I hold on tight to our frayed bond

For @Reiko :D

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To be frank, the mountainous region of this mysterious land was not where the young crane intended to lay her travels, but she could use a nice change of scenery after all the stress she felt in both her head and muscles. Izumi couldn’t help but wonder on and on again about what had saved her last night that caused the she-wolf to still roam the earth today. Was it a seaside cliff she’d been standing on where the ocean drifted her to shore? Nonsense, she was in the middle of a forest and would’ve drowned long ago anyways. Maybe someone had come to her aid and healed her while she was asleep? No, that didn’t make much sense either – if a medic actually came into contact with her, wouldn’t she have a scent by now?

An endless number of possibilities raced through the girl’s mind, and before Izu knew it, she was spacing out into the floor once again while she walked. When she realized this her head lifted back up instinctively as if she might have another run-in with a large beast again, but this time she was greeted with something a bit more soothing to the heart. Nestled in-between a crack that separated two mountain regions, Izumi's lavender eyes widened in awe when she saw a beautiful array of flowering plants that colored the already green earth. 

A step was taken towards it -- then another -- and soon the ink-blotched woman was surrounded by an entire field of painted vegetation. Things were like night and day here in comparison to the tundra, and the only thing Izumi could do was stroll while looking around as time seemed to slow down in such a divine strip of land...

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for those tagged there is no need to respond!! recruiting Izumi <3

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The trio had split up briefly to divide and conquer the mountains before heading down and out finally, out into the lower regions and maybe out where @Old Man Druth would find the perfect place for him to call home. As they continued to travel South away from the Tundra, the weather was warming up by the day. One could say that spring had already sprung - especially as the lost mother found her way in the blooming field of spring flowers just reaching out into the sunlight to breathe their first breaths of the season.

After their brief time in the Run, meeting both @Ira, and @Quicksilver, Reiko felt rejuvenated and inspired to keep moving forward and find her missing children. No matter how long it would take, she would not let the situation dampen her mood and cloud her judgment. For their sake and hers.

There was no sign of @Hotaru or @Haruki here either. Only the smell of fresh blossoms filled the air in wonderfully sweet perfume. After leaning over to sniff at one of the colourful flowers, only then did she see the pointed figure of another petite woman wandering the same fields as her. Not lifting her head up yet from its lowered position, nosing a bright blue flower, she offered a smile and a wave of her tail in silent greeting to the greyscale woman.

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The calmed winds that blew into the valley made its pleasant scents travel, and the crane breathed it all in with soothing delight. A part of Izumi wanted to plop onto her side and roll around in the fields to enhance the feeling, similar to how she used to roll in wisteria petals during her younger years back in the grove. The fae’s subconscious mind, however, did not want to think about what might happen if some random stranger saw a grown woman rolling in a pile of flowers like a kid – now, that would just be humiliating.

Speak of the devil; it wasn’t long until a flash of white was caught in the corner of the siamese’s vision – and this time, it was another wolf.

She was a sight to behold; a delicate woman draped in a silky white dress with rose-tinted skin, coupled with a gaze as bright as an azure morning sky. Like an angel walking on earth, every hair on that little head of hers reflected the sun's light to mimic a halo -- 'What pretty lady’ Izumi thought briefly to herself. Had they always been in the same area? The princess hadn’t noticed until now…

Speaking of which, the mysterious girl in question seemed to be staring in Izumi’s direction, which alarmed the crane at first before catching sight of their smile and waving tassel – a signal of friendliness. It would’ve been proper to greet the dove in the same manner, but with Izu already waking up confused and scared as all could be, it was hard to go on a whim and trust anyone in the state she was currently in -- and so Izu opted to stay where she was standing.

