When the blue finally came

Staying close to home came naturally to Veigar, even without the strange occurrences that were happening these days. Strangely enough for the often-manic boy, he didn't experience much wanderlust - there was plenty of world to explore just outside the boundaries of Habari and it was rare he went far at all. Even within the packlands there was so much to explore.. like the looming volcano that stood ahead of him. He'd been warned more than once of the danger it presented but he couldn't help but be drawn to its slopes. Veigar wondered if any wolves had ever climbed to the very top, and what they had found there. Though he was headstrong, he was not so naive to think he could conquer it just yet, but the voices beckoned him higher and higher anyway.

Only Aryn's voice, cutting through the eerie winds, did anything to break his concentration. He spun around abruptly and noticed she looked like she'd been running, and his eyes widened with concern. Blue fireflies danced around her head, looking like they might swallow her up before fleeing, dancing up the volcano's slopes - no doubt chasing the voice that he'd heard just a moment ago. "Aryn! Did you hear the voice too?" He all but ignored her warning, knowing that it was dangerous but unable to take it to heart. "Someone's calling for me - there! You heard it that time?" The voice was distinctly female, comforting and familiar, and ignoring it felt physically impossible. The boy bounced on his pawpads, trying to keep himself in place, but another gust of wind and mist that drifted all around them made it impossible to keep still.

It was his mother. He knew it suddenly, despite the fact that he couldn't remember anything about her, not even her voice. But it was her - he'd bet anything on it. He knew she was dead, but what if they'd been wrong? What if they'd been mistaken somehow? He knew that Aryn had been close to her, but what if she was wrong about her being gone, too? "I... I think that's my mom, Aryn. She needs us! We need to go!" Panic flooded him and he suddenly took off quickly in the direction he'd been heading, kicking up dirt and debris behind him as he went. Any fear or apprehension he might've been feeling was gone, replaced by a sheer feeling of desperation and longing.