Ocean's Breath Plateau you don't need my pictures on your wall.

She was gone.

Fig stood on the hillside, trying desperately not to allow his mind to think the worst. But how could those things not occur to him? Fennec was gone. She'd left sometime in the night without a word, and Fig had been unable to track her down by following her trail. She'd been so miserable for weeks. He'd watched her turn her back on so many things, it shouldn't have surprised him when he joined the ranks of the abandoned. But he hadn't seen it coming. And now...

Fig dropped to his haunches, his gaze falling to the grass. His chest heaved as he took in deep, stilted breaths. Panic was threatening, but he fought to allow it no room. Just because she was gone didn't mean she was dead. She'd told him before not to follow, made it clear that she needed time. She wanted to be alone. She'd known he wouldn't give it to her. He would always follow. He would always try to protect her, even when it wasn't what she needed. He'd left her no choice. It was his fault.

His fault.

It suddenly became much harder to breathe.

He dropped his head down until it hung between his fore arms and, trembling, focused on breathing.

the worst was behind her, but aelita could not shake the anxiety that clung to her like burrs in her pelt. every time she peered behind her, she half-expected someone to burst from the foliage in pursuit. it hadn't happened yet, but somehow that only fueled her tension. she couldn't quite believe it would be over so easily.
she was so occupied with watching her back that she almost didn't notice the dark wolf ahead of her. when she did, she froze. fear dominated her initial response, and she cowered, taking several steps back. but he didn't seem like much of a threat after she'd had a moment to look at him. he seemed... upset? he was trembling, his head hanging. a sudden swell of courage and pity in equal measures drove her to step forward and call out. h-hello? are you alright?

FIg was too lost in his emotion to notice the stranger approaching. It wasn't until he heard her voice that he realized he wasn't alone. His head snapped up and his jumped to all fours, spinning to look at her. There was nothing aggressive in his expression--simply surprise, which settled into embarrassment swiftly thereafter. He shook his head apologetically.

"I'm sorry, you startled me," Fig said, offering her a half smile that was stained with sadness, "I'm not, um... S-sorry." He shut his eyes and dropped his muzzle downward as he took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. Her appearance had jolted him out of his panic attack, but he was still reeling mentally and couldn't quite get a hold of himself.