She could finally hunt on her own, and track on her own, she even learned how to tend to plants and best of all she could change. She grew up into a fine young woman as well. She was the same build as her mother, though she was shorter, and her fur was that of a mix between her father's and mothers. She had the same fine features as he mother though, her femininity radiated off her. She preferred being in optime form these days, unless she was hunting, until she could learn the use of a weapon. She was finding herself out of the territory of Crimson Dreams once more, looking for an old friend, but not finding him. She found herself yet again in the dampwoods. This was where she met him, after he saved her from a near certain death.

She sat on a rock, not sure which way to go this time, though she was sure she scoured everywhere near here, she knew that he had to live around here somewhere. She'd met him in these woods in two different occasions. Now she found little to no trace of him. She sighed, running her hands through her growing hair, which was only slightly darker than her fur.

He was tired- exhausted in fact. The day had been long and arduous, he'd slept the night before propped against a tree with an orphaned foal in his lap. It most certainly hadnt been the most comfortable of sleeps he'd had in a long while. The little black and white filly was tethered tightly to the tree they had claimed as temporary shelter, along with the magnificent beast he had managed to coax his way. It had been a lot easier than he'd first thought. He'd found the dark brute wandering close to the stream not too far away. He managed to get close and with a flurry had thrown a rope over the horses head. Expecting a struggle the male had dug his heels in and pulled. But it seemed the horse was already domesticated. He came easily and in his own time, pushing his face into Saul's chest when he was close enough to stop. It was clear he was a high spirited horse, but the days spent alone had worked on him. And just like that, two horses had come to him willingly. Admittedly he had picked the little filly up and moved her away from the carcass of her dead mother. But after that she had stayed with him, for comfort and warmth and food. And the male was clearly from a trader gone astray.

Still, the agouti male felt no shame in taking the horse home. If someone was careless enough to let him wander off, that was their loss. He'd named them, plucking two names from his head that had stuck. Hermes for the male and Arete for the little filly. He was going to rest this evening and set off early morning to get back home for the afternoon. He still had much to do and didnt want to waste any more time. He would have to carry the filly- she was far too frail and weak from lack of food and sleep to even hold herself upright. It would take longer, but it had to be done. For now the agouti male rested, eating another large strip of deer meat for his supper. It was nothing like fresh meat, but he couldnt exactly carry that about in a sack with him, could he?

A rustling in the bushes ahead of him made him start and turn. He had been leaning against the tree that had become his base, Arete by his knees, gently resting her head against his leg. Hermes stood a few yards away, tethered to the tree with one of the other ropes he'd bought. Standing and laying the sleeping foal's head on the ground, Saul stepped forward. At the same time, the bushes parted and a female walked out. He wouldnt have recognised her if her eyes hadnt been seeking the bushes, and hence he caught their gaze. Her body had changed, her attitude had changed, but her eyes were the same. His baby cousin, just a little bit grown up. He gasped and flew forward, a smile on his lips. "Eclipse!" He called, letting her know her cousin was here also.

She was so deep in thought she didn't consider anyone else would be in the woods, but she felt a presence before she heard the familiar voice. She jumped when she heard it, and then turned and saw who it was. For a moment, she was about to run, but such familiarity made her stay. It had been so long since she had been with family, friends she'd known, and this happened to be her favorite after her parents. It seemed she had finally been found.

"Uh Hi Saul."

She said quietly. For the first time in her life she felt shy and though his words were out of happiness they felt repremanding to her, because she'd ran off with not a word and had been gone for so long. She couldn't meet his eyes and she looked at the ground like a pup who'd been told she was bad.

For a moment, the brown and cream body of his cousin went rigid, the fight or flight response warring in her system. But as she emerged from the bushes, recognition reigned true on her face. A smile lit up the males features as he moved aside to let her in. Happiness seemed to be deep within her blue eyes, but there was something more. A hesitation there that the agouti male had no idea about. Surely she was happy to see him. Tail waving back and forward at the joy of finding her again, cinnamon ears flashed back against his head at her words. She wasnt pleased to see him. The uncertainty and hesitancy in her voice made his smile falter and fall from his face. This was not what he'd expected. Well, in all fairness he hadnt expected to find his cousin after so long. She'd disappeared, lost or wandering, either one. But that was what wolves did- Saul had been worried about her, but he knew she would be safe.

"Eclipse... aren't you pleased to see me?"

He questioned, green eyes seeking her blues to demand the truth from her. She was no longer a child anymore. Although she perhaps wasnt officially an adult, she closing in fast on her adult mark. Pups were considered adults at nine months, and Eclipse couldnt be far off the mark. Well, more for making her answer like an adult, if she was going to hesitate and become shy around him. This was family, she was his cousin and he to her. She should be overjoyed to finally find him at last. With a sinking feeling in his gut, he tried to keep her gaze steady with his, demanding and imploring to know why she was so shy and hesitent around her own flesh and blood.

She looked up at his question and what she felt made her inside wretch. To see his face like that was not what the little girl wanted to ever see on any family member. And she caused it. She started sniffling, feeling the tears coming to her, but she lowered her head, tucked her tail. She was scared.

I-I don't want you leaving. I don't want you to run away like daddy did.

Her voice was quiet, and sounded shamed, she hated herself now, not just for making him feel the way he did but having to tell him why she was upset with seeing him. She knew deep in her heart everyone would leave like her father. Her mother had grown distant after that and soon left too, but Eclipse didn't know that as she had already ran away by then. Eclipse covered her eyes with her hands to hide her shameful tears, what could Saul be thinking of her now?

