To the Ends of the Earth

With the rising sun of a new day, Raiden was already out and about, wandering the Nameless Mountain in search of someone who might accompany him on his new adventure. As much as he'd love to drag his father out with him, Raiden knew he had other duties to tend to and there were only so many times he could beg the man to take him. Any adult would do really, though he wouldn't lie that he searched for a few specific faces. It was @Osiris' trail that he would catch first and with a wag to his step, the boy would quickly follow in search of his brother.

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An active nose would lead the boy near the borders, his pace only slowing a beat as he hovered along marked paths. He knew better than to venture further without a guardian, but that was precisely why he had come here. It wouldn't take long for him to find the brother he had in mind, his similar coloring acting like a flaming beacon as Raiden picked up his pace to find Osiris' side. Though he was still just small enough to mark him apart from the adults it was no small bump as he bunted his shoulder into the older male's. “Osiris! Don't tell me you're busy.” A demand or request it was hard to say given the almost flat tone that carried his words despite his excitement.

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Raiden took the shove with ease, though it was his brother's stare that cause his steps to miss a beat if only slightly. Perhaps he was too accustomed to those in his litter shoving and demanding freely to realize what he intended to be friendly was just as annoying and rude to others as it had been to him originally. Luckily there was little room for him to dwell on the feeling or his actions as Osiris carried on. The boy's tail wagged at his hocks as his motives were unveiled quickly accompanied by a grin, “The water west of here. I've seen it from the mountain tops and the jagged scar just beyond our borders. Mother says we're old enough so long as someone joins us.”

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Crescent Cove...so it had a name. He supposed it made sense given the odd shape or at least what he could see of it from their mountain. Fortune seemed to beam on him as his brother's mood quickly changed. It seemed he would get his adventure after all and he'd smile in response with a wag of his tail. “You don't mind then?” Well. Maybe his brother had another idea while they ventured beyond the borders as he quickly turned at a fast pace.

No matter who it was, his family was always out to teach a lesson, though he would never complain. He drank their knowledge eagerly as he quickly fell in behind Osiris as he increased the pace. “If you wish to lose me you'll have to try harder than that!” Osiris hadn't declared it a race by any means, but in his youth, Raiden was willing to take things a step further as paws began to reach beside his brother in an attempt to pass him. He had waited long enough to make this trip and he certainly wouldn't be slowed now by anything. Not his brother, nor his gait, or the distance in between.

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Though he had been the one to start jeering, Raiden was more talk than action with his current limits. His brother took off with limbs far more steady than his own as he pressed onward in an awkward gait. He had the leg length to keep up theoretically, the real question was if he had the stamina and footing. Far too used to the rugged mountains the young boy would stumble on occasion as paws sunk into squishy earth and grass, but Raiden would never lose hope and quickly right himself.

By the time they had reached their first landmark, he was beginning to lag behind as a tongue lulled from his maw. Osiris gestured to the fallen log and he would gladly take a detour to get a closer look. The trunk had been devoured by moss, unlike the trunks that sprout from the mountain tops. It smelled light of rot beneath the pungent scent of moss though he wouldn't linger any longer after committing the few details to memory. Osiris was still running and their destination lay ahead.

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For the first time, Raiden felt free. It was odd to describe considering home wasn't bad, but running here felt different. No plan, no rules, fresh air. It was exhilarating. Like a bolt of lightning, Raiden had torn through the river drenching more than just his undersides. Water still streamed from his fur by the time they reached the cove's opening, but it didn't seem to bother him as he took a deep breath of semi-salty air. It was strange that the water smelled heavier here, though if he moved down to drink the water he would likely find it a tad salty too as the cove entered the ocean.

He'd drink in the view, a grin plastered to his maw as he watched the sun glitter off murky currents. The only thing that would tear his gaze away was his brother as he moved to mark the entrance. “What's that for? We passed our borders once we left the mountain.” He wasn't aware of any kind of claim beyond their mountain, or hunting grounds for that matter. Truthfully he assumed anything they needed was inside the claim and they only needed to mark the borders.

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A warning? Raiden let his gaze follow his brother’s back towards the mountain though his gaze would flick between the two occasionally. “I thought our borders were quiet.” Then again, maybe that was due to the warnings spread around their territory. Perhaps it kept those away from even reaching their borders. “Are the wolves here dangerous? Wouldn’t it be good to meet them?” Of course he had only known those inside the walls of his world and none had a reason to be bad wolves underneath their parent’s rule.

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The boy listened carefully as he continued towards the water-crested cut that ran through the earth. He supposed it made sense. Their family was quite large, not that he had a scale of reference to compare to other families. It was just what he had heard in passing. “Have you ever made the wrong call?” Raiden would drift a paw toward the cool current allowing his toes to break the waves carefully as he tried to gauge the depth further out. It was hard to see the coastline where the scar dipped to the south if it even ended.

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The boy's ear twitched as he listened to his brother. It may not have been his intention, but his mistakes only made Raiden feel as though he should never reveal information that related to his family. Nothing bad had come from Osiris's judgment, but that was not to say that something bad would never happen. “So they were thieves.”

Harsh perhaps, but they had taken his family for granted and abused their protection. “I assume they were hunted?” It seemed like their mother to go to such lengths for any who wronged them. If Empyrean was not the fit that was fine but to leave without a word or effort to replace what you had taken was despicable and rubbish to those who had worked hard to secure the borders and fill the caches.

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Raiden only frowned at his brother's words, even if he attempted to push away the negative. The matter of fact was that Empyrean had its generosity and trust broken. Worst of all, those who had done so got away scot-free. He wished to scoff as Osiris tacked on that those wolves never returned because, of course, they hadn't. Coming back would surely be a death sentence, or worse.

Still, he would nod to his brother's lesson. He agreed, misfortune and loss did leave room to learn and he would be sure to never make the same mistakes. “I am not deterred, only determined.” Anyone who crossed his family would pay for their betrayal. Taking a breath, Raiden attempted to calm himself as he let his shoulders relax the tension he had unknowingly grown. “Thank you, brother... I think I am ready to return home.”

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