Politely, her body lowered into a seated position with her tail wrapped around her front paws. An unreadable expression currently occupied Izumi’s delicate features, which was commonplace whenever she’d been around anyone -- really -- and a simple “Hello…” was offered to the crane’s new converser to start off introductions. It did not look like it, but Izu was having a casual freak-out session on the inside that caused her heart to race frantically. This was the first wolf she’d met since waking up, after all…

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So far everyone she had met in these lands was kind, perhaps the lost empress was being a little too friendly with every new face she came across but until proven otherwise she would continue to greet every stranger with the same friendly greeting. Her tail waved a little faster as the two women seemed to finally be aware of one another, observing each other and Reiko caught herself picking out the details of this woman, once again finding someone else so beautiful in comparison to her own almost plain appearance.

She froze on the spot, still watching the girl with a perplexing expression. Although she sat and seemed to try to make herself comfortable, there was still an air of discomfort about her. The snowy woman's banner slowed again, curious about all this, should she approach? Should she leave this one be to her own devices? Would that be rude or the right thing to do?

The soft hello was enough to clarify a decision a bit better. The rhythm picked up again in the empress' tail as she kept her posture low while creeping up toward the seated girl. Keeping herself smaller than she was already to keep herself from looking like anything threatening. She wanted to greet this crane, and as she approached, the true height and delicate features of this young woman became clear. She was gorgeous. Tall, slender, like a supermodel if Reiko knew of their existence. “Hello~” She cooed just as she stopped approaching once they were a comfortable talking distance away without well, invading on personal space.

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The snowy dame waltzed closer to the crane, further swaying the silk-woven tassel that she sported behind her in a display of geniality. Izu wasn't all too aware of what possessed them to approach, since the princess' "stone-face" often discouraged people from wanting to interact in the first place. Nonetheless, the greeting was returned and it was now Isumi's turn to take the floor and keep things going. Well...that was unexpected...

"Oh! ummm....." These displays of.....extroversion -- they were clearly not Fujiwara's strong suit. By no means was the young girl shy, but she wasn't exactly well socialized either -- certainly not enough to strike up some small talk. Perhaps it would've done Izu well to have taken those etiquette lessons she received as a pup seriously, instead of collecting plants and weaving more ghost stories together.........ah, she was thinking to much again.

Letting go of the breath she held onto, the crane's wandering eye's finally lifted to look at the pale woman again, and with a part of her lips, she spoke."I was not expecting an audience in this valley, I must've been too distracted to notice you at first...." The crane explained softly, shifting her forepaws on the ground while she searched for something to fill their silence. Blatantly saying she wasn't aware of Reiko's presence wasn't something Izu was looking to reveal, but it was a start at least. "Is this your home? I didn't mean to intrude...."

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Looking up at the girl with big cerulean eyes, Reiko simply smiled sweetly as if she tried to ease the awkward air in some way. A little tail wiggle never hurt anyone. The other girl spoke now, more than just a couple of words. Her lack of socialization was evident, but she wasn't terrible or awful - perhaps just a little sweetly awkward.

Shaking her head "no" at the girl's question. “No, I'm simply passing through as well. I am looking for two little precious individuals.” She admitted. Admitting her situation was getting a little easier now, the shock seemed to have faded over the past week and was replaced with sheer determination. As if nothing would stand in her way now to search for Hotaru and Haruki, not even her own anxieties and worries. They were here, she knew it. She could feel it, there was no question about it.

The mention of a home caught her attention, however. Briefly thinking to where they would go once she found her children... perhaps back to the Tundra she supposed, the closest thing to where they had all come from. Maybe all three of them could pick a place to call their own, start over, focus on healing and recovering from their traumas but at least doing it together and not scattered.

“Did you happen to see them by chance? They're beautiful, they're my children.” She would ask everyone if she had to, slowly spread the news of the mother looking for her young. Eventually, word would reach them if she did not find them first.

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She didn't know why, but somehow the knowledge that she too was passing through the valley as well made her feel a bit less vulnerable -- that and the pale woman's overall carefree demenor.  Izu often felt insecure about the way she came off to others, whether it be her tone of the atmosphere she creates in a conversation. So knowing that she wasn't doing anything that might disintrest her made the crane become a little more relaxed than before -- even her racing heart began to quell a bit.

