[Becrux]

"You're staying, right?"

"I'm sorry. There's something I need to do first."

It would have been heart-wrenching if he'd still had a beating heart. As it was, the exchange had been more ice to chill his heart to numbness. The fall of Nardir wasn't enough, nor the journey to Inaria, the departure of his parents, or the poisonous miasma that still hung in the valley he'd once called home. It was his last conversation with Kastra that stilled his heart in a deep freeze. The truth was that the place that made his home was gone, and the people that populated his home were also gone, and his brother was the only familiar face left. What kind of home was the old forest? He envied his brother's optimism, and coveted his brother's steadfast commitment to a pack Becrux found he no longer knew.

He'd be back. But...not yet.

"What if...?"

Who was he, outside the idyllic place of his childhood? Strip away the crown on his mother's head, put down the legacy and the history and most of all the ghost of the person he'd expected to one day become but never did-- take away all of it. Who was he? What was left? Becrux, Prince of Nardir, the second brightest star in the Crux constellation--

Terebellum had always burned the brightest.

Who was he? Now, right this minute, the wolf sloughed free of every trapping of his birth, the one standing with his forepaws ankle deep in a cool forest spring as he contemplated his blurry reflection. Who was he?

He wrinkled his nose. "I don't need to decide right now. I'm here to take the time to discover the answer." He spoke the words aloud, unaware that anyone else might be close enough to hear.

[Kazmiere]

@Puffin

Spring had sprung and summer was coming at the forest with full force. The sun was high in the sky, boring down on the earth below with such fiery strength. Kaz had yet to decide if he preferred the bitter cold of winter, or the unbearable heat of summer. In all likeliness, he was just going to complain about both regardless. It’s just kind of how he functioned.

A calm breeze rustled the treetops but it was not strong enough to make its way through to the forest floor. The air was still, and it was bound to get hot. Blegh.

In preparation for such temperatures, Kaz decided to go to a nearby oasis that he’d grown quite fond of. Well, it was less of an ‘oasis’ and more of a small pond with a stream feeding into it. It was nice, though, and it would help the wolf cool off as the sun rose higher in the sky. He also had literally nothing better to do.

Once he arrived at the spring, he saw someone standing with their feet in the water. His first thought was somewhere along the lines of “what are you doing in my swamp!?”, but he soon let that thought slide as curiosity got the best of him.

The male was quite a bit larger than Kaz, but he was very still. He was just … staring at the water and not moving. Was he okay?

Kaz stepped forward a few times to get closer, but stayed quiet as his mismatched eyes watched the stranger intently. The stranger still didn’t move. Was he even breathing? What the hell was this guy’s deal? Was he sleeping standing up? There were so many questions to be asked.

Suddenly, the unknown wolf spoke. [i]“I don't need to decide right now. I'm here to take the time to discover the answer.”[/b] The words made no sense to Kaz and for a second, he looked around expecting to see someone else there that the guy could be talking to.

Nobody was around.

The stranger’s size should be threat enough, but the idea of the guy being completely bonkers gave Kaz a chill more than anything else, really. Maybe the stranger knew Kaz was lurking. Was he talking to him?? Shit, was Kaz being rude now??

“What…? Are you talking to me??” Kaz asked, his voice probably too loud. “That was weird,” he added, punctuating his words with an awkward, nervous chuckle.

A E S T H E T I C