Mercury nodded his head, his eyes distracted as he thought over what Anthea had said. He wasn’t certain if her lack of memories were from a blow to the head - those were known for disorienting short term memories - or if her mind was protecting her from some trauma. He was almost afraid of the answer, but would nudge her gently every now and then. Feeling out how she was feeling about the memories. “I’m here if you ever want to talk about anything you remember.”

“As you wish” He agreed, holding open the kitchen door for her as they left that space and made their way to the castle’s exit. By now, Solar had made his way from the roost to the door, and was waiting for them. He paused upon exiting, giving time for the bird to land on his shoulders. After leaving the Hallows territory, and moving in a southerly direction, they drifted past an overgrown garden, and followed the sound of running water.


"Mercury"

Anthea gave Mercury an appreciative smile when he told her that he was always there to talk about anything she remembered. "I know and I appreciate it. Thank you." If she was going to be thrown out to sea to nearly drown and washed ashore on some unknown land at least she had ended up with someone like Mercury to help her. If he hadn't managed to find her then things could have ended up far worse and she would forever be looking for ways to thank him for everything he had done. She walked down the corridors of the castle that were slowly growing more and more familiar with her friend and soon enough they were out in the open past the castle's main doors.

She glanced up and paused beside Mercury as he waited for Solar to join them, giving the dark bird a grin before she focused on the path ahead of them. They walked out past the castle walls, following the edge of a large garden until they began to near a line of cedar trees and the sound of flowing water reached her ears. Her blue and green eyes brightened a bit at the sight of the forest and she smiled as she breathed in the scent of the cedar trees, her tail wagging gently behind her. There was a bit of melancholic nostalgia as they stepped into the shade of them and she looked around at the forest that they wandered through slowly. "The forest I grew up in looked a lot like this," she said with a bit of a sigh. "Lots of cedar and pine trees for as far as you could travel in a day and then some."

"Anthea Dásos"

He found his eyes drifting to Anthea as she took in the sights. Her eyes were on the trees and he could see the way she took in the scent of it. Letting it spark a memory. It wasn’t long before she spoke of home, and how the place she had come from had been much like this. “You enjoy the smell of it” He said, it was more of an observation than a question.

He glanced about himself, and it wasn’t hard to spot the pine cones that littered the forest floor. He grabbed a couple and leaned closer towards her, close enough to open the bag she wore and stash the pine cones inside. Giving her a wink as he did so, before stepping back. He would turn those cones into something for her, a memory of home. “I think we are almost at the falls” He said, nodding his head towards the sound that had been growing steadily louder as they walked.


"Mercury"

She nodded in response to his comment about her enjoying the smell of the cedar trees without turning her gaze away from the view, her wistful smile widening a bit. "Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the castle and the comforts it offers, but there will always be something I prefer about being out in the trees." The nice thing she was noticing about Auster so far was the variety of different landscapes and terrains that were all so close together. Even though she hadn't been far into the continent yet, she had already seen the beach, the castle, the plains that surrounded it, the near by grove of trees that were littered with berry bushes, and now the cedar tree forest with the river flowing through it. That was far more diversity in a fairly compact area than she was used to.

She didn't notice him picking up the pine cones or moving closer to her till she felt the bag she was wearing shift and she blinked with surprise, her head turning to see what he was up to. Anthea raised a curious brow at him, peeking at the pine cones he had stashed away. He didn't give her an immediate explanation and instead simply winked in response so she didn't question him, instead just replying silently with a grin. Turning her gaze back toward the land around them at the mention of the falls they were drawing close to, she nodded again and kept going, keeping her gaze peeled for the falls that were only getting louder the further they went.

"Anthea Dásos"

“A good lake gives me the same feeling” He commented, sharing as she had. “The sound of frogs, and the scent of mildew and reeds.” his pack had looked out across a lake. Sandwiched between that, and the sea, it was no wonder he had learned to be a good swimmer.

The roaring of the falls led them in the right direction, and soon they found the running water. The warm spring air left a scent across the water, and as he watched, a salmon darted across the falls, flipping in the air as it went. “Hmm. Perhaps we should spring clear, I bet there are bears around” He mused, glancing about them for any sign of the predators, and drawing a little closer to Anthea. Not because he himself was afraid, but so he could protect her more easily if they came across anything threatening.


