######Once again, Princess had been keeping to herself as of late; there did not seem to be anything interesting for her to do. She wanted to see Haven again, of course, but she was beginning to realize the possible complications of their relationship. . . Namely, the pack situation. She could never leave her brother again, and she did not think that Haven would leave his pack to return here. Truthfully, Princess was a little bit afraid that she was going to grow even more attached to Haven and that they could not find a way to be together, and she feared how much that would hurt. They had to find a way to be together, if their relationship kept growing and moving forward at the rate it was. Unfortunately, she just could not think of a way for this to happen, unless she convinced her brother to move to Haven's pack. That would never happen; Ares would not happily find a way for his sister to be with the one who had defowered her in a way he disapproved of, and she also could not expect him to leave Mati, knowing how her brother felt for the larger girl. Oh, it was troublesome, indeed.


######To go along with her seclusion and worries about her relationship with Haven, Princess was beginning to feel that urge again. No, not the urge that she had fulfilled with the Knight from the miracle pack. It was the same urge that had made her leave her brother when they were so much younger. Princess wanted to seek out Tokyo once more. She supposed what she wanted was to find out how her mother had been handling her absence, or if she had even noticed that her daughter was gone. Did she know the truth, or was she still living the lie that Princess had spun with Cercelee? Unless the Rosea had told her mother the truth, which she did not find likely at all, then she knew that her mother would still think she had been kicked out of the pack. If that was the case, why had her mother not come looking for her yet? She didn't want her mother to find her, she did not think, but she wanted her to try. Princess wanted to know that her mother still cared. Despite everything, she still had some form of absurd love for her mother, and still wanted her adoration, just to be away from her as well.


######The air was crisp, as it had been now for quite some time, the heavier aspects of winter approaching soon. Walking with her arms crossed beneath her chest, Princess' hair moved around her face heavily, annoying her, though it was something she could expect from walking on the beach. It was only as she got closer to the water did she notice the wolf in the waves thrashing about, and for a few moments, the girl stood there, staring in bewhilderment. What was she doing? Princess almost shook her head and walked away, but then it dawned on her that the wolf had not resurfaced the last time, and that maybe there was something wrong. Shrugging out of her dress, the girl half-folded it and put it on the sand, taking a moment to shift into her lupus form. She didn't know what she was going to do, she realized as she raced into the water, waves crashing against her legs, but she certainly wasn't going to let something bad happen if she had seen it begin. She was closer to where she had last seen the wolf go under now. "Are you okay?" she yelled into the water uselessly. Really, what else was she going to do? She lowered her face into the water, jaws open and ready to snap and pull at any skin beneath her teeth - preferrably, the back of the neck - to drag the wolf out of the water if she could manage to. She had to try to do something, didn't she?

######This was the first time she had been forced to act on impulse to help someone else, and Princess was surprised at how smoothly it went as she dragged the other wolf closer to the shore. She had always logically thought of herself to be too small and weak, despite how big and strong she saw herself in her mind's eye, to be able to really help anyone. Princess was dainty, far too petite to have enough strength to pull an adult wolf out of the rapidly moving ocean alone, and yet. . . She did. As bizarre as it was to think that she had done something useful to someone else in such an obviously dire situation, she couldn't help but find it unbelievable. "I. . . Saved you!" she said, tone far more amazed than demanding of praise. The gratitude was lost on her as she thought for a moment about what she had done. She, Princess Chance, had saved someone from drowning. What might have happened if she had not happened to come along to save this wolf? The feeling of importance swelled throughout her for a few moments before she remembered that, while she had saved the other one, the other wolf was still there and probably needed something. It was possible that food or drink would be a good idea, and most definitely warmth, but Princess did not know exactly what to do. . . And what if she needed actual medical attention? Goodness, Princess would certainly be lost then. Perhaps she even wanted to join the pack--that would be neat.


######Knowing that she had no experience with anything medical, with the exception of helping to bandage Haven's wounds the first time he had come here to see her, Princess lifted her muzzle and called for Savina or Anu to come, as well. Even if they did not know what to do to make someone better after almost drowning, they would surely have an idea. She lowered her head, golden gaze settling on the sopping wet form of the other wolf as she quickly shook the water from her own coat. It was cold! "I'm Princess Chance. What were you doing in the water, anyway? I called for Savina or Anu, by the way. They're our leaders. I've only met Anu once, but Savina is really nice, and I'm sure one of them will be able to help you now that I got you out of the water. Who are you?" The words all came quickly, leaving no time for a response to be made by the other until the end of her short speech. Once she was finished speaking, however, she looked at the other female expectantly, as if she should have answered already and was crazy for not having done so. The old Princess would have thought it very rude for the other to not have answered her yet, but she had actually matured some since leaving her mother. It was nice knowing that she could not be considered as spoiled and useless as she used to be.

######Princess studied the soaked female, finding it a bit strange that she seemed uncertain of the Dreamer's name. Really, it wasn't difficult to pronounce, and while it was not particularly a common name, it wasn't as if she had stuttered or anything in saying it, so there was no need to doubt that it was her name. Of course, most found her name a bit strange, although not as strange as the name her brother had given up. If only she was able to tell anyone who seemed less than sure about her name that her brother had been named Buttface. Then they wouldn't think her name so different anymore, no they wouldn't. She could thank Tokyo for the many incredulous looks she had gotten on behalf of her name. "Yeah, it's Princess," she said in an offhand tone, hiding her annoyance about the uncertainty in the other's voice. Even if she thought such a reaction was a bit rude, she wasn't going to say that now, not after she had rescued her from the thrashing waves. That could always wait until later, if she remembered her annoyance at all by then, which was unlikely.


