Aeolus had been starting to get used to the cold temperatures. He could hear only the sound of the wind whistling in his lobes, and the constant ringing that surrounded his lobes as well. Snow continued to trickle down and land upon his small form, his ebony coat shaking the cold from his pelt. He had been in the northern lands for a couple days, and he was thinking about moving to some place warmer, and maybe even find a pack or someone who would accept him as his own.

His entire pack that was wiped out by the epidemic that Alacritia had to go through a little while after his family did. It had been a week or so since he had come here, and he had not seen many other wolves who would even think about accepting him or being kind to him.

The wind continued to mock him as he shook from the cold. He was not used to the frigid temperatures yet. Luckily, there was a den close by. He walked inside and lied down, placing his head down upon his paws and listening to the sounds of the wind whistling across his ear.

Dayton wandered across the northern lands, his heart empty and devoid of feeling. Pacifica was gone too. There was no one left who cared about him. His life was an endless war that wounded and shook him, and at first he had let himself feel the pain. For he would rather feel pain than nothing at all. But this was what being broken felt like. After you broke, nothing hurt anymore. You just moved through the lands, a hollow shell of what you used to be. Dayton sighed, his breath joining the wind in its endless song. He had nowhere to be. Nothing to do. So where could he go, other than where the wind could take him? After finally noticing the terrible cold, the russet man sighed again and found a warm den to rest in for the night. But the den was not empty. As he stepped inside, he caught sight of a black pup, and some warmth began to return to his heart. Seeing this child, alone and freezing, thawed something inside of him. "Good evening, child. Are you alright?" "SPEECH"

Aeolus would smell the scent of another wolf close by. He didn't have a family, and it would seem that the wolf that was approaching was alone just like how he was. His topaz and emerald optics would shift slightly as he turned his head to see the russet man. It was getting close to night when the brute said good evening. The brute seemed to be kind, and again was older than he was. He was asked if he was alright, and he nodded his head in reply.

"I'm fine," his tone was gentle, shy, and somewhat alone. He placed his cranium upon his forepaws and listened to the wind once more. There was finally life that he could see when the male wolf hand entered the den. He shook slightly from the cold, but, after falling into a lake a couple days back, he was starting to get used to the frigid temperature and climate.

The man would stare at the boy for a moment as he nodded and said that he was okay. Then, after pausing for a beat, Dayton was able to nod as well. The child didn't seem to be completely alright, but he would need to take his word for it. There was a ghost of a smile on his lips as he bowed his head and moved further into the den. "Glad to hear it," the brute murmured quietly, wincing as a stab of pain pierced his heart. Real pain and grief. He was beginning to feel again, and he wasn't so sure that was a good thing. Still, he tried to smile at the pup. Children didn't need to know pain. But it seemed that this one already did, with the subdued way he rested his head, suffering in silence. Two beings alone with their own agonies. That didn't seem right. Dayton decided to figure out a way to help, somehow. But he would go about things slowly. "Are you... Are you cold at all? I could sit near you and keep you warm," Dayton suggested almost shyly. "SPEECH"

Aeolus listened to him and nodded, a slight sigh escaping his eyes. He was alone, and perhaps a little company would help sooth his heart. A small whimper escaped his mouth as the male had asked him if he could lie down close to him to see if he could get warm. The young brute nodded to the older male wolf and nodded. A small yawn escaped his maw as he saw him.

"May I ask your name, and why you seem sad?" Aeolus would ask, a tilt of his head showing a sign of confusion in the male that had entered the den. It seemed, just like him, that this male had lost something just like how he had lost something.

The cold entered the den and Aeolus shook slightly, a sign that his body needed heat. He curled his form into a ball, trying to keep heat there so that he wouldn't happen to freeze and shiver so bad.

Dayton would chuckle once in surprise as the shy pup allowed to be comforted in this cold weather. The larger creature would come even further into the den, settling beside his dark shivering form. The pup would ask about his name and the cause of his sadness. But his burden was too heavy for such a young boy. "Well, my name is Dayton, and..." he sighed, deciding to give him a brief explanation. "I lost someone that was close to me. And I miss her." But Dayton wouldn't let his words - or his thoughts - go any further than that. The pain would be too great. So he smiled again as the small creature yawned and tucked his body into a tiny bundle of black fur. "What about you?" he whispered, curling into a protective position around the boy. "You seem sad too. Why?" "SPEECH"

The older male asked him why he was sad. He expressed that his name was Dayton, and that he had lost someone he cared for dearly, and that he also missed her. Aeolus would understand why he didn't go any further than what was already told to him. The pup soon uncurled now that he had gotten warmer than before when he didn't have company with him. His topaz and emerald optics shimmered slightly when life opened up inside.

"My name's Aeolus, named after the Greek God if wind," he would express as he couldn't help but smile at his name. He loved to run, his heart leapt every time he ran. But, right now he was trying to get his priorities straight before he would have a chance at fun again.

