Horizon Ridge xiii. everybody says the world is ending

@Sunny sorry for the delay, Chey! backdated before they swam to WG

Though she had impressed a desire to patrol to her recruits, inwardly Rhæ couldn't deny the true purpose of her excursion to the east as lavender gaze danced across every reclusive corner, each shadowed crook. 

Aurëwen's bairns linger heavily on her mind, a shadow of terror clutching her heart in the cruel cage of its fist each time her thoughts wandered to helpless children lost in the wilderness. An unspoken part of her dared to hope that she might find them - reunite them with the forlorn swan. 

Fragmented imaginations of motherhood and subsequently, Lucavon, lingered on her mind as she spiraled eastward. Her mate had tried on several occasions to force her into gestation but her body had been trapped in youth, unable to carry at that age - much to the former Queen's relief for children would have made escape so much harder; she would not, could not, have left them behind. 

Yet, she was fast approaching the second summer of her life - by next winter, she would be of an age to nurture younglings within her womb should she so desire (and of course, she did). How her heart stuttered in petrification to think it could be pups of her own scattered to the wind so. 

The nightwisp was drawn from her thoughts as the golden light reflected through the trees - drawing her eye as she moved to part the underbrush. A gasp tumbled from her lips at the sight, widened lilac optic sweeping over the shallow bayou. 

Rainfall had accumulated - enough to partially submerge the roots of the great trees - rising to her ankles as the dark fae treaded water to stand in the center of the grove. 

Star-kissed crown would careen back, gaze rising to the canopy overhead - strung with garlands of moss - with wonder.

It could be noted that often times during the times his children were resting, he would leave the pack grounds and explore. It quieted his mind when pushing through the day had exhausted his mind and keeping the loneliness at bay was too hard. Today he drifted toward the coast walking through the woods toward the shores but letting his paws and senses guide him instead of his mind. He ended up coming upon the woman, his large paws sinking into the soft ground beneath the water as he paused his eyes catching hold of her and not moving. He felt a tiny stirring of interest though he had no idea what that was but she was beautiful and didn't seem threatening, so he moved forward slowly clearing his throat softly to announce his presence as his eyes darted way and he looked around them. He finally glanced up and spotted the golden light coming from above and gasped,sitting down slowly and staring for a moment "it's beautiful" he said softly.

A soft inhale whistles through her parted lips in surprise, dark little head falling over her shoulder as lavender sought honey. 

He was as intimdating as many of the men of Teekon were: athletic and broad, rippling with toned musculature beneath a peltage of storm and smoke as he mired towards her. Yet, there was something bashful in his amber optics, something softened about his gravel tone that endeared the onyx sylph. 

"It is," she agreed, lilt hushed for fear of disturbing the skittish peace that had settled over them. 

"I'm Rhælla," she offered after a moment, angling a kind smile in his direction, "though some call me Rhæ." 

"Who might you be?" Followed her question - light and vaguely humorous as she grinned at him.

She agreed and he figured she had been quietly enraptured by the view as he was now when he arrived. He hoped his presence wasn't disturbing her but she was quick to introduce herself and ask his name, tone infused with a humor that immediately had his lips curling upward into his signature lopsided grin "Its nice to meet you, I knew a Rae once. Im Sunny" The thought of the woman he had been friends with brought a small ache to his chest but he pushed it away, tired of feeling pain even when he was trying to genuinely be happy. He smiled past his thoughts  "There are many pretty sights around the coast. Do you live nearby?" he asked her curiously shifting so that he could face her properly instead of awkwardly turned away.

She offered a small smile at this coincidence; it was on the tip of her tongue to quip might that I could live up to her, then, but the wistful tint of his smile staved her words - uncertain if the woman was someone he'd lost. "It's nice to meet you," she murmured after a moment, and meant it, oddly at ease though he was a stranger. 

"Not yet," she admitted, only to clarify, "my group has been headed that way, we plan to settle on the Coast though we've yet to choose a location." 

"Does your pack live there?" She asked, detecting the perfume of pack life imbedded in his pelt.

