Ever since her rather unusual introduction to the man named Inverno, Mara had been sticking around the general area he'd hung out in, more so after her initial reunion with Amos. It had gone so, so wrong. For a while she couldnt face her son, didnt want to, was too ashamed. Hell, even now as she made her way east again in the fading evening light she would repeatedly consider altering her course or going back. But she couldnt do that. She had to try andmake things better. Even if she didn't find a way to fix things, she knew she had to try for her sake and Amos'.

Ever since that failed suicide pact of sorts, Mara had been in a strange place. Now that she'd really opened up the floodgates for the dark thoughts to get at her, the woman would go back and forth from warring with her own guilty mind to seeking escape in any of its various forms. Afterwards, whether she got high or drunk or did some other stupid thing, regret washed over her, sweeping her up violently in its clutches like tidal wave. Even at the beginning of her downward spiral Mara knew she needed to stop. But she couldn't, was too weak-willed to rein it in until she was almost out of control.

She was in control now, though, and that was all that mattered.

Today the wraith would find herself exploring further, chasing that scent again though far more cautiously this time. Being found before she was ready didn't sound too good right now. Right now the most important thing was finding Amos. It was important that she know he was doing okay, even if she didn't keep hold of her courage when an opportunity to talk presented itself.

He'd been exploring Celestial's lands for some time, and now that he was getting quite familiar with the bulk of the landscape there it was time to expand his area of exploration a bit. The more he knew the terrain the better, right? Plus, Amos was determined to figure out the fastest route to the battlefield and that would require more than a few trips. He'd actually intended to head there today, riiight up until he got distracted by the red rock formations nearby. They looked like a place full of interesting scenery and hidden spaces to discover. How could he not take a little break to go check things out? It would be criminal to just walk past.

Wandering through the wind sculpted rocks for a time, Amos would admire the arches and some pillars that stood well above him, reaching skyward as if mimicking trees but with considerably less life. A hare darted across his path, emboldened by it's speed. He ignored the creature and continued wandering for some time, tri-colored eyes drinking in the scenery. It was a lot dryer here than in the plains, and the prey here seemed to be either hiding, or, from the sound of the echoing bleat her heard above him, hanging out well out of reach in high places.

His little walk through the sandy red and tan rocks was peaceful for the most part. For the longest time Amos simply wandered around, poking his head into a couple little caves he found but finding his shoulders were too wide to allow him to actually enter. Maybe he could get Aurielle to come check them out, she had slim shoulders... The sound of pawsteps a ways off pulled him from his thoughts. Climbing up a series of rocks so he'd come to stand on a high ledge, Amos peered out and quickly spotted the dark shape of- oh. Oh no. That was not who he wanted to encounter right now. Possibly ever. If he could just forget he even had parents that would be perfectly okay with him at this point. He couldn't though, and especially not when Mara continued to pop up of her own accord. She wasn't even at the borders so he couldn't take it into his own paws to chase her off. Well, actually... He could if he wanted. Just without hope of backup.

He paced on his high perch for a minute, eyeing his mother who still didn't seem to know he was here, or at the very least didn't know where he was exactly if she had caught his scent. Did he even want to talk to her? Not really, no. There wasshe was the one who got high off her ass and lashed out at him. He hadn't bothered to stay and find out what was wrong with her though... Maybe he should have. No, he definitely should have he was just too... Proud? Stubborn? Something. Whatever it was, Amos had a hard time not wanting to let his mother walk away in the hopes she'd just be gone.

In the end, he would begrudgingly not listen to his instincts, descending from the ledge and approaching the woman slowly. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a tone that sounded a lot harsher than he'd meant for it to.

She'd known that he was here, sure, but Mara hadn't anticipated being approached. She thought she'd messed up badly enough that he'd be too angry to want to come up to her again. When Amos approached, climbing quietly down from some rocks, nails clicking on the stone ground as he came closer.

Not being prepared at all for this conversation, she struggled to come up with the words to speak. "I, well, I just came to check on you I guess," she began uncertainly, trying to read the tense expression on his dark face as she stumbled awkwardly over her words. He seemed to soften slightly, so Mara would quickly swallow her pride and add, "Amos, I'm sorry for what happened. I- I've been in a terrible place since you and your siblings left. Not because you left, but, I just haven't been myself. Or maybe I'm becoming someone else… Hopefully someone better. Either way, I can't express how deeply sorry for what happened when we saw each other last. It shouldn't have happened and there's no excuse for the state you found me in." her throat was tight as she swallowed, glancing around nervously. Suddenly she felt like a child coming clean to her parents about something bad she did.