From The Deep

T

he torrent of the river rapids carried her all the way through an estuary leading into the sea. Nimue tore through the waves, defeating the threat of the undertow and dragged her weary body onto the shore. She stood and started to try to get her bearings yet clearly did so too fast, feeling her world beginning to spin. She curled over and began to stretch before collapsing in the sand. Nim whimpered, feeling adrenaline fade and the pain settling in while she lay there in the sand panting from the exertion.

Nothing she had done had made a damn difference...not then, not now. The Royalists would defeat the Jacobites, no change would be made, Adamh would continue to rule under parliament's thumb. And Nimue...could not face the fact that she had wasted so many years of her life trying to bring about change to a country that valued violence above all else. I have to return to Rhiannon...to the children...this was a foolish endeavor... But...perhaps she could close her eyes to rest...for only a moment...

@Nora

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Nora had been trailing along the beach, looking for fish in the shallows when she noticed a figure crawl out of the water and collapse not to far from her. A shocked breath escaped her and she ran to the figure's aid, not knowing just who she was running to. "Are you alright?!" she asked as she neared the half-drowned looking woman. She lay crumpled on the ground, facing away from Nora as she approached and the Seafarer wondered if perhaps she had already drowned and succumbed to death with how still she was. Then she saw a flutter of life as her sides heaved.

The small woman moved towards the other's side and pulled her onto her back with her paws. She wasn't sure what to do but that didn't matter as recognition dawned on her when she saw the scarred face of the woman at her feet. Her blood ran cold and she simply stared in stunned silence for a moment before uttering a single word. "You..."

code & art by claerie

N

imue had slipped into unconsciousness, finding herself within the realm of dream, standing within a mystical grove full of life. She sighed, feeling all of the weight lifted from her as she turned to find Rhiannon laying on her side, glowing beautifully as she was surrounded by vibrant flora.

The love that she felt when gazing upon this woman warmed her from her toes to the tips of her ears and drew her in closer. She bent her neck to bump foreheads with the radiant Goddess that she was blessed to call her mate and exhaled a content hum through her nose.

When she pulled away, sparkling amethysts peered up and studied her features intensely. “Are you alright?" Nimue nodded slowly with a smile, leaning in to touch noses with her lover. “I just...I miss this Rhia...I miss-"

“You..."

Rhiannon completed her sentence, but the voice was not her own. Nim recoiled and as swiftly as the dream had come it was ripped away and she was left gasping for air as she came crashing back into reality.

The Fae Forest scenery was replaced with the sound of waves crashing, the uncomfortable bed of sandy grit beneath her, and she stared up at an entirely different face with the lack of vision of left eye.

And...how very coincidental it was that the very cause of her blindness...was hovering above her. “You..." She repeated back to the woman, ire bleeding into her tone slowly as she came to this realization.

@Nora

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Instinctively, she bristled and stepped back, her gaze growing instantly wary as the other repeated the word she'd said back to her. They were no strangers to one another. They'd met on the battlefield but just who this woman fought for, Nora could not be certain, all she knew was that she did not fight for Jacob and that made her potentially dangerous.

Nora didn't move to attack, nor did she attempt to flee for she did not want to turn her back on the woman. She wasn't sure what to do, or say, but she continued to watch Nimue like a hawk. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, suspicion creeping into her tone. Had this woman somehow found where she lived and followed her here? What if she knew about her children; was she intent on harming them. Nora's black lips twitched as her imagination began running wild. If she was here to hurt her children what was she doing in the sea? Nora couldn't make sense of that unless this was all some crazy diversion...

"Are you following me?!" she asked, her tone rising. The fur along her spine shot up and she glared at Nimue defensively. She would attack her if she came anywhere near her family, for she did not know this woman as anything but the enemy.

code & art by claerie

T

he familiar yet unfamiliar woman reacted to her tone instantly by putting distance in between them. Nimue had to sit herself up ever so slightly to refocus her attention on the other wolfess. She braced the front half of her body and slowly began to push herself up into a position to seat herself into her haunches.

As one might expect, her presence was instantly scrutinized and questioned. Nimue's grimace transformed into a scowl and she snorted indignantly. “I suppose I could ask you the same thing..." She rebutted, her eyes narrowing as she glowered at the unnerved female.

The accusation that came flying at her next made her quirk a single brow at the woman who maimed her, then giving her a once over. There was a pause and then Nimue threw her head back and cackled loudly. Each note of laughter held as much amusement as it did bitterness until she finally met vibrant cerulean orbs again.

“You're so self-absorbed that you truly believe that I've followed all the way to...wherever we are to...to what, exactly?" She let out another shorter laugh of disbelief, casting her gaze back out towards the open expanse of water. “As if doing anything to you would bring back all I've lost to senseless violence..." The Lady of the Lake shook her head back and forth slowly, then turned her head to make eye contact. “Don't flatter yourself, dear...


@Nora

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

"I suppose I could ask you the same thing..." she said and Nora's brow creased in confusion. I live here, you idiot. she wanted to say but managed to hold it in just in case the woman didn't actually know that. She didn't want to bring about unwanted attention.

