He was curious of Zagan's absence, but never did he question the motives of his parents. Surely Stella and Elijah were aware of the fact that their fourth child was missing, and so Castiel merely held his tongue and continued on. Watchful eyes of pale yellow and blue shifted between each of his siblings, but lingered longest upon the forms of his sire and dam. They led, and so he followed without question. He was unaware that this pilgrimage was one of permanence, that never again would he lay within the den of his birth. But did it really matter? Not so much. The tough grass of his red home turned to a softer texture beneath the small pads of his paws, giving way to a green expanse that stretched endlessly before him as finally his creators saw fit to cease their forward progression.

His vision traced the movements of his sire as he stepped forward to stand as sentinel before their troupe, but just as quickly his attention was taken by the demanding antics of Ilias as he reached for the milk giving teats of their mother. His persistence was rewarded, however, by the motion of Stella lowering her form to the ground to allow easy access to all of the pups. All but one, who remained missing and unaccounted for. Without hesitation he moved forward to take his place amongst his brother and sister to feast upon that life giving nectar. It did not occur to the boy that with each droplet of milk he suckled from her teats he pilfered her very strength. Perhaps if it had, he would have starved himself to see his mother's strength grow. It was not so evident in these, their earliest days and weeks of life, but Castiel was the smallest of his litter. Even now he had learned to compensate for the slight amount of weight that Ilias had on him, the reproachful glares of his brother earning only blank and barefaced stares in reply. They were the spawn of Elijah and Stella, and so they would all grow to show their own unique greatness in life. Size would simply not be Castiel's - at least by comparison to his littermates.

When Stella moved to rise, Castiel relinquished his hold upon her, turning away from the distraction it had offered to look upon the wolves whose presence his young ears had only barely perceived before, though his mind had chosen to ignore them. Now they pricked forward, listening to the familiar tones of his father's voice before he glanced upward to Stella as she too affirmed that this was where they would stay. And so it was; he would remain in this greener, grassier place because that was what the mother and the father proclaimed. Perhaps now that such was settled it was time that he discovered the reasons for Zagan's absence, though he has never been one to question his makers' decisions. He cared little for the two white wolves that Elijah stood within closer proximity of, for they were not the all-parents and they were inconsequential. What mattered was that the family of six was only a number of five at the present moment, and he desired to know when such would be rectified. So even as his sister who looked so akin to their father moved to pursue other interests, Castiel placed himself before his mother, sitting squarely in front of her and waiting for her to acknowledge him before speaking.

But the moment did not come, for ashen ears fell back against his head in displeasure at the sound that suddenly erupted from Ilias. What a completely unsatisfactory noise to have made, and for what reason? His issues of Zagan's location were put out of mind at least for the moment as he stepped towards Ilias, displeased with this raucous display that would surely disrupt whatever it was that their parents were dealing with. Such would not stand, and even as his brother's head remained cast backwards as the wailing poured from his mouth Castiel positioned himself just behind his form. He then leaned up onto his hind legs and did his best to lunge up and forward, puppy jaws aiming to clasp around the splayed maw of his brother. He wished to shut Ilias's mouth and cease the outpouring of that ridiculous noise once and for all, even if it meant tumbling to the ground atop his brother to do so.

Castiel
zero. son of elijah & stella. of asteraia.