I gave myself in that misty light

After departing @Aerasha 's side, Reiko was thankful to have an extra set of eyes out there to find her missing children. At least the world didn't seem so big and daunting anymore, of course, the more eyes and help the better - but one step at a time. The giantess' calm demeanor certainly helped the ex-empress find her centre again. Though the panic bubbled just under the surface and would remain there until her fragmented family was reunited again, at least she could travel without going almost immediately mad at the almost impossibility of the mission.

“Haruki! Hotaru!” Every now and then she would call out, hoping for an answer to bounce back at her. Every time she held her breath, hoping for a sound, for a sign - nothing. Nothing but the cold breeze of the winter Tundra brushing against the flat surface of these glacial lands. Although her heart ached, and her mind kept ringing with the words of "how dare you lose the two most precious things in the world", the porcelain damsel still held hope.

Her paws ached, only resting and eating enough to keep her going as sleep simply wouldn't come easy to a mother who could only think of finding the little lights who had gone astray. Just a little longer, she would rest once the sun went down - and so, she pressed on.

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"Adda!" Was the call of a younger Druth, his deep baritone echoing through the dense foliage of his riverside home. He was not worried, not immediately, when his daughter had not responded to his initial summons; the girl was a year old, and it was natural to reach for greater independence at such an age. Reluctantly he would allow her to wander through the afternoons at her leisure, sure to set clear boundaries for her, and she had proven herself to be a good kid who didn't want him to worry. So while her silence disturbed him a little, he figured she might have simply strayed a little too far and was working her way back to him.

More than anything, he wanted to trust her. It was all Adda had ever asked of him.

As the sun set, however, he grew concerned. The dark-furred rogue ventured from their rendezvous and made to follow the steps of his wayward youngster -

Dream interrupted, the old wolf woke with a start. The first thing he grew aware of was that he was violently shivering, then the muffled sound of another's voice. He twitched his rugged paws and felt the bitter cold, the stiffness of his muscles. As awareness crept back into his being, Druth became uncomfortably aware that he must've fallen asleep beneath the snow and, in an effort to writhe free, the surface cracked. From that he emerged with a gasp, popping suddenly up from the ground like a really ugly daisy and, unknowingly, directly in front of a strange young wolfess' intended path.


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The last thing she thought she'd find was a man's face popping out from beneath the snow. On her path, the sight and sound of something beneath the snow caught her attention. “Haruki? Hotaru?” Tenderly she approached, hoping for the best with her nose curiously sniffing away at the ground. It wasn't uncommon for wolves of her species to let the snow bury them while they slumbered. She remembered doing so as a child herself, it was comfortable, and a good shield from the bitter biting cold of winter's breath. A trick of the trade for those who were accustomed to such terrain.

But this was not them, and as she approached just above the hatching snow — “Ah!” That was neither of her children! Just a man's head sticking out of the snow staring right at her, she nearly fell over in shock, half catching herself before colliding with the ground. Cerulean eyes wide in surprise, heart thudding heavily in her chest, she tried to calm herself quickly.

“Are you?” She managed to say, stopping just to catch her breath again. A sigh to soothe her nerves. “Sir? Are you okay?"” His presence was unnerving, mostly from the sudden appearance and random materialization. Not to mention just having a body-less head in the snow was a frightening sight. Surely the rest of him was just underneath, at least... she hoped.

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Following that first gulped breath, Druth's tongue snaked from between rugged lips, keen to sweep snow clumps from invading his nostrils before he inhaled. His eyes cracked open to see only blinding white all around him, and it was unpleasant so he squeezed them shut again as he drawled a long groan. The young she-wolf went unnoticed, for not only did she blend seamlessly with their surroundings but his ears were so stuffed with snow that he didn't hear her exclamation of surprise.

He tried to pull a paw free of the snow, but his body was not what it used to be. With the beginnings of arthritis creeping into his joints, the aging wolf did not cope well in the Wintertime. Cursing some obscenity that was sure to offend the delicate ears of the companion he was not yet aware of, he managed to yank a stiffened forelimb free to reach for the snow that clustered his crown.

