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Honijo was tired. He wasn't old, not nearly old enough to be <i>tired</i>, and yet still... hell, his legs ached. Maybe it was something to do with all this walking, or maybe he was just too damn big to move with any measure of grace anymore. Either way, the male needed a break. With a hefty sigh, Honijo took a sidestep into the brush and busied himself for a moment by circling round and round a particular springy collection of moss before plummeting his butt to the ground, panting hard. The trees offered perfect shade from the rays of burning sunshine trying to penetrate the forest, but the male was positive they would hold and shelter him completely. For now, he just remained silent with nothing but the sound of his pants and the wisps of a breeze tangling through the maze of foliage and unsettling his thick grayish fur.
Yellow eyes looked up high, noticing a bird staring down at him with interest. <b>"Well hello to you too, stranger. Nothing here to see. Carry on."</b> Honijo grumbled to himself, returning his shaggy head to rest upon his slowly cooling paws as the bird finally made a squawk, opened its wings and took flight. He remained like that for a good several minutes, letting his thoughts plague him and trying his hardest not to think of the fire and its taken prey. Rihael and Lani were gone, complete, dead. The word bothered the wolf to no end, just the intense finality of it. Honijo would never let on exactly how much this would effect him and definitely never to his nieces and nephews. He would not be the one to baby and help them along the way with this trying coming of age obstacle; instead he would watch from the sidelines. After all, Honijo was ever so curious as to how they were faring. The boys were stronger, he had to admit. At first it was almost insulting to see their quarrels with each other; however his amusement piqued from it in good time. Indru had come out on top, as of course he knew he would, and was now the new leader. Honijo's only fear, now, was the untimely prospect of being demoted to nothing but a lowly Omega, something of little importance. He deserved so much more than this. So much more.
Perhaps it was the biggest scandal ever that he did not return to join the others in their happily ever after, but it had seemed the only thing to do. Honijo had felt alone standing there all alone, the only true adult in his eyes left of the pack. It had been time for him to take his leave, and so after wishing each and every one of them good luck, the male ahd filtered through the trees and disappeared. Only now was he beginning to realize just what he had done, lying here alone surrounded by nothing but bramble and bush. Perhaps they thought this a betrayal, however in all honesty, the ties to his family had always been Lani and Rihael. Without them, he was lost. Alone. And so he would continue off alone and hope that the children took care of themselves, hope that they could understand. Honijo Ithil was a wolf all his own, and it was time to start anew. With a soft gust of air, he remained still for another few moments, aiming to just catch his breath before continuing on, and perhaps enjoy the last piece of familiar scenery, of <i>home</i>.
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