My c o l d desire
to hear the boom, boom,
b o o m of your heart

The last months of her first year as an adult had been harder than she had imagined. Her mother had lost to the throne to a gargantuan who had kept them at arms distance. It was as if he had loosened the knot that held them together and it would matter little how much she grasped at the loose ends--she could not hold them together and it weighed heavily on her spirit. She had tried to stand by her mother's side as she birthed another half-blooded sibling that no doubt would be weaker because of her false blood. She had tolerated Vague's idle threats towards her for attacking Vidar. And then, she had found Ajax. He was a weakness that she could not abide--his leg proof to her that it was her long lost brother. She had stalked him for weeks before she fell upon him and this time she left no question as to if he was alive. And then something she thought would never happen happened. Her beloved sister, her Moon, left them. Celesdue. Did you know how much your sister was hurt by your departure? Did you know the rage that you created? Did you know how lost she would be without you to guide her? Caligula would never be quite the same.

She emerges from the cave that she and Tesseract call home these days. The sun was bright but warm on her features. An Indian Summer day or so it seemed. Already she noticed that their coats were growing slowly into ones they donned in winter. It would be the first winter of their adult lives, and she had mixed feelings towards the coming season. She knew that the pups they brought in the world would have a tough go at it since they were essentially homeless. True, she had made the decision to leave Iromar to it's widow and their mother, but Caligula had always envisioned herself bringing up pups in a pack of their own. The night goddess had every faith in her sun prince, her beautiful Tesseract. He had seemed to think there was worth in what was left of their half siblings, but Caligula could see their slow spiral towards their execution. Didn't Heyel have it out for their mother and Vague? Iromar in general? It was a dismal thought but one that was honest. She sought to get away from it all and once more let their names rise on the tongues of wolves.

Caligula weaves her way between the rocks, to the water's edge to quench her morning's thirst. The cool water that touched her tongue no longer held the staleness of Iromar's swamps or the danger that a large pair of jaws would snap her underneath the murky waters to her death. She lifted her head, the mismatched eyes watching the world around her. She had survived so much, would she continue to do so? Or would she fall to the fate of her Mother? Caligula felt like she was living a life that was so foreign to her that she felt lost for the first time in the entirety of her life. But there was one thing she was certain of, and that was Tesseract. He was her equal, her other half, and the love of her life. Together they would accomplish much, she knew, but she was growing impatient. She glances around one more time before she weaves her way through more rocks and finds a visitor to her own little sanctuary.

She pauses, watching this other for a moment before blatantly making herself known by sending a few pebbles cascading down the slight incline. She did not fear the other, for the smell of her former allegiance was long gone and she had made no true enemies. (Save for Vidar and anyone that valued Ajax's life) but either way, she could take care of herself. The teamed pair had fed well during the spring and summer, unhindered by the lack of numbers. Sure, the prey had been smaller but there were less mouths to feed. She and Tesseract worked without really thinking about it. He was never far from her mind. Still now, the mute wolfess watches this other and wonders just how this little encounter would go.