Arrow Lake and you thought it'd be the same

foredated to jan. 20th!

she returned then, to the mountains. she's yet to tell her family of her decision, but she'll only do so when she's utterly certain of it. she'll need to find @Bhediya, first, and the mountains seem the best place to start with the amount of time that's passed. 

she near enough to courtfall, on a ridge overlooking a vast lake. it's pretty, she thinks idly, settling on her haunches as she stares out over it. she tilts back her crown then and let's fly a call for the leader, settling in on the rock to wait for a reply, or appearance.

can the actual thread date be changed? this threadlog is all over the place

the ripples of sunrise cascading over the mountain face drew bhediya from her seclusion. exiting the densite and walking past the garden at the cavern's mouth, she stretched her limbs and prepared a seat to watch the show.

a few minutes into her solitude, a howl was sounded from below. it seemed to beckon her forth, and for what reason she could not place, but the seraph descended nonetheless.

in the distance, she could make out moonshine's familiar frame. hey there, she called out, trotting forward to meet her companion, how've you been?

the tail end of the howl devolves into a series of hacking coughs, and the girl folds in on herself as she waits for them to pass. one long moment, two, and they die out. squinting through watery eyes at the approaching figure, it takes her a moment to recognize it as Bhediya. 

"hey," she called back, straightening. "I'm alright. how're the mountains?" she wasn't even sure, now that she thinks about it, if she's the only one who decided to follow the woman. briefly, she considers the possibility that this is a ruse to lure her into some cave and murder her. another glance at the woman, however, and she's convinced she could take her. plus, it's stupid thought, really. right?

moonshine's short coughing fit left bhediya apprehensive in her approach. she stayed further away than she normally might have, but close enough to still appear unbothered. had they known each other better, bhe might have treated her the same way she had ibis — ew, do you need a doctor?

instead, she opted for a less abrasive approach. you okay? the seraph asked, wondering if this was potentially something more than just a cough. whitecough? greencough? blackcough!? 

bhediya drew in a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. the mountains, well, she began, turning a both proud and wary smile toward their home, there's more of us there. four, five... she tried to count in her head but realized that honestly, she hadn't remembered most of their names.

"yeah, I—" a final cough, "fell into that lake. I've been coughing since." there had been that day when she'd been half convinced she was going to burn through all the snow she'd touched, and had a headache so severe she'd wondered if it might be better to crack open her skull to alleviate the pressure, but that was in the past. 

"that's good," she offers, "we'll be a real pack soon." considering a moment, she elaborates, "I'm joining you, for certain." when they'd last met it'd been a vague promise to meet again, but with all the time she'd thought on it,  she'd come to the conclusion that it felt right. if not—well, there was nothing to stop her bailing.

bhediya hoped that moonshine hadn't noticed her flinch. the lake? she asked as she took a half-step closer, i'm guessing you haven't seen a healer, huh? there weren't any in empyrean that she knew of...then again, she'd never actually asked. in her defense, the official plan to start a pack hadn't been actualized when the recruits started to appear; how was she to know to ask?

i'm glad, she told her, a slight wag to her tail, i can't wait for you to meet everyone. it's a great group we're growing. without waiting for moony's response, she added, i'm sure we could use the help. salvatore, a member, he's been working on a border but i don't think we have one yet. the seraph laughed, hoping her companion would do the same.

the pair continued in their company, wandering up to the lair as they discussed pack affairs.