It was jarring coming to the realization that she wasn't in her old world anymore. She may never see any of her family again. She would never find her siblings. She would never see her mother's loving face, or be able to visit her father's grave. The smells of home, the heat of the cave, her father's tools and instruments left collecting dust in the corner, untouched in honor of his memory, it was all gone from her.
It was a hard realization to swallow, but it wouldn't deter the large female from continuing forward. She had learned a valuable trait from her mother: never give up. She would honor that trait fully and used it to drive her forward. So, after having a solid cry by herself in the temperate zone, she'd picked herself up, dusted herself off, and began searching for her purpose. There were faces to meet here, new friends to find, and a home to make in this unknown land.
Sage had seen the peaks of the mountains stretching out beyond the lake she'd awoken near. Mountains meant minerals and gems, and potentially meant caves to explore as well. Maybe she could turn one into a home like her parents had done so long ago. She could make a workshop and start fresh. The possibilities were endless! Oh, she wished she could share her dreams and aspirations with her family. It felt lonely without any of them beside her, very much having been a proud baby of her parents and never roaming terribly far.
"It's ok. Every young wolf strikes out on their own. It's what we're supposed to do!" She told herself as she picked her way up the mountain path - foregoing a quick flight to take her time examining the mountains and what they offered her. From time to time, her wings would shimmer as they caught the sun's light and her magic woke within, sensing for minerals and metals in the earth jutting into the sky proudly. Unfortunately for her, she was too preoccupied to notice any others around. So accustom to the safety of her family and pack, she hadn't particularly learned the skill of keeping her guard up constantly. Any creature who might desire could easily sneak up on her as she grew excited and animated at sensing a cluster of jade in a washout from snow run-off. Her wings flexed with excitement, her long tail wiggling at the tip as she worked her magic to try and gently wedge the jade material from the layers of earth that that covered and hid the material beneath. "Just a bit more" she encouraged herself as she felt the energy draining from her. Magic wasn't easy for Sage and it showed as she began panting from the effort.
It was not too long ago when Wroth found himself waking up in this strange place. It was dark and secluded. It appeared to be a cave. His mind buzzed with confusion as he questioned his whereabouts. Places like these were not normally his first choice to rest in but with his aching muscles and an unusual pounding headache, he concluded that he must have come here at some point to rest. He just wished he understood why or what had happened to him before. As he pondered about his circumstances, his isolated situation reminded him of his current state.
Wroth was used to being alone nowadays. Despite his youth, he felt like his paws had become well traveled. There was once a point where the idea of reuniting with his family was a strong urge for him. It drove his every movement, his every thought. But with each failed attempt, with each new face that made him feel utterly alone, with each new environment, Wroth felt it was best to temper his expectations. That event. That fateful day. His family must have perished right alongside him. If he was turned to stone, who to say that they didn’t either? And even if they hadn’t, he had to remember one fact.
None of them would even remember me.
That was the one downside to his metamorphosis. As much as there were some parts of him that took pride in his appearance, he did lose a part of him that would always remain with his family. Vivid memories of a purple canine with orange stripes running along his back, legs, and some parts of his face return to him. His current galaxy mane flash back to a snowy white and draconic wings transform themselves into purple and orange butterfly wings. His strong, crystalized blue horns all but disappear into two simple white horns decorating his head. And his vibrant multicolored eyes all but disappear into two simple black eyes. The most important detail was his size. He was still a growing pup smiling brightly with a curious gaze and wagging tail. Shadowy silhouettes of his family appeared behind him. That included his father, who was still very much alive and well in his mind despite his mind screaming at him that wasn’t reality anymore.
Eyes started to well up at the thought. That was Wroth. That was who he once was. Not…whoever this was. Sometimes, he questioned how his family would react. Would his siblings accept him or would they stare at him like he was a complete stranger? Perhaps even disgust? Did his father, Galzroth, ever look at him with a mix of confusion and disappointment that he didn’t take after his mother more now? Assuming his spirit even still traveled with him. And the hardest one. If his mother, Wisteria, saw him now, would she feel a sense of sorrow and betrayal at his looks? He still retained some aspects of her. Her cosmic hues that he admired so much were now reflected with his vivid wing patterns, once white mane and once orange stripes. The patterns of a butterfly were now the markings that decorate his transparent membrane. Even parts of her purplish hue, while much, much lighter now, still were present especially with his feathery leg tufts, which he also got from her. But it was clear to anyone that looked at him that he now took more and more after his father. A part of him questioned if his desire to be a mix of both of his parents was truly answered or was there another hidden motive that his stony prison recognized and decided to play a cruel joke on him?
