soft pawsteps carry the babe along, seeking signs of caspian and the kids' presences. petal gaze peers cautiously at the pale creature's surroundings, fog drifting low across the ground and the moon gleaming high overhead. she's glowing in her element, her comfort zone, pale wings standing out against the snow of her fur. her lotus marks her a child of the lupai clan, and the stripes decorating her cheeks mark her as her father's daughter. the wings are all she has of the mother she's never known, but she prefers to think of them as a bond to her littermates - most of which she hasn't seen in years now.

she wonders where they are, how they're doing, if they're okay - if they're happy.

sighing, feeling sort of depressed, she finds her thoughts wandering to ambrosine. is she here? has she missed 'noke? has everyone been worried by the fae-child's absence? she knows people have likely been concerned over the absence of sonni's children, but would they have worried for 'noke too? somehow, she thinks they might have. she's almost positive she's going to get some sort of reprimand from hibashira, if he happens to be here and they run into each other. is daiki here too? how has he been? has he learned to cope with the loss of his eyes? so many people to worry about, so little time.

pain and fear walk side by side in her fluttering heart as she traverses the landscape, praying she'll find some sort of sign that her family hasn't been tossed to the winds. praying she'll find some signal that she's not the last one left, the only lupai still standing. wouldn't that be sad? a pitiful little thing like her, the last of her bloodline - when even sonni had been overcome? for a while, anyways. 'noke knows her sister is alive again, in a wild stroke of luck, or maybe fate. how her sister had come back, she doesn't know, and she doesn't care. having her back is like being able to breathe again, and 'noke is grateful.

now if she can just collect everyone together again, perhaps she won't feel so dizzy anymore.

Ghosts weren't meant to be real, weren't meant to just wander along beaches at night time, scaring the huge assortment of lions camped out along the long stretch.
Amra hadn't been able to sleep. Even though she'd found part of her fractured family, and once again felt at ease knowing she wasn't alone, she felt herself wandering the beach. Charcoal paws left soft imprints behind in the white sand as she walked, covering her toes to turn them a strange shade of grey. Tail flickered at her heels when she came to a stop, looking over toward the wraith.
Surely ghosts weren't real...
Amra started after a moment, knowing that she had in fact met two ghosts, therefore they were real indeed. Maybe this one was lost, was looking for something from their past life and couldn't rest until it was found.
That would be awfully sad.
With a careful gait, Amra slipped closer, past various groups of lions snoozing, until she was near enough to speak quietly, albeit comfortably, with the girl who, upon further inspection, was just as real and solid as Amra.
"Hi there," Amra offered with a grin to start with, matching her own stride to the girl's, provided the other individual didn't halt upon being approached.

a younger female approaches the tow-headed ghostling, and those soft paws stutter-step for a moment before it's clear the girl means no harm. hello, comes the gentle response, voice clear and sweet. i'm mononoke, she introduces herself politely, continuing on her journey with an occasional snuffle as she tries to ferret out the scents of her nephews and not-niece. you wouldn't have happened across any red, striped, highly aloof individuals around here, would you? i got separated from my nephews, and that one is the most easily spotted of them. she's describing death, of course, because he's the one most people would notice - whether they wanted to or not, given he happens to be even more obnoxious-looking than his mother.

@Amra

Amra kept her posture as unthreatening as possible. Though she was honestly sure that she was one of the least threatening individuals out there. She wasn't extra large, she didn't stomp around like she had a stick up her butt, and her always-there smile were pretty good indicators that she was friendly. So when the ghostly girl faltered a step, Amra's ears briefly flickered back, thinking she'd intruded. But only moments later the girl replied, bringing Amra's ears back forward and the smile wider. "I'm Amra," she offered in response to Mononoke's name.
Now that that was out of the way, Amra listened with rapt interest as the girl asked whether she'd seen anyone matching the description she gave. Amra was silent for a moment, meandering quietly, thinking hard over everyone she had both met, and those she had allowed her eyes to rove over on the beach. But nothing immediately spring to mind. Ears folded to the sides of her head in upset as she realised she couldn't help this girl. "I'm sorry, I haven't." Amra grimaced, but offered forth a brave smile all the same. "But I'm sure they'll turn up! There's pretty huge tracks to follow from everyone coming here, and it's a pretty small beach when you consider the size of the world. You'll find them!" Cheery disposition and positive outlook on life was what kept Amra going. She didn't allow herself to stop and think too long or hard about the 'what if' or the 'shoulda, coulda, woulda', because that lead you down a deep rabbit hole.
"What brought you here?" Amra tilted her head in curiosity, turning to look at the wraith beside her so as to better engage in conversation.

DON'T BE THAT WAY, FALL APART TWICE A DAY
I JUST WISH YOU COULD FEEL WHAT YOU SAY
SHOW NEVER TELL, BUT I KNOW YOU TOO WELL
GOT A MOOD THAT YOU WISH YOU COULD SELL

I certainly hope so, she murmurs, her voice soft and concerned. caspian will keep them safe - that's what she clings to in their marked absence. @Amra asks what's brought the albino babe to these strange new lands, and she sighs softly. we returned to my homeland, looking to reunite with the rest of our family, but found it... overrun. then a voice popped into our heads, and we figured maybe the rest of our family would've heard it too.

essentially, she's still hoping to find her parents and siblings again, and meet any new members of the family that may have cropped up in her absence. plus, we need to find azura's daddy, israel - he's probably been worried sick about her all this time. and not to mention the bomb that's going to be dropped on the entirety of the lupai clan and their friends when they find out sonni is alive again. 'noke's hoping to find everyone first, so she can ease the way for sonni's reappearance.

what about you? she asks, her voice soft as petal eyes turn to gaze on her newfound companion. what brought you here? had she been pushed out of 'noke's homeland by the invading rogues? or was she perhaps a native of this new area? it piques the ghostling's interest, enough for her to abandon her attempts at scenting a trail for the time being. besides, if she keeps wandering everywhere, she'll run into caspian and the kids eventually.

just gotta give it time. right?

