As the weather progressed to get lower, and the nights threatened to get longer eveything in the peppered male's mind began to blur. He could no longer tell the difference between being tired and being lonely -- maybe he had gotten so tired of being lonely, his body had numbed out every last nerve on his body. Or maybe he was just beginning to feel the side-effects laying on his side for endless hours could bring on his hip and sore joints.
With a muffled groan, he had gotten out of his den, finally allowing his wiry peppered coat to touch the daylight. Then he set out for the borders, more specifically for the place he had once met Shadow. He did not seek the man, but the tranquil waters he had sumerged himself in that afternoon.
He arrived after a good thirthy minutes, panting and dragging his feet to the edge of the creek. He was not half the man he used to be, he could see it in the distorted reflection sitting on the water's surface. Though he would make it through this winter and hopefully the next to come, he knew his expiry date was approaching, he would soon leave behind the world to join his precious stars -- but would still leave behind the most precious thing of all.
His son.