He shook his head, wiping any of the tears from his face. It showed him that despite his views now, there would always be a part of him that longed to be back with his family. But he still had to move forward. He still had to find a new home.
A new family.
For a brief second, that thought lingered dangerously in his mind, but he shut it down as fast as it appeared. He couldn’t. There was a reason he still carried the Valor name despite everything. That was the last remnant he could accept about who he once was. Trying to find a new family, even one that accepted and adopted him in, felt wrong. So much of his memories already felt like they were fading with certain events and orders clashing with him occasionally. Did he remember that right? Did that happen? And just how many memories was he not thinking about? His memory loss was still a mystery to him, but his best guesses were that it was either a side effect from when he broke free from his stone prison and/or the different places he traveled to. Some of them were more magical in nature than others. Perhaps his last name was his last safeguard not to completely forget his family entirely, but sometimes, he wondered, if he did spot them, would he even recognize them? Had he already seen them and just didn’t know it was them? The thought terrified him. They had to be much different now anyway if they were still around.
Letting out a low snort, Wroth allowed himself to focus once more on the situation at hand. Anything to get his mind off the darker anxieties that were forming about his past. He needed to understand what was going on especially with how his body continued to ache and his headache seem to have exacerbated during his thinking session. He was grateful for the darkness for he was certain that the light would have made things much worse. With dilated eyes, it aided him in seeing better in the darkness. From what he could tell, he seemed to be surrounded by some minerals and gems. None of them he could truly identify, but there was some part of him that weirdly related to them in an almost nostalgic and begrudging way. After all, parts of him were now rock so he supposed they were kin to him now. As beautiful as they were, however, the uneasiness of remaining in a dark place without knowing who or what could be lurking here was starting to unnerve him. Despite his size, not everyone or everything was going to care about that.
And that was the excuse he rolled with, but deep down, he knew it was a bit more. This cave. There was a strange warmth to it. Not by any means of its own. In fact, the cave felt much cooler than presumably the outside. However, it reminded him of small remnants of his past. His family had a fondness for caves. He once did too, but now, all he could think about was escaping. Places like these could never be home. Ever. It was too much to bear.
He winced and groaned as he forced himself to his paws. He wanted nothing more than to just sit there and rest. Perhaps, even give up. Perhaps to entrap himself with delusions again. But soon, he was on his paws once more and with each slow step, started to navigate his way through this dark tunnel. And soon, his efforts were rewarded as he started to hear the faint sound of something. It sounded like scraping and things being shuffled about. Was someone here? Or was it more of a something? Whatever it was, it would require him to come out of his darkness and into the light.
With eyes wincing at the brightness of the sun, especially with his headache seemingly getting worse on cue, it took a moment for him to adjust, but once he did, he looked at his surroundings. Thankfully, he didn’t have to look far for the source. In a washout somewhere farther down from where he was, he could see a figure in deep focus. A small sigh of relief escaped his lips. Good. It was just a wolf. But even so, he still couldn’t let his guard go fully down. He wasn’t sure how this canine would react with his presence especially with them so deep in focus. As he stared at her features, he took note of some things. For one, her draconic wings was the first thing that caught his attention. They appear to be shimmering in the light almost like they were gaining energy from the sun. It was strange how little he had seen canines with wings like that and there was an undeniable inner happiness that fluttered in his heart that he wasn’t the only one. Additional things he made note of were her pink, gray, and white colors, the vivid rainbow mane, and the admittedly adorable large red bow that rested on her tail. The rest of her, he couldn’t see.
