So much had gone wrong in such a short amount of time. One minute he had been traveling with Tojo-kai up to the north for a festival and the next he was crying over a missing packmate. They had only been able to enjoy one day of the festival before everything had gone wrong. He hadn't even had time to seek out a certain someone to see how they were doing. Not that he really knew if the other man had shown up to the festival, but the hope had been there. Now, with Sayuri and several others missing with blood trailing their fading scents, Kuroo wasn't sure how to feel.

He had grown close to the woman but had fended off most of her advances. They were friends and he had been enjoying her companionship. Losing her now when he was beginning to get a sense of what he wanted in life felt devastating. His heart ached as he blindly ran south from the Sparse Pines. Tears filled his pale eyes as his ears clogged with the sound of his paws drumming into the earth. There was no telling where he was going, what he was doing, or when he would stop. All he knew was that he needed to get away from where disaster had struck.

Being unused to the frigid air of the north, his lungs began to seize up. Making it harder to breathe, Kuroo began to wheeze as his steps slowed. Still not paying attention to his surroundings, he dragged himself to a wall-like structure. The cool stone felt good upon his overheating body as he leaned up against it. Tears still flowed down his cheeks as he attempted to gather his breathing back into order. Dipping his muzzle closer to the ground, Kuroo slumped against the wall and let out all of his emotions.

"Speech"

His heart had been racing ever since he found the scene of the crime, or one of them anyway. He'd been so unlucky to come across the marks left behind by a wolf he'd never met, but recognized regardless. The scent of her pack was all over the bits of fur left behind, leaving Sverre more than reasonably concerned for the man he'd barely had much time to get to know. Had he been dragged off by this mystery beast as well? Sverre didn't want to wait to find out... maybe he was still out there, needing help, injured, something. Sverre had been searching the grounds around the festival for hours, finding multiple drag marks and trails of blood leading away from the festival.

When he'd searched everywhere at least five times he was out of breath. Walking alongside the wall to use it as support, his tongue hung heavy from his mouth in the warm summer sun. What was warm to him anyway. The last time he had been here, the ship and everything around it had been covered in a thick blanket of snow. Now, the area was almost impossible to recognize if it hadn't been for the wall and the faded ship in the distance.

While he wasn't convinced that Kuroo was safe, he was at least sure the man hadn't been dragged away. He hadn't been so lucky to pick up his scent anywhere through the grounds of and around the festival, but so many others frantically searched that it drowned out anything that wasn't tangible. Had he not opened his eyes however, he probably would've tripped over the mass of a body curled into the wall. Had he not opened his eyes, he also wouldn't have found the very man he was looking for. It felt like his heart lifted and fell at the same time. Excited to see him, but he was a sad sobbing mess, presumably for the woman.

Despite being more than excited to see him, he... frowned. He wasn't good at dealing with emotions, not his own and especially not others, but he understood loss to an extent. He had been scared of loss just five minutes ago, but Kuroo would have to deal with the effects of it. Whether he'd been noticed by the sobbing man or not, Sverre slowly started to lower himself around him in hope that it would comfort him and in turn calm him down.

"Speech!"

Art by Nairinnr at dA & Code by Skelle 2022

In the middle of his release of emotions over the tragedy that had struck, he had been blind to the approach of Sverre. During the panic that had settled over the festival grounds, Kuroo had been caught up in the sorrow of those that had been lost. There had been a moment of panic while he made sure that Sverre's scent hadn't been mixed in with the blood and decay. He hadn't even been sure if Sverre had been to the festival yet, but his hopes of seeing the blue-coated knight had not dwindled.

When the light pressure of someone wrapping themselves around him began to press against his body, Kuroo froze for half a second. Muscles rigid as his nostrils flare, inhaling deeply the scent of the one who had come to comfort him. "Sverre," he mumbled as he realized who it was. Without a second thought, Kuroo leaned into Sverre with eyes closed and teeth clenched together. Holding back the sob he wanted to let out, he buried his face into Sverre's chest. There didn't need to be any more tears shed. He had mourned enough for those that had been lost. He still had his family, his other friends, his pack, and now Sverre as well.

"I am sorry I did not come to find you sooner," Kuroo whispered into the warm fur of Sverre.

"Speech"

Curling up with the other man just felt like the right thing to do. He hadn't considered what the other man would think or do in response, but thankfully he wouldn't have to as the man softened his frozen posture as he said his name. Sverre hummed in response, thankful he hadn't frightened him or pissed him off. Instead, the man buried his face into his chest sending an explosion of warmth through his core that left him feeling whole even with the unfortunate situation.

He barely heard the words that Kuroo had said but frowned at what he had heard. Lowering his muzzle to whisper in the other mans ear, his voice was rough but soft. "Shhh, there's nothing to apologize for." His frown was evident in his voice, the scent of Kuroo's pack reminding him of the woman that had been dragged off. "Does your pack know that you're unharmed?" He asked softly, taking the moment to rest his head on top of Kuroo's.

"Speech!"

Art by Nairinnr at dA & Code by Skelle 2022

Feeling relief spread throughout him as Sverre enveloped him, Kuroo didn't budge. Even as Sverre lowered his muzzle to whisper into his ear, he only wished to sink more into the man's chest. Warmth filled him in their embrace as he inhaled deeply. Somehow, the masculine scent calmed his nerves and stopped the spread of his upset feelings. Relishing in how soft Sverre's fur was to distract him from the tragedy that poked at the back of his mind, he listened with one ear perked at the man's question. "My brother has informed our pack," he mumbled into Sverre's chest as felt the slight pressure of Sverre's chin upon the top of his head. "I am glad you are okay," Kuroo whispered as he rubbed his cheek lightly against Sverre in a comforting nuzzle.

"Speech"