The war was everything that they were built for. Their cause was everything that they knew. Without it, what were they? No home. No enemy to fight. If they hadn't had each other they would be hollow, empty shells. They would have nothing.

It had been a long while since the two had decided to leave the lands that they had once called home. The oases weren't safe enough to inhabit permanently and the resources were few and far between in the neighboring lands. The two had remained in the desert, though farther from their home where prey was easier to come across, shelter could be found, and there was little chance of being happened upon by members of the Qyrhy (if the group had even still existed out there).

The days had become mundane and repetitive. They slept and ate and walked and did little else. Without the regimen of the pride they itched and felt hollow inside. No training, no patrols. Out of habit and a want to have the familiar the two would spar when they had little else to do. Evren still had much to learn from Gaspard in terms of fighting, and it wasn't a bad idea to keep their skills fresh should a time for fighting come upon them.

Still, the emptiness could be readily felt. Neither of them talked about the loss of their home. They both had known what had happened and there wasn't much else to discuss on the topic. They had stayed in the most eastern oasis for a few weeks, their patrols ranging farther and farther from the pride, before the two had mutually decided to leave.

At a short estimate they were a week's walk from the nearest oasis from what had been the Burkuteshti territory. They hadn't wandered too far. Close enough to feel the familiar sands beneath their feet.

In the early morning, before the sun had risen, Gaspard had caught a young springbok, enough for the two of them to get their fill, and had brought it back to an alcove they had made their temporary shelter. It was a decent enough place. Close enough to the Hareket River to where resources were easy to get.

Evren had awoken as Gaspard returned. From the looks of the carcass he had already eaten but had left more than enough for her to get her fill. She blinked awake and sat up, looking over the landscape until she saw the familiar dusty form of her mate nearby. She wasn't feeling particularly hungry so she went towards him instead. Evren could tell that he had been feeling a bit disenchanted with the loss of home. The war had been everything to him, as it was for many in the pride. Even as she sat at his side, leaning her weight against him, he didn't move to acknowledge her.

There was a long silence before either of them said anything. Evren released a long breath, as if she were preparing herself to speak.

"Let's have a family."

It was one of the few times that Gaspard found himself caught off guard by Evren's words. Somewhere in a tree nearby Ashnh let out a laugh. She had learned from him well."

"What?"

"I… I mean…" She trailed off and sat up straight, turning her head towards him. Her voice dropped to a quiet murmur. "We have nothing left out here, Gaspard. No home, no family to speak of. You look so…" She met his gaze and he quickly looked away. "You look so lost. Like you… Like you need something." She put her head back on his shoulder. "I think it's time. The Burkuteshti is gone. We can't expect to keep wandering out here like we're going to find something. We need to make our own things to live for."

He was quiet for a long moment, looking out over the horizon. She had a point. And if they had been in the pride still they probably would have had kids by this point. All the going-on had put a little hiccup into the process. But she had a point. And it wasn't like he hadn't thought about it, or anything. He knew they would have children at some point. He supposed that he was waiting to find the right circumstances but Gaspard knew, somewhere deep down, that he wasn't going to go back home. He wasn't going to have the perfect children to provide to the Burkut fighting force.

Gaspard looked back at Evren, setting his head atop hers. "I suppose you have a point," he murmured quietly. He blinked and looked down at her. "What do we do, stay here? Find some other place to go?"

Evren shrugged. "We can figure that out when we figure it out. But we can't keep looking for something that doesn't exist anymore." She sighed. "I miss home too. I miss everyone. Maybe there's somewhere out there that we can go, but it's never going to be the same."

The thought flickered through her mind that maybe that was for the best. Maybe it was good that there wasn't a place out there that would be the same as the home that they had lost. The children would probably be safer if they weren't born into a war. She couldn't help but think back on everything. The timeline of her life. The way she had looked up toe Gaspard. Then the battles and the disease… and now this. Now everything was different. Everything from here on out would be different.

And that was fine. They would never return home and they would never fight in that war again, but all of that was going to be fine.

Nearby Ashnh landed, moving his way to sit in-between their paws. "So something tells me you two have some good news for me," the eagle beamed.

It was a new day. Things were changing.

"Your brother is going to murder me," he whispered against her. She could feel the smile on his mouth and couldn't help but laugh.

(WC: 1013)