The rain was not so bad once they had abandoned their home, and yet still the perpetual mist and dreary skies dampened everyone's spirits...not that they would have been very high even had the storms turned to pretty blue skies. Hati had not been a part of Darkwater for long enough to feel attachment to the place itself, though he could imagine somewhat the loss and anger that must have been coursing through the veins of those who had called the rapids their home for very long. He already understood what it meant to be homeless. Days passed as the small group traveled away from their beloved home, wondering if they would ever find another. Climbing up and down the high mountain especially was difficult for all of them and even more so for the young ones whom Hati felt so much pity for as orphans. It made him respect his leader even more to see Maksim caring so lovingly for the girls who were not his own. He yearned to speak, to ask who they were, to talk to them. To tell them his name.

As it was the dark male felt forced to remain in the shadows, taking his place on the fringes of the lost members of Darkwater Rapids, finding himself purposeless. He had so wanted to be a part of a pack, and had succeeded, but that had landed him in a new predicament. Though he was around friends he could never befriend them. It drove him crazy to be so close but so terribly far away. Incredible how something so petty as a scar on a throat could leave a man so hopeless and lost. But even such despair never held Hati back. He would stand by his new family, whatever they were, and keep them safe.

Things went smoother once they reached flat lands and trekked through forests, leaving their trail of sorrow in prints on fallen leaves of gold and red. The landscape constantly changed, and eventually the group found themselves walking amidst great cedars towering above and providing a feeling of safety to the forgotten. Hati immediately liked the place, and apparently Maksim did to. The big wolf had begun to pick up speed, and it did not take long for Hati to realize he was chasing the beautiful sound of flowing water. He didn't quite understand why he was so excited, though, for not long ago they had drank their fill. It was then that it dawned on him that all this time they had been searching for a new home, not running from one. He could tell by the way Maksim stood so tall, pride lighting up his face.

Then the great alpha howled, a long, joyful note for any in the surrounding vicinity to hear and understand. This place was claimed, this was Cut Rock River, and only its own people could call it home. Loners beware, this place was sacred. Hati smiled and sat, looking over the river, claiming the territory, and its name, in his own way. They were home.

The currents of sorrow that washed over every inch of her heart weren't so different than the ones that had so devastatingly swept away all that she knew and loved. Things had been so perfect, and she could realize only now how lucky she and her siblings had been. To have been raised by her mother and father. To have grown in a place so beautiful and hidden from the ugly realities of a world she didn't know loomed dangerously around them all. To have stability and peace. All of those things, and much more, the once-princess had taken for granted. To have been reunited with her sister after the disaster was the only ray of light in a place that was so dark─a place of despair and regret that she now couldn't find her way out of. Cinder was Quil's quivering hope for a future she wasn't sure she could build from the tattered remnants of her past, and it was for that unspoken notion alone that she lifted her paws and trudged onward.

The days ran together as she kept to Maksim's heels. Now and then the girl's shoulder would brush against her sister's or their amber eyes would connect, and she would offer up a fragile smile. As much as everything about this requiem of a journey and the loss of their parents and brothers absolutely hurt, she was going to make sure that Cinder had the best─or what was left─of her.

Eventually, the open, rolling landscapes of the unknown west faded and the scent of cedar filled the air. There were cedar trees back home, but there was no cedar forest. Though the smell didn't hold any significance to her, Quil remembered the stories father had told her about a place he used to know where the cedars reigned and he had lived many years. The girl's attention was wicked away from her memories as she took it all in, watching her guardian─their leader─intently as he swung his head to silent address the pack. Her ears folded effortlessly against her crown and her chin dropped with a quiver, the thickening plume of her dark, red-tipped tail hanging limply at her hocks. Was this where she would grieve and grow and learn to live again? Could she even?

Her eyes roved over the familiar planes of her sister's face as Maksim's mighty and heartwrenching song echoed clearly through the air. Quietly, Quil shuffled to her side, affectionately offering Cinder a nudge to her cheek as she scanned the forest's shadows for the faceless ghosts she imagined would haunt the rest of her days.

For most of his life he had dreamed of this, but had never really expected it to happen. Being home, in a pack he could trust, surrounded by family. Not only had he succeeded, but he had gone even further. He was the founder of a fresh pack, he was as much a member as any other wolf who was a part of Cut Rock River, and there was nothing left to regret but the past. A bright future was all that he could see, for no doubt in his mind existed that he was strong enough to strengthen the pack rather than weaken it.

The dark male rose to all four of his sturdy legs and glanced around at his pack mates. He knew not one of them personally, aside from Maksim, but within the next months they would all become the closest of family. His family. But now Hati wasn't sure what to do. The song had ended, they all just stood around, waiting for something he knew not what.

Eventually he decided upon getting a drink from the waters which had provided this place with its name. With a last glance at the wolves surrounding him Hati broke into a trot towards the river, stopping only as he picked his way to a rock that jutted out into the water and proved to be a perfect platform to stand on. His head lowered to the refreshing current and his tongue lapped up the liquid, the first drink he took within the boundaries of his new home.