Firefly Glen I know that I'm rich enough for pride

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It had been nearly a week since the discovery of Taro's body and Izumi couldn't seem to get ahold of herself. She'd even snuck away from the court without telling anybody — how irresponsible. If Lumiya was angry with her upon returning, Izumi wouldn't be surprised. 

The drive Izumi once had to search for everyone else who escaped the genocide was no longer there. And all the naive hopefulness which blinded her from anything that could go wrong vanished within days. If Taro was gone, then what made her sister's chances of surviving any better? Very slim you could say. They were just a group of inexperienced yearlings away from home afterall.

The young she-wolf trailed aimlessly into a field of illuminecent insects, a cool wind blowing through her white plumage. Once again it was getting dark and once again, Izumi still had no plans on heading back anytime soon — at least not yet. For now she just wanted to stray away from any crowds....

Tag(s): N/A (all welcome)

Setting: Evening; 6:45 pm (70°)

Night was settling in, coming earlier than the last had, but Antares was just setting out.

Once down the mountain, he glided into the routine of a steady jog--keeping his nose low, footfalls quiet, and senses sharp in case of anything of interest. He found that several had passed through the glen, some of their own pack, some not, others a little more fresh than lingering older hints.. though he did consider this typical, all things considered. None raised real alarm in him yet, and there was some instinctive want to ward them off should they come here to loiter too long; he had grown with the notion to consider these hunting grounds an extension of the Spear's business, after all. It encouraged him to leave markings of his own scent occasionally. Not as intently as he would work over their bordering forests of course, but to serve as a reminder that here, Moonspear always loomed.

As he moved on, the breeze hinted at more than merely a deepening chill, and this fresh new curiosity pulled his route towards the source--on until he spied pale furs up ahead. At the distance, he did not recognize them.. or the scent wreathing the winds, so he went on to close in to investigate further.

Stranger, the dark Ostrega greeted when there were only several body lengths between them. He tipped his nose with the word as he chanced another step near, plainly curious as he looked her slender form over, but carrying the poise of a neutral party--until proven otherwise.

"Stranger."

While Izumi's mind was currently a blur of jaundice and numb, she was not distracted enough to miss the odor of a stranger wafting in through the breeze — and definitely not enough to have that disembodied voice go over her head. Darkened quills along the crane's spine rose in panic, her amythest hues slowly drifting towards it's source. 

Before the dame stood a sire; Tall, dark, and eyes an almost impossible dark variant of blue — almost like Hikari's own. It was hard to get a complete picture of them due to the sun's current reclusivness — and it would've been more so if night was here.

It looked as if Izumi was being confronted by a possible pack wolf. Was she close to another territory? How could she be so careless? Mabey wandering off on her own wasn't such a good idea after all....

But....was there truly anything to be afraid of? Mabey it was the recent trauma Izumi had endured that was making her on edge right now, but constantly running from the unknown wasn't gonna prove anything except for the fact that she was cowardly. Izumi was on her own now with no family left — she'd need to stick up for herself if she was gonna survive in a world so unfamiliar.

Fujiwara fixed her cowered posture in front of the male to the regal stance she'd been taught as a pup living in the clan — muzzle forward, back straightened, and eyes where her converser was. Her features were serene as they always were (even if she was a little nervous on the inside) and her eyes reddened slightly by previously crying. "Izumi Fujiwara. Hail from differ-rent pack..." Ah yes, her english. Emotions may have been easy to mask, but nothing could hide the crane's broken tounge...

When her furs gave rise, he was careful, and anticipating a next move should it come. There was a look on him that perhaps suggested he was ready for a great manner of things--something unspoken in his calculating expression as he got a better read on her, and the unknown situation at play here. He was facing newness too in many ways. Even her coat was an unfamiliar arrangement to the shadowed yearling, though certainly not in a distasteful way.

He wondered if he had surprised her at first, but it was difficult to say for sure, for she soon shifted. It was her gathering herself in the face of him, just as much a stranger to her as she was to him, that kept him thinking. This he watched keenly too, but on the whole, it read as favorably. It was far more composed, and he replied first with a nod, himself holding firm with his quiet air of confidence.. through what he hoped was an appropriate shade of mystery. He didn't like to give away too much too soon.

