9 hours ago
![[Image: 3cffdc614f8365755a476c0de39c8db0.jpg]](https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/3c/ff/dc/3cffdc614f8365755a476c0de39c8db0.jpg)
I am homesick for a home that i have yet to create
3-3-3 OC
3-3-3 OC
SpeechEmotional Actions Thoughts
Dawn had only just begun bleeding pale gold over the mountain’s spine when Altair stirred.
The territory was quiet in that suspended way it often was before the rest of the pack fully woke—when frost still clung to stone, when the pines stood motionless and watchful, when even the wind seemed to hold its breath. It was his preferred hour. The mountain belonged to itself at this time, stripped of chatter and movement, and in that stillness he could feel every inch of it.
His.
Altair rose from where he’d rested, rolling the stiffness from his shoulders before stepping from the shelter of the den. The cold bit pleasantly against his dusky coat, sharpening his focus. Bright eyes swept instinctively across the waking terrain below, tracing familiar paths cut through the trees, the distant rise of the ridgeline, the lower clearings where the first patrols would soon begin to stir.
A Zenith knew his territory as intimately as he knew his own scars.
And if Aisling intended to remain here, she would need to know it too.
He descended the slope at an easy pace, silent save for the muted crunch of frost beneath his paws. The scent of pine and stone filled his lungs, grounding, steadying. Somewhere nearby he caught her trail—fresh enough to tell him she was awake, likely not far from where they’d agreed to meet.
Good.
This wasn’t a leisurely walk through pretty scenery.
It was instruction.
By the time he reached the edge of the clearing, Altair had already slipped fully into that cool, composed authority that came as naturally to him as breathing. There was no trace of lingering sleep in his expression now, only measured purpose.
When his gaze found Aisling, he gave a slight incline of his head.
You’re punctual,he noted, voice low and even, though the faintest approval touched its edge.
Without waiting for unnecessary pleasantries, he turned toward the narrow trail winding upward through the pines, trusting she would fall into step beside him but paused briefly near the opening out into the plains that stretched far.
As of today,he began as he looked over his shoulder at her,
you’ll start learning how this mountain functions and Aetheria's ranks.
Aisling
