Dragoncrest Cliffs I want to roll around the darkness, til the darkness goes away

It was gone.

At first she wondered if she'd even gotten the right place.  It took her a moment to recognize the cliffs, but when she did, there could be no mistake.  Everyone was gone; the borders lost to the ocean and rain.  Artaax, Blixen, Dio.... everyone.  She hadn't even considered this could be possible.

Stunned into numbness, the girl walked with an automatic stiffness towards the center of the territory.  She kept waiting to be approached, but the only sound was the distant waves and the birds.

She didn't know what to do with this.

When she reached the entrance to Hougeda, she sat down, staring at the trees with an empty detachment.  This couldn't be real.

forward dated a bit from the previous but I'm always vague on timelines

stress had kept anaïs from appreciating the beauty of the coast. but as she made her way up and up, her troubles tumbled tumbled down the slope. oh, it was so beautiful here. the crisp air, a bird’s tune, the droplets of water the wind pushed into her face. she never wanted to leave.

soft footfalls made her fur stand on end. the yearling spun around and saw someone drift through the trees. they walked so robotically, like some greater entity forced them forward. anaïs, being the curious creature she was, followed at a healthy distance. “hey, uh, you alright?” she asks  this after the girl sits and she closes the gap. “you looked a little... lost.”

She definitely wasn't okay.  She felt foggy; the shock of finding everything gone was too much.  She'd figured Drageda would stand forever.  What happened?

They're gone, she responded automatically, before it even registered that there was a stranger there.  Then it clarified - oh.  Someone had asked her that question.

Do you know where they went? she asked, but this time there was an edge to her tone. Did this girl have a part in it?  She might have forsaken Drageda, but Blixen and Artaax... and Tux and Silkie.  They were still her blood.

this didn’t feel real. the way she acted was so disconnected in a way. anaïs was surprised she even took notice of her and spoke to her no less, even if it didn’t make much sense.

”no? haven’t seen anyone up here ‘cept you.” the bewilderment was clear in both her tone and expression. “i don’t even know who ‘they’ are.”

She remained silent for another moment, and then she took a breath, and she felt it freeze in her like ice.  This was okay.  They'd been gone before anyway.

The pack that lived here, she replied, still somewhat distantly.  But the edge left her voice and when she looked at Anais, it was with new clarity.  They were family, but I guess not anymore.  Who are you?

Obviously she'd found the answer she'd been seeking.  Finally, closure.

anaïs can’t help but imagine herself as this missing group and the girl has her own family.  did they dismiss her existence just as she did? fear and guilt creeps along the back of her neck. “oh man. did they ditch you or something?” the question is blurted out and she immediately coils back. anxiety makes you do stupid things. “sorry, sorry. you don’t have to talk about it. i’m anais.”

We ditched them, she replied, thinking back on when she and mom left, and how upset everyone had been.  It did manage to give her a spark of remorse, leaving home again like she did, but she quickly smothered it.  She'd be back soon enough.

I'm Kiwi.  I'm a Regent over that way, she said, pointing. The title was still one she wore proudly, though lately it had felt a little empty.  What are you doing here?

Kiwi wasn't the best at making friends, but she'd managed it with Clover, so she had to have it in there somewhere.  A lot of their bonding had been in mutual dislike of their siblings, and Sequoia had been her friend from the get go.  How did normal wolves do it?

oh, she didn’t expect that answer or rather she didn’t want that to be the case. what if she went back home to find a ghost town? anaïs bit her tongue. no, that wasn’t going to happen. cause she wasn’t going home.

”oh y’know.” she shrugged and averted her gaze. “”just bouncing around everywhere. thought this place was a nice spot to rest. 

Yeah, it is, she replied, frowning a bit.  It wasn't quite like she remembered it; but places tended to look different when only ghosts were left.  She tried to imagine running down through the trees, chasing Tux, but she couldn't remember exactly what her brother looked like.

I might stay a while, she added, surprising herself with that.  But as she looked around, she found she was hesitant to leave.  It wasn't right that this place be empty.