Kino was finally back in the lore, this he was sure of. And, thankfully, he was close to the Bend as the area surrounding it he knew well. The Red Forest, after all, had been his residing place for many months when he’d first met Hal. He’d re-entered earlier in the day and made his way down from the northern portions. And, even though he was so close he was hesitant. He had been gone longer than he’d wanted to be and didn’t know how they would react to his return. Would they accept him? How was Hal? How much had changed in the time he’d been gone? Things happened quickly and his own journey had gone to a dead end. Of course, he wasn’t sure what else he’d expected from it. He’d been so stupid to leave.

His doubts kept him from going straight to the bend, but instead he decided to wait another day and rest up to be fresh for whatever awaited him. Setting up shop in one of his old holes, or rather one nearby for he’d grown considerably since those times and no longer fit in some of his favorite spots, he’d gone out to catch a little grub. On his way, a peculiar scent attacked his senses. It was distinctly sweet, almost sickeningly so but also with an air of sharpness he couldn’t quite detect. Being the curious boy he was, of course he followed it. He came upon an orchard of sorts, with red things on the trees and the ground that looked a lot like large red berries. His stomach grumbled in reply to the sweet odor that attacked him, making him salivate. He was certain they were safe to eat, for how could something so delicious smelling be bad for you?

At first he tried to jump and pluck some of the strange fruit from the branches, but even with his prowess and height he remained unsuccessful. Growing frustrated, he finally turned to the ones on the ground. They weren’t as fresh looking as the ones in the trees, but he discovered that the strongest smell was definitely coming from them. Maybe these were strange fruits that got better once they fell from the trees? Bending his head he sniffed curiously at the thing, tilting his head before summoning up the courage to finally swoop down and take a bite. It was slightly soft, and the taste was a strong mixture of bitter and sweet. But, altogether it wasn’t unpleasant and Kino wasn’t one to be picky. In fact, he kind of liked them. He went on his way, finishing off the one he had started and polished off 4 more before he began to feel rather..strange. His mind went kind of fuzzy, but his body felt so warm even in the coldness around him. Slowly a smile had begun to spread on his face, his body tingling pleasantly and his head humming. “I wish Hal were here,” he thought outloud to himself as he munched, a pout settling on his lips. “Haaallll, forgive meeee. I’m suh stupid,” he called, knowing at the back of his mind that she wasn’t there and couldn’t hear him. But, he was feeling good so why not vent a little?

Kino had rolled over onto his back, peering through the branches to the clear night sky above. The stars twinkled down, bright and shining and he thought that they reminded him sort of like Hal’s eyes. Jeez, why was he thinking about her so much? And why did it smell like her all of a sudden. Snorting he rolled over, clumsily stumbling to his paws and marching forward. But, he was suddenly hitting something. And it was talking. The boy backed up, looking down in confusement. Two bright orbs stared back at him and for a moment he thought the stars had come down and were talking to him. Blinking a few times his vision cleared enough to place a face to it and he was even more surprised to find it was Hal herself.

“Hal, what’re you doin here? Why you actin so funny? You got somethin wrong with your feet?” he asked, watching her stumble around not realizing he was doing the same thing. He stared at her for a minute longer then bent his head and pressed his nose against hers, squinting as his vision went fuzzy then focused. “Hm...I missed you,” he said, almost like it was a question. A part of him wasn't entirely convinced that it was Hal, but rather one of the dreams he’d had. And boy, was this one realistic and much more different from the ones he’d had before.

"I live here dumby." she snarked, and if she had said that to Kino at any other point in time he would have clearly gotten what she meant. But, at that moment he was not quite at his full wit’s capacity, so he stared at her dumbfounded. “Uh-uh, you live in th’bend. With Spieden and Triell and Serach and everyone. Rememmbberrr?” he said, raising his eyebrows in emphasis. Next, she revealed that she’d had some of the apples as well and he grinned widely. “You had some too? They taste pretty damn good, doncha think? I feel kinda funny now too, though, but I like it ya know? Kinda like I’m flyin’ or somethin’.That would be pretty cool too, to be able to fly,” he rambled, eyes widening and head bobbing.

