North, North, and further North. Ro couldn't remember the last time she'd traveled this far. Probably because there hadn't been a last time, however details really were the least concerning thing to her right now. What was important, however, was that progress was being made. Sure, there was no real evidence leading to that statement being true per say, however the young fae could definitely feel it in her bones. Perhaps she'd picked up a knack for clairvoyance with all this 'alone time' she'd been experiencing as of late. Or maybe her body was giving her false hope as some sort of obscure defense mechanism against her rapidly decreasing mental state. Clairvoyance sounded cooler in the long run, so maybe that's just the story she'd stick to for now.

"All this just for dad, and guess what? He'll never even know I went through with any of it. Might as well be all for nothin'. Could of joined a pack and settled down by now I bet, but noooo. I'm such a good daughter." She grunted, too bad her mother hadn't agreed on that last bit. Then she'd never of had to go through all this trouble in the first place. "I was always such a good daughter.. Agh, what the heck."  

She was nuzzled in a tight ball, the fluffy hairs of her tail laid softly across her nose as warmth seeped into every nook and cranny of the growing woman.  The slow rise and fall of her chest became the rhythm the occasional snort was the background sound, as she fell deeper into her much needed nap. She was breathing heavily, tossing every so often in her sleep as dreams of capture, defeat and chaos bombarded her thoughts--a nightmare at its finest. She whined ever so softly, kicking her hindlegs from beneath her in an attempt to run from the creature that held her captive but she was too weak to defend herself and was pummeled by teeth and claws the size of daggers. It wasn't until after the fifth painful bite from her assailant that the woman was startled awake from her dark nightmare with a deep inhale of breath as if she'd nearly drowned and heavy panting that only came after miles of running. She looked as if sleep had alluded her for days.


A voice shifted her attention, she laid motionless for a moment or two in hopes of keeping a low profile and watched as Rosalind made her way toward  her, unaware of the frightened creature laying a few meters from her. She scrambled to assemble her limbs, a feeling of weakness that had once overcame her now gone as she watched the woman in silence, listening to her chastise the invisible traveling companion who had no doubt been unfortunate to be her partner. It seemed that Roselind was in a bit of a pickle. "Could be worse." Rory spoke, stepping toward the girl and into the  sparse sunlight that hit the golden flecks of her pale fur, her yellow eyes seemed more intense than usual but otherwise Rory resembled the frail girl she'd always been since birth. "what's eating you love?" she wondered, having settled into a sit. The horrid dream had been forgotten and in its place was the troubles of the stranger before her.

Ro met the unfamiliar voice with a seemingly frightened pair of wide eyes. The stranger hadn't appeared even the slightest bit malicious in neither posture nor tone, however she still managed to scare the dickens out of the poor young Andromeda who thought she'd been completely alone up until now. How'd she manage to completely ignore the scent of company lingering nearby? Now that the wolf was right in front of her, signs were obvious, but where was that sense before? This could have all been avoided had the yearling not gotten lost in thought again. 'I should probably.. I really need to work on that.. Oh no.'

It took her a minute of fumbling over words to say in her head before Ro found that maybe it'd be awkward if the silence continued on for much loner. "I... I'm lost, I think.. I'm looking for a lot of other wolves right now and.. I-I don't know what I'm doing, I'm sorry.. I'm just really lost right now.." Lost, and exhausted. The yearling had never once thought herself as much of a traveler, especially without being accompanied by a close family member. Why did things have to turn out this way?

It seemed Rosalind hadn't caught wind of her presence, it was evident by the look of pure surprise that contorted her features, but it seemed her calm demeanor allowed the woman the time she needed to gather her composure and spew from her mouth a plethora of verbal diarrhea. She was sorry, for what Rory wasn't sure, but the woman cocked a smile in an effort to ensure to her that she didn't need to apologize and that her company was well warranted. "You must be new too then." she started, hoping to ease some of the woman's worries, and continued on "but why are you in search of so many wolves?" the question was of pure curiosity. It wasn't everyday Rory met wolves who were in search of others, considering how hard it was to find others in the Lore, the odds of her finding anyone was probably slim to none.


She failed to mentioned, immediately anyway, that she was probably of little help to Rosalind and had been wandering for weeks without a specific destination in mind, it would probably only confuse the poor girl even more. "and how are you going to find anyone if you don't know how to even start?" she cocked her head to the side, this time concerned for the young woman, it would probably take weeks if not months before she covered enough ground to find whom she was in search of. "that's gotta suck." her shoulders shrugged, having lost the sensation to care about family moons ago. She'd been a loner most her life, she only knew of one importance and that was to look out for herself.

"I, uhm, yeah I'm new too.." Did that insinuate that her company was also new? Because if that were the case Ro would definitely feel a lot more comfortable. "It's, er, a bit of a long story.. But I'll give you the brunt of it.." And try not to bore her to death. Nothing was more exhausting than listening to someone's backstory, or so she assumed, because she's never actually been put in a scenario like that before, but hey whatever right?

