Neverwinter Forest all my friends are heathens

Days had passed, and the Frostfur had not moved from the den she had chosen. The darkness that pervaded her senses was welcomed in these moments, as a tension migraine clung to her now. She hungered, but the thought of food nauseated her – the only thing she would emerge from the walls of her safety for was to quench her thirst from a small nearby stream – and she would so so as quickly as she could, before slinking back in.

She had fallen apart – and the only disappointment in herself that she could not on to was that in doing so, she had failed Cypress. He was so young – and he had lost his brother, and now his parents. She should have done better – should have held him when he needed it. Should have reassured him.

If anything, she should have stepped up to take on leadership when she had been the highest ranking wolf at the death of her father.

But Kaskara and Kjalarr (as she had come to learn his new name, now) had – and while she trusted them both inexplicably. there was now a growing sense that she had not fulfilled her own duty properly.

But for now, these thoughts were pushed aside as she finally emerged from her den. There was a dullness in her eyes – one that screamed of the agony she felt in her heart at their loss. But there was also a new fierceness in the petite wolf, and beginning to lope forward, the first thing the bi-toned Frostfur would do was clean herself in one of the deeper water bends of the forest. And then she would find food. And then she would find her little brother, and reassure him that of everything he might lose in life – she would never, ever leave him if it was within her power.

Szabala hadn't seen or smelled her cousin Allure since she heard that her uncle had died. She'd caught sight of Cypress, but he was skulking and there was something about his posture and grief that had caused her to keep her distance. She liked her cousin- and though she was a month older, she respected him for the way he liked to patrol and act like an adult. She still enjoyed being young and having few responsibilities- but that time was clearly coming to an end, and she had yet to decide what sort of role she would like to take in the pack.

When she saw Allure in the distance, though, she felt encouraged to move forward and greet her, even though she wasn"t entirely sure what to say about Scimitar's death. Maybe it was best to avoid the topic altogether, and maybe instead she could cheer her older cousin up.

She picked up a trot and greeted her cousin with a friendly whine, tail waving behind her quickly, posture lowered. She'd missed seeing her cousin around, as she had been spending a lot of time searching the wilderness for Lucy and Rannoch, like Szabala's father was. Allure had fared fine, as had Shrike, the guy who had recently joined their pack, whom she had yet to meet. It gave her a bit of hope that like them, Kieran was alive and well.

"G'marnin, Allure," She chimed. "D'ye wan' do summin' today I can 'elp ye wit?" She asked, hoping she could make herself useful somehow, as well as spend some time with her older cousin.

Her pale paws thrummed against the grounds of Neverwinter Forest – a  place that had become more in her blood than she had known until Scimitar had told her of his own history within the conifers. This place had housed the first pack he had joined – and he had since longed to return to it, but instead had sought out mountains with his mother who preferred the more frigid temperatures of the north. She also intended to visit Swiftcurrent Creek – to see where both of them had first met.. and perhaps coax Cypress with her, when he was ready.

During her search for her only sibling left within the pack, her attention was drawn to a pale form – puppy-ish in nature, and not as graceful as October – and yet just as beautiful. Her heart warmed at the sight of the girl – all of Kaskara’s brood were more quiet than anything but she could appreciate how her aunt and uncle had kept them from any of the drama that tended to unfold.

She cast the girl a smile as she was greeted, her bi-toned muzzle tipping down to nudge her upon the cheek after also closing the distance between them. The smile did not quite reach her eyes though – it wouldn’t for even weeks to come, it would seem. “Szabala,” she greeted, her own tail giving a relaxed wave behind her. “I was looking for Cypress.. have you seen him?”

Szabala was a bit needy for attention at times, and felt herself glow a bit when Allure smiled at her. She could even make a mourning woman smile- that was a good thing. It meant Allure liked her, and Allure's approval was important for Szabala, who secretly idolized the beautiful woman almost as much as she idolized her own mother. She was a bit discouraged when Allure made reference to Cypress, and didn't particularly want to find him, knowing that the boy had become very quiet and sullen and didn't likely want to be found. He hadn't exactly wanted to have much to do with her since his parents had died, after all, and Szabala found that quite discouraging. She'd leave him alone with his suffering until he finally came around. 

But, as she wanted to do something with her older cousin, she shrugged, lips pulling into a slight frown. "He en't been chipper," She said. "En't really wanted company. Clapped me eyes on 'im yesterday." She said.

"No, he wouldn't," she agreed quietly, missing the fact that the pale girl was actively seeking to keep away from her age-cousin due to his mood. She withheld a gentle sigh, feeling the urge to continue looking, but it was her bright eyes that swept across the girl now, and wondered if there would be more to this run-in then such a simple exchange. Biting her lip quietly, Allure bent her muzzle down to nudge the girl's cheeks, wondering how she herself was holding up -- had she been close at all with Eshe or Scimitar? "How are you?"

Even had Szabala wanted to find and tag along with Cypress, she doubted he would have let her, and she knew she would likely have gotten disinterested in hanging around with the mope anyway. She was sad too- sad for him, and for the loss of her uncle Scimitar and his mate Eshe, but she had been very invested in her own affairs and as such, had simply assumed that when Scimitar had gone missing, he was simply out looking, like her father was. It hadn't quite sunk in yet that perhaps her own father had suffered the same fate as Scimitar. 

"Ae'm alraight," She said with a deft nod, and shrugged one shoulder. "Jest bored. An' Ae mess me Pater. But 'E's out lookin' fer Rannoch too." She said. The amount of faith she had in her father had carried her thus far, and she still firmly believed he was alive and well. "An' what's thes about yew? Got a new boyfriend?" She asked.

She withheld a cringe from the girl's words -- Kieran's presence was also sorely missed, and given the last few days and what the pack had witnessed now for devastation, Allure did not feel confident that the man would return, either. He had never been known to wander -- and so for Kieran to not return and check in was almost a sealed equal fate in Allure's eyes as her father had been.

Should she be out looking for him, too?

Her heart recoiled at the very idea, knowing if she found him as well, in the same state of Scimitar and Eshe, surely she would break, finally. And to deliver the news to her aunt... No, she instantly became a coward at the very thought.

This is why Kjalarr has risen alongside your aunt and not you, she thought to herself bitterly.

But Szabala continued to speak, pulling the bi-toned girl from her thoughts, and blinking at a certain word, she echoed it faintly, confusion setting in. "Boyfriend?"

Allure looked honestly a bit stumped by her question but Szabala didn't fall for it, instead thinking that Allure was playing coy. She winked at her cousin and bumped her shoulder against Allure's, though more Allure's elbow than anything, and laughed. She'd heard through her mother that Allure had brought a male into the pack and that the two had been living together, which had thrilled Szabala. She was a very romantic little wolf, and loved the idea of either setting up two wolves- which was more or less what she was trying to do- or speeding their romance along whether they liked it or not. 

"Aye, mae Mudder told me. You got a man livin' wit yew!" She said. Szabala was up to date on most of the gossip in the pack- but wanted more information on this budding relationship. "Do ye love 'im yet?"