No matter what season came to the continent, the North remained cold and frigid for any unfamiliar set of paws. It was something that souls unsure of the northern tundra realized after coming to the highest, coldest peaks. Silent was not among those wolves, though. She was able to tolerate the cold that came with exploring the northern terrain.

She had grown into a young woman by this time. Her full height had been reached and she walked with a grace that many would possibly desire for themselves. Her green eyes shined with a bit more knowledge and wisdom than the last time we visited her presence. Those said eyes looked around as she searched the Pines with a curious turn of her ebony head. Soft paws carried her along and along, her nose picking up scents of nearby prey and one that could only be identified as cologne. Her tail swayed behind her as she realized it was familiar and her curiosity pushed her forward. Wherever the source was, she hoped that she would find him.

Things had been quite strange lately. Incendium had fallen, though he and his family had decided to stay in the north. Stranger yet was this... sickness - or whatever it was - that had gripped the lands, plunging the world into what seemed like eternal night. Fortunately for Bronze he and his family were used to the gloomy north - though this was considerably worse than what they were used to, at least it wasn't like they were used to bright, sunny days. It was cloudy more often than not this far north. Bronze braced himself against the breeze as it whisked by through and ruffled his coat, fighting a slight shiver back. His paws carried him aimlessly through the tall pines. The worst of winter had seemingly faded, but the weather seemed no better with the lack of sunlight. Everything was frozen and frigid cold. Bronze clenched his teeth when a familiar scent touched his nose. The north had grown even quieter than he was used to lately, and the arrival of someone else in his self-identified territory made his defenses shoot up... though a moment later he realized it was someone familiar, albeit someone he hadn't seen in quite awhile. He breathed out slowly as he tracked down the scent, giving her a slow tilt of his head once her silhouette finally came into view. "Silent," he greeted her plainly. It'd been long enough that he wasn't quite sure what to say to break the ice. He was fully grown now too, though he felt only marginally wiser than when he'd met her last.

The fact that she had not seen hide nor hair of anyone familiar for months did not deter her from being true to herself. Silent was still comical at times, not to mention curious and impish when the time called for it. She maintained a quiet aura of positivity, its light glow shimmering from her and the bright green gaze she enjoyed carrying. She was one whose spirit was hard to break, a trait that, unknowns to her, ran through the Adravendi line. The silver and ebony yearling was a Diamond in the ruff.

When she got far enough into the pines, she realized she was not alone. The cologne had pulled her deeper into the depths of the forest, until she no longer needed to be promptly directed. The source of her nose’s discovery came into view and rose to stand a good number of inches taller than she. A deep baritone met her ears and they perked as she walked towards Bronze with only a couple of steps. “Hello, Bronze,” she greeted.

The young lady smiled, unknowingly attempting to break any ice that had settled between them. “You’ve gotten tall,” she mused, tail flicking behind her as she spoke. “Time really has flown.” Simple facts that could have been left unsaid, but she did not mind. “How have you been?”

She was a more than welcome reprieve from all the strange things that had been happening lately, and at least from a distance she looked completely healthy- not sick from this odd illness that had been plaguing the world for at least a season now, if not more. A sliver of light in all this darkness was a very welcome distraction, and he felt his muscles begin to relax despite his normal state of being ever-alert. It seemed even more important lately, to be always on guard, always watching his back in the face of the unknown. But right now he allowed himself a moment to relax, even if it was just that- a moment, and nothing more. "You have too," he replied, the faintest hint of a smile touching his lips. They'd both grown since their last meeting, he just as bit more than she had. For a moment he thought to ask how she'd fared through all of the changes the world had been enduring, but she spoke before he good. "I've been... well enough, I suppose. The pack my family and I were part of is no longer, but we're still here. My sister is sick right now, though," he continued on quietly, surprising himself by how much he spoke at once. He was generally a wolf of few words, but it'd been a strange few months and it felt good to use his voice again around wolves other than his family.

One of the benefits of being away from everyone the past few months was avoiding the chance to get sick. There had been no reason for extra stress or lack of sleep, nor was she worried about the potential illness that had plagued the world. Silent had been walking along in her short life with no one but herself. A journey that was lonely at times, but that was usually short-lived.

As Bronze returned her height observation, her smile only grew a little more. The fact that he noticed made her feel seen, even if it had not been something she had thought about before. Rather than comment on it, she politely stayed quiet as he continued to speak. He spoke of his recent doings since their last run-in, how the pack had dispersed and his family had remained. “It has always been your home…I can see why you all chose to stay.” Though Silent was a wanderer herself, she was not close-minded. The mention of his sister’s sickness made her ears perk a bit more, her interest further piqued. “Oh no, Bronze…I’m sorry to hear that.” She took a few steps towards the tall man before stopping. “Would you like to talk about it?” Silent was doing what she rarely got herself: a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen.

Bronze had not been spared the burden of not having to worry about those around him succumbing to the virus; it'd been ages since they'd even seen Kyanite and then having to worry about losing Onyx, albeit in a different sense... well, it hadn't settled well with him at all lately. Even if she recovered - no, when she recovered - he feared things would never quite go back to normal. Such a thing seemed impossible to him - they had no pack anymore and one of their sisters had been gone for seasons now. He'd changed since the last time he'd seen Silent, but he still regarded her with the same look, laden with faint amusement and curiosity, though tinged with a hint of weariness now too. It was quite nearly the same look he'd given her the first time they'd met. "I think we'll always stay in the north," Bronze admitted somberly. It was their home, after all, but if his siblings chose to go elsewhere he knew deep in his bones that he could follow. They meant more to him than any land ever could - no amount of trees or rocks could begin to compare. "There's not much to say. I thought it was just a cold at first," he immediately jumped to talking about his sister, regardless of what she may have meant. "She doesn't seem as bothered by it all as we are, but... I don't know. I'm scared for her. Even our parents don't know what to do for her. She has these strange growths all over her face, like bits of rock, and they only keep growing." If it seemed strange it was because it was strange, and he gave a little shrug as he paused speaking.