Firefly Glen up all night, you wore your falling heart

@Thuringwethil

Though she had a home now in the Vale, her wandering heart would never change. And without any solid ties to her new pack, she found herself out and about quite a bit, mapping out the lands around the mountains. She tried to keep it fresh by exploring new places, but one place in particular beckoned more than others.

In the velvety black of night, Miyako crept into the glen, finding herself surrounded by lightning bugs. Little bioluminescent creatures, lighting on the branches and leaves all around her. No pack had laid claim to this place, so she often found herself alone with her thoughts, her audience the fireflies and no one else.

Once, she had taken Tsukiko to a similar place near the beach. They had found a safe place to descend the cliffs and nestled in a clearing, the crashing waves a gentle murmuring counterpart to the gulls squawking overhead. The sun would set, and the fireflies would emerge, flitting around them. Tsukiko, who had been young, then, stared with wonder. Miyako felt a strong sense of wonder herself.

And she still felt it here, even after all that had transpired. She wondered how long it would take for Tsukiko to have lost her childhood innocence. Was she still under Ichiro's rule, or had she left, with a mate or a friend? Wherever she was, Miyako uttered a small prayer to the fireflies in the hopes that her little sister was safe.

"You know, you guys are excellent listeners," she mentioned to one bug in particular, who had landed near a forepaw. At her sudden breath, it departed, blinking furiously away. She smiled and rested her head on her paws, waiting for sleep to overtake her.

She finds herself restless, as she does most nights, and she can feel her energy waning through each day. When it is her turn to sleep while another watches, she struggles to stay asleep for more than a few minutes at a time before mind decides to run another marathon. When Eske had been out with the others, she held hope and did her best to relax, to prepare, for this moment. Her illness is only a few weeks behind her and it has taken work to get her stamina back and she feels up to par most of the time but the creeping feeling of regression has taken its toll in the meantime. Her eyelids are heavy but they are unable to remain closed.

Reluctantly, she picks herself up with a groan and begins to move. The glen near the heartwood has offered them shelter for the night but she moves out into the open where the night sky cloaks the autumn flowers, wilting for the upcoming winter. The fall air is chilly but it has not stopped the fireflies from coming out at night still. They flicker and glow in the distance, opening up before her.

Thuringwethil moves carefully, attentive to her surroundings while she absorbs the serene moonlight that glows against her cloak. Where normally she would fall into the shadows of the night, the bright sky above keeps her dark silhouette alight as she travels but she does no note the stranger until she is too close and her scent takes over her nose like a slap in the face. Her ears fall back and she comes to a stop, pale eyes scanning the flatlands for signs of light and only when she thinks she has found the source, she offers a soft chuff that does not travel far in case she is mistaken.

It was a light, restless sleep, much like a cat's. And at the tail end of it, Miyako found herself not at all alone in the glen, instead in the presence of an even darker presence in the darkness, who had offered her a low sound in greeting. She sprang to her feet, but, noting that the action could be taken as aggressive, lowered her head and tail and, keeping her voice low, murmured in turn.

"Jeez, you came out of nowhere," she whispered, her amber eyes slowly adjusting to the night. Her newfound acquaintance was black-furred and massive, with a dark, unflinching gaze. She carried herself well, with an air of confidence that belied her likely status as a leader of some kind. The scents surrounding her suggested she was not a loner, and Miyako kept her eyes and ears pricked for any wolves to follow, in case this should be an ambush.

Flicking her ears, she continued, "What, uh, what brings you out here? I rarely see anyone else when I come to this place." Her voice was groggy with sleep, and even after this surprise, her muscles and mind screamed for rest, to sink back into the world of dreams.

She quickly startles the stranger in the field and she takes a step back should things escalate quickly. It doesn’t. The other wolf adjusts to her surroundings and begins with an inquiry. She’d planned for a peaceful night to try and clear her mind, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen but actively working may settle her bones for a little while. “I did not mean to…” she trails off, narrowing her eyes in thought, but quickly does she recover: “startle.”

The woman clears her throat after a beat, teetering on a response. She hardly seems much of a threat but she knows better. “My group and I have set up camp not far from here. We’re headed to visit another pack,” she explains briefly, licking her lips once before settling quietly to her typical stoicism.

She gave the female a friendly smile. "It's all right," she said, shrugging off the inadvertent intrusion. "I've been sleeping out in the wild by myself for so long that I barely sleep anymore. More of a light doze, nowadays. A mosquito could wake me up with its little whine."

So the stranger was not alone. A group, visiting another pack. She wondered what the occasion was, but figured that might be too personal of a question to ask.