After a moment of debating, he decided he would take his chances. The more he looked around this place, the more he found himself becoming utterly confused. This didn’t look at all like whatever he was previously. He wasn’t even sure when he had arrived in the mountains but something told him that there weren't any mountains where he was if he was even remembering right. As he walked slowly but hopefully loud enough to alert her to his presence early, his stance was a mix of friendliness but caution. He had no desire to become fully guarded. After all, he wasn’t looking for a fight and didn’t want to resort to that. All he wanted was answers and potentially, if this wolf was friendly enough, company. From what he could tell, she looked friendly enough, but again, with colors and accessories like those, it was hard not to look at her as kind hearted and soft. But if he was wrong, it was enough that if he needed to, he could react if this large canine that looked to be similar in size to him decided to turn on him. But as he continued to get closer to her in view, his movements started to slow drastically more than before. His heartbeat seemed to quicken as the wolf started to form a memory of a much younger version of someone he held dear.
"Sage?"
He echoed his thoughts aloud. If the wolf wasn’t alerted by his previous methods, she would be now. He was surprised by his own words and how his voice seemed to crack and choke with excitement and desperation. And most importantly, he was taken aback by how his eyes started to well up with each passing, agonizing second. There was no way. It couldn’t be. He should stop deluding himself, it was just some stranger. But as memories of a similar pastel wolf flooded his mind, all he could do was freeze a few steps before her as his eyes desperately watched her every move searching for any confirmation that he wasn’t wrong. Oh please, don’t let him be wrong.
The effort to pull the jade from the stone exhausted Sage to the point of having to take a break. She could feel the precious mineral close to the surface and knew that she was almost done, but she couldn't finish the action. She was drained from her efforts, her giant body slumped and panting heavily, her sides heaving. Why couldn't she be stronger? Why couldn't she be more practiced? 'Practice makes perfect. You'll make mistakes the first time, second time, and even the twentieth time. That's how you improve and perfect your craft.' Her parent's words echoed in her head, lessons from both of them, and Sage doubled down, pouring the last bit of magical strength into her efforts with gritted teeth. Despite the other's attempts, she didn't hear his approach or notice his stance behind her. She remained fully unaware.
"Sage?"
A sudden voice behind Sage startled her, causing her to lose her grip on her magic and thus, lose the jade she had been lifting from the earth. The surface of the ground had cracked at her feet, shattering as the earth was moved, but the jade was still wedged beneath the surface. The jade didn't matter to her anymore at this point. Here she was, caught metaphorically with her pants down, while another wolf - a very large wolf - had snuck up on her. The giant shifted her body to turn and face the stranger, fumbling and falling onto her rump as she did so. Instinctively her wings spread outwards - an attempt to make her look even larger than she was - and she recoiled from the stranger. Her yellow eyes studied the posture of the other wolf - defensive more than aggressive - and she took the millisecond of time to find her footing on all four paws once more.
He didn't immediately advance on her, giving her a chance to look over the more obvious features of the beast. He boasted his own large set of dragon-like wings. His head was crowned with horns, his legs and chest protected by some sort of armor-looking plating. On his head she could identify not two, but three eyes. His tail... he knew her name...
Sage was sure she didn't know this wolf. She would have remembered a wolf who looked so much like her lost, beloved father. She knew she had an uncle, but she could have sworn that he had been an albino from what she remembered being told. Was this another brother of her father's, somehow landing in this strange new world alongside her? If it was, how did he know her name? Had her father somehow introduced him to her before her memories could form? If so, why had he never come to visit past that point in time?
With uncertainty, Sage's wings flexed out wider. She tilted them so the light caught the sheen on her membranes, sparkling and almost dancing with the commotion. Intimidation was her goal. Even if this wolf knew her she didn't know them, and she needed to be careful. She didn't have a pack here, a family to back her up. She didn't have anyone to tend to her if she went into a rage. And, most importantly, she didn't want to hurt this stranger - a very real possibility if a scuffle occurred. It was best to remain wary and careful. "How do you know my name?" she asked, her voice wavering through her exhausted panting. "Who are you?"
It wouldn’t have mattered how fast she spun around to face him. It felt as with each second, time was crawling to a nonexistent pace until finally, he could see her features. Her previous mission regarding the jades was lost on him as his eyes instinctively widened. A single horn sprouted from her head and a pair of soft yellow-green eyes stared at him with bewilderment. And most importantly, she had reacted to the sound of her name.
"Its...is it...you?"
