The boy had traveled too far; he knew it almost as soon as he had come across the prickly looking thorns on the bramble bushes. The sounds of the ocean had long since faded from earshot. Perhaps it had been the burning desire for discovery that had allowed him to traipse so far, but Amoxtli was beginning to grow nervous. He was without Seelie in a strange location, and while he had spent enough time on his own to keep himself from growing codependent on his sibling, he would have felt more at ease with her inky figure at his side. The two wolfdogs had always managed everything together. He did not want to find himself in a situation that would prevent him front reconnecting with her.
 
The sun still seemed to glow from overhead. The Corten boy guessed that he would have enough time to race back to the coast if he was fast enough and kept his nose out of potential scouting locations. With any luck, Seelie would be tucked in their seaside cavern for the evening. Perhaps what worried the wolfdog more than anything was the idea that she might come searching. It would do them no good if both were set to wandering the woods at night.
 
The mongrel tiptoed his way towards the brambles with a curious sniff. He wondered if there were any smaller prey animals hiding in the thick tangle of thorns. Having been on his feet all day, his stomach was demanding to be fed. With the lack of foliage in their lands, Amoxtli was not certain that he would find anything to quench the hunger.

It didn’t take long before the muted wolfdog was accompanied by the fiery figure of another. His smoldering gaze settled on her form with a wary expression on his inky face. The female did not seem as though she was intent on removing him, but Amoxtli could never be sure that he hadn’t crossed a line with the pack wolves; they were fickle creatures. His eyes roamed her body for a fraction longer before he lowered his head naturally and wiggled the end of his tail as if to say ‘I’m nothing to worry about!’ Because he truly was not; the Corten was nothing more than a young boy in search of treasure. Though the world was far more dangerous than he believed it to be, and he had a tendency to look at things through rose-tinted goggles, it had never caused him too much harm.
 
Extending his neck a bit, the Tervuren mix breathed heavily in the scent that this strange female carried on her coat; she belonged to a pack. It was not one that Amoxtli had found himself near, but it didn’t stop him from showing the curiosity of one who knew nothing by the companionship of a sibling. Faintly, the boy wondered what Seelie would do if she were there, and his heart longed for the inky coat of his littermate.