Gavroche had gotten horribly lost. His mouth was dry as the sand he had walked across but at this point Gavroche had decided he wasn’t going anywhere else until nightfall. He had gathered a couple things at the border of some pack but now he wasn’t even sure where he was... the winged male grumbled to himself and pressed against the cool sandstone he had crawled under. The sandstone in the area continued to rise beyond the rock he crawled under, enough space for him to wedge himself in between it so that he was out of the sunlight at this time of day. The shadow extended just a bit beyond where he lay under the jutting rock too to keep his body in full shade. It wasn’t a big space but for someone his size it would work.

He had a problem though. Even when the sun fell he had to figure out where the heck he was, how to get back to the basin, and most importantly find some water. He had gotten lost in the dunes for what felt like ages so when he found the first place with any shade at all he had crawled under it. It wasn’t really a good situation but Gavroche was sure his faith would pull through. He’d begun praying to the Goddess and the Divinities… Surely Celeste would not let him fall here? No, he thought to himself.

Runa’s freedom counted on his return. He just had to be smart and not rush. If he used his head he’d be fine…

...right?

Venom was officially Crown Princess and she took on the extra responsibilities with glee. The white gloved pup made her way over the red rocked border of their temporary home. She didn’t seem affected by the heat of the sun, but it had been unseasonably cold even in the desert. Venom wasn’t as averse to the sun as some of her kin either and she travelled along the border with confidence. Her dual toned tail wagged at her hips as she moved along, she was nearing her adult height and it was hard to call her a pup when she was so tall.

She wore a confident grin, her enjoyment in her task even more obvious in her features. Life hadn’t been easy for the pup but she was quickly coming into her own. With the help of the adults in her life she was becoming a formidable young lady. Venom was hyper vigilant in her patrolling and as soon as she caught a whiff of the unfamiliar wolf she went after it.

Pink purple eyes took in the crevice the little wolf shoved himself into. Venom’s lips curled back to offer a snarl and her forked tongue flicked out of her lips. Then she saw the feathers. Her eyes widened and her teeth disappeared when she recognized the small wolf. The last time she’d seen him she wasn’t any bigger than he was. ”Hey!” She called out, excited to see the wolf but he was still trespassing.

Gav fell into slumber where he managed to nestle himself in. The positive thing was, due to his size, he was fairly confident most things wouldn’t care to bother trying to drag him out from under there if they found him. Not that they’d get much of a meal out of an adult who was smaller than foxes! It still disappointed Gavroche that he had wound up being such a tiny creature but… it was alright. In some ways his small size was a blessing… if he knew how to use it to his advantage then it wouldn’t be as bad. He had considered pack life when he and Runa were free too… he missed being able to interact with others and without Melanthios and Houdini he felt something missing… and the winged male didn’t want the wild woman to feel obligated to let him tag along after her like some lost puppy just because he was lonely.

His breathing was a bit raspy with his throat irritated by the desert sands. Thankfully due to the milder summer he hadn’t baked in the sun like he could have… he was fortunate in that regard. Even still he had been worn out, the winds battering him enough that the rest had definitely been necessary. He just wished that he had been able to sleep peacefully. Instead he twitched as a nightmare, one that had come to him multiple times now, had returned to him. The eruption haunted him… being unable to help his cousin haunted him. He whined and shifted on the sands, the smell of burning fur registering in his brain as he fought to wake up.

A voice, mingling in both his dream and the waking world caused Gavroche to awake with a start. His head shot up against the rock and he let out a yelp as it collided with the solid rock. The male gave a whine as he lowered it and shifted a paw over his noggin, feeling it as it throbbed painfully while he tried to register what was going on and where he was. It took him a moment to piece together that he was looking out at paws and Gavroche shifted towards the edge of the rock, eyes widening a little with recognition as he looked up at Venom.