Wroth breathed out the words with shock and awe. He could barely speak as he tried to form either the sentences of is it really you or it is you. His mind was processing faster than his tongue could manage. She looked a bit different from what he could remember, but he would always remember those iconic features about her. His mind barely registered that his sister was nervous of him. All he could do was just stare and stare as her name repeated over and over in his mind. He was so afraid that at any second, if he blinked, she would disappear and return to being a figment of his imagination. Admittedly, there were huge parts of him that wanted to doubt this Sage. He had been separated from her for so long that at this point, it seemed impossible for this reunion to ever happen. Whenever his mind had envisioned her or any of his other siblings, they were trapped as slightly older pups in his mind, which made seeing a fully grown, but still young adult version of Sage surreal to him. But against his better judgment, he decided he would dare to embrace this, real or not, for as long as he possibly could. A part of him wanted to run up and hug her, but somehow, he remained frozen in his spot. A multitude of questions and statements appear in his mind.
Sage, I missed you! How are you? How is our family? Is Mom doing okay? Where is everyone? Are they with you? Have you all been living here? How much time has passed? You look different!
But this time, nothing came. Just inaudible noise as his tongue still could not process what his mind wanted to say. Some part of him took note of this. In his hopes and dreams, he wanted to believe that he would be ecstatic and jump straight into their fur almost bowling them over from his size and that there would be a lot of laughter and crying and joy. Not that he would freeze in place barely being able to process what he should do or say. But soon, Sage would drop a heavy dose of reality once more shattering the dream he wanted to remain in.
"How do you know my name? Who are you?"
The moment that Sage mentioned those words, Wroth’s face went from hopeful joy to utter despair and heartbreak. Deep down, he knew it was too good to be true. He was in another one of his nightmares. And just like in his previous ones, his siblings glare at him with distrust and rejection. Just like what Sage was doing now. He finally noticed just how defensive and uncertain she was of him. The only difference was their age. In those visions, they were still just pups, but somehow, it felt even more horrifying to him that this version of Sage was saying this. He didn’t consider himself to be the most imaginative, at least, not to this extent where he could envision what Sage would look like and do in her adult form. The worst part? It was fitting. Too fitting. Wroth had always adored Sage for her spunkiness and playfulness. She seemed to know how to entertain or make someone laugh from her contagious joy. These aesthetics felt like Sage even if he wasn’t sure if she would actually wear any of that.
Once more, Wroth found himself stumbling over these words that he felt like he had said for the hundredth time towards his imaginary family.
"Its...its me Wroth. But not Wroth. Not like you knew him."
And now he awaited for the finale. That dreaded finale. The one where his siblings would look at him with judgmental faces before telling him that he was right. He wasn’t their Wroth and walked off from his life, ignoring any pleas or sobs that came from their not brother. This time, however, he couldn’t help, but find his body was shaking more than ever. Not even his eyes wanted to remain open for this moment as he shut them tightly. In his dreams, he did get emotional like that, but not like this. This felt real. All of this felt so real. And it made whatever emotional state he was in previously exacerbate with each passing seconds. He just wanted this horrible, lucid nightmare to end.
The words that came from the stranger's muzzle made no sense to Sage. It was formed as a question, and yet she was unsure of what the question was. What unnerved her more than the question was how he stared at her. She had asked two very deliberate questions of her own, and yet he did not answer either, instead opting to study her with his gaze. Time passed and still he did not answer her. Sage felt the feeling of worry and the anxiety of the situation creep up inside her. She lowered her body to the ground, flexing her wings to ward the stranger away, telling him that if he went for her, she would defend herself. Her long tail bounced at the tip, a trait of her father - a nervous twitch that betrayed the defensive stance and gave insight to the nervousness she felt.
Then suddenly, his smile and happy glinting eyes shifted. What... was he suddenly disappointed in who he'd found? If this was one of her uncles, why wasn't he answering her? Why did he suddenly seem upset? Was he disgusted with who she was and what she had become? Everything about her body screamed soft and gentle, even her large size. Her plush fur was easy to snuggle into, like how cubs would cuddle into their mother's fur for warmth. She decorated herself with vivid colors, quite literally imitating a rainbow - something that brought joy and sunshine after a heavy storm swept the lands. Even her jewelry and piercings were designed to decorate her not in a manner of intimidation, but to enhance her beauty. Was her father's line so proud to be disgusted with how she had turned out?
