He was sick, and he had been for months. He was sure some members of the pack had noticed, and if they didn't? Well...he didn't blame them. He had hardly integrated with the pack since he joined, and quite frankly, he just couldn't bring himself to really care or try. He only really saw them during meetings, and he only really ate when Zell or Frost brought him food. He did occasionally hunt for himself, but they were mainly things like mice or rabbits and other small prey. Things that just barely kept him going. Faite was gone, and so was Fortune... He had felt a little okay when Fortune had returned, but it seemed she had come and gone all too quickly. The emaciated male slowly stumbled out of his den, his frail and ragged form an incredibly poor sight to anyone who saw him. Dull green eyes looked up to the night sky, noting that it was pretty late. He hardly came out during the day. It was better for him to just come out at night. At least that way, he could avoid running into others as much as possible. Especially the younger ones...he didn't want them to see him looking so pitiful. He slowly made his way to the river, and he was glad he had decided to dig out a den closer to the water. It had taken him a few days to properly dig it out, but he was somewhat satisfied with it at least. The moment his paws touched the water, he lowered his body until he was lying down on his side in the cool mud. He often wondered what it was like to die...but unfortunately for him, he didn't think it would happen to him anytime soon. Why would fate ever show him that kind of mercy when he felt like he didn't deserve it? He was convinced instead, that living like this is exactly what he deserved. "Speech"

Since landing in Boreas and by extension Lirium the prince had made little progress on his mission, although Ley knew that might not have been completely bad. After his disappointing meeting with near legendary former queen of Dragoste Pegasus had turned around and headed westward, retracing the path that had brought him to the uninhabited southern land. He had no true ties to Lirium and if he had wanted to he could have just as easily stayed in the Southern reach and found his own way, but the young male had found the western pack’s environment to his liking. Not to mention the friendly and exotically colorful wolves that inhabited it. The memory of Célestin’s brightly colored eyes flashed to the forefront of his mind and he felt his ears burn in response. He crossed the border and came to a river, his thoughts still wandering as he stepped gracefully onto one of the smooth boulders poking out from the river’s surface.  The current wasn’t nearly strong enough to knock him over or carry him off if he fell in but the prince had chosen to avoid getting wet, particularly in case he ran into Célestin on his way back to his den. He skipped from rock to rock gracefully, minding his footing as best as he could in the moonlight until he was nearly at the river’s edge. With a final leap he landed on what he thought was a boulder closest to the river’s edge, only to have his paws sink into the warmth of another wolf’s body. He yelped loudly in surprise and bounded off the male as quickly as he could while coating his legs with mud in the process. “Are you alright?!" He asked frantically, his voice raised in frightful panic. “Are you okay? Did I break anything? I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you! “ He rambled on, frightened apologies and questions regarding the male’s potential injuries spewing from his mouth, with no regard for how often they were repeated. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

It was quiet as he lied there, the only indication that he was even alive was the gentle rise and fall of his side. He didn't move otherwise as he simply tried to enjoy the coolness and sound of the river that flowed just mere inches away. But even when he tried to focus on the stillness of the night, his dark thoughts always came creeping into his mind. Memories of his littermate, of his sire, his birth pack, and even the lone white she-wolf that he had once followed around for a time, but he could no longer remember anyone's name, save for his littermate. He closed his eyes for a few moments, unaware of the young wolf that would soon use him as a landing pad. It wasn't until he felt the abrupt weight hit him and his breath was forced from his body that he reacted... even if a little slow. His body seemed to seize and go rigid, eyes squeezing shut as he spluttered and coughed. He was so focused on trying to recover his breath that he hardly heard the frantic voice. It took a minute or two for him to catch his breath. By the time he managed to finally breathe properly and recover from the sudden impact, a few long minutes had already passed. He stumbled up to his feet, frail frame struggling a bit until he managed to stand properly. Gaze fell on the young wolf that had jumped on him, and for a moment he was confused. Was this a pack wolf? Honestly, with his lack of integration with the other members, he didn't know who was who. "I-I'm fine. Don't worry about me, I'm not hurt." He mumbled before turning away. He approached the water and drank, letting the cool water soothe his sore throat. Ears fell back to listen for a response from the youth. Rin vaguely remembered when he had been young and full of energy like that...but that was years ago. Now? He was a sickly aging hermit. Definitely not the life he imagined for himself, but certainly a life he felt he deserved. "Speech"

“What- What were you doing?” He asked, sitting on the muddy bank with his ears pinned back like a scolded child. Even in his youth Pegasus had seen wolves who had lost their will to live; old soldiers who had lost their sight or were crippled, or men who had simply been hurt emotionally and could not find the strength to carry on.  While it wasn’t explicitly stated in Ley’s holy laws suicide was considered a sin, one that squandered the sacred gift of life that Ley had bestowed upon them. “Defend the weak from the strong." He thought to himself. Could he claim that he was protecting the weak of constitution from the strength of the call to oblivion? More importantly would the old man let him? Pegasus, young as he was, had been so carried away by his assumptions that he hadn’t even let the man respond before he settled that he would attempt to rescue him.  It had niggled at the back of his mind that the man could have simply been washing out his fur, but as he watched the frail being drink, and recounted the softly spoken words he had given he began to doubt that the man was anything other than a broken soul. speaking Thinking   You

"What- What were you doing?” Ears twitched slightly as the young male spoke. He took another moment or two to finish drinking before raising his head a bit, though he didn't turn to look at him. Water dripped from his muzzle as he responded, "I was just...lying there. Resting I guess," That was the only answer he could really provide in the hopes that the youth would believe it. It was only partially a lie. In truth, the old male had been laying there and somewhat contemplating what it would be like to just...vanish from the world. But he was too much of a coward to do it himself, so for now, he simply existed. He was a shell of his former self. The man who had once enjoyed traveling and tried to enjoy life until he had come back to these cursed lands. Since he had run into his littermate, that was when everything had fallen apart for him. Even now, years later, he still had nightmares about his brother's shadowed form. Constantly berating and teasing and telling him everything was his fault. The ghost of his father with his cold, dead eyes always judging him and telling him he was nothing but an abomination to the Armada name. Rin took a shuddering breath before raggedly exhaling, trying to rid himself of those nightmarish thoughts for a moment. He couldn't break down in front of someone. Not now. He had been able to hide such things the whole time he was here, save for his ragged and emaciated frame. The physical part of him was something he always failed to hide, but the mental and emotional parts he had done a decent job so far. Usually when confronted about his condition, he simply said it was old age and genetics. But of course, it was all a lie. His sire was as strong as ever at this age, not a fragile looking skeleton. He took a couple more laps of water before turning to gaze at the youth, wondering. "Are you...new or...?" His senses were so dulled, and he was so secluded in his own little part of the territory, he didn't know who was in the pack anymore. "Speech"