SPEECH

code by corvus

Amra offered, once more, a reassuring grin to the woman, to try and allay some fears that she might not see her family again. Amra was positive there would be a happy reunion. After all, she herself had found some of her family again, so it was only fair for fate to bless this ghost with the same courtesy.
Mononoke continued with her own conversation to which Amra listened attentively. She nodded when the girl mentioned the voice. Amra had heard it herself but had already been on her way here. It was a soothing, reassuring voice, so surely the land within wouldn't have the same problem with the rogues coming in and causing them all to leave.
A baby and daddy were separated as well, which caused Amra's ears to fold to the sides of her head. "I'm sure that they'd have heard the voice too and will be on their way, if they're not here already." Always the optimist, you had to hope for something.
When the question as to what brought her here was returned, Amra dipped her head toward 'Noke. "Similar issue, I lived in a place that was invaded by murdering awful lions and everyone fled. There were too many. I managed to follow along the tracks and multiple groups all heading the same way, which is how I ended up here," she explained, looking forward along the sand. "As for this place in particular, I thought you were a ghost that had unfinished business so came to try and help you move on." A sheepish laugh escaped her, thinking she'd been rather silly in the assumption. "But while we're here, we could try and take our minds off worrying and learn something useful about this place so we can help others when they get here?" Head tilted in curiosity. The woman had seemed like she was on a mission when Amra arrived after all, maybe Amra could help with what she'd been doing before.

i'm sure sonni - my sister - and caspian - my mentor - have gotten here just fine, and my oldest nephews, too... it's just the littles i'm mostly concerned about. especially little six, whose blindness could prove dangerous if she'd gotten separated from cas or sonni. i doubt sonni or cas would've let anything separate them, though. she smiles, trying to reassure herself more than anything. amra's story is similar to 'noke's own, and 'noke finds herself wondering if they might be talking about the same place. how many places out there could have been overrun by murderous rogues, after all?

on second thought, don't answer that.

amra's explanation about the specifics of why she was talking to 'noke makes the ghostling snort out a startled giggle, petal eyes flashing wide in amusement at the younger girl. how kind of you, she says, grinning broadly. the girl's suggestion is a good one though, and 'noke nods. sure! though i'm not sure what all would be most helpful to try and figure out about the place. maybe we can find whoever owns that voice? she doubts they'll find the owner immediately, but... it is a curious anomaly. she's never had a voice in her head like that before.

@Amra

Amra nodded energetically, hoping to encourage the woman to continue thinking positively while she waited for her family. Amra had no doubt in her mind that they would all be reunited, especially if they were a family front from wherever they had come from. The laggards were simply walking slower than everyone else, was all.
Sheepish grin remained after Amra admitted what she’d thought ‘Noke was, when the other female snorted out a laugh. Well, she was a white lioness, walking along a moonlit beach, at night time… Amra did have quite the imagination after all, it wasn’t too far a stretch. But the girl wasn’t put off by Amra’s willingness to help, ghost or not, when she thanked the girl for her consideration. Grin returned, wide and sunny as usual.
‘Noke accepted Amra’s offer of finding out something useful, and offered to perhaps search for the source of the mysterious voice. Amra paused in her walking and took a moment to look around the area. ”The voice sounded like it was in my head, and it said something about the land…” she spoke thoughtfully, considering. She hadn’t met a true deity, one that was all powerful and could reach into people’s minds. Didn’t know what the implications were of such a thing. ”Do you reckon maybe the voice came from the island?” Where else would a mysterious voice come from if not from a mysteriously shrouded island, after all?

Sorry for the delay! Have been busy!

ooc; sorry for the wait!!! <3 also sorry for short post, i keep dissociating for several minutes at a time fhaksldng

maybe... she concedes, looking around. i wonder when this fog will lift - maybe then we'll be able to find the owner of the voice? pondering, the ghostling moves forward a few more steps, wondering if the voice's owner will reveal itself any time soon. of course, it has to be some sort of spirit or something - right? to speak in our heads like that? so... we'll really only be able to find it if it wants to be found. she frowns, sighing a little in disappointment.

@Amra

The pair of them ewre equally baffled by the strange voice, their speculations easily leaving their lips as they combined ideas. Amra slowed to a halt, looking out across the midnight dark water to the vague shape of fog that shrouded the nearby island. ”I hope it lifts soon. I’m all sorts of eager to find out what’s over there. Hankering for a feed too,” Amra admitted with a laugh.
The next suggestion was of it being a spirit, which followed along Amra’s own speculations. ”Surely there’s some mystical place smack bam in the middle of the island where it lives, or can be summoned from or whatever. We had that kind of thing in my old home, a big ol’ tree that spirits liked to hang around.” Amra sure missed her own home, feeling a bit homesick now that she stopped to consider it. But, home was where your family was, and Amra’s family was all here, so now home would be here too. No sense in wallowing in past memories.