Novella was bored. She understood that many of the pack had important tasks that would keep them occupied and although she disliked the idea, she figured that as her youngest nieces and nephews were growing rather swiftly they were probably so eager to explore they had little time now for the Aunt. All the same she wished for someone to keep her company or that she could find something else to do for a while.



Satu was probably feeling a similar boredom, though she hadn't seen her cousin for a while and wasn't even sure that she was currently in Ludicael, which would likely mean she wasn't bored at all but off having some adventure without her. Anthem of course still frequently gripped her thoughts too, though from the last she'd seen her brother had yet to fully bounce back after his castration and was probably spending some time with Howl to make up for the lost time when he had vanished.



For now she would wander around the mangroves alone, hoping some solution would soon appear. Perhaps Satu would appear with some interesting tale to share, or Anthem would want to spend some time with her. Maybe Dutiron would come running up with an astounding number of questions, his curiosity was rather amusing. Really any one of the family or the pack would do; Novella just wanted some company

made by lutara

He was afforded a rare moment of silence, what with Symphony being well, gone and the responsibility of looking after the pups falling to him while she recovered. They were napping now, and he had managed to snag one of Song?s kids to look after then, though he couldn?t recall her name. She was one of the bigger ones, black with white markings and a seemingly fixed serious expression. He would have to remember to thank her later. The man stretched and sighed hearing the satisfying pop of his back as he worked out the kinks. Then he set off to wander? just a bit. He knew the pack lands well enough now, or at least the area amongst the mangroves, he had still not been eager to explore too much beyond that, the small family?s decision about staying within the pack still up for debate, something he wasn?t eager to pursue while his mate was still so ill. He was used to the bustle of the pack, members wander to and fro as if they all had something important to do. A vaguely familiar scent reached him and he lifted his gaze, scanning the immediate area. A bit of a ways ahead of him was a woman he recognized. Picking up his pace he called out to her. ?Novella!? He called out trotting off to the side a bit to come up beside her. It struck him again how much like her sisters Symphony was, though they all seemed of varying height they all had a shared trait in their pelt color and their eyes, or at least all the sisters he had met. Apparently there were two more, one of which hadn?t made the journey to these lands with them and another simply missing. He chuckled and looked at the younger woman. ?I?m not sure if we ever thanked you for helping when Symphony was in labor.? He regarded the woman, amazed that he not only saw his mate in the female but his sons too, albeit they were a bit farther from the look these women shared but there was no missing the family resemblance. Speech, Think, Others,

There was no denying the strong family resemblance between Song, Symphony and Novella. The three Destruction girls had taken after their mother in terms of colouring whilst their mismatched eyes were from their father's side of the family. It certainly wasn't all that tricky to guess that they were related and whilst Gitan may have found the similarities a little surprising, Novella certainly thought little upon the matter now though her likeness to her mother was something that had brought her joy as a child. ?Novella!? She would stop in her tracks at the sound of someone calling her and looking over her shoulder she would soon recognise the man to be Gitan, her sister's mate. Though she didn't know him that well at all, she was certainly prepared to give him a chance, Symphony after all loved him and that was good enough a reason for Novella. "Hello Gitan." She called as she turned to face him with a small smile as he continued to cover the distance, eventually reaching her side. ?I?m not sure if we ever thanked you for helping when Symphony was in labor.? He hadn't, though Novella saw no reason to be thanked. She hadn't really done much after all, it was Novel that had done the work. "It's Novel you need to thank really." She pointed out to him. "She's amazing, but I'm honestly useless." Unlike many of her family she still had yet to master any real skill, she was learning about each one of course though had yet to be good enough to really be of much use.

