Steel didn't know exactly what had happened in Sawooth. A woman had came to them, declaring the pack her home -- and nobody had fought for her, or tried to defend their claim on the land. It struck Steel as strange but he was just a boy; what did he know? His knew his parents were tired and that they wanted nothing to do with politics. They hadn't even stopped to say goodbye to their brothers or sisters, nor had they said goodbye to his nephews Psalm and Hymn. Everything had happened so quickly, and all he knew was that his parents didn't want him under control of whoever had appeared to take the pack.
They'd left quickly, with a strange sense of urgency. Where they were bound, his parents did not tell them but he felt very much like even they didn't know. His father had told him he never wanted him to be a prisoner -- and it seemed like it was important that they leave, even though they left the rest of the family behind. It had taken them so long to get here, days slowly rolling into weeks, the winter growing more bearable as they moved south into foreign lands.
A sigh escaped the boy's lips as he wandered the shoreline. Though his father had given him some guidelines as to where he could go, he had a significant amount of freedom here. The land seemed relatively uninhabited this far south. Large paws carried him along the cool sand as his crimson gaze searched the horizon. It felt like just yesterday he had been a pup, and while he was not yet an adult he certainly felt like he was on his way there. His childlike curiosity had faltered, shifting into a cynical sort of wariness that felt difficult to contain. He was frustrated that he had to leave his siblings and those that he had grown up around, and he was sad that there was nothing his parents could do to change things. He knew they were old and growing weak, but this only angered him further; he could not change things for them, other than by hunting for them and caring for them however he could.
The sight of another would shake the boy from his somber thoughts. The grey-pelted boy would creep forward, eying the stranger from a great distance. Steel had been taught to be wary around strangers, and this one certainly seemed strange -- was he eating some kind of sea-creature? The youngster would frown, head tilting to the side as he drew a bit closer to him. "That looks gross," he said plainly, nose wrinkling as he eyed the male and his meal.
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