Blackfeather Woods got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb in

dated for the 8th

MOU!!!

The shriek ripped through the trees, echoing through the forest, sending ravens in a mad scatter. It came at the tail end of days of frenzied searching, following trails that came up empty, exploring haunts that were deserted. Of all the emptiness there was to be found in Blackfeather Woods, it had always been full to Maegi, if Mou was here. Whether by her side or within the tunnels, deep below—if he was here, she was complete. She was whole.

But he was gone.

Mou! Maegi yowled, the name breaking on a desperate sob, a banshee wail that rose into the canopy. He was gone, he was gone, without a trace, without word. Even the scents leading away from the woods were faint, ghostlike—and she could not leave her boys for too long. It came down to a choice, and damn him for making her choose!

Mou, she whimpered, collapsing into the center of the Rose Garden, the thorns tugging at her pelt, tearing at her flesh. She curled, shrimplike, into herself, shaking hard from grief, exhaustion, and poppy withdrawal. She would cry, but she had no tears left. . .not after all that had happened.

So she merely trembled, silent, save for the murmurs of his name that came in fractured rhythm, a mantra gone utterly wrong. Her only hope was prayer, and if he did not heed her calls, her pleas, her cries, she knew he was well and truly gone.

she'd peeled herself away from her pups begrudgingly, knowing that eventually the day would come that she must be able to leave them for short period of time, at least. they slept soundly, but her steps were still quick and certain, eager to find some sustenance and then return as hastily as possible. she knew Moonshadow to be present there, and watchful, but that did little to alleviate her discontent with the whole situation. 

she found Maegi in her rose garden, the whisper like a final exhale that had her pause. the woman's state rattled her, had her fear for her pups and any semblance of life they'd find in this twisted place, but she sought the woman amongst the blooms and saw there the girl she remembered fragments off, broken. dread settled, but was swept aside by the instinct honed and fine-tuned the past few weeks. she pressed into the field, drawing near to the girl and gently, carefully, curling half-around her. "shh." she breathed, unsure of how to approach this but knowing she must.

A dark form appeared, drew close, pressed itself against her. Warm and soft, redolent of milk and babies—

Cass, she croaked, sniffling, shivering in the embrace. Mou. He's gone. I can't find him. . .his trail leads away. . . Her voice was empty, lost, like someone wandering aimlessly in the night having not slept for some time. She allowed herself to relax against her friend, still-bloated sides shallowly heaving with sobs barely suppressed.

Cassiopeia knew Mou. She knew how mysterious and flighty he could be. Where had he gone? Where is he? she echoed her thoughts, lips quivering. Why did he leave?

Why did he leave me?!

Maegi relaxes, somewhat, and Cass remains still beside the girl, feeling the anguish rippled off her in waves. the name she screams and croaks and whispers is unfamiliar, and she considers briefly who it might belong to. the man who shadows her like a ghost comes to mind, the same one that existed briefly on the border when she'd first come here. he hadn't seemed entirely attached to reality, and oh gods she knew him. the missing eye. but he was so faded, as if life had pulled the life from him and left him hollow. she blinked, took a breath, and promised to unpack what that meant later. 

"I don't know, Maegi." she remains vague, unwilling to totally embrace what she's coming now to realize. but she must, and so she continues. "he's always been running." she preened the fur along her friend's nape, conscious effort to calm her anguish. "do not blame yourself. don't base your worth on him, either - you've survived far too much to do that." she considers a moment, but falls silent. she wants Maegi to be strong, to be sane and lead with conviction, but her will alone is not enough. she does want to watch the woman she knows to have been so strong deteriorate like Mou had. 

He's always been running. True enough. But Maegi had, too. She thought that if they could make a home here, safe from the outside world, that they would stop. Or that if the time came to flee, they would do so together. She hadn't expected this. Not in a million years. And yet. . .

And yet, it made complete and total sense.

It's not just my worth, she whispered, sucking in a deep breath. He's everything—everything. I love him more than anyone else, besides my brothers. And now he's gone, and Euron's gone, and if Ramsay leaves I'll be alone again—

Maegi began to sob again, deep, heaving cries that brought her tight against Cassiopeia. She wept into the dark fur, heedless of time and space, taking comfort, for the first time in many moons, in the solace of a mother's touch. The touch she had been refused at birth; the touch she would chase her entire life.

it hurt, almost, to hold her - to feel the waves of anguish and know there was so precious little she could do. her words were quick, fearful, terrified of the thing cass had been much of her life. for this she did not know how to offer comfort; it felt natural for her to be alone and thus could not entirely comprehend a fear of it. and yet -

"I will be here, Maegi." she falls silent then, holding the woman as long as she wishes, preening her nape and shoulder as she sobs. she will not leave her again, this she knows with clarity.