The fabric of Aria’s life became unravelled. For as long as they lived, they had always belonged to a group. His life was in a state of flux, akin to the tide rushing against his toes. As the waters recede, the bard liked to imagine all the stresses disappeared with it. The Caladan Cove that he knew was no more. Opportunity shone in the darkness of upheaval for those brave enough to seize it. The difficulty was that they were unable to discern its precise nature. It is gossamer.

Aria’s memories turn back to the cub found by a lioness. To a world of perfume and beauty, when he was both a shadow and a radiant entity to be admired. Azhira had been his constant companion, until the collapse of The Aviary and their subsequent arrival in the Cove. Despite the challenges they faced, they were confident that their new-found family would be there for them.

Would loyalty and duty be enough to keep his little family together? Doubts surfaced, as they are likely to do when one is left to their own devices. With this fear lodged deep into his sides, the cheetah patrolled the outskirts of his former pride in search of fellow castaways.

@Yuna

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Sorrow wracked her thoughts, visiting the shore after Analìa's graceful healing, though still knitting closed, there came a bite from familiar feelings of granules rubbing between toes. Callused paws flexed, wondering how they might conquer Miaran's usurpation of Caladan. Those she'd come to know, care for, flowed awash in disappointment, their own grief at losing a home evident in each person's visage she met with.

"rally to sunder, rally to me, but do not lose your hope." Words spoken not lightly, giving those who'd attended the challenge a direction, someplace to go. If not a singular location, Kireena had offered the Verdant Basin as refuge for the Caladan lions displaced. Eventual, once wounds felt closer to complete healing, she'd visit the mammoth red lioness, thank her for the opportunity to have a safe space for she and her friends. For now, she drifted against the beach, wondering who might rally, and who might fight for their homeland.

It seemed someone else held similar thoughts, walking the outskirts of what once they called home, for the slender form of @Aria struck her vision, bringing a rhythmic toss of heartbeats in excitement. "Aria," she called lightly, chuffing in greeting as steps became quicker, "are you well?" Once she'd seen the cheetah with Analìa, speaking together, and many times among the pride's daily life. Out of the residents of Caladan, the cheetah was one she enjoyed among a few others.

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Aria sighed at the familiar sensation of sun-warmed sand trickling between his toes. A remnant of normalcy from the turmoil of losing a home. For one who had never known a permanent home, always wandering from place to place, setting down roots had been good.

Tattered thoughts are swiftly forgotten at the sound of Yuna’s voice. A sound of home, and security. Their face crinkled upward into an expression of joy. They gazed at the recently healing wounds, then met the queen’s eyes. “I am well, thank you. And yourself?” He could have added that he was lonely, hungry, and listless, but it seemed pointless. After losing Caladan, they probably all felt a range of similar emotions.

“You look well, my dear.” In Aria’s eyes, the queen had fully embraced her duties as the Cove’s queen and protector. “Let’s find somewhere to sit, and we’ll catch up.” With a flick of their lengthy tail, the cheetah selected a set of boulders smoothed by the sea and relaxed on the sand, awaiting @Yuna to join them.

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The beach brought happiness mingled with sorrow. Melancholy settled over gloomy thoughts, not at all pleased with the circumstances of Caladan at present. Toes splayed against golden sand, feeling the tickle of grains between them, rubbing at old calluses. Although the pride might have been taken, their little familial group had left together, banded together among Celosia Fields for the moment.

Eyes found the water lapping against the sand, feeling forlorn at the sound of @Aria's voice and inquiry. "A bit lost," admittance comes softly, unsure what to do, for she'd already asked those residents who'd left with her far too much. "I feel as though I failed you all." No matter how much support anyone gave, that truth remained true to her. Guilt for losing the cove weighed heavy across tawny shoulders, especially after having spoke with so many on Sunder's abilities to hold the pride for her family.

Steps trailed behind the cheetah, happy to remain in their company regardless of circumstances. "I think you look much better than me." Lips curled under a genuine smile, hoping the other feline wasn't concerned over her appearance, though their words spoke compliments she couldn't believe. Scabbed neck and underbelly appeared healthily healing, but didn't take away from the once flawless pelt.