“Hey!” His tail began to wag back and forth as he barked out a dry greeting, unaware yet he was even on land a pack was seeking shelter in. With how things had been within the desert he hadn’t even noticed the borders when he crossed them, nose dried out and barely of any use to him at the moment. He pulled himself out from under the ledge and stood up, frowning a little when he saw how much she had grown… and she was younger than him too!

“How have you been? It’s been a little bit. You’re growing like a weed!” He barked with a soft chuckle, happy to see her again. The mutations the other wolf bore were fascinating to him. Her tongue, the quills, her claws… to see her still alive and well brought a sense of relief. Those here in Boreas had been far more acceptant of those with oddities than his own homeland… and for that he was grateful. No place was perfect but… a step in a better direction was welcome.

The tiny wolf awoke with a start as Venom disturbed him with more gusto than maybe she should have. She stared at him with intense vivid eyes as he reacted violently and slammed himself against the ceiling of his crevice. She didn’t laugh or giggle as some pups might have, Venom was much too serious after the loss of her father to do that. She was nearing adulthood and had long since put her puppyhood in her past.

Gav, however, wagged his tail and seemed happy to have encountered the mutated princess once more. She was still perplexed by his wings, but even more so she was concerned about him being on Ashen’s land without permission. She gave him the benefit of the doubt, he was pleasant and obviously meant her and her pack no harm. He was so tiny he wouldn’t likely be able to do much more than gather information to use against them.

”A lot has happened.” She said simply, so much had happened to her and her family since she’d met the winged boy. ”I’m not a puppy anymore.” She said plainly, if he couldn’t tell that she had been through a lot from the way she spoke.. Venom was no longer the care free child she had once been.

Her answer surprised him. Gavroche was taken aback and the smile he wore ran away from his face. Gav felt her response in his heart even if he didn't yet know what she had been through… his ears lowered with understanding and the young man gave a sad nod. "I… understand that all too well." His voice had become quiet.

"I hope it's not bold to assume the volcano stole from you as well..." His gaze fell. Maybe she remembered Houdini, his rat. He wasn't sure if she had seen him with Melanthios or not though. "I'm sorry." He let his gaze turn towards her.

"Where are you staying now? Don't tell me you are lost in the desert too?" That was the sign his nose was too dry to be of much use; he hadn't picked up the scent markers of a pack and, given the land, hardly expected a pack to be settled here.

Gavroshe seemed to understand as much as he could, his appearance shifted as his ears fell and his voice made plain that fact. He was no stranger to strife, that much was clear. Gav mentioned the volcano and loss, and Venom flinched internally. Yes. The volcano uprooted her entire pack and destroyed her immediate family. They never really recovered from losing Archon. Venom felt distanced from her siblings as she was distanced from her father.

”The eruption took my father.” She said softly, her loss obvious in her voice. ”No one was unaffected.” She went on to say, as he’d felt loss just as strongly. She tried to dismiss her thoughts, no matter how old she was getting she still had to fight back tears when she thought about Archon and how much time was stolen from her.

”The pack is moving.” She explained easily. ”We lived here after the eruption, but we’re relocating in the South.” Venom continued further. ”You’re lost?” She questioned further, she was comfortable here and could find her way home easily.

The eruption took her father.

The news hit Gavroche harder than he expected. He hadn’t known the man, no, but knowing the loss hit what was once such a happy pup so hard was what resonated with him. He dipped his head in understanding, uttering a small apology. “I’m sorry, Venom…” His voice was sincere.

He couldn’t blame them for wanting to move either… but hearing that they were living here caused the winged boy’s eyes to widen. “Wait… here!?” Alarm was clear in his squeaked out voice. “I didn’t know! Oh no…” His ears flicked back against his skull as he took a step back.

“I was wandering through the sandy terrain for awhile… I didn’t expect it to be so big. I can’t hardly smell anything right now-- my nose is all dried out from the air and sand…” His posture had immediately dropped to a more submissive one.

“I really didn’t know… I… You’re not going to try and force claim me, are you?”