Dragoncrest Cliffs chase the wind of a prism ship

While he had mostly eased into routine with all the changes among Drageda's hierarchy, Dacio still missed his big sister. The anger he initially felt had dissipated, leaving a raw sorrow that he still didn't quite know how to communicate and so the ashen Goufa continued his internal, silent struggle. 

He mostly stayed close to Portia, reaching out to his remaining siblings here and there in an effort to show them that he cared. Opalia and Sequoia were often off doing their own thing, and Dacio did likewise from time to time. Still not brave enough to venture too far, the boy rarely stepped beyond the boundaries his mother set for them. In light of recent events, the last thing he wanted to do was let his parents down.

Dio had been busy among the pack following Heda's departure, and as such the cubs had seen less of him. It was not a worry he deemed necessary to tack on to his growing list of anxieties, but Dacio had noticed. This lack of attention was to be expected and was understandable, and he tried not to concern himself that the Wocha would take his leave too.

Driven by a need to release pent-up energy from resting alongside his mother all morning, he ventured beyond Hougeda in no particular direction. He sniffed at tree roots and stones, pausing here and there to dig at loose earth in search of objects worth collecting. Dacio found nothing of note and, as he shifted to swipe his muzzle across a lower limb to rid the dirt on his nose, caught sight of his sire's approach.

Pastel eyes lingered for a moment on Dio with pleasant surprise, and his tail swung to life at his charcoal hocks. Turning, Dacio loped toward his father to close the distance between them, and reached up to flick his tongue in the direction of the adult's pale chin. "Hei," he said softly, unsure if his sire had followed him to reprimand him for something or if he'd caught up to him by chance.