image by lunarcat7

The young woman stopped as he called for her and greeted him in return. He returned her smile with a grin of his own. He was interested in learning more of Symphony?s family and was glad that at least one of them seemed to be giving him a warm reception, though he had really only met three of the Destruction family so far. Novel certainly hadn?t been all that warm when he had met her and Song had been courteous at best. ?It's Novel you need to thank really." He chuckled and nodded, allowing her to continue her speech before speaking. ?Novel is something else.? He agreed. It was true, she was very skilled for one so young. ?Don?t sell yourself short though,? Gitan looked at her, ?You might not have been in the den but you were out there with me and you are pretty good at offering comfort when it is needed.? The man was wholly convinced that had Novella not been with him he probably would have panicked, and that wouldn?t have been good for anyone. Speech, Think, Others,

ooc: OK, so looking at the timeline I have, Symphony would still be missing here

Novella it seemed was becoming a little more forgiving than many of her siblings, a strong desire to keep the family altogether certainly left her willing to let things slide whilst others would hold a bit of a grudge. There was enough tension in the family though, even if Novella wasn't fully aware of the situation between her older siblings she certainly knew that she wished it'd just stop. As for Gitan, whilst he had indeed been the one to initially drag Symphony away it'd been her choice too and they couldn't be mad with him just because they'd fallen in love. Novel was progressing in her studies at a rather impressive rate. She'd grown up astonishingly quickly as well, and whilst still tiny compared to the rest of her siblings, the young healer certainly wasn't that little pup that she'd first met a year ago. Gitan would obviously agree with the statement of Novel's skill though would attempt to hand some of the recognition to Novella herself still as well. She would shrug off the comment, not entirely sure what to make of it. Still she thought she hadn't been all that much help, she'd panicked herself when it'd been revealed that there were some complications and then rushed off to see Song after the brief introduction to her nephews and niece. How was that much of a comfort really? "If you say so." She responded giving in rather than arguing with it any further, it was a pointless thing to do and she certainly didn't want to argue with him either. "How's everyone doing? Sorrel left the den yet?" It astounded her how withdrawn her nephew was, F?li, Cerise they'd probably be fine, but Sorrel was so quiet and seemed to keep his distance from everyone, even her. She wouldn't take it personally, though she was still a little concerned for the timid boy. But of course the main thing she wondered but was almost afraid to bring up. "Have you heard anything from Symphony yet?" Even more than the silly grudges in the family this worried her. Where on earth had Symphony gone? To leave her family like that, she didn't dare think of the possibilities for it worried her more than anything else.

image by yumpy

Novella seemed eager to brush off the compliment and Gitan decided not to push the issue even if he felt she did deserve credit. Instead the conversation would turn to his children and a smile would rise unbidden to his face, his gaze growing distant as he thought of his pups. ?Slowly? or at least he was before?? His expression changed then, his smile dropping and gaze falling to the ground for a moment and he stopped talking, leaving his sentence unfinished. It had been hard to motivate his children to do much of anything since the disappearance of their mother, and Gitan had been doing his best but it wasn?t easy. Novella seemed to be on the same track he was, voicing her own concerns about Symphony. ?No, we haven?t.? He spoke softly, gazing away from her. He longed to run off and find her, to search to the ends of the earth till his dear Symphony was returned to his side, and yet he couldn?t. The pups could not lose another parent and he would stay with them, and pray every day for his mate?s return. Speech, Think, Others,

ooc: Sorry, only just seen that you had replied!

It was fortunate that Gitan decided to allow the issue of who deserved the compliments to be dropped. If he had diverted back to the topic then they could have probably continued around in this manner for quite some time and it likely would have become a rather dull and pointless conversation rather quickly. She hadn't really spent time with the man before, Novella would rather spend it on another topic than childishly pushing away any compliments that may or may not have been deserved. Poor Sorrel, poor all of them in fact. Never before had she suddenly had a loved one disappear on her in that manner and whilst she missed her sister, she could only imagine the pain that Gitan and their children felt on the matter. A part of her almost regretted bringing up the subject but she had needed to know and to be honest she had hoped for some good news on the matter. A small sorrowful sigh would pass her lips, it was a difficult subject and for a moment she wished they could return to that light-hearted moment of arguing over the compliments. "She'll come home." She reassured him with a half-hearted smile. She had to come back after all. Why she'd left in the first place Novella wasn't sure she'd ever understand, she'd initially given Song a hard time after she had left Ahlon so surely she wouldn't, couldn't do the same thing, especially not to her children.