He never strayed far from the mountains, having been able to live off of the familiarity of them for most of his youth now. What other wolves found treacherous, steep slopes- Dominus found safe. He had been able to feed himself off the mountain goats and various birds that made these lands their home alongside him, though.. he was reaching that age where the need for discovery and conquest was becoming stronger, like some dormant strain in his DNA only just now being activated.

Faint whispers often filled his ears in forms of hallucination when he was alone, making it harder and harder for him to remain in the mountains on his own forever. He ventured further toward the East this summer, following the tracks of what he recognized as his uncle very cautiously. He had no intentions of finding Acere, nor any of the older members of his family.. but some part of him yearned to discover what ever had happened to the rest of his siblings. He missed them, though he had his doubts that they would even remember him by now. They were all so young when they were separated.

Ash clung to his toes as the mountain wolf moved across lands flatter than what he was used to, it felt so foreign to him and that is partially what thrilled his young heart. He continued on with wide, open blue eyes that perceived the world in a way that questioned the very existence of everything they devoured in their vision. What advantages did these territories hold to him if he made them his own territory, his own hunting grounds? What other wolves would be attracted to them, and would they be worthwhile? He had so many questions birthed from so little understanding of absolutely everything around him.

This summer day was starting to cool off as it was nearing early evening. It was still light out, but the sun wasn't as harsh as it had been when it was high within the sky. It made things a lot more pleasant especially when hunting herbs and it made it a lot more tolerable for Lorenzo to be out of the saddlebag. He was too big to stay inside the saddlebag for long and he would always complain how stuffy it was. Together the two quietly moved slowly through the nook collecting and picking herbs and poisonous plants. Lorenzo had become the little expert on poisonous plants and he had been teaching her what he knew. Being an opossum he had some immunity when it came to poisons. Actaea herself was in charge of finding and collecting herbs along with anything that might be useful for crafting. She had been doing some things on her own, when she wasn't with Ignis or uncle. Since her last talk with Shaye she had been spending time back in Abaven, knowing there was no hard feelings about her choice of fallowing Uncle. She was slowly getting some traveling in, but she tried to stick close to Abaven lands. Her left sided bag was beginning to get full and she was happy with all that she could find here. She had Alfalfa, which was so easy to find and so plentiful within the Nook. Lavender which was really chilling her out and even a few wintergreen plants for her stock. Her herb hunting had been very successful and she was happy to get things back to her old den within Abaven, but Lorenzo wasn't done. So she just slowly fallowed the opossum around. His silver fur was easy to see no matter what kind of brush he would get into, so fallowing him was very easy. Her necklace gently bouncing around on her neck and her saddlebag gently shifting on her back as she moved. The tall elegant female would pause as her companion began to dig, curiously looking at the plant he was digging up. Lorenzo would teach her about the plant when they got back. "Speech"

By the time the growing titan reached the base of the mountain, he was already ready for a break. His weight was getting harder to hull down the mountain quickly without risking injury, and he still admittedly held a bit of puppy clumsiness. He had yet to grow any sort of majesty that some wolves seemed to hold so naturally and practically fell into one of the pine trees along bottom of the mountainside. He was okay with this, and instead of attempting to scramble out.. he gave himself time to rest and recuperate from the hike in the coverage of the pine's branches.

He was still lost in his thoughts, the muttering voices his head often conjured and interrupted his peace with seemed quiet for now. Perhaps they were just as curious about what lied outside these mountains as he was? Dominus' bright blue eyes peered out through the branches and he looked through the forest, out to his cluttered view of the horizon. There was an ocean out there, and islands... there had to be so much left to be seen and understood. His curious mind had so many questions, like why his father told him he was meant to rule these mountains and did it mean that he could never leave if he did? He knew some of why the volcano and these mountains were so important, but he wasn't sure he quite understood. Or perhaps, he did not want to understand at this current moment. He was far too curious about the rest of the world to admit he had a responsibility expected of him right here.

With an overwhelming sense of wanderlust motivating him, he pulled himself out of the tree once he felt like his strength had returned to him and his breathing was back to normal. His eyes glanced behind him to the mountain he had just descended, an ominous feeling overcoming him as embraced the feeling of insignificance that came with admiring something so much greater than himself. Ruina had been gone for some time, he'd been apart from his family for months now... what was his father even training him for at this point? Where was the pack he was supposedly meant to lead, the wolves he was supposed to empower? Why did Elias take them away from all of that if he was meant to be a part of it?

Nothing made sense to him anymore, and he was no longer a small child. He had questions, just as Domina did... he just didn't voice them. He shook his head and tried not to think about how frustrating it was becoming to not have any answers as to why they had to be so far from their family- or how aggravating the way Elias spoke to Domina was becoming. He instead held on to the more optimistic thoughts that Elias told them to hold on to; they were going to bring them back, but they needed the Demon Mother- his mother, and then... they would rule these mountains with the strength of demons tied to only their blood. He gave an outward sigh and pulled himself away from staring up at the mountain. Today, he was going to let go of all of that and do something not for Elias, not for Ruina, but for Dominus. He wanted to see the ocean.

He followed the flat ground around the mountain's base, traveling further south as he curved around its perimeter. It didn't take him long before he came across the scent trail of Actaea and her opossum, as well as many different plants that she was likely carrying. He spent a considerable amount of time with his nose against the ground, flaring nostrils sending dust clouds into the air around his muzzle- he wanted to be absolutely sure. His heart raced the more he stood there studying that scent. Finally and in an instant, he broke out in a sprint as he followed the trail as fast as he possibly could without losing it.

He wanted to howl out to her and alert her that he was nearby, but he did not. He kept quiet, worried instead what might happen to her if Elias found her too. He honestly did not want to have to deal with Elias' intolerance to two bratty sisters if she did stay around, so he did his best to brace himself for what he was about to have to do to protect her. A small whine left him as he hurried faster down the trail, followed by an immediate growl due to his frustration that he had allowed it to slip. He put all of his energy into his running, trying to drown out his thoughts from exhaustion as well as catch up to her.

"Actaea," He slowed when he caught sight of her gray coat, but did not stop himself completely until he was on her left side. He wanted to embrace her and express how much he missed her, but he also wanted to protect her and tell her to leave now before she got comfortable. He was scared to do anything or say anything- conflicted. He was determined to remain strong, but that determination was losing in a battle against a stronger drive- his love for his family. Tears collected at the bottom of his eyes, reflecting what little light they could from the evening sky. All he could think when he saw her was, 'What happened?' Why wasn't he allowed to be around her? Why had Elias let all of this happen? Where was their mother?

"You need to leave, Actaea. Never come back here." He didn't even realize he was growling, but it seemed to rumble within his chest with persistence as he struggled to control how fucking sad this whole situation was. His brain was so active, so curious, but so absolutely fragile when overrun by emotion- it was times like this where such was evident. He wanted to explain to her why, but how without making her worry? Without making her curious and wanting to come back here? He growled again, thick teeth on display now as the teen lowered his head to align it with his shoulders. He took on a predator's stance and snapped at the air between them until she, hopefully, began to run.