Horizon

The search for his children was unsuccessful. While Abaddon hadn’t been foolish enough to get his hopes up, it certainly was disappointing. It was almost an expectation.

Perhaps the only reason it was not terribly soul-crushing was because Abaddon had a home to return to. One he had never allowed himself the chance to explore thoroughly. He didn’t bother calling his brother, figuring he was likely busy or what not. After swimming to shore, Abaddon shook off the salt water and had settled down to lap himself drier.

Abaddon wandered around through the forest with heavy eyelids. Perhaps now was not the time for exploration. He was tired from the months of fruitless travelling.

With a heavy sigh, he lowered his body to the ground. He lied flat on his side up against an evergreen’s trunk. It was cool and he didn’t mind it — he had the coat for even colder temperatures. Chagrin, yet content, Abaddon gradually succumbed to slumber.

Having just recently arrived on the island, Dragomir felt that it was only fitting to explore the forest within it. The bulky male traipsed through, eyes and ears open for anything worth noting. So far, the forest seemed to be unremarkably like every other he’d seen. Not that he’d been expecting anything different.

He did enjoy being able to hear the waves, even this far inland. That was a detail that made the island seem quite tranquil. And, speaking of tranquil: there was a wolf lying down a few paces away from him.

The wolf was large and white, by the looks of it, and Dragomir wondered if Crixus had only been recruiting wolves that fit the Blanc family’s standards. As he drew nearer, the male seemed to be asleep. And, though he wasn’t entirely sure, he suspected that this was Crixus’s brother. For the life of him, though, he couldn’t remember his name.

Dragomir decided he’d settle down a respectful distance away, to introduce himself when the other woke up.

Abaddon had been sleeping for a while. He had fallen into rem sleep for a little while, not enough to have any dreams, though. If he had, they were unremarkable. All he remembered was the blackness of his closed eyelids as he fell to sleep and the blackness as he began to stir again.

Disturbed by the presence of another. It wasn’t enough for him to open his eyes, yet, but he knew the scent belonged to neither Crixus nor Kaya.

“Larisa?” he mumbled. He thought it might be her. Although, the moment the name fell over his tongue, he knew it wasn’t her. The scent wasn’t nearly feminine enough, but it was the only other wolf he could think of who might be on the island.

An ear flicked, alert. Awaiting some sort of response as he continued to work on blinking open his eyes. It was proving to be quite the chore. His mind was exhausted.

Larisa?

Dragomir was almost offended. Was his scent really that feminine? He decided to blame it on his cousin not being fully awake yet.

He’d give him a hint: “Close,” he drawled. “Try again.”

It was then that he remembered that, if this truly was Crixus’s brother, his name was Abaddon. That information would likely come in handy in the near future.

Close.

Close? The response was like a kick to the flank as he finally lifted his head to look over his side. His expression was still half-asleep and his frosted eyes were only half-open, but he could see the ebony figure lying across from him.

“Dragomir?”

More family. Not the ones he sought most, but the black wolf’s level-headedness had always been appreciated. Out of all the Negrescus — whom he loved dearly — Abaddon found him to be the most tolerable.

He rolled over to his stomach, still blinking his eyes to something more lively.

“How long have you been here?” Abaddon asked. He felt something akin to nostalgia. Sleeping near kin again but still in their own space bubbles. Abaddon was rarely a cuddler, but he could be lenient. It reminded him of Blanc Point.

He flashed his cousin a playful smile when he guessed correctly. Abaddon’s consciousness seemed to be ebbing back into him, he noted, as the white wolf rolled over onto his stomach and asked him how long he’d been here.

“Not long at all,” he responded. “A little over a day. What about yourself?”

He could get used to the island, if it meant reuniting with his family. Dragomir wondered if his brother would ever make his way westward, too.

Only a day? Well, that would explain why he had hardly noticed his cousin’s scent.

“Just got back from, uh, holiday,” Abaddon said. He released a yawn. “Spending a year with Crixus can be a chore, at times.” It brought a smile to his face, though. But it was a half-truth excuse. He didn’t feel quite ready to describe his failed endeavour.

