Báine trotted along beside Solveiga, simply just happy to be out and about and doing something with her new friend! When Solveiga asked her to go along on this trip she had been super excited about the idea of getting out of Celestial's lands for a bit and doing some exploring. She hadn't been outside of the plains much at all so this was very, very exciting. She let Solveiga lead the way, just enjoying the scenery in the meantime. She had left her necklace at home, tucked away safe in her den since she knew they would be going to an island and she didn't want to risk accidently having it washed away while they were swimming. She spotted a shoreline in the distance and her tail wagged, giving Solveiga a grin. "Is that the beach we're going to?" She couldn't say she was looking forward to the swim to the island too much since she was sure the water was going to be pretty chilly, but she was sure the island was going to be worth it once they got there. She dipped her forepaws into the water first, shivering a little as it washed over her forelegs. It was indeed preeeeetty chilly. She hurried into the water, figuring that the faster she got in the quicker she'd adjust, gasping and shivering a little as her whole body got submerged in the salt water. She laughed lightly and looked to make sure Solveiga was there with her before she started swimming in earnest. The island was easy to see and the swim wasn't even really that bad once she got adjusted to the water. She pulled herself onto the sandy beach of the island and shook out her pale coat to get as much of the water as she could out of it. Turning her head to look at Solveiga, she gave her an excited smile, her tail wagging gently behind her. "Now what?" "Talk" "You" Think

teach me gently how to breathe

Today was going to be an exciting day; she could already feel it. But the feeling, Solveiga thought, wasn't entirely a good one. Something felt off today, in the way the clouds seemed to hang low even with the sun shining high above. It was like there was happiness abound, and yet a menacing sort of gloom was waiting to pounce at any moment. She shook off such thoughts; sometimes she worried too much, after all. Today would be an adventure. For quite a while the sand colored woman had wanted to return home, to visit her mother and ask if she knew anything about where her brother Andris might be. Maybe he had taken a short trip home at some point, to introduce her to a mate he had found or something like that. That was his dream, wasn't it? To find his life, have his own family without her? Again she had to shake the gloom away, and brighten up. It helped to have such a cheerful friend along. She smiled a bit at the pale girl beside her as the two trotted to the edge of the continent they called home. They were going to have to swim today, and the water was bound to be cold.

"Yeah, that's it," she replied with a light wag of her tail. She tucked her lingering paranoia safely away and took a deep breath as her paws hit the sand. She was going home. She should only be happy and excited about that. Báine stepped into the water first, and Solveiga saw the little shiver that went through her. The sandy girl knew that slowly stepping in would do her no good with the temperature, so she took a couple steps back and went running into the icy waves, squealing and laughing as the cold water sent shivers through her small body. Báine had the same idea as she hurried in, and the two of them swam off to the island.

Soon Solveiga felt sand beneath her paws and she crawled ashore, shaking herself off as quickly as she could, letting out a soft "Brrr! as she did. Nothing had changed. This beach looked exactly like it had when she left it a year ago. She took a moment to absorb it all, reminisce a bit. But then her friend asked what they were supposed to do now, and Solveiga blinked to clear her mind. "Oh, right," she said with a soft laugh, shaking herself out one more time and then gesturing for the pale woman to follow her. "Now we see if we can find my mother," her voice was bright and hopeful as she went trotting off into the trees, looking back to make sure her traveling companion of sorts was right there behind her.

Báine nodded happily when Solveiga reaffirmed what their mission was today. She was actually kind of excited to meet Solv's mom! She had never met anyone's family like that before and she just liked meeting new people anyway so all around it was pretty exciting and interesting. She was happy to trot along behind her friend and take in the sights of the island while she waited for her to finish looking for her mom. Báine hoped that they were able to find her. It'd be really disappointing if they came all this way and her mom had actually moved too. What if her mom had moved to the main land and was living really close by or something! That would be such a weird coincidence! Probably not though. That didn't seem very realistic. She smiled at the humor of her own thoughts and focused back in on Solveiga to help with the hunt. She kept her nose to the wind to see if she could help catch any scents other than their own. She thought she smelled someone, but it seemed off somehow... She wasn't sure though. Maybe she was imagining it? She waited to see if Solv noticed or not before she said something. She didn't want to look crazy or anything. "Talk" "You" Think

teach me gently how to breathe

The two young women went trotting off into the thick foliage of the island, ducking under vines and stirring up birds and other little critters. Solveiga smiled softly, finding their songs and cries to be like music to her ears. It was all so familiar, truly like coming home. Memories seemed to be hidden everywhere. The two passed a small spring and Solveiga remembered the countless times she and Andris had splashed about there as pups. They saw a particularly thick patch of berry bushes and she remembered the one time she and Andris had snuck away to stuff their bellies full of raspberries and grapes, surprised when their mother had guessed what they had been doing. Apparently they hadn't noticed the way the berries were staining their fur.

Solveiga laughed a bit and sighed, traveling on and on. But where was her mother? Nearly half a mile passed by under their feet before, finally, she smelled something. She could tell her friend sensed it too. But it wasn't right, not at all. It was her mother, no doubt about that, but the scent itself seemed skewed. She had fallen ill, and this realization hit Solveiga like a boulder. The scent was stale. Over a week old.

"No," she whispered, almost numbly. She refused to accept what this must mean, and after pausing for a moment she pressed onward, this time at a quicker pace. "No, no, please, no," she repeated like a prayer under her breath. But her fears were confirmed.

Solveiga stopped dead in her tracks, her blood running cold and a dreadful shiver rippling through her body. She forgot all about the spring and the berries. She even forgot the young woman who had traveled here with her. Because there, near the mouth of the den where Solveiga and her brother had been raised, there was a large patch of freshly upturned earth. The soil was dark and loamy here, designed to create and sustain life. But here it seemed only to sustain death. Without a doubt, below the earth lay the mother of Solveiga and Andris Derus, and the latter had been present to bury her. Solveiga knew, she knew her brother had been the one to bury their beloved mother, because atop the dark mound of earth lay a bundle of hyacinth. Their mother had always loved hyacinth, especially the white and purple ones like the kind that had been gathered here. "No," the cream colored girl whispered one last time, her voice breaking into a whimper as her eyes began to sting with the threat of tears.

It didn't take long before Solveiga's reaction told her that she had smelled the scent as well. Baine went from excited to worried almost immediately while she listened to her friend's distressed reaction. She kept up with Solveiga when the sand-colored woman began to pick up the pace and hurry forward. Baine had to skid to a stop behind Solv when she stopped all the sudden, her ears flicking back worriedly as she peeked around from behind her to see the mound of fresh earth topped with a bundle of flowers. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together here. Baine heard Solv whisper 'No' again and whimper and Baine frowned sadly. Well, this certainly didn't go as planned. She padded over to stand at Solvegia's side, tentatively pressing her nose into the fur on her shoulder. She knew her and Solv weren't incredibly close, but she still wanted to give her some comfort if she wanted it. "I'm so sorry, Solv..." "Talk" "You" Think