January 6th; Morning; Freezing fog; -19° F/-28° C

While Angier had barely had any problems regarding the cold, Borden little worse. Having a stable environment and keeping daily interactions with others to a minimum (usually only conversing with the Lady Narimé once every day or every other day) had done him wonders but aging for the older Lyall had started to become inevitable. Unlike his brother, stress never failed to get a grip on him and keep hold of him until he was weary and tired. No longer did he worry about his children or his mate or "the bigger picture," these days, he considered himself lucky if he could make it to the end of each day and remember what had happened in chronological order. There were still instances in which he mistook his pack mates for other identities (typically for Nios for Kade, Yuka for Rook, Titania for Taima, and little Rory for Calla), but he had slowly started to accept that it... just happened... from time to time since he was currently separated from the ones he loved.

On such a hazy morning, when the sun could barely shine through the fog, Borden had forced himself to get up and away from his little nook at the back of the Caverns. Getting his blood pumping and his spirits up was of utmost importance; if today was the day that Rook would come back for him, he wanted to be sure that he could still stand on his feet and return a genuine smile to that familiar face with mismatched eyes.

He quickly found the path he normal traversed on his morning walk, retracing to a T the steps he had taken just the day before and the days before yesterday. It was a strange sort of 'pathway' that wound through the trees and out into the open where the spacious snow-covered plains created the realm of Hush Meadow. At the forefront of his mind lingered a memory that suggested that he had been here, in this very spot, sometime before; the recollection of such an encounter triggered by the frostbitten mist enclosing around him once he had stopped in his tracks.

"Shhh," a familiar voice had hushed him, as though they were aware of the dread that was seizing his very core. "I'm here Borden, everything is gonna be alright."

A sharp shake of his head from side to side made his bear-like ears flop about but it did little to whisk the voice away. In fact, it had started to hum a tune he was sure was familiar to him, which prompted him to boldly step away and deviate from his customary trail. The frozen snow crunched under foot as he blindly ventured into the fog, a singular name fluttering from his lips.

"Jaysyek?"

His tail began to wag, drawn away from the proximity of Whisper Caverns by the hope of finding his way back home. A few yards later, however, he came to another halt and he took a few steps backwards, realizing that he had strayed well away from any immediately recognizable landmarks. His brow furrowed, but he was still much too stubborn to call for help. After all, he was not truly lost; at least, not yet...