A terrible day for rain

Once again, Spirit found himself alone. It wasn't a surprising thing, not given how his life had gone up until this moment, but it still hurt. The fall of Ashen had been swift and surprising, especially given the offer just recently given to him by Chimera - for once, he'd be part of something, not just a scared nobody with no real purpose in the world. The possibility had been ripped away from him just as quickly as it'd been presented to him, and was once again a reminder not to get his hopes up. It never did any good, anyway. All it left him was disappointment and a persistent, aching feeling that nothing would ever quite work out for him.

Strawberry soared overhead not far off from where he walked, seeming unaffected by his sullen mood. It wasn't like she didn't recognize what he was going through, but what could either of them do about it? They'd keep moving, as they always did, this time further south, closer to where he knew Gloom lived. Spirit wasn't convinced she needed him around though - as far as he knew, she was living her life just fine without him. She certainly didn't need him to come around and darken everything like a grey cloud. That was how he felt, too; everything seemed to go downhill whenever he showed up, consistently. Not that he had any part in it, but it seemed too strong a coincidence to ignore.

He frowned slightly as he tilted his head to the sky, noting the dark clouds that had begun to roll in from across the water. The sand under his paws was warm and comforting, but he knew it wouldn't be fun to navigate down the beach once the rain had begun. Strawberry especially would want to seek shelter. Nose wrinkling as he sniffed at the air, he pulled his head back down and kept going, moving further down the beach without any real goal in mind.