The Heartwood Feel It All Without You

@Harlyn (:

It wasn't hard for Andalusia to find her way back into the heart of the Great Bear Wilderness. If there was any part of the Teekon Wilds that felt remotely like home, it was here. The shadowy embrace of Neverwinter had been her home while she had searched for Chehlia, and where she'd found Ciervo in her place. His scent had been fresh then, but that had been many months ago. Now his old bachelor den held only a stale remnant of his presence, and Andalusia found herself alone once more.

At a loss of direction and drive, Andalusia had meandered South with no real purpose but to draw herself away from the fading scent of her eldest brother. There was always the Sunspire to return to, but Sumayl had his own life there, and as eager as Andalusia had been to see him when she'd first laid eyes on the mountain top, she felt a strange reluctance to return. Sumayl had found something of his own, without her or their siblings by his side, which was more than could be said about her. A mate, a family, a pack - Andalusia couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy against him, and it was this that kept her from returning to the Sunspire.

Andalusia picked her way through the spacious trees of the Heartwood, turning her options over in her head time and time again. Though the crickets sang their evening song, the golden Ostrega found little pleasure in their chorus. Not for the first time she simply wanted everything to stop, and she lowered herself onto her haunches and let the gentle breeze of the evening air rifle through her fur as the evening sun bathed the world in gold.