And just like that they were awkward and shy and unhappy together. Eclipse reacted to his reaction in the only way she knew how- by mirroring it. And instead of a happy reunion, it was one plagued with uncertainty and confusion. Saul felt his heart give a squeeze as the mental images of him and Eclipse hugging and catching up fading in his mind. He didnt, however, count on her crying. Cinnamon backed ears rushed forward to catch the sound of his crying cousin, the sniffles and the firm fixation on the floor. And he moved forward as she spoke. He paused, thinking of the hypocricy of it all. Eclipse was the one who'd run, not him. He'd been in Dahlia all this time, right up until Dahlia de Mai was no more, sinking back into the ashes from which it had arisen. It was she who was so like her father. But he couldnt hurl these things at her, wouldnt. It wasnt her fault and there was no way he was going to hurt her.

"I wouldn't leave Eclipse. I go where my family goes... Or perhaps they go where I go, I'm not sure. Your father... Well we still dont know where he's gone."

He admitted before seeing the shame and hurt in her eyes. She couldnt help but cover her face in her hands, hide away. And Saul wasnt going to let her hide away. Soft but firm fingers reached up to pry her fingers from her face, softly stroking her cheek where a tear had left its mark. They were both so worried and shy it wasnt doing them any good. He managed a soft smile for his cousin, before he continued.

"But its okay now Eclipse. I found you... or you found me. You can come home... to your family. We've moved- Dahlia is no more. But Nayru has lead us past the mountains to make a new community with those from Phoenix Valley. We should leave soon... to get back for morning."

He was firm and insitent that she was coming with him- he hadnt yet noticed the pack smell on her.

His explanation was new to her, she had run from stuff like this, whenever it felt she was getting too close to someone.... she would leave afraid of getting hurt again, but as he pulled her hands down and looked at her with sincerity in his eyes she could see the mistake she had made, that she was the one hurting everyone now. He spoke again that their pack was moved. She wasn't sure what that entirely meant, other than Dahlia was no more. It made her heart sink, but Naryu kept most people together... so that would still make it the pack. He said they should leave and she stiffened a little.

"What if they hate me? I left them too, I don't want no one to hate me."

She said sadly, her emotions were confusing her and she was new to this whole situation. She looked back where she was headed originally. Back to Anu, back to the pack she felt distant from, not because they didn't like her but because she didn't want to get too attached to any of them. She looked at her cousin. Family should stick together, even if one of them hurts another. This seemed to be the best plan to go with, she wasn't going down with a little bit of a fight. She still was worried about them not liking her now that she did run off herself.

She was so different from the Eclipse he knew, but there was always something good to come of change. He would have liked to have the old Eclipse back, full of energy and adventure, but she wasnt the same. Her father had abandoned her and her mother was so vacant she was almost not there. Aunt Bris could never be found when you needed her and Saul missed his aunt dearly. Aside from his siblings and Eclipse, she was the only other blood relative still around- the closest link to their actual father. But she was almost gone, just hanging on by the tips of her claws to something that was never going to be. He could see the anxiety in Eclipse's body before she spoke and Saul shook his head softly. She had changed so much it was like a transformation. Cinnamon backed ears flashed forward as she spoke and he laughed softly.

"Family could never hate one another. And especially not this family. We have lost so much... But we're getting together slowly. We could never hate you Eclipse. And hey, nobody knows you ran way- we'll just say you got lost."

He said softly. He would willingly lie for his cousin if it made her feel better, if it made everyone look at her in a different light. But he already knew nobody was going to hate her. Melee and Range were a bit older than her, but he imagined they would become friends at least. The newest member of their mismatched family, little Wretch, might not warm to the brown and cream girl straight away, but he knew the little girl would like his cousins company soon enough. Saul straightened, guesturing for Eclipse to follow him. They would need to leave soon in order to get a good headway up the mountain. There was no doubt in his mind that Eclipse might refuse to come with him- she was with her family now, where she belonged.

Eclipse listened to him, but didn't like the sound of lying. She had been taught never to lie, and she wouldn't start now. She wanted trust, though who would trust someone who ran away from them? She felt she had little answers for that, but that was because she had not seen anyone of her family, that was until now. Saul didn't even seem upset, he even wanted her to go home with him. She bit her lip and decided, if worse went to worse she could still take care of herself, what did she have to lose? Thinking about her room in the mansion in Crimson Dreams, she was secretly happy she never decided to obtain anything she didn't bring along with her. Though she didn't own very many things to begin with. She looked behind her one last time, knowing she would more than likely come here a changed wolf, yet again, but if anything she hoped it would be for the better, but her mind still nagged as she followed her cousin into a new adventure, one she was very scared of.

end thread <33

Eclipse remained silent and the male took this as an agreement, or at least a concurrence. He was worried about her, but it was a normal thing for Saul to be worried about a member of his family. He had kind of taken up the mantle as head of the family, joint with Gideon, and he found it his job to be worried about them, to be concerned with their wellbeing. Eclipse followed him back to the smaller clearing where his newly acquired horses were tethered. He smiled softly as Arete strained against the rope to get to him and he moved swiftly over to stroke her soft muzzle. She seemed to want physical closeness since he'd pulled her away from her dead mother and fed her some dried berries. He was fine with that, and she would get her wish shortly. When they left for Ichika, he was going to have to carry the little filly in his arms- she wasnt strong enough to walk all that way. He glanced over at Eclipse, guesturing to the horses.

"This is Hermes and Arete."

He said softly before taking up his mantel by the tree again. He began to repack his bag, readying himself for the long journey ahead. They would need to travel through the night in order to reach Ichika by dawn and then Razekiel or Nayru would be called to accept his cousin into Ichika. It was an exciting prospect, but the brown and creme female didnt speak again and he seemed to understand her nerves and upset. So he left her to it, and soon enough, they'd left the clearing, heading back towards the Halycon mountain.

-exit saul and eclipse-