"Mercury"

Anthea glanced toward Mercury with interest as he spoke of his fondness for lakes and the various sounds and smells that were common with them, a smile tugging at her lips. She didn't know if there were any lakes to visit around here or not, but she made a mental note to ask around a bit and see if she could find one. She was still getting to know Mercury beyond just the simple fact that he had rescued her and that he was exceptionally handsome so any little nuggets about his life that she could pick out she was being sure to remember—like his love of lakes and wind chimes. They both had a long lost home to think fondly of it seemed so at least they had that in common.

Eventually as they made their way over the rolling hills, they came upon the river and the falls that they had been tracking, the run of clear blue breaking up the dense foliage and greenery. It was a beautiful sight that she could already tell was going to be a frequent spot for her to visit. Her ears perked a bit when Mercury mentioned steering clear of the recently found river, mentioning the possibility of bears. She hadn't noticed the salmon that were jumping over the lapping falls at first, but once he brought attention to it she certainly did. "You're probably right about that," she said with a hint of disappointment. Growing up in the forests like she had she definitely knew that bears were not exactly something she wanted to mess around with—if they could be avoided at least.

She glanced toward him as she noticed him shifting closer, peeking up at him as she watched him scanning the trees around them. A little grin pulled at her lips and she chuckled, her tone teasing as she said, "Rescuer and protector now, hm? I can't tell if you're actually a natural hero or if you're just making sure your hard work doesn't go to waste." She gave him a playful grin and a little wink before she turned her own gaze back out toward the landscape, enjoying the view for a few moments longer before she went to turn and start moving through the trees again to put a bit of distance between them and the salmon-laden river again.

"Anthea Dásos"

He heard the disappointment in her voice as she agreed, and he cast her another considering look. It was a lovely spot, and she had packed them a picnic. If she had thoughts of enjoying the spoils by the water he had dashed it with his words. Perhaps if he had Solor and Talis scout the area, they could risk it. Anthea wasn't a fighter - not that he had gathered, anyway - so any bear encounters would be down to him to defend them.

He was lost enough in his planning that her words caught him by surprise. He glanced back at her with a raised brow. "This trip was my idea, the least I can do is ensure you return in the same state you left in" he said, a hint of a smile on his own lips. It wasn't the whole truth, but he didn't want to tell her that he felt a certain level of responsibility for her now. He had dragged her out of the ocean, and learned some of the turmoil that had left her there. He could relate to losing your home, and finding yourself alone in a new world. She started to move away from the lake, and he matched her stride. "I don't see any bears yet, we could risk it… if you want a side of salmon with your lunch?" He suggested, glancing at her from thr corner of his eye to gouge her reaction

Anthea smirked as Mercury insisted that since the trip was his idea then he ought to return her in the same state she had left in and she wondered if that was really it or if there was something more to it. Regardless, she didn't press the matter and began to walk away from the river regardless so they could continue on to their next destination. She was sure there was plenty more to see in the wide expanse of Auster that they could venture through. Before she got very far though, Mercury fell into step beside her and caught her attention as he brought up how he didn't yet see any bears. The comment made her glance up at him with a quizzical look, wondering for a beat where he was going with that statement, until he went on to suggest that they risk it for some salmon to go with their lunch.

Her expression shifted with her obvious surprise, but a grin pulled across her lips and she teasingly nudged his upper foreleg with her shoulder as she chuckled. "I knew there was some fun somewhere in there," she commented with amusement, her tail wagging gently behind her as she slowed her steps, glancing back at the river and considering for a moment. Even though she knew it hadn't actually been all that long since she had last been fishing, with the gap in her memory it felt like a life time ago. It felt like something that should be familiar to her though and she was eager for that kind of familiarity. "Lets do it," she said with certainty as she glanced back at him again for a moment with another grin, turning back toward the water and beginning to look for a spot that would be good for their fishing.

"Anthea Dásos"

He was watching Anthea, so he saw the surprise move across her face. Followed closely by a grin, and he found himself mirroring it without consciously intending to. He glanced at the paw she used to nudge him, and shook his head. “You can’t go through life without play” He said in agreement. He put a lot of effort into giving the Hallows his best paw forward, but that didn’t mean he was too serious not to enjoy himself every once in a while. He didn’t want Anthea to get hurt, and they would take precautions. There was definitely residual fear from all he had lost in life, but he wasn’t so foolish as to believe he should stifle those around him.

As Anthea turned and headed towards the river, he flicked a paw, sending his foxes into the surrounding area. They would scout, and Solor would keep an eye above. He trotted after Anthea, looking at the river also. The jumping salmon would propose a challenge for their sheer size. “Anthea,” He started to say, and then paused. His thoughts were not fully transferred into something he could say. “Did you have someone? In the forest you were born to?”


