The young pup had been itching to get out for some fresh air. He enjoyed the calmness of the bamboo but something about the quiet patter of rain among the oaks seemed to call to him. Moss underfoot squished quietly with each step he took. His nose would tilt and twitch as he scented all the different things. Freshly churned dirt, rotting wood, new rain upon branches, it all so much to take in. As he continued down a well worn path, avoiding fallen trees and prickly bushes, he wondered many thoughts and questioned many things. Who all lived here? What type of animals could he find? How did the oak forest live so close to that of the bamboo? Was it always so dim in here? Was the ground always wet? There was so much to learn, so much to find out. Curious and eager to learn everything there was to know, the koi continued his peaceful stroll through the oaks.

Rain. Earth. Moss. The scents all seem to fill his head, seem to speak to him. Seem to make him feel more alive-- he'd never complain about that. Erik was just learning what it was to be alive. And now... now he's here. Now he's here, walking among them. Walking among who? Who was even out here? The boy was trying to assemble his thoughts as he walked, and as he made his way into the Oaks. How strange. Lovely, but strange. He too, is strange. The world around him was dimly lit and damp, and somehow, that felt safer. Erik knows he's safe here, but how safe? What does it mean? He stops and takes a long breath, muzzle towards the sky. The way the Oaks smell, in particular, draws him in. Damp. Everything is damp, and Erik is too. There would be no complaints on the subject. He rather likes the damp. The boy clears his throat as Akito comes into sight through the trees. He's not sneaking. No, simply walking. A raw, damp day, with the winter and his brother as company. Good enough to explore.

The freckled monochrome pup was lost in thought. Stormy grey eyes glossed over as if he sees nothing but the forest around him. The spider that floats in the wind to the next leaf. The mouse that trembles beneath a low hanging branch. The wind that rustles the brush on either side of him. His own fur is damp was the sprinkle of a winter rain washes over the terrain. A slick coat to wear, but nothing to complain about either. It almost reminds him of the before, before they were out in the world, but much colder. He almost enjoys it. An ear flicks to the side as his nose twitches. Familiar. Who? His stormy gaze turns as his paws pause in the mush of the path. Ah, Erik. His name much different than his own, but brothers nonetheless. Their mother had been upfront about their possible different fathers, but how she knew who came from who had been a question she couldn’t answer. Jus’ the way ye look. She had told him in her thick Archer accent. It had been an answer that Akito wouldn’t agree with, but mother always knew best and he would nod and appreciate her forwardness nonetheless. Though he sees his brother and notices his approach, words do not leave his lips. A gentle ‘hmph’ in greeting as if he were clearing his throat is the only sound that perhaps leaves the boy. Whether his brother hears him above the patter of rain drops upon leaves is up to his brother. Turning back toward the path with his attention back on the oaks around him, he continues. If his brother would like to join him in his walk through the woods, he is more than welcome to, but Akito will not wait for him.

The cold is bracing, and Erik leans into it. There's something glorious about it, something that draws him in. Captures him. Makes him feel like he's at home in this world. Born to it, raised by it, and it would be one of the constants from the lives before this and on into the next. He can rely on the cold. He can rely on the air in his lungs (though what it did once it hit his throat was a different story). He can rely on his paws beneath him and the stars above him. All things that make sense, at least to Erik, at least for now. The soft patter of raindrops on leaves, coupled with his steps across the soft earth manage to put him at peace. Akito has the good sense not to speak, not really. Perhaps in their own way. It's enough. Erik peers to the greyscale brother, orange gaze cool as he assesses. He lengthens his stride some, falling into step with the boy. A soft sigh as he does. They will walk together, and enjoy the woods. Enjoy them quietly, as they best were. They wind through the trees, stately as they are. The cover they provide and the ground they cover, it's enough. Erik feels safe beneath them. For such a large boy to feel so small... it's strange. Comforting, and strange. All at the same time.

The silent communication between the brothers is enough. Akito can feel the comfortable companionship between them as if they were physically linked. No words are needed as Erik falls in step with him, naturally lengthening his stride to match his. This sort of brotherly interaction is what Akito prefers. He enjoys the silence with only the noise of the forest around them. There is no point adding small talk since they quite literally live with each other and see each other every day. Rather, this sort of quiet trek through the woods adds more safety. Safety in numbers, safety in family. Akito feels more comfortable with his brother by his side. He knows that if trouble were to approach that Erik would back him up. Erik is also just as smart as him. Just as inquisitive, logical, thoughtful. Their minds are similar with maybe a little difference. There is one thing that itches at the back of his mind. Akito wants to ask. He wants answer to why Erik is different. Mother takes special care of Erik, Morg, and Vei. But why? Akito knows it is rude to ask. Instead he continues their stroll through the oaks. Listening to the moss squelch under his paws. The flutter of birds swooping around the branches. A light breeze that whistles behind his ears. For now, he will bide his time. He does not want to upset anyone. Akito knows his boundaries as much as it bothers him…

Safety in numbers, but also safety in the trees. The Oaks were home. This was home. He was home. It's as much a home as the bamboo, as the bay. His home is here, right? His home is here, among his brothers. His home is here, with Morg. With mother. With father... though he knows that there's another one of those somewhere, too. Erik knows, though he doesn't ask after the man. He knows, but he doesn't ask questions. Not yet. If he was really their father, he would come in time. Though mother had answers for them, he doesn't believe all of them. There is a depth of knowing to Erik, somewhere in there, that knows it's her job to protect them too. Protecting... was a blessing and a curse. A bracing northern wind picks up. Once more, Erik leans into it. It comes from the north, carrying with it... something. Something that he can't quite put his finger on. Erik doesn't know it by name, only by the feeling that it puts in his chest. A strange feeling. It will only be later that he learns the name of that feeling, that he learns what it means. Acute longing will do that to you. For now, he is just a boy. For now he will be blissfully ignorant to just what that longing means. Pining. Something worse. In time, he would also become something worse. For now he is a small boy in a big world, taking a walk with his brother. Taking in the sights and the smells of the winter in his home. For now he is safe, and nothing can get him... right? Erik would think so, for now. He's enchanted by the stately trees, by the long shadows they cast. Erik's first love will always be this nature that surrounds him, wraps him up, makes him whole. Safe at home. Safe with his brother.

”Do you hear the trees? The question came suddenly and in the form of their father’s native language. Well, they weren’t totally sure whose father was who but for now, Raijin was as best as an absent father could be. Having not yet met the other guy, Akito would suffice with learning what he could from their Kaicho, their uncle or second cousin, whatever he was. Whether Erick was taking the time to do the same wasn’t knowledge Akito had or cared for. He could switch to the common tongue if needed. Perhaps he did it so Erick didn’t have to speak because ultimately, Akito knew the answer. He could see it in his brother’s eyes. The way the other boy moved, listened, appeared. The forest was home. The forest was a piece of their soul that they could not explain. Even he could hear it breathe, feel it move, taste the way it lived and died. There was something different about them. Maybe it was because they had two different fathers and that their mother was an ethereal being - at least in Akito’s mind she was. ”I wish we could stay here, but the bamboo is nice,” his comment is hesitant. Both places were lovely but he felt a tear in his heart between the two. The bamboo was easy to navigate already, but there was a mystery to the trees that drew him in. How was he to choose? His brow furrows gently as he steps closer to Erick. The comfort of his brother’s presence is nice and he doesn’t want it to go away yet.