Sometimes, Praxis still half-expected to return home from her outings with stories to tell her brothers--as well as Aleksandr and the rest of their royal friends. Yet, it was usually as she started on that trip  home that reality tended to strike: there would only be Calixta waiting for her. Which...wasn't all that bad, really, once she gave it some thought. She often felt emptiness before relief, but ultimately it was the latter that took over in the end, as she could be certain that she was sharing her life with someone who actually cared now. Someone who she could trust was listening to her, to not be acting behind her back.

Hopefully she was doing the same for Cali.

This was a whisper in the back of her mind as she poked through the thicket, admittedly finding some comfort in the familiarity of the forest canopy. There was no shame in missing home, right? Even if she was angry with the ones she and her sister had left behind? Praxis didn't much care to know the answer to that. Instead, she was content to feel and mull over the changes this new life had caused and continued to bring about. At least now, she could be certain of what was going on in her life at all, and that certainty was so far worth everything she'd left behind.

Ah, but what was this? Praxis faltered in her stride, hesitating in her next steps as a telltale scent tickled her nose. Not one that she recognized but one that she knew had been placed with intention. It would seem she'd stumbled upon a pack's border. She huffed and steered herself away from it. On the contrary, one thing her certainty wasn't worth was her safety, and she wasn't about to throw either of those things away with a foolish misstep.

"

table by Lowin art by Resin

Beat had been returning to his home territory, haunch of deer in his maw, when he caught the scent of a stranger ahead. A strange woman, no less. With an audible gulp, the young man pushed forward towards the thicket. Ears perked and he tried to hold himself tall as he came upon the oh so pale woman. She was completely white. A vision, really. Beat half expected the skies to open up, beams of sun to fall upon her and the birds to begin some sort of symphony. Thankfully this only happened in his head. He'd probably faint if the clouds actually opened upon her.

Clearing his throat to alert her of his presence, the somewhat impressively sized wolf padded forward, stopping a respectful distance away. "Hello, My name is Beat Destruction." With a push of his nose, he motioned towards the invisible border. "That's the Abaven border. Did you need anything?" The man gave his head a tilt. Though his heart was hammering in his chest, he'd put on a mask of confidence. It would probably crumble the moment that she spoke, but for now, it was there.

"Chatting." & 'Thinking'