The small dove brought up something else that caught the crane's attention; the mention of missing children. This fact caused Izumi a bit of suprise since she never would've guess the girl was a mother, but even so, what was a mother doing so far away from her children in the first place? The duotoned fae could only imagine the amount of stress she'd be going through right now....

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I haven't seen your children anywhere....." The princess said with a notable softness to her voice, being mindful about how straining the topic must've been for her. Izumi may not have experience with children of her own, but she did understand how disheartening it was to loose family. There was no one alive for Izumi to currently call family, afterall -- and she'd never forget the state of dispare she went through after finding her brother's body in the woods that night....

"You haven't been searching for them all by yourself, have you? Let me help..." Izumi offered after a moment of silence, lifting herself off the ground to stand to her height. Going along with wolves she did not know wasn't something she did often, ecspecially since they hadn't even exchanged names yet, but there was something about the she-wolf's situation that Izu was able to sympathize with -- which a motivating factor in her desire to assist....

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Well it was worth a shot. This one too regretfully didn't see either the Prince or the Princess, but it was one more set of eyes and ears who were aware of the Empress' mission. Rising up from the ground to sit herself gently among the flowers, wrapping the plush plume of white around her toes as she gathered herself once more. Eyes washing over the budding blossoms who would soon greet the sun for a new season... winter was almost over now, at least she could somewhat tell what time of the year they were in.

By the looks of the early blooming blossoms, they would soon be entering spring. Now she could figure out a timespan of how long she would be searching for - preferably not much longer now... with more ears and eyes, the expanding search party should eventually bring them back home to her.

Shaking her head 'no' at the first part of the woman's question. “I've been spreading my search by word of mouth, there are also two others who are currently with me.” Although one was extremely temporary while the other was a mystery how long she would remain. “I don't quite know what else to do other than what I currently am.” She was rambling now, unsure of what else to say even if this lovely lady must have better things to do than listen to a crying young mother who couldn't keep her life together enough to keep her children from going missing.

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"An active search party then...?" Seems that the woman had already been acquainted with a few wolves helping her with the search, along with having others who are informed of the missing children as well. Despite all of this, hearing it on the receiving end didn't sound as enthusiastic coming from Reiko as Izumi thought it would be. Was something the matter?

The crane looked down at the snow-pelted woman as she sat and cast her gaze to the flower-blanketed floor. Of course -- even if a few cards were laid down, this was still a mother in search of her children, afterall. Not even a search from multiple wolves had managed to find her kids yet, and even Izumi acknowledged that puppies left to fend for themselves like that were as good as dead.

"I...." She truly pondered on what to do at first, but not for long. It wasn't wise for her to go off a tangent and say this despite needing to find her way back to Kaistleoki, but -- "I'm sure you still have room for another member of your search party, right?" There was no way the femora was just going to leave them like this -- not when they clearly needed more help. Izu could assist as much as she could, and even scout for more help if needed. Perhaps even her packmates could get into the mix if the crane was able to find and convince them to....

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+1 Formation Points

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She nodded slowly, almost hesitantly as from the outside it may seem that way but still it was hard to confirm that they were indeed a search party and not just a group of travellers working together to move faster and safer until they all found what they were looking for. At least when they were still together, they could be a "search party" of sorts.

Then the crane decided to offer her services. Reiko immediately lit up, someone else so kind to offer help just like that. Her smile beamed brightly and her posture straightened up immediately, plume weaving through the flowering floor completely forgetting of the fragile new petals just below. “Yes of course there is.” Certainly it would make the greyscale woman more comfortable too. Judging by how uncertain she was just moments ago. Perhaps in a group, she would feel secure until she found a permanent residence just like the other two.

