The return was simply brutal. He was beaten, broken and angry. Angry for a multitude of reasons. His mother had ultimately abandoned him, leaving him behind without a word. Had he not been reliable enough to her? Given her everything that she had wanted her son to be? Ataneq was absolutely frustrated that his search had come up empty handed. Perhaps he had searched in the wrong direction and Siku’s trail had been distorted. All he knew was that he had failed to find her as he felt like he had failed in all aspects of his past. Nothing had kept his mother here, not even her own son.

Racing through the forest to get back to the Glen at dusk, he hoped that this was a decent time to return back home. It had been two days, he had timed it almost perfectly and would even be returning a little early so as not to get back late. Eponine said that she would be waiting for his return and he damn well hoped that she would be. He didn’t know what he would say or do when he saw her but company would likely be good for him. Being alone with your own thoughts was torture enough and all he had wanted to do since coming up short was to attack anything and everything that moved.

The journey to the Glen had ended and he sent up a howl to let Borlla know that he had arrived back to the Glen safely, with no Siku in tow. It would be a hard night to follow but he had to bare it. This was his home regardless of his mother not being a part of it.

With every movement that he made after alerting Borlla, Phineas and Po of his return home he hoped that once his friend actually got here he might feel a bit more relaxed. His body continued to reel and his adrenaline raced, not a single answer had been found and he felt absolutely worn to the core with his anger. One would have assumed that his trip might have tired him completely but he was so worked up he could barely set his brain right.

Upon seeing Po his emotions didn’t change, he felt anger and pent up frustration. His body itched to continue moving, relinquishing the energy he had leftover and to let all of his anger out. How could she have done this? What had happened to make her do this? Although his return made him feel much better since he had friends to come back to, but he still couldn’t grasp the fact that he had come back empty handed. His mother had left, Borlla had lost a subordinate and Ataneq was left with just himself to remember his past. It also meant his future was free to mold by himself, but with his mother gone he felt that he needed to fulfill her wishes because she was.

“Come,” he ordered her immediately as she embraced him as hard as she possibly could. They needed to move away from here, to a den that he had found just outside the skirts of the pack. Ataneq simply needed her company and didn’t want any other wolf to hear him, her or anything that they spoke about or did. Ataneq felt that same monster quelling him, dwelling inside of his mind as he threatened to break. How was he to handle this? He hadn’t been prepared for this.

With each step that they took Ataneq felt as though he was begging the monster within him to leave. That it had no reason to be here and that he couldn’t be that part at the moment. He needed to be peaceful, calm and collected. He was in the presence of Po and he needed to be calm, for her. Teq couldn’t be aggressive, angry and spiteful to her now because of his mother’s disappearance. He didn’t want to take it out on her but he also didn’t want to be away from her. The two days had been enough and he knew he couldn’t take any more than that. Regardless of his situation he was staying here permanently. Siku might not have liked it, but her son certainly did.

The young girl followed him without question and without word, falling behind him as he moved without stopping towards his destination. He just needed to take a breather away from the pack, that was all. It wouldn’t take long more than likely, as he had Po with him who would help him get over this. To help him cope with the loss of something so serious in his life that he didn’t know how to hold back his anger and frustration. Ataneq needed this—needed to show Po that he wouldn’t leave her.

In time they finally made it to a spacious den, one that was messy and unkempt (much like himself at the moment) and he decided he had no time for her to be curious. As she began to walk slowly towards his find he harshly bumped her rump and pushed her inside as he followed suit. When inside it was nearly pitch black and more than likely the only thing that she could make out of him was the outline of his body and the very little light inside that reflected off of his amber eyes—but they were much darker now, as a monster brewed within his gut. Closing his eyes he began to focus on good things, attempting to push this creature away, not wanting to force Po into a situation that might be unsafe.

Ataneq watched her with astute curiosity, drowning in all of his feelings and otherwise telling himself that it wasn’t worth it. He shouldn’t be upset and he shouldn’t take it out on her or anyone else. Teq even tried to force himself into thinking that something had taken her away from him but the evidence wouldn’t have added up. Siku had left him behind, no word, no hint, no trace. How was he supposed to handle this? She had been his rock for the majority of his life and now that it had been taken away from him, he felt corrupted. Like she was something that had kept this monster at bay and now that it was gone, it was loose.

Even as he looked at the chartreuse eyes of his friend he couldn’t grasp the monster back in. However, what really had him wondering what was going on was when she whispered his name, made affectionate noises at him, kissed him and then began to lure him much farther into the den. Did she even realize? Ataneq stared, almost mesmerized at her choice of actions. It was within the final transition to this other side of him with one last fleeting though—why wasn’t she scared of him?—that he decided it didn’t matter and he moved towards her, completing the change as both of their forms disappeared into the dark.

A couple hours passed and Ataneq woke up, yawned and blinked finding the darkness in the enclosure to be very welcoming. It was a settling feeling as he turned his head and noticed another form, it looked like Po. Oh… he knew. Suddenly his brain started to flash back but all he could remember was moving towards her after she had whispered his name. What had happened?

Ataneq felt replenished, refueled and his hunger had dissipated. There was stillness in the air within the den, a scent that lingered in there but he didn’t know what it was but it was comforting. It was absolutely wonderful the feeling that he felt now as though he was different but he couldn’t shake the feeling of confusion. What had happened? Looking to Po next to him, he felt the burning sensation of emotion fill him but it was of happiness. Something that he hadn’t felt in a long time but it also began to remind him that his mother was gone. She likely wouldn’t be coming back.

Her voice broke the silence that had enveloped between them and it was then he realized that she was awake. “Yes,” he answered and although he was completely unsure of what had happened after he had walked into the darkness he was okay. He felt perfectly okay besides feeling the unfortunate sadness of his mother’s disappearance. “Just frustrated that I wasn’t able to find my mother,” but the frustration he had felt before going to find her had been much worse. Now, it seemed less prominent. “Are you okay? Did I miss anything?”

After two days he felt like he didn’t remember anything besides coming up short and running back home to Po. Even as he lay there everything seemed erased but she looked as perfect as ever. As she had been waiting for him and had welcomed him back with open arms. Ataneq certainly had a rare bond with her that he appreciated. One that made him feel as though he was something stronger—like he could do anything he put his mind to.