A lukewarm, pleasant breeze ruffled the ess’s beige fur, soothing the burning skin caused by the run she had just completed. While she had not known the terrain as well as she wished, the vixen had not gotten herself lost nor dead, which she humorously considered to be an achievement on its own. Kythera wistfully stared over the lake, spring wind sending ripples across the surface of the dark water. Before, the shadows of her homeland had never crept into her soul like this. Now… she could beg to differ. The ghosts of her past haunted her, tugged at her conscience, begged for her to return back to where she oh so desperately wanted to go. Shutting her whiskey brown eyes, a quiet sigh escaped from the fae’s lips. She could almost feel the salty sting in her nares…

Stop it, Kythera, the femme snapped at herself, jerking her neck backwards as her eyes flickered open. You’re not ever going to return, so you might as well just give up. For months now, Kythera had ventured back to the outskirts of the forest, portals traveling over the land beyond, wondering if she could make it home. The vixen had barely been able to make it here, and that was with aide… to attempt the return journey would be committing suicide, and she was very well aware of that.

Releasing one final sigh from her kissers, the ess crept forward onto the silky sand that made up half of the beach. Each grain crept into the pads of her feet irritating them yet it felt so soft at the same time. Soon enough, her pillars brought her to the pebbled part of the shore, and there she placed herself, banner curled neatly around her paws. Soon, Kythera began to absentmindedly push some of the smaller pebbles around with the tips of her paws, trying to distract herself from the burden her past life was becoming.