Stone Circle i had been lost to you, sunlight

♥ !!!

he's nosing thru snow, dispelling it with his nose to investigate another warren — this one, he notes, smells relatively fresh of rabbit — when the footfalls of another can be heard. head bowed and imperial gaze focused intently he assumes it is a packmate stumbling across him, or perhaps one to see the elusive newt in the flesh after spending so long in self-induced isolation. the voice that greets him, however, has his head lifting quickly — small chunks of snow flying from the suddenness of the action.

he turns to face her and turns into her barrage of motherly licks and kisses of greeting. it warms him and rouses a swell of brief guilt. his isolation had been utterly selfish, as if he were the only one to suffer from clay's disappearance. how had he upset his mother, choosing to chain himself in exile to the heart of hearth and home? to ignore duties of pack and family? because he was suffering. because he was scared. ...weren't they all?

hey mama, newt greets her, bumping the crown of his head gently against the underside of her muzzle, in affection and unspoken apology for his choices over the past two months. her question, while sounding so simple is a weighty one. still hurting, still trying to cope, but he suspects he doesn't need to speak this aloud. his ears feather back to rest at half mast atop his skull as his gaze flits from his mother down to the fresh rabbit tracks in the snow leading away from the warren he'd just disrupted. i'm ...trying. he eventually responds ambiguously, gaze lifting back to his mother's face. how're you? he asks in return, eager to shift the conversation from him.