Sitting on the shoreline, the salty sea breeze rustled through golden and black fur as a quiet sigh escaped from her lips. There had been a moment of silence between them, bi-coloured eyes looking out beyond. She remembered when they didn’t have this beach. She remembered when it was just them, conquering the world. But they’d found Serrate, Derringer… and now, Gemini. But…. but.

She had so much to thank Serrate for.

But…

“I’ve been thinking…” She began, feeling a small tightness in her throat. There was guilt there. Zoey didn’t let it linger long before she continued. “I’ve been thinking of exploring again.” The adventurer at heart, but also forever optimistic she’ll find the right place. Gemini gave her so much, a home, a place to belong, family in a way she’d never experience out there.

But….

There was still something missing.

“I feel bad.” Admitting, as her head finally turned to look down at Luci. “But something doesn’t feel right. I can’t… figure out what.” I can't figure out me. Zoey looked pleading now. Maybe she hoped Luci, oh, sweet, young (not so young anymore— how long as it been, now?) could give her advice. Or at least, an ear to listen to. Understanding. Acceptance.

Leaving was never easy.

It was night time.  The right time.  For sneaky sneaky sneaking.

Buckshot nuzzled Sara, kissing her little nose before tiptoeing from the room and scurrying away from the hub of the Castle.  He passed by dens he was sure no one occupied and laughed to himself at escaping notice.

Days after the fight, when Buckshot had to move away his children from asking WHAT the grown ups were fighting about, he noticed Sara's reservations.  He hated seeing her like this.  The stress was in the air.  He felt like he wasn't being helpful to her even though the fight had nothing to do with her.  But she was hurt...Buckshot shook his head.  That wasn't what he wanted to think about.  He always liked making everyone happy.  Oh, especially his little Snowfluff!

So when he remembered smelling honey on the day they rescued Old Adolph, he knew he was going to find it.

Sara loved honey the first time he gave it to her.  He risked the wrath of a whole...dozen wasps.  It was still a lot of stings!  But it was worth it!  And it would sooo worth it again.

He looked again at the Castle at the edge of the fallen trees.  The moon was high so it was easy to navigate.  Besides he had a feel for nature.  And unlike his poppa Adolph he was going to look where he was going!

"Whoopsyah!"

Watch out for that (fallen) tree...

Beatrice kept to her cousin Akutan and her sister Rapture since she was nervous to meet others.  Growing up in Nardir the only pups were her, her sister, and her brother and they were tight knit.  They knew her.  They understood her.  They were family.

When she was in Inaria before, when the bad air (poison) forced them from their land, she remembered the small grey and striped wolf with the voice welcoming them.  She only saw him once, but it left an impression in her mind.  He was mysterious.  He was...was...she didn't know.  The words that came to her young mind were inadequate.  He reminded her of her Grampa, who was no longer with her.  He had a voice that was strong, wise, loving, confident, and...and...

Powerful.  The grey wolf sounded powerful.

Curiosity that night took its toll so she slept a foot away from her family.  When they fell asleep Beatrice rolled on her back--and started kicking her legs.  The girl had fallen asleep outwaiting them!  They she woke up with a start when something hit against her side.  She flipped over, facing a familiar face.  A mouse!  She had seen it the last time she was in Inaria.  It understood her.

*Squeak squeak squeak,* she saluted the mouse.

The mouse rubbed his face.  It squeaked back at her.  Beatrice was embarrassed.  She forgot not all mice said hello the same way.  Bad Beatrice!  She tried again, babbling a bit before she squeaked her question out.  Where is small grey wolf?  The mouse froze.  He shook his head and scurried off.  Beatrice crept away from the den before dashing off after her friend.  The land was beautiful at night, the purple trees shimmering from the moon rays.  The distraction caused Beatrice to trip over her puppy feet and she fell over and tumbled into the bushes.  

"Ow." Her first word of the night.

The mouse stood on her head and asked if she was okay.
*Squee-ee?*
*Squee-ee,* she answered.

She stayed there as the mouse chastised her.  She tried not to laugh at being fussed over, but it made her feel better to have some Inarian company even if it was a mouse.  She argued back playfully as more mice watched from their holes at the scene.  They started to approach them, but sudden movement made them scurry back.  The two were oblivious that they had company....



(Silly post is silly.  Come say hi to the wolf who speaks mouse!)

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Sunset saw the princess fuming and sulking near the royal den. She chewed a mysterious rib bone, gnashing and growling at nothing but the memories behind her glaring green eyes.

It had occurred only in an abstract way to Pareidolia that someone might want to hurt her. Innocent and privileged as she was with the gift of her thriving and gentle homeland, the dire-mix was far from stupid, and so too were her cagey parents. Someone had hurt her mother once, had pinned her down and slowly, very slowly, wrenched her hind limb from its socket. She did not know these gruesome details, nor was she ever told the tragic stories of Inarian monarchs past, but —

Now she knew. She could never un-know.

Her bruises, her bite marks, all her various ouches and miseries, they’d healed well enough. The medics here were skilled and veteran in their craft. Maybe there were scars, but they were concealed by wild, shaggy fur, and thank wolfgod for that... it would not do for a queen to have ugly disfigurements. A queen must be beautiful and fierce.

And had she been?

If she ever saw Shuck again, maybe she’d have her arrested by the elite guard and punished at the cost of one mad yellow eye. A queen must be just with her enemies. Maybe she’d let Leonora do it. A queen must be generous with her subjects.

The rib cracked loudly down the middle.

Although the chaos settled in it’s more immediate form, prying eyes wouldn’t soon forget the graphic sight they saw earlier that day.

After the initial fear, shock and disgust left the princess’s body, her emotions opted to something more firm. Rigid. Irritated, even, that something like this happened on their soil. Luna wouldn’t be quick to jump to assumptions but she knew it had something to do with the guests they had, which made her feelings betray everything they’d been told about their allied guests.

They couldn’t all be bad, she knew that much— but someone was. Very bad.

Luna refused to believe this was an Inarian who would do this to a fellow Inarian. It just… wasn’t in them.

“How did this happen!?” Exclaiming with a stomped foot, turning her head to one of the few Valor kids she knew, one she’d grown to see a lot and feel like they were on the path of friendship. They certainly had something else to bond over now. “Who do you think did it?” Luna assumed it wasn’t an accident. She didn’t have the intuition to determine based on the wound (not to mention the short bit she saw of it before they were shooed to either help or avert their pure, youthful eyes) but she did have a gut feeling.

“We need to start our own investigation!” Luna said rather triumphantly now, stopping in her tracts and raising a paw to her chest. She didn’t wait for Doli’s approval before letting her imagination run with the idea.