Thea

Hardihood hadn't been to the Wanderer's Nexus in a while, and the pearlcatcher had looked forward to reconnecting with his family. The joy of reunion soon changed to dismay when he learned that his father had cheated on his mother and had sired hatchlings with another. Hardy prided himself on his ability to survive in any environment, but tense social situations were a different sort of hazard entirely, and he soon found himself longing for dangerous terrains, poisonous plants, wild beasts...any of those would be preferable to dealing with his family's drama.

There was little he could do to assuage his mother Honesty's anger and grief. Never having been involved romantically with anyone, he couldn't fathom the maelstrom of emotion that kind of betrayal would engender. His father, Afi, was dealing with grief of a different kind - the guilt of having children he couldn't openly acknowledge, as Hardy's two half-sisters were Unholy Wanderers and weren't allowed in the Nexus. Maei, his father's ridgeback lover, didn't want to raise them on the dangerous streets, but there were as many emotional dangers for them in and around the Nexus as physical ones. If he found such an environment toxic and difficult to handle, surely it was the wrong place for two impressionable hatchlings who only wanted to be loved and feel safe.

He reached out to his little sisters, but they were slow to trust, already jaded by the attitudes of the adults around them. The pearlcatcher was patient, though. He wanted them to survive and, with any luck, to find happiness somewhere. "I know of other clans," he told them. "I can take you to places that will foster you, new homes that will love you." Not Prufrock, he thought to himself. There were too many strange events going on in the place he laired in between his travels. He tried to teach them to play, for they were too serious, and as they made a stilted attempt, he observed their personalities, thinking of the other clans he knew. One for Light, and one for Shadow. He told them tales he had heard of Clan Paladin and Condor's Hollow as they grew more comfortable with playing, and he promised to guide them home.

Hardy left the Nexus with one sister crouched between his wings on his back and the other curled around his neck. He departed with relief rather than regret, with sadness for the parents he left behind and hope for the little sisters he carried, and he made a wish that all his family would have safe journeys as they navigated the physical and emotional paths of their lives.