Instead, she introduced herself. "I'm Miyako. I'm with a pack called Northstar Vale, though I often like to get out on my own and explore the territory. I haven't been in these parts for very long." Figuring it was an innocent enough question, she asked, "Do you and your. . .group. . .live close to here?"

The woman dismissed the interaction with the explanation of her light sleeping. It is a strange idea to her, to sleep out in the open so, but she doesn’t bring it up. She does not go far from Drageda without someone with her and her wolves—a whole group of them—are only a call away. Plus, the wolf has proven no reason for her to be on guard any more than any stranger she runs in to that is, so far, rather kind.

She mentions her name and pack, the latter of which she does recognize, and hums quietly to herself. Étoille had no information from his visit to the vale and thus they remain neutral.

”Not really,” she begins to answer and idly points in the direction of the coast. ”On the coast, north a bit.” Perhaps she had been the one Étoille spoke to, or maybe she even knows of their missing pack mate—she is unsure how much he’d given them in return on his visit—but she keeps her wonders under wraps to focus on her current companion. The free spirit of her wandering reminds of her Wildfire and she softens a little. ”I’m Thuringwethil.”

The coast. Miyako resisted a shudder of revulsion. So long she had gone without thinking of that wretched place and now, now this she-wolf had brought it to the forefront of her mind again. Without her willing it, the salt-taste settled on her tongue and her fur felt thick with brine.

Come to think of it, Thuringwethil--say that five times fast--did have a familiar scent to her, one she may have caught on her journey south. "I see," she finally answered, her voice a little flat. "I may have passed your group's home, when I was traveling here from my old place."

In an effort to extend more hospitality, she continued, "Are you familiar with this area? I'm pretty new, but I know it well enough to maybe give you directions." Miyako was sure this sea queen had her own scouts and explorers to hand, but a friendly gesture never went amiss.

The change in facial expression causes her own to scrunch up in scrutiny but it is not dwelled upon long. Instead, the wolf announces she may have gone by their lands but she doesn’t have much on it to comment. Instead, she’s faced with the reality that she doesn’t always know what’s going on around Drageda. She can control the area they reside in and parts of land that border the cliffs but beyond that she will never know to the fullest extent. Until—or if—their numbers are great to take more land, she’ll remain as content as can be.

”I do not,” she explains. ”I have not been this far south. We have a scout with us that knows the area but anything you have to offer will still be beneficial.” Étoille is proving to be a good asset to their little group and, even bigger, Drageda, but for a wolf that resides nearby may have more information than the brute can offer.

"Sure." She flicked an ear, voice nonchalant. "Can I ask where you guys are headed? Or is it something I can't know?"

Miyako finally dropped the question she had thought to ask earlier, but had changed her mind. After all, if she were to give directions, she needed to know which direction to point them towards. She was not, unfortunately, a mind-reader.

And perhaps she would have been more wary of giving these said directions if this wolf had made her uneasy. But Thurin. . .whatever, she seemed like a straight shooter. Confident, as a leader should be, but not a conqueror on the warpath with blood and fire ahead.

“Redhawk Caldera,” she answers. She is confident enough Étoille can get them there with the help of Eljay when they are close enough. Whatever Miyako has to offer will be taken with a grain of salt, as she would with any stranger, but she can at least determine the use of the information when close to their destination. “One of our pack mates is missing. She’d gone to visit family there and didn’t return,” she further explains, deeming the woman to not have some ulterior motive and could be useful instead.

Redhawk Caldera. Damn it. The name was totally unfamiliar to her. It must be farther south than she had traveled in her time so far in the Wilds. And she hadn't ever heard it mentioned, either. So, despite her magnanimous offer to help this regal woman, she was afraid that she would fall short tonight.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where that is," Miyako responded, her voice sadly contrite. "I've only been to so many places here; I haven't stumbled upon that place yet."

She frowned, feeling suddenly stuck. Unable to help. "But if you need other things--or an extra hunter in your party--I'm available. I feel bad that you're missing your friend." Miyako was meant to be filling caches for her own pack, but she was an excellent hunter--what would it hurt to tag along for a day or two, if she was needed?

It doesn’t sway her one way or the other when she announces she doesn’t know where she’s going but she nods anyway. The other even offers her service but the woman shakes her head a few times. ”Thank you but we have all we need,” she explains. Perhaps they have more than necessary but the last thing she wanted was to be unprepared. They can fend for themselves with their crew and feed all that they have, essentially a little pack moving from one place to the next. ”Thank you, though,” she says, smiling. ”I should get back to them. It’s nice to meet you,” she adds before slowing turning around in case the stranger had something else to add.