Phoenix Maplewood and I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted.

her return is slow, yet her head is raised stiffly as she picks her way towards their gathering point. steps are too stiff, and her usual lightness is gone as gravity seems to drag her down more than it had before. she accepts whatever happened at the river's edge grimly and without the wild grief that now usually accompanies such a blow.

her summons for @Aditya are quiet and fall quickly into silence, and she sits heavily on the morn-chilled earth. there's an edge to the grey dawn that rises above the trees, a cold edge that brings warning of the season's change to come. her thick mantle is no longer capable of covering angular features and jutting hips, only more apparent as a drizzle begins drumming atop the dying canopy, plastering down her fur as she sits, waits.

the howl brought his ears aloft, his eyes wide. dawn had become scarcer and scarcer over the past weeks until she was nowhere to be found, and aditya too busy to go looking for her. she would find her way home, right? she always did. but worry had sat in his stomach like a ball of ice, growing with each day she was gone.

strangely enough, the call did nothing to alleviate that worry.

adi met her at the borders, shocked gaze raking over her body--she looked much like shale, who'd starved himself to feed his children. without thought, he raced forward to embrace her gently, pressing against her damp fur for a brief moment before pulling away, mouth trembling slightly. the relief at finding her here, truly here, far outweighed the awkwardness that could result from the touch.

"what happened?" he whispered. "where did you go?"