It was in the middle of the night, a foggy night within the forest. They had been in between here and redbud for the past week, but it would be soon time to move on. Thora was curled up in the den with Eli, but Storm was finding herself restless and unable to sleep. She was worried and hadn't gotten anywhere with what she planned to do. She couldn't keep Thora around while she continued to waste away. She couldn't let her youngest daughter watch her slowly die. Her biggest problem was the only family she had run into was Rain and had gotten the knowledge of where Frost was, within a pack called Lirim. She had thoughts of going to her brothers pack, but she wasn't sure she could take Thora with her. Her older kids would be able to handle this better, but she felt the youngest would be traumatized. She had traveled quite a distance from the den and had settled at the base of a large tree in the forest. Continuously shifting until she found the most comfortable position. She had to have some fresh air, some room to sort through her thoughts. Eli would protect Thora and gave her some freedom to do what she pleased. She would not ever consider simply leaving her youngest, that would never be something she could do. She had to find someone to care for her and to help her grow into a young women. Right now she was growing to tired and essentials like hunting Storm couldn't teach. She should have had Thora stay back with her father, but she couldn't say no to her, so just didn't have the heart. "Talk" "You" Think

Ruina was gone. Though he couldn't say he was attached to it at all considering he had joined not too long ago and hadn't even gotten the chance to learn more about what his sire had promised. He was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't learn more about these...demons...that Elias had spoken of, but in the end, Cloud decided it was a load of bullcrap. Elias had up and left, the pack disbanded just like Dauntless had at one point. He had seen Tyranis at the fight training that had been held before Ruina crumbled but after that? Nothing. Cloud knew he was nothing like Elias despite his sire's insistence with the demons and whatever the hell else he was talking about. He wasn't as interested in that culture the way Ty had been...or at least from what he observed. No. He didn't care at all about a man he barely knew. So when he realized that Elias had left and the pack ruined, he took his leave without a word. Not even to Ty. He wanted to see his mother again. She was a presence in his life that he sorely missed. The last time he had seen her was in the North when Ty had been found. But he hadn't seen her since. Was she okay? He hadn't seen her in so long, and he always worried about her. Taking a deep breath, he absentmindedly stalked into the forest. He had too much on his mind to sleep, but it wasn't like he had anywhere to really sleep, anyway. He had just dug himself a den on Ruina lands not long before it disbanded, but to him, it wasn't worth staying. With the night growing later, however, he figured he ought to at least find some shelter for the night. Dual toned gaze spotted a large tree in the forest, so he headed over to check and see if it was decent enough to sleep under for the night. Fog swirled around his legs as he moved closer, and when he was close enough to the tree, a familiar scent hit him like a brick wall. "Mom?" She was here!? Glancing around, he could smell her clearly and quite strongly, almost as if she were standing right...next to...him...oh. He circled to the other side of the tree and there she was! "Mom!" He exclaimed with both surprise and happiness at seeing her. Those feelings didn't last long, however, as he took notice of her appearance. When did she become so...fragile looking? "Mother, it's me, Cloud. You...probably already know that though..." She wasn't that old yet! At least, he didn't think so. He moved forward to gently nuzzle her neck. What was she doing out here alone? Walk, "Talk" Think

She was enjoying the quiet, the crickets, the peace. It helped to ease her mind and push back the worry she had been dealing with. Things would work out, they just had to. If anything she would leave Thora with Frost, even though she preferred the girl to stay with one of her siblings. She wanted to seek them all out, but she felt she just didn't have the strength to do that sort of travel anymore. Soon though it became apparent that her worries were about to be washed away. She hadn't heard of his approach, but when his voice cried out for her, her ears and head shot up. Surprised that she was suddenly found, not by Thora, but by Cloud. A smile spread across her black lips as he spoke, reassuring her about who it was. "Oh Cloud! I have missed you!" she said as she buried her muzzle into his neck as he nuzzled her. Boreas was so big! How in the world had she been lucky enough to have been found by one of her older children. How relieved she was to actually have him here in front of her. Her tail lightly drummed the tree. She was so happy that she wasn't about to ruin this moment with her ill news, that would wait until they had caught up some. "How have you been since I last saw you?" she asked wanting to hear about what all had happened since they had found Ty and Rain. "Talk" "You" Think

He would be lying if he said he didn't miss her. As his mother buried her muzzle into his neck, he protectively and lovingly curled his neck over hers as he gently hugged her. His heart ached after not seeing her for so long, and he had always kicked himself for not sticking with her instead of going to his sire's pack. Elias had done nothing for him. But his mother had done everything for him, and he never forgot that. "I missed you too, mother. A lot." If there was anyone he could be honest with besides his brother, it was her. She was his whole world, after all. Or at least a very big part of it. His own tail wagged with happiness just as hers did, and he thought it a miracle of fate that they had run into each other. Of course, he could boast that he was the best tracker in the world and had tracked her down on his own, but he wouldn't and couldn't lie to her. Her question brought him to think about things. What had happened up until now? Honestly, he felt his life was just a blur. He went through the motions day in and day out, helping Ty and hunting, mostly. It was almost...robotic. Predictable, even. He pulled away for a moment as he gently licked her muzzle. "Honestly, I...haven't done much. I joined my f-" He cut himself off. He wasn't sure if he considered Elias a true father...as far as he was concerned, Elias was just his sire. "I joined Elias' pack for a little while, but...he abandoned it. I wasn't even sure that I wanted to be there, anyway. He wasn't a father any more than he had been before, so." He shrugged. He didn't particularly care, anyway. "Other than that, not much I guess..." Thinking about it now, he felt like he didn't have any real purpose. No mate. No kids. No pack. Nothing. All he really did was stick around his brother and hunt. "I have become a pretty good hunter. I think I can track just about anything now," He chuckled as he thought about it. "What about you, mother?" Now that he was closer to her, he could tell she didn't quite look the same as before. But he didn't want to press the issue. "Speak"