[Deirdre]

How long had it been since words left her lips? Aryion had gone, fallen, and the new home the lions had found themselves in was not what the wolf had desired. Off into the the wilderness with her, in search of the ghostly large Don who had raised her, respected her, treated her as royalty amongst the felines. The nocturnal Daughter of a great man, and feisty woman, whose Alteron roots were buried deep in her past. Where being raised by a false family, relatives, behind blindfolds... Had been revealed only moments before her own escape. It best thing to happen, it brought her back to her Brother Kaden who likely was long dead, found raised with the same lions Deirdre loved. He had gone again, and since the Lionheart had vanished into the night after Jonas and the family... She had been silent.

Deirdre had never found them. And emerged years(?), moths (?), later on into a clear night. Stars blinking down at her in recognition, there you are, where had you gone? They ask silently, her bright blue eyes casting upward to chart her direction, replying in silence to herself. I could not find him. Throat begun to feel thick with exhaustion and emotion, that she quickly overcame and moved forward toward a strong scent. Him. Being someone from her youth, a companion of sorts, an affection that never had a moment to be verbalized despite how obvious it was. Had it been though? Or was it only in her mind since she had been in silence so very long.

Even now, her mind rarely stopped turning over and over. Roaming through memories, equations, scenarios, star maps, and unfamiliar routes. Deirdre had taken another unknown twist toward a new area, tired feet coming to a stop in the darkness as her rust streaked face turned toward a scent wall, a physical wall of unknown materials was far off in the distance... She wasn't close enough to wander toward it to dull her curiosity. Temptation flooding her thirsty mind, yet the scents were strong enough to halt her.

She stood at the door in her silence in the dead of night, admiring the stars and greenery surrounding, waiting for acknowledgment and information for where the hell she was. She had been so lost in her search for Jonas, the Lionheart was prepared to rest her tired soul soon.

[Rhiow]

jonas is coming too... when I get a second... lol

[Pulsar]

Days passed by slowly, from dusk until dawn, and he wondered just how long he would have to trudge through time. The ocean calmed his nerves some mornings, and others it made his heart sink further into his chest, only feeling the cold beside him. Green eyes glanced across the fields that morning, however, venturing beyond the wall in order to walk along the borders. Yet once Kaden stepped out of the crack, he saw her. She was but a shape in the darkness of the morning, head tilted ever so slightly to stargaze — the stars shining ever so brightly. He looked up at them too and felt soft for once, like he wasn't alone in the world anymore.

The ranger cautiously stepped forward after some long minutes with himself, contemplating — he had to do his job eventually. So he approached and sat down with enough comfortable space between him and the stranger. "Nice night, eh? Stars always shine f'yah when it's lonely it seems." A piece of him floating away into space and he closed his doors, looking down before glancing at her. "Kaden." he says softly, giving a weak smile though unsure if she can see — if she even glances at him. And even if she does, he would glance away and up to the stars again.

He knew nothing of the faces or the stories they told, and he wish he had paid attention. They had once been only specks of light caught in the massive sky like speckles of fireflies caught in tar. Some even streaked across the sky, escaping the dark reality of the night, or perhaps crying for the sun to come back. In a way he felt the same — mourning for his sun to come back. Whether she rose was something he did not know.

He sighed. "Do y'know where yah are?" Brows furrowed as he asked this question, trying to push the thoughts from his mind in order to proceed with his job. He hated to bother someone in the midst of stargazing, but her scent was foreign and he knew she was not of Gemini.

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[Deirdre]

Invisible lines like spiderwebs streaked between stars, constellations glimmering reflected in her blue eyes that connected them. Each land encountered had called the imaginary images by different names, her own titles an odd mixture of Alteron and Aryion history. Past Dons and their Comare, sword-like shapes, and stories of the wars that had been passed down for generations. All written above her head, which shifted to the side slightly as the wolf approached and joined her in silence. The pair sat there for some time, him gazing upward, herself watching him carefully before returning her eyes to the stars.

"Nice night, eh? Stars always shine f'yah when it's lonely it seems." An ironic and sad smile, they'd always shone brightly for her. Only the past few years had they become her constant companions of travel, and even in Aryion when the days were too hot and she preferred the night, they were a solid consistent in Deirdre's life. Head dropping again to her kind stranger, shifting her posture to face him in the darkness. "Kaden." Swallowing to try and clear her throat, eyes floating toward him at the name... Memories of her likely-dead Brother flicking through her mind as a pang of sorrow hit her in the chest.

