Caedwyn wasn't sure exactly when he'd arrived in this place, but by his memory at least two weeks had passed. It was a bit of a mystery though, the exact moment of his arrival. It had come with fog and mist. A dark and foggy night had led the wandering male into unfamiliar territory. When morning came and light arose, he didn't recognize his surroundings. It didn't worry him at first, but as the days began to pass, Caedwyn began to notice that no matter how he tried, he couldn't recall or find the path that had led him here. It wasn't a dire situation, but it was one that intrigued his curiosity. He'd spent the last months wandering anyway; so being stuck wandering this place wasn't too much of a bother to him. But he had never been one to become 'lost' before, and now that he couldn't find his way it was a curiosity - almost an annoyance even - that he couldn't find the way back.
It wasn't all bad though. He had encountered a few faces that seemed friendly enough, though Caedwyn was slow to trust. A few words of greeting and he was usually on his way. Truly though, he longed for home. He longed for familiar faces. But Vrolga wasn't as it had once been long ago, and after many sleepless nights he had finally left. The old traditions had been abandoned. The old faces he had once been loyal to had moved on. He felt no ill will toward what was left of Vrolga but that was just it. There was nothing left for him. His thoughts meandered over old memories now half-faded as he wandered the grassland. This place seemed familiar, but also new. He'd explored the plains only a little the days before and today he made a point to choose a new direction to travel. He passed casually through the tall foliage, letting dried winter grasses brush against his sides. His head was held somewhat low, letting his nose sniff as he walked. A breeze surprisingly warm for winter bristled his fur and carried with it a multitude of new scents.
The last she remembered, she had been asleep, snoozing soundly as winter's grip on the lands maintained their hold. After the falling out with the King, she’d left the lands of the Clan with her son, Ridley, and her familiar, Buck, and the trio roamed wild and free. She tried to find a portal out, a way to return to the world she knew, loved, and missed, but each search proved to be futile.
Until she awoke one day and realized that her companions were not beside her, and she was not in the cave they’d found and made into a temporary home. A normal wolf, or any creature really, might have freaked out at the realization as she came to it. Enya, however, only sighed and hung her head after she had sniffed around for scent tracks from her family. They were gone. Again. She’d wrangled together some sort of family and just like that, Tsillah threw a curve ball into her life. Was she really the Goddess of Death, or was she the Goddess of Tricks? Enya was starting to think the latter and despite the pain of the realization, she laughed out loud.
Unlike the times before when Enya was suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar world and situation, she remained calm and collected and started the mental process of creating a checklist of requirements for herself for survival. Food. Shelter. Scouting the lands and looking for signs of civilization. She’d been thrown into this scenario so many times now that it almost felt normal for the Viper. She chuckled again at this thought. What a strange situation to grow accustomed to.
Days turned into weeks as she searched for Ridley and Buck, knowing with her heart that they were here with her somewhere. Buck she could sense, but not in enough of a way to be able to pinpoint a direction. Bound to him by her soul, she always had a sense of knowing. The closer he was, the stronger it was. The further they were, the fainter it was. But, no matter how faint, she could still sense him. Wherever she went, he was forced to be there with her. Ridley, she felt hope in her heart. He’d followed her through the previous world jumping, and the one before that. Somehow he’d remained with her. So, if he was here, she’d do her best to find him. It was the least she could do, protect the one piece of family she had left.
Today was no different than any of the previous ones. She searched. She had found neither of her companions yet and felt the creeping feeling of dread encroaching. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she had misunderstood her bond with Buck. Maybe Ridley had been left behind in the old world. After all, she still could not recall what had happened to cause her to end up here. Strangers were unhelpful. Besides, it would be dangerous for Buck to try to interact with other wolves. To them, he would just be prey.
Enya found herself wandering the tree line of the fields. With winter settling over the lands, she assumed that Buck would retreat to the forest. However, that inner tie she felt to him pulled her towards the fields. It was still faint, but at least she’d pinpointed a direction with all of her traveling.
