bhavachakra

twenty-one days.

twenty-one days since the old man had passed upon a distant beach, leaving his body behind and slipping into oblivion, his soul flitting away, his molecules breaking down into the fabric of the greater universe. what they had become, he did not know.

but whether it had been many insects for several hours, or a few small birds or mammals for a few days each - or a combination of all of that. . .

twenty-one days, and he woke upon a misty shore. young again. aditya again.

the yearling rose, yawned, and stretched, toes digging into the sand of his new world. the memories of past lives were fleeting; perhaps they'd come with time. for now, he knew nothing but the wonder of this new place.

and as he set a newly-christened pair of green eyes toward the jungle thicket, he felt nothing but the fear and hope of a new start.

what once was old was now new again.
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It was only fitting that the dragon spent the following days getting to know this land. Every nook and cranny and the secrets they held. Niawaki was full of surprises, but that only excited her. An old temple much like the one she grew up in, hidden caverns that ran the length of the mountains, a sandy pit enclosed by rock whisked away behind a falling curtain of water. It wasn't home...but maybe it really could be.

She never really considered settling somewhere after leaving the Order. No pack satisfied her, and one pack couldn't make a claim. Not a respectable one at least. She drifts along the eastern shore, her mind rolling through a ramble of thoughts until a fresh scent catches her attention and then the shape of another.

Kei chuffs, keeping the few yards that stretched between them. She wasn't the best casual conversationalist with strangers, but it felt more awkward to turn on her heels and walk the other way. “Hey.”

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a small woman of shadow, greeting him upon an unfamiliar shore.

where had he seen this before?

"hello," he said with a smile, turning fully toward the stranger. deja vu prickled at the very core of his being, but it felt all right - not uncomfortable, at least. and it felt nice to be able to speak to someone, after the void he'd found himself in recently.

aditya nodded toward the trees, shoulders lifted in query, expression stretching to a grin. “is this your home? are you the welcome wagon, then?”
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A welcome wagon. Hah. That was funny. She couldn't remember the last time someone showed up at the Order's doorstep to be welcomed. Few even knew where their claim was; most wandered there by mistake. “Uhhh, I guess? Live is a bit strong of a word, but I've been stickin' around these parts lately, yeah. Let me guess, you just woke up?” It wouldn't be that weird of a coincidence. Both her and Kyo had mysteriously awoken along the shoreline. Who's to say another wolf can't?

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the similarities with any past interaction ended as soon as the woman opened her mouth. she was colloquial and fairly self-assured, and he found himself relaxing into the conversation despite himself.

"haan, i just woke up," aditya confirmed. "everything seems somewhat familiar, but i don't know why. but i'm here."

another yawn split his jaws, and he reeled back a minute before returning his attention to the woman. "i'm aditya," he introduced himself. "aur tum? er, and you? and do you know what this place is called?"

it was wild—he heard the cries of animals he did not recognize within the trees—but it seemed quite intriguing. he had a hankering to travel further into the green.
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Everything seems somewhat familiar.

Maybe that was part of it. These 'awakenings'. Placing each individual somewhere familiar... maybe it was meant to comfort them when they awoke, but why then did fate place her with @Kyo? “Well, I'd love to give you an answer, but unfortunately, I didn't catch the memo either.” Curiosity poked at her, urging her to dig deeper, “What's familiar?” For her it was the land, the temple. She hasn't seen something like it since Kaida.

She expected this. Talk to anyone long enough and they start asking questions. Where are you from? What's your name? Got a pack? “Ryū.” Spoken like it really was her name. It wasn't a lie, just all he'd ever know her by. “あれは何でしょう？ — What's that? Your language.” Kei chewed the side of her tongue, rolling her head to look over her shoulder at the clashing waves and nearby island. “Niawaki Key.” Her gaze peaked back to Aditya, “Least that's what i've been callin' it.” We. Wherever Kyo was currently off to.

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"what's familiar?"