"Deirdre." Came out roughly, words feeling alien coming off her tongue from last of use. It would take time before she would find her voice again, despite how little she had spoken in the past. She found sudden company to be welcomed, overdue. Deirdre hadn't realized how deeply she needed contact.

"Do y'know where yah are?"

A shake of her head "I've wandered for years." Throat aching, a gentle rasp hanging onto her words for the moment, though growing less with each word that spoke. An apologetic glance was given to him "I'm sorry. My voice is rusty... Where are we?" An attempt to explain as her voice grew softer from strain, though her features remaining as strong as the Lion-souled wolf had always been.

[Pulsar]

The stars above told stories and wrote down the history of the world. Kaden could not read them like the stranger could, who seemed to look toward him in wary silence. They were both captivated by the deities that shined so bright, that gave them light in the darkest of times and glistened some sort of hope down upon them. Each had their own reasons for following the sky, each had a deep understanding that fate was cruel and times were hard. Times were hard for the both of them it seemed — they both lost their families.

Green eyes glanced down once again when she announced her name, a reponse to his own. The woman talked with a rough voice, one she hadn't used in some time, reveals. She was a bit lost, but Kaden smiled warmly. "Gemini. A sanctuary o'sorts." A place to hide if you need, away from the evil of the world. He felt it so unnatural anymore that any bad would happen, none had for some time now, not since Tauro's death on the outskirts. He was ignorant to Kariya's demise as well as the whereabouts to some members, including his mate, but Kaden had to keep going through the flow of time.

Never stopping.

"Y'can stay if y'like. Iffin' yer restin', you'll have t'stay in the lowlands, but iffin' y'want t'join I can help yah out." Even in the middle of the night, duty called. He wondered if that's what Aela did some nights, unable to sleep. When his side had grown cold and left in silence. He yearned for that warmth, perhaps in the same way the stranger yearned for a home.

"Or... I suppose we could sit awhile and look at the stars."

They're the only thing in this world I have left.

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[Deirdre]

Eyes glimmered over the streaks between the dotted navy sky, once introductions were made attention lingered toward the shorter male. That long passed sibling continuing to wander forward in her mind, there were similarities, but her Brother had been a weak... thin, neglected since birth while she took up a place in amongst their family. Mind reached toward the sky, hoping he might be one of those bright specks that stuck in the maps. There was a sadness in his green eyes, mirrored in her own deep blue. What had he seen? Lost? Gained?

"Gemini. A sanctuary o'sorts." Merely nodding at this answer, Gemini. Never heard of it, and she began to feel anxious it might be anything like the birthplace she'd grown up in. "Y'can stay if y'like. Iffin' yer restin', you'll have t'stay in the lowlands, but iffin' y'want t'join I can help yah out." Thoughtfully shifting her posture to angle her chest toward Kaden. Mind wrapping around the prospect of no longer roaming aimlessly in her search or Jonas, Gaia, Fortune, Belle, the others... It might be time to stop grasping for purpose and time to create her own.

Voice clearing gently, tongue washing over her dark lips to help speak "I have questions. I grew up in an unfriendly era of my pack. Gemini, what are its laws? What are it's people like?" Fiercely asked that showed a twinkle of fear behind her, protective walls around her hugging close as her stomach turned in indecision. Another Alteron was not the fate she longed for, though this male seemed calm and friendly. Willing to allow her to pass along if she chose... Other places would have swept her up and dragged her in. Deirdre searched his face and relaxed body language for honesty, positive her time away from wolves had warped her views on reading body language.

[Sybella]

She welcomed each night in her little hole-in-the-wall that she claimed as her own nook. The nights usually brought silence, aside from the orchestra that the crickets sang. Their song alone was enough to help her unwind, relax... fall into a deep sleep.
But of course someone was at the wall at this ungodly hour.
Sybella had to look for new residency. The wall was not cutting it for her anymore.

Silently she eavesdropped on the conversation, the southern accent was one she'd recognized before... Kaden, was his name? She met him briefly at the ranger meeting. He was kind, and she figured he had more than enough capability to handle the situation on his own, but Sybella heard something in the second voice that she couldn't ignore. A yearning,  someone who coveted answers. This person didn't sound like they came upon Gemini in dire circumstances (such as a sabre attack, poisoned by tainted water, or falling from the cliffs). Somehow that was more appealing to Sybella, and somehow she became intrigued.

