It had taken...a considerable amount of time for him to decide to do this. Even now, as he headed East, he wasn't sure what to really think. What would happen? He still hadn't figured out what he would say or do. What would he say or do? Anxiety prickled at his skin like sharp pins and needles, wrapping its cold tendrils around his mind already. He tried to shake it off, but it only served to make him more anxious, and nervous. And he knew that when he started feeling like that, well...nothing good ever came of it. He was on the side that things would never be mended. That things between them would be shattered forever. But...if he was allowed to do this without interference from him, then...maybe there was a chance. By the time he reached the lake, the sun had begun to set, and the fireflies began to flit across his vision. He supposed it wouldn't be a good idea to show up at Abaven's borders at night. They might think he was trying to trap them into something. So he decided he would stop and rest here for the night. His companions took off to find food while he approached the lake for a drink. Things were...quiet here...calm, almost. And as he drank, he couldn't help but notice something across the way. Was that...a grave marker? Some kind of memorial? Curious, he walked to the other side of the lake to investigate, and when he approached, he noticed there were a few tiger teeth and a strip of a white tiger's pelt woven into a few reeds that were stuck among the rocks. "No..." He whispered as he felt the sting of tears in his eyes. Was this his uncle's grave? Had...had Acere passed on? He felt a tightness in his chest that he hadn't felt in a long time, and he didn't know how to process it. He fell onto his haunches, the world around him suddenly silent as he tried to make sense of what he was looking at. "Ignis"||"Blödhgarm"

It'd been a long while since Corvus had thought about Ignis at all - so long, in fact, that he barely registered his scent when it first hit him. Losing his best friend had been painful for him, but all that pain had been overshadowed by the loss of his unborn children. It was something best left in the past, not something he felt like dredging up over and over again, not when there was so much life ahead of him to live. Tonight though he hadn't come here for any reason other than to scout the bordering lands; there was nothing he was running away from, no pesky thoughts to weigh him down, just the simplicity of the present and the hope he felt for the future. Lately he found himself thinking of children again, now that he felt he'd finally accepted the loss he and Twig had shared, at least enough to move forward. He wasn't quite ready to share his thoughts with Twig yet but he was working out how he felt toward the possibility.

Not right now, though. He'd found himself near the familiar lake that lay to the north of Abaven's lands, sniffing at the edge of the shoreline as he recorded the scents here to memory. Long ago he'd worried Winterfell might prove a threat to his pack and family, but those worries were behind him now. Of course they could never be too careful, but they couldn't live in fear, either. A content sigh slipped past his lips as he watched the fireflies dance above the lake, casting a faint reflection on its still surface. He wondered if maybe he should be heading back soon, with the sun already beginning its descent beneath the horizon, the light that remained growing rapidly dimmer; but then something caught his attention. First he noticed Ignis's scent, and then - after pausing and searching silently across the lake - he saw his vibrant red fur, a color unmistakable to him.

He shouldn't be here. He was too close to Abaven for comfort. Perhaps he was scoping out who remained? Wondering if the brutal previous winter had been unkind to them, had made their numbers suffer? He couldn't be too sure. He couldn't ignore his presence either. He was a Blackthorn, one of the highest ranking warriors in Abaven, and he'd promised himself to protect his pack against all threats, and this was no exception. Corvus wasn't sure how to approach him though, or if he should simply lay in wait, but he figured he ought to at least begin closing the distance between them, and so he began slowly trekking around this side of the lake toward Ignis. As he got closer, when he was sure his presence wouldn't go unnoticed, he simply slowed and stayed silent.