A/N: I don't think I pointed it out in this particular fic, but "Text written in italics and quotation marks are words that either the character spoke or directly heard from another." If a paragraph contains that kind of format for dialogue, it is more than likely a flashback. And looking this over so far, I have quite a number of flashbacks for Corrin here.
Canon name = nickname:
Velouria = Vella. Keaton = Keaty. Hinoka = Hina. Setsuna = Seta. Corrin = Lupus.
Consort: I'm trying to keep things relatively light in this fic. Which, uh... will start leading into the more awkward, and hopefully humorous, situations Corrin will start landing in. She wasn't raised a princess, remember, so she won't exactly have a grasp on what is and isn't okay to say. And once she finally gets with the rest of her family, well...
Oh, good point. I guess I didn't really think through on every beast that Corrin does and doesn't know. Whoops.
I'll just say this, on the point of Takumi. Yes, things will be civil... for a bit, that is.
I haven't even bothered to think about whether Mikoto will end up surviving, or how and if the war will ever start in the first place.
Setsuna is interesting, I do like her audio clips though. Especially the one on winning a fight, "Victory! Victory!" She's definitely ending up as a friend to Corrin here.
Corrin loves the feeling of the rushing wind hitting her, more so when it's caused by her running through it. She switched back to her more tattered set of clothes, much to Hina's shock when Corrin did that right in front of her with zero shame. She's panting, her face is red, sweat is pouring down her body in waves, and she smells horrid…
She rarely feels better than like this.
"Sister!" Hina yells from atop her Pegasus, "Aren't you tired yet?"
How long has it been? An hour? Two hours? Perhaps if she were in the mountains, then yes. But, the plains have such little obstacles. "Nah!" She yells back… but then sees something that would quickly change her mind.
Few things are better than a long run, and jumping into a lake is one of them. Without warning, she shifted her direction and went straight for the body of water. She dropped her bag to the side before she got too close to the lake, though. "Sister?!" Hina exclaimed as Corrin jumped in, clothes and all. She was really hoping the water would have been colder. It felt… lukewarm, like she's already been in it for an hour. Still, that didn't stop her from swimming around. "Gods, sister…" Hina sighed as she guided her Pegasus to land, to which both she and A Lady Setsuna have dismounted.
Corrin simply looked skyward as she floated around on the top. Even with meeting her real sister, Corrin found herself wanting to be with Keaty and Vella instead. Maybe she should just give Hina some time? "The water looks nice, A Lady Hinoka, maybe we should follow A Lady Corrin's example?"
"Okay, first off." Hina starts, "Where did this 'A Lady' come from?"
"You're a lady, Hinoka. Therefore, you are A Lady Hinoka." Even though Corrin wasn't looking she knew that A Lady Setsuna is now looking her way, "Should she be called A Lady Hina, now?"
"Mmm…" Corrin hummed out loud. "Hina or A Lady Hinoka." She concludes.
"Do I get a nickname?" A Lady Setsuna followed up.
"Seta."
"Setaaaaa." Seta echoes.
"Corrin." Hina calls out, causing the Wolfskin-raised human to stop floating and instead face her. "Where were you? All of these years?" Corrin can see the emotions swelling up in Hina again…
"You are not to return until you have finished. It would end terribly if humans found out our location." The alpha's warning echoes in her own mind. "Traveling." She lies, "A lot of camping."
"A Lady Corrin enjoys camping." Seta adds.
"You camped, on your own, for sixteen years?"
"Pretty much, Hina." It didn't take an expert in body language to know that Hina isn't accepting it. Corrin's good at faking emotions, not conjuring lies on the spot… but above even that, she refuses to let her pack be found out. "When can we eat?" Corrin groans.
"I can go catch something, A Lady Corrin." Seta starts, but then pauses, "Can you have a nickname, too?"
Another hum from Corrin, "Lupus." The alpha said that it was a 'Nohrian' word, meaning wolf.
"Luuuuupus." Seta echoes.
"Lupus?" Hina asks, which thankfully means that the Hoshidans have a different word for wolf. "At least ours have somewhat similar letters, why is yours so different?"
"...Would you rather call me Corn?" Lupus states, flatly.
"Point taken. I'm still calling you, Corrin, though."
"A Lady Corrin or Lupus." Seta states.
"I'm not doing either! Her name is Corrin!" Hina exclaims, if a bit too loudly.
"I dunno Hina, Lupus sounds pretty good." Seta continues.
"Gods…" Hina sighs. "You know, Setsuna, sometimes I wonder what was going through my head when I made you my retainer."
"Are we eating yet?" Lupus asks.
"Oh right, I was going to catch something…" Seta drawls out. "I'll be back soon, Hina." The archer walks off.
"Sister?" Hina asks as she approaches the edge of the lake. "I'm… happy you've returned."
"What are the others called, Hina?"
"Our family?" She asks and receives a nod, "Ryoma is the eldest brother, Takumi is the younger brother, Sakura is the little sister, and Mikoto is our mother."
"Mother…" Lupus only had a father figure… sort of. The alpha wasn't keen on the human things. She didn't have a mother figure. Well, Vella would occasionally dote and fuss over her, but she's still more of a sister. Yet again, the pain of not having Keaty and Vella with her returns.
"Sister? What's wrong?"
Lupus found herself mid way from howling, head tilted back with tears rolling down again. No, not here… not near humans, so she lowers her head, locking eyes with Hina. "It's nothing." She gets out of the lake, picks up her bag, and curls up on the grass around her bag, guarding it like the treasure it is. "Just hungry." She mutters as she lets out a sigh.
