It had felt like ages since her last departure from the territory, and with the wilds having been reduced to a barren wasteland, she'd often felt that doing so was unnecessary anyways. Within her home was where she was supposed to reside, assisting in whatever ways that she could and ensuring few went for very long with an empty stomach. It was a difficult task, in all honesty, having to ration meals and make sure no hoarding started up; while she was a dragoness, hoarding was not a strong part of her nature on regular occasions, and especially not during the famine that they were currently facing. It was often that she'd found herself wandering the territory, nosing around in places that might serve as hidden storage facilities, and then feeling relieved to find that things were still as they should be. Even during such a crisis, the family remained intact, offering not even a hint that might lead one to consider them turning on one another.

That morning, she'd been reassured once more, and had set out around noon to peek around within the nearby territories. Asterr's paws had carried her in the direction of Arrow Lake almost immediately, for the path that led there was most familiar to her. She'd spent some time there once upon a time, and felt comfortable heading towards it before any others. The decline into the troubled setting was easier than it'd been the first time she'd traversed the land, but the sight that met her gaze was one that did not match her memory. Still was there the water, but the greenery had since gone away, eaten and demolished by the swarms. It pained her, still, whenever she thought of how much life had been lost. It was unfair to the earth and the plants, for they provided life to all, but then a mindless section of that very life had come along and destroyed it all. How dreadful it was, and how desperately she'd wished for the flora to return to her.

As the chieftess made her way through the area, she'd found herself in the presence of another. A short ways off there had appeared a dark form, its appearance slightly familiar, but not yet detailed enough for her to put a face to the shape. The yearling was not bothered by the other, and proceeded forward until a face could be made out, but what she saw had caught her by surprise. To a stop Asterr had come, nose pointing into the air so that she could better catch the other's scent, confirming then that which she'd been suspicious of. "Zinnia?" the dragoness had called, her legs having started to move once more, driven by the need to lessen the space between them. "Zinnia, why have you come here? Is everything alright?" Surely the tribe was fine, but knowing that only made her wonder more of why her cousin was within Teekon.

Asterr had needed no reassurance of her birthplace's condition, for she knew the land and those that inhabited it to be strong. Never would a Draconid succumb to anything vile enough to harm the tribe as a whole, for they were each far wiser than that. Yet, she did not speak out against her cousin, believing she'd spoken only with the best of intentions in mind. Rather, she'd moved past the topic, letting it slide by for the time being as if it'd never been brought up. To delve into the recent past would do her no good, as it was often that she longed for her family's presence, and thinking back to them would only cause the feeling to flare up once more. Her focus had to be reserved for something else, for protecting and guiding her current tribe through the tough times that they were faced with. It would only create trouble if her focus was to shift elsewhere, and she cared too much for her followers to abandon them in such a way.

When the state of the land surrounding them was brought up as the next topic of discussion, the yearling felt her lips fall into a slight frown. "This land does not belong to me," she began. "Though mine hardly looks any better." Still did the sun shine down through the crevices in the ceiling of her lair, and still did the water flow throughout it, but the greenery had all be stolen away. "Numerous swarms of locusts had suddenly appeared naught more than a few weeks ago. They ate every ounce of flora that they had been able to find, driving out the herds and leaving us all in a state of disarray." It had been a terrible event, and one that she would not soon forget. Anger seemed to bubble up beneath her breast whenever she thought back to the attack, forcing a feeling she was rather unfamiliar with to course through her veins. Never had she enjoyed it, and never would she, either. The sooner that she could put it all behind her, the better, and yet her mind was reluctant to move past the issue. Such thoughts drifted towards her tongue, too, having prompted her to then say: "These times are not ideal for any of us, dear cousin."