Like the cool breeze that carried the beginnings of Winter, little spasms stretched across the peppered male's extremities; a gentle yet cruel reminder that the years didn't come alone. Though he still had a couple more years to go, it was impossible not to notice the toll he had to pay every season. His once shaded muzzle was now sprinkled with a thin mantle of silver hairs that didn't only drain his eyes from their usual glow but also made him look like he was being constantly weighted down by exhaustion.
Maybe he was exhausted.
Four years were a long time. More if you spent half of them alone. Though joining the Creek had soothed his peace of mind, hr could not deny that sometimes his past came back to haunt him in the night. With Bazi missing and Danica away, the peppered counselor-to-be felt alone.
When the young female returned to the Creek searching for him, Galileo was outside his den, stretching his legs before the numbness that had begun to tickle his toes settled in again.
Growing old was a reality that was never easy to accept, but growing lonely was one that became unbearable to a gentle soul like Galileo
