Had been getting to the top of the mountain always been this hard? No, she didn’t think so. She’d made the trek many times in her lifetime and while it was no easy feat her body had never ached the way it did in that moment. It was an ache that seemed to stretch over her entire being, radiating from her sides and branching across her back. It was so strong that she felt her head starting to pound. Her breathing came in labored gasps as she stumbled into the Plateau. It created a shelter for her to use, to rest for the day before she had to make her journey down the mountain and to the land next to the Red Fern Forest. Really it was a forced stop because she didn’t think she would make it if she had to continue any longer without a long rest. No better she flop down here and conserve herself for the longer trek to come.

Plus, the Plateau was far enough away from the Cove to where she was certain she wouldn’t be found. If any of them found her she knew they would be quick to whisk her back with them even if against her will. She didn’t think to fault them for it but she had one more thing to do before she settled down for good.

Just as she was about to rest, the wind brought a peculiar scent in her direction. She paused, auds swiveling to attention as she looked around. But...it couldn’t be, could it? The pale woman had expected her eldest child to have left the Lore like the rest. The last place she expected the pale Vuesain to be was on the mountain. And, if she was on the mountain...why wasn’t she with the Cove? She was a child of it and she hoped she knew that she would always be accepted there even if her parents were no longer ruling or present. It was embedded in her bones, the mountain and the lake. Her right by birth.

The former queen pushed herself to keep going forward, maternal instincts taking over the exhaustion that ran down her body. Her nose twitched as she sniffed around for the scent she knew to her very core, the scent of her child, a scent that no mother could ever forget. Yet, there she was. Tucked into a log, there was the Cove princess. Haggard and thin, something that brought alarm to the mother, but present all the same. “Oh, Neha my darling child,” she breathed, looking in disbelief but also with a growing sense of relief. She had found her.

Her eldest child was at her side in an instant, tucking herself into the former queen with a whine and the mother was happy to reciprocate. She folded the girl in a hug, gently preening and licking her back, neck and face. She could feel her child’s bones which concerned her greatly. Namid knew what had happened to the pair but she didn’t know what her life had been like in that time. It seemed it wasn’t treating her well.

She asked where she’d went and she gave her a gentle smile, nudging her cheeks in an attempt to calm her down. Next was of Vespertio and the woman’s chest tightened. Neha was so frantic, so deeply concerned that it hurt her. She wanted to take it away, wanted to steal away the sorrow and the hurt that was nestled in those soft brown eyes but she knew she couldn’t and that made it all the worse. ”Shhh, everything is okay,” she hummed. “Your father and I went to search for your siblings. Unfortunately I could not find them so I returned to seek you out. Your father stayed behind, after much of my coaxing, to keep searching for them,” she replied.

Namid smiled as Neha mentioned it was noble of her father to stay behind. It hadn’t been an easy decision to make for either of them and it had taken a lot of arguing to finally get him to give in. Knowing their children were safe, that was the most important thing to the mother. Even if she was sick, even if she was dying, their lives meant far more to her. Her daughter expressed that she hope he was well and she chuckled. “Oh, he is your father. I am sure he is fine, albeit a little lonely,” she commented. After all, she felt lonely without him by her side. They had been together for 3 years, which in the life of a wolf was quite a decent amount of time. He was her life partner and she felt a little emptier without him.

The woman was surprised when she asked of Draven. She had figured the subject wouldn’t have been broached under the circumstances, but then again Neha had always been one to care deeply. She was sure it had to have taken quite a lot of feelings to get her to leave the Cove for Draven and she wondered how her child was handling everything. Though, a quick look at her told her not so well. ”I have, in fact. I saw him just before I ventured up here. He has settled in Charred Ash Draw, who housed Lunette for a time. Just down the mountain,” she replied, nuzzling her daughter’s cheek. "What have you been doing all this time, my heart? she asked, concern etching it's way into her voice.

Namid’s mismatched gaze watched her child as she spoke. Her first comment held a tone of sourness, though perhaps just a hint and she couldn’t quite say she blamed her. There was a lot that had happened to her first born, thus seemed to be the curse of her Macieo blood. From her appearance she didn’t seem to be handling it well, and it seemed she didn’t want to broach the subject much further.

Neha relaxed into her touch and Namid was quick to snuggle up to her boney daughter, basking in the warmth of the body that had come from her. Oh, how she had missed her princess. She listened quietly as the pale Vuesain explained, nodding in understanding. Draven had explained where they had been going before he’d left, though it was interesting to know the name. All she had known at the time was that they were going somewhere in the more southern region, but they would still be in the lands of Lore. She mentioned that he told her he had fallen out of love with her and her heart ached for the girl. The former queen couldn’t imagine the heartbreak her pup was feeling from it all. To be told by the one that you loved, that you had had a child with, that they no longer harbored the same feelings for you had to be torturous.

She mentioned that she had set out to search for her son, who she now knew to be Sachiel. She said that she’d searched all over the west side of the mountain but had found no sign of him, which disheartened the woman. Draven had said that he’d seen the boy there, but perhaps he had left in that time?

“I am proud of you for perservering,” she said first off, because she wanted Neha to know that she had to take heart in even the little things she was doing. And, persevering in the face of adversity was no easy feat. She knew that from experience. “You should not have had to go through what you have in the short life you have had so far. I should have come and checked on you before your father and I left, I apologize my love,” the pale woman said, brows drawing together in sincerity. A part of her felt like much of the Vuesain child’s suffering could have been avoided if she’d just checked first. Perhaps she could have helped her look, kept her from falling apart. But alas, there was little she could do now other than offer her advice.

”I will tell you, however, that you must never give up hope. Not in yourself and not in your child. It is something I have learned in my years on this earth and it is something I have learned from experience. It is challenging and it is not the easiest choice, but the best choice you can make is to keep going. You have the blood of fire running through your veins, we were made to keep going through hardship. Take a break, take care of yourself, but once you have healed you much keep on pushing. Promise me you will never give up your fight,” the mother said, her tone quite serious.