Their home was gone.
Dimma felt it harshly in his chest, like a void had once again opened up and swallowed him whole. He hadn’t stopped shaking since they had left the lands where their home had once been. He pressed closely to his mate’s side as they walked.
Chryso was strong, fierce eyes determined to find them a new home, one that would not fail this time. Chryso had never lost a home like Dimma had, she had left her home in search of a new one. She had grown a lot since then - home was not a place for her. Her home was where Dimma was, it was where her love was.
But Dimma was terrified of being out in the wilds of the Rogue lands.
She needed him to be safe. Her mate was soft, easy to scare and easy to harm. He wasn’t built for being alone, he was built for pack life and the golden dog was determined to give that to her mate. She would bring him back to her old pack if that was what was needed to keep him safe.
She was glad her daughters seemed to carry her demeanor, even if she loved the sweetness of her mate. She did not have to worry for them, and they could go their own way if they wanted.
Isilya had come with them, at least, but she was far enough ahead of them that they did not worry about their privacy. Isilya did not like to see her father afraid.
“Dimma,” Chryso croned softly to her mate. “All will be well. I promise. I found us a home before, and I will find us a home again.” It did little to alleviate her mate’s fears. If anything, they could at least make their way back to Saba Nyumba to rest and recover, before moving on again.
Or Chryso could find a new place while Dimma was safe within the pack.
She had heard of a nomadic pack as well, perhaps the pack would allow them to travel with them until they could find a place to settle. There was safety in numbers. The problem would be finding the pack along the trade routes. They could be anywhere.
Chryso was worried, but she had to be strong for Dimma. She couldn’t allow the worry for her mate to cloud her judgement and cause her to find a home that wasn’t safe enough for her mate. She knew he needed the security, and she had evidently failed the first time.
They had their home for a good, long while of course. They had raised a healthy litter of three to adulthood. Strong, independent girls who they thought the world of.
Dimma sighed and pressed softly to her side as they walked. “I just wish we didn’t have to go…” He muttered softly. It wasn’t that the pack had all left the lands, or had somehow become dangerous overnight but the numbers had dwindled enough for Dimma to feel unsafe.
There was safety in numbers, and if there were no numbers, how was he to feel safe? How were they to BE safe. Chryso gave a soft sound of encouragement. “Love, all will be well. We will find a home to suit us both, and perhaps raise more pups together,” she told him, and he gave her a small smile in return.
Perhaps they could.
They had been walking for several days when suddenly something shifted.
Suddenly the wind had changed, and Dimma tensed against his mate’s side. Something was nearby and he could not quite tell what. It wasn’t until another dog came into view that he realized why he was feeling so frightened.
Chryso had been alert as soon as Dimma froze at her side, ears flicking too and fro to hunt for the source of her mate’s fear.
The newcomer was a dark colored dog with a lighter color of speckles under his eyes, and down one one of his limbs. He was a severe looking dog, large and cold looking. Chryso could feel the golden eyes bore into them, judging them perhaps.
He didn’t step closer to the pair, instead looking back towards another dog, a pale yellow male just as large and severe looking at the other. A large hawk was circling overhead, but Chryso didn’t dare study the thing long enough to find out the color.
The dark dog moved closer to them. Not quickly, the two strangers didn’t appear to be looking for a fight. At least the dark one didn’t. Dimma heard the lighter male snarl a name, “Piper,” he called out at the dark male moved forward.
Piper didn’t think the newcomers were a threat, however. They didn’t often encounter other dogs in their travels, unless they were purposely seeking a new pack. Lin was far too over-protective, and perhaps the newcomers were here to join their journey.
Lin was just overprotective.
When he got closer, he could hear Lin growl behind him and the female before him growled back. Piper could only huff. “Come on, Lin. We’ll never get new friends if you growl at all of them,” He snarked at his partner from halfway between the two growling bodies.
He turned back towards Lin, scuttling towards him and nuzzling under his chin. “Come on, please,” He circled the growling male a few times, whining and pressing up against his side occasionally until the other stopped growling.
It seemed to work on all sides, because Chryso stopped growling too. Even the black and white dog relaxed a bit with Piper’s antics.
“Fine,” Lin sighed. “You’re lucky I like you,” he muttered turning back and wandering back towards where they came from. Piper sputtered for a moment, shaking his head and turning back towards the pair, walking back towards them.
“Um, that was Linfoo, and I’m Piperel. We’re both Trikymia of the Aerasouvious. We’re responsible for the safety of the pack, and bring in those who are looking for the pack,” He told them. Chryso eyed him warily for a moment, but nodded.
“I’m Chryso, and his is my mate Dimma,” she told him in return. “Our former pack is no longer together, so we’re trying to find a new home.”
The dark dog clicked his tongue sympathetically. “The pack I grew up in fell apart when I was still very young, not a pup but not really an adult yet. My siblings all scattered, but my twin brother and one of my sisters came with me,” he offered, leading the two back towards the pack.
Dimma whined slightly at the news.
“This is the second home that has gone from me, perhaps I am bad luck,” He said mournfully. Before his mate could speak up against the notion, Piper spoke.
“The world has a habit of bringing us exactly where we need to be, when we need to be there. Change is not a bad thing,” he told the pair. Dimma looked thoughtful at the notion. Before he could get too far into his musings, Piper spoke again.
“Here we are. I’ll take you to our leader, she should be around here somewhere. She likes to meet all newcomers and visitors.” Dimma eyed his mate nervously for a moment but the pair nodded.
“Lead the way.”