A year had come and gone, and I had found joy once more in the time I had spent with my grandparents in Diveen. Grandma Andromeda had instilled a new sense of confidence in me, her gentle nurturing nature of course balanced by Grandpa Azrael's brash bluntness, serving to toughen me up a little bit. Still, deep down I knew that part of me was delicate and fragile, the part that could only think, No one ever even came looking for me. I didn't tell anyone where I was going, and no one noticed I was gone. But I traveled north with a renewed bounce in my step, a liveliness I had lacked when I traveled south a year prior. Running away would solve nothing. It wouldn't mend the relationships with my siblings that I yearned for so much. It wouldn't make Astraea care more about me than her friend Zelda. Mom and Dad wouldn't be able to help me become a better version of myself if I hid away from them under the care of my grandparents. After encouragement from Grandma Andromeda, I finally turned north once more and left Diveen behind. I would return to Taviora, and just hope that there was still a place for me there.

The confidence that my grandparents had helped to bring to the surface in me kindled a more adventurous spirit within my heart. I wasn't sure what it was that pulled me further and further west, but when I approached the base of the mountains and had a choice to make - the familiar trek around the eastern fringe of the foothills or the unknown wild lands to the west - I took the path less traveled. And though I stuck to my decision, the further afield I traveled the more I wondered what in the world had possessed me to take the long way around to the forests of Taviora. Something tugged at my heart, perhaps at my very soul, and I was reminded of that day two springs prior when I had first met Isaac. Still, I didn't make the connection entirely, didn't fathom that perhaps he was out there in the great world beyond Moladion's borders, and my paws were trying to guide me to him.

Instead, the all too familiar feeling of nervousness began to well to the surface once more. I hastened my pace as my tail began to curl between my hind legs. It had been many months since it had plastered to my stomach, but it was quickly headed that way. Something didn't feel quite right, despite the warmth that encapsulated my soul. Things were out of balance, and I began to lope along the western edges of Spirane's realm, thinking maybe I should just cut across the territory to get to Taviora quicker. But I didn't dare to trespass, I wasn't brave enough to take that kind of risk.

At the sound of a snapping branch, I froze. My ears pricked alertly, and finally the tip of my tail made contact with my stomach. I was close, I was so close to Taviora I could smell the pine fresh forest. Swallowing hard, wide eyes scanned my surroundings, hoping to see a deer bounding away from me. The sight that met my eyes wasn't a prey animal, but it did allow me to release a breath and smile chidingly at myself. Two young bear cubs were playing underneath a nearby tree, and I watched them for a moment. So carefree, siblings who were the best of friends. I remembered a time when I had been so close to my sister and brothers. It was a friendship that was supposed to last a lifetime, and I felt a renewed sense of purpose to get home and find at least one of my siblings before the day was out. I realized it was starting to get dark and glanced around. Terror gripped me when I realized that the shadow that had fallen over me was not due to the setting sun...