He wasn't sure how he got here, or how long he'd been gone. All he knew the night the volcano erupted was he was scared and ran from the den in a blind panic. He hadn't heard the call for the pack to gather nor the frantic cries of his mother. He had seen no hide nor hair of his father since before the mountain erupted, and now he was all alone. Surprisingly, he had covered a good distance on his short little legs, but mostly he hid out in holes and old dens he could find. He was dirty, hungry, and his fur matted in some places. He was too young to properly take care of himself and he missed his mom something fierce. He couldn't say the same for anyone else in the pack save for his siblings. Nobody else ever bothered to play with him or anything, so they could suck an egg for all he cared.

Tired and feeling defeated, he laid eyes on a strange stone structure that seemed to span as far as his short self could see. Ears laid flat on his head as he sighed and moved to sit right up against it, huddling against the cold stone as the sun started to dip below the horizon. If he could remember how to get home, he would have. But he wasn't sure which direction home was. Or if anyone was even there. He didn't know that they had chosen to move. So for now, he would rest here and resume searching in the morning...maybe.

luckily she found his scent and luckily she found him. "Gimli!" Dutch cried out, immediately using her own short legs to run forward. she had followed him from the den site to Valhalla, not caring if she stepped over their land to find her missing son. Frey was still missing, and she half hoped they'd be together. unfortunately, she still had to find her daughter. wrapping herself immediately around his small body, she gave him a fierce hug. her body shook against her son's, her eyes wild and staring around them. as if expecting a wolf to show up and take her child away again. "don't you ever run off again! you scared the ever-lovin' crap outta me!" Dutch hissed, also not caring if her boy picked up some nasty choice words from her. now that she was properly settled down, she sighed and removed herself from his body. he looked fine; still, the same rugged appearance that reminded her of her own Pa back in Donyur. "come on" she told her boy, rising to all fours again "we need to go back to Ashen. Godbrand is waiting for you." the boys were close, and hopefully this motivated Gimli to leave with her. but before she herded him back to Ashen, she sent up a call for Marshall. Sirius's giant bird would be close, the warlord had promised so himself. it would let Ashen know that she had found one of their Klein brethren.

He was starting to drift off to sleep after his long wanderings, and as his eyes drifted closed, they would snap open when he heard his name being called. Wide eyed and confused, he glanced up to find his mother racing towards him. "Ma?" Was it really her? Or was he hallucinating from the lack of food? He stood up from his position against the weird stone structure, the boy not having crossed the boundaries of the pack (though he didn't know they were pack boundaries to begin with since he had yet to be taught that), and practically threw himself into his mothers arms. His little tail wagged a mile a minute.

He was so happy to see her, and his smile faltered only slightly when she reprimanded him for leaving. Like a true scolded pup, his ears fell back against his head. "I'm sorry ma, I heard the mountain rumblin' and th' ground shakin' an' I got scared..." So he ran and hid and ran some more and hid some more when he could. " I didnae know how t' get back so..." Here he was. But gods above he missed her and he missed Godbrand. He looked at her and then back at the wall, "I couldnae run any further, the stones stopped me," He glanced back at the stone wall behind him, and made a mental note to come back someday and investigate it further. But right now...all he wanted to do was go back home. "Can we go home now?" Was there even a home to go back to?

she listened, knowing she couldn't ever stay mad at him forever. Dutch melted under his fear and she wrapped a paw around his small shoulders to comfort the boy. "I know, love" she spoke gently, reminding him while he did a bad thing his fears were also valid. he had reacted like anyone could have done. Frey had done the same, and she didn't know where the girl was. if Gimli had run, there was a possibility his sister could have hidden somewhere too. "we'll go home right now, okay?" she bent her head to give him a lick on the head before rising. he was getting too big to be carried, but it didn't mean Dutch wouldn't do it right now. he looked worn out and tired. she plucked him from the ground, feeling his light body from the lack of food and time spent running around the wilds. she couldn't tell him that Frey was missing; he'd want to help look. she had to make sure he was safe at Ashen, under the watchful eyes of the pack. Godbrand was with Sirius right now hopefully, and the rest of the pack's children was safe. adjusting the scruff of her son, she waddled off toward where Ashen was now. she only hoped they met with little difficulty going back to the pack. and finding Frey... /EXIT with GIMLI