“Well, at least it’s a beautiful day” Enya commented as she looked out over the field, taking in the scent of dried grasses on the breeze. Once upon a time she would have dreaded this time of year. Now? She lived for it. She hoped soon enough a good winter storm would coat the region in snow.
With energy in her step, Enya leaped out from the tree line into the tall grasses, giggling as she bounced up and down. She bounded almost like a deer as she played in the tall grass feeling free and full of spirit. She had a mission and she has responsibilities, but she also had learned to let herself relax and play. So, play she did as she frolicked, her bounding turning into more of a sprinting run in a large circle. She giggled and giggled as she made her own wish come true. From the cold air formed snowflakes, gently drifting around her area. Enya came to a stop and stood up on hind legs to snap her jaws at the snowflakes. Panting hard, she fell back down into a sit still letting the snow fall down upon her. Tiny flakes gathered on her guard hairs. Her eyes closed. It had been a long time since she’d felt free, and she was going to make the most of her situation.
Fate had a funny way of reuniting familiar faces when it was least expected. And truly, Caedwyn wasn’t expecting to see anyone he knew today. Had he been, he might have moved a little more swiftly, a little more energetically. But instead he moved at a leisurely pace, letting the sound of the wind and brustling of grass fill his ears. A chirping of birds called in the distance, causing him to pause and raise his head to look out over the distance in the direction of the sound. A bird sounded tasty right about now, but it was far off and birds were difficult things to catch. Too much effort for so little meat. His momentary hope fleeted away and with a little sigh he turned back toward the direction he’d been traveling.
But fate had other ideas. As he turned, the breeze caught him with a sudden chill and he wondered if a storm was blowing in. It caught him off guard and he squinted his eyes, letting a shiver ripple through his body as it passed over him. And in that moment, his ears caught a noise both equally familiar and strange to him. In an instant he stopped, his eyes opening and head lifting once more. Like a shockwave passing over him, his body reacted, turning toward the sound. It was faint but he swore he had heard it. Or was it just the wind playing tricks on him? He knew the sound. He knew it. There was no way he could mistake Enya’s voice, and yet it was so foreign to him. The happiness in that sound. The pure childlike joy that he had never heard from her before. Surely this must have been his imagination. The shiver turned into a tremble at the thought. It couldn’t be… The tremble turned into motion, one foot in front of the other as he darted up and over a hill. He just had to reach the top. He had to. He must. Maybe, just maybe from there he’d be able to see.
Coming to the peak, he stopped, his eyes darting back and forth across the fields and trees in the distance, searching. Where was she? Had he truly heard her? Had she moved along too fast and he’d miss her? Or was this strange realm betraying his sanity? Playing a cruel joke on his heart. Then finally, he heard it once more - the sound of laughter. His eyes flashed over to the source.
It was her. Enya. His heart pounded heavily in his chest with anticipation. He’d found her. There was something inside him now that felt relieved, like he’d found something he didn’t know he’d been searching for all along. He could tell now this was no mirage. He couldn’t mistake her form or the sense of her ice magic floating in the air. As the thudding of his heart began to calm (though only a little), a smile came to his face. Not a mischievous, trickster smile but one of happiness. He had found her.
Locking his eyes to her, as if she would disappear if he looked away, he focused on the energy of her magic and used his will to redirect it. The snowflakes began to flurry in a playful way around her, swirling through the air before gathering in front of her. Ice began to form on the ground and a frozen crystal began to form, growing up out of the ground in front of her. It grew quickly, taking the shape not of a simple fractal shard, but instead formed into a pair of ice sculptures: two small crystalline wolves stood facing one another in front of her, one bearing the likeness of Enya and one of Caedwyn (as much as a frozen sculpture could anyway). And when the ice had formed, he let out a breath, releasing his control of the snow once more to let the snowflakes blow away and he stood quietly gazing down at her from on the hill.
Her breathing turned from labored to normal gradually as she sat and rested, enjoying the feeling of snowflakes gently settling along her fur. The feeling shifted, however, and the gentle falling of the snowflakes seemed to grow more intense. Her teal eyes opened to watch as her magic was growing out of control. Wait. No. She hadn’t struggled with her elemental magic in years. This was someone or something else’s doing. She tried to use her Will to calm the storm, to force the flurrying flakes to calm down. It didn’t work. Something was fighting her control.
