ooc: please allow Basira, Khadija, Saidah, and Mazel to reply first

This is not where Kismet thought she would be at this point in her life. She has learned now, more than once, that the spirits do not always give a warning when they want to shake the fabric of the earth, and her world is nothing short of shattered. It is @Basira's strength more than her own that drives her, and the young cubs that need her to find her own path when Sahir's is no longer here to guide them. The Mire had been a collective agreement between the sister-wives — Alaric, perhaps, is the closest thing any of them have left to a friend, someone they can trust.

Sahir had trusted him, after all.

Between her jaws dangles the deep blues of @Khadija's pelt, picking her way carefully through the mud and vines with Basira beside her, @Saidah in tow. Through the brambles and the underbrush, they make their way to the marked borders of Ecrosia, where Kismet finally sets her daughter down protectively between her forepaws. They may be too young to understand this change, or even the gravity of what they have lost — but she must have hope that there is a future here, and that she will see Sahir again.

She flicks an ear, twisting her muzzle to the side to offer a thin-lipped smile to @Mazel and then to Basira. And finally they call out for @Alaric, grasping for this next chapter that might give them purpose in the face of all that they have lost.


@Rashad if Anyu wants

BG — ART — CODE

Khadija

Despite the terrifying events that forced them here, she was overall happy she was with her mother and siblings once more. Hadya had to do alot with it. Afterall she saved her, comforted and taken care of her while her mother wasnt around. Thanks to her she was here, now hanging between the gentle jaws of her mother. Doing nothing to stop her, tucking her legs against her body while her ears were pinned backwards. But still looking around, curious of the place. So different of the coast, the only place he had known until today. Tail lashing slowly while she remained quiet while she was happy being carried here instead of having to walk.

@Kismet

coded by flea - Art by Shazaki

All of these memories were fuzzy, but only one thing rang clear in the little cubs mind: fear. Fear of the unknown, sensing the uncertainty, the disappearence of the voice she had considered 'father' with our remembering what he looked like. The world became dangerous, a challenge for the fractured Najma to overcome. But for now, Saidah does her best to put on a brave face for Mother, for Khadi. She walks with as much of a puffed chest as she can handle, doing her best to hide the tiredness in her little legs. When were they going to stop? Would they walk forever?

But the obedient daughter does not speak her concerns. She keeps them hidden as her mind races to try and make sense of all this....strangeness.

When at last Mother stops, placing her sister upon her feet, Sai nearly let's out a breath of relief. finally their movement ceased, and the young cub could let out the air she had been holding onto so tightly. Her body felt tense, but she couldn't quite place why. And why, why was a could question to ask.

Padding up to the front of @Kismet and her sister @Khadija, Sai let's out a mew (re: roar) to gain her mother's attention: where are they going, what were they doing? Her head nudged against the dark pelt of their mother affectionately. "home" she mewed out, in a tone not unlike a petulant toddler. She wanted to go home....

and wanted to stop all this walking.

code by corvus

He followed, if only because the yearling had no other earthly idea of what to do with himself in the absence of his father, the guiding light by which he lived. The loss of his home and his idol weighed heavy on the proud boy's heart and he dragged his paws as he trailed behind them, not sure that this was what he wanted to be doing. Surely they should be taking their home back? Finding his father? Doing something other than...whatever it was they were doing now. Settling, he supposed, for a place that would offer them safety if not comfort. No, the swampy lands of the Mire would never be any kind of comfort to him. He needed the sands of the Cove, his birthplace and his home.

He already hated it here.

Likewise, he wasn't fond of his new half-siblings. He ignored them for the most part, disappointed that he was the only son of his father, with no other boys to compete with. It was almost too easy, and the girls were consistently annoying.

He stopped when @Kismet did, hanging back in within the shadows, watching and listening as they summoned the Mire king, who's name he had already forgotten. What was the point when his father was no longer here to teach him how to be a king? Would he now never learn how to read the stars as Sahir had? No, he wasn't okay with the way life was changing, but he had no idea what to do about it either.

So here he was, with the rest, looking to find a place to call home in the Mire.

Despite all that had gone on, Mazel hadn't a care in the world if they had a home or not. Sure she had enjoyed the Cove and all it had to offer. Understood that that was the place that her parents swore to protect and might go back to, but Mazel was far more excited to be unleashed. So when things had gone south she had taken the opportunity to temporarily split. Taking in the sights of Amaryllis and otherwise enjoying her freedom as a lone woman.

However, when the time came to gather together and trek down south she knew she wanted to be prepared. So she had swung by the fields in an attempt to get a nice meal but she had found a wonderfully large bird that would certainly do a better job. Though, instead of killing it when the snuck up to it she instead had it grabbed by the neck as she gently as she could. This wasn't hers, no. This would be her gift to @Luther ♔. The squawking and incessant noise that it made as she carried it nearly cost it a quicker death but she managed to hold it together until she reached the border of the gross swamp.

Leaning her head down several feet from the rest of her family and placing a paw upon one of the winged beasts, well, wings. Claws extended and puncturing the one she stood on a little bit. A toothy grin given to those that were present while also providing a don't you fuckin' touch it.

He was acquainted with disaster from his earliest days. Tareq, a perfect blend of each of his parents, had acutely missed his father's presence following that storm that ripped them from his cove-side birthland. These matters were too complex for such a young mind to comprehend – too heavy a weight for such small shoulders to bear. Still, they were not spared from the sorrow they could not understand. It festered and bubbled within, though Tareq had no words to name it.