"Hng?" Druth, at last made aware of the presence of another, blinked up to find a pair of bright eyes studying him from above. "What? Fuck," he barked, startled by her proximity, enough that he pulled himself up and out of the drift despite the screaming ache in his old bones, "yeah, ugh-" He shook out his rugged pelt, keen to trap air to warm between its layers, "it's freezing out here, huh?"


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Judging by the way he crawled out of the snow with absolutely no grace what so ever, it felt safe to assume that this man was not a native to lands like these. Foul language sputtered from his maw as he seemed to wrestle with his own body to free himself. Though Reiko had indeed heard of such words before, it still didn't settle well with the young woman who was taught that a lady should never use such strong words so freely. Plush ears curled back as if to try and shield them from the sharp edges he uttered, even if they weren't directed to her personally.

Eventually, the dusty daisy pulled himself free as soon as he realized he had an audience of one to see him do so. The slow and stiffness of his movements were enough to indicate he was no spring chicken anymore, ignoring the age showing on his face. Reiko had to hold back in aiding him, to brush the snow off his pelt, to assist someone who was clearly having a harder time than her - it was in her homeland's nature to respect and help the elders after all. To have lived such long lives, it was a blessing and in high regard.

“Absolutely freezing~” She wouldn't argue about how comfortable she felt in such weather, nor would she flaunt it. “How long have you been under there?” Was he another just waking up like she and Aerasha had? How many found themselves in the same situation as they?

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"No idea," was his immediate answer, accompanied by a casual roll of a peppered shoulder - both in a shrug and an attempt to loosen his wearied muscles. "I don't even..." he trailed off, and a charcoal lobe splayed backward as he glanced over the head of the pallid youngster before him; the whole world was so damn white. Was it Winter? He couldn't remember it being Winter, whenever he'd settled to rest. 

He huffed to himself, confused, and furrowed his brow. For all his ailments and failings, Druth could always rely on the sharpness of his mind - so what the hell?

The old rogue frowned deeply, returned his hazel eyes to seek the face of his young acquaintance, and studied her for a quiet moment. She was a lovely thing, fine-boned and with a kind face. "Where, uh... what is this place?"


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So he was just like them. Unfortunately, he too would have no answers for her in the whereabouts of her children. If he had just woken up too, right here and now, there was no use in asking. Maybe he too would lend some eyes and ears for her to try and locate them if she was lucky enough of course. 

This was clearly not a place he was accustomed to. The man's eyes were squinting at the light reflecting off of the snow, the temperature made him uncomfortable, and lord knows what else was going on with his joints. He was so brutish in the way he looked at her. Rugged, sharped like a blade. For someone who was so used to a plush life, soft faces, smiling - despite some darker memories that flooded back every now and then, the way this man looked was almost alien.

All she could do was offer a sheepish shrug at his question. Large blue eyes offering an apologetic glance that she was of no use in helping him understand where he was. No one did so far. She began to wonder if anyone at all knew where they were and why they were all here? “I woke up too just a couple days ago, me and another. It seems to be a pattern to wake up here confused and lost. My name is Reiko.”

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She did not have the answer, and it bothered him further to learn that she had found herself in this place in much the same manner as he had. Disturbed, Druth cast his gaze aside again, peering out into the bright unknown for a sign of anything even remotely familiar, but all he could see for many miles was white.

For a wolf who favoured solitude, he could not deny the relief he felt to not be alone on this occasion. He squinted back at the pallid she-wolf, took a moment to wonder why she'd parted ways with the comrade she claimed to have located, before he turned the consideration away. It wasn't his business and he supposed he didn't much care; he had to get out of there, sooner rather than later.

"That's odd," he commented before pressing, "where are you headed from here?"


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His disappointment was palpable. She shrunk into her seat and almost wanted to avoid looking at him directly and instead focus on the ground around them. It was quite a plain valley they were in, she wondered what was underneath the flat, slippery surface, even her own feet had a hard time gripping against it in certain spots. Perhaps it was a lake? The distraction didn't last long as he asked another question, this one was a little more upbeat - in its own strange way. 

Shaking her head softly. “I'm not certain.” Here it comes, the great confession that any mother could have. “I'm looking for my children. When I woke up, they were nowhere to be found.” A pause as she lingered on the weight of the truth once more. It was not easier to explain the second time around. “So I suppose my real answer is; anywhere. Anywhere where they may be.” Soon she would have to wander away from the frosty north and head closer south, they could be anywhere and anywhere is where she would go.