“Have you seen Larisa, yet?”

//I’m going to date this thread before Dragomir met Kaya, if you don’t mind, since their thread is unfinished. It’s really only a matter of a couple hours/maybe a day. It affects the way he’d respond to Abaddon’s question.

A holiday. Interesting. Dragomir had been expecting Crixus to run his pack like a tight ship, so he could certainly understand Abaddon’s need for a break. He wondered if he would need a break in a few months.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t,” he responded. “I heard she’d gone to fetch Narcisa.” In truth, he was anticipating his reunion with Larisa; the pair had always gotten along well.

“Narcisa?” Abaddon said.

She was in the valley, too? It didn’t really bring a smile to his face. The girl was always far too wild and immature for his refined tastes. Crixus was the most he could handle, really. The main reason being they were raised together. It was easier for him to get used to his fantasies and ideas.

He made a faint hum. Family was family, though, he supposed.

“We’ll likely have a family reunion, soon enough,” he said he lowered his chin to the ground. Abaddon only wished his children might there, as well. It seemed like that was too much to ask for, though.

Dragomir wondered if he could detect a trace of disdain in his cousin’s voice at the mention of Narcisa. Couldn’t say he blamed him, either. If she wasn’t family, the dark male wasn’t sure that he’d want anything to do with her.

The dark male chuckled at the reunion comment. He’d thought the same thing upon finding Abaddon. “All we need is Serafim, and the Negrescus are all here,” he commented, sounding inwardly surprised. “It’s odd, how I’ve come across so much family in a day’s time.”

Serafim. He was a little more tolerable than Narcisa.

Abaddon hummed again.

“It is,” he said. It was just odd in general. For over a year, he had thought it was only him and Crixus who had survived the fire.

“This is a nice spot, though. I think it was Crixus and Larisa who found it.”

This is a nice spot, though.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” he agreed. “It makes the swim worth it.”

He puffed out a breath of air contentedly, looking out among the pines. It was on his to-do list to find a nice sleeping spot for himself, but he was beginning to think that wouldn’t be hard at all. He could fall asleep right here, if he wanted to.

Abaddon hummed.

The thought of the swim drew his attention to the sound of waves crashing against rock. He imagined the storms could be brutal out on the island. Hopefully it would be nothing like the one at Blanc Point. Otherwise, there would very likely be no escape. The notion made him anxious, but what were the odds of that happening again?

“Seen Crixus?”

His ears were ringing.

No, really, they were. He had a headache again and was squinting irritably in the dark of a den he had dug within the roots of a pine tree.

Despite this, he needed to seek out Dragomir and discuss pack related things with him, so he rose from his den of pity and shook himself off thoroughly to be rid of the specks of sandy grit that would cling to his white fur.

He took his time getting to the beach- he would find Drago eventually, and for now he was simply refreshing the borders of their markers, taking stock of things in as lackadaisical a manner he could, being himself.

That is, until he saw the white wolf with the black. His mind immediately went to Larisa, but it wasn’t her, and he knew that within a second’s glance.

Abaddon had returned at last, it seemed. He barked, a single note, and strode for the other two males.

Abaddon’s question had answered itself, it seemed. Dragomir couldn’t keep the smirk from twisting its way up his lips. “Yeah,” he replied, casting his gaze toward the approaching white male.

Crixus couldn’t have picked a better time to make an appearance. That odd little coincidence had made Dragomir’s day.

A bark caught his attention. One he knew too well.

“Speak of the devil,” Abaddon said, his voice a touch louder than usual. His attempt at making an announcement of his brother’s arrival.

He pushed himself up to his paws and then gave his limbs a stretch. They were still tired from the trekking and swimming. His tail swayed at his hocks as he took a single step toward Crixus.

“Crixus,” he greeted with a softer voice. Almost affectionate. The past season had been the longest he had ever been away from his brother since the fire. He might daresay that he almost missed the douchebag as a travelling companion.