the desert. she had scarcely made it to salem, and it was rather immediate she'd not found it to her liking. she lingered at the fringe of cain's territory, and did much to avoid his company. his behavior in the commons had been enough to levy a heavy dislike for him, his demeanor and whatever future he intended for her to have in the desert. she had already begun to fear a legacy of chains, and imposed motherhood. he wished for his mares to be under thumb, cowed beneath him in a manner unfit for even hounds.

leonid came from aristocracy; she was bloomed from noble lineages and carried herself as such. she'd never deign to warm one's bed, nor be bedded by such loathsome beasts. it churned her stomach, and as daylight reached across the sands, leonid fled.

his eye was turned towards the mares there that seemed to live to serve. she fled, and it shamed her so to take flight in the way she had.

her body throttled into the waters, and the swim was hastened with the draw of the tide's current. she sought nothing from any, but when she came upon atlantis, she found something familiar. something that was of home. nicholas. uncle kolya. he'd been there, wherever it was she stood. he had been there, and his scent was scarce but enough to invite a thriving blossom of hope and optimism. she'd no way of knowing just then if it had been his home she'd come upon, but it gave her enough heart and strength to hasten her pace inland and deeper into the territory. she remembered the kind stranger from the commons, and even that fueled her quick pace deeper into atlantis.

her heart thumped heavily in her chest, with great hope that it would be either rougaru or her uncle who would find her first. at the very least, anyone but the beast she wanted to escape.