Emptiness.

Hollowness.

Those were the things that he felt.

Titan couldn't feel much of anything anymore. He didn't even know how his body was doing daily things without him telling it to. It just did them. Walk, eat, drink, piss, poop, sleep, wake up, cry, run, walk, and repeat. It was like his body knew the schedule and walked to its own tune while he sat back deaf to everything going on around him.

Like right now. For some reason he could not fathom his legs had taken him farther out into Hush Meadow as if he were checking the borders like he would sometimes do. Titan stared blankly out of his eyes at the changing scenery not even noticing the scent of another wolf nearby. Instead his paws lifted slowly cruising through the stiff grasses and small patches of snow dotting the meadow. His ears did not register the sounds of crushed snow, nor the birds calls, or the paw steps that should have alerted him to another creatures presence. Hell he didn't even scent the rabbit smell under his paws. Despite being hungry for the whole winter the young wolf didn't even react to the prey item as it hid not five feet away to his left.

Empty.

It was all he felt. All he cared to feel right now.

"Speech here."

Titan saw a shape coming towards him. His paws did not redirect their course however. Instead they ghosted him along the trail towards the other shape which was growing more familiar. As he got closer Titan felt recognition pierce his skull. Danica.. her name floated across his empty mind as the she wolf greeted him warmly and bumped his shoulder with her head. He could barely react to the feeling of her bump. Only barely being able to control his paws and stop them for a moment to stand still beside someone who should be considered his friend.

He felt her eyes probing his own but did not react. Instead his blue orbs took in her green ones mesmerized by their color. This is Danica Her eyes were so different from his sisters amber ones that haunted the Thorben's mind at every waking moment. While looking at Danica's face and viewing the differences between her features and his sisters, Titan was able to momentarily push away Malia's grim face from invading his mind. Danica... Not Malia. He thought just before Titan registered her softly spoken words.

What's wrong? Danica asked as Titan broke his stare with her suddenly remembering that it was rude.

"Malia.. My sister.. sh..she's..dead...drowned." Despite feeling hollow nothingness within his soul, Titan still somehow stuttered the words as if he were about to cry. Though no tears came to his dark blue eyes as the boy stood there stiffly next to his friend. He almost expected her to say "oh suck it up you big wuss" but then quickly realized that that wasn't something Danica would say. It was something that Malia's would have barked roughly at him. Sad, how he missed her insults and fierce attitude when he had been annoyed by it at birth.

Blue orbs stared at the ground watching the little insects crawl around doing the things insects do. As silence enveloped the pair of wolves Titan listened. He heard birds chirping away, trees creaking in the distance, wind blowing through plants and trees alike, and the angry chirping of a scared chipmunk nearby. All of life was going on even though one of the most important wolves in his life was gone. Then hervoice spoke up.

Danica... Titan's voice echoed in his head as he was reminded of her presence with her gentle tone. What grabbed his attention the most was the little fact about her brother being lost as well. His head jerked up slightly then the blue orbs that had been searching the ground slowly began to roll up to Danica's face again. He nodded silently understanding her words but still feeling empty inside.

At least he wasn't alone.

"How.. did you get through it?" Titan asked gingerly wondering if she would be hurt if he asked about her brothers death. Then his eyes turned to the ground again as a beetle caught his attention. The thing had a bright black shell that shown blue and purple with iridescence. It was climbing up the stem of some unknown weed and heading towards Danica's paws. Though the bug did pause at a pineapple shaped berry on the end of the plant. Titan moved his paw towards the plant, and Danica's own paw, then poked at the beetle as it crawled off of the weed.

Titan realized dimly that he was putting Danica through pain just with his question. He didn't want her to feel bad. She deserved better, to be happy all the time. She mentioned how howling a prayer to her brother had seemed to help. He played with the idea of visiting the lagoon where Malia had drowned. Could he do it? He could eel that Danica was right about one thing. That having a friend with you helped. Maybe.. Just maybe she would consider going with him to visit the lagoon?

He glanced sideways and caught her pained look. That look seared through the young wolf. He felt bad for making her feel that way. For causing her pain, even if it was just her own memories giving her pain. He had brought them up into the open again. Moving his nose slowly forward as she looked down at the bug and her paws, Titan hesitantly touched her cheek, then pulled back worried that he might have done something rude.

Then the pale colored she wolf asked a question that caught him off guard. Would I ever just up and leave the pack? Titan asked himself within his head as he struggled for the words to answer Danica. His struggling became worse after she said that she liked being with him.

"I...uhh... Don't know... If I could even leave... I mean dad left mom, and a bunch of others she was close to left her. I don't want to be the same as them. Even though... I really do want to go someplace else..." He growled softly in a non-threatening way.

A second later a sound of something cracking leaves encroached the ears of both wolves. Danica lost interest quickly, but Titan snapped his head up and sat rigid and tense listening for danger. His deep watery blue gaze narrowed on their surroundings while the yearlings huddled close. The young Thorben remained attentive of his surroundings ready to fight off danger at a moments notice while Danica then stepped closer to him. The feeling of her pelt mixing with his made the blackish wolf feel strange. It wasn't a bad strange. It was warm like when he would snuggle up to his mother when he was younger looking for security and warmth. However the sensation wasn't the same. He felt warmth and something else. Hesitantly taking his eyes off the landscape Titan peered down at Danica questioningly though he didn't reject her closeness. She was definitely distracting him without having to even start a game.

He looked back to the trees searching for danger that might harm Danica or himself. Then felt a gentle grip on his ear. A second later a soft tug from Danica made Titan pause and slide his eyes to the left to look at her from the side without moving too much while her muzzle touched his ear. It was cute, what she was doing. Not the kind of rough play that would have as pups had him pulling on his siblings ears, but a teasing kind of gentle play.

Not saying anything else Titan shirked his shoulder trying to bump Danica and get her to stop nibbling on his ear. It was still just a little too strange for him to be overly interested in such a thing. Though he accepted her touch as they sat with pelts touching. In fact he leaned a bit into Danica absorbing the warmth that came from her pelt. Though he was a tad bit embarrassed on the inside to be doing such an action. Especially to someone not his mother or father.

His blue orbs came off of the forest and floated back to a disappointed look on Danica's face. His brows came together as the dark wolf looked at Danica and wondered if he had said something wrong. Her head was now lightly paying upon his shoulder, and for some reason Titan didn't shirk it off. He actually enjoyed her closeness. Like that of a mother assuring her child. Though for some reason it was Danica instead of Nari assuring him that everything would be okay in the end. A sort of inner peace was beginning to settle upon him as he sat there sharing warmth with the she wolf beside him.

"I have to say though... If I ever did get a chance to leave... even just for a little while. I would ask for only you to come with me. No one else understands me like you do. I mean you've been through all that I have experienced before. I wouldn't mind exploring the world with you to hunt beside." He spoke softly hoping that his words may ease the disappointment he had made Danica feel earlier. Titan wondered if his sister would have liked Danica, or they would have butted heads like he often did with Malia. He hoped Malia was looking down from wherever she was and watching them. The young Thorben also hoped that he would never lose anyone else he loved, Danica included.

As Danica lifted her head as if to move, Titan slid his muzzle closer touching her cheek lightly. "Please don't go." He asked with a desperate look in his eyes. Titan didn't ever want Danica to run out of his life. He wanted her with him, wanted to be with her for as long as he could.