At first her intentions had only been to check on how the new members were getting along in the pack. Calanthe was last on her list, seeing as she'd had a bit more time to adjust and thus warranted less urgency. She came upon the pale woman after a good while of walking through the surrounding woods. She didn't like to exit the borders much anymore, but at least she wasn't totally alone this time. The sun had gone, leaving only colorful distortions of its light on the horizon and on the very edges of the clouds. It was growing dark. There was enough of it left to make out the reclining form of Calanthe in the distance. Raela proceeded with caution. There was no need to startle the poor thing; she'd seen how jumpy the other female was. 

Only a few paw-steps had been placed in her direction when she noticed the form rise. Raela slowed further, utterly halted by the mournful yet empowered song she sang so loudly. Her eyes drifted up to the distant horizon; afforded a view only by this hillside clearing her subordinate had found. In that moment she remembered the story Calanthe had told her; of the flames and the loss of her whole family. The howl was unmistakable, and it spoke to her own wounded soul. Tolas... A flash of light captured her attention. She watched the shooting star streak brilliantly above them, knowing that her companion probably hadn't seen as she sang on. The meteor vanished as soon as it had appeared, and Raela again turned her eyes to the pale wolf.

The sound was dwindling away, and soon enough Calanthe had gone quiet. A rush quickened her heartbeat and swelled in her chest. The urge was undeniable. Raela strolled forward boldly; her ears at attention. Her slender form slid into place beside her pack mate, and without a word or even a glance she threw back her head. The air in her lungs flowed louder; casting the same powerful tones over the hills. The intensity inside of her flowed out with it; effortlessly delivering the cry of a little sister, robbed. But it was not to call him back. The howl burst above them, paying further homage to the first wolf to ever show her love; to ever value her – the only thing that fought off the Asurn ideals and preserved her innocence against their savagery and hate. She knew it was because of him. They had kept each other strong, and she would keep them strong, even in death. 

Her powerful note continued for a beautiful moment; eyes sealed shut as vivid memories appeared in her mind. The recent encounter with Eirian made them all the more real. Eventually though, it had to end, and Raela's voice drifted away. Her skull remained lifted for a few seconds more; drinking in the cool breeze and how it felt against her face. Gently the woman's head descended; again becoming level with the earth. Her golden eyes peeled open, still swimming in sadness but refusing to tear up. She stared off into the trees; appreciative of the silence Calanthe had allowed to fall. Another quiet round of nostalgic waves passed by when the woman in question finally spoke up. Raela didn't turn her head at first; choosing instead to let her ears alone drink it in. 

The words were morose; clawing at her old scars but still they did not give way. She only folded her big ears in reaction. There was absolutely no question to what her answer would be. It was solid enough that she even parted her lips to answer quietly, as if her voice would disturb the stars if lifted too much. “Yeah,” came the short, breathy response. It seemed however that there was more on her companion's mind, and the older woman was fine with listening. The connection to her mumblings was immediate; enough to jar her focus back down to the skinny girl. It was her older brother too. Now her ears cupped forward with even more interest as the story unfolded. A melancholy smile pulled her lips back a bit. Her and Tolas were no strangers to trouble either, but she hoped Calanthe had been spared the same severity. 

Abruptly the topic shifted to sit squarely on her shoulders instead. Instead of shocked, Raela's face melted into defeat, and her eyes shifted away. “It was my older brother too,” she confessed, a half-hearted grin on her muzzle. It faded though. “Tolas. But I didn't loose him to nature. I lost him to family,” the Asurn woman's jaw grew tight as she spoke. What harm was there in telling her about the Asurns now? Since Eirian had appeared they all knew who she was; what she was tied to. “Asurns, are not medics. They... don't heal the injured.” That was enough. Her tongue passed over her nose anxiously, a gesture that might have gone unnoticed had Calanthe not been paying much attention. If anything the woman could work out how the pieces all fell into place from what she'd told the pack earlier. Another cold breeze buffeted against her skin as she stood with her head down.