“I'm guess you want to find somewhere warmer, yes?”

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What she said brought Druth's rugged ears high atop his crown, cupping forward in surprise as his expression darkened somewhat. His thoughts turned without warning to Adda, his beautiful Adda, to the day he'd called out to her in the woods all those years ago and how he'd received no response. He could remember exactly how it felt: the crippling anxiety that wove its way deep into the heart of him, sickened him to his stomach. For the first few hours of his daughter's own disappearance, the rogue had tried his best to maintain a cool exterior despite screaming with worry on the inside.

He wondered if this young mother - Reiko, as she introduced herself earlier - might relate to that need to be brave. He wondered if she could feel the dull, constant ache in her soul to be apart from her offspring, as he still did.

Druth pursed his lips, cast grim contemplation of his own misfortune aside, and turned focus once more to the present. "Well," he started, because she silence was awkward, "damn." He struggled for words, fumbled over them in his mind; his heart was unprepared to speak of his own experience still. "I definitely wanna get outta here. I don't wanna to slow you down, but... maybe we can help each other?" He blinked, unsure how he - an old, half-crippled fool - could be of any use to her search. Druth simply knew that such an offering would be in his best interest, even if it wasn't entirely honest of him.


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She searched his face after her admitting the situation with which she had found herself in since waking up. Unlike @Aerasha who was so relaxed about everything that it was hard to determine what she was truly thinking of - this man, was expressive to a certain degree. His expressions were harsh, a stark contrast to the warm coated woman, but as equally hard to read.

It was indeed very awkward to wait, and more so when all she got back was a couple of words. Very few to decide if she was being judged by him now or not. Though she herself wouldn't should a mother come to her with the same problem, it was still a very real fear of hers by strangers.

If only she knew of his own internal struggle, of his own loss, maybe her own unease would be smoothed over.

Finally, he spoke; and she nodded. It was evident enough that he didn't want to stay where the weather was chilly, where the biting air seemed to make his bones ache. Finally, she smiled at his offer. A bright, beaming smile as her tail swayed happily in a slow rhythm. “I would like that very much~” The more the merrier after all. “Aerasha should be somewhere around, she is the other individual I spoke of earlier.” They didn't travel closely together, but Reiko could smell her around every now and then. The distance between them was good, a wider area to look for the missing youth. “Safer in numbers after all, right?” Her smile never faded, it was nice to have even a small group to travel with again, even if it was only for a short while.

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Reiko's enthusiastic response to his offer enhanced the overall sweetness of her, and Druth at once felt the stirring of an unfamiliar discomfort within his breast. Truthfully, his suggestion to tag along on the search for her cubs had been primarily for his benefit. He would look for as long as it took to find a better place to roam, somewhere that would be kinder to his old bones, when he figured he would quietly remove himself from her company.

He was a terrible, selfish creature. But who wouldn't be, having faced a life as cruel as his had been?

Druth offered a hint of a smile, though it failed to reach his eyes as he parroted, "right." While he didn't entirely agree with her comment - no one had protected Adda from her fate, after all - he lied in agreement without any suggestion of shame in the shine of his hazel eyes. "M'name's Druth, by the way," he tacked on as an afterthought, more ready than he ever would be to get the hell out of this frozen wasteland.


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There was a part of her that knew it was only temporary, but even then, it didn't matter. Every precious moment counted, every eye that knew of her missing children was another who can help guide them back to her in the long run. She would let every soul know if it was necessary to bring them back to her safe and sound as quickly as possible. She would take whatever she could get, no matter how small.

“It's an absolute pleasure to meet you Druth.” She chimed, seeing his expression shift from a grouchy old man to something akin to what... she might guess was an inkling, a little twinkle of a smile. It could be her imagination, but she would take it regardless and run as far and fast with it before his expression could change to bitter once more.

Once Aerasha was informed of their new plan, Reiko not forcing her to join them either but simply casually letting the woman know of what her next actions were should she change her mind on following the crazy little lady with missing kids - they were off. Heading South to where she assumed the weather would be warmer than North, usually that was a safer assumption.

The journey for warmer climate for Druth, and to find her children continued.

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