Their searching was going nowhere. He and Ry had been all over the place and, just like before, they couldn't find hide nor tail of the Elementas family. He hadn't seen any sign of Ricky either and he couldn't even begin to fathom where Caliber or Arsenal were. They'd hit dead end after dead end and Mortar was beginning to feel a bit discouraged. The continent was just so big. How were they supposed to find anyone on it? Even worse, what if they'd left Boreas altogether and weren't here anymore? Mortar certainly didn't want to leave to go look for them. This was home now and he wanted to find his own siblings just as much as she wanted to find her family. So he went back to the place all this began. He wasn't entirely sure where Ray was, but it didn't matter at the moment. She'd promised not to leave him again and so far she hadn't. They were going to stick together no matter what. He didn't think he could take it if she disappeared again. Any time she'd gone off so far she'd returned though. He tried to take a small amount of comfort that fact. She wouldn't leave him again or she'd lose his trust forever. He padded forlornly along the black sandy beach. He was aimless in his traveling. His paws were merely leading him somewhere with no destination. He glanced briefly into the few dens as he passed them. One was where Voltage and his family has stayed. He didn't see the old alpha's rock collection. Ray had told him it'd been washed away in the flood. Then there was Glacier's den and then lastly his own. He peered into it and mostly it looked the same. A stick that he'd used to play with, an old crab shell, and a pretty seashell he'd found along the beach one time. He sighed as the memories came flooding back before he pulled his head away. He couldn't sleep there. There were too many memories and all of them hurt. Instead he continued his slow trek down the beach. Walk, "Talk" Think

It had been quite awhile now since her run in with Cortez, and on the days when she found herself most bored.. she'd let her wonderment drift back to the idea of him and his brother, and whether or not they'd found each other. Today was clearly one of those days and, desperate for something to do, she found herself trotting down the shore of the midnight beach once again to look for anything the tides washed up that might be of interest. She seemingly disappeared in the sea of black while she continued her endeavor, her heterochromic eyes scanning the shore for anything new and exciting. Another deformed wolf, perhaps? She'd been in the adventurous part of her mind quite deeply by now, and when the familiar scent of her brother hit her nose for just the briefest of moments before being carried off by the ocean breeze, she snapped right out of it. Her heart raced beneath the broadness of her chest while she lifted her nose in the air and searched for the scent again with panicked eyes. She hadn't meant to run into him yet, she still hadn't thought of how to explain herself for leaving in the first place. Clearly, he would be pissed with her. She held her breath and looked for anything else that might be lurking behind her or along the shore, slowing her determined walk to a quiet prowl as she tried to go back the way she'd come. Surprisingly, it was along her way back that she found his tracks.. and by then it was simply too late, they were both within eyesight of each other out in the expanse of the beach- no where to go, no where to hide.. even if they wanted to. She exhaled sharply as she quickly lowered her head, her ears pinning back against her skull as she took a defensive posture. She tried to remind herself to remain calm and spoke out loud enough for him to hear her from the less than thirty foot distance she had left between them. The truth about her reason for leaving was too cold even for her to admit, but.. she just didn't do well with anyone's company other than her own. How could she explain that to her brother and still have him believe she cared for him? "Hello again, Isaac." She wouldn't explain it to him, not in a million years even if they could live that long. No amount of time would cure her denial and allow her to voice it, so she simply looked away masking an expression of indifference to his company.

He'd left his old den quickly enough. He didn't want the memories that plagued him to come flooding back so he shoved them away. He was staying for Ray, but it didn't mean he liked it in the slightest. He hated the fact they were still staying here. It was like a giant slap in the face - a reminder that everyone had left, even her, and he'd been stuck here by himself to cope with the loss of everything familiar and comforting. He didn't want to see the abandoned dens of everyone he'd held dear and he didn't want to think of the dreaded journey of trying to figure out where his adopted family had disappeared to. He'd had half a mind to go back past the prairie and find a new place to sleep. Surely Ray would understand his reasons. He didn't want to be reminded that not even his own family could keep their promises. He'd been under the impression that she'd stick around for him when they'd last seen each other. He'd taken her hug as agreement to the promise he'd tried to make her give, and then she'd turned around and left him again. Had he misunderstood something? Did she not want to be around him or had she not made a promise at all. It was too confusing. Ebony paws left large indents in the sand as he padded down the beach. The obsidian shores were always something of a mystery to him. He'd seen regular sand before - tan or so clean it was almost white, but black sand was strange. He hadn't thought much of it when he was a pup, but with only his mind for company he had plenty of time to let his thoughts run rampant now. He had more than enough free time to think of the silliest thing and ponder life's mysteries. He hadn't come up with many answers yet, but it kept him occupied nonetheless. And that's when his mood plummeted. A scent wafted to him across the breeze. It was sharp and clear one second before the wind tugged it away. By that point though it didn't matter that he'd smelled her. He'd been so absorbed within his own mind that he hadn't noticed her until she was less than thirty feet away. His head rose and his fiery gaze rested on his sister. A series of emotions passed through him. At first it was happiness that she was here, that he didn't have to go searching for her, but it didn't last. Instead, as she greeted him, it turned to anger, bitterness, and disappointment. Was she not happy to see him? The way she so casually looked away, as if he were some stranger, didn't do anything to boost his confidence. "Ricky..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say exactly. "What are you doing here?" It wasn't exactly the first thing he wanted to ask, but starting off with "why the hell did you leave me alone again" didn't really feel appropriate. Walk, "Talk" Think