It wasn't that he particularly wanted to admit that Gemma was family. He wasn't sure he wanted to be around her very much- she'd scared him the first time they'd met, and though he'd left on good terms with her and Light, the woman still left him jittery and nervous. Something about that voice, those eyes... that fur. She was attractive in a way he didn't personally approve of- but he couldn't help but worry for her, and for his supposed half-siblings.
So, he'd begged and pleaded for one of his packmates to watch Sura for a day or so. Jericho wasn't allowed to travel, not now that she'd been confirmed pregnant. So the boy was, for the first time ever, completely on his own. He packed light- carrying nothing but the clothes he'd need later in a bag that rested surprisingly well on his haunches. A saddle bag. Made for a foal to carry. A training bag. He felt retarded wearing it, but the clothes and the emergency rations were well needed- the boy didn't know when the next time he'd be able to eat would be. He hoped it would be soon, that his hunting attempts on the way would be bountiful...
...but hopes weren't always meant to be. Half way there and well into the afternoon, he'd stopped a few times to hunt- pulling back with nothing but a tired, ruffled pelt to show for it. Bitter and frustrated, the boy continued on, marching in his lupus form as he'd been upon leaving Vinatta's territory. He stopped again another quarter of the way there, lightening his load by eating a good chunk of his dried rations. He spent a few moments letting it settle in his stomach and thinking about Sura and about Colibri, then as he picked up to continue on, those thoughts moved on to Gemma and the pups. And his father.
Were they really his half-siblings? And if so, how? He was older than they were. He'd been born much earlier. Had his mother told him the truth about his father? Had Matteo really been banished at the point that they'd met, or was it a cover? Had Matteo cheated on Gemma? He didn't like the implications, but he wouldn't put it past the man either- so far, his father wasn't the greatest of men alive. He was glad to know that he'd only gotten his father's looks, as far as anyone had told him.
The boy finally arrived upon the wired fence that marked AniWaya's borders. Dread bubbled up in his throat, but he pushed it aside. A few moments were spent resting, then shifting up to his optime form and dressing, slinging the saddle bag over his shoulder casually, as if it belonged. Figuring himself ready, he howled- hoping Gemma or Light would be the one to answer again. He didn't particularly care to meet someone else who might've known Matteo- not after the greeting he'd gotten from Gemma that first time. Ergh.
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