Whitefish River Hi, how you doing? Well I'm doing just fine, i lied, I'm dying inside.

@Issun sorry for the weird ass title lmfao

The days grew chillier and the sun kept hiding away, the breeze causing chills to run down her spine instead of bringing relief whenever it ruffled her fur. She didn't enjoy the cold, but for now it was still tolerable. She stepped over the borders of the plateau and travelled until she found a river, running alongside it until she stopped for a drink. Her flanks rose and fell rapidly as she lowered her maw to lap at the cool water, eyes raised and looking around her and ears swiveling always on alert.

forming the pack was a failure. laska had left the woods without a word, leaving the bōshi family to care for it. it wasn’t worth trouble. there wasn’t much they could do about strangers coming through and they wouldn’t be able to defend the themselves against their neighbors if they decided to run them out, so they left. the trio stuck together for a bit but ultimately parted ways. issun didn’t know where his sisters planned on going, hopefully back to poncle woods where they had a steady supply of food and family to surround themselves with. he would have gone with them too, but he presence probably wasn’t welcome. he was alone again. why did i think being a leader would be a good idea?

aimless travel bought him to a river. he strolled along the bank for a moment, letting the water rush around his legs. it didn’t bring the usual relief as it did in the heat, it felt like icicles stabbing his toes which prompted him to side step away. winter was coming. he’d have to find a place to stay, something he wasn’t thrilled to do. i should just give up on pack life and be the mysterious traveler type, he thought to himself.

his ears pricked when he saw someone taking a drink near the edge of the river. he walked closer to inspect who it was. she looked familiar and that marking on her face confirmed who it was. minori. the last time he saw her was when she was leaving. he thought that was the end of it but that definitely wasn’t the case. “how do we always manage to cross paths?” he shuffled forward awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. what was it with people leaving him and returning in some way? first it was sage, then malice, now minori.

While she drank she had gotten lost in her thoughts, contemplating her place in Liri and Kavik's pack. She wasn't social like the others, she hadn't any real bond with anyone except what she would call a small friendship and a bond of respect with Corvus. She had actual conversations with some of them, conversations that made her believe if she tried she could probably have friends. So why didn't she try? It just seemed easier to remain seperate from them while doing her part as a pack member. Making sure she had the right to stay while also not getting close and opening herself up to the possibility of pain that was actually caring about someone. But Minori wasn't the type to lie to herself either. She already did care, if only about Liri and Corvus. Corvus...the one who reminded her so much of Higoro. The one who looked at her with respect and admiration and who seemed to not mind her company. Liri...the Alpha with a physical disability and a soul so strong it made up for it by far. She sighed and drew herself out of her thoughts just as someone spoke to her in Japanese.

Her head shot up and she stared at him, several emotions going across her face. Shame, surprise, and then....anger. "You could get yourself killed sneaking up on people like that!" she hissed and then immediately deflated. He looked different, worn down...sad. She flicked an ear and took a step back from the stream, remembering how she had left him with the excuse that she was too violent, just to join a pack where violence didn't quite seem needed either. "I don't know. Fate does strange things. How is it going? The pack?" she asked. If she was more skilled in the art of social interaction, she would have smelled that he was alone and probably had been for some time.

she shot up and gazed at him. several moments of uncomfortable silence tick by and the warrior takes the time to study her. a series of emotions flash over her features, it was difficult to tell what exactly she was feeling. it made him nervous, even more so when her expression morphed into anger. the fur on his nape prickled when she spoke and fell as she cooled down. “you should pay more attention next time,” he teased, trying to break some of the tension between them.

she asks about the pack which he replies with a simple, “done and over with.” he pondered over what could have been if it had been a success. he’d have a home and family in that magnificent forest, one that could have bought a end to his search of some sort of self worth. guess fate had other plans. “so, have you found a pack you’re comfortable with?” he asked, eager to change the subject.

