Zuriel's head tipped back in awe as her two-toned gaze traveled up the tall tree trunk to the broad, spiky leaves at the top. She had seen these kind of trees in the distance at times across stretches of desert, but she had never been far enough from Celestial to see them up close. She let her gaze drift back down to the rest of the area, taking all of these trees in. The ground was muddy in places and it was obvious that if the summer hadn't been so hot and drying it would be quite wet here normally. It made her wonder just how massive this continent was and how much she had missed seeing up until now. Even still, she couldn't get her mind away from Celestial. How was it that she was free to roam and do whatever she wanted and still all she could think about was her family and wondering how they were doing? When she was living there all she could do was think about the outside world and now all she could think of was home. Where was the right balance? She wasn't sure she knew how to balance that. She sighed and padded further into the wash, still taking in the sights around her. "Talk" "You" Think

She had to admit she wasn't overly fond of the desert. Out of all the places she'd traveled the desert often had the least amount of things to look at. Cacti were no longer amusing and you could only tolerate so much sand before it got annoying. More times than not she had a hard time picking it all out of her fur and she could only be grateful that she didn't have longer fur. Getting all of it out would be an absolute nightmare. This terrain seemed to be better out of the ones she'd previously seen. Strange spiky trees grew up from the ground and seemed to be just as sturdy as the cacti that dotted the landscape. Everything seemed to be suffering from the drought though and all that was left in its wake was a whole lot of mud that was slowly caking and drying up too. If they didn't get rain soon this place would be nothing but dry arid terrain. The thought made her frown. How long until things got really bad back at home? They already needed rain and even the lake was suffering. Her worries about the lake ceased as a familiar scent crossed her path. She sniffed it eagerly and her tail waved automatically. It was Zuriel! It'd been a little while since her sibling had left Celestial to go her own way for a bit. She was a bit surprised to see that she was still so close to home, but regardless she was happy for the chance to see her. They really hadn't gotten to talk much since she'd come home. So she took off after her. It didn't seem like she was moving very fast so Faite caught up to her in no time. The familiar gray form of Zuriel was a pleasant sight and Faite grinned before she barked softly to get her sibling's attention. "Hey Zuriel!" She called out. Walk, "Talk" Think

Zuriel paused for a moment by one of the unusual trees, examining its bark and wondering to herself if these trees held any kind of healing properties, but her train of thought was disrupted when she heard paws running up behind her and a bark. Her ears perked and she quickly turned around toward the noise, her two-toned gaze landing on her littermate. Her spirits picked up immediately and she gave Faite a big grin, her tail wagging happily behind her. "Hey, Faite!" she called back to her sibling as she padded forward to meet her halfway. It felt like Faite had been reading her mind. She thought about her family and suddenly one of them appeared. She certainly wasn't going to complain, any kind of friendly face was welcome at the moment. "What are you doing out here?" she asked curiously once they were closer together. She reached out to press her nose to her sister's cheek as well as long as Faite didn't mind the little extra bit of affection. She knew she and Faite really hadn't had that much of a chance to socialize recently, or really even since she returned to the family, but Zuriel still loved all of her siblings just the same. Perhaps that was the main reason why she was regretting her decision to leave the pack for a while. She knew in the long run it would be the best choice, it was just the initial leaving that was hard. "Talk" "You" Think

Well it seemed like she'd done a pretty good job at getting Zuriel's attention. To be honest Faite almost regretted calling out. It'd seemed like Zuriel had been pretty enthralled with one of the trees here and she hadn't meant to interrupt. A part of her wondered if there was anything interesting about them at all that could be used, but other than that she had no interest in them. Did Zuriel think that they could be useful? It was hard to tell. Everything out here seemed so bland and miserable for the most part. Of course the first question that came from her sibling was "What are you doing out here" which just brought a wide grin from the russet girl. She leaned in and returned Zuriel's loving affection with a nuzzle of her own before pulling away to observe her for a second before answering her question. Seeing that her sister still seemed alive, healthy, and otherwise unharmed she felt better. "Just the same as usual. Exploring mostly and meeting new wolves. The better question is, what are you doing out here? I would have thought you'd be farther away from home by now." Walk, "Talk" Think

