Cerulean Cape drove me like a magnet to the sea

He ranged far from Drageda that day, walking for hours along the edge of the forests that crowded the coast until the only way left to go was down into the sand. He was well past the beaches near his home when he heard the commotion ahead. His ears perked up only a little; he wasn't sure he was up for company. These days he preferred to mull over his thoughts alone, sometimes going so far as to avoid company altogether. Tux he permitted to come near, but others he skirted away from, as if afraid they might find him unworthy for some reason. If he hadn't shown any signs of his paternal lineage's sullen solitary inclination before, he was the picture of it now.

But though he avoided them, he also missed them. Dragedakru was his family now and he wished he could confide all his uncertainty in them and trust that they wouldn't find him weak. And all this without even knowing that it was his blood family they fought against; it was merely the guilt of taking another's life, even if he hadn't delivered the decisive blow, that sent him so low.

On the beach ahead, recoiling from the water, was a rose-tawny creature slight and long-eared as himself. As he plodded ahead, Ephraim kept his eyes on her for a time, tracing the puckered scars that broke the fur on her shoulders and haunches. From here she seemed to have jet black eyes. Little did he know she had none at all. She seemed to be yelling at the sky and retreating from the surf in a manner that seemed as sullen as his mood, and though he couldn't muster a smile, he was amused all the same. She seemed capable in spite of seeming strange, if scars could be used to measure a wolf's capability, so although he didn't want company, he didn't stop himself from calling out, you okay?