######Nodding, Princess hoped that Savina or Anu would arrive soon, as she was very cold now. Laidaria must have been much colder, but of course, Princess did not think of such things right away. "This is Crimson Dreams, and I'm sure we can get you somewhere warm--maybe the mansion, it's where most of us live--once Savina or Anu arrive," she added, although such sentiments did not seem necessary, she realized, as Savina was approaching them now. Truthfully, she was very glad that it was Savina, simply because she hardly knew Anu at all. They had only met once and it had been during the pack's celebration. "This is Laidaria. She says she was, or is, a sailor, and she got thrown off of her ship for some reason. I just happened to be nearby, and she was almost drowning, so I saved her by pulling her out of the water," she added, a touch of pride in her tone. It was not every day that she was able to do something to help someone else, and though she very rarely went out of her way to do so, it was nice to know she had done something good for the pack.


######She smiled up at her ebony leader then before turning her attention back to the stranger, who was technically no longer a stranger. Not only had she saved someone, but she had also greeted someone who might want to join the pack. Considering she had said she had been thrown from her ship and not that she had fallen from it, Princess decided that it was safe to assume that she was not planning on returning to her ship any time soon. "I think she might need a home," she continued, glancing once more at Savina before directing another question at Laidaria. "Do you?" Well, it was no matter whether she wanted a home or not, really. "At least, we should let her warm up and stuff. The water's really cold." Of course, Savina would likely know this already, but Princess had decided it was important to inform her Commander of everything she could possibly think of for this situation.

######Simply put, Princess was incredibly pleased with herself, and it seemed that her Commander shared a similar view. She had no idea what sort of debt she was owed by the former sailor, or what she would possibly get out of it, but it was of little importance now. Technically, the ebony wolf from the ocean had already thanked her, and the Dreamer did not really need much more gratitude. It was certainly appreciated, but it was not necessary, and she was just glad to have done something genuinely useful for someone else, a change for the young girl. She had never considered herself to be selfish, but she had learned from her mother to put herself first in general. It was an unintentional thing, and she did hope to eventually change that personality trait of hers. It was an unnecessary one, and it was also generally not appreciated by others. Many times in her life she had been called a brat, and she suspected that it may be somewhat related to the fact that she cared more for herself than most others. With Tokyo as her only role model as a young pup, however, could anyone honestly blame her?

######Things began to move underway, words passing between Laidaria and Savina, the pair more similar than Princess could know. Despite her fondness for her leader, the girl really knew very little about her. She knew that she had siblings in the pack and that her sister had recently become a mother, and she knew that she had three children (all of whom Princess had met at some time or another), but that was really all that she could claim to know about her. There never seemed to be enough time for her to get to know Savina more personally, since the Commander was surely busy often, and she was also often engrossed in one thing or another, generally menial tasks that did not actually need to be done. Truthfully, Princess did not know very many others on a personal level. The majority of those that she met could only truly be called acquaintances, as one had to know someone more to consider them a friend. It was unfortunate, but it was definitely hard for her to try and change that.

######There was not much for her to say, and for once, she did not feel the need to interject her voice more than necessary. It was uncharacteristic of her to stay so quiet, but until they got to the mansion and began conversing more, there was not much she really could say. Instead of trying to think of something, however, she trotted dutifully to be near her Commander’s side to walk and talk—or rather, more likely listen, since she did not seem to have much to say in the given situation—on the way to the place that most, if not all, Dreamers called home. It was possible that something might strike her as important along the way, and this, and the desire to be warm and dry herself, made her stay with the other two on the way to the manor. She probably wasn’t needed, but she was going to be there either way.

######The two ebony wolves spoke to one another over her silence, but it did not matter to the younger woman. She had nothing to contribute to the conversation, though she did spend some time thinking back to her own day of joining the pack. It had not been her first meeting with Savina, but she could not remember if she had been asked the same question, and if she had, what she might have answered. Even now, she had no special skills, and she had not actually done anything useful for the pack since her arrival. If she had to answer the question now, she could not even fathom what she might answer. Perhaps she had only been accepted because her brother was already here, she was relatively young, and Savina had known how horrible her mother could be. In a way, it was not particularly fair, but she certainly was not going to complain. She much preferred her life here over the life she’d had in Dahlia with her wretched mother. The people here were much nicer, and she felt a bit safer, too.

######When they returned to the mansion, Princess decided, she would probably excuse herself to her room so that she could shift, dry off, and put on one of her many dresses and leave the other two to their conversation. She had done her part by finding Laidaria and making sure the female didn’t drown, but there was not much left for her to do or say. Walking beside the two females, Princess listened to their conversation with waning interest, as she did not know where Phoenix Valley was, and she may not have even met anyone from that pack. If she had, they had obviously not been memorable, and the encounter must not have been very good. “When we get back, Savina, I’m going to go up to my room and you guys can talk,” she vocalized, trotting beside her leader. It seemed like a good idea to at least tell her Commander what she was planning on doing, so that when they returned, she could simply slip away with a quick good bye. She wanted to be warm and dry and clean again, and the sooner, the better.