Faite's explanation was totally normal and expected on the surface, but at the same time it surprised her and made her wonder what had been so wrong with herself while she was living in the pack. Faite was second in command in Celestial now and yet here she was, exploring and meeting wolves. Zuriel didn't feel like she could even step out of the pack's border as a normal, every day healer. Of course, Faite had been away from the family there for a bit as well. Maybe that made her feel a bit more free to do what she wanted. Zuriel had been with their parents her whole life. Even when Regulus and their mother had gone missing she had stayed at her father's side and kept him from killing himself. She didn't voice any of these thoughts, but it didn't help her worry over her own self-doubt. Of course Faite would return the question and Zuriel almost wished she hadn't. She chuckled a little and gave Faite and uncertain shrug. "I've never even been this far from home before except for maybe one time. I guess I'm just making slow progress." She chuckled a little to try and play it off as a joking comment, but it fell kind of flat. Trying to move past it quickly, she asked, "How's everybody doing back home? Baine? The kids?" She didn't ask about their parents, mostly because she was afraid to. She knew they were what was keeping her tied to this general area, but she couldn't bear to hear news about them if it was bad. "Talk" "You" Think

There seemed to be an uncomfortable awkwardness that hadn't been there before. It was like someone had started sucking the air out of the room and was making it just a bit harder to breathe. Maybe it was because she'd made the comment about how she'd expected Zuriel to be a bit farther from home. She wasn't sure, but whatever it was it made the normally very laid back wolf a little tense. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes anymore as she stared at her sister. Since when did she get nervous? Zuriel's answer didn't really help the feeling, but Faite was doing her best to mask it with a smile. She nodded softly as she explained she'd never been this far from home before. Perhaps that had been where her error was. Faite felt like she could go anywhere she wanted, she'd gone to search for mother and Regulus after all, while Zuriel had stayed behind. In fact she couldn't ever really remember Zuriel leaving the territory for extended periods of time. Whatever the case, it explained why she was having issues being far from it now. "Kieryn seems to be feeling better and I'm training Laisren so that's going really well. He's definitely going to make a good warrior some day. He's a very good student. Others seem a little quiet, but overall everyone is fine." She was thankful for the subject change, but it didn't help her tension any. She'd purposefully avoided saying anything about their parents. It seemed their status hadn't changed at all, but there was no point in bringing it up unless something different happened. She sadly couldn't foresee them getting better at their age, so worse was probably the next step, but she was optimistic. Well... she was trying to be at least. Walk, "Talk" Think

Zuriel was grateful that Faite understood her unspoken need to not talk about their parent's decline right now. She enjoyed hearing about their younger siblings instead, smiling a little as she described Laisren as a future warrior. She wished she could be there to help train her siblings in healing, if any of them were even interested in the trade, but she couldn't keep putting everyone before herself. She knew that. That's how she had gotten into this frame of mind to begin with. "I'm glad they're all doing okay," she said with a smile, making herself relax a bit. Who knew when she would see her sister again? She didn't want to waste it by dwelling on her own insecurities and shortcomings. That was no way to live her life, she had to remember that. "Will you keep an eye on Baine for me?" she asked, realizing the request was coming out of the blue after she said it. "I just think she's been having a hard time lately," she explained quickly with a slightly sad smile. Not that they all hadn't had a hard time in recent months, but their albino sister seemed more sensitive to it than most of them. "I mean, I know you'll look out for all of our siblings, but... you know what I mean," she added with a soft chuckle. She wasn't exactly the best when it came to explaining her own feelings or even the feelings of others. If it wasn't a plant with some kind of healing property she didn't know how to handle it. "Talk" "You" Think

