thunder's getting louder

He raced away from Lydia’s still body as the rain started to pour over them. No one from Kesali had come to help him when he cried out for them, and his savior, twice, lay dead at his paws. All because she had been so selfless. She saved him twice, and paid the ultimate price for it in the end. Erys had tried to nudge her awake, but the crack had been sickening. Erys knew that she was gone, he was a predator, no stranger to death. This seemed so much different to the death of his dinner though. He.. loved Lydia like she had been his mother, even if she hadn’t lay claim to the title.

Even now weeks later Erys felt her loss deep in his heart. All he wanted was to give up after he’d run away, he’d gotten lost, and hadn’t been able to find his adoptive family. It was his fault. His fault Lydia was gone, and it was all his fault that he was lost with no idea how to get back to Kesali. The galaxy colored boy knew he needed to keep going, however difficult it was. Lydia gave her life for him, he couldn’t squander her precious gift. So he taught himself to hunt, and he had mostly taken care of himself. He lived off insects, and small animals, and occasionally someone else's leftovers.

He grew slowly, but his meager existence was apparent in his already thin form. His fur dulled, and his horns seemed to stall in their growth as well. He was a mess, but he was trying. He sighed heavily to himself, body stretched out on the beach as he waited for the tide to go out. Maybe he’d find something edible for dinner.