She was on the move again at last.

The snowfall had trapped her in the taiga, making travelling difficult and dangerous. Mindful of her own well-being, Kaori had found a nook to hide away in and it was there that she’d essentially lived for the past couple of weeks. Although it hadn’t been ideal, it’d kept her safe and made her feel secure up until she had decided that it was safe to continue onward; the mountains were avoided, still, increasing her distance covered. Whilst it would have saved her some time had she trekked over the mountain, she’d avoided it altogether, rounding it in a giant arch. She wasn’t unfamiliar with the terrain, her familiarity with it actually being what prompted her to avoid it. For despite the location of her birth and upbringing, she would never be confident enough to test the patience of nature.

Unaware of how much time had passed—it was now dark, but she couldn’t remember how close sunset was when she’d set out again—the yearling continued forward, grateful to have reached flatter lands. She didn’t know where she was, her surroundings unfamiliar, which didn’t make her stop—but something did. The farther she went and the more mounds of earth that she passed, the more unsettled she felt. Something wasn’t right, she could feel it; the source of her uncertainty couldn’t be placed, making her wonder if she was only imagining things. Shaking her head furiously, she stilled and drew in a deep breath, then took off sprinting with the hope of getting the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

Her grace was lost, limbs controlled by fear—but of what? She did not know. There was something lurking there, she was certain of it; she had no evidence, no scents or glimpses, but she knew. Whether or not there were any truly malicious intentions behind the presence mattered not, its being there alone enough to drive her out. How she wished she was her mother, or even her sister, with a dragon watching over—protecting—her directly. Then she would have felt safe and as if nothing could touch her, not even those otherworldly creatures. Yet, she had not been blessed with a greater half to mend with her soul, hers being the only one to inhabit her soma. Even with this knowledge, she still sent out silent pleas to Draco and any other dragon that might listen to her voice, begging for them to grant her a guardian spirit.

And in their own, mystifying way, they answered.

Kaori found herself sliding to a stop, the soft snow underfoot carrying her closer than planned. At first, she hadn’t noticed him, her senses focused only on that which wasn’t there and his pale coat making him one with their surroundings. But once he was positioned between her and the direction she was going, she had no choice but to pick out the ash from the snow and react; reining in her legs was no easy task, adrenaline driving them forward even after her brain instructed that they stop. It came as a great relief when she was able to control herself again, though her heart continued to pound rapidly against her ribs. Burly clouds surrounded her mouth as she panted, repeatedly glancing over her shoulders before finding her self-control and calming down, focusing on the living entity in front of her.

“I—What… fire?” she managed to ask, glancing around and once more drawing in a deep breath—there was no smoke in the air or soot on the ground, so what was this talk of a fire? “There—there isn’t a fire… I just—don’t you sense that?” She was beyond surprised by how calm he was being. Did his skin not crawl just the same as hers? If not for the lack of evidence, she would swear up and down that there was someone watching her, waiting to lunge from the shadows and attack; even without evidence, she still wasn’t entirely convinced that, that wouldn’t happen.

As he sought out that which struck fear into her heart, she took the opportunity to focus on catching her breath; in and out, slowing her breathing and thereby reducing the thunder brewing beneath her breast. A life spent believing in dragons and spirits left her susceptible to all sorts of eerie encounters, her senses often forced into overdrive and honed in on that which most could not recognise. She blamed this for his inability to find the threat that loomed over her but, at the same time, silently thanked him for it; him not picking up on it reminded her that it wasn’t something capable of grabbing her, merely a presence that walked through the depths of a plane much different from their own. “The—,” she stopped herself and shook her head, knowing that it could not be explained. “It’s… it is nothing—it’s gone now.” That was the simplest way to explain it: to simply ignore and write it off as nothing. Besides, it truly had gone now; she suspected that he was to thank for this, the presence of two living creatures being enough to send it off, so she tried to keep her mind from drifting back to it.

