It was time to go home. But which way was that? Charcoal dusted nose was low to the ground as the predominantly white pup jogged the trail, trying to find his way back to Glorall. He had intended to follow the path he had originally taken out, but somehow he’d been turned around in the forest with only a general idea of the direction in which to go.

Perhaps he should have asked Rhoedias to take him out? Or maybe he should have taken the chance and asked Ravenwing if he wanted to go out on a journey… Noel had thought about such things before he left this morning but chose neither; his association problems were still lingering about despite living in Glorall for a few months. He had kept to himself, kept quiet, and asked for very little. Rhoe was a loving surrogate and he was grateful for the fact that she had taken him in, but he had yet come to terms with calling her “mother”. The fact was, she was already someone else’s mother, Ravenwing’s mother. And she had a mate, the alpha Silvertongue, and he was Ravenwing’s father. He couldn’t help but feel like a bit of an intruder upon the other boy’s life, though he really hadn’t spoken to Ravenwing or heard his feelings on the subject. How could he? How was he supposed to approach the one who’s life he had fallen into without feeling insufferably guilty?

He couldn’t. All he could do was try his best not to interfere further with the other boy’s life.

With that in mind, Noel had begun to shadow Alana fairly regularly, though he hardly made himself known. He hid quietly in her wake, afraid she would disapprove of his presence. She might have been his savior, but she was not his mother, nor his surrogate, and he had no delusions of the idea that she wanted stray pups hanging around her. She was a soft sort of female, quiet and petite compared to most in the pack that he had seen, and it seemed like she was still finding her place in the pack as well. Perhaps that was his fixation on her, a similarity; they were both in the process of finding purpose. Maybe one of these days he would actually talk to her… get around to thanking her for pulling him out of the surf.

He would be shadowing the petite, gray fem now if he had any clue where she was, but Alana had not been around her usual spots this morning. Noel had caught a faint scent of her down by the beach and followed it westward, but he lost it in the woods shortly after crossing over the border of the packlands. The boy had spent the better part of the morning and afternoon trying to reconnect with the trail. It was sort of fun, arching out and inspecting the forest for any signs of Alana like she was some sort of game he was tracking. He found it relaxing and, for what might have been the first time since he had washed up on the shores of Glorall, his mind became still and at peace. There was no worry, no guilt, and no pressure to try and recall his past; just the forest and the job.

It wasn’t until the sun was notably in the west that Noel came back to reality. He had been out almost all day, only a few hours until the sky turned gray, and no doubt Rhoedias was looking for him. That was bad; he should have kept better track of the time. The last thing he wanted to do was worry the one who had taken him in, fed him and bathed him like her own. Of course, this was about the time he realized he wasn’t exactly sure where he was… and his own trail backwards was looped and folded so many times that it would be crazy to try to retrace his own steps. Glorall was somewhere vaguely eastward, that was about all he knew for sure and so he had acted on that fact and started off at a jog with his nose to the ground in case he found any familiar scents to bring him directly home.

A soft sound of footfalls broke through the peaceful ambience and Noel slowed his pace, lifting his heterochromatic eyes from his immediate path and cautiously surveying the forest. The sound was growing louder; whatever it was, it was coming toward him from the east. Maybe it was a pack member? Had Rhoe sent someone to look for him? It wasn’t her, the sound was far too small for a large wolf. Maybe Alana? That would be both a relief and and embarrassment.

Noel took cover behind a large pine, his mismatched amber yellow and half blue eyes peering just around the curve of the bark. Whether or not the sound was coming from general direction of home, he couldn’t be too cautious. There were scarier things in these woods than wolves, after all. Maybe coming out here alone had not been the best idea. It was too late to think of that now, though.

A flash of white through the trees caught the boy’s attention and his sense became immediately focused on the small approaching form. It was another boy, though he could not recall seeing another white pup around Glorall before. Noel’s eyes narrowed on the figure as it grew closer and slowed its pace, taking in the curious white eyes as they drew closer. No pupil; that was odd, but interesting. The other boy looked over his shoulder as if he was worried he was being followed. Maybe he was one of the pack pups, running off for a bit of fun without their guardian? Just because he hadn’t seen him before didn’t mean he wasn’t a pack member. Honestly, Noel was sure there were plenty of pack members he hadn’t seen. Keeping to himself as much as he did was not the best way to meet your fellows.

The charcoal dusted boy stepped out from behind the tree as the other came to a halt, thinking it best to take the chance that this pup was also from Glorall. If that was the case, he could at least follow the boy’s trail back home. It was none of his business what the other kid was up to and he had no intentions to pry, he just wanted to get his course straight.

“Hey,” Noel hailed the pup awkwardly, his tone edging on cautious but otherwise pleasant. It was the scent coming off the pup that put the caution there, very unfamiliar and strange. He could not recall that smell around the packlands, but then again he had not seen all of Glorall yet. “Any chance you’re coming from Glorall?”

soul and sky are magnetizing