With our powers combined, we can make this The Slowest Thread Ever. wc:397
Part of the haze of confusion from this pleasant surprise still clung to Ehno, and he half expected to see the dozing boy to simply vanish into thin air at the sound of his voice. It seemed like the sort of thing he would imagine, a pleasant delusion cooked up by his desire to see his family. The frequency of his visits to Phoenix Valley were becoming less and less, and it wasn’t often that his children were able to visit him and Crimson Dreams. He found himself smiling so foolishly out of happiness when the boy roused and turned to smile at him. Harlowe was quick to explain himself and the blunder that had brought him north of his destination. “You’ve done well to get this far. Just a bit more to the south of here and you would’ve found the borders,” he explained, hoping to reassure his son that he wasn't as lost as he thought.
The Marino paused for a moment as he peered up at the youth and decided to take a moment to return to his optime form to match his son. Limbs lengthened and bones repositioned themselves in a routine that seemed quick from its familiarity. When finished, he brushed some of the dirt from his fur with a free hand, studying his son in the brief moment of silence between them. Had the boy grown so much already, fully familiarized with his bi-pedal form and able enough to wander across the lands to search for him? It shouldn’t have surprised him, considering Lucia’s own sudden appearance at Haven Manor a short time before. How he wished he could reverse time and spend more time with his children while they were still the young, bumbling puppies that so freshly remained in his memories. He was quite certain the kids themselves would have a different opinion of that.
He moved forward to further bridge the gap between them. “How are things back at the Valley? You and your siblings holding up alright?” When he first heard of Naniko’s decision to leave, one of the first things to cross his mind was how their children would handle it. Lucia had stubbornly insisted that all was well, though she could hardly speak for the rest of her siblings. Ehno could only wonder if Harlowe’s sudden trip out here had anything to do with it.