things don't get better, just different

Caelia had lost her fight in the raid against the pirates. To say that she was disappointed in herself was a vast understatement. Even though they'd still won, it didn't feel like much of a win to her. That disappointment had been slowly eating away at her, until it transformed into something more like resentment. She'd hardly become what her mother had pushed her toward, and she wasn't even a competent enough fighter to beat a literal child in a fight. She didn't like to stew on things for long but it seemed lately that was all she could do.

A sigh fell from her lips as she wandered through the moor, kicking at the vegetation beneath her paws. It was early morning, not early enough that she expected to be alone out here but she wasn't exactly anticipating anyone either. At least spring's arrival was breathing some life back into the lands, though the seemingly ever-present fog still clung tightly to the moor, obscuring most of the land from view.