"Mercury"

Anthea moved to the edge of the river, following the edge of it for a bit till she found a spot that wasn't too over grown with shrubbery that they wouldn't be able to get to the water, but wasn't so rocky that it would be slippery and they wouldn't have a good footing. River fishing wasn't something that had been her first task of choice back home, but it was definitely a fun challenge on occasion. This felt like a good opportunity to flex those skills and start falling back into some of the old routines that she did still remember. It felt like the older the memories were the stronger they were and the more easy they were to recall. It was the more recent memories from the wildfire onward that were more fuzzy and unreachable. She began to watch the flow of the river and looking out for any salmon that might jump within reach, wading out into the water just enough to give her some more range.

When Mercery said her name to get her attention, she glanced back over her shoulder with a curious look and a raised brow. His question about having someone back home surprised her and she was sure that showed in her expression before she turned back toward the river. "If you mean a significant other then, no. Well... Not... exactly," she replied with a bit of hesitation. She sighed softly, continuing to watch the river move as she spoke. "The clan I grew up with was pretty isolated. There was just a handful of families that all lived together in the forest where I grew up. Occasionally random loners would join us as they passed through or that some of us met in our trips out for supplies and what not. Because of that it was sometimes hard to find mates since we were all more or less cousins of one another after a certain point. That made arranged marriages with other clans or packs around the continent pretty common." She shrugged with a flick of her ears. "I told my parents I didn't want that, but my father set up one anyway. I was actually supposed to go meet the man they set me up with at the start of spring, but... the wild fire obviously changed some things."

"Anthea Dásos"

Mercury seated himself by the flowing river. Keeping a careful eye on Anthea, who was watching the stream herself. The occasional salmon would leap from the surface, but nothing within his reach yet. It was surprisingly peaceful. He felt an urge to stretch out in the sprinkles of sunlight. Instead, he leaned a little closer to the water. Watching, and waiting, for a chance to snag a salmon for their lunch.

A glance at Anthea showed the surprise his question had brought her. He wasn’t exactly sure why he had asked. But he wanted to know more about Anthea, wanted to understand the slate-blue wolf he had befriended.

She told him of arranged marriages, and one that had been set up for her. She also mentioned her disagreement to it. He wondered if that had brought on some rows with her parents. “What would you have done, if the meeting had gone through?” He asked, curious.


"Mercury"

Anthea watched she salmon leaping by, but she was only half focused on the fish by now. Mercury's questioning about her past had her thoughts drawn back into themselves, contemplating the "what ifs" and the "could have beens". When he questioned her about what she would have done if the meeting had gone through, she chuckled a bit with a small shake of her head. "I... don't know. I haven't thought about that." She paused for a bit, watching a couple more fish fly by over the edge of the water fall, waiting and hoping that a salmon might come within their reach. "I suppose it would have depended on what kind of man he ended up being," she finally added after some thought. "It's hard to think back on it and say one way or another for sure, you know? I know my father was just doing what he thought was best since he wanted to make sure I found someone and didn't feel confined just to our small piece of the continent, but it just seems like there could have been such a better way of handling it."

Anthea shrugged again and lifted her eyes away from the water for a moment, looking up and out through the cedar forest around them. "It's weird how different Auster feels," she mused thoughtfully, a little frown crossing her lips. "I guess back then I just thought a forest was a forest so how different could somewhere else really be?" She chuckled again and glanced toward Mercury with a grin. "I couldn't have been more wrong, I guess. Auster just feels so much different than Illious, but I can't really explain why."

"Anthea Dásos"

Mercury listened companionably as she spoke. He didn’t want to poke at anything too painful to speak of, but Anthea seemed happy to share, and he was happy to listen. He closed his eyes, listening for the fish, instead of looking for them. At least that was what he told himself. Letting her voice wash over him, and think about her world for a time. The one she had been forced to leave behind.

“An answer would have been letting your pack be more open to trade, have a larger variety of people moving through, and more chances to meet people. At least, that was how our family did it.” He explained a little ruefully.

“Places are rich with vibrancy and… wait” he sat up with enough force to leave his vision swimming a little, even as his eyes locked onto hers. “Did you just say… a fire. No…” He stared at her in shock. “You never said how long the fire was, I never even suspected…” His expression was horror. Because he realised now just how likely her entire people were wiped out. A forest fire was one thing, a volcanic eruption another.


