Paschar made his way through a dense woods, though blighted by the recent autumn it still was thicker than most. He'd been traveling for what seemed like his entire life, though in reality was about a month. He had thought going off on his own might be good for him, it might help him get rid of some of his issues. But he'd discovered that it most definitely did not. He wanted his family back. His siblings and cousins; he'd made a mistake by leaving Minhiraith. He knew that Hadraniel had left not too long before he, but wasn't sure which way his older cousin had gone. Likelihood of running into him was low, but Char tried to keep his hopes up. Being a naturally gloomy kid, that wasn't going too great.
The grey and golden boy sulked through the thicket, sulked being a better word, and finally stopped in a small clearing. It was a foggy day, which spooked him a bit. He didn't like traveling in fog because he hated not knowing what was ahead of him. Feeling safer in an open area where there were no corners for attackers to hide behind, the boy flopped over onto his side and groaned. His feet ached and his muscles were done. It was time for a nap.
He had run for as long as his legs could carry him but they could not last forever. Hadraniel had come to the woods several day ago but had ended up remaining there longer than he had originally intended to. He couldn't bring himself to leave the neighboring forest of the malkaria and a part of him wondered if he should return to their borders and ask for forgiveness. He had swore that he would never become like his father but it appeared Hadraniel was a hypocrite much like the very man he despised.
He had forced back his emotions since his departure from Giana and his children, but as the days went by it was slowly growing more difficult to fight the feelings he felt inside. Anger was the strongest of all emotions and he wanted nothing more than to rip the heads off of those that opposed him, and those that denied him the rights he wanted. Frustrated and burning with hatred on the inside, Hadraniel began his task at finding something to take his rage ourt on and a sleeping bystander seemed like the perfect victim.
Mischievous, sinful eyes scanned the unfortunate young man that rest along the clearing's floor and just as Hadraniel aimed for his first attack, an unforgettable scent caused him to stop dead in his tracks. He sucked in a breath as he looked down at the assumed stranger only to realize that this wasn't a stranger at all. "Paschar?"
Paschar was just beginning to slip away into sweet slumber when a stirring nearby awoke him. At first when he heard the crunching of leaves around him he stayed perfectly still, opening one eye to look around. He was timid to move from where he sat, and unsure if what was near was even alive. For all he knew he might be being stalked by a gust of wind blowing the leaves. It wasn't until he heard the voice call his name that he freaked out, leaping to his feet and scrambling to catch himself from falling with a yelp.
He whirled around to face another male, his thick agouti fur puffed out like a fluffy porcupine. The look on his face was one of pure fear, but he tried his best to look big and strong. Suddenly, looking at the face of the other male, something clicked in his mind. He knew this guy, and this guy had known him too. Finally he could put a name to the face, and his fear turned to joy. Hadraniel!
He exclaimed happily, bounding forwards and pressing his head into his cousins pelt. He stood there for a second, overwhelmed that he'd found Hadraniel, and content to simply stand there and hug him.
Shock overwhelmed Hadraniel to the point where he couldn't even muster out a single word. This was real, this was happening and for the first time since he left home the sandy male didn't feel alone. "Paschar!" he cried out with joy again before rushing forward to greet his cousin who he had missed dearly. "Jeez you've almost outgrown me...what the hell man" he teased while pulling him in for a wolffish hug. Paschar had only been five months old when Hadraniel had decided to take off on his own so it was no surprise that he had grown, but to see him here and now, well it was quite a sight.
"How ya been!? Is anyone else with you?" he asked quickly and opened his mouth to shoot yet another question at his cousin but stopped before any words left his mouth. He didn't want to bombard him or anything, he was just really excited to see him for the first time in a while. Every bit of worry, doubt and fear ceased to exist in that moment and Hadraniel had forgotten all about the troubles he was running from. He could be concerned with them later, he wouldn't let his troubles ruin his time with Char.
Hadraniel seemed just as happy to see Paschar as Paschar was to see him, and Hadraniel hugged him right back. Hadraniel spoke of Char being bigger and Char could only chuckle and blush. He was much bigger now, as big as if not larger than his cousin. He'd never thought that would happen, Hadraniel had always seemed like another one of his bigger, older, stronger cousins. It was strange to be on eye level with the sandy male, but Char didn't mind. Sorry.
He replied with a grin and a shrug stepping out of the hug to stand and face his cousin.
I'm good. Just me who made the trip but yeah I'm but. But uh, how bout you? You've been gone for a long time what've you been doing?
He asked, tail wagging happily.
He pulled back from the hug and listened as his cousin apologized for something that was completely out of his control. "No need to be sorry" he said with a toothy smile and listened as Paschar revealed he had made the trip alone. Hadraniel missed his brothers to a certain extent and would have loved to known what they were up to nowadays. "I've been sight seeing of course" he teased when asked what he had been up to.
"But I've mainly just been wandering around, not really up to anything exciting" he answered with a shrug after choosing to leave the part about his children out. Hadraniel didn't see what good it would bring if his cousin knew of his kids and had decided in that moment that they would remain a secret from here on out. "But what about you!? I'm sure you've been having a total blast and probably got tons of girls locked away somewhere secret right?" he asked with a laugh, already knowing that Char wasn't exactly confident when it came to the ladies.