Flycatcher Downs don't say yes, run away now

"There's only so much growing you can do while you're in somebody else's pack," Eshe had once told @Figment. She'd be content then, and there was no reason to uproot herself from the comfort of her home. "You have to go out and start your own thing if you want to grow." Her family was the only thing she'd ever known, and although the world beyond the Frosthawk's claim was compelling, she favored stability over satiating her curiosity.

Things had changed since Figment left. 

The seasons came and went, her parents continued to fuck all the time and pop out more children expand their ever-growing family, and her life had become stagnant. She had no children or mate. She'd watched so many of her siblings disperse to explore the world and never come back, and at the ripe age of four, she finally felt like it was her turn to go.

"I won't be too far away," Eshe told her parents before she'd left, hoping to not only comfort them, but herself, too. "No more than a few days travel." Rannoch had pulled her into a bearhug before she had left and said something that he often told her: "I'm so proud of you." He knew how long she had contemplated this. "Don't be a stranger, my girl." Somehow, after being told time and time again about how proud he was, she finally felt like his praise was justified.

When they had said their goodbyes, Eshe began her journey and never looked back.

Flycatcher Downs wasn't the picturesque place she had envisioned. Instead, it was drab and flat, and the short grass picked her feet. "I can't believe I left home for this place." She couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Although she wasn't ready to give up, the temptation of returning was becoming more appealing.

Walking through the Downs was like walking on Legos, but at least the sun shone, and an occasional gentle and rolling breeze combed through her fur. It reminded Eshe of when Liffey would groom her head whenever she wanted some attention from her mom. So, at least this place had that going for it.

She headed north, sniffing the wind every so often to see if there was any prey in the area—or anybody else, for that matter. But, so far, she was coming up short on both fronts.

She hadn't expected traveling to be so lonely.

Valiria had loitered in the Vale doing nothing for long enough. It was time to begin the search for her father. She had delayed for a while, but eventually she had realized that it was only fear holding her back—fear for what she might discover about her family's fate. But Liri refused to be a coward, and so she set out on her own early that morning to search the lands to the East.

The white wolf had gone South first and crept her way around the mountains, emerging in a Meadow that was picturesque and beautiful, but held no sign of her family. She needed to seek out the area's packs to ask them for news, but she didn't actually know where to find any. It was a question she could easily have asked someone in Epoch, but she still lived on the fringes of their ranks—avoiding them all as best as she could, though not even she could explain why she was doing that.

The land she walked through now was not so picturesque, but it was irrelevant. All that told Liri was that she was unlikely to find a pack residing here, and the near complete lack of scent markings confirmed as much. So, when she spotted the grey figure moving across the landscape, she was quite surprised. Without hesitation, Liri lifted her head to call to the stranger, hoping to stop her if only for a moment so she could ask her questions and then move on.

Eshe had been convinced she'd been alone—but that was far from the truth. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the howl. "Holy moly," she wheezed to herself. Her fur stood on end—puffer fish-like and pointed every which way—and she shook out her coat as the initial shock began to wear off.

Get yourself together, woman! her inner-voice chided.

Once Eshe had composed herself, she turned towards Valiria. "I'm not sure how I didn't notice you," she said. There was a jittery hitch to her voice, and she cleared her throat before continuing. "But it's nice to know I'm not totally alone." and she meant every word. It had been weird to be on her own for so long.

Her call appeared to startle the stranger, but Liri was entirely unperturbed by this but for the part of her that was annoyed by the dramatics. She didn't have time for them, nor for the unneccessary commentary, friendly though it may be.

"I'm looking for my father, Germanicus," Liri cut in, ignoring whatever the woman had said to her, "Dark fur, yellow eyes. Strength and command in his stature. Do you know of him?"

"Eshe, I have a feeling you're not in the Frosthawk's territory anymore," she thought to herself.

She was impressed that somebody so young—and with so much life and opportunities ahead of her—seemed so jaded. "You're going to have to be more specific," she called back, quirking a brow. "'Dark fur and yellow eyes with strength and command in his stature' accurately describes a sizeable amount of the general population."

"But, no, I've never met a wolf named Germanicus."

Valiria felt her frustration rising even further when the woman decided to ramble on about completely unhelpful nonsense. Mundane as her description had been, there was nothing more she could think of to describe her father. It wasn't as though he had bright green polka dots covering him.

She kept those thoughts to herself. She wasn't one to waste time on pointless things like conversations with strangers. Once the girl informed her that she didn't know of Germanicus, Liri nodded once and then turned to leave. She had things to do, after all.

Eshe nodded in response and watched as Valiria turned to leave. She did nothing to indicate that she wanted to continue their conversation—she favored this outcome—and instead bid the other wolf with a parting sentiment:

"Good luck."