Horizon Ridge a lannister always pays their debts

She didn't want to rip Titmouse away so quickly from the island, not so soon after she had arrived. And she was content to stay for a little while, anyway; Undersea had the kind of healing atmosphere that even Blackfeather Woods lacked. But it wasn't home—nothing but the dark forest ever would be. Her pragmatism was appreciated, she was sure, but she yearned to return, and soon.

Maegi scratched the itch with frequent trips across the sandbar to the mainland. Today she stood upon the ridge, looking down upon the bleeding-sap woods and the beach and sea beyond. If she turned, she could see the rest of the mountains—turned a little further, and there were the plains.

A dark blotch among the plains? That might just be home. It might as well be.

The girl sighed, the sound stolen by the wind. The scolding she would receive from Relmyna and Kove upon her return was painful to consider, but even more painful was the prospect of never returning at all. She could bear a tongue-lashing, but not perpetual exodus. She had to go back.

@Cassiopeia

there was comfort in climbing all the highest places, the familiar burn in her muscles after throwing herself forward for long enough, the quiet solitude at the top. it was the latter she sought, the haunch of a goat caught fast in her fangs. the prey was not hers, but unguarded, and she'd dulled the edge of her hunger before making off with what she could. 

she crested the ridge just as the wind curled over its edge, bringing with it the scent of the canine that stood a few meters away. it was foreign, untainted by any pack scent she knew, and she would have simply passed by should her abrupt appearance have been anything but noticable. instead, she resigned herself to the fact that her presence here was likely to have been noticed, and chuffed a greeting through the limb in her jaws.

Someone came over the rise, and Maegi turned at the chuff, facing the shadow. She almost went back to her thoughts before something she couldn't name made her take a second glance, and she froze dead in her tracks. Something prickled through her—deja vu.

Her green eyes were luminous in the darkness of Blackfeather Woods—

Like she'd seen this wolf before. . .

At first, she thought it was Cass, and her heart did a small leap for joy. But as she rushed forward, her steps slowed in disappointment as she realized that this was not the long-lost Cass. No, not at all. Both of Cass's eyes were green, and this woman had a blue right one, instead—

She wondered often what she would do if Cass were to appear again. She was torn between boundless joy and fury, between jumping on the woman and covering her in kisses, or ripping her limb from limb the best her little jaws could. Every black pelt she caught a glimpse of, she thought was Cass, only to be disappointed when it materialized into Nyx or Moonshadow. . .or this new face.

Not that she was disappointed with them; Nyx she especially admired. But they weren't Cass. Cass, the first wolf outside her family to show her any kind of love—

Black wolves were nothing out of the ordinary; even dark-furred females were common in these parts. But not this one. No, as Maegi found the emerald gaze, she was taken right back to simpler times. A girl, a twisted runt, and a stick. Innocence.

Her mouth was dry and slightly agape as she finally spoke—

Cass?

the girl looks at and through her, and Cass's gaze traces the scar that twists her muzzle back. her gaze is vivid and piercing, and the emotionless, stoic set of her features seems no defence against it. there was recognition in them, recognition she thought to feel in return, but she could not set the woman before her to any one of the faces in her memory, and even as she considered in silence the sudden charge the chance meeting seemed to have, the girl said her name. 

cassiopeia blinked, and pushed against the walls of her memories for any clue. her gaze dropped a fraction, and it was only when she finally took notice of the twisted paw that the walls gave and she remembered. "you made it." and then for the first time in so long it seemed almost unnatural, her muzzle curved back and she took a step nearer, drawing in the girl's scent and finding it so far removed from the simple one of milk and warmth. "maegi." one of her only regrets had been leaving something so innocent and unloved in the wood; and relief she did not know she was capable of feeling pumped through her veins.

It took Cassiopeia longer to recognize her, and why wouldn't it? Maegi had changed much more dramatically in the past seasons than had the young woman. When they had last met, she was scarcely more than a roly-poly ball of fur. Now she was grown—for better and for worse. The injured side of her mouth twitched awkwardly at the thought.

But finally—Maegi.

