Totoka River I follow you around I always have But you've gone to a place I cannot find

@Adah, the time has come. Let us get this new chapter started. :) Tagging Heda for reference only.

The next day, after John and @Heda had spent their final moments, he woken from his slumber to find Heda gone. He panicked, calling out for her, like a child crying for his mother. He searched the land of the gathering until he finally found her tracks, her scent, and he followed it, throughout the day, and on through the night. He made haste, working to cover as much ground in twenty-four hours as possible.

After night had fallen, he only stopped to rest, but not for long. Before the light was to rise over the horizon, he set out once more. By the late morning of the second day, the trail he tracked, alongside a river, led him to a familiar place, where there was both happiness and heartbreak. Out in the distance was Wheeling Gull Isle, and his feet carried him only to the edge of the water, where Heda's trail had faded.

He stood still, feet planted in the sand as his ocean eyes filled fast with salty tears. The water kissed his toes, and his eyes soon became blurry. Here, his heart truly shattered, because he knew well enough where she had gone, and he could safely assume that she would not be coming back.

In grief, sadness, and heartbreak, he cried out! His howl echoed over the waters and filled the air, with the hope that the wind would carry his voice, his goodbye, to Heda's finally resting place. Once he could cry out no more, his back legs gave out and he crumbled to the ground. He hung his head, sitting there at the edge of the ocean, as sobs came freely from within. He would be in a daze, with himself and his grief, unaware of the world around him.