she had taken to wandering from spirane, pieces of her still lingering in iromar and with her family in the loner lands. the siren’s song of the mountain always called her back to the place of her birth, but it could not dampen the emotions that connected her to the rest of moladion. as the late afternoon light filtered across her dark shoulders, she began her trek. it was the path she had taken, backwards. she began at the riverside, staring at iromar - familiar in more ways than one, but never the home she had been searching for. her soul was meant for the mountains, she knew this now, but regret hung heavily on her heart. she had, admittedly, not given her all to finding peace in the marshland pack. she could rationalize that if she wanted to, but aurelia was not going to accept her own excuses. she had been looking for something, in iromar or in despoina she could not truly be sure, and when she had not found it, she had allowed herself to wallow in her misery. it was not fair, to the pack she had taken shelter in or to the woman who had granted her access to the packlands. they had exchanged parting words, and she felt as though they had left on good terms, but they were on very different paths now. despoina had smelt heavily of another woman and of children, starting her family and holding tight to the position of minos. aurelia had yet to succeed in her ambition, and the only family she had interest in was the siblings and mother she had turned her back on all those months ago.

wandering paws then took her through susil crags, not lingering longer than it took to make her way through the rocky terrain. her courage had found its stride here on the day she decided to leave, had pushed her lengthy limbs into a trot as earnest, eager energy flooded her. she was ashamed of that now, of leaving behind those who would’ve sacrificed themselves for her in a heartbeat. how many sleepless nights had her brothers traded off to protect them? she hurried along through mecor valley until she came to the pond, satisfying her thirst with the sun-warmed water. as she lifted her crown, blue and gold eyes caught on her reflection and she frowned. she knew she was more mature now, entering her third year of life, but she had not expected the change to be as physical as it was. she couldn’t recall the last time she had taken a moment to glance at her reflection, but still. where had the awkward, leggy teen gone? the traces of her mother she had been able to see where gone, replaced by soft, fox-like features. her discomfort and guilt grew - if she’d changed this much, she could only imagine what her siblings looked like. they’d met their father, nathaniel, once and she recalled how massive he’d been, and she’d bet her tail that her brothers were beginning to bulk up the same way. and little jubilee! what of her half-sister?

she shook her head once and then set out again as the sun began its slow descent. she arrived at the woodlands without another break, eyes peering uneasily into the shadowy forest. it wouldn’t take her long to find the den that they had shared, but she was unsure now. so much time had passed since she had last seen the four of them and she doubted that their reunion would be pleasant: berwyn would presumably be especially angry with her for her disappearance. and caderyn, the sibling she had been closest to, was probably hurt that she hadn’t told even him. she couldn’t even bare to think of her mother’s reaction when she hadn’t come back. with a deep breath to steel her nerves, aurelia entered the darkening woods without another moment of hesitation. small paws leave little by way of impressions in the damp earth and she moves swiftly, narrow frame weaving with ease through the tightly packed trees. when she arrives, she is met with a cold, empty den. the familiar scents of her family, faint as if they hadn’t been there in a while, make her heart ache and give a little flip in her chest. aurelia forces herself to think positively - without her, they were able to find a better den somewhere that was safer.

she won’t force herself to stay in the den, knowing it will only make the ache in her chest worse. she’ll make it as far back to spirane as possible before it becomes too dark, and rest wherever is convenient. in all truth, she had not truly meant to stumble in on the boy and his resting place. had her stomach not demanded food, she wouldn’t have began to track the rabbit, eventually bursting into a sprint when it caught wind of her. as it is, though, the rabbit disappears past the boy’s fallen tree and she is left gaping after it, uncertain how to proceed. she doesn’t even know if he was awoken by the entire ordeal, and as such she says, ”hello?” in a quiet voice, poised to slip quietly back into the shadows if he doesn’t respond. and if he does, well, who knows? maybe she’ll make an acquaintance, and this trip won’t be for naught.