When she pushed him away he flopped down on his butt, pouting like he was 3 months old again waiting for Ari to stop pushing so he could get some food or playtime too. “Well, yeah, but...but you weren’t. Like, you weren’t right here. Well, you could have been but I wasn’t. I was chasing stupid Ari and I couldn’t even find her and it was really cold and I had no one to talk to so I missed you. And...yeah,” the boy floundered, rubbing his paws at the dirt as his brows knitted together and a frown tugged at his lips. Normally Kino was a closed book, afraid to show emotion on his face but it seemed that had all been thrown out the window.

”You should try walking. It's fun.” she pipped and suddenly he was confused again. “Fun? We walk allll the time though, what’s so fun about it now?” rising to his paws he took a step as if to prove his point. Much to his surprise, his leg promptly gave out and he went snout first into the dirt. He rolled onto his stomach, head swaying before giving it a strong shake. “Not fun,” he grummbled.

Kino was grinning again as Hal made her way over, mother henning him about being careful but his grin slowly dissipated as he watched her. The former prince had spent a lot of time watching that face, memorizing her expressions and her mannerisms even if he hadn’t realized he’d been doing it and right now he could tell she wasn’t feeling well. “Hey, you oka---” he began to ask, then suddenly she was vomiting and he hurriedly scuffled back onto his paws. His nose wrinkled for a moment at the pungent odor, but even in his drunken state his worry for the girl was stronger.

“Hey now, don’t do that,” Kino said, hobbling over and carefully stepping around the puke. “I think...maybe some water would be good. There’s, like, a pond around here somewhere I think,” he said, moving to nudge her in the right direction. They would be a stumbling mess of a duo, but water would definitely do good for the both of them. “Maybe those apples weren’t the best idea…” he mumbled. It wasn’t long before they were able to reach the small pond and the silver yearling led the sunshine girl to the edge, encouraging her to drink and standing protectively next to her to make sure she didn’t fall in. The time and worry he felt had quickly started to sober him up, the warm fuzzies turning into small tingles and a slightly thick tongue. He thought he even felt a headache setting in.

He supervised as she drank, taking up his role as her guardian like a snug glove. As she laid down he made himself comfortable in a sitting position. They were able to sit for a few moments in silence then and Al was able to collect his thoughts, cringing as he thought more clearly on his words and actions. They had certainly been very much unlike him, but they hadn’t been wrong. He had missed her, missed her terribly in fact. It had taken much of him to leave after his realization that he was in love with Hal, and after finding out that the journey had been a wild goose chase he regretted it even more. He wasn’t the type of wolf to just up and leave because of some stupid whim, he was logical and he was someone who actually looked into things. He glanced down at his friend, a small frown tugging at his maw. Who knew what could have happened to her in his absence. Stupid.

"I made such a mess of things when you were gone Al.” she said out of the blue. He fully turned his head to look at her, brows creasing.“Ya know Sven?" she said, and his stomach sunk further. He didn’t know a Sven, but it sounded pretty male to him. A part of him flared up with jealousy but he was quick to try and stamp it down. Don’t blow up, don’t be unreasonable he reminded himself. "I basically tried to marry myself off to him. I don't even know what I was thinking." and that right there caused a little crack in his heart. He held back a cringe.

He didn’t know if he wanted to ask the question that first popped into his mind. It made him feel sick, more than the apples had. But..damn his curious and self-destructive nature he found he had to know. “Do you...ah...do you like this Sven?” he inquired as casually as he could, taking in little breaths of air as his chest constricted. He couldn’t blame her if she did. He didn’t know the guy but he was probably less messed up than he was. Probably carried a lot less baggage and could help her in ways that he never could. Kino had never really been anyone’s first choice anyhow.