Two thousand years had been spent burying her past and making a new life. Very seldom did she reflect on her life thus far. She moved on in her heart and at times she felt guilty. The vaewolf alpha knew that she could not hold it against herself. They had been wrong. They had wronged her. They, at the time, deserved everything she had given them. Celeste was the last of her race, at least of the type found in the Zujiuchu Mountains. She had killed everyone. Man, woman, and child. It had been a blind rage. A hate filled rage. In the span of only a few years, they had taken everything from her and worse were going to sell her like a slave. All for the sake of their mortality.

The Vaewolves were different. They were fiercely loyal and would choose to die together instead of selling each other off. They were bound by blood and a familial love that Celeste had never known but with Noih. They were her priority. Even on nights of the full moon like the very one Celeste found herself dwelling under.

Her body had shrunk during the day cycle. Her small lithe frame was easy enough to underestimate. She was, however, lightweight and fast which made her a fierce hunter and killer. Even now as she stalked the streets with her silver flecked skin did she think with a killer’s perspective. It didn’t take long to find one of the humans of Kurayo who had been mistaken to wander down the wrong path. It was quick. Her hand to his face, a scared look, a twist to their neck. Three easy steps. Was it always so easy to kill the weak?… She couldn’t remember.

That was when the first shakes of something happening came to her. It was an eerie sense of familiarity. Something felt wrong. Blood dripped down her chin and onto her close as she dropped her drained victim. What was this feeling? This wrongness in the area…

Celeste made her way home and silently went upstairs as she bathed and crawled into bed. It was still early in the night but the feeling would not go away. “Nemesis?” She knew that her wolf would not wander far from her on this night. She was more fragile even if she was vicious. Her crimson eyes wandered to him. “Something is wrong. Something feels wrong.”

But what?

Then the burning sensation that she was accustomed to began to miraculously vanish bit by bit. Not overly so but enough that it was actually pleasant to deal with. She shot up wide-eyed, most likely the most shock the Vaewolf had ever shown. “We need to go back. We have to go now.” She crawled across the bed and climbed down with a slip. “Something is wrong. Something is amiss.”

Panic.

Anger.

Envy.

Hate.

It was all hitting her at once but she didn’t know why. Outside she was hyperventilating. “WE HAVE TO GO BACK NEMESIS,” Celeste cried as she grabbed him and shook. “We need to go to the mountain top. SOMETHING IS WRONG.” Wholly… Wrong. There were tears in her red eyes and she didn’t know why. The littlest vaewolf slumped into a crying hyperventilating mess. She didn't understand… Was this anxiety?

Nemesis had been busy observing Sergi’s training with the sword. The boy had promise, but he was also impatience, which reminded his father of himself back in the day. Ah, it had been so long since he thought about his youth but the time for reminiscing had ceased and he had sent the boy to his studies for the time being. Leaving Sergi to his own devices, Nemesis headed for his office when he heard his wife’s voice. It was unnatural to hear her voice filled with worry and he immediately headed off for their bedchambers.

“Celeste?” It was troubling to see her retire so early into the night, but then he glanced at the window, where he could see the twin moons in their glory. Perhaps she was inflicted by the curse again? It had made sense when he noticed her in her smaller form. Moving towards her, he sat onto the bed’s edge and patted her back. Still, something was off, even for the curse that was afflicted onto her so long ago. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. “Back? Back where, love?” The vaewolf looked truly confused as to where she was suggesting.

And then it seemed like she had snapped and left him breathless as she clutched onto his much larger form. Never had he seen her like this, her heart was racing too much and her emotions left her a wreck. “Celeste! Catch your breath…” He froze as he pieced together what she meant; it was the mountain top. The very one that he had met her upon, and the same one that she had been on when she slaughtered her kind and adopted the curse, to begin with.

He rose up to his feet and thought about the surrounding area- fortunately, it hadn’t been too long since they had both been there and he was able to make a portal crossing over to it. “Come now, let’s see what is plaguing you… “ He helped her up and assisted in moving towards the gate which they crossed through. Stepping onto the other side, he could plainly see that the village had been left in the same condition as they had last seen it. But just as he was about to comment on it, Nemesis noticed a faint scent. It was a bit like Celeste’s, but different.

