Blacktail Deer Plateau I am no upstart demon, scrabbling in the dirt of the soul.

He wanted to bask in this new feeling of hatred and anger for as long as possible, but Nieve wouldn't let him, and that was probably for the best. She drifted closer to him and eventually, affectionately, nosed at his fur while he simmered. The boy thought he meant what he said: in the heat of the moment he was full of loathing and couldn't imagine the seaside without his brother's silhouette roaming along, collecting whatever trinkets caught his eye. Thinking of the Sound without Rosalyn there doing her patrols—or teaching her children—hurt him on a deeper level that he had no words for. For now Reyes was adamant; the plateau would become home quickly enough and he'd eagerly turn his back upon the sea.

But when Nieve went on to mention the stillness and the quiet, he took notice. It was hard not to. The ocean had always been present in some way, whether it was the booming of the tide or the sound of the gulls screeching overhead, or the crunch of sand underfoot. Here there were trees that shimmered as they shook, but their sounds were thin, like comparing lo-fi music to the likes of a world class orchestra.

D'you find it hard to sleep here? she had asked.

Yes, he confirmed with a pathetic sag to his shoulders; he took to leaning lightly against his sister's golden figure poised beside him. He sat for a few silent moments to listen, and there weren't even any birds twittering in the trees. It was like all of life was suspended oceanside and they'd fled in to a place utterly void of it. Reyes did not connect the dots on that; he had no idea that the quakes and repeated disasters would cause the animals of the woods to flee from their homes as the little famly had from the Sound.

Do you think--- he starts to ask something, but it catches in his throat and he feels like he's going to choke if he continues, so he shuts his mouth for a moment, his jaw muscles straining. When he's composed himself a little bit better he tries again and says, D'you think mum will find Scab? The anger has melted from him by now, leaving only a depressed look on his face with the smallest glimmer of hope in his gaze.