But you'll never find the answers, until you set your old heart free

Lydia relished the warm evening and the sun shining down upon her back. Already the air was starting to cool in preparation for night and she wasn't to far away from her storage den. Before she arrived though she was on the hunt for yarrow. She wanted to make sure she had a good stock of the versatile plant before the frost claimed it. Keeping an eye out for the distinctive clumps of white flowers she strode onto the prairie. The sun was lowering itself toward the horizon, casting its amber light across the field of beautiful grasses. This was a lovely territory. She was glad no packs had claimed it yet.

Skirting along a stream she sized up her location for a moment before moving on. She had an idea of where she wished to gather yarrow, she just needed to get her bearings. With a little luck she'd have the yarrow gathered and be back at her temporary den by nightfall.

Gaios was glad that the sun had decided to grace this day, if not most others in recent memory. He allowed its rays to warm his pale pelt, even as the day began to slip away from him. He looked southward and frowned. Knowledge weighed heavy in his mind, and he felt its weight pushing him farther along. The young titan recoiled against it, at least for the time. He lingered. He had questions he sought answers to before delivering his father's directive. After all, Amon had not been specific on dates, now had he? Gaios was not being defiant, said the quiet and frightful voice in the back of his mind, who still believed in some manner than Amon could appear anywhere he liked if given proper motivation. He was simply taking his time. All the same, he huffed. The grasses around him smelled rich, emboldened by the heat and frequent rains. He could not remember a time in his life that the earth had been so verdant. He enjoyed it quietly, thinking softly to himself. Vira was off on some other business, he assumed. She would find him again when she was of a mind, or perhaps the reverse, but either way he tried not to dwell on it. He needed a distraction in interim, was all. So when a dark furred figure made herself known up ahead, his ears perked. Conversation never disappointed. Either you found someone friendly to pass the time, or an asshole willing to shed a bit of blood, and either would suit him. From the look of the strange contraption strapped to the woman's back, he would hazard a guess that she was some sort of gatherer, or healer. He'd seen similar contrivances before, but they never failed to fascinate. He cleared his throat, loud enough he hoped that she might hear him before his voice startled her. She fae was not quite a tiny thing, but compared to his own behemoth genes, anyone could be considered small. "Excuse me! You look occupied. Anything I might be able to lend a paw in?" Gaios had always felt it difficult to be cruel outright. Even the offhand way his family tended to interact with mortals in had left the young male feeling queasy and anxious. The bold confidence most Abraxas had bred into them seemed to start more fights than it ever prevented anyways, and witnessing the hornet's nest that was their ancestral homeland had been all the worse. He fought to shake the thoughts away and sat down, hoping he would be a bit less intimidating when the older wolf caught sight of him. There wasn't much to lessen the impact of a dire wolf's presence, but it never hurt him to try. "Talk" "You" Think

But you'll never find the answers, until you set your old heart free

Lydia carried on, enjoying the sight of the numerous plants of the prairie. It was humbling to realize how many of these plants she didn't know the name of, let alone if they had any useful healing properties. As she turned around a bend of the stream she saw what she was looking for. Gobs of tiny white flowers were swaying in the breeze farther into the prairie land. Excellent, luck was on her side tonight. At least that's what she thought until she heard man clear his throat. She turned and felt her heart plummet into her stomach. Standing before her was one of the Abraxas. She was familiar with the markings and with the young man himself. He'd been one of the pups of Amon and Naamah. She'd taken Pyralis' young pups to see them when they where younger and it shocked her as much to see how much he'd grown. Had that much time really passed.

She didn't answer his question immediately, she just stared. The gears in her head were whirling. He didn't seem to be particularly aggressive but that didn't mean anything. She was just a weak mortal after all. Why would he need to prepare himself before dragging her back to that awful family? And yet, his question was odd. Why make small talk? Why not just state that she was going back to the Abraxas. Was he trying to trick her? Her eyes narrowed slightly and her voice wavered. "I… I mean… what, what do you want with me?" Her ears flicked back and she tensed, her fur standing on end. She knew she wouldn't win in a fight against him. She wanted to flee but she also doubted her ability to outrun him. She'd been traveling all day, would she have the stamina to outlast him?

The woman's response was immediate... and concerning, to say the least. Her eyes went wide and she did not speak for a long moment. Gaios felt his own heart constrict, uncertainty rising up to overtake him. Had... Had they met in the past? He couldn't recall. Gaios had met plenty of dark-coated females with pale eyes, she certainly wasn't the first. He tried to stitch together a series of memories into something that fit, but his half-concocted certainties only made him more and more unsure. She stuttered, and then "What do you want with me?" Gaios wilted. Even when he thought he was anonymous, the fear and hatred seemed to follow him. But, perhaps this fae was just flighty by nature? He could tell she had obviously been gravely wounded in the past if nothing else. Gaios' ears pinned backwards, flat against his head, and he slunk down into a laying position for sitting was obviously for too forward for the situation. "I- Er.. Nothing! I'm sorry, I didnt-" He let out a hard breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I only wanted to help, but I can go?" Gaios began to push himself backwards, coming upright again only after he had put a few more feet of space between them. Back on four legs he still continued his slow retreat, keeping his eyes on the dark female to make sure she wouldn't launch herself at his backside. Why could he not have merely one peaceful interaction? Was his entire life meant to be cursed by the weight of his name? Gaios still held onto the thin thread of hope that perhaps this shewolf was merely battered by other forces of the world, dark and dismal as that may be. Anything to absolve him of that borrowed guilt. "Look, I'll leave you be if you'd prefer." He closed his mouth, rewetting his tongue which had dried out in the face of his anxiety and misery. "But I really did just want a bit of conversation. My name is Gaios, will you at least tell me yours? I promise I'm not here to harm you." Amon would be furious if he knew how sincerely his son meant that. "Talk" "You" Think

