News travels fast in Moladion, especially when it was bad. She had heard that a wolf from Iromar had been murdered, and within the next week, she heard that it was Despoina’s mate. Her heart had broken for her friend, and still hurt for the slate-eyed woman. She couldn’t begin to imagine what Despoina was going through - or what her family was going through. Aurelia knew the pair had children together, and the loss of a parent was a pain Aurelia knew well. Anemone’s disappearance was still a thorn in her heart, even as distant as she and her mother had been. The she-wolf had been hesitating on going to find her friend - she was aware that the brawler might not want company as she dealt with the death of her mate. However, Aurelia’s sense of compassion outweighed whatever reservations she might have had. She’d headed down the mountain and found the familiar path back to Iromar, only to find that the she-wolf wasn’t there, and hadn’t been by the sound of it.

It certainly put her at a cross-roads. Despoina was her closest friend, and had always been there for her when she needed the other woman. There was no doubt in Aurelia’s mind that she needed to be there for the shadow and snow female, but did Despoina want her to be there? The girl had tussled with the idea for days at a time, spending more nights than she would like to admit up too late thinking about it. It took her maybe too long to decide, but eventually she did. Bright and early the next morning, Aurelia set off on a mission - find Despoina and do what she could for the woman. For all that the brawler had done for her, it was the very least that Aurelia could do. Her journey took her towards Iromar, though she hadn’t gotten too close when she found someone who could help. She might not have been very big, but apparently batting your eyes is just as convincing as a physical threat. The man was nice enough, but Aurelia was more than happy to slip away towards the grotto after he had told her that he’d seen someone matching Despoina’s description around there.

It didn’t take the she-wolf long to make it to the grotto, and mismatched eyes scanned the area as she started her hunt. Lengthy limbs carried her through the area, scaling the rocky area with ease. She had nearly given up her hunt, resigning herself to another trip back to Iromar to find any clues to where Despoina went when she caught traces of her friend’s scent near a cave. Aurelia didn’t fancy herself a tracker by any means, but this was important to her and it fueled her onward. Leaving no stone unturned, the slender she-wolf eventually came to a clearing that reeked of the she-wolf, though the snow and shadow woman was nowhere to be seen. ”Despoina, it’s - Des, it’s me,” she called, the nickname slipping off her tongue. She was at a loss for words - what could she say to make it better? ”I’m here, Des, and I’m not going anywhere.” That would do, she guessed - there wasn’t much more to say. Aurelia just needed Despoina to know that she was here for her, no matter what.