Cerulean Cape there's an open wound placed upon my heart

For days that had turned into weeks, Opalia had tracked along the eastern edge of the Sunspire mountain, heading roughly north. When the mountains curved towards the west, she followed beside them roughly enough to use their course, and soon come to find that she had no other trails to go upon any longer. She went where the landscapes allowed, passing through the spaces she could, and carving out a lonely little existence where she could survive; it felt a futile effort now, and easy to lose track of her goal when nothing kept her moored at all--except the occasional need to rest and eat, so that she could pick it up and keep going towards another day, though she hardly knew why.

But, it had been the scent of the sea-breeze that had breathed a glimmer of life back into the Drakru. Although faint at first, when the mountains met their end in the Ridge, she cut a straight path beyond them for the first time in what felt like forever--her sights set solely on the endless waves, and whatever beaches they may border. She could get her bearings once there, surely, for she didn't know what she needed there, other than that she must. It had been far too long, and maybe, the sound of the waves could bring her weary soul something to soothe its hurts when time alone only left her to fester.

Familiarity soon crept into her bones, unwelcome at first, since it brought a reminder that if she should turn north.. eventually, there would be Dragoncrest Cliffs. Biting back that yearning, she focused on the here, and its now as verdant grassy fields gave way to sand underfoot--a small thrill, but one she had to cherish. Opalia soon slowed herself, and let it all come to her as she walked on towards the shoreline. For a moment, she could breath deep, and feel the old familiar strength want to come back, blossoming from her chest, and exuding beyond into her tired muscles, made lean by the road.

For the first time in weeks, she picked up her head, calmly surveyed the expanse at her disposal, and remembered the good.

she's like @ super eastern part of the cape.

She intended to return to Triquetra. Sugar had planned to visit the Firebirds and then strike out as a traveling medic now that it was spring and she was fully recovered but she needed to tell Tegan and Bat the bad news. She dreaded that moment, though they deserved to know. She couldn't help but think of tiny newborn Finley, only a few days old. Her heart clenched.

But first, she wanted to go to Frosthawks. She headed there not long after leaving Sun Mote Copse. She called for both @Avery and @Raven as soon as she hit the borderline. Avery arrived first and Sugar held onto her sister, the tears finally breaking loose as they both wept. Afterward, she finally got the chance to explain herself to Raven, who materialized from the forest. Not only did the medic reassure her that she understood, she swore that she, Avery, Crow and the rest would support one another during this difficult time.

Sugar lingered there for most of the day before disembarking north again. Now she wanted to hunt down @Penn and @Fennec somehow. There was no telling where they might've gone, though that didn't deter her. No, this would be the perfect opportunity to really spread her wings and fly. Once a homebody, she now aspired to live as a nomad, wandering from pack to pack and offering her medical services. It was her passion and her pursuit.

The days bled into one another as she traversed the Teekon Wilds, eventually reaching the coastline. Sugar spent a day just standing at the seaside, marveling, before deciding to head east. She kept to the beach, enjoying the strange sensation of sand between her toes (and all over her legs). Sometimes the sun shone, other times it rained, and she kept going, taking pleasure in all the elements despite the heaviness of her heart. She also kept eyes and nose peeled for any sign of her brother and friend.

Not long after crossing a freshwater river emptying into the ocean, Sugar spotted a smudge of cream ahead. Fennec! she thought, breaking into a sprint toward the figure. By the time she came closer, she realized her error and her heart sank a little. She slowed but made an approach, nonetheless. Maybe this stranger could help her locate Penn and Fen. And if not, it would be nice to have her first conversation in several days.

With grasslands trickling into beach that led to the sea, then full view of its expansive horizon beyond, it felt a little too tempting to let it seize her full focus and then some--all of her with it to simply give in to that spellbinding feeling of nostalgia and times long gone. But all the very same, it brought a reminder of a strength she could have forgotten she had from underneath all of the sorrow of lately. The salty breeze ruffled her coat, perhaps taking with it some of her miseries, she thought to herself. Or, hoped, rather. She had grown tired of carrying them, though she knew she could never shed them completely. The resilent Drakru blood in her knew she must reshape, and adapt, even if it hurt like nothing else.

However, for a curious turn of her attention, she soon saw she was not alone. From her periphery, someone approached. Quickly at first, though soon to slow when she closed in--and this approach carried a small but notably marked wolf towards her. Opalia eased into her own stop before she could get suspicious, and gave it a pivot to face the oncoming company. Hei, stranger, she greeted in her typical fashion when there was no familiarity for her to work upon just yet. Then, to prove she was a neutral company maybe even able to be conversational, she asked:  Passing through?

The she-wolf turned to face her and Sugar thought, Uncanny. She looked so much like Fennec, though their eyes locked, which was not something that could happen with her friend. Sugar quickly dropped her gaze, not wanting to appear in any way confrontational, redirecting it toward the stranger's shoulder even as a smile tugged at her lips.