Whatever or whoever it was, they entertained her. If they had wanted to use her element against her, they could have done so many more things with it. So, instead of feeling fear at this strange phenomenon, she smirked, letting the winds and flakes race and swirl around her. Enya’s teal eyes watched the magic at work, smiling, as it stopped to hang in front of her. Then, ice started to form, growing upwards. Enya’s head tilted as she watched the magic unfold, watched as the ice slowly began to morph from the shape of nothing to the two shapes of something.
Two wolves were left standing facing one another. Enya’s head tilted the other way as she inspected the ice, feeling the magic one again fall completely under her control. Where the snowflakes had started to blow away, Enya recaptured them, once more directing them to shower her and the small area around her gently.
Her paws reached outwards to grab one of the statues. She cradled it carefully, ensuring her paws were coated with a cold touch to not melt the ice, and inspected the figure. It had a likeness to her. That was unmistakable. The ice had even been detailed enough in formation to highlight the scales that ran the length of her underside and neck. It decorated her muzzle with a cocky smirk. Enya reached out towards the other figure after gently placing down the version of ‘her’ and inspected it in the same fashion. This one was harder for her to identify. There were little mutations and, well, with it being ice, no real coloration to indicate who it was supposed to be.
A breeze gently pushed past her over the plain’s grasses and upon recognizing a familiar scent, she forgot all about the two ice figures. The second was not dropped, but gently placed back down upon the soil next to the first. Her gaze shifted in the direction the wind had come from. There she saw him standing on the hill. She let her grip on her magic slip away, causing the snowflakes to cease to fall. There was no room for concentration on her magic right now. All of her concentration was focused on the wolf who stood up on the hill.
In that moment, Enya was unsure how she felt about seeing Caedwyn in these strange lands. A part of her was excited. She was no longer alone in this world. There was finally a familiar face here with her. Despite the rough history the pair had, seeing him standing on the hill made her feel happy. Almost giddy. Her tail swayed furiously behind her with a will of its own as she stood, making it obvious she saw him standing there (finally).
The other part of her felt scared and nervous. What would he think, seeing her? She’d tried to make everything right again after she’d caused everything to go wrong, but did he forgive her? Had he moved on past all of that? She had. She’d grown into a different wolf than she used to be. That didn’t mean he felt the same, though.
“Fuck it” she muttered softly to herself, deciding to put one paw in front of the other and move herself towards a potential rejection. She was tired of running away from her problems and fears. It was the part of her that had changed over the past year. Even leaving the Clan, it was done on mutual terms of agreement, not her fleeing and disappearing without a trace, escaping her responsibilities and troubles. Caedwyn could reject her. He could scorn her for how she had treated him in the past. He could ambush her, though that didn’t really feel like a move he would pull. If Enya knew anything about Caedwyn, it was that he was a loyal wolf. She should have learned that much sooner, but at least she knew that now.
Her gait moved from a brisk walk to a lope to a full on sprint up the hill. Her lithe frame covered the ground quickly and once she’d reached Caedwyn, she’d damn near thrown herself at him in an embrace. The entire time her tail wagged furiously behind her. A soft whimper left her as she pushed and nuzzled against Caedwyn. Perhaps she was crossing boundaries by being so affectionate with a wolf she’d nearly killed. It didn’t matter to her. She was glad to see him. She was ecstatic to see him. He was someone she knew, a friend amongst strangers. She’d been alone for weeks at this point and if there was anything Enya was not good at, it was being a lone wolf. There had been a reason why she’d been searching for her son and familiar the entire time.
