She had wandered far and wide since her departure from the Foothills, but this was the first time that she had gone to the forest that she had once called 'home'. With nothing but the moon, stars, and her memories to guide her, Ktulu made the trek in the darkness. Part of her hoped that she would find Ophelia within the confines of the forest, another part of her just wanted solace from the world that went on around her. Since when did she feel like her whole world had just stopped and was stagnant? "Since your father walked away from you and your sister left you." Came the reply from the bear who walked at her side. Ktulu knew in her heart that Eytan was right, but she didn't know how to fix it. She didn't fix anything, she just destroyed everything.

The moonlight was dappled under the thick cover of the trees and despite the ominous appearance of the forest, Ktulu felt a sense of home. She sighed, a mixture of relief and weariness, as she and Eytan pressed on. The scents of the forest were as she remembered; dampness from the dirt, the smell of decaying leaves, the smell of fresh wood from the occasional tree that had fallen and splintered. It was here that she could disappear into the darkness and only be seen by those that she wished to present herself to. It was here that she felt even the slightest sense of peace, but maybe that was because she could still smell the lingering scent of her sister even after so many months of forsaking the forest that had offered them protection from everything.

Her steps stopped and she found herself staring at a gap that had opened in a set of trees. Beyond that gap came the fresh scent of a Foothills stallion. Apollo? Ktulu breathed in deeply and felt disappointment set in when it was not Apollo's scent, but the scent of a stallion that she hadn't met. Obviously one who had joined their ranks after she'd left.

Rather than present herself to the stallion, Ktulu remained rooted where she was, several paces from the opening and hidden in darkness. "Are you lost?" She voiced her question and waited for the stallion to answer.

@[Ciceron]

"It depends who is asking, my dear."

The expression on Ktulu's face darkened at the use of 'my dear' when the stallion addressed her. His tone may have been even and calm, but every instinct in her screamed that he thought she was weak. A very small part of her insisted that she was overreacting but it was easily drowned out and ignored. "Do not refer to me as my dear." The Constrictor warned. "My name is Ktulu." Would he even know who she was? What she had been? In the end it made little difference because she was no longer the Chieftess of the Foothills. She was probably little more than a distant memory in the minds of the ones she had led, already forgotten and cast aside like the memories from last night's dinner.

A quiet snort came as Ciceron claimed that he meant her no harm and asked for her to present herself. She was not worried about whether or not he meant her any harm. How would he know that she didn't mean him any harm? It was because he was already underestimating her and he didn't even know her. "Circle around." She mentally instructed Eytan. "Quietly." The grizzle nodded his head and slunk away from his bonded, his padded feet whisper soft on the leaves and pine needles that blanketed the forest floor.

She shook her mane, jostling the fireflies from the silvery strands. They had been with her for so long that she paid them very little mind anymore when they floated around her, but found herself missing their company if they wandered off. They were her final gift from the bear that had watched over the very woods that she was standing in now and she took a moment to watch them as the floated toward the opening that would lead to the stallion she was speaking to.

Ktulu followed after the fireflies, her steps slow and quiet, crimson eyes immediately locked on the stallion the moment she saw him. "You're a long way from the Foothills." She said as her steps came to a stop and she stood several yards from the stallion. An ear flickered as she heard Eytan's gruff voice within her mind, letting her know that he had circled around and was on Ciceron's other side. Truth be told, Ktulu had no intention of attacking the stallion or harming him in any way, but one could never be too careful and the element of surprise was invaluable.

@[Ciceron]

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"I apologize if I offended you, it was not intentional."

Of course he had not meant to offend her, but the use of 'my dear' made Ktulu feel as if she were being taken lightly and she was not accustomed to it. The only ones who had ever called her 'dear' were in her family and had a right to do so. This stallion, she snorted as she looked at him, did not and it seemed she had made herself perfectly clear when he offered his apology.

Dark, delicately shaped ears swiveled forward as the stallion spoke once more of his reasons for venturing away from the Foothills. The Ex-Chieftess in her scoffed at his reasoning and felt that he would be better off patrolling the borders of the land he called home, but the wanderer in her agreed with his reasoning, though she could personally go without meeting many others. The only ones she actually wanted to meet with were still back in the Foothills and she dare not venture there without good reason and a friendly meet and greet was not good enough, no matter how much she loved and cared for Lakota and Apollo.

"What brings you out here, Ktulu? Are you merely wandering such as I am?"

"Self imposed isolation. Punishment." She answered, her gaze unwavering as she watched the stallion. He wouldn't understand what she meant and so she moved on. "My companion and I called this forest home several seasons back." For a brief moment her gaze flickered to the other side of the stallion where the bear appeared at the treeline and stood upright to make himself appear bigger and more dangerous. "We both felt it was time to return home." Eytan growled his agreement and dropped to all four feet but remained where he was at the treeline. "Why did you chose to come to this forest, Ciceron?" She didn't believe he was simply passing through the forest. It had a lot of hidden treasures to offer those who cared enough to learn the forest and just look.

There was one treasure that the forest had lost and would never get back, though, and that was the ancient bear who had gifted her with Eytan, the fireflies, and whatever hidden gift she had yet to discover upon his death. A dull ache in her chest made her suck in a quick breath.

@[Ciceron]
ooc:// sorry this took forever ;___;

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