Kingsfall All I Need Is Some Sunshine

@Karina feel free to wrap it up or go after Lark!

Somehow Karina didn't seem all that disappointed by their failure to see the light in her words, though she was not entirely unaffected: she seemed to be caught in some sort of sad emotion as she stared back at Lark. What sort of emotion it was, Sahalie could not say, only that it seemed so odd and out of place. But Karina was apparently odd and out of place. Sahalie had to wonder what the other cousins were like: Karina's two brothers that had been mentioned but not in attendance. Were they similarly... "odd?" Sahalie had experience with the usual sort of misfit wolves who were either to uncomfortable or reclusive for normal life, but Karina seemed completely functional in a way that was baffling. Karina didn't need her help at all in the way that other wolves did. Karina was doing her own thing.

Which was?

It was strange how the woman so casually, accidentally, touched upon a similar theme to the one Lark and Sahalie had been speaking on only moments ago: having a plan for the future. The girl had to wonder if a plan was really the same thing as a purpose. They seemed sort of similar, at least in her case. But would being a leader fill her soul and lift her heart? The girl tipped her head. Maybe. She could, probably, spread some Goodness with a capital G. Though really, becoming a leader was really just more of a means to an end. The girl felt her purpose was something else not unlike Karina's intentions...no matter how strangely phrased they were.

Her cousin continued to be as deliberately ambiguous as she could. Sahalie wondered if her "family" meant Kisla and her younger sisters and her other brothers, or if it involved this different "mother" figure. And moving where? Sahalie could agree to the whole Goodness policy, but she felt hesitant, for once, to nod along. Goodness was one thing, but Karina wrapped it up in a fancier color of wrapping paper than was necessary and in the end the present felt strange because of it's ostentatious. Couldn't Sahalie just be good? She did good every day. Did she need to live in some special, shimmering promise land? "That sounds --"

Lark had other ideas about what the proposition sounded like. He brought up some good points, even if he had been the one talking about leaving Oak Tree Bend a few minutes ago. And his point, in the end, seemed the same as Sahalie's: she could spread good any time she wanted. But just like that, the man was off. She had no idea where he was going or if he was coming back. Her head twisted wordlessly between his form lost between the wide trunks and her strange, silver cousin beside her. "You've... given me a lot to think of. It was really nice getting to speak with you... But I guess I should be going now."

 @Sahalie @Larkspur

It was odd and confusing to experience such a strong, negative reaction to such a simple purpose; gathering to spread good as far and wide as possible. Everyone knows that efforts are more effective and goals are more likely to be attained when wolves work together. That knowledge rests deep in the soul of every wolf; it is arguably the strongest social instinct wolves possess. Why then, was the Frozen Man so opposed to this principle that even the smallest of pups understands as truth?  

 The Frozen Man’s accusation of her deserting stung the girl.  Was deserting not the exact course of action he had been contemplating for himself moments ago? It felt hypocritical, to say the least, that he should spit the word at her like poison.  As much as it pained her to leave behind her family and her homeland, her pack’s actions had forced her move. Hearthwood River had deserted the practice of Goodness, so Karina felt she had little choice but to desert the wolves who had turned their backs on all the Mother represented. 
 
Karina started to explain exactly this, but the Frozen Man was already walking away. How odd it was that he had spoken questions, yet did not remain to hear the answers. The Frozen Man seemed very lost; he appeared confused about what he wanted and was fighting the most basic of lupine instincts to the point of being hypocritical. He had said hurtful things to her, yet her heart still pitied the Frozen Man.
 
Karina nodded at her cousin’s words, still watching the Frozen Man retreat. A strange feeling of peace settled over the prophet, and she said suddenly, “He’ll do the right thing.  Don’t worry.”  She did not elaborate. She wasn’t sure she could even tell Sahalie what “the right thing was,” she just somehow knew things would turn out okay. The Mother was watching over the Frozen Man and those who considered him family, whether he wanted Her to or not. “If you ever need me, cousin, I’ll be at the Great Mountain,” Karina offered, eyes flicking to the distant silhouette of the Mountain of Dire.  “Just call,” she finished an air of finality in the suggestion as she nodded her farewell.
 
Karina herself had a lot to think of too, as she made her way back to her mother’s territory. Now that her desire to leave had been voiced out loud, it felt more real... real to the point that it was time to take action. Kisla’s heart had been broken so many times that Karina was loath to do it again, but on the other paw… wouldn’t Kisla want her daughter to come into her own? To become a queen, in her own right? Kisla had never been one to share her emotions, and so Karina felt herself grasping at straws as she tried to imagine her mother’s reaction. The girl sighed, vowing that she would never close herself off from her own family-- her own children.  Bennet would never have to guess at what Karina felt.  She would never have to wonder what Karina desired for her... never.