Izumi Fujiwara, a title carrying a notable flow to it. He almost wanted to recognize its cadence, somehow. He couldn't quite pin it. Unknowingly, it was what was to him the honored mother's tongue--something he did not know well enough yet to practice extensively. But, his ears were not a complete stranger, and he would give her his back: Antares Ostrega, he returned with a gesture towards his own chest. Passing through? I don't recognize your pack's scent, he elaborated after what he felt an obligatory question, one that was general enough to move towards any potential answers.

He couldn't shake the sense that there was more than met the eyes here.

Antares Ostrega. The introduction of his own name was given and Fujiwara took it as a sign of mutuality. Hopefully, that also meant she wasn't going to be hurt for stepping too close to pack grounds — there was no doubt that this was a pack wolf by now because a multitude of different scents lingering from his ebony pelt. And "Ostrega" — back at home, the existence of a surname was a sign of noble lineage. So while the name Ostrega didn't really ring a bell in Izu's mind, its existence would only make it fair to assume that Antares came from a family of high authority. Made sense for him to question a strange woman wandering near his borders. Best explain herself properly then...

"Ah. I am from mountains—" a pause for a brief moment to reflect on her footsteps, little as they mattered at the time of her escape from reality. She was still relatively new to the Teekons, and mapping the vast landscape was quite tiresome. "Err...east from here...." Yes, it was definitely east. And goddamn did Izumi surprise herself when she realized how far she truly traveled. The mountains in the eastern sunspires were cloudy and barely visible at the crane's current point of view — she had to be at least a hundred miles away from the pack. Foolish little girl. Getting caught up in those petty emotions you tried so hard to avoid and yet here you are, having to bluff behind you own psychological mess....

Self-deprecation can wait for later though. "I from Seelie Court, home to Faerie Queen Lumiya—" for now, Fujiwara was to represent the current pack she hailed from without making a complete fool of herself or the rest of the Faeries. She owed them that much for wandering off anyways. "We live far from here. Just lost way is all...." 

Her posture was never faltered, but Izumi eventually settled down on her haunches and curled a fluffy tail around her paws. She wanted to show him that she felt relaxed — that there was nothing for her to hide in case she seemed suspicious. (Other than the recent mental breakdown she had, of course. But that was not important enough to share.) "Ostrega, I never heard of name. You live with family? Pack?"

From mountains, then, which truthfully made him consider her just a bit differently than before. He had never yet been to that range in the distant east and barely knew of what packs may lie beyond. No wonder his nose was tripped up by a lot of what she carried on her. It still seemed like a considerable distance to him, which made him wonder why she was this far more than before--but, oh, lost way then? Antares supposed that might explain it well. I see, he replied first. The pack name was unfamiliar, naturally, and so was this Lumiya. Even her title seemed curious to him. He was still quick to keep this information, and assumed if he did not know of them, they were not enemies of his mother's.  Far enough for me not to know much about it. So what is a faerie queen like? he asked, treading lightly still of not wanting to question too much.

I do, the dark yearling nodded, on both accounts. The pack was very much his family, blood and beyond. With Moonspear, that mountain, he jerked his nose in a gesture its way as it loomed over his shoulder. This is Firefly Glen.. we hunt here. I'm scouting a bit, he explained for himself, and hence, his good graces so long as she seemed worth their time. Want to see more..? he asked, vaguely enough.  Or would she rather just be on her way. He still couldn't quite tell her purpose here, besides being lost.. and if she was aiming to fix it yet.

"I cannot say much from experience, but Lumiya is fair ruler. She offered me home when was lost..." She told him, briefly looking back at the mountains as if to reminisce the moments spent with the Faerie queen. The crane was not under Lumiya's rule for very long since it's been about a month, but there was nothing off about her in the slightest. Izumi truly believed that she was just a kind woman with a mission to create and lead a pack that did good deeds and taught others their ways — which was a lot coming from the crane herself. It was usually easy to tell when a wall of generosity was used to hide true intentions. Caw was similar, of course. The young man who joined her beside the waterfall. Most of Seelie Court's members were... just strangely refreshing to be around.

The noir sire jerked his head back towards his own mountainous home; one he called Moonspear. And the area which they stood in; Firefly glen — fitting name, isn't it? He then tells her it's the same place his family uses to hunt, which made her wonder if they were territorial over this place for that very reason. But then he offers to....show her around? Not a request she expected, but.... "Well, If you insist" she stood back up and moved a few feet in to close the distance a bit — cautiously, of course. "I guess little walking would not hurt." 