"Also, I lost my parents to the epidemic that I am sure many wolves here have experienced. My entire pack and parents were wiped out and now I am alone," he would say, a sad tone in his voice as he placed his head on the older male's paws, unaware that he had accidentally placed his head on the male's paws.

Dayton would feel his heart go out to the child who seemed to take simple delight in his name. Joys like that were not meant to be erased by grief. But that was what was happening, he could see, as the boy let his mismatched irises be clouded over. He shared the tragedy of his life story. The plague that so many in Tortuga had faced had also spread to the pack that this pup once knew. Except no cure was discovered for them, and everyone was lost to the illness. Aeolus was an orphan. It was as though Dayton was having his heart broken all over again. As if that was possible! He breathed heavily for a moment, sharing the grief with this boy. But no tears came, and soon he regained his composure. This poor creature needed a home. He needed a family. Maybe... "Aeolus, I'm sorry to hear what you have been through. But may I ask, do you have any friends? Any place to call home?" There was a new and exciting idea stirring inside of Dayton, and he wasn't sure what to make of it yet. "SPEECH"

The male seemed to have been sharing the grief that Aeolus had been feeling. He listened to the sounds of the wind that still lingered outside. Did he have a family before his pack that was wiped out before the epidemic and had he any friends that lived here? Everything ran through his mind like the wind that was outside, it stuck to him, but it would be gone as if it were never there.

"No. Besides my family that I had already lost, I didn't have any parents and or a family I could call my own. I just feel alone, but I wish that I could have my parents or another pair of parents," he would tell Dayton, his head hung low and listening to the sounds of the wind, he was starting to get tired of it. A single tear ran down the pup's cheek as he soon placed his head on his own paws.

"I'm also sorry you lost someone you care about, but just like my parents for me, your friend or the one you love is still in your memories, heart, and in your dreams, for they're never gone," he would say. His mother had told him this, and he just wished they were with him, and that he had a mother, father, or perhaps a pack.

Thoughts were racing quickly through his mind, like the wind. He was slowly getting an idea, an idea unlike anything he had gotten before. And it scared him, but he was exhilerated at the same time. Like being caught in the eye of the storm, looking out at the power and change all around you. If he just took a step forward, he could become part of the movement, part of the power. He could make a difference in someone's life. This boy was orphaned, and as Dayton listened he heard him said that he wished for his parents back. Or he wished for new parents. Dayton had always wanted to be a father, ever since he had met Misha. But then she had forgotten him, and Pacifica came along, reviving those thoughts. Now she was gone too, and here was Aeolus, reaching out a helpless paw in need. Perhaps... "Maybe you could have a new pair of parents. Or a new father, at least." Amber eyes were fixed on something in the distance, but he broke from that trance and leaned down to give the little boy a gentle nuzzle. "I know you don't know me well, but I could promise to take care of you. I could be your new family, your new father," he offered, heart pounding in his chest. "What do you say?" Dayton seeked to dry the tears that stained his mismatched eyes. He wanted to see Aeolus smile again, for that was such a beautiful thing to see. He nudged the black pup with his nose once more, looking tenderly down on him as he waited for a response. "We could leave here," he whispered. "We could go someplace warm, start a pack of our own. You could be my son." The words came out before he could think it through. Start a pack of his own? Is that what Dayton wanted to do? "SPEECH"

The male pup would heave a slight sigh until he heard Dayton speak. He had talked about making a pack of his own, and the other words that the russet male had told him gave him a bit of a startled and surprised demeanor. The only sound was his breathing, the thumping of his heart, and the wind whistling off into the distance. The young ebony brute was speechless. Did this male really mean what he said? With the slight tilt of his head, Aeolus began to think of his answer.

His parents had told him to stay away from other wolves unless it is an emergency. He was alone, and how could he fend for himself without someone to help him? He did know how to hunt a little due to him being taught before his parents were killed by the epidemic. His double colored optics shimmered slightly with life.

"Do you really mean it?" Aeolus would ask, his eyes looking into the russets eyes. When he was sure that Dayton was telling the truth, he looked to the sky, and then back to the older male and smiled, nodding his head. He would let Dayton raise him if he meant what he had told him.

The boy began to ask if what he said was true. Would he promise to care for him? To give him a home? Dayton licked the pup on the head affectionately, pulling back only to nod at him. "Of course, Aeolus. Why would I ever lie to you?" As the little ebony pup agreed to be taken under his care, the man felt his heart swell with happiness. Fate was finally on his side. He was getting one of the things he had always wanted. Someone to love and care for, a child to call his own. Aeolus was his son now. "I promise to be the best father I can be, my child. I swear on my life that I will never disappoint you." Then, with a surprised little laugh, the brute reached out a paw and pulled the child closer. His tiny frame was tucked into an coat of earthen hues, and Dayton was happy. They shared their heat with each other in the cold of the night, and for once, everything seemed like it was going to be okay. Walk."Talk."Think.