The concept of not being able to feel that way again is devastating.

— just a tag for courtesy my dear <3 Of course you're welcome to crash the party if you want!

In the days since they'd explored the forest more Hades had spent most of his time with Persephone. It was easy. Too easy. Talking with her - about anything, nothing, it all seemed effortless. When they had split off from one another for a bit, he'd wandered back into the forest in the idea of exploring more. He knew that @Persephone was close enough to hear his call and he'd hear hers if she needed something. But he liked the idea of just spending some more time just to find the nooks and crannies of the forest itself. 

The afternoon let him reason with himself, too, looking at the varied trees and the sort of protection that they offered. It would have been the most perfect place for a pack, he reasoned, it would offer plenty for a herd to move through and survive in. Maybe this was why they'd found it first and why they still hadn't left it for too long. No matter how they strayed they bunkered down protected and hidden by the evergreens. A branch dropped it's snow burden on him and Hades let out a sputtering sound, shaking the excess snow off his coat while he rumbled indignantly. At least no one but the trees were there to see him. 

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Gina, some assumptions on location since we haven't finished our current "waking up" thread. PM me if you want anything changed!

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While she sorely missed her mother and sister and remained very confused about the strange situation they'd found themselves in, Ciri felt a lot better to have someone familiar that she could rely on. Together they'd figure it all out and in the end, surely, their family would all be together again.

Mountains were comforting so from the misted woodland where she and Keres had surfaced, they trailed South across the grasslands toward the nearest spires where they could rest and seek a better vantage point.

Unfortunately the land there seemed barren, but a dense forest beneath the mountain seemed to have signs of activity. Wolves had passed through recently and, eager for any suggestion of where her pack might be, Ciri bounded through the snow in search of someone who might be able to help.

When she spotted a dark figure as he picked his way through the trees, the youth called out boldly to draw attention to herself as she veered his way: "hey! Hey, have you seen anyone else around here?"

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He heard the voice and it made no mention of his embarrassing dunk beneath the snow - so that was good. Hades at least didn't need to worry about that. "Only my companion." He said quickly - and was aware of the defensive, near possessive note to his voice. There hadn't been anyone else, yet, and he'd become attached to her in a way he couldn't figure out. That was to consider later. His eyes drifted slowly over the woman, blues eyes a bit calculating. "How long have you been alone?" 

It seemed that many of the wolves of the area got separated and disrupted from their day to day. So what did it mean about the land? Was it something sinister making them all feel this way? Or maybe something entirely different? He wasn't sure at all. It was a lot more to think about but the selfish part of him didn't care. He'd found Persephone this way, after all. 

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He turned to her, and spoke of a companion - singular. Ciri eased to a halt close to him, huffing smoky breaths from her run as bright eyes roved the stranger's features with curiosity. He was not like any of the wolves she remembered and, having missed the tone he carried when he announced that he wasn't here by himself, she scrunched her nose at the question he followed on with.

"I'm not alone," the young Ostrega chirped in response, dark ears tilting back. She stole a quick glance at the forest around her, noting that the sterling adult hadn't yet pursued her trail. "My aunt Keres is with me, and nearby." A pointed look toward the stranger then, as she mused; she'll eat your face if you touch me.

She felt a little wary beneath the intensity of his gaze, but was unafraid. Ciri flicked her raven tail and carried on: "anyway, I'm looking for my mom - she's... brown. With yellow eyes." Not particularly descriptive, but it was all she had to go with. "And my sister! She's a lot lighter - gold, with purple eyes!" A smile tugged at each corner of her maw, and she pressed: "you seen anyone like that?"


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Although he tended to be helpful when he could be, he'd found that with Persephone to focus on he was a bit more protective. It didn't help either that the way the world here seemed had him just.....on edge. He held back a sigh, but he did dutifully listen to the descriptions that were given as if he might have an idea who he was looking for. The colors of the second - the sister - was almost Persephone's look. But still, it was impossible to miss the pink of her gaze. "No, the only ones I've seen so far are my companion and myself. This forest - we've kept up around here for a bit. It's impossibly huge, but, we haven't even found anyone else's scents." Hades admitted as he gestured up to the trees with his snout, watching as the haze of snow lazily drifted down. It might be the last big one before spring started to creep closer. It was hard to say. 