"Mercury"

Anthea smiled a little and nodded in agreement as Mercury spoke of trade and being open to outsiders, showing his more worldly knowledge and and how he obviously grew up in a more connected part of the world than she had. In a way it made her a little jealous, but she was just glad to be here with him now, seeing the world outside of the secluded forest she was raised in and learning from him. “If only my father had been as smart as your family,” she replied with a little laugh. As well meaning as her family had been, she knew they never would have really been willing to look past their own customs and ways to find different ways to do things and that’s just how it had been.

Their conversation suddenly seemed to take a turn as Mercury’s description of the world cut off with a realization, his head popping up out of nowhere and catching her off guard. Her brows pulled together with confusion and she stepped back from the edge of the river back onto a more dry patch of land as his eyes locked with hers again. She struggled to understand what he was getting at when he mentioned the fire she had spoken of several times since he found her, worry crossing her face as his expression shifted into horror. “Mercury… What… What are you talking about? Suspected what?” she questioned worriedly, going back through what she had said in her head as she tried to figure out what he was on about.

"Anthea Dásos"

"Illious" he said the word comfortably, with ease. It rolled off his tongue as if he had said it many times in his life. In a single word he infused a longing and sorrow. "I never told you where I came from." He said softly, almost not believing it. She had once lived so close to him. She had never seen the ocean. Her pack was not as open to trade. So close, and yet so far. It seemed strange they would find themselves in the same little castle now.

"Oh, Anthea" he said softly, getting to his pasws and moving a step closer to her. "The volcano… it wiped out everything. There's nothing left of Illious." He said tightly, watching her cautiously. Uncertain how much she had already guessed was lost from the fire. How this news would affect her now. He wanted to be glad, grateful to see someone from his own country, but instead he felt an ache in his chest for her. "I'm sorry" he whispered.

Anthea’s confusion only grew as Mercury repeated back the name of the continent she was raised on as if it was the most familiar name to him and not the name of some far flung place. He said it as if it was some place he missed and not somewhere that he had only just heard of now for the first time. Even when he mentioned how he had never told her where he came from, she still couldn’t put the pieces together herself. It was such an impossibility and such a slim chance that it never once crossed her mind that it was even possible that he was also from Illious.

She looked at him with befuddled disbelief as he stepped closer and told her about the volcano and how it had wiped out everything and how nothing was left of her homeland. At first her disbelief and confusion simply made her shake her head with a quiet scoff, replying, ”What? That’s ridiculous. How would you even know that? It’s not like you’re from…” That’s when it finally clicked, the sincerity and seriousness in his expression breaking through her disbelief and making her see the truth.

She was quiet and stunned for a moment, caught somewhere between the reality of what she was hearing, the sudden grief of knowing there truly was nothing to go home to now, and the unexpected joy of finding herself with someone from Illious despite the incredibly slim odds. Anthea fell back on her haunches, her hind legs giving out with the shock of it all, her eyes wide and ears falling back as fuzzy, broken memories started to stitch themselves back together again. “That… The earthquake wasn’t an earthquake. The smoke… It was the volcano, wasn’t it? That’s where the fire started. It wasn’t a wild fire it was… Oh gods…”

"Anthea Dásos"

He watched her intently, and saw the moment she understood. The moment she aligned the horror that had taken his home, to the one that had destroyed hers. He watched helplessly as it sunk in. "I'm sorry" he said, an ache in his voice as he mourned with her. For the loss of Illious, of his home and her new understanding of what had happened to hers. He reached forward and wrapped a paw around her. Waiting a moment, and when she didn't protest he wrapped his other paw around her too. Pulling her gently against him. Holding her, and running his muzzle through the fur at the back of her neck. She smelled like home. How had he never noticed it before? It all seemed so obvious to him now, and he wondered how he could have been so blind.

"But you survived it, like me. Against all odds. Maybe, surely, it couldn't have just been us. Wren… my previous Alpha, she was from Illious too. A different part." He explained, offering her what hope he could. The hope that she had given him, through he wished it hadn't come at the cost it had. If only hers had just been a forest fire…

His apology was met with a small shake of her head. There was nothing for him to apologize for. Just because he was the bearer of this bad news didn't mean that he was the cause or reason for it. Something like a volcano exploding was so beyond any of their control and even though she hated the feeling of helplessness that thought brought she would never allow him to feel a guilt for having to tell her the truth. It felt like a finality that she hadn't quite been ready for. She remembered the fire and remembered how high and hot it had burned. She had already known that the destruction that would have caused would have been deviating to her home. Still, there had been a small hope in the back of her mind that the wolves she had known might have been able to make it to other parts of Illious and rebuild their lives, that at least some of them hadn't tried to flee to the water like she and some others had. Now she knew that hope was almost certainly impossible and that everything she had known—that they had known—was gone.

