A year had passed and he had grown into a more symmetrical figure than he had been before. His paws were not so much larger than himself now although he thinks that his ears do seem a tad bit larger than the rest of him but his father assured him that he would grow into them. How one grew into their figure was a strange concept to him but he took his fathers word for it. All that mattered was that he was growing and he was becoming broader and taller and that meant that he had a better chance of protecting his siblings if something happened to them. It had become an almost obsessive worry in his mind that they would get hurt. At night he would dream and they were strange and frightening dreams. Dreams of stars and stardust upon which his sisters would frolic and then be consumed by it, swallowed up in purple dust as if they had never existed, and he would cry out for them and awake wondering if he had cried out in his sleep.

He did the same last night, waking with a gasp upon his maw and his heart beating frantically in his chest, fear tightening him until he counted each head. Astraea, Asariel, and Tzadkiel. They were safe. They were fine. He let out an exhalation that shook his entire frame before he decided to go outside. Nights were still bitter at times, warming swiftly when the sun poked over the horizon, but he shivered until the dew began to sparkle against a brightening sky. Then he stood up, shaking himself out, and rushing off in search of Scarlett, his friend.

When he found her he coaxed her to come with him to the meadow in which they had first met, climbing atop the tree stump that was now his and hers alone. He didn't tell her about the nightmares, just took comfort in her presence, and by the time Namira's howl slipped into the air Vortigern felt at ease once more. Excitement bubbled up within him as he leaps from the stump in glorious grace, snapping his head around to focus on Scarlett. "Come on Scar! Tzad will already be there I bet," he says in a rush but still waiting to make sure she jumped down fine and then racing off towards Namira's call, shortening his stride in so that he would not lose Scarlett even if she could outrun him.

Soon the group comes together and he follows behind Namira with eager steps, pausing long enough to check his brother and Scarlett in case they had any outwardly nervous signs before continuing on. The forest looms above them and he peers at it curiously, noting the different smells here before their mentor speaks. "Can we head towards Diveen? My grandparents live there but my dad has never taken us. We don't have to go in," he says quickly at the end. "I just want to see if things are different closer to it." He grin at Namira, brave and excited.