The snow around her vanished, the change in atmosphere marking the change in their encounter. Now they were aware of each other and Caedwyn gazed intently at her as she looked back. His eyes remained locked on her as she started toward him, first slowly then faster, until she was running full speed at him. He wasn’t sure exactly what her intent was as he watched her charging up toward him. He didn’t hear her say anything before she’d closed the distance between them. Was this a friend coming near? Or had the many months since they’d last met changed something between them? For half a second he tensed, unsure if he should be preparing to dodge a blow from her. But that wasn’t the Enya he knew. Hell, if she was angry with him, he knew she would have at least called out an insult before coming over. No. This was his friend. And at last when she got to him, the panic in him subsided as she pushed into him not with ill-intent but instead in an embrace. He was a bit surprised though. He couldn’t recall a time she had ever greeted him so warmly.
But he didn’t care. The moment he felt her touch, all the fear of uncertainty melted away and he felt all the tension that had been building in his body release. A soft breath left his mouth as he pushed his neck back against her. He placed his head over the back of her neck, pushing his head into the thick fur of his neck and his eyes closed. Instead of his mind overthinking this moment, for once he was able to finally feel a piece of home. A peace of home.
Finally he lifted his head away from her, leaning back so he could look into her face. “It’s been awhile, Enya,” he said lightly, with a small hint of a joking tone. A smile began to curl his lips and before he knew it he was laughing. There wasn’t really anything funny about the situation but all of these emotions had his heart and stomach all twisted. He had finally found someone! And it was Enya of all wolves. Tsillah must have had a sense of humor after all, and with everything going on, he couldn’t help but laugh. Here he was wandering around this god-forsaken ass-backwards strange land and Enya appeared right in front of him!
“Are you, uh, I mean… what are you doing out here?” his words fumbled, pouring out quickly in an almost stutter. He had so many questions to ask and they all started to come out at once. Had she been living out here? Was she living with a new pack? Was she following him? Well that one didn’t seem likely. She had left Vrolga well before him. “I …” he paused, laughing a bit nervously. Why the fuck was he nervous!? It was embarrassing. He couldn’t even get out a proper greeting! “You look well,” he managed to choke out quickly, taking a breath and finally giving a chance for her to speak.
The pair embraced and in that embrace, a sense of comfort washed over her. She was grateful that Caedwyn seemed just as happy to see her as she was to see him. It felt genuine, the way he pushed his muzzle into the nape of her neck. It was a short embrace, and soon enough Caedwyn had pulled away from her, offering her a greeting instead.
It had been a while. It had been… gosh. She couldn’t even remember. Seasons had been different, shorter, on her last adventure. What had been years there were probably six months or so in her old world. And this new one? Well, only time would tell how the seasons rotated here, if it was even a new world. Before she could offer any sort of response, Caedwyn started to laugh. It made Enya blink twice as he laughed and laughed. Unsure why, perhaps it was simply because his laughter was contagious to her, she joined him, giggling at whatever it was that had struck his humor bone.
His laughter turned to a fumbling stutter as he started to ask her one question, then shifted to another. She wasn’t allowed a chance to answer before he continued to stutter - starting another sentence before finally settling on ‘you look well’. It made Enya chuckle, reaching forward once more to pull Caedwyn into another brief embrace, then stepping back as he had so she could speak to his face. “I’m lost” Enya said plainly, answering his first question he had asked. She settled down into a sit before Caedwyn, expecting a bit of conversation before they went onto whatever other adventure they could find. Perhaps it was ambitious of Enya to simply assume that Caedwyn would want her company, but assume she did. “And you look just as up to no good as you always have” she retorted with a playful smirk on her face, showing a cheeky tooth. “You had me wondering if I’d lost my mind, what with that little magic trick of yours. Nice detail on the figures.”
“I have to ask, though. What are you doing out here, Caedwyn? On another espionage mission?” It seemed like the only logical explanation for him to be out in this place - wherever it was. Leaving Vrolga wasn’t even a thought in her mind for him. She winked at him before continuing on, “It’s alright. You can tell me. I won’t tell anyone else.” Like she had anyone to tell
Lost! He snorted a bit, pulling in his laughter as she answered him. Well she wasn’t any better off than him in that regard. He wondered if she was just as frustrated as he was with this gods-forsaken place. Every time he thought he’d figured out a way to leave he somehow came to an impasse. And for some reason, the fact she was lost amused him to no end. But he bit his lip, silencing his laughter as she continued to tease him, asking about what he might have been doing here. His laughter quieted when she asked if it was some sort of mission. Espionage. Murder. Trickery. Though those things were all very enjoyable, part of him wondered if that time was far behind him. There were consequences to such things and that was a lesson he had learned the hard way.