His brows narrowed together as more scents hit his nose and he slowly moved further into the desolated town. Voices came to him, filled with worry and confusion and when he got close enough, Nemesis was at a loss. His mouth hung as he could plainly see Celeste’s kin, alive and breathing. The selling point was that their clothes carried millennias old stains of blood. Was this some sort of sick joke? Their eyes hit the tall stranger and he looked back at them, not knowing what the hell was going on.

“Celeste? What the devil is this…”

They should have been dead.

Celeste had been surrounded by Nemesis’s scent and she was leaning into him. She was slowly coming out of her hyperventilation as he consoled her. It seemed like the vaewolf lord caught onto what she was talking about. He helped her up and she was wobbling as he did so. “It burns but it doesn’t overly burn.” There was a calmness to her. There was something terribly wrong that she was feeling better during all of this.

The mountain range was as cold as she remembered it. The sounds of nature were absent during these warm months. It still had snowfall but the area wasn’t as bitter as it could have been. Celeste looked distressed as her eyes were feeding her what had to be lies but Nemesis could see them too. “…I don’t know.”

Even the people were muttering and speaking in their old tongue. It was one face in particular that caught Celeste’s eyes as silver and red met. “Celeste?”

His voice made Celeste drop her arm from Nemesis as she stood there in utter shock. “Nohir?” Her lip trembled before she approached him her hands going to his face. “How? The others I understand but you?”

“Celeste… What did you do?” The moon elf touched her face in return and was looking into her eyes. “You are very different.”

Celeste’s astonishment left her eyes and her lips as she let go of him and skulked back to Nemesis. “You all have been dead for two thousand years.” There was shock and distress. “And if you want to survive the night I would suggest answering any and all questions I have to ask.” There was authority in her voice.

“Celeste Umbra who are you—“ Celeste was quick as she took down one of the more grown looking Moon Elves. Her foot was nestled between their throat. They were gargling but she let up just enough for them to breathe.

“You will respect me. You didn’t before and I killed you all.” There was shock and Nohir was watching her with wide eyes. “This time will be no different should I not get the respect I deserve. You aren’t even my elder anymore ELDER. I would suggest you change your tone with me. I am Celeste Volkov and this is my husband Nemesis Volkov. We will be the ones asking the questions… My dear is there anything you wish to start with?” Celeste let go of the man who was in shock from Celeste’s display.

“You move like a predator.”

“Because I am one… and you my darlings are nothing but sheep ready for the slaughter. Now Nemesis my love… Questions."

It was true that Nemesis had never seen another Moon Elf aside from Celeste due to…her slaughtering of her kinsmen. Back then he had thought that she had snapped, pushed beyond the edge by something and it had been true. Her words were all that was needed to understand what they had put her through. Yet it seemed like one of them didn’t have her ire. It made the wolf in him grow tense, but something was off about this elf.

As far as he was concerned, what was dead should stay dead and the fact that the whole village was revived made no sense unless a God did it. But weren’t they supposedly weakened in these lands in comparison to being in Canelux? They weren’t even undead- they were living and breathing once more…

While he knew Celeste to be volatile when she wished, he was actually wondering if his wife was losing her usual rational self. Considering what these people had done to her, he couldn’t say that it wasn’t warranted. But she wasn’t one that was known to even harm children yet he remembered that even they weren’t spared. “To further explain, you lot been dead for millienas. You had insisted on selling one of your own for your own sake. Things have greatly changed since your deaths and now she’s a part of a family that won’t cut each other’s throats.

His eyes turned to this Nohir person. “Who is this? I take it he wasn’t with the rest when they betrayed you?” He moved about, going past the crowd as they dispersed to keep themselves at bay. He wouldn’t bother with killing them, not that he made that intention clear to them and it could always change depending on his mood or his wife’s whim. But…was there a precise reason why they were revived, and more importantly, could they use this to their advantage? He looked around what could be considered the ruins of the village and asked no one in particular, “How long has it been since you awakened? Just now?” His eyes rose up to the moons, feeling their strong pull on his soul.

“Dearest, it makes no sense, yet I would refrain from killing them if there is a purpose behind their comeback. I, for one, would like to know why.” Nemesis made his way back to Celeste and kept her from the moonlight.

Celeste’s red eyes drifted up to her husband’s. “Nohir was…” She bit at her lip a bit. Had she ever told him about Nohir? No, it was a painful memory for her. “I was betrothed and married to Nohir by our families. We were more friends than anything at all. He died from illness. He is the only other person besides you and Sergei that I have loved completely.” This would be interesting to see how he would take it. “I haven’t brought it up because it makes my heart hurt still. Nohir and I never wanted to be married.”

