Blackfeather Woods I've been walking out all on my own

He back - for anyone, but he's heading for Takiyok

The journey back was brutal. He felt cold. His toes and paw pads were raw from scraping over ice and rock for days.
Valette and the others at Easthollow had been kind enough to the prince. Though he hadn't stayed for long, the respite from the elements and the long trail had been needed. After what had happened at the lake, he knew that without that brief stay, it was unlikely he would have been standing at all.
As Taikon found himself on the familiar border of the forest, he looked up toward a black bird. It grumbled quietly at him, dancing on anxious, spindly feet upon its perch. He looked down, scrunching his brow, feeling a familiar burbling heat in the pit of his stomach. He retched, but nothing came up aside from a bit of saliva. He swallowed, hard, licking his lips, hoping the illness would pass.
He was late. Takiyok had likely expected him to be back days ago, but shuffling over the border after dark was the best he could do. It was not the romantic return he had planned on. He had hoped to be back early and bring her a worthy gift, either in the form of food or even something pretty from Easthollow. Instead, he came back with only his own unfit body, barely able to keep going. He pushed through whatever pain he was feeling. He hoped she wouldn't notice how bad it was, for the punctures in his back leg and his neck were not large.
The messenger of the Ivory Rose did not realize how much his neck and throat had swelled with fluid. During the extra days it had taken him to move from the incident at the lake to Blackfeather Woods, infection had started to set in. Astraeus had brutalized him when he was not fit enough to properly defend. He knew that even if he'd been in better condition, the boy was younger and stronger. Taikon was lucky to be here at all.
He did not howl for @Takiyok. Instead, he made his way as quietly as he could toward the comfortable den he had shared with her and Taktuq. Part of him hoped that she was not there, and he'd be able to crawl in and try to sleep.
Having not eaten in at least five days, his stomach was sucked into his ribs. His fur was poorly, and his snout reeked of bile. The fluid gathering in his neck and the abcess forming on his back leg were putrid and vile, though no blood was present. Taikon had promised her that he would come back alive. He'd kept that vow, but only just.