@waka

She liked the members of Gemini, and she certainly loved her sweet friend. But the world beckoned and called to her — it could pull her away from her own family, Sterling was no exception, no matter how much Maeva adored him.

But the gray girl would return to the silvery prince of Gemini — perhaps after finding something lovely to show him. Maeva always returned to the pieces of her heart.

Aimlessly, the youth wandered, mismatched eyes never lingering too long upon any one thing. She drank it all in; the lilac trees, the array of flowers in pastel colors, the singing birds and occasional deer that bounded out of her path.

The sights are committed to memory — after all, lands living things too, she would remember this place.

Jacaranda trees began to thin out as Maeva made her way toward a field of pale greens and white flowers. They reminded her of Pine, of learning and playing with Sterling amongst white flowers stained scarlet. Perhaps Sterling would enjoy the nostalgia — she’s sure they could play in this field as well.

Humming pleasantly, the gray girl twirls on her heel to retrieve Sterling, only to pause at the sight of a familiar figure. We can dissect her next, Sterling had whispered with that sweet smile of his. Is she unwell? Maeva had wondered.

"Hello," The girl chimed in that singsong voice of hers.

I could sing for her.

Ticon found himself in the woods. It had been quite a rough patch with the Clan recently and it didn't seem like things were ever going to get resolved or even just settle. Something in Akutan just...snapped so, on top of a physical injury, he was drowning in his own head. It was obvious he believed he had disgraced himself past the point of any sort of redemption from multiple parties. His mate, his monarch, his packmates, even his own family. It was hard seeing him hit rock bottom so thoroughly with no real hope of clawing his way out again. 

He was...unwell. Feeling as if everyone he ever knew had turned on him, leaving him to rot in his own mind, as well as a general lack of coping skills laid him low. Ticon wagered he was seeing enemies everywhere where there were none to be found. The only thing keeping him from running away was, well, the Old Forest itself. He had dreamed of retaking his homeland from the specters that still haunted it. The specters that had stolen it from them and started him down this path. At this point, the Forest was probably the only thing keeping him from absolute insanity.

But was he right in blaming Loath for his issues? Ticon didn't know. Loath certainly had a paw in it because Akutan had been young when things were pulled out from under him. Ticon knew that life in the Wilds without a territory could take its toll on a young mind who had known nothing but packlife and territory. Akutan had lived and breathed the possibility of truly coming home to this place but it had come at a heavy cost, whether through his own folly or other factors. His current state of mind was proof. The monochrome wolf fully believed that Starfire had done her best to raise Akutan the best she could in an attempt to soften the loss of his birth home. No one wanted to believe that she had failed in that just because he was in a dark place right now.

Then there was Kyra whose outburst (understandably due to pregnancy hormones) didn't really help matters and just caused Akutan to fracture further. Ticon knew she had a right to get mad at him but at the same time, she didn't read the atmosphere around her mate or even understand him. That was Akutan's fault, though. He kept things on the lowdown and never really spoke up when he was feeling too much pressure. It was as if he was afraid to because of the off-chance someone would think he was being whiny or something. So he just stewed over things until just the right trigger set it off. The Clan patriarch didn't have anyone to tell him it was okay to admit when something was too much. He was just that afraid of being invalidated. A lot of pack members were under a lot of stress with redesigning, rebuilding, and reclaiming this place. Akutan wasn't the only one and deep down, he probably knew it.

Ticonderoga was an outsider. Always had been. Having been born in the Wilds to loners, he didn't quite understand pack structure but he was learning still. With all that was going on, Ticon felt useless. It didn't feel right to side with anyone. He wanted to help Akutan as a friend but felt he didn't have the right to. He was now convinced that Byakko had been one of the only things keeping the pack together and with him gone, things were falling apart. Stella had disappeared from his side, leaving him to wonder if it had just been a dream he had been chasing. He no longer knew where he stood with the pack as a whole because he was just "that guy with the X Clan". He was once proud of the association but now he was doubtful about his own place here. He had come to Nardir for X. The Call had spoken and sent him here for X. He chose to follow Akutan...for X.

"Where do I go from here? Do I distance myself from the Clan or do I stick with them? If I distance myself, would that help or hinder them? If I stick with them, what can I do to ease the burden?" he wondered aloud, coming to a pause before an old tree. Looking up at it, he felt his spirit fall further than it had been initially. Sighing, the wolf with the red X on his shoulder leaned his head to the tree, hoping to draw strength from its many seasons of life. 

He needed someone to talk to. Someone who wasn't as invested in current events and could offer a different perspective. Perhaps if he learned something of value from such a wolf, he could help get everyone back on their feet.

The trip wasn't excruciating, but it was tedious. Schorl was more than ready to shed her travois and explore this new land. Who knows? Maybe there were signs of the cryptids around here. Or at the very least something pretty to take home.

The hellion didn't wish to travel too far into Inaria's forest until she had met an Inarian firsthand. Sure they knew Alteron was coming, but Schorl had enough manners not to just waltz in. This was her first opportunity to shine as a Jack. Put on the charms, speak well of her homeland. Easy enough, right? She held a soft expression as she dragged the meaty offerings through the forest. A biting fly kept buzzing around her misshapen ears. Teeth snapped at the foul things, but she longed for a good scratch for relief. Where were these friggin Inarians?

Finally. One was spotted. Or at least he could have been. But alas it was just a pup. Yellow eyes peered from a distance. Oh. A puppy. Not exactly what she was looking for, but it was a start.

"Hello there little one!" Schorl moved into a trot to catch up with the puppy. Her voice was sweet, if not a little condescending. The hellion had no experience whatsoever with puppies, but surely she could figure it out, "I'm Schorl, we're visiting from Alteron. Are you from Inaria? Do you know where I could find a grown up so I can share this yummy food?"