He had never minded conversation with strangers, unless the stranger was mean which Ræ was not so far. There was something about the setting and the comfort she displayed with his presence that set him even more at ease and in a way, made him pay more attention. "I've never lived on the coast but I had family there once" he said wistfully thinking of Aunt Seelie and how she would dance across the sand when greeting him. "I live nearby but closer to the mountains. I help run Elysium, I manage alliances and keeping everyone happy and comfortable" he said with a smile, his eyes shining with pride and for once he seemed content when speaking of home. "Do you lead the group?" he asked curiously. The way she spoke seemed like she was guiding them in a way which made sense for a leader.

She could not help but let a warm smile grace her dark, scarred features. It was not her family or her home he spoke of, nor was she even slightly familiar with any of it, yet, the way he spoke of his life it seemed warm and content - she could almost picture the Elysium he mentioned, a vague place filled with light and laughter.

It sounded much like the life Rhælla wanted for herself. 

"Aye, in a way," she chuckled lightly. "We're not official yet but yes, that seems to be the position I'll be taking." 

"It's sorta odd. I mean," she inhaled to gather herself, chewing her lip thoughtfully as she considered how much to share with Sunny.

"I was raised to assume a leadership position - as... narcissistic as that sounds," she grimaced with a soft groan at the pompous words. "But now that I've left home and scraped everything together - not because it was expected of me but because I had the desire to build it - it's just kinda surreal." 

The girl blinked, staring into the distance as she tried to wrap her mind around everything. In Lirea, everything had been laid in place before she was born, her future and goals, who she would become and who she would marry yet, it had all gone so horribly awry. Here, she had been no one, with no plans and somehow things were turning out the way she'd envisioned it: she'd gathered recruits and trekked north for the seas, with luck Aristos would be an established pack by the end of the summer season. By this time next year, Rhælla could be a leader, a mother, maybe even a wife - to a man who truly loved her. 

It truly was surreal - and terrifying. 

"I'm sorry to ramble in such a manner," she blurted in apology suddenly, cheeks warming beneath her fur. "It's just around them, I kinda have to put on a 'leader face' and it sorta tumbled out of me." 

She grinned, somewhat sheepishly, hoping he didn't think her horribly rude for just venting out her thoughts.

His ear flicked as she laughed, his eyes sharpening with interest as he settled down onto his stomach so he could relax fully and focus on her words better. As he listened he realised two things, one was that Rhælla was a kind of woman he had never seen and there was something about her that kept him enraptured. The second was that by the way she spoke, she had no idea the effect she had on people, in fact it seemed that she didn't realise she was cool at all. "There's nothing wrong with being raised a leader unless you're bad at it or don't want to be one" he said gently and offered her a lopsided, goofy but sincere smile "You seem to want it and unsurprisingly it seems people want to follow you. And even the better if you were raised to know how to do it. I would have been much better off if I had learned instead of being thrown into it my whole life" he spoke slowly and hesitantly, eyes flashing with occasional nervousness as if she would grow mad at him for hid words. When he finished he gave a deep chuckle, glancing  away embarrassed not catching her sheepish smile but turning back at her words. He blinked with surprise "Don't apologise. Everyone needs a friend to vent to. Being a leader doesn't mean you have to keep a distance emotionally though" he pointed out, inside his head thinking how he wished he could mantain some distance. Being close made every loss all the more painful.

"I suppose that is true," she agreed with a slow smile - thinking of how her own proud Clan of Veltigar had first risen to the throne (back when the Empire was the Kingdom of Olde). The history of the Lirean nation was long and colorful - including the tale of her great-grandsire, Mynds, who had usurped an unfit King and reformed the Kingdom into the militaristic Empire that still stood to this day - but now was not the time to let her mind wander over it. 

"I'm sure you're an exceptional leader, Sunny," the niteborn lilted softly, smiling kindly - it was a statement she wholeheartedly believed. "You've only known me for five minutes and you've managed to put me at ease; I imagine your packmates benefit even more so than I with you around." The exile could not help but glance down bashfully as she said it, hoping it wasn't too forward. 

"I'm not trying to keep my distance... it's just that, I need to seem assured and mature. I don't need my packmates assuming that just because I'm young or a girl that I'm weak and can't lead," the dark fae admitted, scuffing a paw in the dirt as she avoided his honeyed gaze. It was hard to admit this - this hidden insecurity - yet, in his presence her words seemed to fall as freely as rain.