Blackfeather Woods searching every room, I am not free

It was odd, going from lone wolf to pack after so long of roughing it alone. Overwhelming in every way, leaving her unsure, camera shy, avoiding her new pack mates as best she could while trying to stay low and forget why she was here.

She respected Maggie and Jawahir, really, she did, but Nephele was still shoved into the water head first on this particular endeavor. So, she ranged away from the Mesa, just for a day trip, seeking solitude where she could find it. She enjoyed the not having to hunt, to take from the cache and vanish to do her guarding duties as Sabah, but for the moment...she just wanted to be Nephele, alone. And the wood she found helped with that, helped with her ranging across a meadow until she was swallowed by it. She walked, and she walked, and she walked, until she was fairly certain she was alone, and then she allowed herself to tip over and curl beneath the roots of a tree.

She was alright, well fed, had a secure place to sleep for the night, every night, for however long she felt she could have it. So why did she feel like..this? Tight in the chest, avoidant of those who should be family if all of the stories she knew about packs were right? Nephele may have been badly socialized and generally incompetent in social situations, but she couldn’t say she didn’t mind being in a pack, but she definitely minded at least a little. 

The former thief lifted her leg and sat it over her nose to block her eyesight for the moment.

Ugh. Feelings were hard and they sucked.