He didn't make a hurry out of coming up north to meet with Lurid. Traveling with Relm proved to be not the easiest task, but she was also bound to the den most of her short life and wasn't used to climate changes or just traveling in general. He would take the trip with ease and take the breaks needed and stay overnight somewhere if he had to. When he made it to the forest though, he wasn't entirely sure if Lurid would even be here. It had been a long while since their last encounter especially given the fact he stayed close to his den back at firefly lake for the last couple months. Fear of Agria killing Relm was overwhelming after she gave birth to her but even then, he stayed close before then to make sure Agria didn't decide to go for an escape. He would trek carefully through the forest with his head low to smell his surroundings, wondering if he would be able to pick up her scent without a call. The scent was there but he wasn't sure if it was faint or current. His eyes would look behind him to Relm as she tried to keep up, bumping into him and some tree trunks along the way. Walk "Talk" Think

Leaving home had been excruciatingly tiring and she was starting to get annoyed with all the walking and traveling they had done. But still, she would watch her father eagerly and follow after him, not wanting to disappoint or show weakness. She would notice as he slowed in the forest, it wasn't something he had done the entire time they traveled here so she knew something was here. Her blind side would bump into him, but it was something the two of them had grown used to and it wouldn't bother either him or her. She'd leap over to a tree trunk or two, bumping into one not realizing how close she was but giving herself a shake from the impact instead of crying over it. It was definitely a lot more sturdy than her father's leg. Coming back to focus she would smell the trunk of the tree before moving forward to join Kefka again, "What're we lookin' for daddy?" She at least hoped they would settle down here because all the walking was exhausting. Walk "Talk" Think

It had only been two days since she had made it out of the cave and Lurid had needed to rest before she fully made up her mind on going to seek help all the way in the east. It was hard enough to move around with her right foreleg so injured, but she was happy she had managed to at least reset her bone straight. She needed help fast, though, as her wound was in danger of turning septic. Would she try the pack further to the north and risk being turned away, or should she dare to attempt the trek eastward toward the pack who was said to have made it their mission to help others? Alastor had made her mind up for her, though she held her reservations, knowing full well she was in no condition to fight the behemoth. But, it did have to be her decision. The black knight was no doubt waiting for her, this was the day they had decided to leave on, and so she grumbled slightly as she rose to her three good legs. Making sure to keep her broken forelimb elevated for better traveling, she looked to her little boy, who had stayed behind with her. He had been unusually annoying since she got home, asking her stupid puppy questions like 'Does it hurt?' or 'Can you still hunt?' It had taken all of her patience to answer each one, and by the end of it, she had simply growled at him to be quiet for a while. Of course, a little while to a pup was mere seconds to her. "Come on, Little Love. We have to go now, Alastor is waiting with Samael."

Lurid made her way toward the east until a familiar scent wafted through the trees and into her sensitive nose. A small smirk formed on her face and she suddenly changed her direction toward the scent, hobbling along on three legs, it was a little more than arduous. Once the pink man came into view, Lurid gave a warm smile and waved her tail a bit behind her, unsure of the male's motives for being here now. It had been so long since she had proposed her idea to him, but perhaps he was here because of that. Soon enough her answer to why it had taken him so long bumped slightly into his leg. The little pink babe had the look of the male, and it wasn't difficult to put two and two together to come up with her answer. Her tiny baby voice nearly melted Lurid right there on the spot as she asked what they searched for, which Lurid took as her cue to move further into view. She knew Kichi was with her, but judging by the presence of his own babe, Lurid took the gamble that he wouldn't be a threat to her own son. "I imagine it is me you search for, little one." Reclining on her haunches, Lurid smiled then and looked to the demon-eyed sire of the babe. "You surprise me. It took so long I was beginning to think you didn't want to even consider coming...but I understand why now." Her tail wrapped around her one good forelimb, with her right held aloft slightly.

Ilyn came to stand a bit off to the side, huffing about having to make a detour when she obviously needed help. The bear was always so impatient, but this time he was motivated by urgency, as well. He maintained a respectful distance, only enough to keep a watchful eye on his injured empress and the stranger she spoke to. "I am Lurid Amarix, Night Mother of Mirovis, soon to come to Boreas. And what is your name, little one?" She spoke of course to the small, white-eyed baby that traveled with the devilish man, though she did hope to get his name now. Without the distraction of her heat, she could at least focus on trivial formalities such as introductions.

|| Word count: 669 words. ||
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

