Clouds were a sort of novelty to her, still. She'd always kept to the thickest parts of Blackfeather Woods, where the trees blocked out the sky, only letting in the faintest amount of light. She'd not really seen the sky, properly, until they were in flight from the war, on their way to the Bypass. And even since then, when out in the open, she'd never had the time to appreciate the sky.

Until now. The girl sat on a ridge overlooking the beach, just at the edge of the forest, watching the clouds roll over the sun.

Here on the island, she was finally regaining the peace that had evaded her for so long. Maegi couldn't remember the last time she felt so at ease. Before the war, certainly. When everything had been fine, and she didn't have a care in the world. She'd expected that feeling to dissipate as she grew up, but now it was here anew, filling her body with warm contentment. She sighed happily, yawning.

There were things she still wanted. For Ramsay and Euron to be with her here, certainly. Kove, too, and Cicero, and Nyx. She missed the Temple, the Glen and the willow tree, the ravens and the quiet bubbling of Otter Creek.

But now she had the sky, the sun, the clouds--the ocean and all the creatures in it--the wolves of Undersea--and she was happy and healthy. It wasn't an equal replacement to all that she'd lost. . .but it would do, for now.

She turned around and smiled as she saw Rokig approaching, allowing him to sit near her. "Yeah, it is," Maegi responded, looking back out to the sea. "I was just thinking about it all. How different it is." She pointed her nose to the clouds, glancing at Rokig. "Like these," she added. "What do they do? What are they made of?"

Maegi laughed, feeling a little embarrassed, her gaze raking the ground. "I have a lot of questions," she murmured. "There's so much I don't know." And so much, perhaps, that she'd never know. It was frustrating to imagine that there was the unknowable. That, she supposed, was where her faith and lore came in--to fill in the gaps.

That made sense. The sky did darken when the storms came, and it was blanketed gray with clouds on a rainy day, but blue and clear when the rain did not fall. She nodded, accepting his answer, though it was slightly incomplete. She appreciated him giving her any sort of information, regardless of how much it contained.

Maegi did disagree wholeheartedly with his last remark, and her eyes met his, her smile turning to something icier as she responded, "Really? I don't think so. Answers are important. I'd like the answers to everything, eventually." She thought of Nyx's reluctance to teach her new things, and bristled. She wasn't a child--she didn't need to be sheltered, anymore.

She saw Rokig's face fall, and a feeling wholly unfamiliar to her bloomed within, suffusing her with--guilt? She felt bad, that she had made his mood drop. She'd never been one for empathy, as she'd been so sheltered through her childhood, but she realized now that words had power. And while that was a good thing, it could be bad, as well. Especially when it regarded a friend.

Maegi brushed her shoulder against his in silent apology, giving him a long, gentle stare before responding, "Not yet. I wanted--" She cut off, thinking of the woman who'd died. Blood everywhere, her pups abandoned. "When Mur and Fern were born, their mother died right in front of me. I was scared that would happen again. I don't want Coelacanth to die."

For once, she clued Rokig into her vulnerable side, the broken shell of a girl left behind by Skullchaser. "So I've been waiting until they're older. Have you seen them?"

Maegi shook her head, closing her eyes in contentment as Rokig nuzzled her. The wolves here were so much more tactile, and open with their affection, than in Blackfeather Woods. Part of her found it to be too much, but the other half--the half abandoned by Potema, spurned by her siblings, lost from her pack--relished it. Savored every touch.

"It's okay," she assured him, giving a shaky smile. "It's. . . I've seen wolves die, before. Nothing new. But. . .oh, I'm sorry about your mother," she added, hoping the sentiment wasn't too late. So little love she had for her own mother that she had forgotten the death of one might engender sorrow, rather than relief (or satisfaction).

The girl laughed softly as he mentioned the extra paws; she had enjoyed spending time with Mur and Fern, so maybe it was time to visit the Isle's newest set of pups. "I would like that, actually," Maegi responded, nodding. "It would be nice to see them."