of the suite. Scherezade declared as well that it was Katrine who was vouching for her, and she was to turn murderous; Scherezade would handle her, but it was her paperwork.

It made Larentia chuckle a bit.

She couldn't say she disliked Scherezade deWinter. There was an energy to her that she recognised from Katrine's stories. Pebble was still a child, but she could recognise why Katrine would love her so much. Except she didn't. In the stories, Katrine told her, there was no love and no emotion. It was little Ren who loved Pebble and wanted to know her. It was little Ren who thought this wildling was so fun; she would have loved to run with her in her youth. This wasn't possible for her at the time.

Yet here she was, getting to know the Pebble of the stories.

Larentia smiled to herself at the thought. She was every bit as fierce and sweet as she had imagined her to be when Scherezade returned with the cups, coffee, creamer and juice, the Lupine continuing smiling, this time at the sight of the teenager.

"You needn't worry, Scherezade. I never quite had a murderous streak. A wild and reckless youth, perhaps, I take after my mother in this regard." Her sapphire gaze stayed firmly on Pebble when she said these words, not wanting to allude to anything to do with Katrine at that moment.

Her attention returned to the other Lupine. "I am here to see the Lupine rise. The spirits whisper of the age of Lupine beginning. I wish to see this come true." Larentia knew Katrine was busy with rebuilding Mandragora at the moment, and the thought of rebuilding Figaro Favoura VII was a sporadically executed journey. Yet, she also knew that path would soon meet its intersection.​

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

There was a soft moment between the demon and the stranger, the girl putting her hands over the massive spirit's paws. There was contact between them, almost as if they were on the same wavelength and capable of achieving physical contact. It was unusual, to say the least, but Doashim's reaction showed he was comfortable with this.

He knew the stranger very well, Katrine realised.

And as quickly as it had started, Pebble's interrogation finished with her mentioning drinks. It was somewhat disappointing that her Ward didn't continue to probe, but the sight of the demon with the stranger told her there was no cause for this anyway.

It was wise to let this one go, Katrine recognised.

There would be time for conversations, but they would permit Larentia to keep her secrets for now, when she had been accepted into the Mandragora, even when Katrine hadn't been aware of this until now. She didn't always know the spirits kept secrets from her, but it was on this day she truly understood – it was Katrine who served the spirits, never the other way around.

As Pebble left them, Larentia asked her a question.

Katrine chuckled.

"We are all mad in our own way." A second chuckle escaped her lips as she said those words. Curupira told her that when she was little. She wasn't wrong in those words. Normal was boring, anyway, so there was no point in succumbing to such a mediocre existence. No, the chaos was better when embraced.

Pebble claimed she vouched for her. "It's Doashim that vouches for Larentia, Pebble. He's taken quite a liking to her." Even Katrine knew there was more to that as she said it, but she wasn't privy to this yet.

If Larentia turned murdery, Pebble would deal with her, but would it be her paperwork?

"Hey, hey, your kill, your paperwork." Katrine quickly countered before Larentia had a chance to speak. The stranger claimed she never had a murderous streak, only a wild and reckless youth like her mother. "I like your mother then," the Witch commented. Wild and reckless was a fun combination for Katrine, she too called herself that once upon a time. Sometimes, it still showed, but not as much as it once did.

Katrine reached for the juice before the creamer, pouring it into her cup with her hand rising as she did, as if adding an ingredient to a potion. It was when Larentia chose to address her again. Apparently, the spirits were talking about the age of Lupine begin. This made her stop, with the juice in her hand as she looked back.

"Hmm, age of Lupine. I like that."

She wasn't quite sure why the whispers were going on. And what spirits were japing their mouths off to a complete stranger about the rebirth of the Lupine? Besides, while this was definitely in the cards, Katrine was far too busy right now with the Mandragora. It was only beginning to bloom; rising from the ashes it had been in for centuries. She could not abandon her post as the Nightmother.
​

The time will come, Jart declared. Indeed. Lylek supported.

The spirits seemed to agree. "Someday, perhaps," Katrine muttered as she offered the juice to Larentia, then introduced creamer into her cup before her finger gestured in the air, causing the coffee to stir at her command.

Scherezade deWinter

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"It's Doashim that vouches for Larentia, Pebble. He's taken quite a liking to her."

"Nope, still your vouch," Scherezade pointed out, "He vouches, you choose to follow. Your vouch now. Then I choose to follow, and…" she paused, realizing where her train of logic was taking her. Was she the one vouching now?! Ugh! No, not what she'd intended! "But point still stands!"

