Sunbeam Lair ༺ No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again ༻

I wish I could just tag @Ryūjin... But anyway! @Asterr and/or @Ukko would be amazing, but anyone is welcome!

ཁྱེད་རང་ང་དང་མཉམ་དུ་ཞབས་བྲོ་འཁྲབ་ན་འགྲིག་གི་རེད་པས།

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Days of travel had her pawpads sore, but pain was optional, she knew - if only she could control pain like father. Something up there in the temple had been stopping her, blocking her way to become enlightened, so father had sent her on her way away, not somewhere specific, but out there where he said Nir would find what she was looking for. "the wind will guide you" he'd said, his last words of encouragement before Nirvana picked a path down south, into the lands of evergreen.

But green was nowhere to be seen. In it's stead, the red season had taken over the vegetation to the point where only the healthiest trees held their leaves. It was silent down here too, against what Nirvana had been expecting, but it was beautiful regardless, and there were plenty of life signals in every corner. She had come across marked borders and loners numerous times, but the wind had pulled her elsewhere every time and Nirvana put no resistance. Father was wise, and if he'd said that the wind would take her where she needed to be, she would follow it's flow diligently.

This had taken her further south than she had wanted to go. Somewhere deep within her heart still existed a fear that she would never see her family again, but she couldn't tell her father, for he considered any form of attachment a burden that made enlightenment impossible. However, she knew how to ward it off, and every time she felt it coming back around she simply sat down on the spot, closed her eyes and cleared her mind. Meditation.

Omm...

She chanted, focused on her chakras in an attempt to fight off the dark thoughts, but this time she'd failed to notice the scent of wolves in the place she'd picked to connect with her inner self, and she was exposed as she sat on a rock, repeating her mantra. She was barely outside claimed land up a mountain, but to be fair, it's hard to see with closed eyes.

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Jolon had departed several days earlier, and with his quest having begun there came feelings of peace and security. She felt more comfortable allowing her daughters to venture through the lair—still was she wary and watchful, however, for the waters were colder and the currents merciless. For as long as they kept away from the waterways, they were free to roam and learn, able to fill their lives with new experiences whenever it suited them. When she’d left them, though, each girl had been tucked snugly into the den, left to rest both their bodies and minds. And then once she’d left them, it was ensured that they’d not drift away from one another and freeze, and even so far had she gone as to position the broken branches of pine trees up against the entrance.

Leaving her girls behind for the moment, Asterr took to wandering through the lair, finding herself grow nearer and nearer to the entrance. The cavern itself served as a wonderful shield against the harsh winds, leaving them with little to worry about. It made her curious, however, as to how the world outside felt, and so she’d crossed the threshold into open lands. Though cold, she’d not regretted her decision to do so, and had proceeded forward until an unfamiliar wolf was spotted. With her motions limited and her eyes seemingly shut, she made for a curious sight through and through. Of course, the dragoness made her approach, slow and friendly, then stopped once near enough to speak. “Are you well?” was her first question, unable to determine for what reason an individual would be as still as she in opened lands. Surely she’d not fallen asleep whilst sitting upright?

Sorry for the delay!

ཁྱེད་རང་ང་དང་མཉམ་དུ་ཞབས་བྲོ་འཁྲབ་ན་འགྲིག་གི་རེད་པས།

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The humms and the omms were working. Nirvana could feel her aura strengthen as her spirit raised, and the thoughts dissipate as the calm kicked in. Peace, she'd found it, and the worries of her journey were forgotten... Even if only for a moment.

The silence was once again broken, but this time it'd been someone else's voice that Nirvana heard. Hardly threatening, the voice was a female's calm as the winds of summer, and just as warm. So Nirvana opened one golden eye at her, and the other followed when she found the woman. Oh, hello! she woofed amiably, welcoming her approach with a kind smile. Of course! I was only meditating for a bit... This place is so peaceful I found it perfect for it! she lied, leaving the part where she was on the edge of mental breakdown to herself.

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It’s fine!

A single eye was opened, and then the other. Asterr observed the stranger, smiling at her greeting right before having offered a nod of her head. “Hello,” she had returned, her own tone similar to Nirvana’s. Those that were kind deserved the same level of kindness, and so she intended to act with said belief in mind. Her surprise was obvious, though, at the mention of meditation. Since entering Teekon, she’d never met someone that practiced it. Of course, she knew what meditation was and how it worked, as well as the sorts of beings that practiced it, which made her all the more interested in the female.

