He had walked so far. Running more like, after his encounter with the maimed female. What he had learned was something he simply couldn't believe. All his life he had only known one thing, but recently it felt like his world was falling apart. He was confused, unsure of what to do or think now. And by the time his mind was too tired to think anymore, he had found himself climbing a slope where he met at the top, a field of flowers sprinkled with a light layer of snow. If he had been in a better mood, he would have been more ecstatic about being here. But as it was, he simply wanted peace and quiet.

His paws would lead him towards the edge of the cliff. Staring out over the ocean, his gaze lingered for a moment before looking down. One step...and I can run away forever... But what good would that do? His mother would miss him terribly...worried for not knowing where he might be. But...then again, what he had learned...could it be true? Or was it a lie? His heart felt broken. Why had things turned out this way? The words echoed in his mind. He couldn't believe it...he just couldn't. He felt choked up, unsure of what to do. And that thought would turn over and over in his head, confusing him even more. Until finally, his body dropped to the ground. His forepaws hung slightly over the edge of the cliff, his head resting upon them as he stared out into the night. Why?
"Speech"

The Monochromatic boy was making his way the slope at a leisurely pace, the cool winter air had only dropped in temperature with the falling of the night time and yet he wasn’t in any rush to get anywhere. The cliff wasn’t so far from the pack lands that he couldn’t make it back before the sun took its place in the sky again but it would still be a bit of a trek. But Hymn had never really been a nervous one and the yearling’s return to freedom only made him bolder, well that and his brother trailing behind him. He paused for a moment to glance back at his twin, grinning at the smaller form. He wasn’t sure exactly how his brother felt about this spur of the moment midnight outing, especially considering Psalm’s recent attachment to their mother… Novel would be fine though, after all Momma Ara would be there to look after her. He pushed any negative thoughts from his head though as he once more began bounding up the slope, ecstatic about the flowers pushing through the still thin snow fall. He bounced from side to side, tail beating against the air and a happy laugh pulling from his throat. "Come on! " He teased back at his twin, "I’m gonna beat you to the top!" ""

Psalm did his very best to keep up with his taller brother, he'd found himself a high paced lope that seemed to work well, and though he felt better with his tongue lolling from his mouth he didn't quite lose his breath. Hymn still needed to stop and look back before they reached the incline. It hadn't been incredibly difficult to drag him out of the den that night, they'd left their mothers curled safely back at the den and adventure was far past due. Hymn didn't stay waiting for long, Psalm had barely caught up to him when he turned and resumed his journey up the steep hill. "Come on!" Hymn tried to hurry the boy along. Psalm barked excitedly, a competitive smile racing over his features as he picked up the pace. "Fat chance!" Psalm would reply as he put the pedal to the metal and doubled the speed of his stride. He might have been small but he was fast. He wouldn't waste time in reaching the peak, but before he could call victory his eyes would land on another moon lit figure. Psalm would stop short, who was that? ""

He had fallen into the lightest of slumbers. The beginnings of dreams about his father starting to appear in his head. And with them, images of his mother...or at least, who he always thought was his mother. He had always known Pamela to be his mother...but the information he had learned recently had sent him into a near state of shock. The boy was thrust into a world where he couldn't tell truth from lie now. What the hell was he supposed to think? Much less do?

An ear twitched when he heard voices, Shiki's head lifted, turning to see who might be wandering towards him. He had thought this place was free from any disturbances, but it would seem not. He wrapped his tail around his haunches for a minute, debating if he should stand and leave, which meant he'd have to walk past the strangers, or stay where he was and hope they'd leave...in the end, he wasn't sure what to do. He always grasped at the chance to meeting new people, but with his current emotions swirling like a typhoon over an endless ocean, and his state of mind going wild like a rogue lightning storm, he had no idea what to do. With a quiet sigh, the smallish bear boy would pick himself up and turn to face the strangers. His hind feet just inches from the edge, though he didn't particularly seem to care right now.

Honey colored optics glanced at them, ears back slightly as he was unsure about what decision he wanted to make. By now, he was definitely sure they knew he was here. One was looking at him, so there was no escaping this now...Clearing his throat, he looked between the two and mumbled. "Uh...Hi...sorry to bother you, if...if this is your space then I'll go.."

"Speech"

At his playful challenge Psalm yipped and declared that Hymn wasn't going to win and raced up the slope. Hymn had forgotten how fast his twin was, he may have had the longer legs but that didn't equate to speed especially when you were built like a tank.  Hymn grinned, ducked his head and charged after his brother. But Psalm could put more distance between them than Hymn could close it and he knew he has lost the race. Still as his brother stopped Hymn saw his chance and with a last burst of speed he leapt at his brother trying to bowl him over. For his part the boy tumbled and landed on his back with a laugh. He was unaware of the other boy... until he finally registered the voice. "Oh  no!" He jumped to his paws, tongue lolling happily and tail beating the air. "We were just explorin'!" He registered the other boy's expression and his tail stopped, he cocked his head to the side; an expression of worry creasing his brows. "Is everything alright?" ""

As Psalm suddenly stopped to look at the boy he'd return his gaze with liquid honey eyes. Psalm couldn't help but stare curiously, there weren't very many males his size, and even if the other was young he wouldn't ever be Hynm's size either. These thoughts would completely occupy him as Hymn barreled into his side. Had he seen the other boy coming Psalm might have ducked and let his brother fly right over him. However with his bright blue gaze glued to the stranger he'd be sent sprawling not far from Hymn. He'd catch the creamy boy's words as he came a little closer. Dark ears would again perk towards this new face as Hymn explained themselves. Though Psalm seemed to notice the mood of the other just as Hymn did and his posture would relay the concern he felt as the taller brother questioned what might be the matter. Psalm would nod his head, wanting to know the same thing. ""

He looked from one to the other, the second boy silent while the first spoke. They looked so...happy. Family, it seemed, by the scent on them. Saddened eyes gazed at the one who asked the question, and he himself wasn't quite sure how to answer. Was it obvious that he was sad? Or was he still able to hide that? Either way, he didn't think he had the energy to hide it.

Swallowing back the emotions, he took a deep breath to try and calm his thoughts. "I'm...fine." He lied, but could they tell that? Probably...he didn't sound convincing to himself either. Stepping away from the cliff, he ambled towards them with his tail between his legs, unsure and a little shy at this point. He stopped a few feet from the first boy, the one that had asked him if he was alright. Glancing up at him, curiosity and the need to distract himself from his depressing thoughts would be felt. "I'm...Shiki...who are you?"

"Speech"

There would be little time to rejoice in successfully flipping his brother over as concern would fill up the twins. As Hymn cast a brief glance at Psalm it seemed that he and his brother very much shared the same thoughts; not an uncommon theme for the pair. He’d catch his brother’s brief nod as the unknown boy spoke again and all of Hymn’s attention was pulled straight back to the pale stranger. He’d frown at the other yearling’s words, clearly not wholly true but Hymn decided he wasn’t going to push any further. The boy didn’t have to explain anything to them and he could respect that, they were after all perfect strangers. Still that wasn’t going to stop Hymn from trying to cheer the yearling up! The unknown boy took a few steps towards him and Hymn grinned down at him, resisting the urge to just smother him in a happy embrace, again something he’d probably not want from a total stranger. Hymn’s tail began to beat the air again and he did his best to appear as non-threatening as possible, he may have looked less than friendly from a purely physical standpoint but the clearly nervous boy had had the great fortune of being met with two of the most harmless wolves he could ever hope to meet… or at least that’s how Hymn looked at it.  "My name’s Hymn," the boy began and casting a playful smirk at his brother he introduced his twin as well, "he’s Psalm." As if suddenly remembering his manners he spoke up again: "It’s nice to meet you!" And of course for the friendly Destruction it was, any new meeting was a chance at new friends! ""

Psalm would listen, but he was certainly getting a little tired of his brother speaking for him. He wouldn't say anything though as the other yearling male brought himself closer to the brothers. Psalm wasn't so sure he was doing so fine, but like Hymn he wasn't about to prod or push for answers from a complete stranger. He might have when he was younger, but he was slowly learning what was socially acceptable. Psalm would go to give his name when it fell from his brother's lips. Psalm wouldn't spare him a cold glance as he turned back to Shiki with a smile on his face. "Where are you from? You don't live here all by yourself do you?" The smaller boy would ask beside his towering brother as he eagerly awaited an answer from this new wolf. He was about the same age as he and his brother, surely his mother was out there somewhere waiting for him to come home. Just like his and Hymn's mother. Novel was always there waiting on them to get home. ""

He looked uncertainly at the boys in turn, his posture still showing nervousness, but he couldn't quite help it. His ears flicked a bit towards Hymn as he introduced himself and his brother, both boys seemingly excited in meeting him, but shiki couldn't quite return the same enthusiasm. Although he was glad in some ways that he was able to talk to others, the demons within him wouldn't allow the boy the pleasure of happiness at the moment.

The least he could do, was offer a forced yet shy smile to them, tail tucked closely to his legs as its tip flicked nervously. When the boy called Psalm asked where he was from, Shiki 's head rose slightly. "I used to live in the east...um...I think in Redbud Nook." He was a little uncertain, but he was pretty sure that's what it was called.

His features would freeze then, as Psalm then asked him if he lived by himself. His head fell again, the boy looking away from the pair as he thought about what to answer. After his recent trip down south, he learned things that had completely changed his world. His father had gone missing. According to the woman who also claimed to be his mother, Kau was dead. And shiki the byproduct of a crime. His mother Pamela, whom he still strongly believed was his mother due to the fact that he didn't want to believe Akemi, was missing. "Yeah...I do..."