Fairspell Meadow just test driving the new soup strainer.

Eshe frowned at the wilderness that stretched out before her, wary of it. The rumblings she and her family had felt just beyond the Wilds had not been as tumultuous as the wolves here had experienced, but the girl had no way of knowing that. In any event, she didn't trust the terrain ahead in spite of how calm and quiet things appeared to be. She had seen her mother injured by falling rocks and her sister nearly crushed by a tree. In the moments before those events had occurred, the world had been just as still as this. Eshe might be young still, but she had learned that crucial lesson already. Be careful; the unexpected could be expected to occur at any moment.

Still, the young Frostfur had not left her family behind so she could stand here, frozen in place. She had left them in order to find a life of her own. As much as she loved them, Eshe had never really felt as though she could rely upon them. They had uprooted her too many times, and she was tired of being denied stability. She had known it would only be a matter of time before they did it again. So, Eshe had decided (in a moment of spirted, youthful rebellion) that she would beat them to the punch. It was her turn to leave them, and to see if there was somewhere in this world for her to truly belong.

That being said, she had zero idea whatsoever where she was going or how to find it.

Eshe took a deep breath, trying not to let that stop her. She let it out slowly as she began to trot forward again, winding her way through the tall grass in no particular direction.

henlo have a Nyquil sleep addled post

Maegi was sniffing around a newly made cache (mostly devoid of food, thanks to the tumultuous earth) when a glimpse of silver caught her attention. She raised her head, eyes darting. They landed on the girl, and she let out a bark, wary but curious.

Another young one. Was Jaes rewarding her for enduring the horror of past moons?

You crossed a border back there, you know, Maegi said upon approach, matter of fact but not unkindly. What brings you out here all by yourself? She cocked her head, waiting for a reply.

yay nyquil posts!

Eshe hadn't gone much further when she she heard approaching footsteps. She paused and turned her head to look at the stranger, more curious than nervous or afraid. As far as she knew, she hadn't done anything wrong by being here and couldn't possibly have motivated someone to do her harm. So when she was promptly informed that she actually was doing wrong, Eshe was quite surprised.

"I did?" she asked, eyes widening as she turned and looked back over her shoulder as though there would be a sign posted that would prove the stranger's statement. Her attention was drawn back by the question that followed, and only then did some anxiety begin to settle into Eshe's heart. Not because of how she'd accidentally crossed into someone's territory, but because she'd spotted the woman's disfigurement and found it to be rather creepy.

"I was born around here," Eshe explained, too startled by the stranger's visage to guard her tongue, "At Lost Creek Hollow. I came back to find my brother and live with him."

You did, Maegi repeated, but gave a shake of her head, dismissing the girl's worry. They're fairly weak markers, since we've just moved. Be more careful going forward, but I'm not going to chase you away with my teeth bared. She gave the young lady a genial grimace, unaware that her marred face was a prominent source of discomfort here.

The place name that the girl mentioned didn't ring a bell, and Maegi craned her head to look at the crags just beyond, brow furrowed slightly. I've never heard of that hollow, she murmured, turning back to the other wolf. Is it on the other side of the mountains?

I'm Maegi, by the way, she added, tail swishing gently behind her in greeting. You are?

The woman reassured her that she did in fact trespass, and Eshe flushed beneath her fur (or she would've if blushing wolves was a thing). He ears slid back as she was gently chided, though her eyes remained glued to wound that marred her face so dramatically. Bit by bit, Eshe began to settle as the stranger continued in a tone that suggested she was kind in spite of her grisly appearance. It didn't fully ease Eshe's tension, but it worked well enough that she didn't feel the need to bolt right then and there. She just kind of wanted to, if for no other reason than she was embarassed over the whole trespassing thing.

"Yeah, it's to the East of the Sunspire mountain range," Eshe replied, quoting her mother's instructions almost word-for-word. She felt confident-ish that she was headed the right direction, but reassurance would've been nice. So, she was a bit disappointed that the stranger--Maegi, apparently--hadn't heard of it before. Then again, Eshe wasn't sure if it was entirely a bad thing that she wouldn't know where to find her when this encounter concluded, regardless of how nice she was being.

When Maegi asked her name, Eshe hesitated. Her parents had told her to be wary of strangers and to guard herself if her instincts told her to. But there was a chance this stranger knew her brother, or that she might come across him someday. What good would it do her if Maegi told him that someone he'd never heard of was looking for her?