Lumiya remained largely shrouded in mystery, then, and it seemed like being lost was a reoccurring theme in her days. Antares answered with a thoughtful, slow nod. Maybe she had not known her faerie queen for long, but it was not like the situation he came from--his superiors were his parents, his uncle. Just as it had been for as long as he'd been around enough to be aware. So.. that was what he considered the standard, generally. Hence the curiosity.

Anyway, she accepted his offer, so he would have to make good on it--though it wasn't exactly what he planned to do on his way here. As she moved closer, he let her come before he started on. A walk wouldn't hurt. That he was not going to disagree with. Alright. There's a stream near, too. Antares mentioned, supposing he could guide them there. Izumi was here at a good hour, though. He liked the nights here best, finding the glen eerily peaceful sometimes.

Why he felt compelled to share this place with her was one thing, but he had nothing to lose. He could find out more, he supposed, and really didn't mind seeing her--despite being such a stranger. They didn't need to skirt any closer to the mountain's boundaries, especially now with him to guide. So are you trying to head home eventually? Or are you still looking for something? he asked, guessing she knew the right heading to go in vaguely enough, and honestly--this was not it. She was so far from home and he was looking for a way to say how'd you get so lost to be here? Maybe there was something she needed out of it, however. He was open to consider that. Or do you need to be lost right now..? he asked, tilting his head at her with a hint of a smirk, letting it be up for interpretation what he meant. Antares was close to home so didn't feel the need to explain what he was up to anymore than he had already, not without prompting--he assumed it was obvious.

SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!!!

The ebony male allowed her to come closer, and so she did -- cautiously -- and approached his side with slow, dainty steps. Izumi accepted his offer to lead them both to a stream and with a nod, signaled him to lead the way. The she-wolf was already a tall woman as is, but kept her head and neck lowered to make herself appear smaller out of respect; after all, these were the outskirts of Antares' home. Her extended stay here was a privilege, not a right.

As they began making their way towards the thin body of water, her lavender gaze couldn't help but wander off to observe her surroundings. Fireflies lit up the world around her within the moon's gleam -- it was a sight for any to behold. For a moment, Fuji felt herself getting lost in its beauty and felt at peace. The heart which was gripped by sadness was temporarily forgotten and replaced by nature's cradling arms.

After a while however, the dark sire broke the silence with his deep voice and Izumi, who'd been distracted, snapped her head back towards him with a "hm?" In response. 

'So are you trying to head home eventually? Or are you still looking for something?'

Looking for something; or more accurately, someone.

There was someone she was looking for, but they were found already -- albeit not in the way Izumi was hoping to find them. After that, her search for Chiharu, Aika and Hikari soon ceased as well -- the emotional strain of the situation making her scared to find out if her sisters had been caught up in a situation much similar. Her lips opened to respond back, but Antares follow-up question silenced her first.

"Or do you need to be lost right now?"

Izumi's gaze reached Antares again and caught his thin smirk. 'Ha, you could practically kill a girl with a mischievous look like that.' she thought humorously and would've returned the small grin if it weren't for Izumi being....well, Izumi. Either way, the young crane would respond to his question exactly. "You can say that....better yet, I'd like to disappear from world entirely if gods would allow me that much..." Her expression was calm and cool, as it usually was, but her voice seemed to change pitch while it laced itself with unpleasant emotions. The crane would not breakdown, especially not in front of a stranger -- she had more dignity than that -- but in her brilliant amythest orbs held all the emotion that was never shown in her face. 

Those fiery eyes then turned to Antares before she talked. She figured it was less awkward sharing these types of things with a stranger rather than a familiar face. "The day before departure from pack, I found my kin's body close by. And..." she paused and looked down momentarily before continuing, images of his distressed, glassy eyes staring back at her. Soulless; dead. "I was shaken because I search for him for so long--" along with the others, but her sisters were kept out of this for now. Izu didn't want to think about them. "--I couldn't return to Court in state I was in, so I...left...."

He was grateful he knew where he was. Barely any attention was needed for where they were going as he steered an easy route, though nature already had its suggestions--Moonspear hunted here a lot, and their prey wove trails of their own. A stranger's company, and one promising a curious history, seemed far more worthy in the instance. But all the same, it soon became clear to him why she had wandered and why she needed the peace of this land to help mend her.

