A rattling cough shook him as he laid in his den, sighing as he took as deep of a breath as he could to get air back into his lungs. He had gone through countless colds and illnesses before, but this felt different. He looked out through the entrance of the den, watching the clouds drifting by over the tops of the trees. He was old, he knew that. His joints made it just about impossible to do any kind of hunting or fighting. Or do more than walk really. He sighed again and let his eyes close. He wondered where Creed was. He knew his brother had left, but he didn't know where. He hoped that wherever he was he was happy. Same for Cross... even though he hadn't seen their other brother in ages now. He only wished that he had done more with his life. He had been too worried about causing a bother or worrying any one that he just kept to himself. And now it was too late to change it. He tried to open his eyes, but they just felt so heavy. He was tired. He was always tired these days. Maybe he should just go to sleep... It was the middle of the day, but who was around to judge? He drifted off to sleep and slowly his shallow breaths began to slow till simply stopped breathing. He peacefully and unassumingly passed away in his sleep, finding a painless peace somewhere else other than this world.

"SPEAK"

He'd only just gotten back from his trip with the kids mere hour ago only to find that his only daughter had returned home. He was thankful that he'd broken away from Dragon with the promise that he'd meet his much younger cousin up north. It seemed luck was on his side - the fact that Justice had made her way home again was a momentous occasion and one he was glad he hadn't missed. While he was glad for his daughter's return, he knew he wouldn't be staying long. He had one more trip to set off on before he could fully return. He'd promised Dragon he'd accompany him to the north. He wanted to see his birth place once more before he grew too old and Dragon had different matters to attend to there as well. Today ended up not being as happy as he thought it'd be. He padded towards his siblings den. He wanted to stop in and see how the other man was feeling. Crucible had been sick more than once so he wasn't going to ask if he'd like to accompany him, but he did want to check in on him. He arrived at the entrance only to pause at the mouth of the den and sniff warily. Something seemed off... he padded in slowly and found the still form of Crucible. The man pressed a nose to his siblings neck to check for a pulse, but was dismayed when he found none. Grief and regret came to the forefront of his emotions. He'd been aware how old they were and Crucible had been sick more than usual. He just hadn't expected him to go out this soon. After all, who really sits and dwells on the death of their sibling, or their own for that matter? It made him feel more mortal than ever as he curled around his brother's cold form and buried his face in his fur as a whine left him. Cross had disappeared what felt like ages ago and now Crucible had left him as well. When would it be his turn? Walk, "Talk" Think