Wheeling Gull Isle dreamlover, come rescue me

Yuèlóng's border had remained marked in her absence. Ying nodded her head in approval and made a note to compliment @Orochi's work. She continued toward the island's heart, sounding short calls meant to capture her sister's (@Hua) attention. The huntress settled on the western lip, high enough atop the hill to avoid the smell of sulfur eminating from the tidepools below.

It was not long until Huā heard the summons of her sister, and, eagerly, rushed to greet her. She would find the source, the silvery girl sitting there upon the hill. Huā wanted to greet her with kisses a plenty upon the cheek, but she had come to find her sister was not so affectionate. She felt awkward to greet her with such simplicity, but still walks up beside her, bumping shoulders in a friendly hello. 英，你好吗了? 你吃了吗? She chuckles warmly.

Of course, I've eaten. Ying chirped her quiet hello and nipped at Hua's shoulder. She smiled, determined to keep any previous thoughts out of her present conversation. It feels like forever since I've been home. The huntress drew in a deep breath and looked over the hillside. While not fond of the island, she had to appreciate its beauty.

She settled onto her belly and motioned for Hua to do the same, if she pleased. Surely, her legs would get tired if she stood for the entire meeting. Did @Riluo make it home? The trip went on for longer than expected so I told her she could come back. Unless their younger cousin had followed from a distance, Ying would have assumed the girl had long since made way for Yuèlóng.

The silvery girl says the wait has felt like forever, and Huā hums agreement. Any time a relative left, she could feel their absence weigh on her; Ying was no different. When the girl emotions for her to lay down completely, she does not, but instead sits back on her haunches. 

When Ying asks about Riluo, she nods. 她三个天来家了。 Huā tells her, before offering her a sweet smile, 谢谢你，去跟她。 Curious, her gaze heads to the land, where she could make out the smudges of distant forests and mountains. 没有她，你去哪里了？

We saw Moonspear first, Ying explained, Hydra is the leader there. I can go with you to meet her. Hearing about all of the attacks in the plains made her wary of sending any wolf without an escort, herself included. She was sure that the area would eventually be secured, but they all needed to take precautions until then. I went to Neverwinter Forest. The leader there is a boy named Mal. They're both inland packs, a few days away. 

Ying knew better than to mention Rusalka. The thought arose, but she quickly forced it away. I moved down the coast a bit, too. Avoiding specifics was ideal. Hua might have questions about things that she'd said, so she wanted to keep conversation vague.

The information she gave Huā seemed good enough. Two packs that Huā would plan on visiting. She did not care to ask Ying to come along; she did not need to be escorted like a child. She decided she would go on her own time to ensure nuvujak would not follow. 

Mentions of further down the coast had her ears pricked a little. 北还是南？ Was all she would inquire. At least Ying had not mentioned finding any other packs nearby- Huā wanted alliances but she needed her space. The coast would belong to them and them alone as long as no others were near.

Ying lifted her snout and motioned toward the southern bay. @Aiolos might have been there, marking borders or hunting fish to fill the makeshift caches. She would have to send a messenger through the plains to tell the others of their expansion. There wasn't anything interesting. She wondered what she might find with more time to explore.

There is something else, too, the guardian sighed, Hydra and I talked about potential arrangements. She searched Hua's expression for her initial reaction. She seems serious, too. I wanted to let you know now before any decisions are made. Ying knew that she didn't need anyone's permission to take a mate, but she felt uncomfortable keeping such a big secret.

Ying points towards the south, letting Huā know there wasn't anything interesting. She nods, satisfied. The next part came as a surprise. Arrangements? Arrangements of what sort... something like, 你说的爱? Huā gasped like a teenage girl. Without waiting for her sister's answer, she bent down to give her a tiny playful shove. 哎，我很高兴!!

But then she actually thinks. Ying probably didn't swing the same way as her, which meant her arrangement would be with a man. 所以...你会走了吗? Her tone was pained then, the shift quick as her wagging tail stilled and drooped. The culture she knew taught that wives would leave home to live with their husband. It was the only way she knew; women were displaced, men would remain.

A pleasant reaction, albeit unexpected. I'm not sure she'll find someone good yet, Ying laughed, snapping playfully at Hua's shove, I hope so. She didn't want to be single forever. Flings were fun, but they didn't give her the enrichment she was really looking for. Aningan had been the spark to light this fire; if for nothing else, she could thank him for that.

The sadness was clear on her sister's expression. Ying shook her head and gave an assertive grunt. Hydra knows how serious I take my work. Right now, that includes protecting the family. She couldn't imagine being asked to join Moonspear, but would she oppose? No; she would rather move to an intermediate territory, where she could still keep a careful eye on her sisters. I'm not leaving, she assured Hua, content with her final answer.

Huā was relieved by Ying's comment that she wasn't leaving. Thank god- she did not know that she could continue on without her two sisters by her side. Now that they were reunited, she could not see them separated again. At least not too distantly, she hoped. Ying would always wander, this she knew- but she only wanted the nuvujak to return home every so often. If for nothing rather than to bother her with annoying yet charming energy, and keep Huā happy, knowing the nuvujak was safe. 

Returning to the prior humor and gossip, she wonders, 你认识他们中的任何一个吗？ 你对某人有看法吗？ As she questioned, a teasing smile played at her lips.

No, I don't think so. Before leaving the Wilderness, she had met one stranger. He'd called himself Revui, a sister of Hydra; Ying had not considered that he might be her eventual partner. She was largely uninterested in him, and if asked why, would explain that his energy was too overbearing for a husband. He would make a good soldier, but beyond that...Ying could only imagine the interactions that they might have. 

There wasn't much else to be said, so far as she was concerned. Her attention turned to Hua's love life — Have you met anyone you're interested in? — with a suggestive shrug.

She replies no, disappointing Huā's hopes of any tea spilling on her sister's end. But the question is turned back on her, and her eyes gaze somewhere distant as she thinks. Well, there's this girl...

不。我找啊找啊。 She sighed with a little shrug of her own, kneading her paws nervously in the sand before her. All the while honey-tea gaze flashed in her head, which she fought to shoo away.

Ideally, everyone would be paired by the season's end. Ying wanted nieces and nephews, little cousins she could train, but she did not want them through dishonest means. Find a mate, and soon, she teased, I want to see little babies this spring. 

Ying turned away from her sister and settled onto her back, deciding that it was a fine evening to sunbathe.

fading this