Walk | Talk | Think

She had avoided it for as long as she could, but eventually she had been coaxed out of her den by hunger. Thankfully it was after Maximous was long gone, but not before some little scavenger had tried to steal the meal he had brought right from her doorstep. The scrawny little cat had put up a fight and had refused to leave, instead hanging around the den in the hopes of picking up scraps of meals - or as Callisto was quickly beginning to think, just to bug the hell out of her.

Even now it trailed at a safe distance behind the grey-legged girl, the cat's tiny paws light and her air that of mild interest as her golden eyes regarded her surroundings. Callisto glanced over one shoulder at the irritating feline, still tempted to try turning on her again but she knew better from last time that the cat was going nowhere. She might have been a teeny thing, barely keeping her weight, but she was quick as lightning. Catching her was going to be a challenge.

"I would have thought someone like you would prefer staying away from packs. We've no problem eating your kind, you know," Callisto called out to the black cat, once again returning her attention forward as she tried to set her silvery blue gaze upon the Ebony border that she approached. From behind her, she heard the feline's disinterested answer, "Your kind hasn't caught me yet." Callisto felt her expression darken at the thought. Yet.

Her spindly legs stopped her just outside of the pack lands, and cautiously she peered inward, scenting quickly for any sign that Max might have been on this side of Ebony. His den was on the other side, by Firefly Lake, but there was no telling with him, especially since he had already made one visit to her old den directly to find her.

"Waiting for someone?" The dry question caused a bit of the fur along Callisto's spine to raise as she cast a pointed glance over her shoulder, hoping the cat would take the hint to scram before she completely wore out her welcome. Turning back, she parted her jaws and called out in a quiet howl, summoning Kassander to her. They had not parted on the best of terms during their last meeting, when she had officially made her comeback, and she had no idea how this one would go either. But she did need to tell him, and hoped somehow he might have an answer for the new predicament she found herself in.

Kass' ears pricked at the soft sound of Callisto's voice from the border. He hadn't seen her in quite a while again, with her not even making an appearance at the meeting though the siege had certainly been a distraction from that fact. Pushing himself heavily to his feet he moved to follow the sound to the border. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Calli - just that his still-healing wounds were painful and all his energy had been wrapped up in making sure he and the others who'd returned with him were getting the medical treatment they needed - with Maximous still demoted and Calli absent he'd been the only healer able to do so. Though for that matter Max too had been suspiciously absent. "Hey Calli," he said wearily. "What can I do for you?"

Walk | Talk | Think

She waited just long enough to start getting antsy before Kassander showed up, and as soon as he came close enough for her to notice that he was not quite as whole and healthy as he had been during their last meeting she felt a strange, guilty twist in her gut. Crap. Something had happened, and because she had been too busy hiding away and dealing with her own personal issues Callisto had missed it. That was a mark against her, surely, though she was more sour over not being able to use her knowledge of plants and herbs. Here had been a good moment to return to that role, and instead she had been holed away inside of her old den cursing her luck and swearing off men for the rest of her days. Her horrible luck just never seemed to fade.

Frowning, the black and grey wolf lowered her gaze and followed suit with her head, trying for something respectful and subordinate just to keep peace with Ebony's leader. But when he spoke - Calli, when was the last time someone had called her Calli? - there was no aggression, not even a hint of it. If anything he just sounded...tired.

Deciding not to waste his time, Callisto glanced once directly at him, released a heavy sigh, and charged right in. "I haven't been around - which you know," she clarified, because he had to know or else he was extremely more dense than she had taken him for, "but I needed to explain." She gave herself no time to think about what she said, no time to second guess her decision to trust Kassander with the information, but spoke quickly before she could close off again. "Max said he loved me, and I ran. I've been hiding in the Stone Steppe, trying to stay away from him, but it's no use, and it's stupid. I don't want to hide. I don't want to feel like a captive again. I need things to do, a job to focus on, but I don't want to be around him." Just thinking about it all made her want to run again. Feeling more lost for being so close to the sanctuary she had yearned for and yet so far from that memory, Callisto shook her head and sighed in agitation, "I don't know what I should do."

As she stopped speaking, Kassander found himself at a loss. He was only two years old, he'd never... loved anyone. What experience did he have to draw from to give her advise about it? Cautiously he ventured into the shadowed and unfamiliar territory. "You are a full healer, Calli. You are Ebony's only healer. Regardless of Maximous, and whatever does or doesn't happen between him and you, that is yours and you don't have to let anything chase you away from it. Ebony is your pack as much as anyone's. There's no reason for you to run away from that just because of one person." As for Maximous, and this love thing... "Do you... love him?"

Walk | Talk | Think

After she had unloaded her issue on Ebony's young king, Callisto felt kind of bad for him. Surely dealing with these sorts of things were not what one expected when they took on the role of leader in a pack, and she certainly would not have imagined that she would be the one involved in such a case. Everyone seemed to be outside of their comfort zone now, treading into unfamiliar territory, and the uncertain healer almost wished that she had kept her mouth shut and continued ignoring her problems instead of bringing them to light like this. What was she really expecting for it anyway?

Her brow had settled into a deep frown and she tried not to fidget noticeably in her indecisiveness as Kassander attempted to answer her issue. He had his points, she recognized that, and she was rather glad that he had decided to say what he did. She was their only healer - officially - and Ebony was still her home. She had as much right to be there as Maximous did. She only wished she had more right to keep him away so she was not reminded of how he felt and what he possibly expected from her.

A quiet breath was released through her nose as she felt herself settle a bit more with this revelation, becoming more ready to step back up in her role within the pack and to actually start doing things around the territory again. Only the unanticipated question of her own feelings caused her to react strongly. Her frown deepened and her nose seemed to wrinkle all at once, accompanied by a quick and irritated, "No." She was not even sure if she could love. "He was fine as a teacher before, but now it's just weird."

She could easily have gone on, ranting further about how absurd the whole situation was, but from the corner of her eye she spotted the little black feline beginning to walk casually over and, unsure what the cat might want to contribute, she added hastily, "I want to rebuild my plant stores first before I do anything else. But I'm guessing you'd probably want a lesson done for the pack at some point?" There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in her voice as socializing was not her strongest or most favored aspect of pack life, but Callisto was certain as the pack's only healer the role was going to fall on her shoulders eventually. The sooner she came to terms with it, the better she could prepare herself for that moment.