You're At The End Of The Road

Psalm seemed to mentally switch off as soon as Balthier dropped the bomb, expression eerily blank. He was certain this was a bad sign, those cerulean eyes turning cold and hard as she stared at their dark furred brother. And then all at once he could see the weight of the news settle upon her, as she ducked her chin towards her chest and heaved out mute sobs, shoulders trembling with the force of them. He wanted desperately to reach out, comfort his sister, but the moment he had moved, she jolted like she'd been struck. Took off at a dead sprint, up and out of the mouth of the den like her tail had been set alight. That hurt more than their father's abandonment, honestly. He was familiar with the sensations and emotions that came with a parent vanishing without a trace, without regard for his wellbeing. But for Psalm to take off at the mere notion of his attempts to comfort her- that stung with a fresh kind of pain.

He seemed to look over at Balthier at the same moment the dark yearling looked over at him, and they shared a silent pain. Watching their sister be so devastated, and being unable to offer support. He took a hesitant half step towards the entrance, and felt the soft pressure of a broad paw against his chest. "Give her a minute to herself to sort things out." Balthier said softly, and the pale youth sighed in defeat. He was right, of course. That didn't make him want to help his sister any less. Metallic eyes flicked back to the dim light filtering through the entryway, pointlessly hoping to see her returning already. "Yeah. Just wish I could do something. She doesn't deserve this. None of us do, really." he muttered, and slumped heavily onto his haunches. Tall auds fell towards his skull, expression horrifically devoid of any real emotion. He felt hollow and empty, when he knew he should be feeling angry, upset, rejected.. Something. You were supposed to cry and scream and squall when you lost your parents. Why was he feeling.. nothing? He tuned back into the conversation when his brother mentioned their newly absentee father. "Filled our storage with meals for a while. Take some time to yourself for now. I can help you when you are ready. I'm sure Corvus and others from the pack will too." Balthier meant well, but he didn't want to sit around and mope. He didn't want to keep leaning on others, and disappointing the people around him. And then Balthier was gone, too. Wandering into the hollow that had once been reserved for their father, for whatever reason. Alone in the main antechamber of their den, the burly yearling found himself left with the emptiness that yawned in his chest, growing more and more hollow by the second. "Yeah, Balt. Sounds good.." he murmured to a brother that wasn't beside him anymore. To an empty hole in the ground.

"Sounds.. good." he sighed.

"Speech" thoughts "others"