But you'll never find the answers, until you set your old heart free

Lydia steadied her breathing to keep her head clear as her heart rate increased. Her sapphire eyes remained fixed on the man's face, searching for malice, searching for the dropping of his facade and the spark to attack. To her surprise it didn't come. The young man looked completely put out by her question yet she didn't drop her guard. This could be a trick. The young man slipped into a laying position and her eyes searched his face, desperate for any clue.  Could he truly be sincere? Perhaps it was just that he didn't recognize her? Again, she hesitated to answer his question, still to shocked at running into one of the Abraxas to fully bring herself to action. Yet, as she gazed into his eyes, she felt more than certain that he did not recognize her. Further more, she dared to believe he speaking sincerely in that he hadn't meant to frighten her.  One ear flicked forward as she looked him up and down.

He backed up a few feet and her fur started to calm itself, yet she did not entirely relax. It was possible this young man was on the hunt for a mate to spread more of his miserable kind. Though, that seemed unlikely. She was short compared to them and light in build. Not the sort of dame that would lead to massive, muscular war machines. Not to mention she was at least twice his age! Though she doubted the Abraxas cared much about that at long as the woman was healthy.

The young man spoke again.  Gaios.  She remembered the name now. Wetting her lips she prepared herself to speak but as her mouth opened nothing came out.  Should she lie?  She could make up a name and yet she didn't trust herself to keep to it. She wasn't the sort to lie and she doubted she could keep a con up. Knowing her luck he'd call her by her false name she she would carry on as if he spoke to another. By giving her name perhaps she could trigger a memory, or maybe nothing. Maybe he really would have no idea who she was. Her name lost to a sea of unimportant facts, after all she was not an Abraxas. He'd have had no need to really know her name.

"Lydia… my name is Lydia.  I um… I'm sorry it's just…" How much should she say? "Your markings bear a resemblance to some less than savory characters I've met." Her eyes continued to fixate on his face.  Spirits above he really didn't seem to be acting at all. She chanced a glance at the yarrow waving gently in the breeze then back to the man.  She didn't really need help gathering an herb like yarrow but she was intrigued despite herself. For a child of Amon he didn't act at all like the older man. "There's some yarrow farther into the prairie… if you like you can accompany me."

Gaios felt a faint relief as the woman seemed to relax her posture. She still held herself as taut as a young buck who's sensed the wind shift. Her words were fragmented when she replied to him, but she did in fact give him a name. Lydia, he thought to himself. Somehow he was certain he'd heard the name before, and yet he couldn't quite recall. He knew that he had no relatives named Lydia, or at least none he had met though with the breadth of his kin he wouldn't be surprised. He passed it on quickly, not wanting to seem weird about it, or at least any weirder than he obviously already did. Besides, the words that followed might as well have knocked the wind from his lungs anyways. His markings, huh? Gaios' ears flicked backwards, embarrassed. He couldn't say for sure whether or not it had been the Abraxas of course. His markings were similar to those of his father and siblings and several others too, it was true, but certainly there were a myriad of nasty mortals who might share the same too? As soon as the pale titan realized how he was bending to rationalize something so awful regardless, he felt somehow impossibly worse. "Oh uhm," Gaios stumbled. He was fighting for something to reply with, not knowing if he should apologize on behalf of a culprit he didn't know, or brush it off entirely? It was clear this woman barely trusted the mention of large wolves with speckled pelts, no need to go throwing the Empire's name into things. "You'd be surprised how often I get that," he ended up mumbling, trying his best to keep the bitterness from his voice, and only somewhat succeeding. So when Lydia mentioned that he might accompany her into the prairie, Gaios leaped on the opportunity. Whether he was guilty by association or not, he could try to be helpful all the same. "Of course!" he said, visibly perking up. "To be truthful I'm pretty unfamiliar with herbs and healing, but I can.. Oh I don't know, move logs out of your way or something?" He chuckled under his breath, trying desperately to show this older wolf that he just wanted some sane conversation about nonsensical things before diving back into the hornet's nest that was his elder brother's pack. "Talk" "You" Think

But you'll never find the answers, until you set your old heart free

Lydia tried to force herself to relax but she couldn't quite get there and so she gave up. She didn't know what game Gaios was playing but she knew she'd have a hard time beating him in a fight so she opted to play along. Maybe she could glean some information about what his angle was though she suddenly realized how silly her offer was for him to accompany her. She shouldn't have assumed he had any interest in herbs but even so the young man seemed enthusiastic about her offer.

Lydia trotted farther down into the valley, keeping her eyes peeled for yarrow. "So… Gaios. Where are you from and what brings you here?" She wasn't really sure what to talk about and she doubted he'd be very forthcoming. Part of her was wondering if she should just reveal to him that she knew the truth and see how he handled it… yet even so… those eyes. Surely the boy was not so talented as to fake such sincerity?

She caught sight of bundles of white flowers sitting atop the hairy stalks of the yarrow plant exactly where she expected to find them and she swiftly loped toward the plant. She examined it carefully and nodded. Yes, this was what she was looking for.