His family was lingering here - but if Alacritia was anything, it was vast. His bruises from the earthquake were healing, but there were still times that Concord ended up resting because his muscles grew sore. The sun was slowly starting to set, and the rocky terrain threw many shadows over the area, giving the silence a rather lonely feeling. Where was the remainder of his family? His siblings? His twin? Being without Paradox was strange, empty, he hoped that she had managed to find the other Blacks without as much trouble. He worried for her, hoping that the quake that had swallowed he and a couple of other wolves up hadn't hurt her somehow. Collapsing earth, trees falling over, flooding, there were a plethora of dangers that could have occurred, he just hoped that she was safe regardless.


When his twin wasn't with him he had the tendency to worry.


The scent that he had been following this far had been whipped around by the wind that flowed through this area, cutting around the rocks that were eroding by the day. He was lost, and for now - he was alone as well, left to gather his thoughts as the sun set for the day. Soon he would have the stars to guide him - and counting on that, he would settle beside a sturdy looking rock, waiting in its shadow for night to fall. It would be a warm autumn night, one good for traveling. For now he would rest his weary muscles and hope that he found water soon. It would seem that he was almost through the desert areas - but he had to be careful that he didn't tire himself out.

The earthquake had nearly broken Paradox, alone and without any shelter she had huddled beneath a tree and done her best to keep from falling over. It was only the knowledge that if her family found out that she would never live it down that had kept her from crying. The only thought in her mind then had been for her brother, hoping against hope that he had not fallen prey to the tremor. Even after the last of the aftershocks had died down she had not wanted to move, feeling only secure with the solid shape of the tree pressed into her back. Finally she had managed to pry herself away from it, it was only in the few days after that word of the true devastation of the quake reached her and a dread filled her. That was when she had begun her rounds, searching the lands to the west, taking precious few hours to sleep. She was running herself ragged, unable to face the possibility that he was hurt or worse. She had patrolled most of the outlaying lands and had turned her search inward only out of necessity. Here she was closer to Twig, to Jinxx and the pack they had taken up residence in. Still she would not turn to them, could not. Twig she knew was preoccupied but Jinxx seemed not to be doing much, at least to the silver girl and so the fact that he did not seem to be out looking for him, for her twin was a bitter pill to swallow. No she would do this on her own. The lands here were barren, dry and blending together before her. Ravines were as cracks in the ground to her tired and fevered brain. When had she last eaten? Last drank? It surely it was a life time ago. A faint familiar scent reached her but she passed it off as an illusion, one last final trick of her worn and battered mind. Just as a large rock was rising above the dusky horizon did the world finally seem to close in around her. The blackness hovering at the corners of her vision finally fulfilling their threats and engulfing her just as the ground rose up to slam into her side. For the first time in days did rest come to the young Black girl. Speech, Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Thank you Seren

Sitting in the shadows he would manage not to pant beneath the fading heat. The male's eyes would slip closed, and he would take a deep breath, attempting to ease his mind. Paradox was fine, she was fine - she had to be. If she was not, he would feel it wouldn't he? The two had always been oddly close, and despite her being the more mischievous of the two - the brute strongly believed that she was his better half. They were a whole being when they were together... what had happened to split them up? These vast lands had a way of separating a family - the Blacks had been a unit for so long, and now they were lost, looking for each other and a new way of life while hiding from a sibling that wanted nothing more than to leave them in tatters.


It was all so much, and it seemed to multiply the longer that Concord had no family at his side. The brute would sigh, his eyes still closed as he let his mind wander as the sun continued to set... the familiar scent that passed him was nearly identical to his own - and yet he would stir. Green eyes would peek open, topped with furrowed brows and his mouth was tight with disbelief. Scanning the horizon, he would whine somewhat - swearing that his sister was nearby. "Discord." He would whisper, his voice sounding a bit more dry than he had expected - nearly foreign to his ears. He had no reason to speak much without her around.


