Blacktail Deer Plateau this world is only gonna break your heart

arcturus had not missed that wraen had been gone; at first he simply assumed it was because she was looking for maia. he spent most of his own waking hours doing the same -- but when she did not come back to their rendezvous that night, arcturus began to worry.

in the morning he set out among the mist and the cold. much of wraen's scent was lost to the wild, but the scratch-meal clues he found were enough to piece together her voyage. mid inspection of a clump of bushes, arcturus heard a howl he knew all too well. he began to run, hopeful and grinning that she had found maia.

only to find wraen alone, with an aspect about her he had not seen before. the smile fell away, but still arcturus greeted his friend warmly, wondering if she had called him for another round of storytelling.

after all, much of rau's fable had yet to be woven.