"i feel as if i've woken up on a beach before," aditya remarked. "but i can't remember why i'm here. or how i got here."

he shrugged, chuckling. then the woman spoke in a tongue he'd never heard, and he drew closer, brows furrowed. "niawaki key," he repeated, enchanted by the sound of it. "and you asked me about my language? well—"

from birth, he'd had it. she'd not abandoned him this time. stuck with him all the way until their trip to the coast, on which he'd—

"meri maatrbhasha," aditya said with a smile. "my mother's tongue. and i assume yours is the same?"
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Kei mused a hum at his words. “Well you're here now... So whaddya gonna do?” She hasn't awoken on a beach before, not unexpectedly at least. Whatever theory she tried to craft really didn't matter. It's not like knowing would stop them. Whatever plans the universe had were out of her control, providing the balance countered itself time after time. Still, for it to shift like this...whatever happened must have been big.

The dragon tilts her head as he speaks again in an unfamiliar tongue, “당신은 그렇게 말할 수 있습니다 — You could say that Amongst others... Many tongues were spoken where I grew up. We tried to learn what we could from others.”

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"what are you gonna do?"

what was he now to do? aditya found himself suddenly caught short, mouth quirking in indecision. he found intrigue in ryu's remarks, especially those of a completely foreign tongue. alas. . .

"i wander, ryu," he decided, with a shrug. "i want to see the world while i can. and this new world. . ."

he gave the shadow a smile. "do you plan to stay here?"
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Do you plan to stay here? Whispers of the Order trailed her mind, strings that pulled her like a puppet; only she had severed her strings long ago. But she knew the motions. She knew what words to speak. She had been raised for it after all, even if she was a brutal disappointment. Kyo's words followed next. Why she hadn't started anew on her own terms. “I might.” It was honest in the face of uncertainty. A face she didn't know if she could truly trust, despite his kind grin. “But I've been known to wander. If you are a traveler, then I'm sure our paths will cross again.”

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"i am sure they will," aditya replied, smiling.

there was something of the enigmatic about the shadow woman, and it appealed to him greatly. perhaps, if he became lost in the inland jungle, he would seek her assistance. 

perhaps she would stay with him all the days of his life, as another shadow—

no. you learned your lesson.

"i will explore now, ryu," adi told her. "perhaps we will meet again."
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What else was there to say to a face passing by? One she may never cross again, or perhaps time and time again. “Until then.” She dipped her head, ready to continue along her path and he his, but she would get no further than a few steps before she turned again. “What do you call it? Your mother tongue?” She doubted she would learn it before they crossed paths, but language was important. It was power, knowledge, and unity. It was only fair to ask, even if it was never uttered again.

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he was about to turn himself when ryu doubled back, asking him one parting question.

"hindi, my mother told me," aditya replied. "it was the tongue of our ancestors, who came long ago from the other side of the great sea."

the young man cocked his head in query. "and what is yours called, then? i've never heard it before." it seemed very smooth and flowing compared to his own sing-song cadence, and he was intrigued by it.

even if he did not remain here today, perhaps he would return to learn more.
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Hindi. Well, that would confirm it. Certainly nothing she had heard before, but she would try to commit the name to memory, along with the sound. A language from across the sea. Briefly she wondered if they had shared the same sea or if Aditya was from somewhere far beyond the realms of her home, much like Kyo. “Japanese. Some Korean. There were other languages, but I had never learned to speak them, mostly understand them.” Her paws shifted idly, waiting for a proper gap to leave. “Safe travels.”

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thanks for the thread! Phone post sorry for any mistakes

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you are fine! thank you! <3

japanese and korean. neither familiar to him, but he filed each word away for safe-keeping, in case they were useful later.

“take care, kyu,” he told her. he cast his gaze along the inland mountains, covered in green jungle. it would take quite the effort to settle this place, but he thought she was up to the challenge.

as for him. . .he'd move on, for now.
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