Blacktail Deer Plateau i can't fit the feelings in

set for mid-morning of Nov. 9. please let @Scarab post first -- otherwise AW to Rusalka members, ofc!

They arrived at a plateau with borders cloaked in the smell she'd noted on Rosencrantz, and she looked to her companion for confirmation. Do you recognize any scents here? Maegi asked, her voice calm despite the situation. She knew she had to keep steady, confident, even after all that had happened.

In a way, the trip was good. It gave her renewed purpose. But she was mostly desperate to get it over with and return to Sakhmet, even though she knew how important this was to Scarab.

Whatever he answered, the Nona let out a howl, requesting an audience. Even if the wolves here weren't who they sought, there still could be information gleaned from this visit. Maegi just hoped that it wouldn't take longer than a few days; she'd begin to jump out of her skin if she was away past a brief period of time.

trepidation grips scarab tightly, his stomach feeling like it's twisting into knots with each step towards the plateau that has supposedly become rusalka's new home. with each step he takes behind maegi, the muscles of his shoulders tense until he feels distinctly like a trembling coil ready to snap. lapis lazuli gaze darts to and fro wildly, unsure what he was walking to. he expects the sun and stars of his life to be dead — he's spent so long numbing himself that he doesn't want to give himself so much as a glimmer of hope. he doesn't want to feel the devastation that would follow the worst of his fears being proven right. yet, on the opposite spectrum he was also afraid of being proven wrong.

if they were alive ...how would they react? to him having survived on a very slim circumstance of chance? how would they react to the fact that he wishes to stay with maegi and her wolves?

there was too many questions buzzing around scarab's head which had already begun to buzz with anxiety and anticipation the closer to the plateau they draw. a deep, greedy breath is taken not having realized until his lungs ached for air and his heartbeat grew loud and desperate in his ears that he'd even been holding it at all. he hovers close maegi as they draw to a stop, wanting to turn back around. wanting to investigate further. wanting to throw up.

you're the scariest thing here, scarab and you know it. his inner monologue hisses at him. so then why was he suddenly terrified? if he was the scariest thing in the proverbial room then he shouldn't be afraid of either outcome. y-yeah. he responds to her question — because he does and chiefly he scents his siblings and his mother but his heart is pounding too loud and fast in his chest and that stuttering response is all he can commit to as his eyes remain transfixed on the unfamiliar territory that rusalka now calls home.

nanowrimo: 344

And then there was one.

All of Nieve's siblings—Marisol, Scarab, Clementine again, and now Reyes, too—were missing. Every single one, save her. The heart-sick pain that each disappearance surely placed on Erzulie's straining heart was mirrored in the oceanic eyes of her remaining daughter, who was sick with worry for each of her beloved brothers and sisters. She spent more time away from the plateau than on it, scouting for any trace of them in the surrounding wilderness. Any scrap of fur. Any paw print. Any scent line.

Every day she went looking, and every day she found nothing.

For once she was at home when an unknown caller came knocking, and near the borders on account of being ready to head out again. Nieve's ears pricked with interest, but it was with a slightly downtrodden mien that she made her appearance. She saw only two strangers at first, eyes gravitating naturally to the more authoritative of the pair, a white she-wolf with a number of war wounds. Her paws were dark grey mitts and one was twisted back at the ankle, and that was nothing compared to the permanent grin on one half of her face. As with Rosencrantz, Nieve's eyes threatened to remained affixed there ... but this time she mastered herself, turning her gaze to the other.

That greyish mask, so like mama's ... those darkened limbs ...

Scarab! Nieve gasped, astonished that he was here and alive just like she'd hoped and said he was, and she couldn't stop herself from leaping toward him to seek an embrace.

She blinked over at Scarab not without sympathy, noting the fear in his voice. Maegi knew what it was to come home, all joy and pain and nerves together. She hoped the reunion would settle him, if only by a small degree. 

A golden figure appeared—not a leader but a child, around the boy's age. That, coupled with her excited greeting, led the Melonii to believe this was a sibling. She smiled gently at the scene unfolding before her, mouth only moving to speak after a moment. 

Hello, Maegi greeted. Are your parents or leadership nearby? When I found out Rusalka had moved, I wanted to bring Scarab to your new borders right away.

anxiety grips scarab like the sharp, unrelenting pierce of demon teeth and he takes a small, shallow breath, focusing on the icy sting of it as it lingers in his lungs in an effort to ground himself as he waits nervously at maegi's side. in the future, he might look back at his anxiety at the moment and feel that it was ridiculous — this was his family — but scarab carries with him a dark secret that refuses to be forgotten and battles against any form of forgiveness he tries to banish it with. it was only survival.

but i'd do it again...

and on, and on.

scarab! a familiar voice gasps out his name and his ears cup forth to flutter back against his skull as nieve comes rushing towards him. his heart hammers in his chest, feeling relief and joy and fortune as his worries temporarily melt away as his sister leaps towards him, her body colliding against his in an embrace. hey nieve. he greets her thickly, tail swaying furiously behind him.

you're alive! his own astonishment hitches his voice into a higher pitch than he'd have liked as the shock of seeing her wanes — only to be overcome with sheepish apology as maegi speaks, asking if their parents or leadership was nearby. his concern about rusalka's leadership ( at least the leadership he remembered them having last ) was shaky at best, admittedly, his concern lay more present in the whereabouts and wellbeing of erzulie and their siblings. is mama and the others ok? scarab stage-asks.

nanowrimo: 273

You're alive! Scarab gasped at the same time as Nieve reached up to nip affectionately at his ear, and the same time Maegi said hello. She was so relieved. The return of Rosalyn was a balm for Erzulie's heart, and seeing one of her brothers returned safely was the same for Nieve's. She never doubted that they would each come back in their own time, but she knew Erzulie would be overjoyed to know that Scarab was alive and home.

To Maegi, she replied, I can call for mama, but I can also just show Scarab where we're staying now. After all, it wasn't like Erzulie needed to come here and admit him herself. Scarab was a born Rusalkan, and Nieve herself would thump Aningan into the ground if he had anything to say about her brother returning. Nieve assumed Maegi wanted to be thanked for helping him, though, so she took it upon herself to say, thank you so much for taking care of my brother. I know mama will appreciate it a lot, we were so worried.

After stepping away and throwing up a quick howl for @Erzulie, Nieve turned impishly to Scarab and said, c'mon, I can show you where we sleep and where the food is! No need to mention how little of that there was; they both looked as hungry as she felt. Oh, and there's this cave that's kinda like the grotto. It's not the same as home but it's close enough!

was waiting for someone else to jump in but since no one has, Maegi out!

Her heart swelled, and briefly, she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt that Scarab would be returning home with her. His choice, obviously. But wouldn't he want to stay here with his family? Wouldn't they want him to remain with them? Why had he chosen her and the woods—?

Ah. Impostor syndrome strikes again.

I'll leave you to it, Maegi told Scarab gently, giving him a nod. I'll be just outside the borders; call for me whenever you're ready. Mama had not yet appeared, and so she stepped back, letting the girl—Nieve—take the reins. She seemed far more qualified for a tour, anyway.

When the two were absorbed enough in each other to not notice her departure, she turned, mouth twisted in a troubled smile that could have just as easily been a grimace.