She had been fully healed up from the raid for a while now, but she had been struggling to cope. It had taken her time to get used to moving around and being able to figure out where exactly she was. Though she couldn't say she was fully comfortable with figuring things out. It was so much different without eye site and she was struggling with depression and even being able to sleep. Honestly she really didn't know what to do with herself especially since she was convinced hunting was far from her reach now. What purpose could she serve the pack? A question that she had been struggling to find an answer to. Today she had decided to get herself lost, leave the pack lands to get out and hopefully find a way to distract herself. She knew he was mid day, the sun was high in the sky letting the sunshine cast down on her dark back. It felt good to feel the sun warming her back, it seemed like it had been ages since she had felt the sun, this autumn had been dreary and gloomy or so she had been told. It had been colder her leaving her with the feeling that this winter may be a rough one. Though she didn't want to dwell on what the winter may be like. Her movements were slow, head hung low and she moved with caution taking her time to try and move with stealth, though she still really struggled with it. It was hard to move in silence when you couldn't see what you may and may not step on. This was her first time away from pack lands and the fresh smells lightened her mood and was making her feel better. It took her quite a while to reach the shore of the lake, but when she did she made sure she found the sunniest spot and settled down to sun herself for a little while her nose continued to take in the scents around her. Laying in the sun she relaxed with her head on her paws. "Talk" & 'Think"

To say Diarmuid was restless would be an understatement. From the sidelines he had watched Celestial for some time now, deducing what he could from their movements - some sort of fight had occurred, and many had come home permanently scarred from it. He had yet to figure out Domari's status, but since he'd caught whiff of his scent near the borders he could only assume he was alive and well. He still felt a prickling of indignation, knowing full well he could've served Celestial well as a fighter in whatever trouble had befallen them, but instead he was still left as an outsider. He'd been instructed to visit whenever he needed, simply offering a call if he intended to visit Domari or Alarik, but he had instead decided to give the Xanilov boys their space and keep his distance. Knowing they were alive and well wasn't enough, though, to fully satisfy him. Subsisting without a clear goal or directive had never been easy for him - how often now he dreamed of finding Valeriya again, or even Raesa, and being given some hint at what was required of him. Leaving Boreas seemed a mistake, so he'd had difficulty finding reason to even consider leaving. Instead he would wander aimlessly, today deciding that a dip in the lake might be worthwhile, ambling lazily across the terrain toward the familiar landmark. As he drew closer, head hanging low to the ground, he caught a familiar scent. If he wasn't mistaken, it was a Celestian, a woman who had confronted him when she'd noticed his scent lingering dangerously close to their borders. Although she hadn't frightened him, nor had she deterred him, he had been impressed at her vigilance and tenacity. It struck him suddenly that she might be able to offer up some information about the state of the pack, at least enough to quell his burning curiosity, and his pace increased as he trailed after her with this new-found goal in mind. After a bit of travel he found her lounging in the sun. It wasn't immediately apparent that anything had changed since he'd seen her last, but as he drew closer he noticed that her face seemed scarred - her blindness was still yet to be discovered by him. "Acapella, isn't it?" Diarmuid called out in his gruff form of a greeting, his pace slowing as he moved closer to her and the lake's edge. "Talk" "You" Think

The warm rays of sunshine felt so good against her back and it was hard for the women to stay awake and alert. Her ears gently flattened against her skull and a small sigh passed her lips. She pushed all her thoughts and her worries to the back of her mind, suppressing them so she could fully relax and enjoy the nice day. So far this season the days had been chilly, dreary, and damp so the change in weather was welcoming. She tried her best to stay awake, not to let herself slip into sleep and allow herself open to an attack, for all she new the Talis wolves were lurking and waiting to finish the jobs they had started. It wasn't long before her ears, which were growing more sensitive towards sound, picked up the quiet approach of another. Her ears perked and swiveled back to better take in the sound, then the slightly familiar voice called out. For a moment she had to think who exactly it was approaching her, her nose twitching as she took in the air, but his scent didn't come to her until he was vary close to both her and the lake's edge. Lifting her head she shifted slightly before his scent began to invade her nostrils. It was the man she confronted not long before the raid, lingering close to their borders. He must still be doing the same in present day, but from their last encounter she knew he wasn't a direct threat towards the pack. She nodded slightly agreeing with his statement. "You still hanging around I thought for sure you would have left by now." she smiled lightly, more friendly this time then the last. She still remained with her face and muzzle pointed towards the lake, but her ears and nose constantly on the move, catching scents and sounds. She had long gotten over actually facing anyone unless she couldn't hear them real well, she was used to the fact there was no point since she couldn't see.Now that she had learned a member had been taken, a few gone missing would Regulus consider taking in more members? She figured since this male had been hanging around that he was somewhat interested in joining. "Talk" & 'Think"

