It had only been a few moments since their perfect reunion. Or maybe it had been days. Time slipped onward, moment into moment - it was a concept that didn't really seem to exist. Little Shadow stayed close to Oxide's side, never more than a few feet away. They had been together when the volcano erupted. She hadn't seen it, of course, but she'd heard and felt it. The explosion had shaken her to her core. Lament had guided the Ademre south, urging them to make their way as far from the origin of the disaster as possible.

Vaguely, she wondered if their debt to the vikings would be temporarily suspended in this time of chaos, but it was like a thought that someone else was having. Eris could hardly focus on more than the shadow and smell of Oxide nearby. He anchored her to this untrustworthy, volatile world. Smoke clouded the air even this far from the explosion. Although she couldn't make out the details, she could tell that the ocean surrounding the strait they crossed was angry. Was this the price of her happiness? Everything had a price.

The wind whipped wildly. It blew the tepid scent of her heat far and wide. Eris was unconscious of the changes her body was going through; it wasn't something the Ademre acknowledged. Her face was frozen in concentration as they scrambled mindlessly forward. "I'm right behind you!" She called through the smoke ash. Of course she was. She always would be.

Oxide would have traded his freedom for the rest of his life to make sure that Eris was free of captivity. He’d been desperate to make sure she was safe, he hated seeing her spirit so broken, and his desperation was obvious in the deal he was willing to make to free his little shadow. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been together when the eruption happened and they were forced to move south. Eris hadn’t left his side.

She didn’t want to and he didn’t want her to, never again would he leave her. Taking their little adventure.. he allowed her to be captured. He was at fault, and he’d spend the rest of his life making up for that fact if he had to. Now he had to protect her from the Volcano’s wrath.

He’d barely been able to notice the change in Eris, her status reminded him so much of Eulogy and his time with her. And the puppies that he had given to her… he shook the thought of them from his mind. Eris was his whole world now and all he could focus on. Ox had to get her safe before he could think about anything else, however much he wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go. She was irresistible and if their lives weren’t in danger he wouldn’t have been able to stop touching her.

There was wind, smoke, and ashes assaulting them as the crossed the muted sands through the destruction. He slowed only slightly to change his position, ”Stay beside me,” he offered her as gently as he could through the wind. He looked out over the violent waves with clear barnet gaze, surviving would be the trick. They were going to make it somewhere safe, or at least Eris was. He wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself for her.

Waves crashed at either side of the bifrost as they continued on their journey towards Auster. Salt and ash bit at her nose, stinging the inside of her throat. Eris whined deep in her throat, pressing closer to Oxide. They ran shoulder to shoulder across the sands. Stay beside me. How could she ever part from him now?

Against all odds: nature, vikings, and common sense, they had survived. The volcano shrank into the horizon behind them as Eris finally set paw on Auster. For now they were "safe." Ocean waves still crashed hard on the shore, but they were a bit more distant now. "Oh... I feel faint," Eris murmured, leaning against Oxide's side and breathing hard. Her fur stuck up every which way from their run. "We should head... further inland... stick to the coast... until the ash... lets up," she panted, trying to strategize. Her navigation skills were finally coming in handy.

The journey was far from comfortable, the smoke and ash heavy in the air as the two of them continued forward over the bifrost. Eris whined softly, and he knew she was having more trouble than he was over the flat sand land bridge. Her voice was at his ear as she weakened, and Oxide felt his pace slow instinctively for her. She could barely breathe at this point and the young Nightingale made to stop.

”Stop, Eris.” He told her softly, her pace was much shorter than his and she was having a much more difficult time of the smoke. Without much ceremony Oxide made to grab for her scruff. He wanted to pick her tiny form up and swing her over his back so she wouldn’t have to walk any further. If she made it to his back he’d wait for her to rearrange herself. ”We’ll get there faster this way.” He insisted before taking off again.

It felt strange to be treated like a child, but also extremely comforting. She hadn't given much thought to their size difference since their time in the gully, but as he swung her over his shoulders, she was immediately reminded of just how tiny she was by comparison. Eris suddenly felt very, very small. But she trusted him with her life, and so she relaxed herself against his body and hung on to his own scruff with her teeth.

With her positioned on top of him the scent of her heat was almost overwhelming. Confused by her own hormonal changes, Eris leaned into his touch and tapped out the special name she had given Oxide in Ademic against his shoulder. Why did she feel this way? She always wanted to be close to him but now she wanted to be close in a way she didn't quite understand. "If we get far enough, we should rest," she whispered from her perch on his back, just loud enough to be heard over the wind.

She made no hard complaint, though Oxide found himself hesitating as he grasped her scruff gently. The action awoke an inner instinct that was driven down by the will to survive. Were they not in danger of losing their lives Oxide might have stopped right where they were and explored a whole new dimension to their relationship. As it was her alluring scent distracted him enough.

His lips pulled back as he felt her paw tap against his flesh, the familiar sign for his name. However unaware he was of the meaning it was based off of, and how true it rang for his little shadow on his back. Of course the young man couldn’t help but imagine all of the ways he’d show Eris around her new found adulthood.

”Right.. rest.” He chuckled amusedly, once they were safe there was only one thing he would be able to focus on. He was young, and hadn’t come close to depleting himself, there was plenty of energy to expend. He picked up his pace, unable to hide his eager anticipation. 'Safety' couldn't arrive soon enough.