you're in my veins.

It was not typical for Quintus to wander far from home, for truthfully he just couldn't be bothered -- and yet the circumstances were anything but normal. Exploring gave him little satisfaction, quite unlike his sister Amalia, and usually preferred to stay close to home, and to his family. And yet they were miserable company lately. He knew something was going on between his parents, and while it was not exactly bad -- they weren't fighting or anything -- it was weird, and there was too much tension lately. So with a sigh the boy would tell his mother he wanted to go for a walk, and though the afternoon was slowly dwindling to an end, she gave him permission gladly.

And this was where his paws had brought the slightly oversized boy; to this dreary forest. As the sun lowered itself in the sky, not quite setting yet, it cast eerie shadows all around him, reflections of the massive trees cast upon the frozen earth. It would be winter soon, and it was obvious. The ground was littered with decaying leaves, and the air was thick and foggy. As he ventured deeper into the strange forest, the fog grew thicker and more miserably; so thick that moisture began to collect on his brown pelt in small droplets. A sigh left the progency's lips as he continued forth, feeling quite irritable and not at all like himself.