The forest should have been familiar; every root, stone, and branch was part of Dawnbreak's territory. Eidola knew this path, she had walked it countless times before. The stream that wound through the trees was only a short distance away, its gentle murmur usually enough to soothe her restless thoughts. But right now everything was off, it brought her to a pause, ears swiveling. The water was speaking, not in words initially in murmurs, half formed sounds hidden beneath the current.

She swallowed, forcing her eyes shut. No.

The stream cannot speak. She repeated the thought carefully, the way one might place stones across a rushing river.

The stream cannot speak.

But when she opened her eyes again the sound carried on, a dozen voices drifting beneath the waters song, some laughed, others whispered secrets she couldn't quite understand, one was her mothers voice, another; Torgars.

Her heart lurched painfully. 'Eidola.' the voice came from behind her and she spun around to find nothing only the trees and the sunlight filtering through the leaves. It made her breath quicken, because the voice had been real it had been right beside her — hadn't it?

Slowly she lowered herself onto trembling haunches, trying to focus on things that were tangible, there was moss beneath her paws...and a cool breeze through her fur. But movement flickered on the edge of her vision, dark shapes slipping between the tree trunks, gone whenever she looked for them.

Eidola squeezed her eyes shut again.

No she whispered softly, pressing both forepaws against the earth as if she could anchor herself there. No. No. No. The shadows were not real, still another voice disagreed. They're watching you. The thought arrived fully formed, as though someone had leaned into her mind and spoken directly into it. They're waiting, they know.

'Eidola.'

The voice came again, bringing her to jerk her head upward and for a moment she saw someone among the trees, their comforting smile brought hope surging through her chest only for them to dissolve into sunlight and leaves. The realization struck like a blade, and a broken sound would rip through her throat as she folded inward curling tightly upon herself beneath the canopy.

—

skill: [none]

---

All had been calm in Dawnbreak. Dalmatia was married and looked as happy as ever. All the sisters, in fact, seemed to be quite fit and happy – and that was always a good thing in Euphemia’s book. Adonis was safe, and even Euphemia was fine, though she had been quietly afflicted with a sour stomach for the past few days.

– but Euphemia had never been known for her ability to focus on more than a few things at once. As an adolescent, Euphemia found it only possible to focus her learnings on botany, while others seemed perfectly capable of maintaining a more balanced education. In another example – once she had gotten to know Adonis, she ceased any ruminations about any other potential partners.

And sometimes, the maiden was so focused on her littermates that she neglected to see after the other members of Dawnbreak, too. Honestly, with such an inclination, it was surprising that Euphemia had been elected as a pillar alongside her more charitable and all-seeing packmates at all.

But, Pillar of Wisdom she was now – and Pillar of Wisdom she must be!

The main job of a Pillar of Dawnbreak was to care for others, and unfortunately for Dawnbreak, Euphemia had been quite distracted from the pink flame, world-ending type of stuff. But now, Euphemia found it necessary to shift her attention, no matter how bone-tired or queasy she was.

The opportunity presented itself when she came upon Eidola, her niece through Archon. To be truthful, Euphemia had never felt so close to them (had it been the generational gap, her own jealousy over Archon’s spectacular individuality, or her eternal distraction?), but it did not stop her from noting the unease.

How the energy around her felt fractured, somehow. The young girl had whispered something to herself, but Euphemia could not hear it. Eidola… she greeted stoicly, walking up, eyes unsure if they should look at Eidola, or at the earth, or the trees.

Wanting to ground herself in some response, some insight into the girl’s state, she then asked simply What's up? Maybe she was tired, or stressed.

or maybe it was something more.

---