Northern Boreas. Florian hadn’t expected that he would see these lands again, not after he, Gargoyle, Faolan, and Ngurulivu had left the lands. They had been so happy, the four of them sticking together through thick and things outside the lands. But in the end, Flo realized, they had been naive. Blindly accepting someone into their circle, allowing them to get close… Nuru had told him time and time again that any kind-hearted wolf would have fallen for the same trap they had. It didn’t make the outcome of that so-called “friendship” any easier to deal with, however. Florian still recalled it, and when he hadn’t dampened how he interacted with others, he made it a point to not forget that betrayal. One moment they were laughing, enjoying themselves, and the next they were fighting for their freedom… and their lives… Florian’s ears slid downward as he thought about it. He’d been grateful, that though he was the smallest of his siblings he had been taught how to hold his own in a fight. There had been a bit more of the enemy than there had of them, multiple wolves after his brothers and sister. They had fought hard, but in the end, Faolan went down, gravely injured. Florian knew in hindsight, that though he tried to stop Faolan’s bleeding that by the time they had chased off their would-be captors there was no saving their brother. He had tried, frantically tried to stop the bleeding, to do something but he just hadn’t been able to. …and poor Gargoyle. He knew his other brother had seen Faolan get overwhelmed, and saw him go down. He had to wonder if Garg blamed himself for Faolan’s loss… not that there had been much he could have done with wolves attacking him as well. Florian shook the thoughts from his mind, his gaze turning skyward. He had thought to visit the cove, the place his parents had fondly spoken of, but alas it seemed that a pack had moved in. At that discovery he had shifted his path, making for the pines the pack he had been born in once called theirs. Did the spirits of his parents still haunt this place, he wondered? And what of Claire? She had remained behind when the rest of them set out. She… didn’t even know about Faolan’s death. Flo heaved a soft sigh. They needed to find her, to let her know… it was why they had decided to make their way to Boreas. He only hoped Gargoyle would actually follow them. He had stayed behind after Faolan had fallen, wishing to bury him despite the potential dangers. He and Nguruvilu had understood, letting him do just that. It didn’t mean that they didn’t miss him, however. Grasses free of snow shifted underpaw as Florian moved into a patch of the pines. His ears perked forward, his eyes betraying the look of loneliness he currently felt. Nuru had said she needed some time and had given him a rendezvous point here, at the pines, in a few days from that morning. But without either sibling by his side, Flo felt… strange. It was odd flying solo for a change, but something he was sure wouldn’t necessarily get bad to get used to. They were adults after all. They would have to start living their own lives eventually, right? Not that he’d ever stray too far. His family was everything to him. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t use a friend or two. And with the night sky stretched above him, the world quiet, Florian had never wished to have a friend more. "Talk, 'Think.'

Ephemeral was on his own. It wasn't an entirely foreign concept for him. But this time it was different, his mother wasn't there and waiting for him to get back from his explorations. There wasn't the call of 'Ephy' ringing through the air. The young male was out on his very own for the first time in his life. But his mother was never far from his mind. He didn't fully realize that she had died but simply assumed her to be sleeping. Should he be able to make a friend and bring then back to her then she would wake up and they could go on as they had been. That is what drove the yearling out into the wider world without his mother. He had made a promise and he would keep it. He would find a friend and his mother would be happy and wake up and then said friend could travel with them and all would be right with the world.

But even though he had a quest to undertake didn't mean that he wouldn't end up distracted along the way. Now, it was him following about a firefly. The odd, drifting light entranced the youth. His tongue lulled out the side of his mouth as he bounced after the floating light. He wasn't so intent upon catching the insect as he was on just following it to see what he was doing. Could glow bugs be friends? This sudden thought had him picking up his pace to try and get closer to the lightning bug.

"Wait!" He called after the insect as it continued to drift further and further on without him. The dark male ended up losing track of his new insect friend through a cluster of trees. "Wait me!" He called out again, a whine having bubbled up in his throat with the proclamation.