Zuriel seemed to visibly relax some as Faite told her of how their youngest siblings were faring. Despite having left it was obvious her gray coated sister was quite worried for their well-being and Faite was happy to assuage some of that. So long as she had anything to do with it, she was certainly going to do her best to make sure everyone was happy, well fed, and taken care of. Granted there wasn't much she could do in their parents case, but Kavdaya was already doing all she could. The conversation jumped to a different subject (sort of) and Faite's ears pricked curiously. Baine? Zuriel admitted their younger sister had seemed to have had a hard time lately and Faite nodded. She honestly hadn't seen much of the girl, but guilt pained her. She'd spent time with Laisren and Regulus, but other than that she'd been preoccupied with other things. She realized she should have sought her out sooner. She knew she was closer to Tornach than any of the others. He was her only litter-mate after all. To the extent it effected her though... well she wasn't sure on that. Resolving to seek her out soon after she returned she nodded a bit more fiercely. "Yeah of course I will. I'll go talk to her here in a bit. Maybe I'll take her on a trip with me. She needs to get out a bit more. Just try not to worry so much, okay?" She said with a smile. She was going to take care of everyone and Zuriel had obviously left for good reason. Agonizing over everyone back home wasn't going to help her on her journey. Walk, "Talk" Think

Zuriel was relieved when Faite assured her that she would check on Baine and mentioned that she might take her on a trip to get her out more. She wished she would have had someone like Faite to make her get out of that corner of the west when she was young like Baine. Although, it was really her own fault in a way for not getting out herself. She had just been so focused on her family for years now. By the time she was actually old enough to travel any kind of distance she was there caring for their father. By the time he was well enough to not need her healing skills she felt like she still couldn't leave him for fear of him relapsing without her there to keep him occupied and teach him about healing. After that fear passed their mother made Celestial and she felt like she would be in trouble for leaving the pack. There was always something, always some excuse for her not to leave. Now her excuses had run out. "I'll try not to, but no promises, she responded with a soft chuckle. She had been in a constant worry for years now. She wasn't sure she knew how to not worry. "I know the family is in good paws with you... and I won't be gone forever. Just for a while." She smiled a little and added, "I'll just go learn all I can and bring it back with me so I can help you all more. I know Kavdaya could probably teach me the same things, but... I just need to do it on my own I think. I need to actually see these herbs that I've been told about all these years with my own eyes. There's stuff and places I've only ever heard about in lessons and stories and I hate that." She looked up at the trees around them with a sigh. "Like these palm trees. I've seen them in the distance for ages and I've never seen one up close... I'm glad you got to go out in the world for a while before the pack was really settled." Her two-toned eyes came back to rest on Faite again. "I hope all of the younger ones get to go out and see the world and don't ever feel as trapped as I did." "Talk" "You" Think

"I'll try not to, but no promises" She found herself nodding in understanding. She had an inkling that Zuriel was going to worry regardless of what she said. She knew nothing she said could ever quite make her just not be anxious over the well being over everyone. Part of it seemed to be the natural healer part of her brain and the other... well it was natural to worry over family. Especially with everything going on at home lately with both of their parents sick. She wandered away from home to try and forget about it while Zuriel... well she had her own ways of coping with everything. She'd gotten lucky, in a weird sort of way, having left home at an early age to go after Regulus and Surreal whereas Zuriel had always been home. For her the wanderlust was a part of her now. She couldn't quite seemed to shake it. What if Zuriel had been the one to go after them and she'd been the one to stay home and take care of everyone? Would their roles be reversed? It was an interesting thought for her. A part of her felt guilty that she hadn't been home more, but she wasn't skilled in healing. She had nothing to offer either of their parents which was frustrating. She could only sit and hope, against all odds, that they'd recover. "I speak from experience, there's nothing quite like going out on your own and learning things yourself. I know Kavdaya could teach you a lot, but experiencing things for yourself has an odd sort of thrill to it. So I can't wait to hear about all of the things you've learned when you get back. You just take the time to focus on yourself and what you need to do. You'll still have everyone waiting for you when you get back." She now smiled encouragingly at her sister before glancing at the trees she'd mentioned. She never would have guessed that she'd never seen one up close. It was hard to imagine considering they lived practically next door to them. "Trust me, I don't think our younger siblings feel trapped. I've smelled Laisren's scent leaving the borders once or twice. I think they'll do just fine." Walk, "Talk" Think