Even the pleasant weather did little to disrupt his slightly sullen mood. Winter would be upon them soon, but he had lived in far harsher lands - this was just another day to him. At least, it had been, until he'd caught whiff of Acapella's scent. His mind was set on getting information out of her now, to know that Domari and Alarik were as well as they could be, and to figure out what had happened with Celestial to cause so many injuries. Surely if it was anything too serious, anything that the Xanilov boys needed help with, that they would've found him - though he supposed they were more men now than boys, and that they could fend for themselves. He wore no smile as he drew closer, but his voice professed a touch of warmth that made certain his good intentions. Diarmuid noted that she hardly turned to him, her head lifting slightly but never swiveling, though she nodded in acknowledgment. "Me? Leave?" Diarmuid snorted in amusement at the prospect. Where would he go, if not somewhere at least one Xanilov resided? Returning to Old Ebony seemed so far behind him now. "You must not know much about me." His tone was far from accusatory, though wasn't quite playful either. If anything, Diarmuid was dedicated to the core - he'd spend his life waiting, if that was what was required of him. As he drew closer, he realized the extent of her injuries were worse than what he'd originally thought. A slight frown of concern tugged at his lips, his nose wrinkling as he tested her scent as squinted to get a better look at her features. She didn't smell as someone freshly wounded would, yet she clearly wasn't fully well, either. "Your sight," he offered tentatively, noting the way she remained facing away from him with her eyes closed. It wasn't at all typical behavior for a wolf. "Has it been taken from you?" Perhaps whatever had befallen Celestial had been worse than he'd anticipated. "Talk" "You" Think

Again she felt he was no threat and she was relieved that he wasn't. Hearing of all the injuries in the raid and her own injuries made her want to get away from the pack lands. Just simply for a breath of fresh air, but she was glad they had stumbled into one another. She didn't mind the company and after how she was the last time, she was glad to have the chance to be nice to him. She smiled at his reply and his snort. It was true she didn't know much about him or how he worked, but that wasn't to say she couldn't know him better. Then he was finally close enough to see the full extent of her injuries. To see the fresh scars around her eyes and to noticed how it looked like she kept her eyes closed. She couldn't see the concern in his face. He inquired about her sight asking if it had been taken. Biting her tongue she was able to hold back the depressed sigh that wanted to leave her lips. Ears gently flattened against her skull before she nodded in a quiet answer. Shifting lightly she felt she owed an explanation instead of remaining more quiet. Maybe talking about what would happen could be another way for her to heal her more emotional scars. She wasn't looking for pity, just for a way to help her get over what had happened. "Another pack raided us, but it turned quite ugly rather quickly. I was at first defending one of my pack members against a younger male who seemed to have it out for her, he blinded one of her eyes despite my efforts. Then he turned on me and I did the best I could, but he over powered me and blinded me in both eyes." she explained. "Talk" & 'Think"

Diarmuid had never been the type to pity anyone, and he'd make no exception for Acapella. As far as he was concerned, there was no use dwelling over being dealt a bad hand in life - things could always, always, be far worse. Though he supposed being completely blinded was significantly farther down on the list of bad circumstances, and it wasn't surprising that it seemed to bring her spirits down quite a bit. The way she nodded with her ears flattened signified shame, or embarrassment, and a slight frown tugged at his lips as he eyed her - though he initially just grunted in quiet acknowledgment. He watched as she shifted, taking a few ambling steps toward her before he reclined to his haunches slowly, eyeing the lake for a moment. Her words brought him concern, though he presumed something like that had happened. How had he been so careless as to not notice the enemy pack approaching? "What were they after, this other pack?" Diarmuid asked gruffly, his voice sounded a bit more concerned now. He didn't know much about Celestial, but they seemed a significant force - they boasted high numbers and their lands seemed fruitful, from what he could tell. A burning question lingered on the tip of his tongue as he sat near her - how had Domari fared? Had he, too, been injured so grievously? - but he withheld the question, deciding not to overwhelm her with inquiries. Though he didn't want to pity her, he could only imagine what losing a wolf's sight would do to them, and he figured being polite rather than abrasive was likely the best way to deal with this interaction. "Talk" "You" Think

