Wapun Meadow i'm just as fragile as you

With Winter's chill fast approaching, the recuperated Sesi had left the pack she had run with for a time. They had healed her, as best as they could, and all Sesi could think of now was returning to her family. What was left of it, anyway. Sesi wondered if she would be able to recognize them, but felt in her heart that she would. Though their last encounter had certainly not been the greatest, Sesi had been taught that family was all one really had in this life. The Apaata had been scolded on how she had taken it for granted, and oh, she believed it! When the pack had learned of her still-living siblings, they had encouraged her to take her leave. Only when she had been in a stable mindset did she agree. 

There is no Shadow King, she told herself with a ritualistic regularity. It was a nightly thing. When the shadows came and Sesi was alone, she found herself trying her best to sleep—but what little sleep she did gain was not a good one. 

By the time Sesi arrived to the Meadow she was exhausted. It was with much exasperation that Sesi realized she was lost. It had been too long since she had been around here; she could not even remember the name of the place she had lived last!

Wasn't sure if this was a private or AW thread, please let me know if you'd like me to delete this post.  :)

The temperature had taken a nosedive in the night, plummeting enough to freeze the dew that clung to the meadow's dying wildflowers. Talion sauntered through the once vibrant plain for the second time that week; his attempts at hunting in Bearclaw Valley had been fruitless, so figured he'd have more luck in the field where rabbits seemed to thrive. 

The morning was young, overcast with the promise of rain, and the bitter cold was enough to keep him from stopping too long. His Winter pelt had been growing in thick and fast over the past few weeks, but was not yet as dense as it could be. In truth, he was rather concerned about his lack of progress in finding a suitable home for the cold season, and the thinning of his already lean frame was evidence enough that life as a loner in the fast approach to Autumn's end would soon take it's toll on him.

As the sterling yearling tread carefully with nose to the ground in search of fresh rabbit scents to indicate they'd been active, a movement several yards from him caught his attention. He lifted his handsome crown, stormy eyes settling on the pale physique of another wolf. The boy veered toward the stranger, figuring they might have a chance at larger game as a duo. "Hi," he greeted cheerfully with a wave of his peppered tail, though he tensed somewhat as he drew nearer and realised that not only was this loner looking rather anxious, but was also female. "Are you, uh... are you okay?"

In the daytime, her fear of the Shadow King was all but forgotten. It lingered in the back of her mind, but she had rationalized overtime that if such a being existed—which it did not—it would not lurk in broad daylight. It had been possible, simply not likely. 

But now all of that was impossible. 

There is no Shadow King, she reminded herself again. 

A voice startled her, and Sesi whipped around and melted into the earth for a moment. Her ears flattened atop her crown and her muzzle wrinkled to reveal her teeth in a show to appease the other, her submissive grin revealing her meek and timid nature. When her mind went a million miles a minute, it was hard to calm down. Sesi was no good around strangers. She recalled the pack she had previously run with had attempted to break ground with her on that avenue, but they did not succeed on a regular basis. 

Even when they meant well, she struggled to believe it. It was difficult. Difficult to want to be close to others. Even despite that inherent need, Sesi did not desire it. 

He had said something, hadn't he? And she had been quiet for too long. 

Oh, came her gentle voice, soft and airy, I am... I am looking for someone, she looked at him, though remained low to the earth and prepared to flee. Desna, she informed, unaware that she no longer went by this name, Or Nanook! Or Alexander, these names she had repeated to herself many, many times. These were the names that she held close to her, things she would never let herself forget.

When the stranger unexpectedly swung his way, Talion jerked to the side with a surprised yip for fear of her lashing out at him. He bristled, though not out of dominance as was clear in the downward sweep of his tail, which was at once tucked submissively between his rear limbs. He averted his frosty gaze immediately, looking down at his alabaster forepaws as he continued to move, stepping aside and lowering himself significantly, ears pressing back. In doing so, he completely missed the she-wolf's own display, so intent on showing her that he meant no harm.

When at last the other loner spoke to him, her feathery voice indicating that she didn't wish to snap at him, Talion allowed his muscles to slacked somewhat. He braved a peek at her, lifting his eyes just enough to see her pressed to the ground, and his raven ears pricked in curiosity. In the heat of the moment, it was so easy for Talion to remember that not all females were if the Nereides; the need to serve them was so ingrained in his nature that he struggled to shed this as a wanderer. The young Roux-Abrhen emitted a soft whine, an assurance that he'd keep his distance. Although he'd let himself begin to relax, it was obvious that he was as terrified of her as she was of him.

