Aku was at a loss at what to do with his life. He hadn't found so much as a whisper or whiff of Akna in ages. The trail was beyond cold. Worse yet, even knowing there was no longer any reason for him to be Boreas, Aku was stuck here. He couldn't go home. With things still a mess there was no one his family would accept him back. No, the elders would take one look at him, chastise him, and then send him back out after her. He was certain of it.

Demoralized, he wandered aimlessly. There was no place for him in the world as long as things remained out of balance. Once upon a time he'd accepted Akna disappearance as just a part of her free spirit he had to accept, but now he had nothing but bitterness for her. She had been accepted into his clan with open arms and how had she repaid their kindness? By scorning her betrothal; the life they'd given her. In doing so she'd damned the very people who had accepted her.

Mired in bitter thoughts, Aku stopped beside a stream to think. He gazed at his reflection in the water's crystal surface and felt a sadness creep over him. Water was the lifeblood of his people. At one point to him it was home. Work. Everything. When was the last time he'd seen a water den? The last time he'd swam in the deep and pried clams from their watery strongholds?

Recluse Ithuriel-Klein Recluse was not normally a daytime wolf, but insomnia had set in when the sun had started its ascent. So she was up, even away from Habari, probably a bad move. The pups had been left safe and sound in the den, finally starting to sleep through the day it seemed and she'd instructed Eraithus to keep an eye on them, Galho and Lilith had been summoned to her side to help act as he guide and the woman left the pack lands, dainty ivory paws crossing lands as she moved listlessly towards the battlefield, she did not necessarily seek a fight today, though she donned her armor and claw covers all the same. Better to be safe than sorry when leaving her pack lands unguarded. She needed fresh strong blood in Habari though her children were dear to her she knew they needed more, especially with Medusa and Aryn around, maybe that was why she was here. A scent reached her, missing the distinctive notes of a pack upon his fur. Interesting. Recluse adjusted her course until she could just make out the blurry shape of a stranger. "It's not wise for unclaimed wolves to wander this field stranger." She called out, her tone not threatening, even a little joking but there was something more there, intent. "At least if they value their freedom." "Speech"

Art by Sirinsong

Absently he waved a paw across the water's surface purposefully marring his reflection. He turned to walk away and was confronted by the sight of a woman whose approach had escaped his notice. Her eyes were on him and soon she spoke. While he remained unfazed her armor, the pairing of it with her words did not go unnoticed. He had reached a point of bitterness where fear eluded him, however, and all he could offer in response was grim acceptance. "It's not?" Aku glanced around and took stock of the idyllic scene. "Does the field eat them?" His eyes fell on the flowers at his feet. He motioned to one casually. "Or the flowers, maybe? Thieving away freedoms and the like...as flowers do."

He was being flippant, yes, but he couldn't bring himself to give the situation the care it deserved. Whether or not she was trying to warn him about actual dangers or hinting that she was the danger didn't matter to him. He just wanted to... Well, actually, he didn't know what he wanted, truthfully. To be rude to a stranger? To goad a fight? To be left alone? To..what exactly? He didn't know. All he really knew was that he had nowhere to go and no reason to play along.