Gilded Bay deserted, my organs can go on without me

Phocion had become despondent. He'd spent days looking for Cortland, to no avail. All he could do was follow the boy's scent, but even that had led him to some dead ends. He hadn't even found more than a couple of wolves to ask if they'd seen him. He was beginning to give up hope, and began making plans to head back to Silvertip Mountain. . .alone.

There was, within him, doubt, like a festering wound. Had Cortland really left because of a spat with Ava? Or was it something he'd done? It had been a long time since he'd felt abandoned, but Phocion felt that sharp sting now, and stopped his running, breathing hard. Twilight had come upon the land, the young moon sparkling on the waves.

"Fengari, please," he intoned in the tribal tongue, lifting his nose to the sky. "Help me find my friend. Guide my way." His crystalline eyes raked the stars, searching for a sign, any sign. And--there! To the south! Perhaps he'd imagined it, but one star winked brighter than the others suddenly, a gentle pulse, before resuming its normal brilliance.

He was not one to ignore the voice of the asteria, and Phocion took off at a gallop, gaze fixed on the southern horizon. He'd only been running for several minutes before he came across a bay, and saw a lone figure standing in the waves, staring at nothing. The gold of his pelt, reflected in the moonlight. . .

"Cortland!" Phocion yelled, racing toward the form, not even sure whether or not it really was Cortland, but wanting so desperately to believe. . . "Cortland!" His snowy pelt darkened with damp as he splashed through the water, tail wagging furiously. He stopped a tail's length away from the boy and his scent assailed him; breathless, Phocion butted his head into Cortland's shoulder, burying his muzzle in the thick fur of his ruff.

"I was. . .so worried," the priest gasped, voice muffled. He pulled back to look at the boy, almost sobbing in his relief. "Couldn't find you. . .Ava said you'd gone. . ." He drew closer once more, drawing his friend into his embrace for as long as he'd allow.