Ah, frick him then! Her mother was proud of her and her father had been proud of her and that's all that mattered to Sage. In fact, she was just about to tell her guessed-to-be-uncle off when suddenly the wolf before her spoke at last in a sentence that made sense. It made sense, but it left Sage speechless.
"It's... it's me Wroth."
Sage's wings immediately fell from their posed and flexed posture to sag onto the rocky terrain beneath her. Her bent stand stood straight, shock clear on her face. Her eyes widened in disbelief, her body growing stiff and rigid with the provided information. "Not like you knew him." What... did that even mean? If he was telling the truth, then the phrase made sense to her. The Wroth that she remembered was small and vividly purple. Like her, he had a mane down his nape, but his was white and extended down the length of his body. She remembered playing with his mane, begging him to let her dye it funny shades and tie it up in strange ponytails. He had owned tiny little horns sprouting above his eyes. He had been littered in orange stripes like her father. And, most importantly, he had possessed the wings of his mother - though forever too small to allow him to fly.
This wolf that stood before her was absolutely positively not the Wroth she remembered. He wasn't, because the last she remembered of him was the loss of him, frozen in stone forever in the desert. It was possible that he was lying, but... no. She could tell that he was not. It wasn't because of any magic that she possessed. It wasn't because she could see the lack of fidgeting that foretold a bad liar. It was his knowing her name, his sharing so many semblance of her father and mother combined. While her wings held the shimmering sparkle of her mother's, his held the intricate patterns of the butterfly.
Tears suddenly welled up in Sage's eyes and every bit of defensive posture melted away. She'd been suddenly transported to this world, ripped away from her living family, and somehow miraculously found a member of hers that she'd thought gone from her life forever. She wasn't alone. Her father - bless his heart - had been looking out for the both of them and brought the two together. Sage's breathing grew quick and excited as the overwhelming realization struck her. Tears streamed down her face, dampening the edges of her cheeks, and she forced herself to sit down. If she remained standing, she feared she'd fall over and hurt herself on the rocks that littered the area she stood in. Her head swam with emotions and she had to mentally force herself to count to calm her breathing down. "On-One, two, th-three, four" she started, inhaling quickly between each word. The counting helped, but only slightly. "The rocks are brown. The leaves are green. Those flowers are yellow" She tried to ground herself by acknowledging the things around her. "Your horns are just like father's. Your wings beautiful like mother's." She wasn't alone. Wroth was here.
Like actors on a stage, Wroth faithfully awaited Sage's role. Yet his eyes still remain close, this time, with reinvigorated tears washing over his face and his body still remaining shaky. The only thing he could think of when it came to Sage was her stance. How defensive and scared she looked. Like he was some monster chasing after her in a horror movie. As he heard some shifting about, he could feel his breath seemingly getting more and more caught in his throat. This was it. This was when Sage would say her lines.
On-One, two, th-three, four…
Confusion flooded his mind. Counting wasn’t exactly on script, but based on how it sounded, she seemed like she needed to adjust herself. If anything, her perceptive anxiety was making him feel worse. He could just imagine that this reveal was not only hard for her to progress, but she must have felt an overwhelming nausea that this wasn’t her brother anymore. Her little purple brother that she used to beg to dye and fashion his white mane with.
Your horns are just like father's. Your wings beautiful like mother's.
Time seemed to slow as Wroth took heed to those words. His eyes stirred to life as he blinked slowly a few times. His horns like dad…his wings beautiful like mom’s? He wanted to say something, but his mouth was simply agape as he looked over her face. His eyes kept searching for signs of how she truly felt. But all he could see was how her eyes continued to well up and how there seemed to be so much happiness and relief at seeing him. She wasn’t even defensive of him anymore and appeared a bit more…shocked, but not like how he felt she should have acted. Deep down, despite how much time had separated him and Sage, he couldn’t really recall his sister being a liar or someone who often walked around lace with sarcasm. It was genuine.
