Home. It was a strange concept to her, a thing so tangible and fluid that she had never been able to define it or accurate pinpoint it to one place. Sure, Seracia had been where she had lived since she was born, but it had not been sad to leave. No -- home was something much more abstract.

Ara was lost in thought as she padded near the hot spring. Only recently had she and her family come to Ludicael, but already it was beginning to feel right here. She had quickly realized that home was not a place, but a feeling. Home was with her mother and her father, with Faolan and Mercury and Jendai, wherever her travels had led her. Home was feeling safe and warm and happy. A slight smile played at her lips as she drew up alongside the warm spring, coming to rest on her belly. Everything would be much better here, Ara was certain of it.

The weather had certainly begun to cool now, certainly not to any amount that the Destruction girl really would struggle to cope with but enough that the warmth of the Hot Springs could still be rather welcomed. Perhaps it was mainly the boredom that had brought her there, not fully sure what to do with herself at the moment and so she would wander the lands. She'd been a little less inclined to leave as of late, although the news that Myth was around was causing a little internal battle as she tried to work out what to do.



Mind would be distracted from those thoughts at the moment though, especially upon noticing a stranger scent and then spotting the wolf that it belonged to. Novella could safely say that she hadn't seen the other girl before. Onwards she would continue now though, aim to go and properly meet the other. "Hello." She greeted as neared the other.

by macabre

Ara hadn't met anyone else from Ludicael yet. Much of her time was spent making sure her parents were comfortable and well, and the rest was either spent with Novel, or familiarizing herself with the lands. She knew that much of the pack consisted of Song and Novel's family, and she couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous about meeting them. She was not always the most sociable of wolves, but she also was not used to feeling uncomfortable around others. Why she was so wary to meet them, she was not sure. What if they didn't like her? If she didn't fit in here? She'd never been comfortable among most wolves in the Kingdom of Seracia, and she wasn't sure if things would be any different here.

A voice spoke to her, and she found herself quickly snapping back to reality. Slowly she turned to face her, forcing a smile to her face, masking the uncertainty she felt on the inside. "Hi," she replied gently, her voice soft even against the dull noise of the lands around them. "I'm new to Ludicael. My name is Ara." Giving an introduction would certainly be less awkward than the other wondering who the hell she was.

Novella was typically a fairly confident young girl, and making yourself at home somewhere was definitely an easier task when the majority of the pack was your family. On joining there had been fewer Destructions within the lands, though even so it wasn't the strangers that had caused her to halt in her decision, she hadn't even known Song at that point after all, a fact that rather rather sad to think about and hard to believe now. It was safe to say that the eldest of Novel and Dutiron's children had certainly been dragged back into the family now. The other girl would turn around to face her upon the greeting and respond quietly with a small smile. She certainly seemed a little more timid though Novella kept a friendly smile upon her face, especially after discovering that she was new to the lands. "Welcome to Ludicael then." Novella stated warmly, she was sure the other had already been welcomed and though she held no power in the pack, it wouldn't stop her from welcoming Ara. "I'm Novella Destruction."

Of course -- this woman was a Destruction. It was strange being in a pack so full of family, being someone who was not at all related to most of the wolves here, but she figured it was nice, too. She felt a sense of unity here, even if she had not interacted with many, that only family could bring. Her smile grew a bit more relaxed and certainly less forced. "Thank you," she replied softly, her tail batting gently against the dirt.

"Novella, you must be.." she examined her for a moment. She was older than Novel, but younger than Song. "Novel's cousin?" she guessed gently, hoping she could make some sense of how they were all related, but not expecting to be right. Her head would tilt to the side before she let it drop back to her forepaws, gazing at Novella with curiousity.

Novella was part of a large and it seemed a constantly growing family. There were many that she had yet to even hear about but in Ludicael alone the number of Destructions was rather impressive. She was certainly used to it though, being one of nine you didn't really have much choice in the matter. As far as Novella was concerned Symphony had the smallest family to date, only three children one of whom it was rather rare to see out and about. So it seemed Ara had met some of the Destruction family already, given that she had guessed cousin, Novella would assume that it was Novel her niece she was speaking of and not Novel her mother. She would shake her head lightly, whichever Novel she spoke of the guess was wrong. "I'm her aunt if you're speaking about Song's daughter Novel. My mother has the same nameas well, she is here in Ludicael so you will probably meet her at some point."

It seemed her guess was incorrect. She wondered what it must be like to have such a large family; she shook her head a bit, as though overwhelmed by the thought. All her family consisted of was her, her parents, and her siblings. She'd heard that she had other brothers and sisters as well, some only half-siblings, with a different father than Bronze. But all she knew of them was their names, and vague memories her parents had shared with her, woven into a picture she could only see clearly in her dreams.