Worrying that the thought of it alone might summon whatever ghoul had been stalking her, she was grateful when he changed the topic. “The coast…?” she parroted, only now realising just how far she’d travelled. “I did not know. I’ve—I have never been here before.” Had she really reached the ocean? Her arrival there hadn’t exactly been planned but, looking beyond her confusion over how to feel about it, she wasn’t exactly disappointed. Sure, it wasn’t the mountains or anywhere else near her place of birth, but it also wasn’t too bad of a place to be—beyond where they currently were, she assumed. The open expanse of land continued to unsettle her, something about it just not letting her settle down fully.

At the mention of her pack—she was far more used to hearing that word used over tribe than her mother had ever been—she felt a wave of sorrow wash over her. As quickly as it came in, however, it was gone, pushed away by her desire to keep from returning; she was not on bad terms with her family, she’d just decided that it was time to set out on her own and experience life. “I wasn’t separated from them,” she answered with a shake of her head. “I… I left them—why?” Only after answering did she stop to ask herself why? Had she been lost, would he have offered to help her find her way home? She couldn’t grasp the relevance of the question and looked forward to being enlightened.

Coming from the mountains, there were times when the day was clear and the sun low that allowed her a glimpse at the sea, but never anything more. Never had she found any particular interest in the coastal regions of the world, either, or at least not enough to visit them; she found stories of the ocean intriguing, yet the unpredictability and wrath that it could hold over someone kept her interest at bay. Still, everything holding her back from the waters in the past seemed to melt away now that it was within her reach, curiosity no longer something that was so easily fended off. Even with his rather lackluster review of it, she still found herself staring off in the direction whence the salty winds blew in, wanting to see more but unable to run towards it. “What makes it not special?” she asked instead, looking back at him with unmasked curiosity. Never within her life would she have imagined herself asking about anything relating to the sea, let alone the coast itself, but her newly discovered closeness to it kind of made it impossible for her to ignore her own questions.

Soft blue eyes followed his movements as he came alongside her and, ever the trusting sort that she was, Kaori followed after him; she didn’t stop to consider the outcomes of her decision, deciding right away that walking with him wouldn’t bring on the end of the world. For the time being, she still viewed him as something likened to a saviour, his presence keeping the ghouls away and settling her nerves; it was easy to trust him. Thus, she kept pace with the stranger, falling into stride along his left side as he steered them away from the field.

Her focus remained primarily on him, rarely glancing around at their surroundings; when the wind brought with it a particularly noticeable chill or scent, she looked in the direction of origin, but always returned her attention to him shortly after. For a moment, her ears flattened out, considering his assumption—perhaps she had been searching for something? In a way, that was true, though what she sought didn’t have a physical form—to her knowledge—and wasn’t something so easily discovered. It made her response a bit more complicated, uncertain if she even had the right words to fully explain. “I am looking for something, but it isn’t related to a pack,” she settled on saying, ears popping back up shortly thereafter. “At least, I don’t think it is—I am not entirely sure.” Joining a pack run by and filled with those close to her age hadn’t offered her a purpose in life, leaving her to assume that no pack could give that to her. From her perspective, she needed to take a lengthy and experience-filled journey in order to discover her place in the world, where she stood and why she existed—the potential ineffectiveness of this never dawned on her.

Few had crossed paths with her during her travels, and even fewer since she’d reentered the wilds. Despite this, she took in his description and thought back over every interaction that she’d been a part of thus far, but came up empty-handed. “I have not,” she responded with a slow shake of her head, frowning at her inability to be of any help. “How long has she been missing? Do you need help finding her?” Although it wasn’t her own efforts that had pulled her and Airi back together, but some strange twist of fate instead, she hadn’t lost faith in herself. If one searched long enough and devoted a great deal of their time to the task, then they could find any creature that they set their mind to. This view on life, coupled with her eagerness to help others, prevented her from not offering her help, no matter how little she might actually be able to give.