As he moved closer and reached a paw out to wrap around her, she didn't react at first, still too deep in her shock to move. It wasn't until his other paw found its way around her and he began to pull her into him that she finally gave in, leaning into his embrace and allowing herself to find at least some kind of comfort in his presence and his friendship. She brought a paw up to wrap it around his back as well, hugging him tight while her head leaned into his chest. Even though this was all new information for her and she was just now starting to absorb this terrible truth, she knew that they were both grieving. Maybe he had longer to live with this truth than she did, but she had no doubt that the wounds were still there and she hoped that maybe she could give him some of the same comfort. Now that she knew that they had come from a similar place, the odd familiarity in his scent made sense and it made her hold on to him all the tighter. Her last piece of home.

When he spoke of how they had survived and the hope that even more had managed to make it off of Illious like they had, she nodded against his chest quietly. It was hard to keep a hope like that alive in the grim reality she was slowly coming to terms with, but the evidence was there. If two of them had made it then there was certainly a chance at the very least that others had too and that was something she could hope for. When he brought up another survivor, someone named Wren, she blinked with surprise and leaned back a bit so that she could find his gaze again. "Really?" she questioned as she looked up at him with bewilderment. "But... Why is she your former alpha? Did you not want to stay with her?"

"Anthea Dásos"

Distress swamped him at her question. He had breezed past it, mentioning his old friends name without thinking too heavily about it. Already a little unsteady by the fresh wave of mourning he felt for their shared home, he wasn't quite as prepared to deal with it. His second failure. There was nothing he could have done for Illious, and he was helpless to stop whatever had happens to Wren. He tightened his grip on Anthea, feeling a little frantic. It wasn't healthy to associate her with everything he had left with his lost home, but it was hard not to.

"She… something happened to her. I tried to uncover what.." he stopped, and took a steadying breath. Knowing he was going about his answer all side ways. "We found her blood. I tracked her for days… in the end, it was Art who pulled me off the hunt. Convinced me to come here." He explained. Art had saved him from the worst of the despair. She had been more then just his friend. He released his hold on Anthea, leaning back a little. "Well. We didn't get any fish, but we do have everything else for a picnic." He commented, his effort to change the topic not terribly subtle.

Anthea noticed the sudden shift in his demeanor when she questioned him about this other Illious wolf he mentioned and a slight frown tugged at her lips, her brows pulling together a bit as he began to answer her seemingly with reluctance and a heavy dose of anxiety. When his embrace tightened around her she began to rub gently along his back, giving him whatever time he needed to find the words. Eventually he did, telling her about the blood he had found and how Artorias had been the one to convince him to give up the search and instead come here to live in The Hallows. The understanding and realization of what he was saying settled in on her as well and she looked up at him with continued grief and sympathy, a heavy weight on her chest for the mysterious loss of this wolf she hadn't met. Even though she had never met Wren, the knew knowledge she now held about the fate of Illious made any of the wolves from their homeland feel precious and she grieved with him despite not knowing her personally. Secretly she wondered if Wren had only been an alpha or if she had been a friend or perhaps more, but she could tell how much talking about her hurt him so she didn't question him any more.

She didn't particularly want to let go of him yet, but when his hold around her began to loosen she followed his lead, letting go with a sigh and giving her head a shake as she tried to clear it. It was all so much to process all at once and she wasn't sure where to go from here. Mercury seemed eager to change the subject though as he mentioned their lack of fish and the other supplies they had brought for a picnic. She wasn't even sure she felt like eating at this exact moment, but she understood that it wasn't really about that. They needed an escape from the heaviness of it all and she couldn't fault him for that. "Sure," she agreed, managing a small smile. Anthea got to her paws and after a quick scan of the landscape, she spotted a patch of grass between a pair of large trees and she moved over to the small clearing to settle in on the soft grass with a sigh. Once they were both laying down and beginning to unpack the food and supplies they had brought, she glanced up at him to say, "You don't need to right now or ever if you really don't want to, but... if you ever want to talk about her or home or... any of it, I'm here for you." She gave him another soft smile, adding, "You've done the same for me so it's the least I can do."

"Anthea Dásos"