"Icaruuuuuuus." The young hybrid called out, her voice hushed against the strong winds that forced their way through the lands. Rachias was lingering at the borders of Storm, pacing back and forth, attempting to keep herself out of sight for the most part. There was something about the wolves, something that changed within them once they knew who her mother way. Often they became cautious of her, weary, like she was some sort of monster simply because of the blood in her veins. She was certainly no monster, at least not yet, and was confused why so many would assume that so easily.


Because of it, the cream and caramel swirled hybrid found it best to be cautious, keeping her appearances to a minimum. She didn't know if Icarus' father would care who her parents were but, if he did, then it was likely he wouldn't allow his son to see her. Certainly it would've made more sense to have Icarus come to Clouded Tears, her father probably wouldn't ever notice him at all, but there were just some days that she simply had to see him, this being one of them.

indent The boy knew that she would be on her way over today – it was just some sort of feeling he had, an inclination. Without causing too much of a scene, the dark brown pup slipped away from the combined pack den and out towards the borders. He knew where she would be waiting for him – he always knew.


indent The two maybe weren’t the most predictable pair (and he still wasn’t sure what his father would think), but he had found a side to Rachias that tugged at his heart strings. If they had to sneak about to see each other like this, than he would do it. Anything to hear her comforting words.


indent Just then, the young hybrid’s voice called out his name. A grin crossed his lips and he headed off in that direction – by the borders, as suspected. With adrenaline running through his veins, it didn’t take long for the Phoenix child to find what he was looking for just out of Storm’s reach. "Good morning", he piped up, voice sweet and charming as a child’s would be expected, as he hopped to her side and gave her a warming flash of his teeth.

Large ears twisted and turned at each sound that came from inside the lands, each one causing her pause just long enough to be able to identify what it was. Mostly, it just seemed to be the wind. She often wondered when they would notice that Icarus just up and disappeared sometimes, wondered when they'd send someone off scouting the borders to try and find out exactly where he was going. Had it not been for Ahren's words, Rachias might had been led to believe that she was the monster that everyone thought she was. She was stronger than that though, she knew better, and she trusted Ahren more than she trusted a bunch of random strangers. If she was so terrible then wouldn't Icarus have noticed too?


He appeared then, slipping from within the forested area of Storm and toward her, smiling and speaking. "Good Morning." She returned the words and also the smile, inching her way near him but not to close, not here. "Did ya wanna go somewhere today?" It was a simple question, did he want to spend the day with her? She was understanding to the situation, knew that some days it would be better if he stayed home so they didn't start to wonder, but sometimes it was hard for her to hold back wandering over to Storm to see him.


"Maybe to the city or something, since it's so windy today." They could hide out in a house all day, keep away from the wind and the eyes of others. Aside from that, though, she hadn't really given much thought to any plans, only that they involved her and Icarus being together.

indent Icarus hadn’t really noticed the wind until Rachias had mentioned it. Now with it tumbling in his thoughts, the youth became fully aware of the fur that was being tousled by the breeze. He didn’t have any sort of set plans on what they could do together – and frankly, he didn’t care what they did. As long as they could spend time together, Icarus would be happy almost anywhere.


indent With a glance over his shoulder, Icarus nodded. "Yeah, let’s head away from here. I think mostly everyone is still sleeping, or didn’ notice. No one will think to look for us in the city, even if they do discover that we’ve vanished." He stepped away from Storm’s borders, hoping to lead the two off. In the city, perhaps they would find a cozy place where they could truly be alone. In that case, he could spend hours just staring into her stunning blue eyes. He hoped, in one way or another, she felt the same about his. "Did yah sleep alright?" He asked then, stealing a glance at those eyes.

Rachias was a bit more at ease once Icarus mentioned that he didn't think anyone had seen him. She'd made it a point, once or twice, to express her concern over whether people knew or not, but she tried not to bring it up often. Icarus seemed to understand just how much she worried over it though, which was one of the things that she appreciated about him. He always seemed to know or understand, even if she never really made a big deal out of whatever it was. The girl watched him for a moment, smiling inwardly, before she started off behind him, ready for their journey to the city together.


"Slept pretty good. Been suspecting, ever since I moved back in with Dad, that he was getting up at night and moving. Woke up as he left last night, followed him to another part of the den where he's been going to sleep." She didn't really understand the point of him leaving in the middle of the night, then again she wasn't entirely sure that she didn't have some odd or annoying thing she did as she slept. The girl caught his eyes as he glanced at her, leaving hers to linger on his for as long as she possibly could. "Have y'heard anything from your mum?" She asked then, despite it being a sensitive subject. It might have been easier coming from her though, she who didn't have a mother at the moment either. At least his had left to go find her daughter though, hers had just up and left.

indent It was times like this that Icarus really enjoyed – just being able to talk about whatever came to mind, and having someone there who would listen and not judge. And when she did offer him advice, it was always delivered rather kind and never offensive. Having Rachias there for him, Icarus felt more secure, knowing he had someone outside of the family that would be there for him when he needed some support.

indent He listened to what she had said about her father, not really knowing much about the man, except from what he had heard from Rachias herself. He didn’t really think much about his sleeping arrangements until now, and realized that he had been spending less and less time with his family. It was no wonder they didn’t question him more often about where he had run off too – they mostly only caught glimpses of him around the morning and evening, except when he decided it would be best to stay home.

indent "Mom?" Icarus replied, letting his thoughts return to the present. "No, nothing." He frowned to himself, though he wasn’t the least bit upset that it had been brought up. In fact, Rachias was one of the only ones he really talked to about his mother. "I wish she and Firefly would come home – it’s weird without them around. I’m starting to feel as if I don’t have a mother anymore."

