Nayru had stayed home most of the morning. When Gideon woke and left the petit female had lingered in bed in a most uncharacteristic manner. It was normally the two toned lady who rose first and crept from the apartment chambers on silent feet, long before the pack lands were buzzing with activity. The woman would make border sweeps, check in on the vineyards, the animals in the barns, then take the rest of the day to wander up and down the shores and through Trenton and Westville. When she found time for herself she would spar or hunt or simply tend to the garden outside of the apartment she shared with her closest family members. Yet more and more it seemed she did not need to tend to all these tasks.

The members of Ichika had seemed to take to their tasks rather quickly. The vineyards were doing better daily under the care of Siku and Nayru couldn't complain of Adonia's careful care of the animals either. The borders were often marked by other Ichikans when she found her way around them, and less and less did she run into members who were unhappy. Still some resentment for the merge lingered, but Ichika no Ho-en had seemed to take on its own life and Nayru no longer felt the pressure to try and keep it running. The pack almost seemed to run its self when all the members attended to their assigned task, it simply flowed in the most natural of ways.

And so Nayru did not feel guilty when the morning was mostly over and she rolled out of bed. Gideon and she had few belongings, but she spent the rest of the morning arranging what they did have in their apartment. Leisurely she would move one item from a spot to another, and sometimes she moved it back. Once all seemed to be in place Nayru moved to the door and finally emerged from the apartment. Compared to the filtered light of the apartment, the sun was blinding and Nayru stood blinking in the sunlight. When eyes adjusted to the change Nayru was not surprised to find Eclipse lingering outside in the shade of a tree. Easily she moved over to the girl and lowered herself beside the familiar face. Eclipse had come home and Nayru was glad, but still they had not had much of an opportunity to catch up. Nothing seemed more important just then.

The crimson eyes did not break their stare as Eclipse explained her feelings. Anxious? Nayru was anything but anxious. Nerves rarely hit her, the calm and stoic woman accustomed to still any turbulent feelings. On most any day she could force herself still, and rarely did she even had to force it. Even as Conor left and Nayru moved the pack she did not let anxiety gain any kind of hold upon her, and so she felt it only proper to dispel the jittery feelings from Eclipse as quickly as possible. That she should be the one to be sitting with Eclipse, planning how to ease the girl's discomfort, did not spark Nayru as strange. Although she had not recently had much time to spend with the girl, she had loved the child since the day of her birth. Nayru had watched as Bris brought the girl into the world, and watched as both Bris and Conor had walked away. Nayru couldn't always be the one to fill in the gaps the two might have left, but she had tried where she could.

Without prompting the girl suggested what was on the tip of Nayru's tongue. Hunting. It was a fine way to unleash pent up energy—Nayru understood this more than anything. Not only energy, but it could be cathartic for the mind and spirit as well as the body. Yet the girl, so thoughtful and kind, had qualms about partaking in the sport for the sake of the sport it's self. Nayru understood this. There had been a time when she could not kill for herself, and yet, if one was willing, they could overcome any mental barrier. “If you aren't hungry we needn't let the meat go to waste. We could smoke it or even bring it to someone else.” Nayru guessed at the reasoning behind Eclipse's reservations, and with a sweep of her hand stood up. Already decided on their activity she looked to the chocolate colored girl, waiting for her to rise up. “Where should we hunt? You lead the way.” Together they could bring down a large animal, given the skill Nayru was already adapted with and the promise and potential that the Jiryu saw in Eclipse. And yet, they would need to, for Nayru would be content simply to see Eclipse content with whatever kill came their way.

Eclipse seemed to brighten at the idea, they could hunt together and provide for Ichika. It seemed a perfect compromise, and surely the girl would have thought of it on her own given enough time. Nayru watched as the younger of the two shifted into her lupus form, the transformation happening seemingly effortlessly and quick. Inspired by the girl's quick change, Nayru shifted too although she was apt at hunting in any form she found herself. Her tall, two legged form soon became hunched over and the talons characteristic of the middle form sprouted from her now paws. As a secui she stood taller and bulkier than Eclipse, though the tiny lady was hardly large than the girl when they shared the same form. Nodding silent consent now that they both stood on four legs, Nayru let Eclips lead the charge away from the grassy yard they had been lingering in.

Soon Nayru realized where the two were headed: Phoenix Forest. Though half the forest still struggled to recover from the blaze that had reached it years ago, the forest provided a place for many of the prey creatures in Ichika. Eclipse was wise to choose such a location. The trek from their apartment to the forest was not an overly long one and Nayru felt no fatigue as they near the tree line. As they entered the area Nayru naturally slowed, her steps become near silent as her nose began to twitch. Hunting was second nature to the normally pacifist female, and it was not long before she picked up a scent. The smell was peculiar, and not normally an animal she thought of as prey, but it was the first thing she smelt. Porcupine. Turning blood colored eyes to the chocolate girl, the woman titled her head, as if to inquire if the girl had scented the creature as well, and if she felt adventurous enough to take on the challenge.

Nayru smirked at the girl's hesitance, though she was glad that Eclipse showed such good sense. Conor and Bris both had been level headed beings and their daughter had inherited that it seemed. In that split second Nayru realized how little she thought of the girl's parents, and felt a twinge of guilt. They had both given her so much, and rarely did their faces come to mind. Yet Nayru knew it was best to leave ghosts in the past, and as much as she had loved them that was all they could be. Simply she had to focus on caring for Ichika as Conor had cared for Dahlia, and caring for Eclipse as Bris might have done. But then, Bris had left her child at one point, and Conor had left Dahlia. A bitterness washed over her that she did not allow to stick. Those unhappy truths too were in the past. All the piebald lady could do was vow to follow neither of those paths.

Crimson eyes sparkled as she nodded to the younger girl. Even if the creature was a challenge, it was one that together they could conquer. The animals was slow, if well guarded. Alternating between keeping her eyes on the animal, and making eye contact with Eclipse she bagan to dance around the animal, springing here and there, towards and away from the quilled creature. Now and then she snapped at the thing, though inches away and the animal responded with angry grunts. The porcupine was getting riled up and began to waddle faster, trying to steer away from the pair of canines. Nayru knew that parts of the animal were softer than the rest, and they only need expose the underside of the thing. Nayru continued springing here and there, like a cat leaping in play, and hoping that Eclipse would catch on to her plan of throwing the animal off balance.