Duskfire Glacier i'm just a guy with a boomerang

As Stratos dragged himself through the taiga, of these things he was certain: he was a failure of a boyfriend and a failure of a son.

Ani and Dee had disappeared like the winter snows, their scents some long-lost memory he should have tucked away more tightly than he had. But how could he remember? He had tried to track them through so many places but had found nothing of either of the girls. No tracks, no traces. Just the lonely hills and mountains that had carried him out and back again.

What was he even doing here? He couldn't go back to Moonglow. Anaa would welcome him, of course! But what would he say to her? That he'd lost both brides he'd intended to keep? How could he live with that shame? He couldn't go to Brecheliant either. Because what would he say to them? That he'd failed to track either of their daughters? Or what if they'd found them dead? He was no better off if they'd returned in his absence. If they'd ever had their doubts, they'd certainly know he was not fit to be a husband now.

He couldn't even protect them.

He couldn't even find them.

What was he now but a sorry excuse for a man? Not even a man. He didn't deserve to be called anything but a boy.

He dragged his paws as he trudged along, staring at the ground and in this moment, not really caring who came for him. Not even the glacier in all its glory could make his eyes turn upward.

AW to anyone who wants to interact with sad boy Stratos xD