"Sister…" Hina repeats. "Well, if you don't want me to pry." She still walks closer and takes a seat near her. "We're family, it's only right that I worry for your well-being." Hina literally reaches out and starts gently stroking Lu… Corrin's hair. Corrin rubbed her head closer in kind, while trying to prevent the rising set of satisfied growls that came with it. Though, with the much desired stroking came heavier eyelids, and she fell asleep like that, curled around her bag with Hina stroking her hair.
Corrin awoke with Keaty's back pressing against her front and Vella's front rubbed up against her back, yet even with both of their furs, on top of another animal fur around Corrin, she shivered. It's… colder than normal, winters aren't usually this bad. She slowly raised her head and looked outside, the snow is also piling higher than normal. Corrin whined as she tried to pull the blanket of fur closer, to no success.
She then felt Vella somehow get even closer, as her arms wrapped around her body, pulling her closer… yet her sister is still fast asleep. Corrin's heart warmed, even in her sleep, Vella still helped. Corrin rolled over so she could shove her face into the woman's cleavage, as to keep her face better warmed. She then startled as Keaty's arms came around her, pulling himself closer. This… this is literally the closest they have ever been.
And they're still asleep, still protecting her. A human lacking the fur of a Wolfskin. "I love you two, soooo much." She muttered as she closed her eyes, relishing in the warmth.
Corrin blinked her eyes and looked beside her, where Hina was, apparently as fast asleep as she was earlier. Corrin frowned, Hina isn't Vella. The residual smell of smoke hits her, from a campfire that has long since been extinguished… how long as she been out? Seta is lying on the ground, as well, with only Hina's Pegasus providing any sort of lookout duty. "Vella…" Corrin mutters as she gets up. She then notices her vision is blurry… she was crying? "Keaty…" Corrin clutched at herself, wanting the warmth of that dream to come real.
She misses them so much.
Hina stays put, still in deep sleep. Corrin takes a breath and walks a bit out of camp. She then looks up… the moon is so pretty at night. The sky is black and bare, no cloud in sight, and only the stars and moon provide any sort of light. This… this would be exactly the type of night that Keaty and Vella would get up on. The nights that Keaty, Vella, and her would go onto the nearby hill. They would hold hands, and all at once raise their heads skywards and… and… they would howl together. Then it would be a sound of love, having a place in the pack, having each other.
"Sister?" Vella would shake her sister in the dead of night, "Sister!"
"Ugh, erm… huh?" Corrin groggily replied, "Not… morning. Sleep."
"The moon's up in full, sister." Vella tried again, then grabbed her sleeping sister's hand.
"Alright." Slightly energized, but still half-asleep, Corrin gets up with her sister's assistance, "I like howling." She simply states.
"It's enjoyable, isn't it?" Vella nodded.
"Where's Keaty?" Corrin looked around… then tripped on a rock.
Thankfully, she was still holding onto Vella's hand, and she managed to keep her almost-awake sister from falling down, "Leaning on a tree on that hill, of course."
"...Vella?" Corrin started, "Even with me being human, you still really care for me. And I like that."
"Who cares what you are, sister. You're part of the pack. Or, I suppose you're part of the family." Vella smiles, squeezing Corrin's hand.
"Will we always be together? Can I always wake up next to you two?" Corrin sniffs, "I don't want to lose either of you."
"I would like that, sister." Vella hugged the human woman she called a sister.
"One more thing. Can I have a nickname, too?"
Minutes passed in silence as Vella thought it over, and it wasn't until all three were up on the hill, holding hands, that she did answer, "Lupus."
"Lupus?" Corrin echoes, getting a feel for the word, "Lupus. Lupus!"
"You are too excitable." Keaty huffed.
"Says the one creating a windstorm right now." Lupus grinned.
"..." Keaty refused to respond to that, "Can we howl, now?"
"To family, and the pack." Lupus smiled.
"To us, brother and sisters." Vella added.
The two sisters looked at Keaty, "To these two nutcases that call themselves sisters." He cracked a smile. After no more than a few seconds later, they howled in unison.
Now? Even with Hina and Seta, it's a sound of sorrow and loneliness. Corrin openly cried as she sang her tune, low and emotional, wanting to be with her Wolfskin family again. She held the sound for a long period of time, with its pitch steadily growing lower and quieter, like a beast's final breaths. And when it did finally finish, she collapsed on the ground, unwilling to move with her ears perked, waiting for a response that will never come. Vella and Keaty are too far away to hear that, and it seems there aren't any local wolves that will offer her the same comfort.
She's alone.
"Sister?" Hina asked, startling Corrin. "I heard a wolf's howl." She plainly states.
"I know." Corrin quietly responded, near inaudible as she clutched her bag closer, feeling the treasure from Keaty even without pulling it out. But, there was a more pressing concern with her last pieces of home. The scent has almost faded… whatever remained of Keaty's, Vella's, and even the alpha's scent is almost gone, as Corrin's and nature becomes all that she can smell.
Soon, all she will have is her memories.
"If there's one wolf, there's more. We should…"
"It's fine." Corrin paused, but before Hina could add anything, "That wolf was just sad, it's been separated from the pack."
"Sister… how can you tell?"
Corrin forces a smile on her face, "You can learn a lot in the woods, Hina." Her expression of happiness nearly looks genuine, even if her lie falls flat.
"Corrin." Hina tries again.
"But, you're right. We shouldn't stay too long." Corrin rises from her spot.
"Sister…" Hina trails off as Corrin passes right by her, bag already strapped back on her person, "Setsuna! We're leaving!"
"...huh?" Seta gets up, but nearly stumbles over, "Now?" The Archer gets her answer as her liege mounts her Pegasus, "Okay… But I don't think I can hang on." Regardless, Seta got onto Hina's Pegasus, then wrapped her arms around the red-hair's body. Right as Hina's Pegasus took flight, and only a moment before Corrin herself started running…
A howl echoed in the distance.