She was honestly relieved to hear that at least one of their younger siblings was getting out of the pack from time to time. Of course she wanted them to stay safe and not get into trouble, but she never wanted any of them to feel so contained to one area that they were afraid to leave. That was her battle to face now. Perhaps it was just the way that she had grown up that made the difference. Their mother had always been so concerned for them that they were never able to leave her sight without telling her where they were going and why. Then with having to watch after her father for the longest time so that their mother could build their pack... It had just been a lot keeping her there. Now, at four years old, she was getting her first real tastes of the world. "Thank you, Faite," she said with a small smile. "I'm glad you're there with them. I think you'll be a good influence on the younger kids. They need someone like you and Regulus to look up to." She got up then, giving her fur a quick shake. "I'll come back soon. I promise." She padded forward so she could wrap her head around Faite's neck for a hug if she let her. "Thank you for giving me this chance," she added softly. If it wasn't for Faite and Regulus being there and making her feel like their family was in good paws she wouldn't have been able to leave and still live with herself. She took a step or two back from her sister and smiled as she tried to shake off all this heavy emotion. "So! Which way should I go first?!" "Talk" "You" Think

Faite felt guilty in a way. Zuriel had had so much thrust upon her shoulders when they were young. Faite felt guilty that she'd always just done her own thing. She'd left to go search for Regulus and Surreal before she'd even turned a year old and then had gotten lost. Even after she'd gotten back she'd still made a point to go out and explore. She always made sure to tell someone where she was going, but now it made her feel like she was irresponsible some way. Old habits were just too hard to break. She couldn't confine herself to the pack territory all the time. "I hope so, I just wish it didn't have to be just us. It's not fair that our parents can't help with that." She couldn't shake the thought out of her head. They'd both been so sickly and the litter had been the worst timing ever. She loved all three of them but it'd obviously taken a toll on Surreal. They deserved to be training with them, learning, trying out new things. Now it was up to the rest of the pack to make sure they learned everything they needed so they could grow into fine young adults. She let the thought fade away as Zuriel got up to hug her. She leaned into her sister's frame and smiled softly. She was glad Zuriel was going to get the chance to enjoy herself and be free for once. If anyone deserved it she did. "You'll definitely have to tell me about all your adventures you have." Even though she was no good at plants she could already picture all the stories Zuriel would tell her of the things she found. Not only were there lots of plants but the sights were gorgeous. There were so many things to explore and do - she hoped that her sister would see a lot of things that Faite hadn't yet had the chance to check out. "I would go to the south! You might find some good plants and the area around there is beautiful. You really should check out Imperium's old lands. There's an orchard, a herd of buffalo, and it borders a big river. I really think you'd enjoy it." Walk, "Talk" Think

Zuriel nodded to Faite's suggestions while she tried to imagine what all of that must look like. It sounded like a fantastic sight so she decided that would be a perfect starting point. Now she just had to find it! She chuckled softly and leaned in to press her nose to her sister's cheek one last time. "Alright, sounds like a plan! I'm off then. I'll come back with lots and lots of stories to gush about with you later." She turned and trotted off before she could reconsider, shooting Faite a grin over her shoulder as she went. She honestly had no idea what to expect, but she knew that this is what she needed. This freedom to get out and see the world without worrying about when she had to get home. No worries about being back before dark or explaining where she had been if she didn't. Her heart would always be tied back to her family, but for now her mind would be out wandering. - exit Zuriel - "Talk" "You" Think

Faite was pleased that her sibling was taking her idea into consideration. She knew everything would probably be dying off soon. It'd been a rough summer and she didn't expect anything to get better when things got colder. Still she imagined there was many things Zuriel could see along the way. Faite was more than happy to listen to the stories she would bring back when she was done with her trip so she nodded. "Have fun and be safe." She called back to her with a grin. She waited a moment as her sister's form grew smaller and smaller before she left and headed back towards Celestial. -exit Faite- Walk, "Talk" Think