Anguish had shaken him to the very core. No, had destroyed his very core, the pain icy and frigid, like ice chilling and shattering his very heart. Not that he was thinking rationally enough to even understand that what he was feeling was pain. He didn't know anything right now. His eyes stung with tears that refused to fall, and his limbs burned with fatigue from walking far too long and too carelessly for a wolf his age. Only when a call sounded through the swamp did his attention shift, lifting his head briefly as if roused from sleep, though his sneer barely faded. It was a sorrowful call, one full of mourning, and it made his stomach turn as he realized who it was for.
Him, or Abaven, or whoever might be searching for Caelestis. What the hell did this stranger have to do with any of it? Turning quickly, he hurried toward the sound, trudging through thick mud without hesitation - though his body was fighting him every step of the way. By the time he reached her his eyes were glazed, hardly seeing anything at all, and his lip curled in a faint sneer. "Who..." Zephyr breathed, hardly blinking as he rounded the stranger on quivering limbs. "Who the fuck are you? Was that you calling?" His voice had a harsh, accusing tone to it as he stared at her, maintaining a safe distance. Even in his somewhat delirious state he could recognize that he was in no condition to be pushing his limits around a much younger stranger, but then again... perhaps the sweet release of death might not be such a bad alternative right now. Perhaps pushing her until she showed no mercy might be preferable to whatever was happening now.
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