Meadowlark Prairie i'll be home for christmas.

Made some assumptions about the state of the Caldera.

The path he tread was one very familiar to him, and yet traveling it now felt very different than ever it had before. Maybe it was because his intentions with this trip were not the same as usual. Maybe it was because he hadn't come from the South like he usually did. Or maybe it was because his timing, once fairly decent, had gone to absolute shit.

Any number of reasons could've applied, but Figment didn't consider these as he made his way along the slopes on the North Eastern edge of the Caldera that had once been claimed by the Redhawks. The scents of his family had not yet faded entirely, but there was no doubt in his mind that they were no longer here. Concern dampened what had been high spirits, but he grasped onto some hope that he was either wrong in his assumption and they were, perhaps, just staking a smaller claim on some other part of the collapsed mountain he hadn't gotten to yet, or that they were, regardless, perfectly safe and had simply chosen to move on.

The latter seemed more likely and was much easier for him to believe. It had been some time since he'd walked with the Frosthawks, so any messenger they may have sent there with word of what they were doing would not have been able to say it to him. It was odd still to think of how long he had gone without a pack, but he did not regret the decision. Eshe had been right when she had shared her thoughts with him--There was only so much growing you could do while confined within ranks. He'd wanted more, and that had meant stepping out from under the ceiling.

A cold twist of fog spun around his muzzle as he huffed in the chilly morning air. Fig glanced skyward and saw the telltale signs of approaching weather. He could already feel the damp collecting on his fur. Without his family here, there wasn't much point sticking around. He needed to ponder his next move, but there seemed no reason to do so standing on an empty slope in an abandoned territory. He went North again and away from the Caldera, uncharacteristically feeling unconcerned that he had no real plan as he did so.