Again the night claimed their voices; leaving the two battered souls to stand alone. Well, in truth they weren't really alone right now. There was the fact that summer nights reminded her of Tolas so strongly she could feel his presence; as she had the night with Minka, and there was also the fact that Calanthe was here. Though the paler girl might have lost nearly the same thing she had; there was a part of Raela that remained aware that her companion's loss was likely far less devastating. Tolas hadn't been her favorite, or her best, he had been her only in that hellish place, and there were few exiled Asurns that were even alive let alone able to truly share her pain. Nonetheless it was comforting to have something near to it, someone.

She had delved this far into her memories when Calanthe's voice ripped her to the present; filling her eyes and ears with the now. She met the woman halfway; staring with wide eyes as the words continued to flow in the wake of that ambush. Calanthe was hardly ever this forward, with anyone. It wasn't taken as opprobrious though. The meaning behind the outburst struck her as obvious; after all, she had hoped to ditch the legacy when she committed to silence on her own surname. That was why she was here wasn't it? Because she wasn't like them? If she hadn't been around Eirian could have easily wormed his way into the ranks by now with no one the wiser. A pup could be dead. And yet... she was still itching from what he'd told her. She had to advance in rank; at least a little bit. 

The longer she remained where she was; the longer she watched new members come trickling in; like Calanthe and Moraxia and Alphinaud, the more she found herself growing defensive. Outwardly there was no display of dominance despite her rank; it was unnecessary wasn't it? No one had disrespected her in any serious way. But in her mind she was. The sight of the brutish wolf that Moraxia was had given her pause; concern even for her title. It wasn't second, but it certainly wasn't lowest as she was used to being. Like the greedy peasant turned king she grew anxious at the thought of being challenged. She would not go back. She liked it here. Calanthe would be no threat to her for quite some time she was sure, and Cessair was an easy enough opponent – but insecurity held Raela back. 

There was no desire to put any one else down or to upset them by taking their rank; she was simply awakening to an instinct that had been so thoroughly trampled it had been completely underground until now. Eirian had only fed it. She'd never been an assertive person, save for the times she needed to defend someone. Gent had seen her defiant side; the one that got her chased out; but where was it? That instance it only emerged for Kajika's benefit, what about herself? There was only one time she could think of, against her mother; and that had ended more than poorly. But, perhaps things were different here. So far they had been. Her eyes rose from the distance, now acutely aware that she'd been quiet for a while. She owed the girl something. “No I'm nothing like them,” she answered softly. “and somehow neither was he.” Her legs folded back into a sitting position but the woman's head and ears remained low. 

She was grateful to see that Calanthe hadn't been bothered by her prolonged silence. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to have to sit idle while another fought their battles; or even just went digging in their own mind. She for one hated when others went so silent; locking her out of their thoughts and fears. Being let in was what she really wanted; but Rae accepted that it wasn't always easy. Instead of any of these things the girl was patient; waiting till even after she'd spoken and the silence fell upon them again to respond. A single orange ear was still fixed to her location; inhaling all of her voice as it attempted comfort. 

Her inner storm grew gentle as the older woman's mind latched on to this new line of discussion. Calanthe was, thanking her. The words drew her ears and head up; and they drifted slowly toward her friend. A smile of her own emerged, but it was faint. She was glad to have helped; it was Raela's whole purpose in life as far as she was concerned. As the syllables faded into the darkness, her gaze returned to where it had been before. She wished she could have helped Tolas as he had helped her. Lifting the spirits of a hundred souls would never make up for the one that saved her. But, at least there was some good in that. If every wolf felt indebted to another there would only be charity spread all over the world. If she was doomed to helping others for the rest of her life, that was just fine. 

On top of things it was nice to hear that her attempts at her desired role had been going smoothly. Advisor was a step above the rest; one of the most trusted individual roles. At least she could accomplish it with success to some degree after all these failures. That was nice. As if her mood could be felt fouling the air; Calanthe came forward with even more. Her mind growled with agreement at the woman's sentiments. She wished she could forget it all; wish he hadn't come to toy with and taunt her. This was supposed to be her haven. He wasn't supposed to find them here. A deep sigh pressed at her ribs. “Well if I hadn't been here you guys wouldn't know about him so, there's that,” she puffed solemnly. “Thanks Cal,” she added, not thinking much of the fact that she'd used a nickname. Her paws extended; bringing the female down onto her belly with her head between her paws. Raela's soft plume of a tail wrapped around her side protectively. 

“I'm glad I did something right,” she half-smiled, glancing back at the tawny girl.