Astra doesn’t really know where he’s going. Leaving… seems like a bad idea, but what other choice does he have? Everyone is scattered, missing, or they… left him. His paws ache by the time he gets to the passage. Its giant guardians loom above him, impossibly tall and foreboding. Maybe he shouldn’t leave. Crossing out into the unknown -

The patchwork boy stops short of making that last, final step, staring out into the distance until everything gets fuzzy and unfocused. There’s nothing out there, not as far as he can see. Hot, arid air blows back in his face, pushing all the messy half-grown mane out of his eyes. Still, he hesitates, unable to leave - maybe waiting for a reason to stay.

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Perhaps it was divine intervention that caused the floppy-eared Queen to make her way towards the Passage. She'd been frequenting the terrain more recently than ever before, wanting to spread her hospitable nature to any that may require it. She could remember a time so long ago when she was here, with nowhere else to go, and had been scooped up by Gauthier. My how times have changed since then. She strolled across the sands with a carefree pace, her hips swinging and ears bouncing with each step. Her icy gaze would land on the distant form of @Astraeus before she'd send a light chuff his way. Soon enough she closed the distance, offering him an easy smile before introducing herself. "Hello there, I'm Sunder Tollaire, High Sovereign of the Cove. What's a young man like yourself doing out here? Searching for something? Or better yet, someone?" She asks him then with a slight tilt of her head, her dimpled smile resting easily upon him as she waited.

she wasn't sure what exactly had called her back to the passage. curiosity, perhaps; after all, this was where so many had offered her refuge. their faces still etched into her mind, echoes of them still on the sands, a vast abyss of beige and red before her. wën considered the stark contrast between here and the mire, unaccustomed to the way the dry air hit the back of her throat with each breath, dark nostrils flaring.

it was almost by chance that she saw @Astraeus, a fair way away, staring out into the distance ahead of her. a frown marred her delicate features.

as she approached, so did another, a few steps ahead from a different direction - a silvery creature, who inteoduced herself as @Sunder, and the high sovereign of a pride wën knew nothing about. she placed each step carefully, drawing to a close near the pair, oceanic gaze fixed on the caladan ruler for a few moments before she slowly turned her attention onto the boy, concern etched into her brow. he seemed so young to be without a home. "are you out here alone?"

The call behind him catches his attention, and he’s surprised to realise it was directed at him. Why him? Astra looks over his white shoulder, his floppy ear twitching as the other one flicks toward the source of the noise. A lioness, older than he is - older than his uncle, maybe? There’s another figure some ways behind her, dark and spotted. Astraeus' watches them both, silver eyes flicking between the pair before they settle on the first woman as she speaks.

"I… I don’t know." He admits lamely, ears dropping into the thick mohawk of his half-grown mane. "My home got taken over." He turns away from the passage, facing @Sunder and the other lioness as she creeps up to join them. Her question is somehow worse.

"Yeah." If he had his family, maybe he wouldn’t feel so awful. "My dad’s dead, an’ my mum left a little - a long time ago. I dunno where everyone else went." @Morwënna certainly didn't ask for all of those details, but the sad, shitty story, is the short version of why Astraeus is out here, alone.

ORIANA

Oriana had become a very curious and adventurous feline. Ever since the downfall of Andal she had made it a point to stay away as much as she could, only coming back to sleep in the den that used to be shared by all her siblings and their parents. But time was a fickle thing, and with it came grief and loneliness. She knew why their mother had to leave, even giving them the choice to follow her, but the stubborn Miroslav yearling made it a point to stay - to show she was capable of making it on her own, even at a young age.

So when she caught scent of @Astraeus while out on one of her excursions, she couldn’t help but follow the trail. Indigo eyes stayed alert around her while her nose followed his familiar smell, and soon it wound land her at the passage. Eyes round as they widen, catching sight of not only her brother but two others near him. She pushes her shoulders back and forces her spine to stiffen, raising her side slightly before padding toward the trio. “Astreaus! I was wondering where you went to!” Ashen body gets closer to her brother, attempting to push her nose into his cheek.

She takes a moment to look him over before attention then turns to the others. “I’m Oriana Miroslav and this is my brother. I can take him back to Andal where I still am.” She had been debating on whether or not she wanted to relocate, perhaps travel toward the Bluffs since she had heard others of their kin had been residing there. But leaving their den… she knew she wasn’t ready - not yet, at least.

