Hushed Willows this day aria

oof, sorry for the wait, and thank you for being so accomodating

Although Easy had not been entirely unaware of the presence of another wolf, she hadn't realized that he was so close, or that he'd been following her. Her focus had been on leaving messages for her family to find, and now it was turned inward as she took stock of her life.

It was easy to feel lonely, sometimes. She felt as though she'd been drifting ever since her father's death, and although there was always some new place to explore or family to settle down with, she was always back on her paws before long. It was sobering to realize that she'd likely spent more time without her father than with him, and the disparity would only continue to grow as time marched on. The thought made her chest feel uncharacterisitcally tight; she was not a woman prone to frequent bouts of high emotion. She held her breath until the feeling went away, and shut her eyes to tip her face toward the sky.

What do I do, Daddy?

Her father couldn't answer her, here. But he lived on in her heart, and in the things that he'd taught her. It was her own inner voice that replied:

What do you want?

She wanted to feel at home, as she had not since she was warm and protected by Grayday's side. She wanted stability and familiarity and love.

Before she could decide what to do with that information, a stranger's voice called out to her. The shewolf jumped up and spun toward him, her heart thudding unevenly as she tried to get over her surprise. It shouldn't have shocked her; if she'd been paying attention, she probably would've smelled him getting closer. And clearly, he hadn't meant to sneak up on her.

Easy shook out her pelt, and the unease along with it.

"Hi," she replied with a rueful wag of her tail. "I didn't notice you there. I hope I didn't disturb you at all." Was he living here now? That might actually be ideal, if he could be convinced to pass a message along.