Dragoncrest Cliffs satyros

This time, Druid managed to slip away from the glacier without being apprehended. In lieu of a note, she left a plump dead rabbit in @Lane’s medicine den.

Hobbling slowly, she resisted the urge to travel south. Heda’s words still rung in her ears, devastating her. What if they were dead? As far as Druid knew, nobody had come looking for her, which could only mean one thing…

Tears poured slowly down her cheeks as she shuffled through Larksong Grotto, following the curve of Redtail Rise and then heading through the least tangled part of the woods yonder. After a small eternity, she arrived at Sapphique’s borders.

She took a seat, raising a foreleg to wipe the salty moisture from her face. Druid sniffled, performing a cursory cleaning before raising her voice, calling for @Erzulie for the latest news about Mireille.

it was not erzulie who answered, it was mireille herself. 
taller now and introspective, the girl's voice was still healing. there was a new mien about her that broke as she spotted druid, and dashed desperately toward her friend.
the headlong run ended with an embrace and an exclamation in erzulie's french over the state of druid's face. "what has happened?" she asked, pressing close to the girl with an expression of gathering worry.
she herself was whole. hale. mireille expected questions but for now, she only pulled druid closer, heart racing at the idea of what might have occurred.

When Mireille herself appeared, looking different but the same, Druid gasped and immediately began crying again. Mindless of the borders, she ran toward her friend. Mireille was much faster and closed the distance for them, pulling the sobbing girl close.

She clutched at Mireille, overjoyed that her friend had made her way home in one piece. Druid felt wretched for burying her face in that familiar fiery ruff and soaking Mireille with her tears. Slowly, she regained control of herself and leaned away.

I’m so happy to see you, she said thickly, swiping at the moisture dripping from her eyes and nose. Druid laughed tearfully, then shook her head, face gone ashen as she whispered, Rivenwood was raided. Heda thinks our—our whole family c-could be dead…

druid was broken, truly so. mireille whined as the other explained. "raided? what do dis mean?" sapphique in its removal from all other packs, and with rusalka's bloodied history long behind it, had no place for such words. she took their meaning only secondhand, and understood that there had been an attack.
"where be heda?" she asked next, glancing over druid's shoulder as if she might see the familiar red-soaked hackles of her friend's sister. at least two of them had made it.
but — witch.
and now she understood why druid appeared so very low. "come wid me. you should rest. eat if you can." 
if there was nowhere else to go, what would the rivenwood girl do?

At first puzzled by the word, Mireille seemed to arrive at a swift understanding of what Druid meant. Still she said softly, We were attacked. These awful wolves came for Laurel.

She still didn’t understand why and so offered no explanation. But her guilt over betraying Laurel’s location had undergone quite a metamorphosis in the days since Heda’s confrontation. Druid had now begun to blame Laurel for drawing the trespassers’ attention; she must have done something to invite such terror… and get Druid’s whole family likely slaughtered with her.

Mireille’s question caused that death’s-head moth to flutter darkly away. She went to live with Duskfire Glacier; she’s there now. Safe.

She felt a lick of sadness at having left without putting things right with Heda, who might very well be all the family she had left. She loved her sister unconditionally but Heda had broken her heart and she needed time.

Her friend invited her to eat and rest. Druid nodded and offered Mireille a thankful nuzzle. I was wondering if I could stay here, or somewhere close by, just for a few days. She didn’t know what she’d do beyond that.

At some point, she must return to Rivenwood. But Heda was right. Druid needed to prepare herself for what she might find there.

mireille wondered why heda had not come with her sister. why had they separated if they were the last ones of rivenwood to live? "of course you can stay here. i will tell my mot'ers — well." she paused and frowned, but only for a moment before her brow smoothed.
"my mot'er rosalyn has stepped down from being a leader. an' my sister chacal has taken her place. but it will be all right. who is laurel?" she asked, pausing as she realized her words were rushing.
gently she guided druid over the borders and toward the corsair beach and the swamp, cold for now but not without shelter. she did not expect them to be disturbed this far from the roja den.
"could you eat?" she asked when she had settled her friend against a tree tangled with vines.

Druid looked closely at Mireille’s face when she hesitated. She mentioned one of her mothers had relinquished leadership to her elder sister. Druid met this news with a quiet blink, shaking her head lightly when questioned about Laurel.

A pack mate I don’t… didn’t know well, was all she said, drawing in a deep breath and following her friend’s lead.

