Barrow Fields we were hoping for some romance

iiii'm impatient too excited to waaait. for @Branwen but all welcome <3

more or less blix is back to full health, aside from the occasional dizzy spell that serves as a reminder not to get smashed into some fucking rocks again. once she's cleared to resume normal activities, she goes straight to @Thuringwethil and tells her she's finally going to go look for furi. by now she knows it's most likely futile -- what are the odds that furi is close enough to drageda to even be tracked down? -- but she has to at least try. she owes both herself and furi that much.

for a moment she wonders if she should bring rose along too, but truthfully she'd rather just continue avoiding the other redhead for now. it seemed to be working pretty okay for both of them so far. the shilkru is grateful for  branwen's arrival and her seeming willingess to go along with blixen's plans -- she likes the other girl's company, it's kind of nice having someone to pal around with again. especially someone familiar with her culture, truth be told. 

she leads both of them down the coast, careful to give the sound a wide berth (it would be a stretch to say she's learned her lesson vis-a-vis bears, but she is none to eager to come toe to toe with that particular bear at the moment). the coast feels like the right choice -- maybe because she and furi went down this way before -- or maybe because it's a lot easier to track it back to drageda than inland, which blix isn't too familiar with. their path is familiar in a way that makes her heart pang and she slows her pace as they cross the fields, looking to branwen. "i should probably tell you what she looks like, huh," blix says, realising in her haste to get out there she hasn't actually given her friend much to go on for actual searching.

She had never wanted to search for another again, but she supposed it wasn't so bad when she had no personal investment. Branwen had been quiet nonetheless for most of the journey. There was no telling what they would find, or how it might affect her friend. Really, she wondered if she was even equipped for this— for some sort of meltdown, should things not go as Blixen hoped.
For some reason, she had signed up for it anyway. She flicked an ear at her fiery friend's comment, expression written with wry amusement. Nah, I'll just yell her name until she shows up, Branwen decided with a grin. Or another bear. The distance they had put between themselves and the Sound was comforting, but its proximity had not left her mind; unlike Blixen, she had definitely more than learned her lesson about bears. If she had it her way, she'd never even breathe the scent again.

the girl angles a grin at her friend, bumping into her shoulder. "i'm ready for round two," she says, only half joking -- and even then it's only because she's pretty sure nomi would kill her for putting herself in danger again unnecessarily. (but she thinks her bear scars are cool, secretly. it's just the brain stuff that's kind of sucked.) more seriously she says, "that'd probably scare her off," the line of her mouth turning down at the corners. there's not a happy outcome to this trip and blix knows that. either furi's dead or a natrona, and neither of those outcomes involve bringing her back to drageda with arms open. and if she is natrona... blix doesn't know what she'd even say to her. will closure help her heart break? no, probably not, and what's worse, she's brought a witness.

but she's stubborn, so she's gonna see this whole thing through without thinking about the consequences. shooting branwen a glance she says, "thanks for coming along, again," her voice softer than usual.

You're crazy, Branwen told her with a laugh; she, too, was only half-joking. The girl was proving as fiery as her own fur, for better or worse. She didn't necessarily mind it— no, it was charming, in a way. If she ignored the worry lingering in her chest like a stubborn third wheel. She nodded at Blixen's next words, surprised by the seriousness of the response but not enough to mention it.
No problem. I mean, someone has to keep you alive, right? She tried not to sound nervous, laughing again and turning her gaze towards the coast. So what's she look like, then? Unique in some way, I hope? Honestly, she really hoped— between her own luck and Blixen's reckless attitude, they were really best off getting back as soon as possible.

branwen's brash avowal earns only a fleeting grin, the thought of furi having ruined the moment of fun. for her, anyway. she snorts at the suggestion that her friend is keeping her alive -- she's perfectly capable of that, thank you, bear...stunts aside -- and bumps into her playfully, hoping to knock her over (a little, anyway).

 "yeah, she is," blixen answers, her voice taking on that sort-of sad tone again, "she's taller than me, lots of fur... her face and legs are black, but she's got this really pretty silvery mane. and her eyes are like, kinda light green, but shinier? and she always looks a little sad, i think." sigh... furi. a million if-onlys ring in blixen's ears. "we went down the coast together before, so i thought maybe... i dunno. this is probably a stupid thing, i guess. it's not like nomi would take her back, even if i could make her come with me."

She let the bump knock her a bit off balance, laughing softly but making no attempt at retaliation. Instead she listened to the description intently, ignoring the slight prickle of discomfort at Blixen's obvious melancholy. Some part of her felt obligated to offer comfort, but she didn't really know how.
Maybe it's not as bad as you think, She offered, eyes trailing over the mounds dotting the field as she glanced all around them, just in case. Life is really unpredictable— I guess that means it could also be worse, but that's why we're out here, right? To find out. It sounded lame even to her, so she tacked on: I'm rooting for you— well, obviously. For what it's worth, anyway.