Pulling herself forward, she took light steps in the direction of the pair of strangers. Slinking silently against the wall and peeking her head through the narrow opening to spot them a short distance away. Kaden seemed to be entranced by the stars above, and there was no intention to blame him. They were especially bright tonight, creating a spot light effect on the lowlands. She could just make out the question Deirdre had asked, regarding Gemini's policies and culture. Trotting closer, Sybella cleared her throat in an attempt to make her position known to the two (though this was likely unnecessary with how much light the night offered). "Gemini is almost sickeningly sweet, love." A subtle nod to the each of them, respectively. She smiled and took a seat across from Deirdre, allowing her tail to rest over her cold feet. She couldn't wait for spring to return.

"Pardon my interruption, I've mistakenly made my home within the wall. M'names Sybella, I joined Gemini near the end of the Summer Solstice." She explained briefly, afraid she wouldn't be able to contribute as much knowledge as Kaden, but she might be able to provide an excellent insight for someone who was unsure about joining. Sybella had been there. She didn't want to fall in love with the lands of Gemini, but she did. "The people are wonderful. So kind, and fiercely loyal to their King and Queen. The laws are laxed, from what I've seen in my previous journeys... You can come and go as you feel, so long as you're not a threat." Her voice was a hush whisper still, afraid to disrupt anyone else who found a home in the rocks that acted as a shield for Gemini's heart. She felt it was appropriate to add, "If you like babies, you'll LOVE it here!" Nervously she laughed, looking over to Kaden for some sort of assistance, but he was still enamored over the stars. Fine, okay.

Trying to find her Very Serious Expression again, she turned back to Deirdre to conclude,"I think you'll regret if you don't join us," Testing out her sales pitch, Sybella had to remind herself that she was not a ranger by any means. This was not her forte, but she felt as though she wanted to help the girl find what she was really here for.

▌note: gahhhhhhhh here it's quick and shitty but let's get deirdre in this bitch!!!

[Deirdre]

Before Kaden had a moment to glance another kind smile toward Deirdre, a dark but friendly figure slipped into the starlit meeting. Had the new face been listening in beforehand, it had gone unnoticed to the normally highly observant traveler. That is until the light footsteps caught her ear as they approached and became heavily, the throat clear indeed wasn't called for. Though Deirdre appreciated it's use despite Sybella already coming into view. Both these members of the hosting pack seemed friendly, was it an act? A lure? Now it all shifted toward the female joining them with curious uncertainty.

"Gemini is almost sickeningly sweet, love." The accent (or speaking habits) that donned her voice were pleasant and warming, "Pardon my interruption, I've mistakenly made my home within the wall. M'names Sybella, I joined Gemini near the end of the Summer Solstice. The people are wonderful. So kind, and fiercely loyal to their King and Queen. The laws are laxed, from what I've seen in my previous journeys... You can come and go as you feel, so long as you're not a threat." Sybella certainly seemed fond of her new home, had she been elsewhere to have a comparison? Had she felt what it was to be trapped, and that was why she appreciated Gemini so dearly? "Hello Sybella, I'm Deirdre. I'm no threat, are your people as friendly as you?" A soft monotone murmur forced from her tired throat, the attempts to coax it back from extinction ongoing.

Another glance cast from Sybella to Kaden, then back again. "If you like babies, you'll LOVE it here! I think you'll regret if you don't join us," Deirdre couldn't help but crack a small surprised smile at her glee, the attempted serious expression, but eagerness to allow the long tired female refugee and a place in their pace. A place to bury the past, and lay down and sort out the tangled roots of the past. "I'll stay,if Gemini has a place for an able body. I will contribute where needed." Deirdre wasn't dead weight, no, but time to heal and face her demons, and unknowingly find faces long thought to be dead... Was important.

[Sybella]

"Hello Sybella, I'm Deirdre. I'm no threat, are your people as friendly as you?"
She took a moment to actually consider her answer, recollecting all of those she's encountered since she was welcomed Gemini. No one made her upset other than Iron who actually made her sob, but was that more of a misunderstanding? Furthermore, was that worth mentioning to Deirdre? Probably not. "Oye, yes! I've found that everyone's quite the peach, really." Iron was not a peach but he was still something sweet. Again, though, not worth mentioning.

"I'll stay, if Gemini has a place for an able body. I will contribute where needed."
Sybella nodded, standing to see her way back into the wall, beckoning for Deirdre to follow. "I'm happy to hear that, Deirdre. Let's get you in, then?" She started a slow walk, allowing the girl to follow. The feeling that there was an underlying motive for the strangers arrival to Gemini wouldn't let up in Sybella's thoughts, and the inquisitive side to her wanted to be frank, but she knew better. Rather, she decided to say lightly, "I hope that Gemini provides you with what you're looking for."

The way it did for me.

She would keep an eye out for Deirdre, she'd check on her. Make sure she is well-cared for, make sure she feels at home.

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