A New Life

The trip back to her homeland had been cut short before it began. She knew in the back of her mind that it would have been a fruitless venture anyway, but there was a part of her that didn't want to believe what she had learned from Mercury. She wanted to believe that some part of it would still be intact and that she might be able to find even just a few of her loved ones still waiting on her. The only issue she hadn't realized at the time was that this continent, Auster, and the northern continent of Boreas were only linked to one another and not to anything else. She had attempted to swim out to any of the islands she found as she circled the two land masses in hopes that she might be able to see another land mass in the distance from those shores, but there was no luck. Because she was washed ashore here she had no way of knowing which way she came from and that didn't help her chances.

It had been many weeks since she left The Hallows at this point and now she had landed back where she started at a territory just outside of the castle dwelling pack. She was conflicted over whether she actually wanted to return to the pack that she had briefly called home. She had grown close to Mercury after he rescued her from the waves and even more so after the truth was uncovered about their shared home land, but she couldn't quite shake this feeling that she was intruding on his space here and becoming too dependent on him. It was one of the reasons she had struck out on her own without consulting him. She felt guilty about the way she had left so quickly, but she had been afraid that he might try to talk her out of it. She missed him and the space she had made for herself within the Hallows' walls, but she had settled into a small den here by the falls for the time being and in a way it was nice to be out in the forests and trees once more that were not all that dissimilar from the ones she had known back home.

Anthea sighed softly to herself as she laid on the bank of the stream that flowed through the cedar trees. The sound of the falls crashing near by filled the silence so at least it wasn't too quiet. It was almost strange being alone for this long, but just as she was considering that fact she heard a sound in the foliage and brush behind her that made her head turn toward it. For a moment she wasn't sure if it was someone else or maybe just another animal rummaging around for food, but she could at least tell it wasn't big or loud enough to be a bear. That kept her from jumping to her feet immediately and instead just sat up onto her haunches. A moment later a woman painted in various tones of black and gray appeared from around one of the large trees. "Oh, hello," she greeted her with a little smile. She didn't immediately recognize the other woman, but the breeze that brought her scent in her direction told her she was from The Hallows so at least she was confident the stranger was the friendly sort. Glad for a bit of company, she gestured for her to join her as she added, "I'm Anthea. What's your name?"

"Anthea Dásos"