Blacktail Deer Plateau We all sell our souls sooner or later.

There was a time once not too long ago when the sea had given him something wonderful—the gift of family. When his mother and her siblings’ lack of attention towards him had driven him beyond a point of return, it was Caiaphas that had found him and it was to the sea that she’d taken him. There, he’d met others, many of which he’d grown rather fond of, even if actually spending time with them had proven too nerve-wracking of a task. Deep down, he had cared for them, and he still did. Only now things were different, and incredibly so. Because Caiaphas was no longer with them and the sea had chased them out of their home, forcing them inland and into a world unknown. This was not the north, not a place where he could better guide them, but he had to try—even though he, too, was just as frightened as the rest of them.

With any free moment that he found, Aningan inspected their temporary home. It was so different from the coast and north both, so flat and uneventful. It was open, more so than what he was comfortable with, but he tried to contain any negativity that threatened to overwhelm him; for now, it was home and he was supposed to be the first one to solidify that. He hid his worries beneath curiosity: when would the earth’s anger recede? What did this land look like before this all started? He imagined it hadn’t been much different, although the fading traces of deer told him that it was once far more bountiful. Perhaps the deer had evacuated from their home here just the same as Rusalka was forced away from the shore.

Maybe the return of the herd would signify safety back home, too.

But desperation was not a charming trait to wear, so he abandoned those thoughts. In their place, his focus took hold of his surroundings as Aningan padded towards the outskirts of the plateau. There he caught wind of a familiar scent, which he trailed after until the other boy could be seen. He arrived just in time to see the branch snap free and then be cast aside, disposed of with ease for reasons he could not figure out. Whatever was going through the kid’s mind, he figured they were both in need of a distraction (or maybe he was projecting) and called out, “Did you find something?” as he approached. Anyone could probably tell that it was just a stick but the bear was willing to play dumb if it meant they could both think about something else, even for only a minute.