Blacktail Deer Plateau frozen in timeless aura, a catalyst of colors

He closed his eyes, basking in the sensation of her touch. There had been no shortage of contact while he'd been "gone", for he had been kept clean and groomed, but none of it had reached him in his deep, internal prison. He leaned into her motions, a wide smile breaking over his face as his spirit drank deep of an elixir it had needed for far too long.

After a moment, she stepped away and loosed a howl that tore the air asunder with all of the emotions that swirled in its tones. Birds shrieked and took flight from the treetops overhead, such was the force of her song. Atticus's eyes followed their harried escape until they were gone from view, and then his companion resumed her attentions on him and he was again lost in the simple pleasure of her touch. He gazed at her as she gently preened him, the familiarity of her face and her scent prickling him. There was something…a color…he furrowed his brows in troubled bewilderment, and after several seconds of struggling to find his voice, he whispered, "B…Bluuue…" The connection was only barely there and he wasn't really sure why he associated her with that color, but it was clear that, slowly but surely, parts of what had been broken were coming back together again.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind him. Confusion still colored his emotions and etched itself in the lines of his face as he turned his head to look, his eyes following the newcomer's approach.