Moonspear i've tried climbing the walls

hoping for maybe @Janus or @Pyx ?

floki still hadn't returned, and it'd been far too long since she'd scented constantine within the territory. they were gone, along with eilidh, and aria was left alone again. this was worse than donnelaith, she thought, and every day she was miserable. she was closer to charon now, and even amekaze, but they were not the family she once had within donnelaith. at least the temperatures were rising. it was a slow process, but nothing as bad as the cold that had taken them hostage the previous weeks.

she didn't really have a place in the pack. in donnelaith she was the leader, or at least held the rank. she was a healer, and a sitter, and a scout. she had a place and wolves knew that. here she was just here. she stuck to patrolling, since it was better than just moping around the territory. she stopped momentarily to sniff at the ground, a faded floki scent washing over it. she knew he wasn't near, and it was probably just something she imagined, but she stopped and stared over the borders quietly anyway.

Today she had elected to let herself rest from her endless checking of the cache and searching for plants. The weather had been cold enough knock out many of the winter varieties, though now that things were growing lighter she kept her eyes peeled. She longed for the warmer, albeit wetter, reign of spring. She was ready for new blooms, for this snow to finally go away. Mostly she was hoping to start her own little garden, to experiment on keeping it.

She wasn't doing much, mostly wandering in a half-hearted patrol that was more a walk than anything. Her mind, as always, bumbled and tumbled with her plans for the future and thoughts of plants and herbs. Though this was not a day she would collect or tend, her mind never stopped turning and she did not want it any other way. She caught sight of Aria as she made her way around, and steered herself towards the woman. They hadn't met in person, not directly, though she knew her name through mention by Charon or Amekaze.

She released a soft chuff, and waved her tail as she moved closer. A soft smile covered her face and she came to a stop a short distance from the woman. She noted a general air of displeasure or unhappiness around the woman and her eyes swept over her for any signs of distress. "Hey, how are you?" She asked, her tone polite. "We haven't officially met yet, not truly. Thought I'd come over and chat with you for a moment, do you mind the company?"

thanks for joining! (:

her ears pricked at the sound of footsteps in the snow, her tail waving as her head turned to see the approaching wolf. it was pyx-- though they'd never been properly introduced she knew her from around the territory. her scent was usually pretty strong, meaning she had either been here for a while or was just active enough in her duties. aria gave her a soft smile.

"sure," she said with a light wag of her tail, "pyx, right? aria." she settled into the snow, eyeing the land beyond them. usually she was friendly enough to start up a conversation, but she wasn't feeling it today. she didn't mind the company, and she didn't mind talking, but putting forth effort to initiate any sort of friendship wasn't going to happen.

Pyx returned the wave of the tail, smiling. "That's right, nice to meet you officially Aria." The other woman settled into the snow and Pyx turned her gaze into the loner lands. She frowned, thinking of Floki and the wolves who they had lost. Aria had joined around the same time as them, hadn't she?

"So many wolves seemed to vanish into the snow." Pyx said, her voice suddenly mellowed out. She missed the energy Floki had, his kindness. There weren't enough good wolves in the world, it was hard to lose one that she considered to be at least a little of a friend. "Were you close with any of them? The ones who left, or Floki?" She turned her gaze on the woman, not meaning to pry and willing to back down if the question wasn't well recieved.

in response, aria nodded. it was nice to officially meet another pack member, even though pyx wasn't floki or constantine. it was the next comment that sent a shock of cold through her. it started at her paws and frosted it's way to her ears, which folded back. her gaze left the other, instead narrowing on the territory past them-- though she wasn't truly looking at anything.

"yes," she said, her tone coming off heavy and unfriendly. she hadn't minded so much when charon had asked, maybe because he was the alpha, but something about this stranger coming and asking her about the wolves that vanished hurt a little more. "they were the closest thing i had to a family." this time, her voice came out more like a dagger, aimed directly at the other. it was defensive and offended, and aria was less than thrilled to continue talking about it.

It had been the other's focused gaze that triggered the question. It hadn't taken much to make a connection. Pyx watched as the woman recoiled from the question internally, ears folding back and directing her gaze elsewhere. Aria's tone was notably cold and unhappy, and Pyx watched her for a moment before following her gaze. The aggressive way the next words were said made Pyx glance back toward the woman for a moment, a flash of sadness crossed her gaze and she nodded.

"You have my deepest apologies, Aria. I wasn't aware how close you were to them." Though there was temptation to continue, she decided not to, letting the words stand alone. The subject was obviously not wanted, and Pyx let it fall away. There wasn't an appropriate way to steer the conversation from this, though, and instead the red female simply joined the other in watching the distance.

aria sucked in a deep breath-- slowly so it didn't sound so terribly like a sob. she missed them all, dearly, and their disappearances were nothing short of devastating to her. her paws shuffled, closing in so that she was sitting tightly. she was falling apart, and had her tail not been wrapped so closely around her feet that she might've done so completely. she had nothing more to say. pyx did not understand, and now she probably seemed like a bitch for lashing out so harshly. but she could not be reasoned with, not when she had so few answers. her pale gaze fell to the snowy ground, brows furrowing. she'd disappear into the snow herself id she could-- but she knew she'd die, and aria was too afraid of death to welcome it into her pitiful, sorrowful life.

Aria inhaled deeply, though her sadness seemed to radiate off of her. Pyx frowned and glanced towards her feet, feeling bad for the woman. She hadn't meant to upset her, and had successfully placed her paw into her own mouth at their very first conversation. Pyx knew what it was to miss your family, though she had the benefit of being able to think hopefully of her family. She had left them, after all, not the other way around. She was sure it was a much worse and biting sadness the other way around.

Aria shuffled her feet closer, bringing herself inward and almost shrinking. Pyx risked a glance to the woman, and saw her gaze fixed on the snow. "I'm sorry, Aria, really." Pyx found herself saying. "I can't imagine what it's like, and there isn't really anything I could even say to help if I did." She paused, considering, before reaching out to try to brush the woman's shoulder. She was prepared for her to pull away, and would stop if that's what happened. But all the same she would offer her comfort, what little she could give. "I know it's nothing at all the same, and it's not much to offer anyway...but I'm here, if you want to talk, or if you need me. Anytime, I promise. Even if you just want to yell, or talk. I listen well, or so I've been told."

the fur on her shoulders raised-- she couldn't stop it. she wasn't mad or frightened she was just filled with emotion. it rose and bristled, her muscled tightening and her brows furrowed so deeply that it began to give her a migraine. pyx was doing nothing wrong, if anything she was being helpful. the tortured soul wanted empathy, and to just sit with someone who understood. pyx did not understand, and would not understand even if she could explain it to her-- at least that was what aria believed.

she steadied her breathing, but her fur refused to lie flat. her gaze-- wide and filled with a black ocean, the foamy white of her irises barely crashing against the outer rim of her eye-- lingered on pyx before she choked out a final, heavy breathe. "thank you-- i... appreciate it. i think i need to be alone, again," she muttered out regardless, pressing her lips together in a tight line. perhaps she had meant to smile, but it didn't look anything of the sort. with a final blink or two at her packmate, aria took off, her tail low and her nose pointed at the ground.

last from me, i think. pyx is a sweetheart! sorry for aria <3 thanks for the thread, you can end it however you'd like (: