Emptiness would gnaw at the corners of his mind. Though he was able to partially open up to Loccian, it seemed everyone else he didn't seem to care for. He knew eventually it would have to change, but he just didn't seem quite ready yet. He had grown up with abandonment, loss, and the thought of not holding on or hoping because in the end, you would lose it anyway. His entire life he had felt nothing but pain, mainly as a puppy when he experienced the pain of abandonment, becoming an orphan, and making a friend who he grew very close to just to lose her. Ellone had disappeared, possibly taken or killed by a pack that had come and destroyed the band that took care of him. Though he had been shunned by the others in the pack, only one had ever made him feel like he belonged. Ellone was his friend, a sister, something he thought he would never be able to live without. The hope of finding her would always flare strong, but it had been years now...and he had yet to find a scent nor word of her...He began to think that maybe his hopes were too high. That his expectations were too much. Maybe he wouldn't change at all, and he would just stay the same. Cold, distant, quiet, resentful...and everything else along those lines. He stopped his march, eventually realizing where he had arrived. Dark caves that he had not yet visited. Quietly, he would walk into the gathering darkness and quietness, not really wanting to be disturbed. However, deep inside...he wanted someone to help him. Maybe change his view on the world, though it wouldn't happen overnight of course. Silently, black paws would stalk across the stone floor, and the warrior would come to rest atop the cold ground. A hevy sigh escaped his lips, ears perking to catch the amplification the caverns had to offer. Intrigued by such an oddity, he stared into the darkness and listened to the beats of his own heart and the inhale and exhale of his lungs... Speech Thoughts Others

Fall was close to an end and winter was on its way. With the seasons changing, the scenery did as well. Snow would soon be upon the ground, a bite to the air would hasten to anyone who struggled for warmth, and the branches of any tree would be free of leaves. In short, with winter came coldness and lack of life. Along with the seasonal change, winter would bring a fiery streak to a certain bluish-black furred female. This time around, however, there was no evidence of it. It was the change of hormone levels that was on Eria's mind that day. Ever since the night she had spent with Friction, her body had been acting different. She was more emotional when she thought of her dead parents and how their losses affected her life and the fire that ran in her veins wasn't there. Winter was Eria's season of heat, but if she didn't have the signs or symptoms of it, she knew there was only one reason why: the young girl was pregnant. She hadn't voiced such thoughts to anyone, but of course as a rogue, she didn't have anyone to tell. The thoughts continued to run in circles, as if she was trying to make sense of it all. Maybe that was why she had ended up lost in the wild unknown. The layout of the Whispering Caves was unfamiliar to her. Eria had never wandered that far South, but her paws probably figured something worth finding was there. Teal-blue eyes rose as she pulled herself from her thoughts to see which cave she was going to enter. Simple observations of an unknown male's scent and his trail was all she needed for her curious nature to sweep her towards the chosen cave. After a few steps before being enveloped in the darkness, she stopped and listened for any signs of life. She was not disappointed when the breathing of a large bruj came to her ears. Black triangles perked and she took a few more steps in that same direction, nose quivering at his fresh scent. "Hello?" She softly asked, blue eyes filled with the natural curiosity she possessed. Speech,

Wintry blue eyes would begin to slowly close as the silence began to take over. A deep sigh echoed, reverberating around him as his lids slowly drifted. "Hello?" His head would quickly turn towards the voice, fur slightly bristling from surprise. He stared at the woman, an unfamiliar one at that. Slowly he rose to a sitting position, turning his body slightly though not completely. He wasn't sure if he wanted company right now, his heart was hurting, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to face another after his last meeting with Loccian. After some thought, he slightly turned his head her way, eyes cast at the ground and his ears slightly angled towards her. Fur lied flat again, forcing himself to try and relax, he would open his mouth slightly to speak yet words refused to come. He wasn't sure if he was even able to speak, his thoughts still lingering within the core of his mind. Annoyed with himself, he turned away from her and stared into the darkness, ears flat atop his head and his body stiffening. He wasn't sure about anything anymore. Whether he wanted to remain in Seracia, whether he wanted to remain in Alacritis, whether he even wanted to be alive. He had lost everything, and even more so when he put his heart on his sleeve for a woman he had fallen for just to find that her feelings were not as true to him as his were for her. Swallowing back the bitter hurt that dwelled in the back of his throat. "Good evening, stranger...don't mind me. I won't do anything." His words, surprisingly, left his tongue in a neutral manner. He had expected to sound unkind, uncaring, snappish even. But it was completely opposite then what he had expected. He simply stared ahead after acknowledging her, blue eyes making an attempt to hide the pain and hurt that dwelled in his now tattered soul. He wasn't even sure now, if he could trust as easily as he did before. And that had taken a lot of effort for him... Speech Thoughts Others

She could sense the neutrality in his voice and Eria was immediately concerned. The part of her mother she had inherited was what made her want to take care of others. Even though she didn't show it very often, she was proud of what she had received from both parents. Now, as she gently padded deeper into the cave, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and his voice vibrated through the air. Eria took her time walking down the unseen path and she answered his greeting with a solid reply. "Good evening to you, as well," she said, unsure of how big the unseen male was. She knew he was male by the depth of his voice, but that didn't startle her in the least. "I won't mind you being here, then," she gently chuckled, eyes sparkling through the darkness. "I only came here to think, but perhaps coming across you was a sign or something...My name is Eria." If he didn't want her there, she hoped he would just say so. Therefore, she could leave in one piece with the unborn babies inside her. Speech,