Recluse had sent out a search party to find Aryn and drag her back home. Why she'd left he had no idea, but he could only presume she'd been spooked by the sickness that had gripped them, or maybe she'd gone looking for his mom. She was dead, he knew that now, and as he slowly recovered he was reminded of that fact. Whatever had happened had been strange and explainable, but he knew for certain it didn't mean his mother was still alive. Once he was no longer leaking strange ooze he felt the crushing weight of disappointment at that revelation - and the pain was only exacerbated by realizing Aryn had fled.

He was alone and he felt betrayed, in the kind of way that made him feel sick to his stomach. His whole life was a perpetual cycle of abandonment and he wasn't going to put up with it any longer. After he sat and mulled over it for awhile he suddenly knew exactly where Aryn would be. It was where she'd first met his mother, a place she'd told him about and he'd vowed to visit one day. That was how he ended up here, stalking through the heavy fog and sniffing fervently at the ground for any hint of her scent. When he found it he held on tight to it, knowing his hazy vision wasn't doing him many favors here; coupled with the fog he was having trouble navigating properly at all. But when he caught sight what he thought must be her silhouette, curled up tightly inside a hollowed-out log, he seemed to forget all about his worsening sight.

His paw snagged on something - maybe a rock or a branch, he wasn't quite sure - and he went down hard with a growl, inches from the log's opening. "Aryn... What the fuck," he started when he finally managed to pull himself upright, his chest down covered in muck now. "Why'd you leave me? You know Recluse is out looking for you? You shouldn't have left. I needed you." He didn't sound angry, not really, but his voice was frantic and concerned. All his thoughts suddenly tumbled out in a disjointed mess as he tried to steady himself on his paws.

Gradually, Aryn's sickness faded. The paranoia lingered the longest, reappearing at random intervals long after the ooze had stopped dripping from her nose. It was perhaps why she remained out here so long - the paranoia told her that to return home was death, and now that Aryn was healthy again she struggled to remember what thoughts and revelations were sickness-caused and which ones were rooted in logic and fact.

Something had returned her to this forest, the very same one that she'd once met Eyrun and where she had seen her ghost shortly before the world had healed itself. Eyrun had wanted her to return home, to Veigar. The poor boy had few left whom he loved, and while Aryn knew that had she been sound of mind she'd not ever have abandoned him, how was she supposed to convince him of that?

A figure moved through the woods nearby and Aryn quieted her thoughts, ducking further into her hollowed out log. Would it be Kali again? Or worse, Recluse herself? The noises grew closer until a loud crash brought the shy woman to squeak in surprise, her eyes squeezing shut hard. Something had fallen just outside of her log, it was calling her name and -

"Veigar?" One eye opened hesitantly, as if it may be a trick of the wind or perhaps even another visiting ghost. Seeing that the muddy figure before her was truly the boy, Aryn couldn't scamper out of the log fast enough. He was demanding answers from her but Aryn didn't care, she launched herself out from the rotting wood (her budding horns catching and dragging along the bark) and aimed to envelop him in a hug. "You're alive!" She breathed, her voice catching. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to leave you. Please believe me, I was sick." It wasn't the greatest excuse - after all, half of Habari was sick - but Aryn begged his forgiveness with the truth, regardless.

Mentally Veigar was deeply unwell, despite the fact that the symptoms of his illness had all completely faded now, save for his fatigue as well as his subtly blurred vision. It hadn't gotten any better since then so he doubted it would, but he tried not to dwell on it for too long. It wasn't a difficult feat when he had his mind set on something, like tracking down Aryn. This had been at the forefront of his mind since she'd been gone and only now had it culminated in finding her.

Part of him wanted to rip her from where she lay and drag her back to Habari, but another part of him - the part that longed for acceptance and approval - wanted answers from the woman he largely considered a parental figure. Answers. Anything to calm the ever-present panic that welled up inside of him, only further exacerbated now. "I knew you'd be here," he finally breathed, sucking in a sharp breath as she rushed him. He was overwhelmed with emotion, feeling the hot tears pricking at the surface of his eyes, so much so that he failed to notice anything different about her.

"I'm.. yeah, I'm fine," he assured her quickly. He was only telling a small fib, but he didn't need to worry her with his blurry vision, not when her problems were far worse. Recluse wouldn't take her absence lightly once she finally returned, Veigar knew that much. "It's fine," he said, though the feeling of abandonment wouldn't go away quite so easily no matter how hard he willed it too. "But come home with me. Please. Things are better, no one's sick anymore." Maybe Recluse would understand. Veigar didn't believe it, but he had to hope. He let out a sob he tried to muffle as he leaned in against Aryn, grateful for her presence despite everything.

Thankfully Veigar did not shrug off her embrace, and though Aryn still had the feeling that he was keeping something from her, she was happy to ignore it and pretend that there was no hard feelings lingering within him. She hugged him tight as he assured her he was fine and begged her to come home with him. Couldn't he see that it wasn't that easy? Aryn sighed, leaning her head against his as Veigar let out a small sob.

"I would do anything for you." She whispered, her own eyes stinging with tears. "I'll come home, but only because it's you who's asking." Veigar was still a child, still unsure of the ways the world worked sometimes or of the cruelty Recluse could show. Aryn had seen both types of alphas having been raised first in Lirim and she knew that Recluse was not as patient or forgiving as her father had been. Even if she was able to explain to the boy what suffering might await her back in Habari, Aryn could not bring herself to try. He'd likely blame himself for whatever her punishment may be.

She pulled back from him to eye him up and down, lifting her paw to try and brush some of the muck from his chest. "Does Recluse know you're here?" Had the alpha sent the child she'd helped raise to find and drag her home, or was Veigar here of his own accord? Were there others out there looking for her, aside from Kali who she'd already once escaped?

It wasn't that Veigar didn't care about Aryn's punishment - he was naive sometimes but he wasn't stupid, though even less so he was aware of the cruelty that some of the Habari wolves were capable of. He had no doubt he had a similar streak in him. But more than that he just wanted her home with him, no matter the punishment she'd get. He couldn't think of all that now though, not when he needed her. He tried to stifle the helpless sobs that suddenly wracked him, willing himself not to cry, knowing the tears would only further blur his already hazy vision.

"Please," he reiterated, letting out a quiet little whine. He had Recluse and Deathbelle, sure, but he needed Aryn too. Things just weren't the same without her there. "No. I don't think so," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "She sent a search party for you but they didn't know to check here, this was all me," Veigar admitted, managing a tiny smile despite everything. He was glad she was coming willingly because he was starting to feel a bit unnerved by his own desires to drag her home if she tried to resist - maybe that was all just in his head though.