It was with patience that she listened to him, curious about his reasons. The first made sense—with the sea right there against it, for it to be anything other than cold during the winter seemed like the impossible wish of a child. And it was for the same reason that, that made sense, which caused the next to not. With a furrowed brow she stole a glance his way, asking, “Doesn’t being close to the sea mean that there is more food?” Although Kaori knew little about the ocean, she knew that it was a body of water and that where there was water, there were fish. If not for her inexperience, perhaps she might have realised the silliness of her inquiry; the fish of the sea were not the same as those dwelling within lakes and rivers, nor was the water itself anything like the fresh. But she did not know these things, the knowledge having never been necessary and her lessons not once being centered around them, not even for fun.

Despite all that she did not know, it was in her nature to trust, even when her instincts pushed for something else. So when he spoke of the sunset, she believed him and felt the immediate desire to see its beauty for herself. “Where’s best to see it?” she asked, wonder bringing a whole new light to her eyes. From the lair, so many things were beautiful—the stars, the moon, the sunrises and sets—but something deep down within her was convinced already that the coast would offer views far greater than anything she’d seen before. For though the lair always had a dappling of either sun or moonlight, it was closed off; never before had she been anywhere so open.

Having yet to consider straying away from him, she kept at his side, listening when he spoke and answering when the moment called for it. Her ears perked immediately when it became known that he shared the same feeling at times, head whipping around to gaze at him with a newfound interest. It put her mind at ease, knowing now that she was not alone with her struggle—it was something often felt and shared with others. “I can understand that,” she commented a moment later, regaining control over herself and sheepishly looking away. “I left where I was born and then the place my family is at because I didn’t feel like I belonged there—I never have. I… I don’t know if what I feel is homesickness but… I recognise the sensation well enough to know that a part of me wants to go home.” But she knew not where home was. It wasn’t the lair nor the vale, and definitely not the forests of her family, but those were the only homes she’d ever known. Those places each served, at least once in her life, as a safe place—she’d spent many nights in each one, as well as made friends and discovered her family, but nothing fit. Each made her realise more and more that she was nothing more than a misplaced puzzle piece, having found her way into the boxes of images that were not her own.

The disappointment hit her hard, ears mimicking his own whilst her eyes glossed over with pity. She was reminded of her own search for a wayward sister not so long ago, understanding the loss felt upon discovering a sibling to have vanished. And though her own experience was a terrible one, riddled with an immense amount of negatives, she was hopeful that his would not be nearly as tragic. “I will watch out for anyone that appears the way you’ve described,” assured the lamb, eager to help—because what was she good for, aside from helping others? There was more that she wanted to say, promises she wanted to make and keep, but every word to have built themselves up in her mind were suddenly swept away by his mistake.

With wide eyes she stopped, assessing the predicament he’d gotten himself into, and promptly realising that there was likely little she could do to help. Still, she propped herself up with front paws pressed firmly against the log, looking down at him; it was difficult not to laugh at the situation, especially when having such a well-risen view. But she didn’t laugh or even snicker, brought back to reality by his introduction. “I’m Kaori.”—she tilted her head, lowering herself off of the temporary perch so that all four paws were, once again, on the ground opposite side the log from him—“I want to help you out of there but I do not think that I can.” Unlike her sisters, she’d inherited not a single trait from her father, save for the mark of the moon that marred her breast and her iridescent glow. Where her sisters had his strength, his size, she was still so small—nimble and weak, truly a lamb amongst the wolves.

Kaori was attentive, listening to the boy and his tone. He shared more information about the sea, as well as a way to catch a glimpse of the sunset, each of which she appreciated and thanked him for. The sea had, through his words, captured her interest—she wished to examine it closer, to experience all that it had to offer, even if those things were foreign and frightening. Although, perhaps they would not be as scary as her mind made it out to be—maybe it would be exciting. Seeking the positive and ignoring the negative, she settled on that thought with a small smile, decision officially made: she would experience the sea in whatever way that the world would permit.

More words were exchanged—a joke included, which nearly flew right over her head, only to be caught at the very last second and set her to laughing—but their paths were not meant to remain together. In time, the two split ways, with Kaori heading east—towards her next adventure, her new life.