"Well, so, basically my family eats these mushrooms right? To like see ghosts or something I dunno, I never did it.." Because it was a dumb freaking idea, but that was besides the point. "And like, That's okay, but apparently me not wanting to have puppies with some dumb guy wasn't so okay and er, my mom told me I had to go and like.. My dad didn't want me to but I was like 'Dad, I gotta go.' so he like.. Gave me a list of wolves to say hi to. Pretty selfish of him in my opinion but I mean he didn't get exiled and I did so.. There's.. that.." Smooth. Way to go Ro. "I dunno how I'm going to find them.. I've been trying, but.."  

She would learn during this encounter, that Rosalind did not disappoint. The woman was quick to explain why she had been cursing herself, and the complexity of the mission made Rory's head spin but the quest was an honorable one to say the least. She had to respect that this woman had enough balls to go searching for wolves she never met after her exile from what was no doubt a birthplace, it was an experience that Rory could not relate therefore she simply nodded her head, throwing in a response to ensure the woman that she was listening and following along. A particular topic though had gotten her attention and she wanted the woman explain a few things further, "That trippy, to see ghosts, I mean why would you want to communicate and see the dead?!" she started off, a sensation suddenly overtook her, "where do they grow?" there were a few wolves she wouldn't mind to see, only because she had checked them off as dead without proof of confirmation.


"Is he hoping that you find someone who will take you in then?" she wondered, knowing that her dad probably meant well by telling her to find someone who would know of her lineage and possibly help her settle into the lore. The life of a loner is no life that a parent should want for their children, in Rory's particular case, she had no choice. "so, did they tell you where to find these wolves? Any particular direction?" she wondered, Rory wasn't completely directional dysfunctional, she at least knew her North from her South, etc. perhaps she could point the woman in some general direction.

"Uh, Well, I hated.. Everything about it, the ritual, or whatever it was that they called it.. Er, but my brother S-Saros told me that they act sort of like.. A history book, or an Oracle I guess? They'd tell stories of the past, warn you of the future. D-dad said he knew I'd be leaving, that his uncle Hotei told him.. B-but like.. How do I even know he had an uncle Hotei?" It was all bullshit. Every last bit of it, and she was still to this day extremely disappointed in her brother's for falling into their dumb little trap. "I-if you ask me, they just hear what they wanna hear." She scuffed. "I-I.. I think they grow near swamps?" What an odd question. Though Ro wasn't exactly in any position to judge.

"I dunno," Ro replied, unclear of Darrah's exact intentions. Though thinking he wanted her to live a good, happy life.. Well, that sure did warm her heart a touch. "Dad says Drestig left Oak Tree Bend a long while ago, and he never got the chance to say goodbye. Dad also said that Triell would still be at the Bend, like I know where the h-heck that is." But maybe Rory did?

Her head cocked to the side, eyes widening every so once in a while as Rosalind explained to her how the mushrooms transformed the wolf into a realm that was different than their own. It sounded exciting actually, something that could help her escape her own confusing demons and she attempted to prod the woman a little further, she had to know what these mushrooms looked like. "Swamp mushrooms? Do you remember what they look like?" she asked,  trying to hide her excitement and concealed all hints of interest in what they could offer her. She hoped that her curiosity could be chalked up as just pure interest in the flora that nature had to offer but everything within her was hoping the mushrooms grew within the Lore too. 


The younger wolf mentioned a name, Drestig, and Rory didn't flinch one bit as the name mostly went in one ear and out the other, nearly forgotten over the interest she held in the magical mushrooms. It took her a moment to register that the woman had given his name in hopes that it would ring a bell and Rory nodded her head for a moment, and then shook it after realizing that a lie would only cause a cascade of questions that would only cause her head to spin. "Never heard of him, or this Triell guy." she threw in a pack too and Rory actually struggled with her memory to recall if she'd ever visited the pack before but again it eluded her. Her memory had always been horrible, it was programmed mostly to remind her to eat, drink and keep moving for her protection. "I had a dad who may have known him. He lived in..." shoot, the pack name had escaped her, fuck. "I think he lived North? Maybe if we find the pack we can ask them if they knew of your dad and his friends and whom ever else you are in search of?" she assumed that the girl would need her help right, Rory was after all one of the best wolves for company.

When asked about Oak Tree Bend and the names on Ro's list, Rory gave a rather complex, and extremely inconsistant answer. Shaking her head yes, then immediately correcting it to a no, acting like she was going to mention another pack, instead spouting off "north". Was she perhaps tired? Had the yearling consumed too much of her time? "Oh, Uhm, that'd be great! But are you sure you'd be up to it? I don't want to b-be a bother.." Though perhaps if they traveled together, the fae could just show her company the mushrooms first hand, you know, to ensure she never consumes them. It'd be the least she could do as payment for such a kind service.