Ara had grown accustomed to feeling lonely. While a solitary creature by nature and habit, she preferred to share the company of another, and after spending years hoping that her wife would return to her, the aging woman had grown painfully aware that things wouldn't go back to how they had once been. It wasn't something she liked to dwell on for long when possible, and so she tried to keep her mind occupied. Often she busied herself in pointless work, gathering herbs for ailments that members of Fiori would never encounter, for potential dangers that were unlikely to occur to anyone she ever met. More often she had taken to more dangerous journeys outside of pack territories, venturing into lands unnecessarily dangerous to seek out herbs that might not exist there at all.
Today, though, she simply felt tired. She had spent most of her time in Fiori struggling desperately to insert herself into pack life and contribute whenever possibly, but it was still just that - a struggle. She'd never been terribly good at socializing to begin with, though work was something she was happy to delve into with all her being. It was simply hard when they'd been blessed with good health, when Fiori was a pack prone to peace, and when she didn't know of any wolves interested in learning the art of healing.
The scent of a semi-familiar wolf roused her from her dark thoughts. She had been wandering today, oblivious to where her paws were carrying her. Though she didn't know Athena well, she had spoken to her wife a pawful of times and thought of the two fondly. In a way, she felt a certain camaraderie with them, though she wouldn't admit it - they were the first women she'd ever met who were mates. She'd never felt particularly alienated from loving Novel, but knowing someone else shared the same sort of feelings was comforting to her.
A soft smile painted her features as she drew closer to where Athena lay. She didn't seem preoccupied, but still she hoped she wasn't bothering her. "Morning, Athena," Ara greeted the woman with a slow dip of her head, gaze fixing on her to make sure her presence wasn't unwanted. "How are you doing?" Perhaps some idle conversation would be enough to break her somber mood, though it felt like she'd been in this slump for many seasons now and she wasn't sure small-talk would help in the long run. Briefly, though, it might be nice.
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