"Yes, that Novel," she told her, smiling gently. Wait -- there was more than one Novel? How completely confusing. And here was Novella. How big was their family, she wondered? "Wow," she added, her voice holding a bit of awe and wonder. It was interesting to be in a pack full of so many family, and though she felt a bit envious, she mostly felt interested. "Some of my family is here now as well. You might not see my parents much, but I have two brothers here, Mercury and Faolan." Jendai had gone off on her own, and while she missed her dearly, she knew her sister had wanted some freedom and time on her own -- something Ara had never once considered, let alone wanted. "Mercury has black fur with tan spots on his face -- he's hard to miss -- and Faolan has the prettiest silver fur." Another smile was offered. It had been some time since she'd talked to anyone outside of her family, save for Novel, but she found herself enjoying it considerably more than she had expected.

It wasn't a crazy assumption to have made, there after all was only about a year in between them in age, there was more than that between Novella and her eldest siblings and the same gap between her and her cousins. She certainly wouldn't fault Ara for having made a guess in the first place and fortunately from the small smile and the acknowledgement that she'd gotten the right Novel it seemed that the other girl wouldn't be disheartened at all by the fact she had made a minor error. Her head would tilt slightly to one side at the soft 'wow' that Ara gave. Whilst she certainly wouldn't change her family for the world, apart from perhaps having them all get along and be close enough to see regularly, Novella certainly didn't see much special about her family. It may have been large, but it was normal to her, she didn't know any different at all nor did she know that others might perhaps think it a little surprising how large it was. Still, although confused, she wouldn't question it and Ara moved on to discuss her own family. "I'll keep an eye out for them then as well." Novella responded with a small smile. Though she adored her family and main goal it seemed at times was keeping close to them, she certainly wouldn't turn away any potential new friends either. "Where did you all travel from then?" There was no guaranteeing she would know the place but it was polite to ask all the same.

It felt a bit strange to be part of a pack that was mostly family, but in a way it felt reassuring and safe, too. Her parents had told her how large her family was. Admittedly, she did not remember the names of all of her family, and she knew she would not meet many of them... if any at all. Her older siblings were not from these lands, and as far as she knew, had families and lives of their own. Her small family here was more than enough to satisfy her, but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be with them now. Ara watched with inquisitive blue eyes as Novella seemed to note what they looked like, hopefully storing it away in case she ran across them. She knew Faolan had no trouble making friends, but Mercury was often more withdrawn like herself, and meeting some friendly faces would not do him any harm. Her tail waved behind her a few times as Novella questioned where they came from. "The Kingdom of Seracia," she proclaimed. It was all she had ever known, but she knew her parents didn't associate it with home as strongly as she did. It had been a place they had found refuge in, and the place they had reunited in. But she knew her parents found home wherever their family was, regardless of who ruled or the lands that they lived in. A smile graced her features. "Leadership there changed, and I don't think they liked my parents liked it much. They didn't hate it, but my mother is very fond of Song, and thought we would be happier here." She knew she'd been very grateful to spend so much time with Novel, and Novella was proving to be a nice companion as well. "I like it better here, too."

To her surprise she would in fact know the place that Ara spoke of and with a smile and a small nod of her head she signalled her recognition of the lands. "I've heard of Seracia, been there too actually once. My sister Myth was there for a while, and my cousin Iorwerth." She didn't know the male very well at all, it was somewhat strange to consider him family. Perhaps it wasn't really his differences to the rest of them at all though, but instead that he seemed so cold and stand-offish that it seemed impossible to try to connect with him. She didn't know too much about the pack politics if she was honest, but this change in leadership disagreeing with Ara's family did leave Novella a little concerned for her sister. If Myth had returned would she be ok there? It'd been too long since she had seen her as it was though with this new fact to think about it troubled Novella even more. She hid those thoughts and emotions however and a smile formed on her face again as Ara finished speaking. "I'm glad to hear it."

"I think I've seen Iowerth," she offered softly. It was unimportant, as she had never actually spoken to him, but she was fairly sure she'd seen him. As she considered it now, the Destruction family seemed impossibly large. How did they all keep track of one another? And why hadn't they all stayed together? Ludicael seemed a fine place as any to live, and she couldn't imagine why others might not want to live here, especially with family. She had a sudden desire to bring up Novel, Novella's niece, but the origin of this sudden whim was unknown to her. She treasured the girl's company, and found an incessant desire to see her more often. For some reason, she felt like she needed approval of some kind -- but why? With each day that passed, she wanted to see her more, but didn't want to take her from whatever duties she might have to her family, and to Ludicael. "I'm glad as well," she said with a smile, her tail batting against the ground behind her. "I can tell my parents are more comfortable here, too. And I am so happy to spend time and train with Novel." The words left her mouth suddenly, but she did not regret them; it seemed important to tell Novella that she was grateful to be here, especially with Novel at her side.