She mustered a list of names, but he was familiar with none of those despite having met the one called Alexander. If the pale wolf had shared a name with him that evening, it was either a different one or Talion simply failed to remember. "I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know anyone by those names."

She watched his posture mirror her own. It was a curious thing. She did not know if it comforted her. No, not really, she determined after a moment of thinking. But at the very least it kept thoughts of him attacking her to not be the very first thing she thought of. 

Sesi didn't know why she had those thoughts. They came unbidden. They were violent and frightening, but it was why she did not like to be around strangers. She could not deny the possibility of it happening with them—

And she visibly flinched as she pictured it then, him leaping toward her, throttling her. She felt it. She feared it. If it were at all possible, Sesi melted further into the earth. 

Who knew? He could do it. 

Stop thinking that way of others, came the voice of her older mentor from where she had lived before. How will you befriend anyone? The wilted Sesi attempted to unfurl from herself, but it was a meager attempt. She was no good at this. No good at people. 

And, on top of it all, he didn't know anybody she had mentioned.  

Neither did the pack she had previously belonged to, but she had stayed with them nonetheless... Winter had been coming. Winter was coming now. She felt it in the breeze, tasted it in the air as her tongue rolled over her dry nose. Sesi averted her eyes, her heart thrumming—she felt as though it were in her throat.

Again, she breathes an airy, Oh, and looked downward, to her paws. The green grass would soon be covered by snow, but not yet, not yet. She still had time. Her silver eyes looked up to him again, though they only made it to his lips. They are my family. I have to find them, her tail curled around her leg. Each word felt as though it was being pulled out of her. But she was trying. It was exhausting. She wanted to sleep. She felt a mounting pressure in her temples, and she shifted her weight.

There the pair stood, visibly awkward and uncomfortable, nervousness passing between them like electricity. Talion remained in his submissive crouch as silence hung around them, uncertainty weighing heavily on his raven shoulders as he contemplated his next move.

He wanted to get away. More than anything, he wished to be free of the guilt he felt as she spoke with disappointment that he was unable to help her, and the boy whispered his soft apology. Slowly, carefully, he lifted an alabaster forepaw and shuffled gingerly to the side, frosty gaze still lingering at the wolfess' own lower limbs.

"I wish I could help," was all he could offer. "I hope you find them." At least she had a family worth searching for. His own mother had never given a damp about him and while his father cared for him, he'd made it clear where his loyalty lay following Talion's banishment.

Her jaw tensed as he spoke again, her hide visibly flinching as though his words were whips. She was terrified, but doing what she could to remain where she stood. It took all of her willpower, what little of it she had, and her strength, which she had even less of. It was only because she had never been harmed in her life that she did not flee. Even for all of her withering, the flower seemed rooted. 

It... it is not your fault, she breathes at last. No, it was not. It is mine... all mine. She had left long ago—she was to blame. What if what had happened to mama had happened to them? Sesi blinked several times, not quite knowing what to do—or say—and felt a heavy weight upon her lungs due to it.

He sympathized with her, truly he did, but Talion was entirely inexperienced in matters of counselling, especially when the emotional party was female. It was not something he experienced often; the Nereides had dealt with their grief in entirely different ways. They were made of tougher stuff, wearing their sorrow like armour and stoically carrying on with life and duty. This particular wolfess, however, appeared to linger dangerously on the edge of hysteria.

Honestly, the young Roux-Abrhen didn't want to play a role the stranger's pity party, but he didn't know how to escape. Periwinkle eyes scanned the area briefly, almost frantically, before he looked upon the lover's trembling frame once more. He could run, he supposed, but at the same time did not wish to abandon her when she clearly required support. Obsidian ears laced back, the yearling whined: "we all make mistakes. We learn from them, if anything." His words were a poor attempt at saving her from spiralling downward, and he braced himself for whatever emotional outburst might be fired his way. When she doesn't respond and seems to absorb into herself, the peppered yearling took it as an opportunity to escape. Talion eased away, though guilt tugged at his heart; he was entirely incapable of helping this wolfess, and so his presence was useless. He stole away swiftly, a grey ghost, and vanished from the meadow.