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the familiar feel of rock beneath her paws lended some comfort, but she'd since though twice about her plan to revisit the plateau. it was a monument, a perfect image of it, the pack in the early days, stuck firmly in the back of her mind, and something about visiting it seemed wrong. 

her breath moved like sandpaper up and down her throat, head low as she pushed herself against the mountain rock. exhaustion came quicker than she'd expected; surely something to do with the weight she'd dropped the past few weeks. pausing, she faltered and sat ungracefully, chest rising and falling quickly with each breath while her mind whirled like a broken compass.

The fulmination of bears settling within Northstar Vale had caused Rannoch to seek a higher perspective of the valley below. He had yet to catch a glimpse of the unwanted neighbor and wanted to make sure that they were far enough away from where Sunspire wanted to establish their hunting grounds. 

It was as Rannoch stalked farther away from his claim that he caught a whiff of a familiar friend—one whom he had not seen in quite some time. Curious, he sought the trail that Dawn had left, and decided to make a detour on his mission. 

He found her in the distance, her body quaking with uneasy breaths; one glance told Rannoch that something was wrong. He moved quickly. "Dawn?" he asked, hoping to grab the woman's attention before he pulled up alongside her.

she'd never apologized. in the heat of all that had happened, she'd known how she'd hurt him, but she hadn't said what burned on her tongue. fangs cut through the soft flesh of her cheek, suddenly, remorselessly, eliciting nothing but a stiffening of her frame. was it her pride? she didn't want to believe that, would rather that the words had become lost in the labyrinth of last night.  

muzzle was tugged in the direction of the sound swiftly, falling upon a wolf who she took a moment to separate from the back of her mind. "rannoch" her brow furrowed in distracted question, and after a beat she neglected to stand, instead pulling herself into a more orderly position. she surveyed him; he looked entirely different from when she'd seen him last, and still the same. her muzzle twitched as a half-formed question faded and died, instead settling for merely watching as he approached.

Rannoch's pace eased once he was acknowledged but, his concern lingered. 

"You okay?" Rannoch asked once he pulled up beside her; it was just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the questions that he for her.

she wanted to lean again, against the harshness of the rock, it's relative coolness. yet she remained upright, watching Rannoch and knowing, as she had when they'd first met, that there was something good about him, something she could trust. "my father's dead." flatly, then, a moment later, "and I've made so many mistakes." she didn't feel like attempting small talk, not now.

Rannoch's throat tightened at the unexpected news; Grayday had been a good man. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said as he slowly reclined onto his haunches. "I know this must be so hard for you," he acknowledged as he examined Dawn, "But it'll get better each day. I promise." Rannoch's heart bled for her. 

"I lost my parents to a bear some time ago," he elaborated, "And I ran far, far away for a long time to be alone. That helped me but, I know we all cope differently. He offered her a sad smile and added, "I hope that makes you feel a little less alone right now."

here was understanding that she had not expected, empathy she'd not know would exist between the two. she was silent for a long moment, drawing in the words and using them to patch the ugliest wounds of her mind. "but I am alone, Rannoch." here she paused, once, before speaking again. "my younger siblings have vanished. my father's mate is destroyed by grief, I made my brother leave, I hurt Aditya, and he left me." the pack teetered on the edge of starvation, she knew not if or when Sunny would return, and she'd spit poison at a potential ally. the words were quiet, said with a numbness that made clear she hadn't come close to processing all that had happened.

Although Rannoch did not know the particulars of Dawn's personal life, he was offered a glimpse of it with the information she provided. Rannoch frowned—it seemed as though life was kicking her while she was down. Despite this, he had already formulated an opinion on her position. 

Rannoch did not believe that she was as alone as she felt. 

"I'm sure that you're not alone, though," he said; Rannoch had every intention of lifting her spirits. "I'm sure you have wolves out there, like me, who care about you."

Rannoch seemed unwilling to believe the entirety of her swift and sudden loneliness. it would be so easy to latch onto the truth without question, and yet; "but what if I've pushed them too far away?" She'd known that she'd hurt Aditya when she had, and yet Sunny's reaction to his hurt had been unexpected. had she hurt others, without her knowledge? molten gaze rose to meet Rannoch's, searching, as if the answers may be written somewhere in his.

Rannoch hesitated—his reply teetered on the tip of his tongue. He studied her for a moment, unsure of what she would make of his advice. Rannoch's heart hammered as he returned her stare, and he licked his lips anxiously before speaking.

"Then... perhaps it is time to start fresh," he offered. "I know that time and distance often make the heart grow fonder, and maybe, it is what you and your loved ones need at the moment."

---

when he speaks, she is silent a few long moments, contemplating all he means and her own long-buried desires.  "I wished for that. not long after I was made leader, for simplicity and for the freshness and novelty of travel. but I let them down by wanting that." she shifted, and while she had not disclosed the true threat to Morningside to Valette, she did now, to a degree. 

"but how can I, now? we have so few hunters and so many young and mothers. the pack is still grieving, and I need - how can I let myself want that?" she wondered if her father would be disappointed. all she'd wanted was to make him proud, to lead beside him. would he understand, what she'd done? or would he see her as a filthy sinner, as Aditya had? she wanted to believe that someone would understand why she'd laid with that man, and yet could not believe anyone would. selfish.

Rannoch's lips stretched into a straight line; he was becoming increasingly cognizant that he would not be able to resolve her inner turmoil alone—but, perhaps, Rannoch realizing his role in their conversation for the best. 

"I think that it's something that you will have to decide for yourself," he admitted after a significant pause. "You will have to decide at what point you begin to put yourself first." Rannoch knew very little about Morningside, and it was difficult for him to imagine what he would do if he were in her paws. "If you do not think that the pack can survive without you, and knowing that is keeping you down, then perhaps you will have to wait." He shrugged. "I do have to ask, though. How long have you been away on this jaunt?" Surely the pack was doing well enough if she had already been away for a significant amount of time?

---

she was silent as he spoke, gaze molten. perhaps her desire to lead, to stand somewhere near to where her father had, and fierce love for adventure and travel would only ever serve to oppose each other. it seemed wrong to put herself first when she'd only ever felt like she was letting people - Aditya - down. she was selfish, now and again, but in the worst ways. perhaps she could learn to be selfish in ways that wouldn't hurt, wouldn't have her feel like a failure. 

"It's been a day. I chose a direction and walked - I had to move, somewhere." fangs scratched at the wounds already spread across the inside of her cheek as she regarded him, ears flicking back a moment. "I know that if I left, now, it would feel too much like running."  she admitted this softly, auds roving back around to fixate on Rannoch

Ah, so it hadn't been long at all; Rannoch's head bounced as recognized her concern. "I could see others perceiving it as you running away, too," he reflected with a frown—this surely wouldn't help his case. 

"But, in the end, you have to decide what's best for you," Rannoch concluded, "And just so you know—I see no shame in running if it'll save you."

---

he spoke, and once more she fell silent. after a moment, wry smile stretched her muzzle, and she leaned forward to press briefly her muzzle against Rannoch's shoulder. "maybe you're right. but I think there're some things I need to do, first." she withdrew, standing on weary limbs. 

"thank you, Rannoch. for - this."  sincerely glinted in her gaze as her smile faded, offering a soft goodbye before turning on her heel and heading back the way she'd come. she didn't think she'd do it, but Rannoch's words had her feeling less trapped; there existed another option that he'd outlined and validated, and maybe that would give her the strength to see through what she had to.