She knew she couldn't dwell on the hand that was dealt to her, there was some reason that instead of something far worse happening that she was only left blinded. Though she would be the first to admit that it was hard not to dwell on her current situation. Her hopes and dreams of becoming one of the finest hunters in the pack had been shattered and now she was left to pick the pieces back up and try to create something new in her life. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she would figure it out. He was now closer to her, she could hear his steps and knew roughly where he was. His question made her think for a moment trying to trace back to when she was being held up in the healing den. Trying to remember what exactly the word had been as far as what the other pack had wanted. It was never stated before or during the time she was fighting, so she really had to think about it for a moment. It had then hit her, herbs..... Healing supplies is all they had wanted and to create such damage to get it. She shook her head lightly, why hadn't they just tried to trade, or the alpha to come speak one on one with Regulus. Surely Regulus would be open to share. It just wasn't right! "Just Herbs" she said before lightly shaking her head. "Somehow I don't think there leader really thought things through. Even if they got any supplies at all surely they would have used them up to heal their own wounded." Yes, in fact now that she realized it the idea had been stupid. A raid for just herbs and the alpha allowed it to turn so bloody ugly. It had been a bad mistake and surely now they would be labeled as enemies especially after seizing Valor. "I heard mostly all of our younger fighters on the lines came out winning with minor injuries. It was us slightly older members that got dealt the worse injuries, but overall it sounds like we did vary well," she added. "Talk" & 'Think"

Diarmuid leaned back slightly on his haunches as she spoke, only briefly eyeing her and studying the extent of her injuries. Whatever sort of fight it had been, well.. clearly her opponent had malicious intent. An injury of that sort wasn't a result of a simple accident. Perhaps one eye might be afflicted, but both? It was an injury even Diarmuid wasn't cruel enough to try to inflict upon someone. At least she seemed to be taking it all relatively decently - he knew wolves that would've probably dove straight off a cliff by now if they'd lost his sight, so he could applaud her for maintaining some strength through it all. "Herbs, you say?" Diarmuid raised a brow, his voice echoing his slightly incredulous tone. Injuring warriors, who likely required herbs to heal, only to get.. more herbs? Strange. It was hard to picture the odd scenario, but it mattered little what he thought - what had happened had happened, and that was all there was to it. "Hm." Wolves were odd creatures, even to him, making decisions that seemed so irrational no matter which way he tried to frame it - and so frequently, too. It was good to hear that their younger fighters had fared well, even if Acapella had not. He was almost grateful she couldn't see the relief wash over his face at the information. "Do you know how Domari is doing?" He asked after a moment, unable to hold back the burning question any longer, though he asked it casually, with only a minor hint of interest, tilting his head back to watch her again. "Talk" "You" Think

"Yes, just herbs" She said in return. She couldn't quite figure it out and honestly she probably wouldn't figure it out. To her it seemed like a rather dumb move, but it was in the past now. Though it had been a life changing event for her and a few others it was something they could not change and would need to move on from it. He sounded as though he to was thinking about the strangeness of it and hearing no remarks she assumed his thoughts were somewhat similar. He then asked about Domari which mentally it took her a moment to picture the younger male. He was still new blood to the pack, but was fairing really well. One of the more active bodies of the pack she picked her brain to try and remember the conversations between the healers she over heard. Then it hit her suddenly, remembering exactly what had been said. "He did vary well, fought hard and came out with mild wounds. Maimed both opponents he went up against." She said with a light smile. "Talk" & 'Think"

Ah, what strange creatures wolves could be. Defending against a fight for plants? He was pretty sure Valeriya would've verbally skinned him alive for allowing one of her sons to risk his safety fighting over a pawful of herbs. Ugh. But then again.. Domari was no longer a boy, and it wasn't as though he could grab the grown boy by the scruff and drag him away from danger as he once would've done. He was fully grown now, and by all rights a man, and fully in charge of his own destiny. But that wouldn't stop Diarmuid from looking after him, even if he couldn't directly interfere with everything he did. He was almost thankful she couldn't see the relief that suddenly washed over his features at hearing he was well - in fact, he'd won two fights, escaping with only minor injuries. Perhaps being on his own for so long had done Domari some good. "Glad to hear it," he said simply, not wanting to seem overeager about the fighting.. after all, she had lost her sight, which was unfortunate. He  peered over at the lake, silent for a moment. Small talk had never been his forte, and this was no exception. "I best be going. Take care of yourself, Acapella." His words were gruff, an instinctive nod offered as he moved to head away from the lake. -exit- "Talk" "You" Think