through wind and shadow

It had taken Thalia a long time to feel comfortably going anywhere near the Thunderpath, let alone the WindClan border - her near-death experience with the monster had made sure she wanted nothing to do with it, even if she hadn't had that bitter history with WindClan. But time kept moving, and the seasons changed time and again, and while she did her best to evade border patrols there were times she couldn't escape it.

She thought it was best to acclimate herself to the area, at least, even if she was sure she'd never get used to the smell or her own lingering nerves. Even now she moved slowly, one pawstep at a time, keeping a careful eye on both the path and the open space on the other side. Her well-worn fox pelt lined her nest more often than she wore it now, fearful of damaging the last memory she had of someone so dear to her, but she still kept it on whenever she came this way. It made her feel safer, somehow.

"Thalia?"

Another fox pelted cat came forward, seeing her old friend across the thunderpath. She had decided she wanted to traverse the territory she had, for a brief time, called home, staining the grass around her red. Her ever bleeding form now stood just a mere foxlength across from Thalia, some semblance of a smile on her face. Raisha had no ill will for Thalia in her life, and even in death had thought little of the molly. It was not as though the two had been close, despite having grown up together. It was impossible to decipher the thoughts going through the calico's head now.

"It sure has been a while, hasn't it? Odd how much change time can bring. Are you faring well? Still close with Pyrik?"

Thalia froze in place, the sound of a voice she hadn't thought she'd hear again reaching her ears. The form was familiar, and so few cats carried the Asylum trademark, especially now that even those who had remained were mostly scattered. "...Raisha?"

There was no denying what was right in front of her, though even the familiar was somehow different. Of course it would be, after so long, but if they had ever seen each other again she hadn't expected it to be like this. "It is, isn't it...? Um... I'd like to think so. Or hope so. Things have really changed, but... I think in a good way, at least for me."

Even those she wasn't close to held a place in her heart, but that didn't mean she knew how to speak to them when they resurfaced. Especially in such bizarre circumstances. What happened to you, she thought, but didn't want to ask. Why are you here?

Instead she sat at the thunderpath's edge and asked, "What about you?"

There was a sort of satisfaction everytime others looked shocked at her demise. Or her being there now, like she was the only cat to come back from the dead. Like, seriously, leaders did it all the time, and no cat ever questioned that. Maybe she wanted to be a leader too.

Although she had to say, she was pleasantly surprised when Thalia didn't even seem scared, sitting down for a pleasant conversation. All the better, too, as she was one of the cats Raisha had some semblance of respect for in life. It almost felt like she was alive again.

"I would say change has been good for me. I've.....grown stronger, so to speak. I had a bit of a run-in with a rogue, but I would say I came out better for it. Sort of thrilling, even." A grin spread across her maw, and she, too, sat down by the path, curling her tail around her paws. Blood pooled around her paws, and she lifted one of them up, wrinkling her nose. "I suppose it can be a bit sticky too."

"That's..." How is any of this good? How did you get here? "It's good to hear you're doing okay," she said instead of voicing her thoughts. It was nice, in a way, to talk to someone she used to know; and she didn't want to make an enemy of someone she still considered a friend. She'd had enough of that for a lifetime by now. "Thrilling, huh?"

The blood drew Thalia's gaze when Raisha lifted her paw, and she looked down at her own before looking back. "...There's nothing to be done about that, is there?"

It was a stupid question, all things considered - if there was something to be done, surely she would have done it already - but she couldn't help asking. They weren't close, not as much as she'd been with some of the others, but it still didn't make her happy to see someone she cared for in such a state.