But it wasn't the firefly that he stumbled into but some other wolf instead. And that was more of a literal stumbling into as Ephy hadn't even noticed the dark male upon the ground for his gaze had been pinned skywards instead in search of his new "friend".

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For the moment though, it felt as though Florian was the only one in the pines. There were undoubtedly still packs here in the North but what were the chances of him running into a pack wolf in these lone lands? They could wander, sure, but surely there were duties to tend to in their homelands that would prevent them from interacting willy-nilly? Florian didn’t know. He hadn’t been in a pack since he was a kid with his siblings. He’d been a loner for so long now that he’d forget what pack life was like. But he didn’t mind. Being a loner had its advantages and disadvantages after all. He had been caught up in his thoughts, so much so his guard was down as he focused on just what was in front of him. He hadn’t noticed a stranger getting close until he heard the whine, the call for someone to wait. He came to a stop, lifted his head, and swung it to look over his shoulder. A yearling, with dark fur coloration and amber eyes, was heading right toward him. The younger wolf’s gaze wasn’t on him, however, but seemed to be skyward instead, and before Flo could open his maw to warn the stranger of their collision, well, the younger man crashed into him. Florian stumbled a little, catching himself relatively quickly. He blinked with surprise but smiled. “Careful now,” His voice wasn’t unkind. Instead, there was a friendly and upbeat tone to it as he turned to face the yearling fully now. Goodness, was it common for youths to be out like this on their own? He had been out and out of a pack before he was a year but he had Ngurulivu, Gargoyle, and Faolan with him. This stranger had one scent on his coat beside his own and it seemed to be fading. “Are you alright? Who are you trying to find?” Florian asked gently. He hadn’t heard any birds or anything… was it some sort of other type of companion the youth might have had? "Talk, 'Think.'

 

 

     

Ephemeral came crashing down after the collision. He was quick to get back to his paws though. "Hi!" He spoke up brightly, his tail wagging happily behind him at the sight of a new face. He was excited to see someone else. He didn't often to get to interact with other wolves so every time he got to do so was quite exciting to him. Ephy was always eager to meet a new face.

"No. Not Alright." The boy said with a quick shake of his head. "I Ephy. Ephemeral. Ephy." The boy had clearly confused the word with a name. "Who Alright?" He asked and looked around as if someone else might suddenly appear. Certainly there had be someone else about named Alright that this wolf was looking for. Why else would he be confused for this Alright if not so?

His attention was diverted back to the other with the question. A bright smile broke over his features/ "Glow bug." The yearling proudly stated. Not exactly the right name for the insect but certainly close enough.

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What a strange yearling, Florian thought as he listened to the younger wolf greet him. He spoke with a bright voice, his body language betraying his excitement at seeing someone new. It was refreshing to see someone so happy at meeting someone new, but it was his words that truly threw Florian off. It seemed that the yearling thought he was calling him “Alright” as a name. He shook his head, correcting the older male, and even gave his name. Still, Flo arched a brow. It seemed strange to him that a wolf this old wouldn’t know the difference but he didn’t judge the youth for it. He seemed harmless… just a little confused was all. Flo remained calm, addressing Ephy in the same manner of tone as he used before. “Alright isn’t a name, Ephy. It’s… Well, kind of used to how to describe how you feel? Not good, nor bad, just alright or okay. I wanted to make sure you didn’t get hurt from running into me, though it seems like you are actually alright.” Florian breathed a sigh of relief at this information. Too many creatures could want to hurt others, and Florian didn’t want to be one of them. But the man had never had an inkling of darkness in his heart. Even when the wolves killed his brother, Faolan, Florian had found himself unable to hate them. It was why he needed Gargy and Ruu… They would make the right calls when it came to the dark ones. “I’m afraid that I didn’t see the… glow bugs…” Even now he was looking around but he didn’t see them. He knew the insect that Ephemeral was looking for but, to avoid confusing the youth again, used the same terminology he had.  “Are you out here by yourself?” He asked as he looked back at the yearling. He didn’t have a pack scent on his coat. Or… much of any scent other than his own. “I mean… are there any other wolves nearby that you can go back to? A mom or dad? A friend?” "Talk, 'Think.'

