Time. It went by agonizingly slow at times, so slow he swore he would go crazy from all the waiting. What he was waiting for, he was not sure -- anything would suffice at this point. When he was younger, he'd had dreams of being the King. Perhaps with a cute girl ruling by his side. But, so suddenly, his parents had been relieved of their titles, and rather than fighting the decision, they'd simply resigned to subordination. It was something Quintus Nero did not understand; nor did he care enough to press the issue. Instead, he would sulk on occasion, growing heated more often than usual. His mother had pestered him one time too much today, and so he would leave her side easily, heading away form familiarity and into the unknown. Of course, he would come back. He always did, and always would, but he needed time to himself now. His heavy paws would carry him toward the shore. He'd seen the ocean before, but not like this. Here, the sand was jet black, not yellow or tan like he remembered it; had his memory simply betrayed him? It looked so sharp and dangerous that he wondered if the small granules might cut the pads of his paws. Gingerly he would set a single paw down on the stuff as he approached, hesitant to tread on it until he knew it was safe. It felt remarkably like the sand he remembered, so he quickly deemed it safe. The beauty and awe of the scene wore off quickly though, and he waded through the water that ebbed against the shoreline, watching the waves push water in and out at an even rate. A sigh escaped the near-yearling's lips as he looked out across the horizon, wondering what lay across the waters.

I guess that I forgot I had a choice I let you push me post the breaking point Avery coughed. Seawater sprouted from her mouth a splashed onto the ebony sand. Her body doubled over and retched out the salty water. Salt crusted at the tips of Avery's fur and her long eyelashes. Avery had gone swimming to one of the islands a few days ago when tje storm hit. Avery had been lashed into the water by the unbelievably strong winds and swept towards the deep sea. Barely staying alfoat she had finally managed to aim herself at the black beach and was swept ashore. What the pup hadn't noticed was the boy, around her own age, it seems standing in the water. I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything"Avery"

Quintus Nero was a strange boy. Part of him preferred solitude. His independence was a trait he had gained from both his parents -- and yet he was lonely, too, having grown up mostly among the company of his close family. He had not even met his aunts and uncles, his adoptive grandmother, many of his cousins. Perhaps someday he would, but when he was older, not now. And yet his moment of loneliness would be shattered as the scent of a stranger reached his nose. The scent was not at all familiar, and so he would turn quickly and not at all gracefully, paws splashing among the water as he jerked to face the stranger. Further out in the water than himself, looking very much like she'd washed ashore. Was she okay, he wondered? Warily he cocked his head to the side, calling out loudly, "You alright?" He was not always the kindest boy, nor the brightest, but he was not cruel and would not be the first to watch a stranger suffer.