wc: 462. omg, I am sorry for being made of fail! ;~; I promise I won't make you wait a month for a reply again, heh. D: Also, just fyi, I had Lucia come and tell him about Nani already, so she'd have an excuse to be in CD for the Cambria thread, lol. But I guess Harlowe wouldn't know that! o: /oocrambling

While the frequency of Ehno’s border patrols increased during times of idleness, he didn’t make it a habit to veer away from the packlands while going through his rounds. Lately, though, his thoughts had become heavy and worrisome again, and he was beginning to venture out farther past the borders in an attempt to distract himself. If today was any indication, this ceaseless adventuring of his was beginning to become a hobby of his once again. As the Marino man worked his way up through Cottontail Valley, a part of him urged himself to continue forward, and he obeyed it, slinking past the borders and into the northern forest without a second thought.

He strode forward on all fours, determined to find something real and concrete to focus on, rather than his thoughts and the flights of fancy his mind seemed intent to take with them. When he had learned of Naniko’s decision to leave the lands, he wasn’t sure what to think. He certainly wondered how his children felt about it, and told himself he would need to visit them within the next few days. Quite often his thoughts lingered on the possible reasons why she had up and left, and he became more worried the more he dwelled on it. Apparently she claimed a search for family was the reason, but the more time he spent thinking about it, the more he began to worry that she had fallen back to addiction again and had departed to hide that fact.

But such thoughts were for another time, and it was better that he start focusing on what was around him—like the hare he spotted up ahead, idle and unaware of his presence. Ehno slowed his pace and crouched lower to the ground, muscles already tensing in preparation for the chase. When the small creature inevitably turned its head and spotted him it began, the two of them launching into top speed. The Dreamer wolf darted after it through the trees, and he was nearly upon it when he caught a familiar and unexpected scent on the wind and faltered slightly, allowing the hare to veer to the right and escape his grasp. It was quick to seek shelter within its den beneath a grand tree and Ehno was simply left to lament over a lost meal, but by then he found himself more concerned about why his son appeared to be in the area.

He turned and followed the scent, his failed hunt already forgotten. Before long he stumbled upon the sight of his son rummaging through his pack. Ehno stopped short, amber gaze peering up at the boy. “Harlowe?” he called, confused to see the boy all the way out here, but happy to have found him nonetheless.

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.

Gosh, what am I thinking, replying three hours later? Maybe at this rate, Ehno will only be dead for like a year, and Harlowe will only be a semi-old man when we're done. :B wc:400

Part of Ehno’s thoughts still seemed to buzz with the surprise of finding his son out here, so far from the Valley—for those were the lands that he always associated his children with. He felt the faint stirrings of shame and embarrassment within him at the thought of his lingering surprise. Was it really such a shocking thing to find that his son had come to visit him at his Crimson Dreams home? Of course his children were always welcome there, but they had hardly taken the opportunity to venture this far out west. This was the convoluted decision he had made for his life, two separate families in two separate homes. It was the only way he had seen to avoid alienating himself from one side or the other, and as much as he claimed he was at peace with this decision, it was moments like these that made him regret it. His boy shouldn’t have to face the risk of getting lost in unknown lands just to go out and see his father.

The tawny-furred boy confided that he and his siblings were getting along fine, much to Ehno’s relief. It wasn’t much of a surprise to find that Harlowe found the absence of his mother strange, considering the situation and how much of a change this presented them. His confession seemed to further remind Ehno of the disheartening state their family had fallen into. “It’s good to hear you’re all doing okay.” He shifted absent-mindedly from one foot to the other, an unintentional reflection of his son’s behavior. “…but if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know,” he added. It wasn’t likely to be something a growing and independent boy wanted to hear, but Ehno could not deny the fatherly instincts spurring him onward. He may not have been able to be as involved in his children’s lives as wanted, but that didn’t prevent him from doing anything they needed, should they ask.

Ehno’s amber gaze remained silently fixed on his son for a moment before glancing out through the trees in the direction of his home, feeling a sudden need to steer themselves away from what was likely to be a potentially awkward subject. “Come on,” he said with a brief wave of his hand to beckon the boy forward. “We can start walking over to Crimson Dreams now, if you’d like.”