 

 

     

Ephemeral was quick to respond to the older male's explanation. "I good! I no bad!" The youth was insistent upon that fact, clearly not fully understanding what the other male was trying to explain to him. He understood the words good and bad but only in a singular context. "I no hurt." The boy stated brightly. He hadn't even considered being hurt. It wasn't the first time that he had fallen in his life. Likely wouldn't be the last time either. He hadn't even considered that anyone would try to hurt him. To Ephy everyone was a potential friend. He never considered anyone had bad intentions despite his mother's warnings.

"Alone, alone." The boy agreed to the assessment of his situation. He didn't seem terribly perturbed by the notion though. But then he hadn't been out by himself for far too long yet. "Gots Mama. Mama sleep. Mama sleep long time. Mama say fine friend. Ephy fine friend. Mama wake up." Yep, that sounded entirely logical. At least that was how it worked in Ephemeral's brain. He figured that if he could bring a friend back to his mother then she would be happy and not sleep anymore. Because to Ephy she was just asleep and not actually dead.

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Ephy was quick to cut in despite his explanation. He was good, not bad, and Florian could feel himself resisting a small sigh. Ephemeral didn’t understand that he had been trying to describe another word but that was alright. It was still good information to know. And knowing that he wasn’t hurt was even more important. He couldn’t place his paw on why he was so concerned about this youth. He was innocent for certain but it seemed to go beyond a normal sense of innocence for a yearling. Ephy seemed even younger than he was as a yearling… He didn’t want to see the kid actually hurt or taken advantage of. He confirmed he was alone, seeming to confirm the assessment of his situation. It didn’t seem to bother him though. But when Ephemeral spoke of his mother, how she slept a long time, Florian’s ears fell. “How long is a long time, Ephy?” Florian asked, an uneasy feeling settling in his gut. He had lost his own parents when he was quite young, his father way before they had even turned a year old… “Has it been all day? Longer?” He wasn’t sure how he would be able to explain to the yearling if she had been “sleeping” longer. That she was gone. He frowned, furrowing his brow, and hoped for the best. "Talk, 'Think.'

 

 

     

Ephemeral had opened his mouth in an instant to speak but no words came out. Generally he was quick off the cuff with this sort of stuff. But this time he actually had to think about how long it had been. Time is such a strange and fickle thing. It wasn't a tangible something that Ephy could see and focus on and be able to explain in his limited way. And that was why he chose something that he could see in order to bolster his explanation.

"Sun wake. Sun sleep. Moon wake. Moon sleep. Sun wake. Sun sleep. Moon wake. Moon sleep. Sun wake. Sun sleep. Moon wake. Moon sleep. Sun wake. Sun sleep. Moon wake. Moon sleep. Sun wake." The boy rigorously went over each time he had seen the sun and the moon since his mother had first gone to sleep. It was nearing on a week since the yearling had last traveled with his mother, nearly a week since he had become truly alone.

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Ephemeral went into an explanation and Florian was quiet, trying to follow along with how many days it had been. One, two, three, four… this was the fifth day that his mother had gone to “sleep”. It had almost been a week then since Ephy had become alone and the realization of what this meant settled over Florian like a cold, wet blanket. He drew in a breath and closed his eyes. How was he supposed to explain to this kid that his mother was dead? Gone? No wolf could possibly sleep that long otherwise. His heart went out to the yearling, especially knowing that without her it meant he’d be alone unless he joined a pack or other loners. “Ephy…” He opened his amber eyes with a frown. “I’m sorry, but no wolf sleeps that long. That is a long, long time.” He was trying to keep it as simple as he could. “It is something deeper than sleep when they don’t wake for so many days. Nothing will wake them ever again.” His expression and tone had become saddened. “It’s like they’re gone, even though their body is still able to be seen. She’s gone to a different place that we can’t go. It’s called Somnium. Only creatures who don’t wake anymore go there.” Flo sighed. “...I know it’s hard, and hard to understand, Ephy, but you need to stay away from her body now. Getting close when she’s been like that can make you very, very sick.” Florian’s ears were flattened against his skull. “I’m sorry…” "Talk, 'Think.'

