Noctisardor Bypass no context.

and pike grabbed the incomplete thought -- glancing at his mother with a sad furrow of his brow. he supposed he was a bit cruel to think she would've been angry with him for being gone for so long. she was his mom, afterall, he should've known better. me too, mom, he said, but the smile had faded. he cleared his throat. she wasn't asking any questions, but pike needed to tell this story. he'd practiced... so... many... times... 

there was a neighboring pack -- uhm. redwood wolves, but.. they lived in cliffs, not in trees, pike had never understood that, i'd never heard of it before, we were kind of far east but -- we found them. and they took us in. i stayed a while longer after i healed to repay the debt -- because they used resources on us and.. i know you would've made me go back. the last part was meant with endearment. 

his ears flicked again, as if all pike's emotion had been riding in the blood that pulsed withen them. dad's wounds were infected, he said, finally, ending with a gentle sniff. that was the end of the story, finally. and a fitting one, for terance, who had fought and conquered quite a few battles of his own... wearing the scars of every sacrifice he'd ever made -- physical and emotional -- upon his fur. only to die from an infection. ironic, maybe, which would've been a fitting close to his tale.