Being with Icarus was sort of a wake up call for the girl. She'd only ever really associated with people that she considered her family. Arkham, the brother that she was closest with and Andre, the brother that wished her dead. Aside from that she only saw her father, Gabriel, and Faolin in passing more than anything else. Then there was Ahren, who she had lived with for a short time, and despite him not being related to her by blood, she still felt as if he was a part of her family in some twisted way. She'd heard at some point that their family had extended far beyond what she knew but she hadn't ever tried to found out just how far. The girl had no way of knowing that the subject of her infatuation was a distant cousin.


"I felt that way a while after my mum left." She comment, though not with the intentions of trying to turn the conversation into one about herself. "After a while it just got easier to think about like that, so maybe it'll get easier?" She could only offer him words based on her own experience, despite the different circumstances, she hoped that it would help. "Not bein' around my brothers is weird sometimes too. Like, I know they're just a walk away, but sometimes it gets so lonely without them that it feels like the don't even exist." She was almost certain that Icarus would have rather had her sister around, just a bit of a ways away, than to have her gone completely though.


An idea hit her in that moment, one that caused her to grin just a bit. "Y'know, maybe you could do somethin' special for them for when they come home." An indirect way of assuring him that she thought they would return. "Kinda like the picture books that the humans made but different. Like with things that remind you of them or things that they liked." It sounded easy but it was likely to be a long process. "I could even help ya if you wanted."

indent Icarus beamed, looking to Rachias with the same warmth that he felt when he first laid eyes on her after what seemed like days of separation. Her ideas always seemed to strike inspiration into his young soul, and he loved the vitality it gave him. "Rachias, that’s a great idea! I’m sure they would like it too, once they got home. And even if they don’," he paused for a moment, not sure whether he wanted to acknowledge that they not might return, "even if they don’t come back, it will still be nice to have around."


indent He paused for a moment, letting the wind blow some of the rich brown fur into his mother’s blue eyes. He blinked, thinking of which way they were headed, then set off once more. "Hey, d’you think you might wanna make one too? I mean, I know your situation is different, but we could do them together. Maybe we can make a page about ourselves, so that we’ll always remember us like we are right now."

She was happy about the excitement that the idea had brought, though something in her stomach turned and twisted at the mention of them possibly not coming home. She didn't want to hear him say it, to know that he had to consider it. It must have hurt, she was certain, and she didn't want him to have to hurt or always wonder whether or not they were coming back. Despite that, Rachias smiled at him and gave a vigorous wag of her tail. "That would be great!" The excitement in her voice was genuine and the sparkle in her eyes as she sought out his was even more so.


"And when we're older we can look at them together and remember." This comment was much more quiet, almost sheepish in the way that she spoke it. It was an assumption that they would always be together because, the time that they'd spent already, it certainly felt like it. As they continued to walk Rachias inched just a little closer to him, bumping up against him in a gentle manner before finally settling in right at his side. Every now and again her tail would swish over to brush against his tail, which she might have easily played off as an accident if it weren't for the fact that she was so enamored by him. "We could start when we get to the city, huh?"

indent "Sure we could! I bet we could find some good stuff for it there – there’s always the most interesting things in those old human dens." Icarus remembered the first time he had gone to the city alone. It was when he had first encountered a coyote by the name of Andrezej, though he had no idea of the relation. He could still remember that day clear as a bell, and how utterly amazed and terrified he had felt all at once.


indent "I wonder if anyone else will be there," Icarus asked then, now that his thoughts were lingering on the thought of Andre. It was still early, so they had a chance of being completely alone. And even if someone happened to come across them, he was sure they would always be able to seek out privacy in one of those dilapidated houses. "Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, anyways. I’ve gots you." He told her with a sheepish grin, as he let their tails brush up against each other once more.

Sorry for the delay dearie. D:


Houses and human things had never seemed all that odd to the girl. She'd spent quite a lot of time in the Inferni house, finding it to honestly be more comfortable than sleeping in a den like she did in Clouded Tears. A lot of the others thought of human things, and even humans, as stupid or dangerous, but not the female hybrid. She was almost certain they were more clever than given credit for and some of their inventions were ingenious. Sure, some of them were dangerous, but not the majority. "I know a place with a bunch of books too, just books. If no one is around maybe we could start there." Pictures seemed like the way to go for the most part, at least she thought so.


"Hopefully not." And with that her mind went straight to Andre as well. He'd recently been kicked out of Inferni, left to wander and stalk wherever he pleased, which didn't leave a very good feeling in the pit of Rachias' stomach. "But I'm not worried so long as you're here." And she smiled, inching closed to Icarus both out of affection and out of the sudden paranoia that her brother could be lingering in the city. She'd never told Icarus that Andre had tried to kill her. "Hey! We're almost there." Time had gone by quickly it seemed, it always did when she was with Icarus. Rachias gave a slow wave of her tail at the sight of the large buildings ahead, which were growing larger and larger as they continued to approach.