 

 

     

"Yes, long long time." The boy was quick to agree with the assessment. There was no other way to describe it. But then he was told that his mother wouldn't be waking again. How was that possible? "Mama wake if I find friend. Mama said so." Okay, maybe not in those exact words but that was how he had interpreted them. He thought that if he found a friend and brought them back then his mother would magically be okay again and they could continue on as they had been for the entirety of Ephemeral's life.

The other continued to explain and said that his mother had gone to some other place. "I go Somnium!" Yes, he would go there and find his mother and make her wake up. It sounded like a plan to him. He could tell his Mama he had a new friend that had told him how to find her and then she would be happy and all would be right with the world again.

"I no sick." He said with a shake of his head, clearly not understanding everything that he had been told. In fact he didn't really even know how to get back to his mother's body. He had simply walked without keeping track of where he had been going. His mother had never taught him that skill before. There had never been a reason to know it since they had never backtracked to a previous location before. They had always kept moving ahead. It was all Ephy knew how to do, to keep pushing forward.

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Ephemeral agreed it had been a long time, but he definitely didn’t understand that she had passed away. He thought that she would wake if he found a friend, and Florian shook his head. “No, Ephy. Your mother won’t wake up ever again. Once a creature goes into that type of sleep they are forever sleeping. No creature can go to Somnium unless they enter that sleep. It’s a place of not being awake, always asleep, different from where you and I are.” He was sure it was confusing, especially to a yearling, but Flo was trying his best to make the dark-furred yearling understand. “You’re not sick right now, no, but if you go back around her when she won’t wake up you’ll become sick. Very, very sick.” Florian sighed softly. “No matter what you do she won’t wake up, Ephy. No amount of friends, calling to her, or shaking her could wake your mother back up now.” Florian lowered his gaze. This was hard… explaining to Ephy that his mother had died was one of the most difficult things he’d ever experienced. "Talk, 'Think.'

 

 

     

The yearling male whine when he was told that he couldn't go to where his mother had gone. "Mama no leave Ephy!" The youth protested vehemently, unable to come to terms with there ever being such a place that his mother would go that he would be unable to go to. That just couldn't be. His mother would never leave him behind like that. She would never go somewhere that Ephemeral wasn't allowed to go. It was always just the two of them.

The boy continued to whine. It was a hard thing to hear. He didn't know what it meant to truly be alone. "No Mama ever?" The teenager asked pitifully. Maybe the other was mistaken and would end up changing his mind. Ephy could only hope that it would be so. "Where go now? Mama alway say where go."

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Florian drew in a s breath as the distressed pup spoke again. "I don't think your mother would have left if there was any chance for her to stay, Ephy. I'm sure she loved you very, very much. Flo drew in a small breath, remembering when he had lost his own parents… and his brother. Loss was never easy to cope with. It definitely didn't seem like Ephemeral really understood the concept of death either.

As Ephy whined again Florian gave a small, sad nod. "Sadly… no more mama. Ever, ever…" Florian sighed. "I'm sorry… I know it's hard." The dark-furred male shook his head. "I feel for you… my parents had the same happen when I was also a young boy." Florian shifted on his paws.

"If you have nowhere to go… you could stay with me and my sister, Nguruvilu. She often goes out to wander the lands of Boreas but she's nice. Florian smiled. "Then you won't be alone. I've been wandering these pines and the Red Forest for a while now… so if you need time to think about it you can always come find me in one or the other."