The Heartwood Let the ashes fall, forget about me.

All welcome! Don't feel like you need to match the length, I got carried away.  :X

There were many reasons why Arrakis had made the decision to leave Sterrenvuur. The first came on his approach to a year of age, when selfishness roused a desire to see the land beyond his birthplace. He longed for new sights and new faces, but this sudden pull to branch out came quickly and went just as fast. Wanderlust was not something he'd ever experienced while growing up, so he brushed it off and never spoke of it.

Despite loving his family dearly, he was also tired of living in his brothers' shadows. Both of his older siblings were excelling in their trades: one an avid star-gazer like their parents before them, the other a remarkable healer. Kirin had sired a son and daughter of his own in the Spring of 2017, while Barioth had settled with a new mate. Arrakis, unfortunately, had failed to even complete his scouting apprenticeship for his attention had been turned elsewhere.

He had known Kayi almost his entire life and they'd been firm friends from the start, but it was during their approach to adolescence that Arrakis truly began to notice her. They spent much time together which was nothing short of wonderful and before he knew it, he was asking her father for permission to court her. And when he finally found the courage to ask her to be his, she rejected his proposal.

"I can't, Arry," she told him gently and turned her face away, but he had seen the glimmer of tears in her cornflower eyes and felt his heart plummet. "I don't feel that way for you. You're my pack."

Arrakis would never forget how alive Kayi made him feel, until she did not. He remembered the tightening of his chest that evening, the dull ache around his heart that urged him to go. So that is what he did, without his prior hesitation. It had been this experience that solidified his decision to move on from his home.

He bid his family a solemn farewell and took his leave the following day, much to his mother's distress. The pain of Kayi's refusal remained no matter where he went or who he shared his days with, but it lessened somewhat. By the time he reached the Teekon, the place where his parents had met several years ago, Arry had made the decision to focus firmly on his future and leave the past back in Sterrenvuur.

The woodland he'd found himself within was vast and beautiful with pale golden sunlight spot-lighting the forest floor before him, but the young Imperii-d'Erom took no notice of the sights. With his head down, he tested the earth and tree roots for any sign of pack. He'd accidentally wandered too close to claimed territory once before and had gotten his ass handed to him as a result and so was keen not to make the same mistake. Pausing, Arry lifted his copper-tipped crown to prick his velvet lobes and survey the territory. He listened quietly to the songbirds as they chirped their morning tunes to one another, to the distant bubbling of a creek. With one last sniff of the air just to be sure, the dark yearling pressed on across the frozen earth.

As he continued his search for the other dog, this oreo of a creature was determined not to give up, his curiousity pushing him forward. His mother always said that he had too much, yet he had found it always led him to interesting places and people. Tail wagging slowly, he made his way through the forest, head up and ears perked as he listened for others.
He had been tempted to try and find that bird again, yet he decided against it in the end. It would probably take him longer to find that bird than the other dog. Sniffing, he thought he caught a scent, yet passed it off as nothing and continued trotting through the forest. A bird was hopping along the ground, and he tilted his head with his ears perked. Sitting down, his bright eyes sparkled with curiousity as he wondered what it was doing. A grin spread on his face as he suddenly bowed and growled playfully at the bird, his tail wagging happily. Yet this startled the bird, and it flew into a nearby tree. Flicking it's tail angrily, it chirped at him shrilly then flew away. A light laugh sounded in the forest as the dog shook it's head and trotted away, wondering what else he could find interesting to interact with.