Cass, she said in response, not a question now but an affirmation. Her face split in the most radiant smile she had expressed in moons, as if she were that small child again. You made it. Yes, damn it, and against all odds. Despite everything. You. . .

She swallowed, feeling the confused mix of sadness and anger from her youth bubble up within her. The curve of her lips stayed, but it grew colder, harsher. Where did you go? Maegi asked. Why did you leave and not even say goodbye?

the girl's face split into a smile that radiated happiness and stretched the twisting scar, something that had Cassiopeia burn for a moment with a kind of bittersweet happiness. had Potema given her that? she wondered if she might have done something to protect the girl, as she'd tried to protect the boy Vaati had delivered to her. the soft ease of her smile turned stiff, and the bitterness rose up as she tried and failed to imagine what childhood the girl before her had endured. 

her question deserved honest answer, and the woman paused only a moment before speaking. "I was never a true member of the dark wood. when I was young, Vaati abducted me and held me prisoner in Wolfskull." she paused again, digging through memories. "I was eventually given more freedom - I saw your birth, and met you. but there was a boy, Screech, who was abducted by Vaati after I injured him in a fight. I planned to get him out of the wood, but things fell apart. I had to leave, too, and in the end we got seperated." their relationship was messy, though she thought she might owe him her life. she wondered if the cerberus had finally done him in, if somewhere out there lay another bloody ring that he would not escape. "I'm sorry, Maegi, that I did not at least say goodbye." the words were quiet, and she knew she should have afforded the girl the luxury of that, a blessing, some word of parting however insignificant.

Never in a million years could she have predicted Cass's response. Her mouth fell open slightly at the revelation—only to snap shut with a clack of teeth as she dropped a name that was sickenly familiar. Did you— but she cut herself off, waiting for the woman to finish. At the very least, she was owed sympathy and understanding.

I'm sorry that Vaati did that to you, Maegi responded, jaw clenched. He's not a good man. He was, and always would be, her life's biggest disappointment. I'm glad you were able to escape, though.

Escape. It had almost slipped away again, but that word brought the surprise back. Did you say Screech? she said incredulously, canting her head. It couldn't be! And she was terrified to give the girl anything that could lead her to Mou, because what if this was all a ruse?

Gods, they needed to get home soon.

"no," she agreed, "he's not." but nor was he purely a monster, as would be so much easier to hate. she remembered still the birth of Maegi and her siblings, the death, and Vaati forcing the witch to feed the pups his uncle sought to kill. he loved them, she thought, or something resembling that, but she said nothing on the topic. things were complicated, painted in all shades of grey. 

Maegi seemed hung, then, on the name of her old companion. she assumed it was the oddness of the name, yet something prickled along her spine, wondering why exactly it was this detail the girl chose to focus on. Cassiopeia dipped her head, "It was the name he gave himself. His family had called him Titmouse - though last I'd seen him, many wanted him dead. I don't know if he still lives." His familiar name required a moment of thought, so firmly did she recognize him as Screech in her own memories.

If only Maegi was aware that Vaati had saved the trio's life. Alas. . .

Titmouse. What a small, small world they lived in. She swallowed, looking away for a moment before returning her gaze to Cass, face suffused with sadness. No, as much as she adored Cass, she didn't trust the dark woman. Not enough to give her the truth, at least.

He was my friend, Maegi admitted in a small voice. But he's dead. A cougar dragged him off before I could get to him. I couldn't save him.

Oh, au contraire. She hated lying, but if this fib kept Mou alive, then she could live with the small sting of remorse that came with the tale.

if the first words are surprising, the others are a bombshell. her expression changes rapidly, openness vanishing like mists in the sun and expression settling into a neutral mask as she struggles to process this. she thinks she may have loved him once, in some way, and had assumed that he existed somewhere in the Wilds, continuing to evade death. her own voice is soft when she finally speaks, and grief for a moment is apparent in them. "he deserved a better death." he deserved a better life, in truth. 

but the dead where just that, and she breathed a breath and turned again the Maegi. "and you? how - where - are you now?" she wants to know just how she escaped the wood, all the steps that led her here, but she knows she's underserving of that story in the same way Screech was undeserving of his fate.

