Neverwinter Forest bitchin'.

ruo was not happy.

of course, she saw the signs.

the rain was getting never ending, and it seemed like the clouds were never leaving. even upon looking at the endless ocean, she could not see where it was to end. the land they lived in was starting to swarm with water- the tides seemed to move closer, and she had to remove herself from the den.

then Hua, the Empress, took them all away after discussion. the siren agreed with reluctance, and took @Huojin as she followed the rest.

the rain, even upon moving, never seemed to leave.

and now she was stuck inland, a place that she thought she would never have to enter.

goddamn it.

rain sung music upon the world, a gentle and never-ending shhhhh that balanced the noise of nüwu's mind. real joy was found here, in the droplets dotting her nose and eyelashes. the thinker made her way through the unfamiliar forest, mapping its terrain until she came upon an older woman. she didn't look familiar, but... the scent of huojin was all over her. she stopped a couple paces away, shy, tail tucked already. 你是火金的妈妈? she mumbled in question.

ruo, despite all that rage she felt, gave a calm, and unnerving gaze toward one who spoke to her. it was one of Yuelong's pups, which in all honesty, she knew none of them, except her own little cub and vaguely of Tzila's. this one smelled of her cousin Hua, and spoke perfectly in mandarin.

a nod of approval.

"yeah." the siren said, "i'm his mom," speaking of.. what did huojin call her? mama, ma, or mom, or dreadfully even 'mother'?

nüwu felt she was being picked apart by this woman's unreadable gaze, but her answer came calmly. affirmation. when she had asked about him, mama had told her that she and huojin were related somehow, so that meant... 妈妈说我们是家人? she wondered, gaze moving over the woman's pelt. she was warm in color like her, but slightly duller, and different-looking. nüwu wasn't sure if she saw the similarities between them, but then again, she had no idea how distant their relations really were.

"i'm something like an aunt," ruo said, not really sure if she had to be honest. she'd definitely be an aunt if they were siblings, but due to being only cousins, she wasn't sure what that would make her. definitely didn't want to be called cousin by her own cousins kid.

"i'm your mom's cousin, she is a jiang, i am a wang." however there has been some thought whether to abandon her name altogether, 'wang ruò shuāng,' and simply go by the usual 'ruo.' her lineage was no longer important as they weren't in the homeland anymore, she more or less had more care to the culture-side of mandarin language.. but beside that.

ruo doesn't have much family she cares for.

an aunt, then. ah. 我的姨妈。 nüwu murmured under her breath with a nod, as if processing the information. she blinked up at the woman as she shared her family name, wang, and nodded at her own mother's surname- which she already knew, of course. 我是江女巫。和你，是王谁? she wondered with a cant of her head towards auntie.

"just call me ruo." she saw the pup was properly being taught their culture, but she wasn't really doing the same with huojin. some simply called him jin, and she doesn't specifically remember telling him about the whole 'wang' lineage, and all her sisters and cousins. it didn't really seem to matter.

"i'm not too close to my family to carry their name."

好，姨妈若。 she agreed, completely missing the fact that she had not technically done exactly as ruò had asked. when ruò said she was not close to her family, nüwu tilted her head with confusion. did she not like huojin? or... nüwu herself? they were her family, weren't they? even though nüwu was not a wang. the little girl frowned, perplexed. 为什么?

this one asked a lot of questions. instead of standing, ruo settled lower to a laying position and crossed her paws as she was directly across hua's daughter. she was pretty one- but one with a bit of spots, she wondered who the father would be. huojin's father was very obvious, and everyone knew.

"huojin is my son. your mom and her sisters are my cousins. everyone else- is irrelavent," she said plainly, "you can ask your mom, no one knew me back at our homeland. i stayed low, and preferred myself. why would i count strangers, as family? would you count neverwinter wolves, your family?"

