Henlo henlo

If not for his frequent trips from Habari, Mikko might have forgotten just how bright and lively life beyond Mount Volkan had the potential to be. It was winter now, of course, but even despite the snow and barren trees, it felt so much lighter, so much more pristine than the sooty volcano, the air crisper than the grit he was used to breathing just that little bit up north. Even the Nook, though more habitable and likely to be lush during the warmer months, wasn't entirely untouched by it. The Falls, on the other hand, ran clear and loud, a different kind of force from what resided under the mountain's crust.

And while he wasn't wholly conscious of the fact, they, as well as the other places he'd visited these past few months, did well to lift some from his shoulders some of the burdens he bore. They were only physical burdens--and small ones at that--but somehow, when he was better able to breath and had a little more color to entertain his eye, all else on his mind seemed just a tad bit lighter.

As he lumbered toward the river bank, his paws dragging through the powder, he heard a voice and paused to listen. Hmph. Somehow he managed to draw some amount of guilt from everything he saw and heard, and this was no exception. Mikko reminded himself that whatever had happened with the haunted house was a one-time ordeal--it better have been--and that he was back for good, at the ready to fulfill his debt to Shiba after he hadn't been before. Until that was done, his trips from Habari were strictly fleeting.

"You'll bother them more by staying away." He'd followed the voice and responded with his own once he found its source. Mikko stood a comfortable distance away, gaze boring into the younger male's back. Mikko didn't know what the kid was going through, but he did know that there had been nothing he could say to alleviate his old pack's rage toward him. They'd been attacked, his best friend crippled, his wife made hysterical--the list went on. At that point, his getting lost in a blizzard with their daughter meant next to nothing. They'd made it back safely, but in turn, they'd all suffered.

"