Actually, I’m starving, she admitted softly when Mireille inquired. She felt a little sheepish, using first the Duskfires’ resources and now Sapphique’s. Nevertheless, she took a seat.

Mireille, she said before her companion could think of leaving to fetch food, what happened to you?

"i was taken to islands, off de coas'. dere was a big storm before dat. i t'ink a river took me far from sapphique." she shuddered now, thinking of how weakly she had lain in that unknown water. "i was dere for a long time. but de wolves of dat island took care of me. my brother sobo, he was de one who foun' me first."
she nudged druid, backing away. "just rest. you be safe here."
when mireille returned it was with a fish pawed from the brackish seawater. she set it down not far from druid and settled just as close, cleaning droplets of salt from her chestfur.

Mireille relayed the tale of her unwitting hiatus from Sapphique. Druid swallowed thickly, remembering that awful day when Erzulie had told her the bad news. They’d called for her so many times, over so many hours, Druid had lost her voice for days. But she pushed all that from her mind, reminding herself that Mireille was home safe now.

She did as she was told, shifting a little as she gazed around the seaside territory. What if someone else came along and found her here, alone? Druid felt some alarm, though before she could so much as rise to her feet, her friend returned with food.

Thank you, she said quietly. Druid loved the peculiar flavor of fish, though she didn’t taste much of anything as she quickly gulped down every last scale and scrap.

Druid sighed when she was finished, glad for the food in her belly and Mireille’s presence, yet still feeling rather melancholic about everything else. Her mind wandered to Heda, who would quickly discover her absence. She hoped they could reunite in mutual forgiveness soon.

For now, it was too unbearable, just like the thought of going back to Rivenwood to find her family slaughtered. She wanted to hope they were alive, perhaps injured like her and thus incapable of going far. But her sister’s wretched words echoed in her head.

The leader of Duskfire said she’d send scouts to Rivenwood, to… see, Druid shared at length. Should I go back and wait for word from them? Or just go to—go home myself? Her damp eyes pleaded with Mireille to help her navigate this horror show.

mireille looked up and softly at druid. "i do not know what you should do, i am sorry. i would go back," the girl said plainly, "if it were sapphique an' not rivenwood. besides, if you wait here for duskfire to come, den it will be extra days to know."
the girl assumed that druid had told the allies of her pack where she had gone. "but if you choose to stay here, it will be safe. have you seen my mot'ers? tuh!" she chuffed. "my maman rosalyn would eat a wolf alive. she was in a war, you know. dey bot' were."
she meant to lift druid's spirit, though she understood that there was little to be done. and so the seachild moved closer and started to comb through the fur at her companion's nape. "i be missin' you, while i was gone."

Mireille put herself in Druid’s position and shared what she would do. Druid made no reply, her eyes dropping to her feet as she contemplated the pros and cons. She hoped the answer would come to her while she stayed here with her friend.

I still want to stay here for a day or two, Druid murmured, bi-colored eyes raising to her friend’s face. Maybe you could tell me that story, she said in regards to Rosalyn’s involvement in a war. Hearing a tale about a strong female warrior might be good for her morale.

I missed you too. I spent a whole day searching for you with your mama, Erzulie. I called and called… did you know you can lose your voice? Her eyes sought Mireille’s even as she leaned into the girl’s affections.

"i did not know dat." her voice was soft. "i spent a lot ot time wid my mind on how it would feel to come back. de sea off de islands be odd to me. cold. widout sapphique."
she leaned closer to druid at last and lay her head across the other's withers.
"stay as long as you be needin' you have been t'rough a lot." so much she could not understand, and yet mireille understood that these things were not always readily comprehended. she need only be a safe place for druid.

She nodded, almost absently. I would do it again, she said, catching Mireille’s eye, meaning to convey that a voice was a small price to pay to find her friend safe and sound. Of course, she hadn’t managed that that day, although the sentiment remained.

Her friend rested her head against Druid’s flank and she sighed, feeling cozy and safe for the moment. Thank you, she murmured simply, closing her eyes. She was tired, though she didn’t necessarily want to sleep. It was enough to rest in Mireille’s embrace.

though she too was not truly tired, the closeness of their pelts warming the cold ground beneath them provoked a yawn. mireille pulled away to settle herself more comfortably upon the pillow of her friend.
she watched snow falling upon corsair beach and smiled. winter in the taiga was fierce and wonderful. but winter by the sea was lovely. she hoped that the snow would take druid back to something happier, for she knew the girl could not stay forever.
mireille was silent, breathing even.