As he continued to progress these words, it seemed like whatever trance he was in broke with those words. He had dreamed about this for so long, but he was haunted over his appearance. Haunted that the one that connected him to his family was gone despite recognizing traits of both his mother and father. Parts of him had lingering pride, but other parts ashamed. So to hear that from Sage…
Before he knew it, his legs started to glide towards her. At first, he wasn’t running towards her. Each movement felt like his legs were molasses, almost like he was still progressing what his eyes were seeing, but soon, he broke out into a mix of a brisk walk and sprint before attempting to tightly embrace Sage. And the moment he did, what he feared so much could have been a trick or an illusion melted away. This Sage. This version of Sage accepted him. She still loved him. She saw something beautiful that he failed to see for so long. Parts of him wanted to bring back a younger version of her sobbing and in dismay attempting to understand why he would do this, but she didn’t have nearly as much of a hold over him. He could take in her scent, which was real. Her plush fur, softer than he could remember, made him feel like he was home once more. All of the memories, all of the pain, all of the loneliness. None of that mattered anymore. He wasn’t alone anymore. Sage was here.
His words were fumbling over his chokes and sobs. As he attempted to keep his own self steady, he nearly missed her question and he shook his head.
"Honestly...I am not even sure myself. All I remember was darkness and stillness. But no pain. Yet, it felt like I was still present but in some sort of limbo. Like I was there but wasn't there. And it almost felt like the stone was...alive, shifting and moving, but I am not even sure how or why. And then one day, there was a light and the next thing I knew, crystal pieces were shattered around me. And I came out like this. I am not really sure how or why it transformed me. At least, I believe it did. But the way it changed me...it was almost like it knew my innermost thoughts and desires as crazy as that sounds. I wanted to be just like mom and dad. Yet, it also left a parting gift."
With an awkward smile and laugh, he allowed one of his paws to touch the crystalline blue scales and continued."Well um I guess I am not exactly a normal wolf per say either. These things here. Those are crystals. The same color as the crystal I was trapped in. At least, the blue ones are. And same goes for my third eye, back spines, and horns and spikes. I guess I am part rock or something now too." He paused before half joking. "More to add to your collection! You still like gemstones, right?"
With hopeful eyes, he continued
"I never thought I would see you again. I searched for so long and I well I…how long have you been here? How have things been? Is the rest of our family here?"
As soon as the question left Sage's muzzle, she wasn't sure why she had even bothered to ask it. In reality, the how didn't matter to her. It didn't matter, because what had caused him to somehow end up here wasn't important right now. What was important was he was here. Right here, right now, standing in front of her. There was no way her brain could make this up as some sort of dream. It all seemed far to real, to unbelievable, for her brain to fathom on its own. There was his scent. There was his changed appearance. There was his grown-up voice, and his grown-up size and stature.
There was his movement as he started to pace towards her, moving quicker and quicker with each step until he was sprinting in her direction. There was no feeling of fear, no defensive posture made as Wroth charged her. Sage braced herself, but not for an attack. She braced herself for his tight embrace and both relished and returned the gesture. Her large paws reached out to wrap around Wroth’s body, her wings reaching to latch onto his own. She buried her muzzle into the side of his neck, proving that he was real and authentic. He exclaimed about her being real, and she giggled at his words - not at him - but giggles of sheer giddy joy.
With the embrace between the two siblings lessened, Sage pulled back and used the back of a paw to wipe her cheeks and eyes. She was crying tears of happiness, unable to contain the emotions of joy within. As Wroth spoke and explained what he remembered, how one day he suddenly became a wolf once more from crystal, Sage nodded and smiled as she listened. Her folded ears perked upwards as best as they could. Sure it all sounded crazy, but she believed every single word as he spoke it. When he lifted a paw to point at the crystals on his body, she noted his elongated digits and her smile grew softer and larger. If he wanted to be just like mom and dad, his wish had certainly come true.
”Yes, I do still like gemstones.” She laughed along with him. ”You’re absolutely the most prized gemstone I’ve ever found.” She meant it in earnest, still hardly believing that he was actually here. Sage reached up a paw to gently brush against the crystal he had pointed. Her smile softened into a sad one. ”Mother and Father would be proud to see you, I think. And everyone else.” Sage didn’t immediately answer his prompted questions, not wanting to dampen his joy and excitement. But, she also couldn’t delay long. She didn’t want to worry him if his mind trailed to thoughts of worse-case scenarios and situations. ”I haven’t been here for long. I’m not exactly sure how long it’s been. I haven’t been counting. The rest of the family isn’t here - at least I haven’t found them yet. It could be possible, but I can’t say for certain.” Sage leaned backwards - much like their father used to do - and sat up on her hind legs, her long tail balancing her. ”I’ve missed you so much, brother.”