"Eshe Frostfur," she answered, immediately realizing she probably hadn't needed to share her surname. This whole being guarded thing was kind of difficult, especially for one typically so unfailingly open and honest. Not to mention naive.

She nodded, glancing toward the mountains again. I see, she said briefly, eyes lingering on the peaks. I don't visit that side of the range, usually. I'm not as familiar with the territories over there. Shrugging, she looked back at the girl who'd introduced herself as Eshe Frostfur, a surname that rang absolutely no bells in her brain.

It's nice to meet you, Eshe, Maegi said, smiling. How long have you been away from your brother? I know what it's like to try to find your siblings after you've been apart.

She'd gotten her scar that way. A story for another time, perhaps if she got to know the young lady better. But she could empathize, and hoped that Eshe's journey over the mountains went much better than hers had. It certainly couldn't go worse.

Fortunately, it didn't appear that Maegi had any diabolical schemes available to her now that Eshe had shared her full name. At least, none she took immediate action on. Though, what would she really have done? Opened a credit card in her name? The young girl settled further, briefly wondering why her mother had warned her not to ever share her full name with strangers, unaware that Liffey specifically had had Ostregas in mind when she'd given the warning. Hopefully, Eshe would never have to find out why.

"A couple a months," Eshe explained, "My parents moved my siblings and I across the Wilds to a new pack when we were little, and my brother decided he didn't want to live where we moved to. He went off on his own, but I don't know where." She frowned softly, thinking longingly of Breccan. She did miss Tiarnach, who she knew was back at the Hollow because her parents had taken him there before they'd moved again. But it was Breccan she wanted to be with--Breccan who would make her feel safe and at home.

"Did you ever find them? Your siblings?" Eshe asked, her voice small and hopeful.

It was almost the exact opposite of what had happened to her. She'd chosen to stay while Rams and Euron went, while her brother had gone away from all the rest of them. She frowned in some sympathy at the situation, murmuring, I'm sorry you had to go through all that. Upheaval like that in a young child's life was difficult. Unfair. But things happened, she knew.

Maegi heard the hope in Eshe's voice and couldn't bear to give her the truth—at least the whole truth. Yes, eventually, she said, her frown lifting into a pleasant expression once more. One of my brothers and I returned to our home, found everyone gone, and started a new pack there. So I think you'll be just fine.

Was it cruel to give false optimism to a girl? Ramsay, after all, had eventually left again. And her one run-in with Euron had been a brief anomaly: she'd never seen him since. But Maegi's situation was different from Eshe's; she couldn't judge the Frostfurs based on her own fractured family. Things very well might be different for this child. Maegi fervently hoped they were.

Eshe didn't know how to respond when Maegi offered her sympathy. She was grateful, but uncertain, and so she merely shrugged a little. She didn't know many other wolves that could (or would) suggest to her that her childhood had been abnormal or unfair. She did feel there had been some injustice in it, but she hadn't observed anyone who'd grown up with stability for her to observe and compare and really know what she had missed out on. Her only regret was that it had caused Breccan to leave, and for her family eventually to have fractured even further.

But, in the end, it was what it was. There was no where to go but forward. She fixed her gaze on Maegi again, feeling only slightly better to hear that she had found her siblings. Maybe there was hope for Eshe yet. "I hope so," she said quietly, her uncertainty pervading her tone, "I told my parents I'd be fine, but... I don't really know what to do if I don't find him." She did another semi-shrug before adding, "I guess... I'll figure it out as I go?" She blinked up at her companion, now shamelessly hoping for a bit more encouragement.

That's not the worst plan, Maegi said, nodding. Still. . . But if you do find yourself without a place, I wouldn't be opposed to having you here, she offered. There was no pull to the Frostfur, nor loyalty or debt owed. But she knew what it was like to be a lost little girl, looking for family in a world as big as this one. To not offer would be shortsighted.

And they could always find a way to feed another mouth—right?

For now, Eshe was well on her way. I wish you luck, though, the Melonii said with a smile. She nodded up toward the peaks. Be careful in the mountains. The way the ground has been shaking. . .anything could happen. Just watch your step, she murmured, the words of which could be a threat in any other circumstance, but there was no mistaking her motherly tone in giving them.

Sakhmet. She should return to her true daughter, to her only remaining son. Can I help you with anything else? Maegi asked.

She eventually saw Eshe off on her journey, keeping the girl in her thoughts.