She winked at him and he smiled in return, regaining his composure. “I wouldn’t be a very good spy if I went around telling everyone that I was a spy,” he replied with a little bit of a sly tone and letting a teasing smirk move across his maw. “Although…” he let out a sigh, turning his head to look at their surroundings for a moment. His tone relaxed and the smirk relaxed into a casual smile. “... as much as I hate to admit it…” he turned to look back at her. “I am also lost.”
He chuckled, a lighthearted sound. It was embarrassing. But not in a shameful way. It was just funny. Funny that the only familiar face he’d finally run into was just as lost as him. “Were you going anywhere in particular?” Maybe he could help her get to where she was going. At least then one of them might not be lost anymore. “I’ve wandered around here for a while. Crossed a few groups, but nothing organized.” He looked at her inquisitively. Was she with a new pack now? He wondered. He hadn’t seen anything like that around here. “I could try to help you find your way home, if that’s where you’re going?”
Home. It felt weird leaving his mouth. He’d lost his home, but maybe she had found a new one.
Enya started to respond, to retort with another comeback, to keep up the friendly jesting. She went so far as to open her muzzle before pausing mid-breath, catching the words right before they tumbled out of her mouth. He was lost? That seemed impossible to her for some reason. She wasn’t sure why. It was entirely possible that he was also lost. Well, obviously it was entirely possible. He had just said it. But still. Somehow that just felt… wrong to her. Caedwyn may have gone through a period where he hadn’t had a home but he hadn’t been lost.
What in the universe were the chances of them stumbling into one another, both lost, in some unknown region? When he chuckled, she chuckled along with him, her brain furiously putting together the pieces. It didn’t take long before her thoughts were broken. He asked her questions of his own. Shared a bit of his experiences while here. Then he did something that made all laughter inside Enya cease. Her expression shifted into one more serious. It was a very kind offer. There was just one problem with his offer.
“I don’t have a home” she softly whispered. “The last one I had, it didn’t work out.” The solemn look on her face shifted back into a smile. Wasn’t that always the story? It didn’t work out, so she’d end up leaving to keep the peace. Deeper details would unveil that this separation had been far different than the others had been, but at the end of the day, it had been the same result. Everything she had worked towards, everything she had built up, it was all gone now. Her loyal followers, her precious slave, Elyria, her romance, all left behind and in her history now.
“But if you’re willing to help me look for something besides a home, I’ll take you up on your offer.” In truth, she had planned to tag along with him anyways - at least for the day. “I’ve been looking for my son and familiar. Ridley was with me before whatever happened happened. I haven’t seen him nor Buck since I awoke alone here. Ridley, I’m not too worried about him. He’s a smart boy. Buck, however. If he lost his collar… well… let’s just say it would be very bad if he ended up as someone’s dinner.” She didn’t know for sure what would happen if he died, but she wasn’t willing to test it, either. That wasn’t a gamble she wanted to make.
“You said you’ve seen a few groups. Have you come across anyone you know? Any familiar faces?” Even if they were enemies, that meant that perhaps she was back in her old world, where Vrolga had first accepted her, and where she had later died fighting for them. If he hadn’t… well that just meant she was more lost than she thought.
“I don't have a home” The words caught him off guard and his ears flicked back quickly almost as though her tongue had whipped him. Her words didn’t seem harsh or angered but he hadn’t expected that from her. He had never thought how misfortune might have befallen her. She was strong-bodied and strong-willed. Her confidence, her charisma… her cunning - all those things she possessed he was sure would have led to her obtaining her desires, and a home among those. But he knew very little of what had happened to her after she left Vrolga. Had she drifted from place to place? Or had she settled down again and something terrible happened to make her leave? He wanted to ask her, both to sate his never ending curiosity and also because a part of him wanted to comfort her. But he bit his tongue. Instead he listened as she spoke of her son.