The brute would lift himself onto his feet, and be guided by the little light left in the sky, as well as the rising moon and stars just beginning to twinkle into view. Swallowing, he would wonder whether he really was imagining his twin's scent, whether the wind was whipping about an old trail - whether it was somehow not real. But he had never failed to find her before, never been tricked, never had they been apart for long. Paranoia nearly got him to stay quiet, to not respond to this with a call, to find her with his senses alone... but he couldn't. He couldn't wait, not a moment longer - screw anyone that might be following him he would deal with that if it came.


He was pretty sure he was alone out here, if there was someone trailing him through the desert they would have said something by now.


His march toward her would be stopped, when the russet rocks would be dotted with the form of a offwhite figure, toppled over so delicately ahead of him. Paradoxus would freeze, knowing immediately the form of his twin - and he would rush forward, hoping that the worst had not happened - that Paradox was alright. His voice was stuck in his throat as he nudged her, his eyes wide as he nestled into her neck with his muzzle - she was still warm, still breathing, her heart still beating. Relief would flood him, but he would still whine - placing kisses to the woman's face in an attempt to wake her. "Sleepyhead, how long have you been awake to fall asleep in a place like this?" He would chide, if only to fill the silence and keep himself from panicking.


The brute was insanely worried about her, but the sun was fading and she didn't have to worry about heatstroke out here at night. If it got chilly he would sit beside her and await her awakening. He was so glad to see her, so glad that she was at his side again. He wouldn't make the mistake of letting her out of his sight any time soon. "Sleep well, sis." He would quietly say, and then lay beside her - keeping watch to make sure that nothing would try to harm the damsel as she rested. "I hope I'm good enough of a surprise for you when you wake up."

She was in a fog, all sensations slow to reach her and even slower to make sense. She floated there for what felt like a life time when a soft pressure finally reached her, a gentle nudging, a whine and then the sensation of a tongue rasping over her. Then a voice, his voice. A part of her stirred, though she remained unmoving. She needed to wake up, see his face again, needed to know that she wasn?t just dreaming. She struggled to try and break her sleep but her body was unresponsive, too tired to do as she pleaded. There was suddenly a warmth at her back and she started to feel herself waking up, all too slowly, all to awkwardly was she being pulled from the fog. His words finally seemed to register and she managed a sputtering laugh. ?I think you?ll do.? She croaked, voice hoarse, throat dry. Slowly she managed to pry her eyes open. Laying on her side the way she was she could just see him when she moved her gaze skyward. Slowly she lifted her head a weak smile breaking across her silver face. ?Hey you.? Of course they would have been brought together when one of them really needed the other. They had always been able to sort of sense the other?s needs and she had no doubt he had felt her collapse. Speech, Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Thank you Seren

It would take a moment before the girl would stir - and he would simple wait for that moment. Every breath that she took was a relief, and yet there wasn't an herb he could use for miles - and he hadn't stocked while traveling on his own. A mistake, he now realized - but there was nothing that he could do to remedy it, and not much that he could have done considering how barren the desert could be. He held back another whine at the listless form of his sleeping twin, but she would respond - in what felt like minutes but could have been moments with how worried he was - to his cheeky comment he had made just after laying beside her. Her throat was dry - and oh how he wished that they were near some sort of water source - but that seemed to be wishful thinking.


She would move her head and gaze to meet his, and he would grin at her - relief washing over him that she could still manage to smile. His tail wagged in a gentle lull behind him, and he would break eye contact only to cover his sister's snout in kisses, glad that they were together again after spending what felt like forever apart. "I've missed you." He would say gently, although he was still worried about her. It wasn't like the silver fae to collapse the way that she had, even if she was a little more bold than him, a touch more brash, she took care of herself. With her apparent lethargy in mind he wouldn't run the dozens of questions that he had by her that very moment, and decided that he would do his best to space them out or save them for later. The important ones would be the ones to stick anyways, right? The most important though, was what he would start with. "Are you alright? It just got dark so if you want to get some rest, I'll keep watch." He would gladly keep guard if that was what she wanted. If she was anything like him, she hadn't been sleeping all that often - he just couldn't, especially not after the quake, when he wasn't sure whether she was alright.