@Sunder @Morwënna

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'Are you out here alone?' The voice of @Morwënna draws her attention and her gaze shifts to land on the spotted woman, well she was certainly beautiful now wasn't she? She smelled of the Mire and Sunder would give her a polite dip of her head in greeting before returning her attention back to the yearling in front of them. He told a rather tragic story of lost family, a deceased father, he was truly lost. Her brows knit together, creasing with worry. She was about to offer him a reprieve when a third would join them, a young woman named @Oriana that would brush her head against his chest affectionately, claiming that he was her brother and she'd take him back to the Oasis with her. "Or, you could come with me to my Cove for safe haven. Both of you could, if you don't wish to remain in the Oasis with the change in leadership." She said pleasantly to them, her tail flicking once before settling behind her. The Miroslav name was familiar to her, and she knew that Keligan had had issues with them. But she was not him and she was willing to give them a chance, or in the very least offer them a safe space to rest and get their bearings until they figured out what they wanted to do. She would glance from one teen to the other, waiting for their thoughts.

the youth seemed confused, and wën offered a sympathetic expression as he explained in answers unasked for. my dad's dead, and she guarded her expression carefully. what she wouldn't have given for her father in the ground, no matter the consequences. the arrival of a second yearling eased morwënna's immediate concern just a little - the boy had not been dumped at the doorstep of amaryllis, ocean on all sides. she could only assume this was a sibling, and wën watched quietly as @Oriana confirmed, their interaction alien to her. the unguarded ease with which they moved, a push and pull between them.

it took a second for the girl's words to sink in - andal oasis had been taken over. leonie. something startled in the back of morwënna's brain, a sort of low electrical crackle moving across her. she did not show it. @Sunder's suggestion broke what was almost a trance, and wën tilted her crown just-so, allowing a small pause. "ecrosia is also an option for you, if you wish it. there are many others your age - you would not need to be alone." there was always the possibility that oriana would pull @Astraeus back to the oasis, too. no matter who ruled there.

Distracted by the two lionesses, Astra is blindsided by the arrival of his sister. @Oriana shoves her nose into his cheek, and he yelps. "Ori!" Where’d she been? Had they been looking for each other, missing each other every time? Probably. He wants to think that, at least. The patchwork boy’s heart leaps at her presence - and then, just as quickly, it sinks.

"What? No!" He steps back from her, black brows furrowed over worried, silver eyes. "We can’t stay there, Ori. They hate us!" Was she mad? Wolfbron Bluffs had come and taken over Andal - their family’s enemies. Why was she talking like he was some invalid, or some little kid? He’s older.

@Sunder speaks up, and Astra’s gaze flicks from his sister to the Caladan queen, uncertainty making them wide and watery. She offers them a haven - safety, a home. Astraeus swallows hard. That’s all he wants. @Morwënna also speaks up, but her pride is the Mire, and… swamps suck, even if they weren’t also enemies. The spotted woman doesn’t seem to know that, however, so he doesn’t think it’s a trap.

"Ori," he mumbles, looking back to his sister, pleading. "Come with me. We’ll go to the Cove. We can’t to stay in Andal." Even as he says it, he can feel his heart break for having to leave their birthland.

ORIANA

The others are forgotten as the two siblings have their moment. Oriana could see the excitement an relief flashing before her brother's eyes before it dullened away, her round ear twisting backward to lie slightly flat upon her skull while the floppy one simply twitched. "But-" her voice breaks, her heart being pulled in two directions: wanting to stay where they were born and where they had last seen their parents and not wanting to lose sight of @Astraeus.

"I can't leave @Orion," finally comes her reply, voice low and holding such a heavy weight with them. She couldn't abandon one brother to follow the other; she needed them both, together. She had had given up hope finding her true twin, Alecto gone with the wind just like their mother. She hoped that their brother had followed her, but time would only tell. A hard swallow is given, indigo eyes finally flicking back toward the two lionesses. Her tail twitches in uncertainty before she swallows again, this time mustering up whatever courage she could fathom, even if it wasn't much. "I won't join Caladan unless you promise that you'll take him in, too." Oriana would find Orion, as well. She'd drag him by the tail if she had to.

@Sunder @Morwënna

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The woman to her right, @Morwënna, also offers a haven to the teens and Sunder gives a small smile in response. Ultimately, the choice was theirs. @Astraeus pleads for @Oriana to join him in the Cove and her flopped ears would twitch lightly in response. Her gaze would move to land on the girl, watching as the emotions rippled through her. She could sense the uncertainty but she waited patiently for Oriana to answer her brother, and to provide an answer to her as well. 'But - I can't leave Orion, I won't join Caladan unless you promise that you'll take him in, too.' The girl speaks and Sunder takes a step closer to them before responding, her gaze steadfast. "Well then, I promise to offer this 'Orion' the same as I've offered you two. You are all welcome in my home." She says to Oriana before allowing her gaze to rest on Astraeus, a small and reassuring smile offered to the teen before waiting for their answers.