“No,” he said a bit sheepishly to her question. He didn’t bother adding “unfortunately” to the end. He wasn’t bothered by the fact he hadn’t seen anyone he knew for quite some time. There were very few faces that he missed. He held no ill-will toward old friends but the bonds that had held them together had weakened with time and the path that Tsillah had laid out for him. He had put those relationships aside when he left Vrolga. If fate should bring those faces to him again he would celebrate but until then he held no sadness or loss for those he had left behind. “Those are faces of the past now, I suppose. I was quite surprised when I found you.”
He imagined it was different for Enya. She had her children, though he was sure they must have grown into adults by now. He wondered if Ridley was the only one who had remained with her or if the others had gone their separate ways.
“I can help you look for them,” he offered, giving a nod and moving away to trot up the hill. He didn’t look over his shoulder to see if she followed. It just felt natural that they should travel together, even if it was just to look for her companions. “Buck should be our first priority then, if he’s most at risk. What sort of creature is he?” It was only then that Caedwyn paused, looking across the field for a moment before turning back to Enya - not knowing if she had followed him or not. “Does he normally stray from you or is there a way for you to summon him?” Caedwyn was unfamiliar with the ways of familiars. How exactly did that work? Was it some sort of psychic connection? Or maybe she just whistled and he would come? If it was a trick Caedwyn could figure out, they might have better luck finding the beast.
For a moment Caedwyn almost suggested they split up but as soon as the thought crossed his mind he pushed it away. No. This place was tricky. He feared if they parted ways they might never find each other again and he wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.
A simple two letter word that was capable of taking any hope and spirit she held in her and yanking it right out. She hadn’t realized it until the word had been spoken. She had been hoping that he’d say yes. She’d hoped that he'd seen familiar faces, perhaps even had a spat with some Athadians in passing. ‘Those are faces of the past now, I suppose’. It was a hard truth she had to swallow down. Those of her past were gone - now for a second time. Was she destined to just exist between worlds, floating between galaxies or timelines or dimensions she had no real grasp or knowledge of?
‘I can help you look for them’ The offer broke her from her realization, causing her to refocus her mind and return to the present. It was dangerous existing in that far-off plane where the mind ended up wrapped up in worse case scenarios. He moved from her to trot up the hill. Enya remained for a moment, feeling the sudden emptiness she felt beside her, and quickly stretched her legs to catch up.
Caedwyn jumped right into action. He made the call to search for Buck first, then followed up with a question that amused Enya. It was a perfectly valid question, but to hear someone ask what sort of creature Buck was - it made her chuckle. “He’s a red stag.” she answered with a playful tone. “I don’t even know what his actual name is. From the moment we met, it was Wolf and Buck.” Now that she thought about it, had he ever actually called her by her name? She couldn’t recall a time.
“He’s normally the one trying to keep up with me” Enya started to explain as she followed along with Caedwyn, letting him lead them along. “I can usually feel him, or his general presence, but since I’ve woken up here, it’s been too faint to tell. I can feel that he’s alive, but I don’t know where. For all I know, he could still be back outside the kingdom.” A glance into her last attempt at having a family and home. “Honestly, Caedwyn, I don’t even know if we can find him. It’s just a hope.”
Enya paused for a moment, trying to push positivity into her very negative feelings. She forced a smile onto her muzzle and dared to brush against Caedwyn’s side. She wanted to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, and she wanted to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. Perhaps she was being overly affectionate, but she’d been lonely and having a friend, well… “but if I found you. Or rather, if you found me, then it has to be possible, right? We just have to keep looking.” We. He’d offered to help her, and now he was stuck with her whether he liked it or not.
As they traveled, Caedwyn leading her along, her mind kept returning to something Caedwyn had said before. “Have you found yourself a home here amongst any of the groups you’ve come across?” She suddenly became hyper aware of her previous motions of friendly affection towards Caedwyn and wondered if there was another wolf who might get upset with her scent rubbed against his. She stepped an extra inch away. The homewrecker life was not for her. “What are they like here?”