The forest was vast and there was a chance that the wolves she sought were out in its expanses. Even with exploring, they hadn't tracked a quarter of it, by his estimations. "There's a river up ahead, it cuts through the forest and back towards the mountains. Maybe it could be a useful border to help you track if you're trying to hunt them down." Hadoes wasn't going to promise his help - nor nominate Persephone without discussing it with her first. 

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Cameo!

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Far back, she lingered, watching her niece's interaction with the man from a distance. Should he prove a threat, a nuisance, anything but helpful, the valkyrie would dive in to rescue her young niece but it seemed that that would not be necessary. At least not immediately. She was too far to hear what he told the girl, of course, but not far enough that she could not see the direction in which his muzzle pointed. The Ostrega warrior let out a single bark, a call to them both, an indication of her presence and of her intentions. She would move in the direction he pointed; Ciri could follow along as she pleased. Her scent would be strong enough to follow, after all.
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She followed his gaze upward, and frowned a little at the sight of flurrying snowflakes that drifted from the canopy above. Already Ciri was growing tired of the Wintertime, of the biting cold on her toes and ears, of having to press through drifts. At her young age and petite size, it was enough to slow her down when all she yearned for was the ability to move forward. 

"Okaaay, so..." she considered the forest, and looked in the new direction of the adult's sapphire gaze to examine the density of its trees as he mentioned the extreme lack of their own kind among them. "Now you found mine! Or, rather, I found yours?" The bark from her aunt that echoed from close by was noted with a backward cant of a sable ear, but her focus remained on the stranger.

He seemed keen to encourage her away, which was... interesting. Stubborn and disobedient, Ciri figured she would hang around and question him a little longer. "Are you and your friend going to keep all this for yourselves?" That would be pretty cool, though hard to maintain. Pack politics and the maintenance of territory were lost on her, but her imagination was vibrant as she considered herself Queen of some faraway spire.


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The much smaller female seemed to have no issue staring at him. The lone bark caught his attention but it wasn't Persephone and thus of no real consequence to him. But that did mean two wolves around. That did mean that there could be more wolves around. He wasn't threatened by that in the slightest notion - not at his size, and not with the demeanor he had. Hades just wasn't interested in leaving Persephone for too long to go try and hunt down some strangers. "We are." Hades said simply. As much as they'd worked in the forest already, he felt like he knew it well enough and he'd oddly gotten a touch possessive. There was this feeling and sensation like the forest wanted him too and he couldn't put that to words. It was this strange notion. 

"There hasn't been much life around this area, now the two of you - but we haven't seen anyone else yet." The idealistic nature he'd live in the past few days would of course be crashed by his brother but he could pretend for a bit. He found he liked the snow and the trees and how peaceful it all seemed. The night sky above and how only high noon truly broke through the shade of the trees - it was idealesque. Some sort of picturesque thing. "The lake has been where we both showed up......neither of us remembering much from before. It's something about this area." He admitted after a lengthy pause. 

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"Oh," she twitched her nose, a little surprised to hear that this wolf and his companion wished to hold an entire forest for just themselves and with no pack to support their claim. She supposed he might not be overly serious about that considering his neutral reception of her, though if she and Keres were the first to wander through then he might have to be less relaxed with "trespassers" in future. "Well... it's a nice place you've decided to call home." If you like never seeing the sun.

She canted her muzzle curiously, for her aunt had been just as disorientated as she'd been on waking up in the misted woods, so it seemed to be a pretty normal experience. Her mother must be pretty close by, Ciri thought - how huge could the world really be?

She thought about that for a moment, then brightened as she cheerfully offered, "I'm Ciri, by the way! What's your name?"


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Hades was a King. A god. And the idea of bowing to anyone was too laughable to him to consider anyone else having control over his territory. He knew there was still a lot he didn't remember but the fact that he could recall only these hazy notions was enough for him. "It is beautiful," Hades agreed. His gaze shifted from the younger wolf to the trees again, admiring the way that the wind swept slowly through them. It gave it all this otherworldly appearance, this ethereal sort of grace. 

"Hades," He offered smoothly. Ciri, as it was, had no issue introducing herself or holding her own it seemed. Even if there was a silent watcher out in the trees. One ear stayed turned just to make sure that he wasn't snuck up on. "Are there others with you?" He asked. It would shock him if someone so young was all alone, but, it wasn't unheard of with their kind. Before they'd gotten much further in their conversation another call had come - Hades assumed from the same source as the first. He wished the girl well before she left and when they'd parted he returned to Persephone to tell her about the encounter. 

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