“I suppose I should inform you of who else is accompanying me.” She spoke softly, dreamily as if the mere thought of her current companions was soothing to her nerves. “One is a fluffy warm woman, Aerasha; and the other is an older gentleman, Druth.” Tilting her head to rest it on a lifted shoulder, eyes rising finally to meet the lavender ones of the tall slender woman. “And I'm Reiko Izuka, my children are Hotaru and Haruki.”

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+1 Formation Points

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The pale dove was quick to light up at the mention of help, and a part of Izumi felt relieved that she was able to cheer the small woman up -- yes, of course she could be of help.....would she? Honestly, the young crane was unaware of what she was really getting into. Scouting wasn't a problem for someone who was a wanderer at heart, but the only other time she had scouted with a mission at hand was to search for the last remnants of her family....and just look at where that had gotten the gullible young woman. Would she burden the group with the same amount of failure when agreeing to lend a hand?

Memories of what had happened back in that forest crossed her mind, and Izu would take a moment to shut her eyes, suck in her breath, and exhale once more before meeting the woman's clearwater gaze again. 'Right, let's not think about Taro now...'

Just as she looked back up would the dame begin explaining who made up her group -- an elderly man named Druth, and a....err, "fluffy" woman named Aerasha. Judging by how romanticized they'd been described, it seemed as though the trio was very close. Next, the woman would introduce her own name and the names of her offspring, and the young crane's eyebrows would raise in a bout of unexpectedness. Reiko Izuka -- mother of Hotaru and Haruki. Let's not focus too much on a surname she didn't recognize until later, but all three of these names belonged to her hearth tongue.

Izumi took a step closer, then another, then more until she was practically in the dove's face. Her gentle lavender gaze hardened a bit as if trying to search for something in Reiko's features -- and after a few seconds of this very awkward pause, her head would snake back by just a little before she spoke up again. She was hesitant in even making the attempt, and was surprised to the point where she forgot to share even her own name in return, but decided to take a chance either way. "私の声をよく聞いてください。私が言うことを分かりますか?" — Listen to my voice closely, Reiko. Can you understand me?"

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^^

Silence once again found its place between them. Reiko still held onto the belief that everything was fine, that Izumi simply had a lot to think of and gave her as much time as possible to put her thoughts together.

Then the woman stepped forward, and again until they were almost nose to nose. Reiko's eyes twisted as if she tried to remain focussed on the girl, crossing her eyes just enough to keep her clearly in sight. There she sat, gently smiling and letting her tail wiggle behind her through the flowers, gathering colorful petals in her tail.

“もちろんできる. — of course I can.” She answers, almost confused by the woman's question as if they didn't switch languages at all. The words tumbled out of her mouth naturally. It didn't strike her odd enough to question the strange inquiry, she simply waited for more.

^^
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It wasn't often that Izumi cursed. As a matter of fact, such words rarely left the crane's mouth due to being taught never to say such foul, unprofessional things during her youth. Although it was the experience she had spending most of her free time with Ojīchan that made her learn such words in the first place -- and it seems like the old man's foul mouth rubbed off on her a bit. 

"聖なるたわごと-!" — Holy shit-! slipped the words from Izu's mouth, and the crane's eyes would widen in surprise at both her choice of speech, and the fact that Reiko was actually able to understand her. A paw was quickly lifted to cover her mouth in embarrassment, though she couldn't really help it -- it was quite the surprise.

It had been a while since she'd met someone who spoke in her native tongue -- The crane had always been taught that only those born in her region were able to speak it. It wouldn't be too crazy to think of nomads who have traveled to their lands left with some knowledge of Japanese, but if that was the case, then she wouldn't have such a name....right?

There were many questions she wished to ask the little dove, and the sporadic flicks of her tail showed the excitement of finding out more that her face couldn't, but Izu needed to calm down right now -- this clearly wasn't the right time to change topics after agreeing to help. Perhaps another time. "My apologies Reiko..." Maybe she was overreacting just a little.... "I was just surprised to have met someone who spoke my tongue as well..."

