Ψ · Have you lost your sense of self?

 The Queen sat atop her kingdom, the plains stretching out in all directions. Some hundred feet back was the edge of the Hiraeth, that great hole in the ground where she and her growing family lived. There, they were safe. It wasn't discreet by any means, but far less obvious from a distant eye than to see wolves scurrying about atop the hill.

 Her stomach twisted.

 Something was not right. It was not wrong, but it wasn't quite right either. She'd tried to eat a rabbit that she had caught before light had filled the sky but it had caused her to retch, depositing the little she'd managed to eat. That refuse was covered up by dirt, now, but the rabbit lay mostly uneaten several yards away, taunting her.

 Hunger taunted her, stomach growling, but when she thought about going to eat, the idea of the smell and taste sent her reeling, mouth full of bile.

 What a great morning.

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 Conlaed felt confused. He was not where he had been. It was disorienting, more so when he’d jerked awake in a place he hadn’t fallen asleep in. He… couldn’t remember much of the day prior, and perhaps he didn’t want to remember what he could. Flashes of familiar faces looking concerned, and the sensation of water rushing up to consume him. Beyond that… Conlaed couldn’t remember anything. His nose felt a little funny, however, but the sensation was fading and had been for the past few hours. He could no longer smell salt, was no longer being choked on the scent of it in his sinuses.

 The clogging of his sinuses had left him unable to smell much beyond the salt, making him unaware of any possible trespassing he might incur. Perhaps he should have stayed put, waited for his nose to be fully functioning again, but… He really hadn’t thought of it. He meandered along, weaving through the underbrush with quiet paw steps. His eyes sparkled with wonder as to where he was – he’d never quite seen a place like this. The forest was soon filled with boulders, and in the distance through the trees, he could see a giant stone mountain rising through the trees, water cascading from a ledge. He wanted to see it closer, but then something caught his attention, bringing it to the side, almost ninety degrees to the left. A patch of red that seemed to move beckoned him.

 Without a second thought, Conlaed trotted towards it. He emerged from the underbrush to find another wolf, who… seemed a little green in the face, to put it simply. ”Hello there,” he said. ”Are you okay? You don’t look alright.” His head canted to the side slightly, as he waited for some sort of response.

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 At the noise of an approach, she looked up, bleary eyes seeking out those of her mate or friends - but instead there was a stranger there. She blinked at him, silently forcing through the nausea to comprehend that there was a stranger coming towards her home - and then she felt the urge and tried desperately to swallow the vomit rising in her throat again.

 After a few hard swallows, she managed it down and looked back at the man, lashes blinking rapidly to try to compose herself.

 “I'm fine,” her voice was uneven, “Think the rabbit was bad,” she'd wave a paw at the crumpled corpse that actually smelled and was perfectly normal, if a bit chewed on. She inhaled, shaky breath trying to settle her gut, before she shook her head and blinked hard. Her eyes returned to the man and she wondered if there were others out there. Her nose was a tad confused with what had come up from her stomach so she wasn't quite sure. Her throat rumbled quietly as she cleared it. “Sorry, hi, I don't think we've met?”

 Was he someone Flynn had brought in - maybe even a relative? Not from the forests, surely. Maybe another loner or wanderer or a neighbor from a pack she didn't know about?

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  Conlaed watched the woman as she seemed to struggle for a few moments. His head tilted to the side as he waited for her to either finish getting out what she clearly needed to, or to speak, whichever came first. He lowered himself into a seated position as he waited, ears twitching slightly when she finally spoke in an uneven voice. He was surprised, admittedly, that she wasn’t gasping for air a little bit – he had to give her props for that much.

