Thalia was lost.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was adrift on the sea, carried helplessly by the waves. She had nothing at all left to guide her. She'd always considered her parents, her father in particular, the driving force behind her life - and now he was gone, and she couldn't even lean on her siblings for guidance. As much as she wished she had someone older and wiser, someone who knew more about their God and his wishes, that she could lean on for support... well, she didn't know where to begin, or who had even remained in the Empire. They'd been drifting, no longer a cohesive group, and and that fact alone had exacerbated her anxiety considerably.

Not to mention Theory, who she couldn't seem to stop thinking about no matter how hard she tried. Theory, the woman who now ruled a pack called Abaven. She was worlds away, someone Thalia should've considered an enemy at best, and yet... their last meeting had left a frustratingly permanent impression on her. Thalia was acutely aware of just what she should be thinking; that the lands theory claimed for her own pack were meant to belong to the Abraxas, that they were mere mortals who ought to be converted - or more forcefully destroyed. Her faith had been ingrained in her since birth, and despite the Empire's shift in belief it was hard to shake those thoughts from her mind. The Abraxas were superior, and everything that they wanted should - and would, eventually - belong to them.

A sigh fell from the woman's lips as she paused to examine one of the runestones. The shape engraved on the surface of the stone indecipherable, but she stopped and studied it for awhile anyway. Always searching for meaning, or some kind of sign - why wasn't finding the word of God much easier than this? A faint snarl was visible on her features, her lips curled slightly into a scowl, though the expression softened not long after it arrived. She was tired of sitting around and waiting - she needed action.

Like Thalia, Ina was frustrated with things for far too long. Though unlike Thalia, she hadn't gone and had similar interactions like her cousin. The babe ghosted along the territory, patrolling the border and doing the usual. Her world felt...empty. Though she had the teachings of the Fallen God and the like, she didn't know what to do with that information. The Abraxas clan had dwindled significantly, and she feared they would soon go extinct. Their work wasn't finished, however, and she firmly believed they had much to do still. Sighing with frustration, she headed through the runestones on her route, diverting away from the border to go rest in her den. Along the way, however, she spotted Thalia staring at one of the stones. Quietly, Ina watched her from a short distance before approaching. "Looking for answers?" She questioned in a soft voice. The runes were certainly something she often looked at a lot, hoping one day she'd be able to figure out their meanings and see if their God's message was there.

Saying they had much left to do felt like an understatement, but Thalia wasn't quite sure how they could achieve the greatness that had always been promised to her, that had been instilled deep within her. Having no clear sense of direction was gnawing away at the young woman's insides... and without her father around to guide her, without the company of her siblings, she felt even more directionless. It was hard to imagine that nobody else within the Empire felt the same as here, even if it was only a fraction of the way she felt.

Even if they didn't... she was glad for their company. The sound of pawsteps alerted her to the arrival of someone, and slowly she turned to watch as Proserpina approached. Her expression was furrowed and serious, at least at first, though it softened as she spoke. She worried she might be seen as foolish for trying to find answers here, but she almost thought she heard a hint of empathy in the older wolf's voice. "I'm always looking for answers," Thalia admitted, shrugging her shoulders slightly. Admitting it didn't feel foolish, as she feared it might - it almost felt like a relief. "But finding any seems hard these days." Even in these stones, with patterns carved so intricately that she had trouble thinking they were just done for the sake of confounding whoever found them.