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ART & TABLE by BIRD

As Lurid brought herself to view, Kefka would squint his eyes to her clearly agitated walk. But he wouldn't go to mock or tease her, or show so much as worry towards the delicate woman. But as her comment came out, Kefka couldn't help his usually sly grin, "Well, I suppose you had things occupying your time to not come find me." Joking, as per the usual. Lurid would go to introduce herself to Relm, Kefka not even realizing the two of them hadn't introduced each other in their last encounter. Were names even important? Apparently not. And it may have been a feeling Kefka felt openly that actions and intentions were much more desirable than words or names. As for why he was so interested in the glimmering goddess. At least to him she was no ordinary wolf or woman. And though he wanted to go under the Abraxas and the empire he was stolen from, he wasn't exactly sure how everything considering his mother and Relm would fall under them. Looking down at Relm as she responded, he'd turn a more serious tone to her though not in a scolding way. When he looked at her, his eyes were filled with a longing warm desire to love her as a father, and it wasn't something hard to miss in the slightest. "That's her name. Lurid. Your's is Relm Abraxas." He'd explain. Relm knew her name but it had slipped by him to think that Agria was never refereed to by anything, and Kefka was just labeled as "Dad" or "Daddy." He was going to announce to Relm herself of his name, but then she probably would have been confused and started calling him by Kefka which he personally didn't want. So instead he'd raise his head to look at Lurid, "Kefka Abraxas by the way. Though it would seem my name is unimportant to the matter of why I came here." Lurid had already expected him as her follower in the bigger picture. But still, "I'll probably find somewhere around here to settle. And when you need me, I won't be far." Eh, a promise? Maybe for now. Kefka was surprisingly very loyal given his more demonic and free-willed nature. And though maybe still not that reliable given different circumstances. But he couldn't see himself making a decision about the Abraxas anytime soon. For now he would just take his teachings from Thalia and maybe move them on to Relm. He wasn't entirely comfortable with that considering he was new to learning and wouldn't want to mess up the teachings per the game telephone. Walk "Talk" Think

She was a little shy to the woman who made herself known. She after all wasn't pink like every wolf Relm knew. And this would be the first stranger she had ever met. But as Kefka stayed in greeting to her, Relm would look up to her father and then again to the woman while she remained still at Kefka's side. Lurid would zone in on Relm and then she wouldn't hesitate to put eager steps forward and reach her nose up as if that was a proper greeting. For a pup for sure. "What's a Lure-id Ahm-mer-ix?" She'd cock her head to the woman's introduction, but would look up to her father for him to have an answer to her question. Kefka would explain that Lurid was her name, as she was Relm, and she would squint to the thought, "There are other names?" Of course she didn't even know there were other wolves and her lack of young knowledge was overwhelming to her. But she wouldn't want to disappoint her daddy for sure, and she wouldn't question much farther than that. Walk "Talk" Think

Kichi hadn’t been happy with Lurid’s injury, and while he had shut up when asked he hadn’t quit being upset about it.  It wasn’t feeling pity towards her either, or concern.  Al was helping them get by with food after all, even though he was also injured.  Kichi was angry at them.  They had left him alone and when they returned it was injured.  It wasn’t so bad Al did it, they were just friends and Al was the one taking care of them now with the hunting.  How could they do it to Kichi?  They could have died and Kichi didn’t want to face the few he was close to dying again.  He didn’t always show the anger, but her snapping at him to be quiet was a good way to stoke said anger. So it was when Lurid wanted him quiet he was, and when it was time to follow her he did but quietly.  She wanted quiet? He’d give it to her.  Kichi was still young but the pup had grown and with ample sense of independence as well.  The grey and white pup seemed confident in his ability to get by alone other than help getting food.  Even Kichi realized at this point he would need to truly learn to hunt as much as he didn’t want to.  It was important because the only one he could fully rely on was himself.  On top of that he would need to learn how to survive to protect Lurid and Al to make sure those he cared for didn’t die.  It was a tall order for the pup to acknowledge. When the other wolves appeared Kichi stayed a bit behind Lurid at first but the other pup and then up to the adult wolf.  Kichi moved forward as introductions were given, standing right beside Lurid, head and tail up.  Arrogant little pup labeling himself just as much to be respected, “And I’m Kichi.” She was injured after all, so if need be he would defend her. Lurid was clearly on ease with them so he wasn’t too worried but all the same he wasn’t perfectly trusting either.  He needed a fancy title like she had.  Kichi would create his own later, that would be fun. Hearing the polar bear though deflated Kichi just a bit in instinctive sigh took over.  So often the bear was irritated at him the young pup forgot that it could be irritated over anything else at first.  Either way, it didn’t need to be speaking up right then.  Kichi turned his head to glare at the bare, softly warning it, “be quiet.” It wasn’t for the bear to say what Lurid did. The pup was somewhere around the age of 6months but certainly acted considerably older at the moment. "Speech" Think

