Prologue

The rays of the early sun speared the trees, leaves of red broken only by golden rays that dotted the forest floor. At the base a shadow crept, making her way swiftly to the north. Perhaps she was being rash, it wouldn't be the first time, but her temper got the best of her. Kei kept moving, ignoring as the shades of red turned green and the dirt beneath her paws turned hard.

The shade was not sure where she was going, but so long as it was away it would suffice. A narrow path seemed to be worn ahead sloping down, to what she did not know until the expansive stretch of blue rose from the beach's shore blow. The woman stopped, momentarily lost in awe as she took a step forward...

and felt the shift of rock beneath her too late.

She slid down the short cliff, hitting bushes and bramble before tumbling to a stop atop soft sands. The dragon hissed, a cough and sputter as she spat grains from her tongue before she raised her head to look at the spot she had previously been perched on. “神は私に休憩を与えます — God give me a break”

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 The wood felt strangely empty nowadays. There were faces he hadn't seen in far too long, faces he had usually at least smelled that were now absent.

 Perhaps this realization that his people were growing smaller was what made Crux pause at the border today, smelling the shadowy woman he'd taken in months prior. Her scent went on northward and he followed, eyes tracing the forest around him as he moved.

 He found his way to a place he'd been several times before, the so-called Whisper Key. There was a dangerous drop here that went to the ocean. It was here that he had met several other wolves in passing, including one woman he had dragged out of the sea away from her certain doom. He noticed the scent stop abruptly and glanced to the left, seeing that far down below lay a black shape.

 Alarmed, he scurried down the easier slope, careful to keep his footing so that he didn't tumble down on top of her. “Kei, are you alright?” he called as he approached.

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No sooner had her gaze turned to the sloping cliffside did a familiar face peer over the edge. Unable to bite back the groan she flopped onto her side looking away from Crux as he called out to her to see if she was ok. Why did he have to see that? Why did he have to be here? The small dragon could already feel the lecture coming even though she was no longer a child.

“I'm fine!” she yelled up rather annoyed. Luckily, even with the fall, she had managed to come out mostly unscathed aside from a scratch and bruise here and there. Nothing that wouldn't heal naturally and nothing that would require someone to fuss over her.

The shadow would haul herself to her paws, shaking dirt and sand from her pelt before Crux could reach her. Her body ached from the sudden movement, yelling that she should at least wait a moment, but she refused, sulking slowly towards the water's edge.

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 Despite her reassurance, the man descended, glancing over as he went to see her shake off the dirt and sand and begin slinking towards the water. He hurried after her, checking her over from where he was and sniffing deeply. Thankfully, there was no blood on the air, only the scents of the sea and his pack mate.

 “Looked like quite a topple,” he commented, though the lecture she expected did not come.

 She was no child and neither was he, though he felt like one at times.

 She had already taken the fall and had learned first handedly. He did not need to repeat to be careful when experience had taught her anything he might say and more. “Been awhile since I last saw how, how've you been?” The man was completely unaware of the spat or situation with her sister, still under the impression that his pack all got along fairly well.

 Unfortunately, no one had told him any differently and so that was what he would believe until told otherwise.

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The dragon's ears flicked at the sound of scrabbling and trotting as Crux made his way down intent on following her to the water's edge. Though she tried to bite back the annoyance, her muzzle still wrinkled in disgust...but at the very least he had not prattled on yet about her clumsiness. “Yeah, well I'm fine.” A short huff escaped her as she watched the waves lap at the sand's edges and ultimately her paws.

The sight almost reminded her of home, albeit her pack remained some distance from the water's edges. This cove though, it was private. It seemed that the only way out would be to go the way she had come as the rocks stretched out into the depths of blue.

She was close to being irrational, she knew all too well how quick her anger could fester and Crux played no part in it, at least for now. It was for that reason she at least tried to keep her temper to a minimum. “I saw a ghost. It shouldn't be here, but it's fine. It's gone now.”

The shade's mind drifted to her adopted sister. They didn't look alike and unless she had spilled about their connection the singularity likely would not know what she meant...and that was fine. She didn't need him to know that it would be her fault she had left. She never belonged here in the first place.

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 Kei was tense, that much Crux could tell. He didn't know why, didn't know how to help, so he turned his gaze to the ocean. He wondered of the woman who he had seen before here, the one he had dragged from the depths before she scampered off.