The sentiment didn't strike her well at all; her brows came together, her mouth tugging downward in a surly frown. He didn't deserve to die at all, Maegi retorted, as affected by this tragedy as if it were, well, real. Mou would die eventually, they all would. . .but she didn't want to have to come to terms with it now.

Her face relaxed and grew pensive at the question, wondering just how much Cass should—could—know. I don't really have a true home, she lied again, although there was some truth in it. Her heart would forever belong, in some part, to Undersea. I travel around, visiting friends I've made. Mou was my closest friend for a long time, but now that he's gone. . .

Maegi shrugged, looking wistful. The woods aren't the same, she admitted. There was a war. The Redhawks came. Killed some of my family. It hasn't been right since. She thought of Caiaphas, gleeful at the prospect of Blackfeather finally reaping what they had sown, and knew she would feel the same, if in the woman's paws.

she doesn't reply, but dips her head a fraction. perhaps he didn't, but he did. far earlier than she'd hoped yet later than fate seemed to have wished, and so there remained nothing but to push this knowledge down into the back of her mind and move on. dwelling did little good for anyone. 

she was unhappy for Maegi - as Screech had deserved some better death, so she deserved a better life, now. her expression remained stoic but there was firm belief in her words. "you are strong - you'll move on, find your place." she paused a moment, considering her next words. "He was my companion for weeks. When he vanished, I thought him dead - but you learn to be alone." she had no further desire to talk about him, suddenly, and was half-glad when Maegi spoke of the woods. 

Blacfeather, despite its caves full of wandering lunatics and child-killing mothers, seemed teetering on the edge of war when she'd been there last, and much of her was disapointed that the Redhawks had not wiped them out. still, they were Maegi's family, and she could not express her gladness or fake sorrow with good conscience. "change is inevitable as destruction, but things regrow. in the case of Blackfeather, perhaps they will grow better, stronger." she'd rather see them wiped out and something the wood left to reabsorb the bodies it seemed littered with, but she asked, "do you think you'll go back?"

Maegi swallowed hard, hearing Cass talk about Mou. It disturbed her in a way she couldn't quite explain that they had once been so close. And in the same dire straits! Wait!—that must mean Mou was in the forest, too, when Maegi was young. It was, no, it was too much—

She ducked her head, blocking out all the bizarre coincidences and run-ins. I don't know, she answered, giving another shrug. I don't know if I can.

And that wasn't a lie, either.

The Melonii lifted her chin to look at Cass, her eyes impassive once more. And you? Maegi queried. Where are you, now? Or where are you going? For there were no real concrete, permanent scents layered over her pelt; she smelled like a traveler, jumbled and yet fresh. Never staying long enough in a single place to pick up its odor.

she accepted the girl's answer with a small dip of her muzzle, trying to find in her the tiny pup she'd played with and finding very little of it. she'd grown, she'd survived and she'd moved past the weak girl she'd been. it was the way of things, but the same part of her that had loved Maegi wanted to see her restored the what she'd been, muzzle whole and unscarred. children should not have to survive their ordeals in the way she and the girl had.

"nowhere." she answered on both counts. "the life of a wanderer suits me, for now." after she'd killed her father, she'd found no place that had felt like hers, no home that suited her. in a sense, Sunspire was the closest she'd come to that, and still she'd felt seperate from them.

Maegi almost nodded in agreement, but she realized that—no, she didn't agree. She belonged in one place; she wanted to go home. But she couldn't tell Cass that, now could she? She settled for blinking once or twice, tail twitching idly at her hocks.

I'm glad you got free, she said after a beat of silence. I hope you can find happiness as a wanderer. I've missed you all my life, Cass—I'm serious. Thanks—

The word caught in her throat, and she swallowed, gritting her teeth slightly. Thanks for being there, when hardly anyone else was, she whispered through the pain. A better time, and yet, one fraught with uncertainty. And now she was well aware that their lives could have been snuffed out in an instant. Not just the trio, but Cass, as well.