where had the time gone? what had aria even been doing? since she had returned with constantine she felt she walked on eggshells. she'd done nothing wrong-- probably-- and yet she felt she'd committed such a crime against durnehviir. to leave the territory with her mate after they'd had a fight... not that aria had known about the fight until they left but... oh, aria could feel it. the gossip circled the pack, and she was at the center of it.

despite the fact that her wildest dreams were to remain invisible to the wolves of the creek-- save for constantine, who was her closest friend-- aria suddenly found all eyes on her.

at least, that's how she felt. 

she had ventured into the territory today with a pair of rabbits in her jaws. she was not useless, after all, aria hunted and patrolled day in and day out-- they had mouths to feed. she was hoping to deposit them in a cache nearer to the alpha's den, for the mother dragon and her hatchlings. head low and ears pressed to her skull, aria moved forwards through the territory with long, graceful strides.

---

After a long, thorough bath Eilonwy felt that she was ready for an adventure. And by adventure I mean passing on to the next step of her very detailed routine: greeting Mahler. For some time now Eilonwy had been visiting the man daily, even if only to wish him good morning and go back to her mother. She liked having him around ever since he gifted her the first hare, and although he wasn't precisely her father she felt safe and comfortable around him.

So with a very precise plan of action Eilonwy parted from her den to draw a straight line to the man with the lilac eyes. She moved with a springy gait, a smile and a happy tail because everything was exactly how it was supposed to be. Even when she crossed paths with the snow-coated girl she was so focused on her plan that she almost didn't notice what was hanging from the pale girl's jaws. Eilonwy halted, curious of whether those were Rabbits or hares? she kind of needed to know, you know? But then she realized how rude that had sounded. Oh! she gasped as her fiery eyes clashed for a moment with ice cold ones Hiya! I'm Eilonwy, she announced with a friendly wave of her tail. Wha's yer name?

aria was caught off guard by the voice of a child. she almost jumped, but composed it enough to a prick of her ears. rabbits or hares? "rabbits," she responded quickly enough, and then listened as the little girl quickly corrected her manners, introducing herself. aria smiled, a warmth spreading to her chest at the interactions. oh, she loved children.

"and i am aria," she returned. was this constantine's daughter? or chusi's? aria had not exclusively met any-- as she avoided them on the premise that she feared durhnviir would be angry with her. "they are smaller than hares," she added gently, lowering her head to drop them both on the ground, "you may have one, if you'd like."