Somewhere Over the Rainbow

She had been terribly worried about her sister as of late - for her sister Losa had fled from the scene of the pack meeting as if Duma was behind her. Losa had cried and said that she didn’t belong, but the truth was anything except for that. Losa had led them here, Losa had been strong for them this entire while. If anyone belonged to be happy and safe within Dierne Hrof, within Blossom Forest, it was Losa. And yet, ever since the pack meeting, she has been absent, gone. Every day, Zawyne left her aura flung wide open, searching for her, hoping to send love and support, which her sister was so obviously in need of. But she had not felt her sister‘s signature aura for many days now. The only thing keeping Zawyne from freaking out even further was the fact that there have been no gut punch, no ripping out of her own heart. At the very least, she knew that her sister was alive… But that was it. She knew nothing else about her sister‘s condition no matter how hard she tried to find her. And that devastated Zawyne.

And so, Zaffy had done everything she could to lead their people in her sister’s absence. But there was no kingdom to lead, they were a people without a home of their own. Back in their homeland, they had been the rulers, and the Tempests – both the Oferwederen and the Haelds - their guards. But here, their roles were reversed - the Tempests were the ones who ruled over their home, And the Arcus Irae were merely members of society, expected to contribute as if they were nothing out of the ordinary. To Zawyne, it was a relief of sorts, a breath of fresh air. She had never wanted to be royalty, have never wanted to be a princess even, but just wanted to be counted among one of hundreds, of thousands of their people. She had not been brought up being taught how to rule in any case - her sister was to be queen, and Zawyne to be a lore. And so, that was how Zaffy continued to contribute here - she kept an eye on all of the current pups, making sure they felt welcome and safe, while passing on stories to them that had been passed down through the generations. It did not matter whether or not the stories were true, nor even if the pups believed that the stories were true… For each one taught a lesson, ones that hopefully the pups would learn from and listen to so that they would not have to fail in order to fully understand it. That had been how Zawyne and Khaleesi had become such good friends. Perhaps at one time, Khaleesi had played a larger part in the pack, but since she had become pregnant, and then whelped out to the subsequent pups, she had withdrawn, focusing on family. But it was only after spending weeks with her and her pups that Zawyne truly understood why. Aside from her pups, Khaleesi was alone here. Her adopted brother Destan had disappeared some long time ago, and her mother, also adopted, had gone back to Kalgalath‘s homeland in order to help support his rule there. And although Khaleesi had somewhat grown up with Vladimir and Castiel, Vladimir had a family of his own now, that he now spent most of his time with. It was no wonder that Khaleesi felt alone. In her, Zaffy had found a friend, a kindred spirit. Which had made it all the more painful when Khaleesi had decided to leave, at least temporarily, in order to visit her mother. Khaleesi’s thoughts on it initially had been to leave without saying goodbye to her pups, to make it easier… But Zaffy had urged her to tell her pups when she was leaving, it was ultimately up to Khaleesi, and Zawyne could only hope for the best.

A bit of sorrow had set in then, for she was no longer solely worried about her own sister, but now her friend Khaleesi, and the loneliness could at times be overwhelming. And so when she heard a call from her protector, Zaffy was all too happy to respond. She yipped happily, and rose to her paws in order to shake the loose pollen from her pelt. It did not matter that dusk would be upon them soon, she had no fear of the outside world, especially since she would soon be with Adara. And it was with a smile upon her face that she trooped over the boundary line, her den being a previously empty one that had been dug near the south east region by the lake. It was not so far away from Vladimir‘s own den for his family, but enough of a distance to give them their privacy – but being close to Vladimir had initially made her feel more comfortable. She eased into a gentle lope, her long slender limbs carrying her gracefully through the dense copses of trees. Every once in a while, she paused, her nares flaring so that she could track down her protector, but it took Zawyne hardly any time at all to find her. Adara had sort of become like an older sister to her - the one that had gone off to college when she was still in middle school, and one she looked up to and trusted. Adara had never made her feel like she was confined, or that she was a prisoner. Her restrictions were few and far between, and Zawyne, to be quite frank, enjoyed the freedom. Once again, she yipped happily, though her muscles felt sore, and her stomach somewhat nauseous.

“I’m glad you called, I’ve been bored without Losa around… And to be quite honest having to put on a show of confidence for all the other rainbows all the time has been getting a little overwhelming… I don’t know how she does it so flawlessly and with such ease. I guess I never truly knew the weight that was upon her shoulders…” Without warning, she retched, gagging on her own bile as it projectiled in a small puddle at her paws. Zaffy blushed and looked up at Adara apologetically. “I am so sorry, that was so disgusting. I don’t know how that happened, or why it happened. Have not eaten anything off recently, all of my meals have been freshly caught… Unless…” A heavy, dark fear settled in the pit of her stomach and she took a step closer to Adara, but was ever conscious of the amount of space between the two of them. Fear rolled off of her in waves and she looked around at the woods. The sky was darkening, cast foreboding shadows from all the trees around her… She could hear her heart pounding in her mind… Had it always been so quiet? When did the bird stop singing? “Adara…Are you… Expecting someone else? Please tell me yes…”

WC: 1175

⁂Zawyne⁂Heart_ofGold⁂Lost^Princess_{of a}Faraway^Kingdom⁂

⁂Here^I_{am a}Commoner⁂Teen⁂