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^^

Reiko too, was raised to not say such foul words. Frankly, her mother would be disappointed. Rolling over in her grave if she saw and knew that Reiko was sitting here, giggling like a schoolgirl at the embarrassed Izumi who shouted the profanities. There was no judgment on her part. Though raised not to say such things, she was certain if she found herself just as surprised, she too would have exclaimed it out of surprise!

At first, she wasn't certain what Izumi was saying... Jumping from one tongue to the next felt as easy as breathing itself, it was natural - and yet, she was right! There was something strange here, something oddly familiar that they didn't share with Druth nor Aerasha! And with this realization, her eyes widened in beloved surprise. “Oh!” She nearly stood on the tips of her toes.

“We do! We do speak the same tongue!” Then she paused... “But...” She pondered, tilting her head up and watching Izumi with owlish eyes glittering in intrigue. “You aren't from the Izuka Clan, right?” Certainly she wouldn't have forgotten a face like hers.

^^
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The dove shared the same pleasant surprise that Izumi did, and to that would her white flag begin wagging more rhythmically. Reiko was practically a stranger to the crane that she had yet to fully trust, but there was something close to comfort that graced her mind to know that there was someone who could communicate with her in two ways rather than one. It almost made her feel at....home again....

Except, of course, the ink-blotched femora needed a reminder that they weren't all too familiar with each other. First was the mention of her surname -- Izuka -- and then came the mention of a clan she had never heard of before -- the Izuka clan. The mention of a clan rather than a regular pack was not new news to Izumi -- she grew up in one and was surrounded by neighboring ones after all. As per tradition, it seems, the names of established families were what these groups were named after -- but unfortunately, "I....don't recall hearing about it...." the crane couldn't recall ever hearing of a family referring to themselves as the Izuka.

She shook her head to further explain her lack of knowledge "I grew up in the Fujiwara clan as one of their heirs. My name is Izumi..." would the mention of her home clan spark some resemblance? She didn't know, but the princess did find it weird that out of all the families allied, associated, or even visited by the Fujiwara in the past, Izuka was not one she could even vaguely remember meeting...

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^^

It did feel homely. To think that there were more out here who spoke the language of her people was beyond comforting. How perhaps Hotaru and Haruki would grow up with others speaking to them in Japanese other than her mother and continue their traditions for at least one more generation. Some traditions were best to let die, like finding a suitor for their children before they could find one themselves; as for language, that along with song would bring her so much joy to pass on.

“Ah...” Though not quite disappointed, she had hoped the name was familiar at least. Izumi didn't sound familiar to her either nor did she look it and so she was already certain that they were strangers even in a past life... but still, to be wrong would have been nice. “It is a pleasure to meet you Izumi.” Sadly, Fujiwara was just as foreign to her as Izuka was to Izumi. Still, she offered a smile just happy to have some kind of familiarity between them regardless of how small it may be.

“” She paused, casting her gaze away for a moment remembering the major details of her family, how it stuck to her even now despite the fuzzy outlines. “We were a secluded group, I know of very few other packs other than my own.” Bright eyes returned to the crane, soft and illuminated by the brilliance of the flowers that surrounded them. “It is nice to meet another heiress other than my sister.”

^^
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Wrapping up here! Permission to powerplay from Noki!

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Alas, Reiko's situation was similar as there seemed to be no recollection between their homes, and her lips pressed tightly together in slight disappointment from this fact. They were strangers so it was only natural, but a weird sense of ambition still sparked in Izumi's chest. She wanted to know more about her newfound partner, and what other way to do that than to follow? "It is a shame we did not get to meet each other in our previous lives, Reiko. You seem like someone I might've enjoyed becoming friends with...let's change that, shall we?"

With this, the crane would beckon the dove to lead the way, and soon the pair were off in search of the rest of the group she had yet to meet, and two names they had yet to find; Haruki and Hotaru

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+1 Formation Points

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