 ”I’m fine… Think the rabbit was bad.” His gaze followed her gesture. The rabbit smelled fine, and rather smelled pretty good for a half-eaten meal. His nose twitched slightly at the scent. He didn’t comment on the rabbit though, thinking for a moment that the mention of it from him might make her heave more. She, however, did not smell ‘normal.’ No, he recognized the scent – he’d noticed it on the wind and noticed it on some members of Amaria’s Children when their bellies swelled up with pups. Conlaed blinked, his head moving to tilt to the other side. Before he could comment, the woman spoke again.

 ”Sorry, hi, I don’t think we’ve met?” He shook his head at this.

 ”No, I just got here. Where is… here? I woke up a few hours ago in a place where I’ve never been before. And now I’m in another place I’ve never been before.” He stated matter-of-factly. ”I’m Conlaed. Who are you?” He asked, for a moment forgetting the previous bit of conversation.

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 Embarrassment flooded the woman but it wasn't enough to settle her stomach. In fact, it made her feel a bit queasier. Oh, was this to be her life now? Constantly sick. Was she allergic to the Plains? She'd never felt this way before, never had to dump her guts out every few minutes without getting the chance to put anything in it. She felt disgusting and she swallowed, trying to hold herself together.

 They had a visitor, after all.

 One who knew her condition even before she did, little did she know. She looked at him, trying to exhale the hot air that swelled within her stomach and demanded to bubble up again. He talked about just waking up and she blinked. Oh, he'd just arrived. So, not friends with Flynn - not someone he'd brought in. A total stranger, watching her vomit her guts out over a rabbit that smelled, to her, like the inside of a rat's ass - and not the type you'd want to roll in.

 “Same thing's happened to a lot of us,” she said, swallowing to try to force the saliva away. “Being somewhere, then suddenly being somewhere way different and not knowing anyone.” Or, well, sometimes you'd know someone. Like, apparently whole families showed up. Then little old her, alone and afraid in the water. “I'm Meissa, sorry about all the uh-” she looked down at the puddle of bile, then looked back at him helplessly.

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 Conlaed waited patiently for the woman before him to speak. She seemed to be struggling with holding her composure, that much the thoughtless man could tell. Was she going to vomit again? Should he take a step back? He didn’t know, and he didn’t move. His ears twitched at her voice, speaking words that surprised him.

 ”Same thing’s happened to a lot of us… Being somewhere, then suddenly being somewhere way different and not knowing anyone.”

 ’Oh.’ It was strange to discover he wasn’t the only one – that Amiria hadn’t blessed him in some strange way to take him away from all that he’d experienced, to give him a new start at life. Conlaed’s tail twitched at his backside.

 ”Did it happen to you too?” He asked, not understanding that her words ‘a lot of us’ implied that she too was encompassed in them. He didn’t realize the pack association either, however, and perhaps wouldn’t until it was directly said. Or did he, and simply not think about it? Who knew, truly, with the thoughtless man.

 ”I’m Meissa, sorry about all the uh-“ His gaze followed hers, and the man shrugged slightly.

 ”It’s nice to meet you, Meissa. I’m Conlaed. And it’s okay – you couldn’t help it. Do you live here?” He asked, his head falling almost dramatically to the side.

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 The stranger sat around and she wondered if he couldn't smell her vomit or if it just didn't smell as bad as she felt like it did. It hardly was any more than bile, after all, and hardly digested meat. Either way, she swallowed and tried to wipe the slather from her face with a paw. “Ah, yeah. I woke up under the ocean. Not a fun experience.” Not at all. She didn't like feeling so vulnerable, so lost. Completely unaware of up and down.

 It had been terrifying and she had taken some time to recover from the experience.

 Conlaed. Not a name she recalled. “Yep, in there with my mate and some of our friends,” she said, indicating to the sinkhole. “You just roaming, trying to find a place to call your own home?” Hey, maybe he needed a place to stay and could offer something in return. Maybe he could be friends with Flynn - her lover could use someone that didn't have any sort of romantic or other things on their mind when they thought about the man. Her mind drifted back to the bitch she'd encountered and then to Solomon, who so far had seemed to respect her demands of staying his affections.

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