Minori opened her mouth to give a biting reply but found she had none and then slowly smirked, laughing softly. The laughter faded and was replaced with a sympathetic hum, her gaze softening ever so slightly from it's usual hardness. Perhaps it was because they shared common tongue and a homeland but she didn't feel as guarded around Issun. "I'm sorry, Issun. I...know it meant a lot" she said in a surprisingly gentle tone which actually made her sound feminine, the princess in her coming out instead of the war general. Happy to comply with the subject change she gave a slight nod "It is worthy yes....the members...they are all unique. Interesting. Challenging too, rising up to gain their respect and have them gain mine keeps me interested." she spoke in a tone somewhere between fondness and surprise. She faltered realising it was selfish and probably damaging to speak about her home when she had abandoned Issun's and probably aided in it's destruction. "Issun...What are you going to do? Maybe you can join me?" she asked concerned, the same strangely feminine tone being used once more.

the tone of her voice is surprising. it was nothing like the usual mature and collected mood nor the bubbly attitude of a high. it was something in the middle, soothing and gentle, odd to describe such a brazen woman. strange as it may be, it was still comforting.

she goes on about her pack, which sounded interesting to him. gaining trust and respect from your peers through whatever means was nothing new, he’d grown up in a family like that after all. then she asks if he wished to join her. he bit his lip and thought for a while. it was an ideal way of life, but was it one he could commit to? what was to say he wouldn’t just leave again? “i... i don’t know.” if he were to join, it would be for minori, like how he joined arthendal for malice, and that didn’t end well. but this could be different, he thought, history didn’t have to repeat itself. “do you want me to?”

She could see just how uncomfortable the idea of swearing loyalty to the pack made him and she felt even worse that she had abandoned Kamiki. She was about to tell him that if he didn't want to he didn't have to when he asked if she wanted him there. It shook her and she stared opened mouthed, unsure how to answer. She liked him, enjoyed his presence for sure. When she was around him she didn't feel the need to be so harsh and cold. Maybe it was because he shared the same homeland, the same language...he was a piece of home in himself. "I....yes. If only just for the winter. It would be nice to have another friend. You can meet Corvus...he's a good man. A friend." something on her face changed when she spoke of Corvus. It was part fondness part something that looked like nervousness.

anxiety surged through him as he waited for a response. he wanted her to say yes, to give him a good reason to stay. one would think the oncoming winter would be a good enough motive, but that wasn’t the case for issun. he didn’t want to feel alone anymore, he wanted someone familiar at his side. someone like minori. she could fill a gap within him that any other could not.

the tension in his chest subdued once she answered, only to come back again when she mentions corvus. a friend? he couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed at the thought, but he pushes the thought away and smiles to her. it wasn’t anything to get worked up about...

“then i’ll join you. at least through the winter.” he couldn’t guarantee he’d stay long term, he couldn’t trust himself to do that anymore. “maybe longer,” he adds, “we’ll see.”

Minori returned the smile, not sensing or noticing anything wrong behind it. Even so, she still harbored the guilt that maybe if she had stayed with Kamiki Issun would be happy and proud as a leader in his own home. For a moment her eyes showed the guilt, a layer of sadness behind her warm gaze before she took a breathe and forced a delighted look onto her face. It wasn't fake, she was happy that he would come with her but at the same time she felt she was his only reason for joining and wondered how long she would be enough. "It isn't home Issun....Nothing will ever be home. Isn't somewhere where you have friends and a good life something good enough to settle for?" she had known the search for home to be painful and stressful until she realised that there would never be anything like her homeland and she just had to find somewhere here she enjoyed.

Her ears flicked warily and she studied him, gaze going soft as she realised that from their first meeting he had been a friend. She cared about him, wanted his happiness and though it scared her she didn't bother to get worked up over it. It was too late to shove him away, it would result in pain for her and him which was the point of avoiding relationships. "We Don't have to go back yet, We can stay here and talk if you want to relax and gather your thoughts for a bit"

wanna fade and make a follow up joining thread?

she was right, nothing would ever be home, not truly. no place ever felt like it. the only thing that even came close to that was kamiki, which felt like a fleeting dream now. just a fantasy that would never be fulfilled, not now. isn’t somewhere where you have friends and a good life something good enough to settle for? he nodded. that’s what made a home right? it’s a big part of it at least. his reasoning for leaving packs always came down to the simple fact that he never had a bond with anyone.

issun settled down and and outstretched his front legs and rested his head on them. “sounds like a plan.” he motioned for her to join him if she so desired.

Can do! I'll archive here, make a new thread and tag you!

Minori smiled faintly when he nodded and decided that she would try her best to help him feel comfortable. She lay down beside him and began to speak, telling him about those she had met, Liri, Grezig but being sort of quiet about Corvus. She said he was a friend but that she had been keeping to herself mostly.