 This private beach sure was something. He sort of wished it was closer to home so that he could mark it as an extension of his home. Though, really, they didn't truly need much more than what they had. If some pack tried to take the Stone Mountain, he'd be rather upset simply from vicinity, but he was no warmongerer, no man to take land beyond his means.

 “Ah,” he said in answer, “I'm sorry to hear that. A ghost of your past?” He knew nothing of the relation between the two, his thoughts lay on his own past, of his own Mother whose nickname had been the Ghost. He missed her, missed the comfort of her den and the way he could see she loved her wife even though he had never been able to bond with the other woman as closely as he had with his own Ghost. “I've got a few of those.” He wouldn't press more.

 If the shadow wished to ask about it or continue the subject, he would let her, but he had no desire to strike the flame on the already hot coals.

 “How are you these days? Ichorwood still to your liking?” he thought to the two white men who had vanished, his thoughts mournful on them and wondering where they were, whether they were safe or - he didn't want to think about the other option. “I've been thinking about directions to take the pack, perhaps a stronger focus on training.” The stars knew they barely had anything to do, as peaceful as the land was.

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The funny thing about ghosts. They never truly went away, just out of sight. She wouldn't answer him when he asked for clarification, though he managed to glimpse at her face the answer would be clear enough. Truthfully she wasn't sure what it was she felt now on the topic. Anger? Anguish? Guilt? Maybe a combination of it all, but even merely reflecting on it made her boil. The shadow would rather just shove it in a box and lock it away.

To his words, her ear would twitch, somewhat interested in what he could possibly have bottled up and hidden away, but she wasn't the type to pry. Well...not right now at least. If she pried he'd want answers of his own and she wasn't ready for that. Thankful for the change in conversation she would try to drop the scowl that had worked its way onto her maw and replace it with something more...neutral. “I'm not sure...” Her problem was leaving but she had come back once before. Even though she had won Event Horizon something didn't sit right.

“The pack's fine— I'm just.” Sitting, her tail would thump against the sand as she searched for the right words but they seemed to be just out of reach. “I dunno.” She cast a sideways glance to the singularity before quickly looking away again. “Is that fine?” Figuring out what she wanted wasn't something she saw herself doing overnight, but she knew better than to cash in on someone's generosity for too long. She wanted a home, but she wanted one where she was truly free. One where her past could not potentially haunt her.

The dragon withheld a sigh as she instead just tried to focus on his next words. “Sounds like my home.” Or what had been that is. “What kind of training?” Chances were he had very different ideas of lessons from those of the great that had been passed down for generations by the council, but she wouldn't deny she was a little curious.

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 His heart sank.

 He supposed he should have expected this. She hadn't ever really been planning on staying, not that he could tell. She'd always just been a visitor, long term but still. Nevertheless, it hurt to know that maybe not everybody that vanished did it on accident. “It's fine, just... let me know if you decide to move on, yeah?” He'd offer a little smile. “It'd be awful for you to be gone one day and not know if you died or what.”

 Like Satchel. Like Valentine.

 He wished he knew what had happened to them, where they'd gone. Two wolves he'd liked to have called friends, gone into the wind. Who was next? Harper? His heart stung at the possibility of losing her too, to whatever fates took the others.

 Nevertheless, she asked about the training, driving him from his thoughts, “Well - all packs need hunters and some sort of way to heal their injured, plus wolves to defend. I was thinking, especially in the more peaceful packs up here in the mountains, if those packs have wolves who want to learn different trades like hunting, fishing, healing, the like, they could come to us temporarily to learn alongside us,” He considered a seagull flying overhead, off to some nest or perhaps to fish. “It would be a good way for other packs to train up especially their youth if they have nobody in their ranks to teach them. It'd also be good diplomatically for us - and we'd be able to learn from the students too.”

 How many packs would actually be interested, he wondered. “It'd extend out to loners who want to study skills for their own survival as well.” Ah. He was talking too much again.

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He wouldn't say it, but she could see it. He hid it well, but his voice betrayed him and the shadow found herself biting her tongue as she pulled her glance away to the sea. It was easier that way. Easier when you didn't have to look someone in the eye. “Yeah, sure.” In the moment, she was unsure if she had made a promise, one she might not be able to keep. It felt reasonable, and she did intend to if she left, but then again...

had she told anyone back home?

That was different though. She had been better off leaving without a word. It's not like any of them cared about her anymore anyway. Kei couldn't say the same about Crux, even if they weren't really close, he was too attached to all of this. As an alpha though, it was more or less his job, but she wasn't aiming to hurt him. He had been nice enough to offer her a roof after all. She was thankful that he moved the conversation before she said something she might regret.