What she mentioned, the want to disappear, warranted a lingering glance--feeling, perhaps, there should be some anecdote on his tongue about this. Did he relate? Not exactly, but Something in him understood. Antares couldn't fault for such a notion, and instead, wondered more.

It detailed further from there. That kept him quiet as he stepped down the path. So very close to his own family, to find them dead would be a terrible, grave wound. Rage would be only the beginning. He couldn't imagine what it would drive him to do. If needing to feel lost was the worst of it, then that was probably almost coping. This managed a slow, small nod as that all set in. I see why you'd need to find somewhere peaceful then.. he replied, a more measured tone than before, but he wondered of her pack--what they thought of her absence. Did they worry for her? And, would a similar outcome come for her had she stayed? Was there a cause to his end that could tie into her own? Some distance from a fate like that can't be all bad.. he tried to offer for his sympathies, abstractly. Still.. sorry to hear about your kin. At least you are not the same, he offered. She lived, where he had lost his chance. Do you think your pack is concerned? he asked. About death in their neighborhood, seemingly, and her absence.

Whatever the case, maybe the glen could help her mend or clear her head at the very least.  With this all in mind now, he was given a hint of reason to further justify not chasing her off earlier. She could pass through, and maybe heal a little in the meantime. Her timing (evenings were his favorites) was too good to not.

:D it's all good with me! worth itttt

Antares offered his condolences to Izumi while she stared blankly at the grassy flooring, trying her very best to hide any pesky feelings of somber that welled up in her small chest. She wasn't one to really enjoy being pitied, and would rather not have put the dark sire in such an uncomfortable situation -- still, he listened. He lent an ear to Izu's current situation despite only knowing her as a stranger and for that, Izumi couldn't help but feel greatful for. "Thank you..." the crane said softly, turning to look up at him and blinking slowly -- the universal canine language that signified comfort. "I came near home unannounced, still, you offered to listen to me. Thank you....."

It was shortly after that he'd bring up her pack; Lumiya's court back at home. Of course, they'd probably wonder why one of their pack members have gone missing out of the blue and would most likely interrogate her for it. Though Izu's departure was a result of her own selfish needs and emotions  clouding proper judgment. "I'm sure they are, I have to do much explaining for myself when return...". As of now, she wasn't concerned about what the rest might think about it, as bad as that sounds, but maybe she'll start to feel that missing sense of guilt after being scolded about it. For now, Izumi wished to live in the moment. 

"Antares..." now that was enough talk about herself. There was still little that she knew about her new-found companion,  other than the fact that he came from the mountains. "You said family lives up in mountains with you, right? Do you have siblings too? Parents?"

She.. thanked him? First he just peered back as he listened. He slow blinked, but faced it forward immediately. Right, he supposed.. well, at least his attempts had been worth something. Antares rumbled something that was more a little grumble than an actual "you're welcome" but the sentiment was there, vaguely enough, like maybe if you really squinted... It didn't feel like he had done much except be halfway decent.

Which anyway, as for her pack, that was on them. At least she thought enough of them to think that way, the dark Ostrega suspected based on that answer. If nothing else, her distance did give her plenty of time to figure out a good explanation. She soon turned the inquiries back to him before he could sort out his own next point, though. Naturally, she would want to know more about him after telling him that much already. Antares didn't think telling her this would come back negatively to him, somehow. The faerie pack seemed a neutral presence, and she had nothing against him that he could find, so: Yeah, a lot. Siblings. Both littermates, and younger ones. He was among the oldest, after all, and there was a lot to be said for him. My parents lead the mountain with my uncle. All very present in his life. My grandparents founded it all here, so it's been in the family a while. Which was why he knew the area, he felt, and he wondered if that much of an answer satisfied her curiosities. It had been their stomping grounds for so very long, and he had yet to find a reason to leave its comforts.

He would field further questions about his family if she had them, though there was a gentle suggestion away from him when he perked up his ears, and mentioned: There's a.. decent spot coming up, he said, intentionally being vague to let suspense build. Antares picked up his pace, hoping that she would mirror him. On the way and even once there and beyond, he would show her some more of the glen, and tell her pieces of what he knew about the space, aiming mostly to keep it peaceful--because even he could be easier company when their interests seemed to align just enough, anyway.