[Angus]

OOC: As of June 1, this thread is being liquid timed to right before Angus's entrance in to Gemini.

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The night had been cold and full of terrors. 

The next few mornings weren't much better. The  sun drew itself slowly over the lands, drawing moisture from all around it; the creatures of the night had only just begun slinking back to their holes and dens as the suns rays came in to view. Amidst the shift change of wildlife was a pup, bounding through the brush and trees with the remains of what had once been a fully severed deer leg- though now only scraps remained. It had been several days since he had left behind Ivaylo, and his only goal was to find Hyperion. If Angus was to find home, he would need to find the prince who had not so long ago told him the wonderful tales of this pack called Gemini and the bountiful and wonderful lands it held within its borders.

The pup slowed as he neared a stream, his entire little body shaking with exhaustion as he fell to his belly and began lapping up the cool water. He ran through the night after he left Ivaylo to their dinner, and truthfully, Angus wasn't sure if this was a decision he was regretting these days later or if he was just severely exhausted. There was distance that needed to be made and he knew that Ivaylo's long legs would have found him sooner if he hadn't created a larger distance gap. As he lapped down the cold water, the pup couldn't help but feel almost foolish for his actions. Perhaps he had overreacted to her words and her tone, but he couldn't help but still feel a tinge in his heart as he thought of how she couldn't believe his story about Hyperion. He growled to himself as he sat up, looking at the bright new day that was about to come to them, and turned his head to the west from where he had come. Ivaylo was surely close behind him, and he knew all too well that she was smart enough to track and find him. He needed to change up his strategy if he was to find the prince.

Angus took in a sharp breath before digging in to the remainder of the leg that he had taken with him. It wasn't much but it had lasted him the last few days and he was grateful to have brought it with him. After a few minutes he sat up and licked his lips, sniffing the air. The smells were muddled but he smelled one that was...familiar. The pounding in his chest doubled as he stood quickly and looked around, ears pricked up to pick up all the sounds around him. Could it be? Had he...had he done it? The pup picked up the scraps of his meal and jumped in to the creek bed that he had just lay near, running through the water in hopes of it masking his scent while he bounded towards the stench.

"Hypherion?!" he called out with the bone in his mouth, climbing over wet rocks and wading through the shallow waters, a renewed sense of hope filling his every limb. "Hypherion!" Angus called out once more, bounding further up stream. He had to find him, he just had to.

[hyperion.]

Hyperion led his sons far from their birthing den they once called home long ago. They were nearly the same age he was when he left Gemini last spring, and it burned a strange hole in his heart. He thought of his siblings, what were they doing all this time? Trivial things, like if they still liked playing by the cliffs, if their favorite meal was still the salty crabs from the  beaches, if any of them obtained a rank yet. He wondered briefly what his red banded sister was doing this very moment.

Was Serrate still alive? Or had her heart followed her sons from the gaping hole that breached her skull? He blinked the thoughts away as dawn rose through the trees. He stirred the four boys with a gentle nudge, some more reluctant than others, but eventually they followed. They laughed between each other and Hyperion told them stories of their destination; the sparkling white cliffs and the black sand beaches, the glowing stars in the water, the fairy pools, everything that fascinated him as a boy; they knew about.

And soon they would experience it for themselves.

He sent the quad on a hunting mission as they reached a river. Their skills were improving, and Hyperion was an excellent teacher in this area. After leaving Gemini, he had to teach himself the best ways to hunt in the... wild. He shared his wisdom unto the boys and they were mastering the art of tracking and hunting. Off they went, and their father made his way to a nearby stream. He lapped the water solemnly until he heard something... familiar.

It was young, with undertones of desperation and excitement. He grinned as a scent came through the wind, and began walking downstream to the source of the shouts

" Angus!!! " The boy might've been a bad hunter, but he sure was a good tracker.

" You're... you're alive! I was... so worried when you disappeared, stars know what could've happened to you..You're... you're alive! I was... so worried when you disappeared, stars know what could've happened to you.. " A pup his age was easy pickings for the dangers that lurked in these dark woods. He approached the boy with a broad smile on his face and his feathery tail wagging happily behind him.

[Angus]

"Angus!!! You're... you're alive! I was... so worried when you disappeared, stars know what could've happened to you.."

The familiar voice struck the pup as he bounded through the water and beamed up at Hyperion with the scraps of bone and meat still in his mouth. If his tail could have wagged itself off, it would have. Angus's heart swelled as he beheld the wolf that had started him on this journey and it seemed that Hyperion was equally as excited and happy to see him. The pup's eyes swelled as he stared at Hyperion for a moment, blinking back tears of joy as he looked up at him. Angus dropped the meat in to the water, his face contorting as he sniffled and attempted to hold back a cry.

"I'm, I'm, I'm so, I'm so sorry Hyperion," he choked out trying to keep his own composure, and failing terribly at it "I didn't, I didn't mean to lose you on that hunt. I've been, I've been looking for you but it took me awhile to find you." Angus sniffled a little and pushed himself in to Hyperion's front leg, smiling widely at the thought of finding an old friend. He had been right all along! If only Ivaylo...

Angus froze. He stood there a moment, his brain milling through Ivaylo and how he had just...just left her there, alone, after only just becoming friends. The pup pulled back almost as instantly as he had pushed himself in to the other, green eyes wide and glassy from tears that he had forgotten to hold back as he looked up at the male.

"We need to go get Ivaylo! She's, she's, Ivaylo's looking for Gemini. I told her, I said, I said that if we found you then you could help us get to Gemini and get home." His smile had once more plastered itself across his face as he stood in the shallow bank, ignoring the brightness of the sun as it reflected off the surface of the water and nearly causing him to squint in hopes that he could keep Hyperion in his sight just a little longer. Oh what a relief it was to have found him. The pup inhaled sharply and turned around, looking down stream to where he thought Ivaylo was surely following him. After a moment of silence and nothing rustling nearby, Angus turned back to the prince.

"Hyperion, we need to, we need to go get her. Ivaylo she, she, Ivaylo needs to find a home. I told her, I told her some rough directions but I'm not sure they were correct and we can't just leave her!" His face dropped almost instantly as the regret and the severity of his actions set in. What if she had died? What if she was alone, lost in the woods searching for him? Angus's heart began to pound hard in his chest again as he looked around and then back to Hyperion once more.

"Ivaylo said that Gemini wasn't real. She said, she said that it was possible you didn't really know where Gemini was...but I know you do. And we, we need to get there. And find Ivaylo... She's my friend!" The thought hadn't even occurred to him to mention it to the other as he continued to just open his mouth and speak frantically about every issue crossing his mind at that moment in time. Angus's face contorted once more as he tried to fix his sentences and the order in which he meant to speak and say things. The pup took a deep breath and steadied himself before beginning again, this time slower and with a more concise thought process. "I'm so so glad to see you, Hyperion. I had, I had an adventure after we parted. I met a dog, and another pup like myself...and I met Ivaylo. She's a wolf like you and me. She's looking for a pack, and, she's looking for a pack and I told her about Gemini. But then, but then she didn't want to come find you because, because I think she thought I was making it up. Making YOU up." He shifted and lowered his head. "I ran away to find you so we could all go to Gemini together...but I don't know where she is. I think her family might be there...like my family."