With purpose did Kyna set off, telling no one were she was off to, or when she planned on returning. Truthfully, she saw little reason to – thus far, she’d always managed to find her home, even when she’d slipped and fallen from the path she was so certain to follow. Even without a mother to scold her for being out too late, or crossing borders at all, the princess returned to the den she was supposed to, settling in quietly and without a word. If Phineas was tucked in, she curled herself right up next to his warmth, careful not to disturb the alpha’s sleep. Were the older male not yet in the family den, she would ball herself up and fall asleep, waiting for his arrival.

So there was little concern about her return to Silent Moon Plateau as the youth set off, intent on seeking out clues of where her mother might have gone. Investigations up to this point had turned up little to go on, but what else would the honeyspun child do but continue to seek? Keen as Aponi might have been about leaving her daughter to seek out some other truth, Kyna was having a much harder time letting go of the mother who’d raised her the first several, crucial months of her life. That she might have gone the same way as Aesire was absolutely something she refused to believe. If there was something, anything nearby that might lead her back to her mum, the girl was certain to find it, even if she must look every day.

And so she spent her time, nose to the ground and well unaware of how dark it had gotten as she worked among the rocks outside her home. Perhaps the full moon had done some to shed some light, leaving her slightly confused about the amount of time she’d spent. She might not have noticed at all, if not for the unfamiliar voice drifting through Riddle Heights. Head jerking up, the child caught sight of the inky sky and twinkling stars. Her ears swept back as she gulped, eyes ringed white as she glanced about wildly. Have I fallen so far, and the hour is so late? she thought wildly, not recognizing the stones or foliage about. Was it that she’d wandered too far, or that things looked so different when bathed in the pale light of the moon?

“H-hello?” she called out to the voice, tail sweeping underneath her belly as she glanced about. Should she seek out the wolf? Perhaps they knew the way back to the plateau, she hoped, and with that in mind, moved forward, picking carefully though the dark so that she did not trip. “H-Hello?” she called a second time, the form of a wolf coming in to view. The animal up ahead was dark, a bit like Greer, but his voice was not so light, so airy. (He also did not strike her as the type to call up to the moon without reason, so she kept a few lengths distance between herself and the stranger.) “Are you…from here?”

“I--”

Kyna had not expected her question to be answered with another query and blinked owlishly at the adult wolf for a moment.  Was she supposed to tell?  She’d yet to discover a reason not to, and after swallowing down the lump in her throat, the young blond gave a small bob of her head.  “Yes.  Down there.  Silent Moon Plateau,” she murmured, glancing over her shoulder in the general direction of her father’s pack.  It would take some effort to get home in the dark, the princess realized glumly, but her father’s wolves had done a fine job laying down scent at the borders, making a barrier from any lone wolf who thought to casually cross into an owned territory.  They would have to make the mistake willingly – a punishable offense.  Thankfully, such a pungent scent would be able to led the girl home, if she really worked at it…

…but curiosity currently took the girl’s mind away from returning to her father’s den, and she glanced back at the ebony wolf.  The only other shadow she’d met so dark was @Greer … and @Niles, come to think of it.  She liked both of those boys more than most (and had little idea they were full brothers), and decided to give the stranger a chance.  After all, the adult had spoken kindly, so Kyna sidled a little closer, coming within a wolf’s length of the older female.  She did not sit, could not sit as she was circled, heart drumming in her chest, but nothing ill came of the adult’s investigation, and a soft breath whistled through her nose.

Unaware of the cougar in the distance, the girl allowed her desire to know to continue to lead her onward, and she cleared her throat softly as she hoped to catch the other wolf’s attention.  “I’m Kyna,” she introduced herself, tail wagging once in a hopeful display of am amicable conversation.  She’d already given the location of her home, and did not repeat her alliances – if Bastet didn’t catch the name, she would undoubtedly be able to smell the musk of the Moon wolves heavy on the girl’s guard hairs.  After all, she slept next to @Phineas every night, and smelled more like the alpha than most members of the pack.  

Small talk often failed the child, and after another moment of silence, she shuffled her feet awkwardly.  Should she ask?  Other wolves she’d come across had known her mother – perhaps this stranger had seen something in her wanderings.  The woman didn’t smell like here, so…what could it hurt?  She’d never find her dam if she didn’t keep looking.  Glancing up from her paws bashfully, Kyna murmured again, ears flexing back and forth in a clear display of her discomfort.  “Have…you seen a silver lady?  Aponi?  I’m looking for her,” the child explained, her tail giving a soft twitch. “She left.  I miss her.”

I need to know to know that she’s okay, Kyna could not admit out loud.  I need to know she didn’t end up like Aesire.