"We should find water when you're ready to get back on your feet." These lands were dry, but water once flowed through here. There should be something - anything, that gathered when it rained. Summer had passed after all - even if these dry parts of the West didn't seem to take heed of that during the day with how hot it could get. "I hope you haven't been out here long." There would be a touch of sadness to his voice - he was guilty. She had been out here looking for him there was no other explanation. If only he had found her sooner, she would not have to be so exhausted now. "I'm sorry it took so long to find you." Or had she been the one to find him?

Paradox stared at him, she couldn?t help it. It had seemed a life time that they had been separated and she had mourned him every second of it. She couldn?t be sure he wasn?t just a mirage, her over worked brain giving her an image of what she had been searching for. Still she could feel him, hear the gentle noise of his tail hitting the ground. Then he leaned down and began to frantically lick at her. He spoke and she tried to laugh but only managed a wheezing cough, feeling the tightness in her throat. ?I missed you too.? She managed, she wanted nothing more than to lay her head back down but she was afraid that if she let him out of her sight she?d lose him again. He gently spoke again and she had to smile, of course he would be worried about her. ?I?ll be fine? just a bit thirsty is all.? She spoke with a slightly teasing tone. ?I don?t need to rest.? She lied weakly, in truth she wanted nothing more than to finally get some sleep but she wasn?t ready to let him out of her sight yet. He suggested water and she was once again reminded of her thirst. She needed water, but she wasn?t quite sure she could stand. ?Yes on the water but I may? need, um, help.? She shifted slightly. ?Oh only a few days or so.? The darkness was tugging at her again and she fought against it, suddenly jolting upright to press herself into her brother, hoping his presence would help to keep her grounded. ?we?re here now, that is all that matters.? She croaked. Speech, Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Thank you Seren

She still seemed a bit out of it - but after the way that she had collapsed it was to be expected. Hearing her speak this way though, all but wiped away his previous worries, and he knew one thing for sure - he wasn't going to seperate from Paradox again. It seemed that the moment they weren't together the quake had happened - what if the next time they both weren't so lucky? He couldn't imagine his life without his twin at his side.

Even though she seemed to want to pass on taking a nap - he wanted to urge her to do so regardless. She was tired, he could tell, but for some reason she was fighting the sleep off. Although he supposed that in her place, he wouldn't want to sleep either - it would all feel a bit too much like a dream that way. His grin would slip into a smile, and he would nod, quickly agreeing to help her find water. "Of course." The two of them should be able to find a water source soon, but it would wait until Paradox had gotten a proper amount of rest. "But you've been up that whole time, right?" He would comment on the length of time she had spent in the desert. Three days, three sleepless nights, he was so sorry she had spent that long alone. But she was right, they had each other now - they were safe and in the same place, it was what mattered most.

As she quickly sat up, he would steady himself and hold her up, "We'll search once you get some rest." He would wake her up before dawn, so that they could search before the sun made it far too hot to do so safely. "I could use the break too - I never stopped looking for you. Especially after the quake - you weren't hurt were you?" She seemed to be fine now, but it had been a little while since it happened.

It was difficult to keep him in focus, her eyes wanted to droop, he body craving the rest she had denied herself for so long. She smiled weakly as he agreed, though she quickly looked away as he continued to speak. ?Yes.? Was her simple croaking answer. She had been up that whole time, unable to sleep for fear that if she stopped looking he might drift away, or that they may pass each other without ever knowing. How could she sleep knowing that he was out there and that he could be hurt? Paradox felt her brother support her as she sat up. The silvery girl frowned at him, again with the sleep thing. But then he voiced his own weariness and she softened. The quake had been a nightmare but it was over now. ?No, were you?? She scanned over him again, he looked intact? Speech, Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Thank you Seren