At last the fire had gone out. A lack of sleep and general fatigue finally wore the old king down. While his body was sound he was mentally exhausted and it made him acutely aware of every creak and groan of his joints - and that made him feel even more tired. Even though he loved his family dearly, Valentine's declining fire and rising exhaustion had made being around them unbearable. Even though he'd been away from them for so long, he needed to be away again. Just for a little while. That exhaustion had forced him away and he'd walked until he reach the river. Valentine now lay on a large, smooth boulder that jutted out over the river. His head was on his paws and his spirit was low. He didn't know what he wanted or what he hoped to gain by leaving his family, he just knew he'd been stifled by their presence and unable to explain why, and rather than risk trying it had been safer to leave.

Jareth had followed his nose to this place, drawing in scents that seemed mouth-watering, although he had never been by a river before. Thus, he did not know what to expect. All he knew was that his belly rumbled, and he was as hungry as always. The pup's over-sized paws took him to the water's edge, greenish-gray gaze taking in the sights. He'd never seen such a large body of water. As his gaze searched around, he took notice of a massive figure resting on a boulder jutting out over the moving water. Jareth wondered why the wolf appeared so melancholy when he was perched on top of such a fantastic view of the river. The thin pup began to wander closer to the large male, grinning as he took in the detail of the older male's coat. If only the wolf would stand - why, he'd look simply majestic.

"You're slouching," the boy remarked when he was close enough to be heard, "It makes you look so ordinary." The boy stood there in front of the massive brute as though he had all the confidence in the world. His paws were out of proportion with his long, thin legs and his ears were much too big for his small puppy head. His scruffy blonde mane shivered from the gusts coming up off the river. He was nothing yet of the handsome man he was destined to become. Just a gangly, rather unappealing boy at the present. But, he repeated words that had been spoken to him, words he wholeheartedly believed in. To look ordinary was not a thing to strive for.

Jareth glanced over to the river as he waited for the older male's response, ears tilted in the man's direction. He merely wondered to himself when they might get to talking about finding a little food.

A young voice he hadn't expected to hear caused Valentine to blink. He rolled his head over so he could see who was speaking to him and then, once he had the boy in his sights, eyed him for a moment. Questions began to roll around in his head before he remembered that he was in the middle of a pity party and quashed them. This was his moment. No need to concern himself with thoughts about some random kid popping up out of nowhere with nary a grown up in sight. Nope. "Haven't you heard, kid," he said dryly. "I am ordinary." He didn't actually think the kid knew who he was, but he was acting like he did, so who knew. Until the other day he'd thought his mate and son were dead. What else was he wrong about? Valentine thought about it a second longer before sniffing dismissively. He then said, "And I'll slouch if I want to." ""

Jareth perked and tilted his head as the great brute spoke, but he was quickly disappointed by the male's response. His jaw parted, shocked, when the male willingly admitted that he was ordinary. Blinking, Jareth snapped his jaw shut and wrinkled up his short puppy nose. "And you're okay with that?" the pup asked in disbelief, "When you could be magnificent, you're okay with just being ordinary?" The boy couldn't understand it, and found himself backing away slightly. He'd never met someone who was so content to just be ordinary. And when the man sniffed and said he'd slouch if he wanted to, Jareth stared, shaking his head judgmentally. "I guess it's your choice," he replied just as dismissively.

Flicking his ears, he looked back to the water, sniffing at the air; his belly rumbled, reminding him of his hunger. He turned his head to look at the older man again. "I'm hungry," he stated, "Do you know how to hunt?" A silly question perhaps, but to the boy, nothing was obvious. He had much to learn, and he was ignorant of many things.

Valentine cocked his head and eyed the inquisitive pup. "Listen here, you little gremlin," he said in the same tired tone of voice he'd used on his kids when they were young and exhausting. "I bet I have nine times the life experience as you. You might think you're being helpful and shit, but you don't know shit about shit, so how about you save the pep talk or guilt trip, or whatever this is, for someone with fewer years and a little more patience?" Where were this kid's parents? The old king rolled over so he could look at the boy without craning his neck. He lay sphinx-like with his long, bushy tail laid out behind him, the end twitching from side to side like a cat's. Valentine wasn't quite sure what to make of the kid. Had he been a touch more crabby he might have just pushed the kid into the river and gone about his day, but as it stood he was just tired and feeling his age. He envied the boy and his youthful naivety. He envied the years he had ahead. But, just because he envied him didn't mean he was going to jump to his feet and take care of the kid. Nope. Not his kid, not his problem. "I do," he said without moving a muscle. "Does your momma know how to feed you?" ""