She cries as she processes it. On some level, it's not that much of a difference, really - they only really see each other a couple times a week. But she misses knowing he's there if she wants to drop by, misses working together with him in their shared purpose even when they're miles apart, misses him. The Forest feels emptier without Zisel in it.

Bestfriend is SAD and he DOES NOT LIKE IT. Presumably he can make it better with LOTS OF LICKS AND NUZZLES.

"I love you," she whispers, face buried in his thick, comforting fur. 

She does her best to shake it off. First snowfall isn't that long. She waited longer, when she first decided to run away.

On her own, the trip to the grove where the druids meet up each summer solstice is more stressful. Zisel taught her that hernes are intelligent, vicious, and good trackers, but no faster than her, and not likely to chase them too far out of their part of the Forest. She asks the Forest for Longstrider and runs through the trees and brushes at unnatural speeds, leaving no trace of her passage. She keeps watch all night, when she's near herne territory.

She's exhausted in a way Lesser Restoration doesn't fully fix, by the time she makes it to the grove, but she's safe. She collapses onto the grass with Damisa and sleeps soundly under the stars.

GOOD chase! LOTS of running! Now zzzzzzz.

She tells the other druids that Zisel has gone adventuring, when they ask where he's gone. Some of them are a bit surprised - didn't think he seemed like the type. 

She doesn't like the gossip. She spends more time with the storm cloud halfling. They don't talk much, but it's a nice silence, watching the clouds roll across the blue sky together. 

The meetup goes on. She learns the peach-loving ranger might be coming through Zisel's territory in a few weeks. Avocet mentions offhandedly that if she's getting second-circle spells she's pretty close to being able to turn into an animal soon, which is exciting. (It is exciting, right? She should be excited about that...)

It's good for her, she thinks distantly. 

In the morning, she prepares spells with the others and then runs all day long back to her home. She makes it past the edges of herne territory without incident. She's exhausted, when she gets home, but she still wanders through her and Zisel's lands to make sure all is well before collapsing into sleep. 

Long summer days are a great excuse to not sleep or stay in one place thinking too long. She patrols her expanded territory, somewhat excessively.

She finds the ranger. Damisa and his oversized dog end up enjoying each other's company. She doesn't exactly enjoy his (she wishes he wouldn't look at her like that), but he has some interesting tidbits about how the villages nearby are faring (a good harvest, this year, but the Queen's recruiters have come around again, which is always hard).