"just because you have blood- does not mean they are family."

indeed she was a curious girl, a born student, who loved to learn and desired knowledge. aunt ruò settled before her, and her dark ears flicked forward to listen intently. the word irrelevant was not yet learned, but there was enough context her to assume its meaning.

nüwu was surprised to hear that auntie cast away so much of her blood family, but at the same time, it made sense. in some ways, she decided, family was a term that meant little- it did not define who was truly close. of course, nüwu had spent her whole life very close to her family so far- even if she ever wanted to be distant, they had lived in the same clearing forever. she was only just old enough to wander from her siblings, but it was yet to be seen whether their current connection would dissolve.

when ruò asked if nüwu would consider neverwinter wolves her family, she began to shake her head, until she recalled that the man here was supposedly baba. she paused, thoughtful- but did not speak up, instead considering whether baba was family to her. she was told such, but... how well did she really know him? 

我觉得是说对。 she decided, though the internal issue of her father remained undecided. 为什么你和你的弟弟妹妹不是朋友了? she wondered with a tilt of her head again. nüwu was not the loudest or most extroverted girl, but it was hard to imagine removing her brother or sisters from her life.

"you wanna know a secret?" ruo leaned into the pup, a clear view into her earnest eyes, and in return with her own calm sea-eye view.

"i was bullied. to the point i wanted to die."

"i didn't interact with them, because i was trying so hard to avoid my demons- and they never tried either to speak to me."

she didn't blame them really, as who wanted to interact with a recluse. she never reached out and in return they never did either. but it solidified her reasons that she didn't count them as close. because she wasn't close enough to confide in them, and they weren't close enough to see what was wrong.

"if you truly love your family, talk to them. you don't know what they can be going through behind a smile."

and she sniffed.

why did she tell a pup this- but it felt nice to unwind every once in a while.

nüwu nodded eagerly when asked if she wished to hear a secret, but her expression quickly shifted to something hurt as ruò described her experiences. the empathetic, she felt electricity course through her heart, soul speared by something sharp. she, who felt the pain of others as if it was her own. the emotional, the easily moved, tears quickly welled in her eyes and fell to her cheeks, though she was silent. 

if you truly love your family, talk to them. 

nüwu thought of smiley xiaoqing, of shy luli, and fearsome haoming. did anyone bully them? were they suffering too? nüwu herself did not wish to die, but perhaps this is why she cried quietly- the sea often pulled her soul, she did not wish to drown, but it was as if she was tugged by some cord. the ocean wanted to swallow her, and some days it was difficult to resist that draw. but she had no reason, and suffered little. so why? 

she turned jadegreen gaze back up towards ruò. 我不懂为什么有人欺负你了。 she murmured, though such was a useless sentiment by now. she sniffled quietly, frowned. 你现在高兴吗?你想要。。。想要死了? she wondered hesitantly, voice wavering slightly. suddenly very worried for aunt ruò.

"don't cry, that was in the past. i've long since lost care." unknowingly, ruo avoided the question, because deep down, she knew there was days .. that was still tough.

stretching her paw forward, she gently tried to rub the younger one's head in reassurance.

"some people just have nothing better to do. it's why you have to watch out for those you don't know too well." while the one's who did injustice on ruo wasn't family, they were still wolves from the same coast. she wondered what they were doing now that she had left- as until the day she went to the wilds, they never stopped.

she just learned to ignore them better.

when ruò directed her not to cry, nüwu muttered a small 对不起。 though the woman did not answer her question directly, the words that she had lost care brought some comfort to nüwu, thinking perhaps she was able to set the painful past behind her. the girl took the pat awkwardly, but did not shy away, simply sat. ruò told her to watch out for those who she did not know well- and nüwu nodded studiously, 好，我会。谢谢你。 she mumbled with a small smile. 我希望你会很高兴。 nüwu told ruò with a little bow of her head. 

wrap?

"you be happy too." ruo smiled at her little niece, who seemed so fragile and so into emotions. she hoped that this one wouldn't experience the hardship like her mother, or herself. she was born in such a free world, it was only a matter of time before she could spread her wings.

huojin too. it was soon going to be time where he would want to leave, to explore the world. she felt her chest tighten on the thought, but remained with a reassuring smile to nuwa.