It had been a week since she was washed up on the shore, sputtering out cold sea water from her nose and mouth with her thick black and dark grey fur plastered to her lean feminine frame. After fading in and out of consciousness for several hours, Nikkal had managed to drag herself up and get her bearings after pacing up and down the shore looking for Achilleus for several more hours before dehydration forced her to travel inland to the large lake several miles from the shore. There, the young Amanta woman cleaned the salt from her pelt, drank her fill and hunted for food then made camp to recuperate and waited for her brother to follow the path she had made from the shore to the small shelter of cattail plants she had beaten down into a sort of nest with longer stems bent over forming a roof.

The sun was nearly gone behind the horizon and Nikkal emerged from her shelter and padded to the lake's edge and lapped at the cold water, quenching her thirst, before her sapphire and emerald eyes scanned her surroundings. Small fireflies danced over the water, the bugs dancing and blinking like distant stars. The bugs seemed to be a constant occurrence here and some might find the view beautiful but Nikkal only glared at the bugs before turning away and walking along the lake's edge looking for fish that strayed a little too close to her. Her long, storm colored legs carried her swiftly and gracefully as she hunted for her dinner and by the time she had returned to her shelter she had two fat fish trapped between her sharp teeth. One was for herself and one was for Achilleus just in case he found her, just as she always did for the past week.

Nikkal lowered herself to her grey belly and laid the large fish over her foreleg and pinned it with a white paw before she tore into the fish's flesh. Normally she would have savored the fatty flavor but without her brother here and her worry for him, it just tasted flat. She scowled at her meal and devoured the rest and tossed the bones back into the water, disturbing the full moon's reflection on the otherwise glass like surface. The ripples caught her attention and her scowl deepened as the water slowly stilled and the full moon reappeared on the water's surface. "That's odd...." she mumbled to herself It was a full moon the first night I arrived here a week ago she thought to herself, her dual colored gaze lifting to the night sky and peered at the still full moon.

Sorine had been keeping to herself for the most part since arriving in this new place, still trying to figure out what this new start meant for her, and which direction she wanted to take her life going forward. It was an opportunity to break away from her family and forge her own path, but with her sisters here, and the looming promise of others on the way, she felt that the challenge of trying to do that would be more than she was prepared to handle. It would be much easier to get swept up in their ways, to return to the fold and the familiarity that came with it. A hell of a lot less confusion and self doubt that way, too.

She had noticed the strangeness of things lately, too, which made her crave the security that family could provide. The moon was too full, too many nights in a row. It was unnatural, and she had been here long enough to know that this wasn’t some alternate reality where the moon just behaved differently. At least, it usually didn't.

She moved towards the lake, her pace quickening as a familiar scent reached her. It could be a mistake, in fact she was almost certain it was, but as the grey toned pelt came into view there was no doubting her earlier assumption anymore. A grin spread across her face as she moved in closer, aiming to brush against her aunt’s side. "Aunt Nikkal, you’re here." She spoke warmly to the woman, looking around briefly. "Is anyone else with you?" She knew her uncle Achilleus was usually not far behind his sister, and she half expected the man to stride over at any moment.

"Speech" || Thoughts

Nikki's observation of the stubborn moon was cut short when she caught a familiar scent in the air and her scowled deepened when it was not the scent she was hoping for. But by the time the owner of the scent was close enough to see her expression, Nikkal morphed her face into one of passive cordiality. The woman turned to see her niece, Sorine, walking up to her and then brushed her shoulder. Nikkal narrowed her blue and green eyes at the physical contact but did not move away. She had never been one to be warm and soft, even around her family. But since Sorine was the only familiar face here, Nikkal didn't protest. She closed her eyes shut when the question she knew was coming filled the air and her heart gave a painful squeeze in her chest but she pushed the pain aside and kept her face neutral.  "It is just me for now. Im hoping Achilleus will make his way here soon." her voice filled the air, not warm but not cold either. Absently Nikkal scanned the tree line were the shore laid just beyond it before returning her gaze to her niece. "It's nice to see you again, how long have you been here?" Nikkal asked, her voice now a bit less distant as she told the truth. She had not seen her family since the flood destroyed the Amanta lands and everyone scattered. She silently hoped that Sorine had found some other Amanta and had a small stronghold somewhere. Not that she would go to it just yet, she needed to scope it out to make sure none of the traitors to the Old Ways were there and poisoning it just like they did to their ancestral home. A brief flash of hatred burned in her dual colored eyes before she masked her face again. "Do you have any idea why the moon hasn't waned yet? I have been here for a week waiting for my brother and the moon and the stars have only become stranger." Nikkal flicked her black and storm muzzle towards the sky and the strangeness currently going on. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Her aunt’s reaction to her arrival was less than warm, but it was to be expected. Nikkal only ever seemed warm with her own siblings, Achilleus in particular, and Sorine couldn’t fault her for that. She brushed the mild rejection off easily, frowning when the woman confirmed she was alone. "I haven’t been here too long. A few months, maybe a full season. Hard to remember. Violette and Cosette are here somewhere, too. Mother was for a while, but she left to go round up the others." Cosette she knew had no interest in joining with the family, but her other sister would be glad that others were here.

She shook her head at the next question, allowing her gaze to lift to the skies. It was something she had been aware of, but hadn’t fully given much thought to until it was pointed out by someone else. "No clue. Honestly, I thought I was imagining it." She paused, wondering if she would sound crazy for bringing it up, but there was more she had noticed. "It might just be me, but it seems like the night stretches on forever lately, too. Have you noticed that?" She wasn’t sure what she hoped for more, that her aunt would confirm she wasn’t losing it, or that it would be dismissed as nothing. The lands unsettled her lately, though, and she was at least glad she wasn’t alone anymore.

"Speech" || Thoughts

Nikkal nodded her monotone face almost absently as her niece explained how long she had been here, it lined up with when the flood destroyed their home. A flash of subtle interest raced across Nikkal's face as Sorine mentioned her sister and her heart felt a little more full with the news. "So Adhira is here. Good. Once I find my brother, we will come join her." Nikkal stated, her blue and green eyes burning with determination. She made no indication of whether or not she was happy to hear that her other nieces were here as well. Nikkal had no idea where their loyalties lay in the months prior to the flood but she sure as hell would sniff it out when Adhira took her rightful place as Queen. This time Nikkal would not tolerate any doubt in the Old Ways and she was sure her sister would feel the same. The older Amanta masked the disappointment and kept her face neutral when her niece told her she had not paid more attention to the strange night sky phenomenon. Though the black and storm woman nodded when Sorine said she thought the nights were stretching longer and longer. "I have. I have a feeling that something is about to happen. The air just.... feels off." she replied, a subtle growl lacing her words as her dark hackles rose between her shoulders and up her neck. Her glaring dual colored eyes took a slow scan of their surroundings, half expecting to find some monster glowering at them, waiting for them to lower their guard. The woman then gracefully shook out her pelt and lowered her hackles and turned her attention back fully on Sorine. "Come, I caught a second fish just before you arrived. Achilleus still hasn't caught up so you can have it." she said. While she was distant and slightly cold to her family, she was not a monster and she would share a meal or help shelter those who were loyal to the Amanta. Nikkal turned to point out the fish and a snarl thundered from her chest as she took a step back. The fish she had caught a moment ago was glowing like the moon itself with small blueish white glowing mushrooms sprouting around it. "It was not glowing when I caught it." she growled, her muzzle wrinkling and showed the bottom part of her fangs. Quickly, she glanced herself over but she was still the same as she was before and her stomach felt fine with no trace of feeling like the beginnings of poison. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think