The knolls minutely unsettled the scarred phoenix, instilling her with a sense of reverence as she padded up one of the many slopes on soft paws, cautiously aware of the hollow earth below her pads. Mercury slunk nervously beside her as she sought the height of the vantage point, pacing in front of her to protectively test the ground's stability. Fortunately, despite their archaic origins, the knolls held their weight reasonably well. While the buffalo avoided the upsets in the earth at all humanly costs, others were not bound to such paranoia, and Jupiter settled down upon the tallest of the knolls, haunches setting themselves carefully on the earth. "Don't like it..." the creature murmured, grudgingly laying down at her side, head resting on his paws. "Why're we here?" Jupiter threw a bemused glance down at the tasmanian devil and placed a soothing lick on his forehead. Feinting disgust, he shook his head violently with a grumble. "No place better to be," she sighed, dropping easily to her stomach. "We've been walking for a while. Good place to rest." Even though she'd learned a good deal about Alacritia's changes during her absence, she'd spent the day wandering about to see if she could pick up some more info about the change in territories. Other than learning some new boundaries, she'd found nothing of interest. "Because graves are always good places to rest," he huffed stubbornly. She smirked, gaze turning to the buffalo chip-covered lowland down below in a silent challenge. With a grumble, Mercury rolled his eyes, and the two merely waited for something to happen.

Some days would be worse than others as Song would slowly recover from the attack that had been lain upon her. Her delicate body was most certainly healing well, today her torn haunches would barely cause her pain at all. Such she would find herself within the knolls outside Covari's borders. The land was off here, the woman's bicolored eyes would take in the open sky and odd rolling hills silently. Her walk was a slow gait, the she wolf had every intention of being away from Orchid's sick bay. The pale girl's cavern was a pleasant place, but Song was through being huddled within those walls. The stretch of her limbs would soothe the scars that had developed over her hips, the relaxing lope would not slow her senses though. Bright eyes would scour every hill at her approach, the sights they would hold stunning her to stop. Much time had passed since the former Oracle let her gaze fall upon the solar queen. Eyes would widen, Jupiter was still alive? Uncertainty would hold her there, but curiosity would pull her forward. Tiara would tip in her emotions of the unknown, where had she gone and what was she doing now? She knew how easy it would be to spot her brilliant pelt against the backdrop, she would keep herself a polite distance before her voice would ring out. Still her mind would debate if there was a ghost before her, "Jupiter?" but who else could it be? "Speech" Think "You"

In the heat of the spring sun, she felt her eyes drifting shut, but her peace was short-lived. Before she knew it, Mercury had risen to his paws, lips curling in a snarl, driving her back to consciousness. Celestial eyes fell upon a familiar white figure and slowly, carefully, she rose to her paws, chin tilted habitually upwards, regarding the woman with a careful, scrutinizing gaze. The wind blew her scent uphill to her and Jupiter was surprised by its quality--the scent of Ludicael was painstakingly faint, replaced by something... else. One of the new packs that she hadn't been able to match a name to. An amused smirk touched her ebony lips. Every part of her reasonable conscience pressed her to foster some sort of animosity towards the alabaster lady but as she took in her wounds, she couldn't quite muster it. Perhaps she would save it for whoever currently ruled. Bottle it until the moment it mattered. "I doubt you got those wounds defending Ludicael," Mercury snapped, leaning forward, features infinitely encased in a grotesque snarl. Jupiter passed her tail over the bristled planes of the companion's back, calming him. He reluctantly settled next to her, glaring daggers at the Destruction, his unmerciful gaze stark in contrast to Jupiter's intrigued and affable one. "The one and only," the risen phoenix replied evenly. "Song." The name was stated as an acknowledgement and followed by a brief pause. "Did Ludicael drain you of everything you had, also?" she chuckled, tone bitter but also tinted with disappointment--though who that disappointment was directed towards was a mystery. "If your wounds give you pain, you're welcome to come sit. I promise he won't bite."

There had never been any closure once Jupiter left Ludicael, not one search had proved fruitful, and now here she was standing before the maiden as proud as ever. Certainly not dead. So why was it the woman had abandoned them in the first place? She'd always seemed so dedicated to ruling them, keeping them safe. Song would continue her curiosities as the dark devil would spew venom at her. Jupiter would seem to calm him, and no words would be uttered to him in response. If her pet felt such animosities did Jupiter too harbor those same feelings within? She would wave off the thought fornow, but she'd feel that it would not be forgotten completely. Still, her shoulders would relax at the previous Sol's words. "It tried. It claimed my husband, my child, and it fought for my sanity. That's really why i'm here." She would take the woman's offer, and draw more near the brilliant pelted woman. She would have asked how she even knew that Song had taken over, but it was to be assumed. Jupiter had placed Song and Cherokee within the beta position, they were the ones to be entrusted with the pack should Jupiter disappear, which she had. Song would let silence fall over them, she had no intentions of prying, but still held that obvious glint of curiosity. "Speech" Think "You"

Jupiter bestowed Song with a curious look as she spoke, her mind processing the dialogue carefully. Interest touched her mind and they were silent for a moment, but the scarred phoenix could feel the alabaster she-wolf's own questions ready to bubble forth if given the chance. From the moment she offered Song a seat, she was very much aware that she would have to tell her something eventually. She thought for a moment, celestial eyes trained to some unfathomable point on the distant horizon. Mercury pressed securely against her, nuzzling her side comfortingly. "There has been a sickness within me, ever since I killed Kaios." Her tone was quiet, merely a low rumble that drifted around them. "The mixed emotions I had afterwards drove me to physical illness. I couldn't eat, nor sleep. I couldn't bear to look at my children." Her jaws snapped shut suddenly and she shook her head, agitation silent beneath her skin. "My emotions are no longer mixed. I killed. And I will kill again if I have to." Resolve steeled, she took a deep breath. As much of a grudge as she held against the Destruction family (one that was somewhat unwarranted, but still present), she found some sort of twisted comfort in the fact that Ludicael had robbed Song of everything. As long as a Destruction profited from leading the mangrove-tucked pack, she would hold that grudge. That much was certain. "What happened to Cherokee and your children?" she inquired, tone neutral. She figured that they weren't dead--something told her that Song would be in a much worse state if they weren't alive. The ash-risen firebird shifted her weight on her stomach, still staring out into the distance, audits tuned to whatever response she may receive.