Noctisardor Bypass Lost in myself

Malila was finding life difficult without Speedy by her side. She had a hard enough time adjusting to Rivenwood when she arrived with her mother. Now that she was gone to who knows where, she felt more out of place than ever. She wanted to get to know these wolves, to make friends with them and even discover a common interest or two. She already knew she was in good company, being in a pack composed of wolves with medicine in their background. It was coming out of her shell that was the hard part.

Sitting by the edge of the river that carved through the heart of the valley, the blonde and chocolate teenager was a lone figure. Peering back at her through the clear reflection of the water was a delicate, beautiful face. One eye of sapphire, the other of yellow amber. Dull sadness filled them, along with a deep look of contemplation. Her ears slicked back. Maybe she had grown too dependent on her mother. Instead, perhaps she should try striking out. It was a thought, she guessed, as she glanced to the mountains beyond her home. But how could she make it out there? She had no survival skills. All Malila had known was a sheltered lifestyle. She was hardly fit for the wilds.

"come this way!" skaigona urged of @Druid.
the two were on an excursion outside the new den. the war-child had caught the scent of water, and knowing it to be a source of great amusement, as well as the center of new life.
cicadas drowned. she set a quick path for the waterway, looking back once along her shoulder to see if they'd be stopped.
giggling, skaigona eventually slowed to a panting halt, staring not at the wending crystalline ribbon, but at the dejected shoulders of a stranger.
"do you know?" she stage-whispered to druid, casting the girl a very brief look before her attention locked back upon the older wolf.

As they headed into the dog days of summer, Druid felt like a wilting flower. The heat pressed on her, always, and the air grew hazy and difficult to breathe. Even after the sun went down each night, there was no real respite. She found some solace in the shade or in the shallow waters of the lake, though there was no true escape.

It was only the promise of finding water that convinced Druid to leave her shallow dugout beneath a shrub to follow Skaigona. Panting, she padded after her pale sister, eyes fixed on the reddish fur that marked her spine. Why did Skaigona and Witch look so much like Sequoia? And Worripa looked just like a miniature Mahler.

She had seen her reflection in the lough. Druid didn’t look like anyone else in her family. And she had funny eyes. She frowned thoughtfully when Skaigona’s question scattered her thoughts. The pup dug her black toes into the earth, nearly losing her balance as she ground to a halt.

They were near where the lake emptied into a river, or was it the other way around? Druid would’ve assessed the current if not for the figure straddling the bank. To Skaigona’s sotto voce query, she could only shake her head in silence, her mismatched eyes fixed on the pretty stranger.

Malila remained lost in her own little world, consumed with her thoughts. This meant that she was completely oblivious to the slow approach of two pups, both of whom were staring at her quizzically. With her blonde back turned towards them, she made for an easy target to sneak up on.

With her slouched, hunched shoulders, she was hardly the picture of happiness. Down through the water she eyed the silt and pebble bottom. Followed the darting movements of the small minnows. She took no pleasure in these observations. It all seemed without meaning. Deflated, she slumped down to her chest, paws outstretched to dangle over the bank. What else was for her to gain in this life?

druid did not speak and the stranger did not turn.
skaigona's brow furrowed. she was rather used to eliciting some sort of response, and began to pant again in the sweltering air. yet her curiosity was not diminished, and she crept forward. it was more for the water than the newcomer, though the war-girl kept her attention carefully trained.
her small paws bumped against the river-shallows, and she splashed into it, forgetting for a moment that she and her milk-sister were not alone.

The stranger didn’t seem to notice the two youngsters. Druid peered pensively at her back, admiring the markings there. They reminded her of a bird’s wing. Perhaps drawn by the other’s beauty, she began to tiptoe forward right around the same time Skaigona waded into the shallows a few feet upstream.

She tripped over her own feet a little as she hastened to the water’s edge, keen to stick close to her sister and get her feet wet. She forgot all about the direction of the current as she sank her toes into the shallows with a soft sigh of relief.

Druid hadn’t forgotten the strange she-wolf and peeked at her out of the corner of her eye, her tail stirring tentatively as she offered a quiet, Hello.

posting to wrap this up, lmk if you want to finish it, mai! <3

whatever the stranger said, skaigona was tempted away by the cool of the water. she drank thirstily, cast a glance toward the unknown wolf, and then decided her time was better spent searching for a more shadowed place.
with a look toward druid, the girl began to traipse away, nose to the ground as she picked up milk-mother's scent for a return.

I’m gonna wrap Dru here too and archive, though I’m happy to revive and yeet her back if you want to continue this. :)

The young woman didn’t seem particularly interested in the pups. She reminded Druid of Laurel. Though she lacked any physical wounds, there was a sense of melancholy about her. All of these things compelled the youngster to withdraw downstream, particularly when Skaigona drifted.

While her sister began to track away from the water, Druid remained by the shoreline. She waded into the water now and again to escape the heat of summer’s breath. Every time, she noticed small fish scattering just below the surface. She wondered if she could catch one, though they were swift.

She tried a few times. Only once did she actually manage to brush a paw against one of those streamlined, scaly bodies. She gasped, scooping it toward herself, but it easily slipped free and vanished. Druid stared after it, frustrated and impressed in equal measure.

Soon, she gave up on fishing. Instead, she turned her attention to the other creatures lingering in the lagoon—from the ducks to the dragonflies—before thinking to head back toward its mouth to find out for certain whether the lake emptied into the river or the other way around.