Lake Rodney I’m still hanging here

Elias had not been happy. Elliot had dissapeared. Initially the boy had been worried sick, thinking that Elliot had been hurt or trapped somewhere. He had scrambled over the nearby land, tears threatening to run as he searched for the boy. Heartbroken. That was, until, while searching for him he came across a hint of his scent. So he had gone. A sense of betrayal had filled him. He had known the boy may have a hard time adjusting to Elias' lifestyle- a loud and sociable family, with friendly neighbors of their own. Very different from the way his friend had grown up. But he hadn't expected Elliot to leave without even a goodbye. That hurt. 

He bid his family farewell, wrenching his heart. I'm giving up this much for you, Elliot. He was not willing to leave behind his best friend in the world- if Elliot wanted to leave, Elias would follow. It didn't need to be asked of him. He would hunt him down with all his might. He started by tracking the scent, but it was not long before it rained, and all traces were washed away, leaving him to wander.

And boy, did it suck. For all he knew he was headed in the opposite direction of his friend. And now he was alone. Elias was a social kid, and being alone was not his cup of tea. His family and his friend were no where to be found, and he had no sense of direction in this unfamiliar place. At first he had thought about Elliot with anger, anger at him for leaving like that- but as he traveled, he couldn't stay mad. It faded to sadness. And now, a sort of emptiness- like he was a hollow corpse, dragging himself along but not really feeling. His heart felt heavy. How long till he would catch a trace of Elliot again? 

Now he sat by a lake, taking a little rest break, face expresionless. Sitting himself down comfortably by the shore, staring at his own reflection at the water. Wishing Elliot's reflection was there beside his. Or anyone's, really. The loneliness was getting to him. 

the heavy snowfall of the previous day left the world in a blanket of white, dazzling and blinding when the sun broke through of its cloudy prison. it never lasted long — a few minutes at most before another large wave of clouds skittered across it. praimfaya's interest, though, is not in the sky. she tracks thru the heavy snow deep in some places, feeling it brush against her underbelly. she is tall and elegant in structure but and muscled wryly, gon wor, as her mother would say. still, the deeper parts of the snow where it has drifted and banked give her trouble.

she does not venture far from roangeda. lake rodney is the worlida's normal haunt outside of the fen. as she had said to arcturus, she hopes that the lake will be a stopping place of the winter and spring herds upon their return and she keeps a keen frostbound eye upon it despite that it does not fall within her own claimant. part of her, secretly perhaps, hopes to catch the dashing moonspearian out this way again; and when she sees a figure resting by the lake bank her heart does a little flip in her chest.

her disappointment, as she draws nearer and realizes that the fur color is all wrong and that it is not arcturus is ridiculously palpable. despite herself it seems she has unintentionally developed a bit of a crush on moonspear's beta. a soft huff — aimed at what she thinks is her foolishness — escapes her; and since she's likely already been detected the worlida lets out a chuff of greeting to the stranger.

His thoughts only continued a moment longer before they were interrupted. Noises- a huff, a chuff- are what caused his ears to flick backward, and once he stood his body followed, facing the stranger. Part of him had hoped that he'd turn to see Elliot- but alas. Twas a girl, pale and gangly and he figured not even a year old. He returned her chuff in a friendly manner- as said before, he was happy just to have any company at this point. Even if she wasn't Elliot, at least she could fill that hole in his heart just for a minute. 

He padded closer to her, figuring she was as friendly as she had seemed. Maybe he lacked a little caution, but he was eager just to have a conversation. He wagged his tail at her in greeting, before speaking up. "Hey... great to have a little company out here. Are you a traveler too?" He inquired. A thought spoke to him, traveling wasn't exactly your favorite option, Elias, but he ignored it. He had still made the choice by himself anyway. Even if he'd prefer to be at home with his family. The only hurdle was Elliot- and now Elias was a wanderer, thanks to his little vanishing act. Damn that beloved boy, making his life into a game of search party. 

the stranger moves closer to her and though she tempers the bristle of guard hairs along her nape, she cannot help the imperious rise of her chin all the same. she wasn't bothered by proximity of others — couldn't afford to be with dacio or aleks typically looming at her side — but she was a capable fighter herself even if she had yet to actually earn her warrior specialty. though she values trades and their importance praimfaya is busy with delegations and lessons and war planning. trades will come in time, if she has time.

besides, she thinks as she notes the friendly wave of his tail. there was nothing in his demeanor nor her gut instinct that tells her to be overly aggressive with him. her ears cup forth at his question, frostbound gaze accented by the black streaks beneath each eye studying him with a coy tilt of her head and the soft designs of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

somehow, she doesn't think his version of 'traveler' quite matches up with her own. her unaccompanied travels were often quite close to home and when she did venture further either her sedas or sentes accompanied her. if there was one thing she'd learned about her position from blodreina before her death it was that kru protected their commander ( whether she likes them throwing themselves into danger for her or not ).

sometimes, the worlida replies honestly. my place though is with my kru. i don't travel like i once did. how many places had she drug blodreina to, forcing her hermit-esque mother out into the great, wide world? lake rodney was considered apart of her hunting grounds ( whether any of her neighbors agreed with that or not ) and she doesn't really consider surveying the territory on a regular basis as 'wandering'.

As he approached, the girl's chin rose up as if to look down upon him. He wondered what he could have done wrong for this girl to immediately tilt her head like that. And who was she to do it? She was not even a year old, whereas Elias was a full-fledged adult. Of course he was unaware of the fact that she was Worlida of her own pack. Nevertheless, he did not let the movement affect his attitude. 

The girl replied "sometimes, my place though is with my kru, I don't travel like I once did." Something above the way she spoke made her seem ancient, just the phrase "as I once did" made the girl seem as if she had more stories than one would expect of a kid her age. Anyway, he felt some hope that he could be like her in not too long from now- finished with travelling, settled somewhere with Elias and friends, making a little home for a rag-tag band of their own. 

Part of her phrase sticks out to him. The peculiar word choice made his head tilt to the side in a little confusion. Your crew? Like a pack? He wondered.

too often, praimfaya is quick to forget her own age — only to be startled back into the reality that, yes, she is not even a yearling yet. but she bares an old soul and an older soul that is irrevocably connected with her own. who knew how old the spirit of the first wanheda was. it wasn't like she'd ever spoken about him to anyone else. blodreina, she thinks, might've known but she it is far too late to ask her about such things now. 

nevertheless, the stranger appears to latch onto the bit about her kru, asking if it means 'pack'. it doesn't translate so literally, praimfaya admits. kru means 'people'. but, to simply answer your question, yes, she emphasis the word with a sweep of her tail against her hocks. i mean a pack.

She speaks of translation- oh, so a foreign language? Elias had never had a unique language- he was born and raised speaking the common one. Therefore, this new bit of information left him all the more intrigued. And she came from a pack- he could figure, with the scents that lingered upon her. 

Though some part of him wanted to request a home, to settle down there, his heart tugged him away. He couldn't stop looking for Elliot now- he had come all this way. Join a pack and he would lose days on him. If the boy was still on the move, he couldn't risk settling. Anyway, his curiosity pushed him to inquire further. "So... a translation, right? You speak another language? What's that like?" He wonders, not worried about the possibility that he could be spending her valuable time. It seemed she was busy that day, though- the girl had to leave, and Elias' question went unanswered. He would go back to wandering alone.