"Mud," he observed quietly as he trailed behind the older ones of the group, his golden gaze fastened upon the ground of this new terrain as they walked. His short legs were working overtime to keep him with the group as he made up the rear, intrigued by the coziness of such lush forestry. It was a far cry from their expansive beach, sprawling open for all the stars to see.

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|| january y9 | two months | rogue cub | at ecrosia mire | @Basira @Kismet @Khadija @Saidah @Rashad @Mazel @EM ||

code by corvus

The only thing that made leaving Caladan remotely bearable was the fact that they had influential friends in the Mire. Sahir losing his seat atop the Cove changed the power dynamic between the Najma's and the Starke's - Basira knew this. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. Once a Queen, now reduced to a pauper. Her highest bid to fame now was that she was mother-in-law to the Ecrosian Heir. All she could do now was reinforce that, as best she could. That meant getting Mazel to Alaric's stronghold in one piece, despite the concern for her absent husband. As his first wife, it was her duty - along with Kismet - to keep the group together. Kismet had young cubs to tend to, and she would need the guiding paw of her sister-wife; it meant that Basira could not drift away and wallow in her grief, no matter how much she wanted to. Bringing up the rear, she kept a careful eye on the rest of the party. Rashad in particular was taking the absence of his father hard... Understandably. As she drew to a halt, it would be his shoulder that she would seek to press against, offering silent comfort as she steeled herself in wait to be discovered. Already, her mind is abuzz; how will they slot in here? How will she make herself most useful? What of Rashad - he's old enough to challenge for some sort of rank, and it would give him something to focus on instead of the rank of Heir that was rightfully his in Caladan.... Quieting her internal thoughts, she would focus instead on the here and now - the rest could wait, though only for a little while.

She could not afford to grow complacent - not during times as uncertain as these.

ART BY MAX, CODE BY LARS

He had looked for them, often. Any time that he had left the Mire he had done at least a cursory search, though Alaric had begun to lose hope of finding them. Other than Hadiya it seemed that they had all disappeared, and he could make no sense of it. Had the storm truly swept them all out to sea?

But then -- then! The call at his borders didn't immediately lend haste to his step, but when he drew near enough to pick up a familiar scent he did hurry.

"You're alive," he murmured, stunned, when he finally came face to face with the family at his step. A smile followed, genuine and marked with relief. Green eyes scanned the group, lingering on @Kismet and @Basira the longest, as well as a time on @Mazel and her feathered prize.

Drawing in a breath he did not smell sickness or injury, and yet -- where was "Sahir?" He is cautious as he asks, carefully pressing the question in between them, afraid of what the answer might be. Surely they would know; just as they knew that the Mire would be a safe haven no matter what had come of the patriarch.

(OOC: Let's say she joined up not long before the thread's start)

It is just as Hadiya had hoped it would be. Just as she had known it would be - at the moment where it was most critical, her paws had guided her to where she was meant to be. What were the chances, that the day she should finally track the correct route to Ecrosia's doorstep, her family would finally surface here, as well seeking shelter of their own? It was clearly fate. "كنت أعرف أنني سأجدك." Are the words she pressed into @Basira's shoulder, allowing the comforting warmth of her mother's familiar to suffuse her. Though her dreams were still uncertain, the universe's mysteries still tangled a tangled web, she had found them, at long last.

"أين كنت؟" She murmurs softly in question, as she falls back to gently nose at @Mazel and @Rashad both, eventually settling at her maroon brother's side once Auntie @Kismet released her call. On the surface, they remain as steadfast as she'd expected them to be, no sign of sickness or injury to be found, though they are weary still from their displacement, as was to be expected (were there any words in any language that could fully describe how she misses the sound of the waves? The jungle was fascinating, but it could never replace the shore.) The matter of the lost nobility aside, it would be a near perfect reunion, except...

When @Alaric arrives, when he breaks the silence to speak her father's name, she too, awaits the answer with bated breath, ears swiveling about to catch every word that should fall from the adults' lips. Though she's caught no sign of Father's scent amongst the group, part of her still expects him to pop out of the undergrowth at any moment. He...he couldn't be all that far away, could he? Everyone else was here...Surely, he was being guided here too?

...Right?

ART BY IRISH / CODING BY SENTINEL

Ah, the lost have been found! Alaric must be delighted - Luther thought as he trailed along the mud-ridden paths of the swamp kingdom, straightening up in preparation for a political endeavor, for finally re-acquiring his betrothed by his side.

What would he do without her?

He almost chuckled at these fiendish thoughts, at the idea of having @Mazel here, as it was ought to be. While she was princess no more, he was still Heir, and to be frank the cruel boy preferred this position much better.

He joins the big group, settling a step back from his father, positioning himself by the King's side. Intelligent eyes settle on the few unfamiliar faces. More children, as if Ecrosia wasn't about to burst at the seams with slobbering brats. Genuine-looking kindness washes across his alabaster features, a respectful nod given to the al-Najmas, especially to @Basira and @Kismet, who were the only adults in the group. "We're glad to see you're well," He was unsure who Kismet was, truly. Sahir's sister? Or his wife? Judging by the look, the toddlers were hers. Sahir was nowhere to be found, either, and Alaric had noticed that. Dead, maybe.

@Hadiya was with them, too. So she'd found them. Finally, his gaze rests on the most important member of Sahir's broken kingdom - @Mazel. His expression softens further upon his light green eyes searching to meet his betrothed's counterparts. "Mazel al-Najma," he bows curtly, his gaze trailing to the live bird beneath her paw. Oh, and what was this?