Ghastly Woods Waving through a window

He knew it was going to be difficult—to get time away from his mother and their pack? group? clan? to see Adeltra—but it would be worth it. His friendship with her was one of the main reasons he hadn’t completely fallen apart after his father’s death. She had never been persistent or tried to bombard him with consoling words. Most days her presence alone had been enough. But she had encouraged him to keep going—both physically and mentally. To not wallow in his own misery. To eat. Piety had also been there to help him, but she was grieving too; he had to be strongish for her.

Yeah, we found her.

His tail wagged in relief, but it was short-lived. His expression grew grim as she continued, her words becoming bitter as she spoke of Morganna. It didn’t take an expert to figure out that Adeltra was not fond of the woman. What his friend was saying made sense—they should have chased the dark yearling off, away from the missing cub. That would have been the practical course of action, not inviting him back to the Scowle… but he was sure Morganna had her reasons. Cyril had never had an issue with the ebony Archer; he did not have anything against her. When she had arrived at the monadnock the boy had actually grown quite fond of her and her sharp tongue.

As Adeltra continued her story the boy’s bottom jaw dropped open in surprise. The girl had disappeared again?! Yikes! He felt sorry for the girl—and her parents. Hopefully she found her way back to the mountain and away from her captor. But, it appeared Adeltra was done with the situation, otherwise she would not be this far north. Probably a wise idea. Too much drama in the south, he mused as he gave his head a soft shake. At least y’know she was safe. I’m sure she’ll end up back home. Hopefully. But it wasn’t his problem. He didn’t live in the south; didn’t even know the girl. How’s the Ridge? Her father? Her mother?

Too much drama in the south he said and she vigorously nodded her head in agreement. It kept her on her toes, true, but she’d rather the drama of, say, a nice big hunt than the drama of the threat of war and missing pups. It got exhausting after a while and for the time being she was enjoying her down time, with her best friend of course. Because where else would she be? She gave a small shrug to her finding her way home. I mean I really hope so, and I’ll keep an eye out around the Ridge like I was doing before but it’s not my problem anymore, she said bluntly. She hated it, but it was true. They’d made the effort to help a situation they hadn’t even been the cause of and it had gone to shit. Addy had done everything she could, now it was time for others to take over.

He questioned how the Ridge was. Pretty good all things considered. Everything feels like it’s slowly going back to normal. Dad’s still sick, but, you know, he’ll pull through, she replied, unknowing that her brother was going to run for the hills in her absence. The girl moved forward to press herself against her friend with a lazy smile, enjoying his presence. One should know that once they became friends with Adeltra, all bets on personal space were off the table. I’m glad you seem to be doing better, she said, bumping her shoulder against his.

At least Adeltra seemed to be fairing well considering all the drama that was going on in the south, and appeared mostly unbothered by it. Cyril was just glad that his mother had decided to leave and head back north, toward the mountains. Even if it meant being further away from the ebony Archer. At least he didn’t have to worry about all the commotion. That was the last thing the sad boy needed—he had enough of his own problems; he didn’t need to worry about the problems of others. His friend answered quickly, echoing his thoughts. He nodded thoughtfully, his expression softening. They’ll figure it out, he offered with a lazy shrug. Sure, he was concerned for the safety of the missing girl, but he’d never met her or her parents before. It didn’t matter to him what happened, as it wouldn’t effect him. Not this far north.

A warm smile rolled onto his dark lips as she responded to his question. He was happy to hear that things were going well for her in the Ridge, even amongst all the drama from the neighbouring packs. The corners of his mouth twitched as she mentioned her father being ill, but he gave her an encouraging boop to her cheek when she stated that he’d pull through. His brows, however, snapped together at her final comment. I’m glad you seem to be doing better. I guess so, he responded with a shrug. Better-ish. It’s easier to breathe on the mountain.

Maybe it was the thin air. He never liked the forest much—even when he had lived in the lowlands. He had watched the trees from a distance, glaring at them and wondering how anyone could live among the sea of wooden giants. The mountain, while it differed from the monadnock, reminded him of his former home. But better. There was no death here; no blood. A place for them to recover and rebuild. Be at peace, or whatever.

Adeltra didn’t look so convinced. He tried to offer her a small smile, his ears sweeping back against his dark skull. He had done well in avoiding the subject of his father’s death—with others, at least. It was something that frequented his mind often but he refused to talk about it aloud. Not to his mother, not to Adeltra. He didn’t want them to know he was still struggling. Trying to adapt. His brows narrowed as she spoke once more, addressing the thoughts Cyril worked so hard to bury. A tired sigh rolled off his tongue. Maybe. He wasn’t sure he wanted to return to the north. He knew he should, eventually, as it would help him come to terms with his father’s death. Move forward. Blah, blah, blah. Don’t really want to, honestly. He shrugged. Maybe in a few more months, after they settled in their mountain home. Not yet. His paws shuffled awkwardly beneath him; he didn’t like talking about himself. Especially when it came to his feelings.

Eventually he’d have to get over being so damn miserable and make the trek up to the north. Confront the death of his father head-on and get over it, but he wasn’t ready. Not with everything that was happening with his mother and the group settled on the mountain. Cyril wanted to make sure they decided to claim the haven as their own before taking a brief leave of absence. He didn’t even know if he’d seek his friend out before returning to the lowlands. The boy figured it was something he should do on his own, even if he didn’t want to. Plus, he didn’t expect it would be much fun for the ebony Archer. The last thing he wanted was to drag her down with him—she deserved so much better than that.

He nearly signed in relief when she didn’t press on the subject further. At least she understood to give him space. He’d always liked that about her. Adeltra had always known what to say and when to say it, even if made the sullen boy a little uncomfortable. He knew she was doing it because she cared about him. Or, at least, that’s what he liked to think was the case.

Sure, he started, his voice adopting a mischievous tone as he glanced over at her, but are you ready? Without warning he lunged at her, his paws outstretched in an attempt to knock her off her paws and hopefully pin her to the ground. If he was successful. If he wasn’t Cyril would crash to the ground and look like a fool—which he was totally prepared for.