Somehow she had made it back to the mangrove. The previous day had been such a blur. Had it even happened? Had she really collapsed under the pressure that was her mental pain? The pain of losing almost her entire family and leaving a brother to cling to his pack like it was hanging from a thread? Even with all her friend's reassuring words and comforting nuzzles, she still blamed the fate of her family on herself, just not as much. It was alright when she forgot about it, though when the thoughts crept back, she couldn't help but to be crushed with depression, even anger.
She tried to be strong, however. She always held her head high and walked across the terrain feeling so invincible, like nothing could take her down. Today she was just...confused. Amidst her self-contempt she was flustered with these new emotions buzzing about in her head. On that day in the woods, she had grown closer to her friend. When he had soothed the pain from her troubled soul, promised her his undying protection...it all spiked a new sensation inside of her. Was it love? She didn't know.
She found herself traversing the territory of the mangrove, still feeling a bit weak from the previous day's happenings. She had no exact plan for the day, other than following the course of the summer breezes and seeing where her green paws led her. That was it - just something calming and slow to help her recover.
A yawn stretched his jaws as he made his way across the mangroves. The day had been pretty quiet so far with just his morning patrol to entertain him. He felt like he just had no energy today... probably because he hadn't slept properly since Svetlana disappeared. It took most of his energy during the day to keep up this positive attitude around his children and pretend that everything was going fine. He couldn't say that he was fine, but considering everything that was happening he thought he was handing it okay. About as well as an ice cube deals with the sun, but that was better than nothing, right?
As he was walking he saw the green and black girl that had joined Fiori with Riv. He hadn't really had the chance to speak with her since she joined. He actually felt a little guilty about not getting to know all of their newer members better since he had gotten so caught up in this whole mess with Svet and trying to give his pups enough attention for two parents. He turned his path a little and headed toward her and as he got closer he noticed the bothered, confused expression on her face and he grew concerned and curious. He smiled slightly as he came up to her, stopping a few feet away. "Hey, Zephyra. Is everything alright? I haven't gotten to see how you're settling in."
The sound of approaching paw-steps made her snap her lowered head upwards, scarlet eyes spotting the vibrant russet coat of the alpha. Oh, it was Leo. Just the sight of him increased the anxious feelings inside of her. Had she done something wrong? Was she not being as active as it was expected? Surely those weren't the cases. She was new, after all. Perhaps he just wanted to check on her, see how she was settling into the pack. A part of her didn't feel like talking to anyone; she just wanted to shut everyone out. However, as her friend had told her, she had to be strong. She could continue with her life. Talking with someone could help take her mind off of everything, even if that someone was the leader.
As he approached her, he greeted her, and she thought that was going to be it until he seemed to pick up the change in her mood. With concern in his voice, he asked if everything was alright and how she was settling in. She nervously swallowed, feeling the gulp slither down her dry throat. Sweat seeped from her forehead. What was she to say? Was she supposed to tell him her problems - what had happened to Borealis? She didn't exactly trust him, to be honest. Well, she did, for he was the King, but not someone she felt comfortable telling her private dilemmas. "Hi, I mean, hello, Leo," she fumbled on her own words, reminding herself that she wasn't casually talking to her friend. This was the alpha. "I-I'm alright," she answered with a forced smile and a hoarse voice. "How are you today?"
Leo's concern grew as he watched Zephyra anxiously swallow and stubble over her words. He settled on his haunches in front of her as she returned his greeting and his question back to him. "I've been better, but I don't suppose I'm doing too poorly all things considered." He gave her a reassuring smile and shifted his weight to sit more comfortably. He knew he was the alpha and that he should perhaps keep a more formal relationship with his pack, but he had always viewed everyone in his pack has friends, and eventually family if they stuck around long enough, so it was very hard for him not to want to get to know his pack members on a more personal level and get to know them all better. He liked knowing what was going on and what he could do to help.
"Are you sure you're alright? I don't wanna push you if you don't wanna talk about it, but I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to make sure you're happy here." Not to mention that he quite enjoyed distracting himself from his own problems with others worries. It was nice to have some perspective sometimes and realize that he wasn't the only one going through hardships or over coming struggles. Being alpha didn't make him special and talking with others helped him remember that.