"Hello," she rejoined, "aye, I'm actually looking for someone." She paused, then instead of asking if this woman had seen any sign of her brother and his companion, she introduced herself. "I'm Sugar Glider, formerly of Firebirds and Triquetra, now a bit of a traveler." That sent a little thrill through her, even now. She had been such a homebody as a child, it was still strange to apprehend how much she'd changed since the day she'd left Sun Mote Copse.

How much everything had changed... Sugar's thoughts strayed to her late parents, her smile faltering a little. She caught herself and froze her facial muscles to preserve what was left of her smile, awaiting an introduction in return.

The little wolf had manners which the pale Drakru could swiftly appreciate the ease it brought, and went into her introductions soon enough. Opalia's ears tipped forward, relating silently to the search for someone with a nod. She would bring that up shortly. It was the places she named that caught her first. Well, one of them: Triquetra. For a second there, she thought the traveler was about to say Trigeda, but no. Close, but not quite, and resisting the thought about her father (if he was still among the living, even?) and the rest of them that had returned to Trigeda after Drageda fell.

She drew a steadying breath, mentally stepping past those heavier concerns. I'm Opalia Drakru.. and I run with Moonspear, but I have been away for a while. I'm searching for someone too. Or, I was, my trails have... she glanced away with the frown, towards the vast horizon over the sea. Gone cold. Tell me about your someone? she steadied, and asked in case she might come across them in her traveling too.

The pale she-wolf offered her own name and allegiance in exchange. Her surname struck Sugar as vaguely familiar, though she couldn't place it aside from a fleeting glimpse of Bat's face in her mind's eye. She didn't give it much further thought, hooked on Opalia's own mention of traveling. She was searching for someone too. Sugar's dark eyes widened a fraction, though the fleeting impulse to smile in camaraderie faltered and her lips twisted downward when she noticed Opalia's pensive sideways glance.

Gone cold? she wondered, unwittingly reading her acquaintance's mind, though she didn't ask aloud. Instead, she answered the question posed. "There's actually two of them. My brother, Penn, looks a lot like me. He's traveling with our friend, Fennec, who looks, well, a lot like you. I thought you were her, for a split second," Sugar admitted. "You haven't seen them on your travels, by any chance?" She wanted to ask Opalia about her own missing person but held that query for a little later.

Descriptions came forward, and they were ones that came with very good points of reference--also very appreciated. Sugar Glider's markings made her distinctly eye-catching in their own right, and, well, a comparison to her own self was easy to remember too. However, no one she had come upon matched this. I haven't, she shook her head to affirm her reply.. though the news wasn't great for the other wanderer's search here. I can keep an eye out on my way, Opalia went on to add. She did not think they would be hard to miss knowing what she now knew, however.

The gona could not say exactly where her road would go next from here, her mind not yet made up, especially now beside the sea and its gravity. She felt as if she should return to the mountain soon, even if just briefly so that Hydra and Dirge could know that she was alive and still loyal to them.. despite her distance. It was their steadfast nature that gave her something to return to, hopefully. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to visit her brother's last resting place either, if she was still welcome, as she hoped to be.

My misplaced someone is near your age, I'd say, with very pale silvery furs with dark marks by her eyes.. a few scars too, named Praimfaya. She's been missing since my brother--her mentor--passed on from an infected injury, she spoke on, trying to steel her voice around the somberness that threatened to come for her. About two full moons, now.. Opalia was not happy to admit, but it was what it was. Are you following the coastline? she asked, suspecting so by scent alone (though seasalt was strong) and just trying to put some distance between her more miserable subjects then.

She hadn't seen them, which wasn't particularly surprising. Sugar swallowed her disappointment and nodded. She tossed the other she-wolf an appreciative smile when she offered to keep an eye out for them. It occurred to her that such an effort would be fairly pointless unless the two of them arranged a rendezvous at some point to check in with one another.

Before she could prompt Opalia for a description, she preemptively provided details about her own missing person. Sugar paid close attention, lips twisting at the news of her brother's death. Her black eyes flicked up momentarily to meet Opalia's, trying to convey empathy, before dropping away again. Two months had passed since the tragedy, though Sugar imagined it was still fresh.

"I am, for now," Sugar answered the direct question before saying, "I'm sorry for your loss." She swallowed, a feeling of melancholy welling up inside her. To head it off, she added, "I'll keep an eye out for Praimfaya. Perhaps we can meet again a few weeks from now to follow up with one another? I'd be happy to pay a visit to Moonspear," she offered before wondering, "Does your pack have a medic?"