“I fail to think we would ever trade you for such things…” The village elder looked at Celeste but she merely tilted her head.

“It appears they were reborn without their last few days of memory.”

When Nemesis began to ask his questions the Elder thought about it. It would be too dangerous to defy them for the moment. “We’ve been here for a few days now… We woke up in the snow with a few supplies and clothes.”

Celeste listened and she was pleased when Nemesis came back to shield her from the moonlight. “I would like to know too… The only one who possesses the magic to do this outright is Angela. She wouldn’t be dumb enough to do something like this. Plus she would have taken care of them if it was her. No… This has been in the cards for a while now. The magic residue in the air is faded enough for me to believe this was a long term plan.”

Her hair billowed in the wind and whipped around her. One of the village warriors grew impatient and drew his weapon. Celeste stepped in between Nemesis and the man. “Celeste… You said you killed us. So that means you are the enemy.”

“Maybe it is you that is the true enemy. If your feeble minds could understand what you did to me… You would be well aware of the evil you committed.” The man rushed at her but she was faster and stronger. The man went flying into the ruins from just a kick. There had been the cracking of his ribs. A cry of pain came from him. “Do not resist. Any strength you think you have… isn’t even enough to deal with what I’ve become.” She fluffed her hair with her hand over her shoulder.

The snow created a blizzard in the center of them. “Um… Hi!” It was a younger version of Angela. She got shy as a blush crossed her face. She was in winter gear. “My name is Foxglove! I’ve come with a message… Mother would like you to know it wasn’t her but the type of magic is an ancient form of necromancy not really practiced anymore. During her time as Death, it was the tools of her clergy. She thinks it could be someone from those days… Also, she wishes to offer you this magic so you can figure this out in comfort.” She was playing with the edges of her shirt before the green glowing started. “Release,” Foxglove spoke to the magic circle painted around her wrist.

A small house appeared. “Mother says if you have any more questions… Now is a good time to ask her. I can act as a medium between you two so you can speak.”

Celeste tilted her head and moved over to the girl. “You look exactly like her… Almost like a copy.”

Foxglove panicked at first but nodded. “That’s right. She created me as her avatar… She can hear and see everything I do.” She was so modest and shy compared to her creator it was almost hard for Celeste to understand.

“…I suppose… We will use your help.”

“Because of the nature of magic that was used… She doesn’t wish me to remain here for long. However, I wish to help in this short window of time.”

Nemesis wasn’t expecting that sort of name, and though it was painted well on his face, he understood well enough that Celeste had a life before him. Just as he had before he came into contact with her. Still, it was a fair bit to take in and the people around them weren’t helping matters. “I see.” His attention then turned to the elder who seemed as though he knew not what they had done. None of them seemed, possibly a side effect of them being resurrected. “No, if I’m to understand correctly, Angela couldn’t pull this off even if she wanted here, Parvpora makes it so that the gods aren’t as strong as they typically are.”

He knew Angela for a bit and bring back to life those that had harmed someone she knew was out of place unless she needed something from them. He glanced passively at this Nohir before he let out a soft hiss when some village idiot decided to attack his beloved. But of course, he played the bystander while Celeste returned the pitiful move and put him in his place. “I suggest not plotting any move against us any further. Though I wasn’t here, I have seen what she had done to you in the aftermath.” His voice was low and indifferent as his gaze hit the attacker. “Do you really seek an encore of that beautiful moment?”

Nemesis shielded his face from the sudden blizzard and once he lowered his arm, he sighed in annoyance at who appeared. The woman looked a lot like the damn devil he knew, and this Mother she spoke of he was very sure he knew who it was. “I suspected as much, but thanks for the clarification.” He hadn’t seen the damn woman for eons and since meeting up with her again, it seemed like he was dealing with her every other day. “Well, now, let’s get this over with.” The vaewolf moved through the crowd of the disillusioned and took a closer peek at the house summoned. “What’s with this place, Foxglove?”

It shouldn’t have surprised him the way it did that someone managed to pull this great feat. It was trespassing on territory that a divine and a divine alone wielded. But they needed answers, and this was the best way to get them, much to his displeasure. “Does she have any clue as to the effects of this sort of resurrection? They clearly seemed to have lost some memory about their treatment to Celeste. And what will this mean for the moon curse then? Will them continuing that ritual from where they left off help Celeste?”