Next to the spotted feline she lowers herself, lowering companionably against one of the smooth stones. "Will you stay with the rest of us?" She hoped they all remained together, for they were her family now.

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Aria murmured in agreement as @Yuna admitted to feeling lost. “It is a lot to take in.” It seemed a paltry way to sum up everything that had happened. The question of where to start weighed heavily on his chest. Wisdom told them that to begin, they must first see what their options were.

"I feel as though I failed you all."

“No, you haven’t.” The bard’s words were soft, and faltering. “Yuna, what I have learned since living in Amaryllis, is that challenges are part of a pride’s life. Sometimes you succeed, and sometimes a stronger opponent comes along and drives you from your home.” He breathed in the ocean breeze, letting it fill his lungs until they wanted to burst. They breathed out, the corners of their eyes upturned in an expression of gentleness as they said, “You have proven yourself good enough in this old bard’s eyes.”

The former queen’s praise was met with a chuckle. “I try my best, my lady.” Aria’s usual good humour had not forsaken them when everything else had crumbled beneath it. Perhaps Yuna’s smile was confirmation that she needed his light just as much as he did?

Aria’s head angled to regard the woman at her question. “Yes.” The corners of his muzzle turned up. “I am sorry I did not make the time to get to know you sooner. I hope to correct that mistake, moving forward.”

From now on.

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Options surfaced every which way. Some pulled one direction, others another. Nothing felt concrete anymore, without threads bonding them to one place. Everything fell apart. Those she'd come to think of as an extension of her family pulled separate directions. None felt more empty than she, who'd always been empty, seeking crowns to fill holes which couldn't be filled with power.

Glacial eyes stung, from salt water, wind, or emotion one couldn't rightly tell. Perhaps she'd gained some of her father's stoicism after all. "That's just not fair!" Blurted words come out as a stung child's would. A single paw stomping against the sands, twisting too-and-fro, creating a crater there that would remain a damp frustrated impression. "And you're not old." Head shook with absolute rejection of such a notion. They were no older than she, perhaps a couple years, but young nevertheless, within the middle grounds of life, where things were supposed to flourish.

Many she'd found company with brought joy through otherwise dark moments. Thoughts of Analía surfaced, and now Aria gained a position next to that woman's kind-hearted nature. Even if their light shown just a little dimly, it was hope, and hope she grasped onto.

"We must stay together. All of us." Firm voice left little room for argument. Certain more than ever that she needed to unite them once more, keep them housed within the same vicinity. "There are places we could go, but I'm unsure of any one place where we would all find happiness," shoulders lifted and fell, nearly defeated by the notion that not all would agree for even temporary housing, "but I do intend to take Caladan back. For our family." Because that's what they all were, right? Family.

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Yuna’s sudden outburst took Aria by surprise. Pale eyes widened as he watched her tear into the sand with a few frenzied swipes of her claws. Moisture seemed to well up in her eyes – had his words been the source? They wouldn’t take back what they said, either – they meant it. “You tried your best, and that is all anyone can ask of you.”

He could tell from the way @Yuna spoke, as though she expected to be obeyed, that she had been born to prestige. For a man of humble birth, the tone told him to obey. Let others of greater ability take the reigns of responsibility. Like a dutiful servant, he noticed the air of resignation in Yuna, and wished that he could offer more than words. “It’s difficult trying to keep everyone happy, isn’t it?” They lifted their eyes at the Azar’s proclamation to reclaim the Cove. “Forgive me for my niavete, but could we not join another pride? Let our families merge with another. There are women who lead prides, as I’m sure you know.”

The cheetah couldn’t understand the need to rule. From his perspective, it was an endless cycle of claiming land at the expense of disrupting families and individuals. Again and again.

