Redhawk Caldera Hold tight your buns, if buns you do hold dear.

she lagged behind, protecting blueberry's flank some meters away, as father led them through this new place. vesper wasn't sure where maegi had gone, but remained unconcerned— she knew mother would be back.

the darkling wondered if there would ever be a day that would pass without feeling more wrong than the once preceding it. everything about the caldera felt strange and alien, from how phox and towhee communicated to the severe lack of ocean on the horizon. it smelled completely unfamiliar. it smelled crowded, especially when compared to the lands they had lived in before. none of it was comfortable.

even the strain between the children and their parents was unfamiliar. she had been close to father, once, and still loved him desperately— but where had this rift come from? neither wanted it, but it existed nonetheless.

she caught up with them, a few heartbeats after their father halted. the hint of a sad smile flit like a ghost across his muzzle, but vesper did not return the gesture. they rested in silence for a time, a bittersweet melancholy hanging over the little family, before they continued the trek to what would become their familial densite.