In all fairness, she had meant to introduce herself when they met in the catacombs, but hormones had gotten the best of her. Once her head cleared she had to quickly find a subject to jump on and the only thing she had been able to think of was home. Mirovis had been pressing on her mind a lot recently, especially with her leg mangled the way it had been. The male was wise not to point it out, as even crippled, she was a beast. Manners were in place, and Lurid wasn't the least bit flustered by his comments, even though he had also failed to introduce himself or gather her name at their last meeting. "As I recall, you didn't get my name either. Perhaps, both our manners were lacking. Forgive any rudeness, I was...not myself." A smirk was given before she dipped her head regally, but respectfully. "Pleased to meet you, Kefka. And, you, little Relm." The man's name felt foreign on her tongue, but the dual nature of her voice made it easier to get through, though the Mirovian lilt of her home language made it seem poetic. Her holographic gaze moved then toward Kichi, who introduced himself then told Ilyn to be quiet in a hushed voice, the latter she would address later.

While she kept her notes to herself on the matter, Lurid's gaze at Kichi and Ilyn promised they would speak about his respect toward her companions. Too many times he had outwitted his watcher, the bear had reported to her on several occasions that he had snuck away from him. Ilyn was growing tired of Kichi's antics, and with that came a danger from the bear - even if it was deserved, Lurid didn't want to scar her son any further than she already had. Returning her attention to Kefka, Lurid gave an appreciative smile at his words. Did this mean he would join her efforts to raise Mirovis from literal ashes? Lurid hoped it would, "This is a good place for little ones, there are plenty of excellent denning areas. My own is near the heart of the forest if you would like to settle closer to what I like to call home-base." The actual location of her den was a highly kept secret, but it was truly near the heart of the forest, the actual pathway to it was shrouded from plain view and would only seem like an incredibly thick patch of underbrush. "You'll be sticking around then?" It was strange to her to have a new face nearby, but the fact that he had arrived brought some comfort. If he did stay it would mean her time to act was drawing closer. Perhaps, her efforts would begin to pay off after all.

|| Word count: 468 words. ||
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

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ART & TABLE by BIRD

Lurid's own little guy would make his presence a little more known now, and that of the bear too. Kefka found the companion a little weird considering he didn't have one himself, but he knew that there were a number of wolves that kept around some pets or whatever you'd call them. He had seen some aid in battle and some that were just their friends or something. He couldn't relate to befriending a leopard. Kefka's dark eyes wandered as Lurid spoke of the woods, and he was interested in checking the grounds out more but didn't know entirely if they would stick here particular or if he'd find something more suitable in one of the surrounding lands. None the less, it would be easy for Lurid to find or call him if the need arose. Not that she would need it, and especially with the scent of another male lingering around the grounds and herself. "I'll scout around and see what I can find." His gaze lingered down at Relm, it must have been obviously clear how much he cared for her not that he was aware at how much he showed it. But considering he even only stuck with his mother for the last three years, the strength in his bond for her was something unreal to him. Looking back up to Lurid, he'd pat Relm forward with his paw as if giving her permission to go or talk with Kichi, not that she wasn't already. "Yeah, I'll stick around. It's good to find somewhere to settle down and call home while raising a young one." He threw her a more gentle grin than was normal of him, a little bit of hidden anxiety under his skin to the thought of raising Relm on his own with what beliefs he was taught and not messing her up in the process. But he felt like he had done well so far in this little amount of time, and he thought she was very reserved and intelligent for her age. But was that a bad thing for a pup to not have fun? Because it seemed that way to him sometimes. But maybe he was even doing something to make her that way. Walk "Talk" Think

Relm paid more attention to the young wolf than the adults now, considering she had never met another pup. Though he was considerably older than her. She would take note but wouldn't fret over their growth differences. Her nose lingered on Kichi with a squint, but she would drag away her gaze as Lurid had addressed her if even for a second. She'd be quick to look back at Kichi though, the sound of the bear and his annoyance almost amplified in her little pup mind. She didn't know much to say to the boy as Kefka and Lurid spoke, and when Kefka would pause to push her forward she'd jump at the distance her bump would close between her and Kichi. Her ears pulled back as she shot a less than irritated look at her father, looking almost shyly back at Kichi. She just had no idea how to approach this situation, and she'd definitely have to get used to another small wolf around her. Another learning opportunity perhaps? She had in fact never met or known anyone other than Agria and Kefka of course. And she didn't even know Agria's name. Either way, the whole experience was new and overwhelming and she honestly probably wouldn't speak much to Kichi as of right now if he tried. She'd go to move off into the woods a little more, Kichi or not. But Kefka had insisted she move along to do her own thing so she wouldn't linger. -Exit Relm- Walk "Talk" Think