Potential EXP
+5 Advise someone with a problem (1/2)

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All anyone could ask of her, but shouldn't they be asking more of her? Misted gaze turned away from the cheetah, pushing back against the comfort proffered. She deserved no comfort in losing their home. "Perhaps you're right." Glacial eyes peer out towards the oceans soft roll, sullen although she's near her old home. Stolen away under swift claws, ones she'd not been able to protect utmost precious entities against. Now they must look down upon her, even @Aria, regardless of their kind words.

"Is that what you want?" Others who'd left might feel the same way, yearning only for a safe place to lay their heads and not warring over land. Part of the idea felt wrong, betraying those she'd sat upon their thrones, ate their feasts. "Would you not see Sunder and Kvare on the throne again?" Curiosity brings questions swarming upon dear Aria, whom she'd not spoke with much during her time within the pride land.

Silence steals her tongue for a few minutes, listening to Aria's responses to her previous questions, before she turns towards her friend. "What would you do, and where would you go?" Not all riches came with thrones, she understood this now somewhat, although she still saw importance upon the gilded vows of kings and queens.

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Yuna turned away from Aria, shutting down his sympathy. A quiver of shock brushed through his slender body at the woman’s visceral reaction. His gaze followed the fair woman’s as they searched the rolling waves for answers. It was a part of life that you could not be loved by everyone, and regardless of how often it happened, rejection always hurt.

"Is that what you want?"

Aria lifted their head and narrowed their eyes at Yuna’s question. What do I want? Too few had considered his own needs on the subject, and why should they? They are a cheetah, an outsider, and stranger to their ways. Regardless, the question echoed through his mind. There was no reason to hide his feelings from Yuna or his ragtag family – they had showed him nothing but kindness. It felt like the right thing to do to reciprocate that generosity back. Another inquiry spilled from her lips, and the cheetah shuffled their feet in the sand. On second thought, how well does he know the former queen? “Of course I do,” Aria whet his lips, and turned their gaze away. "Don't you?"

At Yuna’s third query Aria feared they were being interrogated. Panicked thoughts swirled around their head, adding further confusion to the conversation. What does she want? The cheetah is silent for a long while, tail kept close to their body as they process their thoughts. “I want peace, but it seems like I’m not going to find it here.” His eyes swept across the coast in a gesture he implied encompassed all of Amaryllis. “I want somewhere to belong to, preferably with those I care about. I want so many things, but I don’t know how to obtain them. It’s hard to be different, and to lack the power.”

look at the fire and think of me

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Appreciative of her friends' wishes for her to feel less of a failure there inlaid a burden from the inner politics struggle that Caladan held. Now she was laid bare as the woman who lost their home, then fled unwilling to shed the blood of those who lived within the pride. A soft smile creases her nutmeg lips, glacial gaze drawn towards @Aria in a silent thank you.

Guilt followed their course of interaction. Somewhere inside her chest grew a heavy pit. "Yes, I do." Together they were stronger as a familial unit, but some didn't wish to live within certain prides, nor lead certain directions. Dilemmas spread those who'd left Caladan together apart. "But not everyone wants the same things." Shoulders rolled, agitated underneath inability to unite them. Each of her friends, each of her family, wanted somewhat similar dreams, yet they hadn't gone one place together.

"Analiá wants to see peace for Amaryllis." Often she thought she'd seen Analiá and Aria together, perhaps they wanted the same dream. "You belong with us. Analiá, Moradin, Pyrrha, and me. We are still family even if we weren't born from the same litter." Sincerity holds steady as her pale eyes reach for the cheetah's, honored to know the smaller, sleeker feline opposed to others. From among those she'd met there had been constructed a bond between them. Quiet, steadily sure, that bond held them together outside of the pride's leadership.

"Some of us have gone to Ecrosia. If you'd like to join us there it seems a much quieter place from the time I'd lived there before." The mire wasn't ideal, and it smelled putrid at times, given how murky waters generated unpleasant algae. Still, Ecrosia was a home, of sorts, a place she held familiarity with. Somewhere she'd not imagined going back to, until Analiá lead them there. "We can plan more for what we all want for our future. Together."

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