He wanted to teach, not just Event Horizon though, everyone and anyone. Mentors to all essentially, which seemed good, but the shadow couldn't help but feel the cynical response bubble within. “What of the wolves that might betray you?” Not everyone in this world was so kind. Or...well, at least in her last "world" she still wasn't sure where she was now, but back home the lands were plagued with the selfish and those who deceived. 

“You aren't afraid of potentially training your enemies?”

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 He wasn't certain if he believed her, but in the end, did it matter?

 The traitors, those who may betray. “Of course,” he admitted with a shift of his shoulders. “The optimistic hope is to remain friendly and neutral with all. To stay out of conflicts so that... what would any gain by betraying us?” His gaze went seaward. He knew it was a “Neutrality pacts, hopefully. Of the packs I've met in the Mountains, at least, I don't think it will be a problem.” He knew little about packs elsewhere and time had passed enough he was sure more and more were growing.

 He would need to send out diplomats and scouts again.

 Perhaps a convoy of both Mordecai and Riddler. The two got along well and she was a scout, so perhaps with some guidance, Mordecai could be a liaison between them and the other packs. Plus, the man would be able to protect Riddler. He personally didn't want to leave the lands again for too long of a time. “The ideal focus will be more on non-aggressive subjects. Hunting, naturalism, medicine, tracking - the sort of thing that packs benefit from more than one school of thought.”

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The shadow listened to his explanation. It seemed he already thought of the dangers that might come welcoming strangers, even if things were peaceful now and the other packs that had settled nearby had been rather docile, or at least to them. She certainly hadn't seen these other groups yet, even with her short wanderings, but distance wasn't always a bad thing. Crux spoke of lessons that would only aid, but a whisper in her ear nagged her for the balance that came with everything.

She could hear Shuji almost perfectly, “All subjects sit in the folds of balance. Where there is life there is death.” No matter how small and frail. A plant for healing could bare fruits that would kill. Hunt the wrong creature and you will turn to prey. Curiosity without restraint can lead to madness or worse. Mistreat the earth and she will fight back. All paths to life equally led to death. “I hope you know what you're doing.” Not like she was in the right to speak. Funny how she had heard these lessons a thousand times yet still struggled to atune to the flow.

She had intended no insult with her words, more so a reminder. Realistically, he would probably be fine, as would the rest of Event Horizon. She hadn't seen any struggle here yet and the land seemed rather unpopulated. With no strife, Crux's ambitions were admirable, but coming from a reclusive pack she would not be able to shake the doubt that one day he would be his own undoing. “If you don't mind, I'm going to go continue my explorations.”

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 She spoke wisdom and the starlit king nodded thoughtfully, agreeing. It was a pipe dream, but one he wished to pursue for hopes that it would benefit both his pack and their friendly neighbors. He hoped that, with students from multiple packs under his roof, it would dissuade potential enemies from attacking. After all, if an enemy attacked and harmed, say, one of Queen Hydra's wolves, they would surely anger Empyrean - in his mind, at least. It would hopefully be enough of a deterrent.

 The same went for any packs, though he wondered how well Elysium would do if they needed to fight. They were wolves, they had teeth, but they were so peaceful he worried for their safety.

 He would not agree aloud with her second statement, for fear of showing his uncertainty, but he offered a smile and a nod. Ah, yes, he was definitely sure of himself. He weighed the odds, the variables, and determined that this was the route he wanted to take. It would be a shame to lose Kei, if she did decide to go, but he would not fault her for it.

 “Alright, Kei, you be safe!” a dip of his head and the man would rise and turn to head home, up the very slope that threatened to make any wolf fall, sure footed or not. He wondered again if any would settle here, in the safety of the key. Here, they might find shelter - sanctuary from the storms. With a clear path down, any pack who decided to live here would have a defensible point... or would wolves spill out down the hill to overwhelm?

 He prayed that whoever settled here would see nothing of that in their destiny.

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Exit <3

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There was little left to say and to her relief, he seemed to have no problems with letting her continue on. She didn't wish to stray too far from the forest though, so she toyed with heading south into the lands she had yet to explore. There was only one way out of the key though, so as Crux moved to climb the narrow slopes, she would sit and wait, watching the tide's pull. After some time had passed and she was sure she would be alone, she followed giving a wide birth to the redwoods to follow the beach to the various peninsulas and islands that dotted the coast.

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