Two days had done little to ease the aching in Idalie's muscles or the sting in her scruff, the burn of a wound not yet healed. Idalie knew very well what teeth felt like as they tore into flesh, but she was not well-versed on the uncomfortability of the healing process. It was itchy and stung and Idalie was strangely proud of it, but at the same time, she was still a young royal who had been cherished and pampered for most of her life.

She missed her parents so desperately, and so she walked back to the shoreline where she'd woken for the first time, hoping against hope that she'd encounter golden fur and kind eyes and a warm embrace waiting for her.

There was nothing of the sort. Only soft waves lapping against pale yellow sand and Idalie, sitting alone and watching over an empty ocean.

A bark caught her attention. An ear swiveled toward him and her head turned after, surprised but pleased to see who it was. Khyan was quieter than the other two pups, and Idalie couldn't help but be grateful for it now.

Offering him a smile, Idalie watched as he approached, gaze dropping to the pika and then back up to him. His eyes were pretty and purple, not mismatched, and the tones of his fur were warmer than Cairo and Sobek, but his appearance was no less interesting.

"I'm not," she said, letting her tail thump a few times on the sand behind her. "It wasn't so bad, really."

Her scruff burned and her joints ached, making a liar out of her. She hoped she'd gotten most of the blood from the back of her neck, but she could still feel the tug and pull of dried bits of it every time she moved. Idalie was sure it was a spiky mess, and she felt her face warm. Her mother would have scolded her for looking so unkempt.

"What about you?" she asked him, trying to tip her head to the side and only marginally succeeding, a tiny wince crossing her features. A flicker of concern, this empathy for others imbued into her from her father still lingering. "Were you hurt too badly?"