Viorel had been to this area a couple of times in the past, he had frequented the river last winter before everything had happened. Once his son had left him gifts while he slept, and once to hop across the slippery stones with that strangely silent man. Actually, thinking along those lines, he looked to the cub who traveled alongside him. It suddenly dawned on him how alike they were, silent, and now that he was thinking about it, they even looked a lot alike. The thick white fur and the green eyes…

They had set out scouting the nearby territories, looking for any missing members, tracking the herds, and mostly just stretching their legs a little. Coming to a pause near the river that still flowed rapidly, despite being deep into the winter he asked, ”I never asked you Little Fox, do you remember your parents? Or know where they are?” He trailed off before adding, ’I met a man here once and you remind me of him, he was very quiet and didn’t have a name so I just called him Hopper.” Little did he know how close he was to landing on the truth, not that he would ever really be able to know.

Little Fox seemed upset about his questions and the leader felt bad, his expression softening from his usual gruffness. He offered her a small smile, ”I didn’t know that Vasco was my dad until I was an adult, for most of my life I thought it was a man called Platon who went missing while out on a mission. So, for a long time I didn’t have a father.” He didn’t know if this would make her feel any better, but it made him feel a little better to say it, plus he knew that she wouldn’t tell. Turning back to his story he looked at the rocks, ”Me and Hopper played a game of leap frogs to see who could cross the rocks, except he fell in at the end,wound up spending the night in the den to dry off and warm up.” It was a funny memory, a light hearted one.

But, the easiness couldn’t last forever. A familiar scent began to drift into the area and Viorel froze, eyes wide as his leathery nose began to twitch furiously. Archer. He felt like his world shifted and his paws moved on their own accord until he came upon his snow, head buried in his paws and sobs wracking his body. He didn’t know what to say, so instead he just laid down next to him and pressed his side against his son’s. He wasn’t sure how he would react, but he laid his own head down on top of his paws with a small whine, ready to take a beating if that was what Archer needed to do.

He wasn’t sure what had happened to Ally, but it was clear this was not good news.

Viorel had honestly expected for Archer to react violently, to reject the contact. He would have taken it gladly, but watched carefully while Sonnet licked his son’s head because if he lashed out at her he would need to intervene. She was innocent in all of this, just doing her best. Weren’t they all just doing their best?

What Archer said broke his heart, and the father shook his head vehemently. His volume was low but his tone was firm when he stated, ”No, I was wrong. You made a mistake but you’re not a failure.” He felt his own eyes becoming a little misty and he quickly blinked it away to try and hold himself together, ”For what it’s worth, we’re still looking.” Maybe he needed to be better at it, but it reminded him of the searches they had done for Vanadis, and Isla, and everyone who had gone missing. He should try harder.

It felt like his sons were always showing him that he should be trying harder. Doing better. Growing more. He had been the same age Archer had been when he became a father, wads his son also being forced to learn the same lessons?

Archer’s voice was muffled in the father’s fur, but he could still understand them. Every word cut him deep down to the bone, ripped his soul open and threatened to tear them all to shreds. His son didn’t deserve this. He sniffed once more then cleared his throat, his voice gruff with emotion, ”Unfortunately Archer, it seems like you’re following in my pawsteps - in a way I never wanted for you.” It was all so clear now, with everything laid out the way that it was.

It was almost like a curse, ”I love being a father, I love being your father, but all we can do is try and do better. We can’t bring Sephrina or Andy back, we can’t force Kateri or Vanadis to want to stay and be mothers, but we can try to do better for the ones we do have, we can keep looking for the ones who we can find.” It was a nice speech, and he hoped Archer would find it comforting, but in the end it was just words. Nothing would truly be able to heal their hearts, not with all the loss that they shared.

Smiling a little forlorn he murmured, ”For what it’s worth; I’m proud of you for the father you’ve become.” He had grown up a lot since the spring, even if he had been dragged through the mud.