At her accusation, however, the woman had the audacity to laugh and Nora became even more confused, and angry. She wanted to ask what the hell she was laughing about but she didn't have to wait long for her answer. “You're so self-absorbed that you truly believe that I've followed all the way to...wherever we are to...to what, exactly?" Her words caused her ears to perk slightly; so she didn't even know where she'd landed... or so she claimed. Nora shifted her paws in the sand and waited a second longer for something of an explanation but it never came. “As if doing anything to you would bring back all I've lost to senseless violence..." she continued. Nora scoffed at the sentiment but perhaps felt a bit of relief that maybe she was not in as much danger as she previously thought. “Don't flatter yourself, dear..."

Through it all, Nora had remained quiet but now the silence was dragging on and she figured the stranger was finally done with her bit. "You're in Aberdeen," she said flatly. She wouldn't give her anymore information on herself or her family but location she could do. She felt it was an offering of something but what, she did not know. "And it's not flattery. You're the enemy. You're dangerous to me and my own. I have the right to be suspicious." she said, her tone just as flat as before. She was not amused by any of this, in fact she qas quite unnerved to be faced with a ghost of the past. Her eerie unseeing eye a reminder of all the violence between them and of what she herself had done. But she had to remember, this woman had attacked her first so in Nora's mind it had been self-defense.

code & art by claerie

N

imue lowered herself back into the sand, the exhaustion in her muscles unwilling to allow her to sit up any longer. She twisted her neck about in one direction and then the other to be able to survey her surroundings more thoroughly with her single eye. “Hm, yes, Aberdeen...makes sense...I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of the Fae Forest?" Doubtful...but, it was worth the ask.

The enemy... Nimue stared at her for a time, her eyes remaining windows of sadness as she processed the words. Her brows furrowed eventually, clearly thoughtful as she studied the petite Highlander. “That is understandable...yet, I have my own right to be suspicious..." Her eyes landed on the woman in an unwavering gaze, the dark deep blue of her clear-sighted eye boring through her as she inquired, “If you're so concerned with your enemy...why were you absent from the battlefield?"


@Nora

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Nora watched the sodden woman look up and down the beach, her own gaze never wavering. Was she not afraid of being attacked? Not that she was planning to do such a thing if she didn't have to but it was an irritating thought that she was not being perceived as dangerous as Nora was seeing her. The woman was either daft or careless... maybe both."Yeah, it's west of here." she said, taking her paw and pointing in the direction of the Fae Forest. She wondered, is that were this woman lived? If so... they were not so far from one another as she thought. The thought that she had battled another Highlander sickened her for a moment and she furrowed her brows, confusion increasing.

Now Nimue's gaze was back on her, one blue eye and one cloudy sightless eye gazed into her very soul and Nora felt her fur begin to stand on end not out of aggression only. She asked her why she was not on the battlefield and Nora paled.

"I couldn't be... and I won't tell you why." she said. "Is that where you came from?" she asked, noting the fresh wounds upon the other woman's body that she just now noticed. "How... how is it going?" she asked, daring to wonder if Jacob's men were pushing forth like she hoped. She hated being on the sidelines but she was desperate to know what was happening there.

code & art by claerie

N

imue gave her a nod of acknowledgement and gratitude for the directions then became fully focused focused on something far more interesting. It wasn't her business to begin with, certainly, but her curiosity was piqued. “You don't appear to be injured...or ill-equipped...so what else would keep you away from all of the action...what could be more important...?"

Nim lifted a paw, tapping claws against her chin as she mused, paying close attention to the reactions of her prior adversary. She lifted her nose to breathe in the scent...or many scents that mingled within the ebony of fur that was ruffled by the sea breeze.

In truth, she had a hunch as to why the female has stayed behind...it was the same reason that most women steered clear of war. “You have something far more precious to care for." Her eyes closed and she smiled, thinking of Rhiannon and the pups they now called their own. Lashes fluttered open once more as the topic of war resumed and her expression hardened as she gave a shake of her head.

“Your Jacobites are severely outnumbered and disorganized...I had no idea Jacob lacked manpower in the form of soldiers that he would start sending children and civilians in as fodder for his deplorable cause..." Nimue chuckled bitterly, ears folding back as she lifted her lip in a snarl. “I also find it rather problematic that neither ‘King’ has set foot upon the earth that they have soaked in the blood of their people...what do you make of that?"

@Nora

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

As Nimue tried to figure out why she would not fight, Nora kept silent. She did not confirm nor deny a thing, though fear did flash across her ocean blue gaze when the other woman commented that she had something more precious to care for. They are worth everything to me... she thought.

They were worth even more than this war...

This fight had been the entire reason she'd returned to Rionnach in the first place but now she had more reasons to stay. She wondered if she could get her family to leave this place behind, should Jacob lose or if they could even make a life here with Adamh in charge. It was looking that way as Nimue conveyed to her information she did not want to hear. They were losing.

"They headed our armies," she said. Maybe they had not been seen since but that much Nora knew. "It doesn't matter anyway..." she breathed, her bravado deflating as worry set in. "I can't believe we're losing... again..."

Nora felt like she wanted to cry but couldn't bring herself to. She simply shook her head and finally looked away from the scarred woman. She didn't know if she would have made a difference in the battle but she regretted not being there. Still, it was not enough to make her run off and join the fray, not when she had a family to take care of.

code & art by claerie