Nodding on Sugar Glider's answer of the coast, then accepting the condolences with another smaller jerk of her head, she kept it relatively contained these days. Better than before, at least. Thanks.. she said softly--yet tightly locked. Some days she could fool herself into thinking the wound had scabbed and maybe even begun to scar over but in truth, she had never felt more lost and lonely--stretching beyond the mere physical sense of the state, too. It had not come easily for her to live on past Dacio's departure, but, for him and Praimfaya both.. she tried.

I think that would be good. Moonspear is easy to find, she said, far easier than any unknown spaces the wandering wolves might come across should they each keep to the road. Opalia was considering her own options but eventually, would head back there. So long as she was not unwelcome, it may just be the best place to find her. I am overdue for a trip back, soon.. since I've been away a while, but I intend to keep a lookout still--maybe closer to there, she replied, feeling a touch weary about much more travel despite the sirensong she fought off from Dragoncrest to the north. It probably wasn't a good time.. she would only find more to mourn there, feeling this way. A rest was honestly her best course, now.

That aside, she was not immediately sure why the yearling asked about a medic. Maybe her mention of her brother's infection that led to his end brought it up, but regardless, she bobbed her head. Yes.. She's one of the alpha's sisters, she remembered the dark, chilly Lyra, though Opalia still had a difficult time telling her apart from the other two sisters at first glance. Why do you ask..? the Drakru added, head tilt going with it.

Opalia seemed open to the idea of rendezvousing at her home sometime. Before Sugar could suggest a time frame for this visit, the pale she-wolf wondered at the nature of her inquiry. There were actually two things which had prompted Sugar's question. Firstly, Opalia's brother had died from an infection following an injury, so it begged the question: had there been a medic to render aid? Sometimes, illnesses and injuries were simply beyond even the most competent medical intervention. Perhaps the Alpha's sister had done everything she could and there was just no saving Opalia's kin.

And then there was the other reason. "I was going to offer my services, in case they were needed. I'm a traveling medic myself, though I'm actually pretty new to the trade," the yearling explained, though it seemed her offer wasn't particularly necessary. "Maybe when I drop by, I could speak to your pack's medic. There's so much I still need to learn." Sugar paused. "Do you think you'll be there about a month from now?"

A traveling medic? Opalia's ears gave a gentle perk, never having heard of one before but conceptually, she understood the worth in such an endeavor. Her mother had been a medic to the warriors of Drageda--a very necessary role, considering their style, and that alone kept her busy enough just there. Lyra too seemed to keep her services to the mountain, for those of the family and Spear itself--though of course, the pale Drakru had not been there long enough to know the fullest depths of it. 

That's interesting.. she may not be against meeting you, but I can't say I know her very well, she mentioned, on the Moonspearian medic and her openness to sharing anything with others. Most of their passing interactions involved Dacio's situation, and honestly, most of that was remembered as a strange, worried blur. My mother, a healer herself for my birthplace--and I would love to say for you to meet her too, but she is no longer with us, either--would be thrilled to know of a traveling medic out here, she mentioned, this grief far less raw, but times like these certainly made her miss all Portia had brought to them. She taught me the worth in the job, though I can't say I picked up much else in that interest's regard, unfortunately. Opalia offered.

As for Moonspear, "about a month" was plenty of time for her to get back. I can be there, especially in a month, she said, pairing with a nod. That subtly gave her some structure to adhere to, and honestly, something to look forward to--no matter how small it was. It was something to hold herself to. I do need to point myself back that way soon enough. I worry I've missed a lot, she added quieter than before, knowing despite the ghosts she might get to chase in Dragoncrest, the living (herself among them) were who she needed to focus upon.

Opalia concurred with the timeline, not without touching on the subjects of the pack's medic, as well as her own mother's dabbling. It saddened Sugar, perhaps disproportionately, when she mentioned the woman's death. Opalia didn't seem that much older than herself, so why should she have lost a parent too? Naturally, Sugar's thoughts strayed to her own recent losses and she had to take a deep breath to quell some of the emotions stirring in her breast.

"I'm sorry about your mother too," the yearling said quietly. "I should be on my way as well. I will come find you at Moonspear a month from now," she promised, meeting Opalia's eyes for a brief moment and offering a wan smile. "Until we meet again, take care, Opalia," she offered in way of parting, dipping her snout toward the other she-wolf.

I'll make another thread soon and tag you! :)

For a beat, she was unsure what to say about her mother. Thanks..: she landed on, quietly, while she lowered her nose. She had compartmentalized that grief as well as it was ever going to get for an end that signaled the beginning of many trials. Sadly, that loss sometimes felt overshadowed by all that had followed it, though it never detracted from the hurt the girl had felt to know she could never see her mother again.

Nevertheless, it was easy to bring her focus back to Sugar Glider with a soft hint of a smile of her own--rare enough, since everything. A month from now, who knew what could change? You too, good luck.. and safe travels,:: she said, her voice able to find more conviction then as she gave her farewells. With that said, she went on to linger at the beach a while longer.. before eventually turning back inland.