Again, the dragoness nodded, agreeing with her. “It is quite peaceful,” she’d noted aloud, her smile having become thoughtful in the process. It was hard for her to imagine now just how little interest she’d had in the lair back when the tribe had first settled within it. Both the interior and exterior were quiet and undisturbed. She had not thought too far into the girl’s words nor the tone that she’d used, for never would she declare someone a liar based on a suspicion alone. Having not done so, she’d had the perfect amount of time to then say, “It is a pleasant area to live in.” It was a large enough hint, she believed, that her claim was nearby. The entrance would not be pointed out, however, until she reached a point at which she felt more comfortable with the idea of doing so.

ཁྱེད་རང་ང་དང་མཉམ་དུ་ཞབས་བྲོ་འཁྲབ་ན་འགྲིག་གི་རེད་པས།

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A warm hum rolled on her chest as she admired the scenery, agreeing with her new friend that peace ruled over it. Yes... she smiled as her Golden eyes panned around finding the dark female at the end, looking at her with a friendly glint. She almost didn't catch it, too invested into not looking guilty over her lie for a moment, but she realized after an awkward six or seven seconds of staring with a dumb smile on her face: Oh! You live around here? she figured, adding I'm Nirvana, I've been looking for refuge for quite a while... I would gladly contribute any way I can if you'd have me... just to make things clear. Nir wasn't one to beat about the bush, and unfortunately she hadn't mastered the art of patience yet, much to her father's dismay. Her tail was a constant reminder of the fact, thumping on the ground as she anticipated her friendly companion's response.

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Omg, I thought I had replied to this. Sorry!

Though the exterior of her home could not compare to the interior, she still took pride in its appearance. To observe as another admired it brought her joy, and so she said nothing whilst the female’s gaze trailed over the scenery. It was not until she’d spoken that Asterr’s own voice had been offered, preceded by a nod of her head. “I am Asterr,” she said first, following through with her end of the introduction. Given the time of year, she was not surprised by Nirvana’s search for a home, nor had she seen any reason to turn her away thus far. “If you can provide for us your loyalty, then you may consider this home as your own.” The lair would remain as the home of all those that remained loyal to the tribe, no matter how far away they might travel.

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Her serenity was praiseworthy, unwavering against the uncertainty of her encounter with a stranger. Nirvana was no danger to the kind dragoness or her hold anyway, but it was always prudent to be skeptic of eccentric foreigners like herself. That was her own opinion, of course, since father had always tried to teach her the art of rational trust, but Nirvana's irrational insecurity had always obstructed his teachings.

Ah! she exclaimed softly, You are most kind, Asterr. I will do what's within my reach to repay you. You have my loyalty! she promised again, bending her neck to show the respect she had just professed to her new leader. But then an even brighter thought crossed her mind, heightening the excitement written across her features. I can teach you how to meditate! she suggested cheerfully, It is very useful, she added as she climbed down the rock to place herself on an even level with the black beauty.

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Loyalty had been given, a vow that always pleased the Chieftess; the feeling had lessened considerably due to the betrayal of past members, but it was still there. With a slow swish of her tail, she’d observed the demonstration that had followed Nirvana’s proclamation, easily affected by her cheer. Then, when an offer had been made, she’d been unable to resist taking her up on it. “If it would not trouble you to do so, then I would love to learn,” replied the dragoness, voice light. Whilst she’d observed meditation in the past, as well as had heard of it, never had she taken the time to learn how it was done. Her youth had been filled with plenty of other lessons, each of which had been considered to be far more necessary. Although, when she was but a hatchling and struggled to rein in the dragon, meditation would have been a handy tool to have at her disposal—too bad the elders had never considered that.

As the other wolf stepped onto level ground, Asterr had reached out and touched her muzzle to the woman’s shoulder, as was the tradition. After pulling it away, she’d said, “Come, I will show you around,” and then led her into the lair. The tour had been brief, only the most important locations having been shown to her whilst the rest were left to be discovered whenever she might want to explore. Once the tour had been concluded, the dragoness exchanged goodbyes with the newest addition to the tribe and then left her to find a place to settle into at night.