As for the paperwork… "But if it is my kill, I am not filling out a single form. You know how I feel about bureaucracy. I'd rather fight a rancor with a spork."

"You needn't worry, Scherezade. I never quite had a murderous streak. A wild and reckless youth, perhaps, I take after my mother in this regard."

Well that was boring. Who didn't have a good murderous steak in their lives? Even she had one, proud acquired at the "age" of merely a few weeks old. She hadn't intended for it at the time, but when it was over, she had beamed. And felt proud. It was the right thing for her, so her grasp of the 'verse decreed it had to be that way for everyone unless they were boring or something was wrong with them.

Only Sith deal in absolutes, Jart suddenly chimed in. Scherezade gave a pfft.

The age of Lupine? The Sithling blinked.

Oh.

Oh no. No.

Larentia wasn't here to kill Kat. She was here for something much worse. She was here to discuss politiks.

"I can always put it a massive order for dog shampoo," she offered to Kat with a shrug, letting her know she'd have her support either way. Now, some day, it didn't matter. Scherezade would always stand ready to protect the one person who had given her a home, something her own family had ripped away from her before she could even grow old enough to enjoy it.

"Anyway," she said between slurps of cream, eyes flicking between them, "What exactly is the plan here, and how many knives should I bring?"

---

Katrine Van-Derveld Larentia

 

[Larentia]

The little banter between the two made Larentia's irises move from one to the other, surprised at how close Katrine and Scherezade were. There was a balance between them, a simplicity of bond that Larentia had only heard about between siblings. A long-standing bond for two people whom the Lupine knew wasn't built for too long.

She wondered then how it was possible Pebble wasn't in her life.

Larentia prided herself on her bond with her aunt and uncle; she loved having them in her life when her mother's siblings weren't around. She loved them. But to see this now made her wonder… Katrine had said Scherezade had left her, left them before she was born. She had vaguely said that Pebble had felt betrayed and wanted nothing to do with them.

And yet, looking at them now, Larentia couldn't understand.

Katrine's emotions, the incomplete stories, and the little details given about her.

There was more to the story than she had been given.

A small smile crept to her face as Scherezade got lost in her words, only to declare the point still stood – Doashim and Katrine were vouching for Larentia, then refusing to do any paperwork. Larentia knew the answer to this, but she dared not admit it. Katrine never did the paperwork. Sometimes, she would enchant a quill to fill parchments or have Kree type on the datapad for her, but she didn't do her own paperwork.

Scherezade seemed… was that disappointment in her words?

Larentia was not a typical member of her family, at least not based on what she had learnt growing up. The madness that plagued her bloodline, the madness that had come from her grandmother, yet somehow Larentia stood out in front of them, calm, serene, and always level-headed in her actions. She often considered that her paternal family was to blame for this, but then she also knew them.

Perhaps she was just… unique.

Katrine approved of her term. She was not the one to coin it, not as far as she knew. It was Katrine who called it so. The age of Lupine had begun with the meeting of the Van-Derveld family on Figaro Favoura VII. From that one event, everything started to align, leading them back to the moon.

The blonde Lupine couldn't see it right now, Larentia realised as she took the juice from her hand without thinking, pouring the same amount of it into her coffee, followed by the creamer. Her hand gestured towards the coffee, causing it to stir as she looked back to Scherezade, missing Katrine doing the same thing.

And Scherezade wanted to bring dog shampoo. Her head snapped in her direction, her face giving off a confused expression. "What?" It confused her that the whole mention of knives went over her head at that very moment.​

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Her brow rose as she listened to Pebble's rant about who was vouching for Larentia. Folding her arms, Katrine smirked, watching the girl get tangled up in her words and reaching what seemed to be the final point, where Pebble herself would vouch, yet stopped herself. "I wonder if this is how people saw me when I was a teenager." It had never quite crossed her mind until now that her rants could seem the way Pebble was making hers to be.

Pebble had no intention of filling out any paperwork. They were going down an odd rabbit hole about paperwork for no reason at all. The girl would rather fight a rancor with a spork. "No fighting rancors," Katrine warned.

Besides… "I don't do paperwork."

Katrine picked up her cup and took a long sip as Pebble mentioned bringing dog shampoo, causing her to laugh and spit the coffee in front of her. She found it hilarious. Her eyes shifted to Larentia, taking in her confusion.

Plan? "Plan? There's no plan. We're having kaf, and then we brew a potion I want to try out."

Scherezade deWinter