Like her, it appeared he wasn't in his top form today. That was understandable. Everyone had their ups and downs and the times when they just crashed into a brick wall. She could relate to that. Though unlike him, she didn't pressure for the reason why. He was the alpha, after all, and she didn't know him that well. Maybe he felt the same way like her - not wanting to talk about it with others. It was strange; she had always been a nosy critter, sticking her nose where it didn't belong, but today she remained silent. Sometimes she wondered if she was the same Zeph as she was yesterday. Sometimes she didn't feel like herself anymore.
If only he didn't have to worry so much about it. She found herself in a bit of a perplexing situation. She wanted to shut him away, hoping he'd give up and change the subject, but that was bound to leave him feeling a bit disappointed. The last thing she wanted was to get off on the wrong paw with the alpha. Oh well, it looked like she would have to tell him, as painful as it would be. "It's nothing," she insisted, convinced the russet male wouldn't care much about her petty problems. "Unless you don't know much about what's happened to Borealis. "
She seemed incredibly hesitant to talk to him about what was bothering her, but he couldn't say he blamed her. Personally he was quick to trust others and pull wolves into his circle of family and friends, but he knew that not everyone was so inclined. He knew they didn't know each other very well just yet. He had simply taken Rivaxorus' vote of confidence in her and accepted that he could trust her like he trust everyone in his pack. She mentioned her former pack and some situation involving it. His brows raised with surprise and concern colored his expression. "No, I'm afraid I haven't heard anything about Borealis. I had promised your mother that I would go back and have some talks over pack relations things ages ago, but then everything got so busy with my children being born and the challenge and now with Svetlana missing... All the same, I really do feel awful about not keeping my word." He paused, his head tipping slightly to the side. "Has something happened?"
Unlike him, she wasn't so quick to let wolves into her friendship circle, not that she had many friends to begin with. Trust wasn't something she willingly shared with everyone like a piece of prey. She had always been distant, so detached from everyone, like a small island lost somewhere in the ocean. She had liked it that way, until her neglecting actions finally caught up to her. Just like how she avoided her family, even leaving them for a friend, they had left her. Poof. They were gone, just like that. Though everyone told her it wasn't her fault, deep down she knew it truly was.
So he hadn't heard about Borealis, which disappointed her a bit. She had been hoping he would gave found out, being an alpha and all, so she couldn't have to explain. Oh well, like her friend told her, she was strong. She could talk about it. "Oh, what a shame," she bitterly muttered, faint satire dripping from her words. "I'm afraid she's not there anymore." She sniffed, managing to hold back the tears as she filled her mind with thoughts of anger. "Half the pack's gone. It won't last for another season."
Leo was patient, he didn't mind letting Zephyra take her time in telling him what was going on. Honestly, if she told him she didn't want to talk about it he probably would have let it go. He just wanted to do his part to help if he could. When she spoke it was very obvious that whatever it was had gotten to her. It wasn't hard to see why as she explained the current situation in Borealis. He frowned at the news, his brow creasing with concern. He knew how hard it could be to keep a pack going, especially through a change in leadership. There had been a very real moment not long after he took Fiori from his mother when he thought Fiori would just dissolve into nothing. It was really only recently when it began to regrow into the pack it was now. "I'm sorry to hear that, Zephyra," he told her, his tone genuine. There was not much he could do to save a pack, he could only offer his sympathy. "Don't feel like you can't go to them if you need to. I don't want to keep you from your family."
Sympathy was an icky emotion, and sometimes she wasn't a fan of it. When her friend had told her that his mother had passed away, she had been sympathetic towards him - no doubt about that. At the time she couldn't imagine how she would feel and carry on with her life if her own mother had left. Sure, her father had left, but he had never been a huge part of her life. Though also at the time, she felt...bad. She felt like she shouldn't have a mother, like it wasn't fair for her to have one and for her friend to lose one. In those sympathetic situations, she wanted to do more, help her friend, though all she could do was feel sorry. When the roles are reversed, she didn't want him to apologise. It wasn't his fault. He had nothing to do with this. It wasn't his problem, nor was it a drastic dilemma. She could cope with it, she was strong. "I have," she admitted in a soft voice. "Not that I have many of them left." An awkward chuckle escaped her lips as she cast her gaze to the ground.
