He was desperately avoiding the mountains. Unsure of which direction he had come from, the only recollection the young boy had about mountains was that he had lived on one and that they were bad. If he could, the growing pup avoiding visiting past as much as possible – most of it was still covered in a thick fog, but the bits he remembered were not worth remembering. Pain residing there, and whenever he managed to breach the darkest corners of his mind and part the fog, the hurt was unbearable. Along with the intense pain came a tidal wave of rage, an emotion that frightened the introverted youth. He could not understand the reasoning behind the anger, and why it came so furiously – and when it reared its ugly head, Niklaus Athanasius could not control it.

As murky water splashed up his nostrils, the long-limbed boy pushed forward, determined to get through the wetlands as quickly as possible. He desperately wanted to find a proper body of water to rinse his coat, as this disgusting mess was doing nothing but horrible things to once silky pelt. The frown that creased his licorice lips seemed as though it was permanently tattooed there – as Klaus could not remember the last time a smile had worked its way across his maw. Happiness was a lie… the only happiness he had ever known had been ripped away from him, so the small shadow saw no need to smile.

Unfortunately, Niklaus’ strategy had not worked out for him – in fact, it did the complete opposite of what he had hoped for. He could hear the larger male splashing toward him, closing the distance that separated them. The little shadow could feel his heart beating frantically against his ribs, as if it was searching for a way out. He attempted to quicken his pace, but the murky water only slowed his movements. Attempting to gross the wetlands had been a stupid idea, and Niklaus was now paying for it.

Well, it was evident that no matter what the ruby-eyed pup did this stranger would not leave him alone. Had he not made it obvious enough that he wanted to be alone? The youth cursed himself for deciding it was a brilliant day to explore a marsh, as it made escaping nearly impossible. The mucky water splashed at his blemish-free coat, nearly covering his entire stomach as he pushed himself further. Niklaus hoped that the older male would eventually grow tired of following him, as the youth would not stop until he was free from the wetlands. As soon as he reached dry ground, where the earth did not squish between his toes, he would make a run for it. If the larger male was smart, he would not follow the youth. While silent and introverted, the long-limbed boy had plenty of tricks up his “sleeves”…

The stranger was struggling to close the distance between them while the ruby-eyed boy was struggling to get away from him. However, the water-logged ground was making it increasingly difficult for the small child and he could feel a dull ache beginning to form in his limbs. He desperately wanted to rest but while the larger male was hot on his tail Niklaus could not allow himself to reduce his speed. It wasn’t necessarily fast, but it was doing an adequate job at keeping the agouti male behind him. His voice called out once more, pleading the little shadow to stop and speak with him. Klaus didn’t understand – he hadn’t been doing anything wrong, and he was obviously running away from the nameless wolf… was it not apparent that he didn’t want to stop and “chit chat”? With his brows narrowed and a frown cutting into his maw, the boy called out a single question to the rogue male, his voice hoarse from lack of use: “Why?” It was strange to hear his own voice as it had been many weeks since the youth had last spoken aloud; Niklaus had forgotten what he sounded like until the single word fell off his tongue.