He had not expected Eden to come for him; or at least, he had not expected to be so well received. After all, he had not been offered the most kindness since his both - a mutual distance, he supposed it might be considered. Eden had come and gone to leave food and teach them the basics of language and etiquette when his mother could not and yet, Abel had never been given explicitly unique treatment. So, he was of course gladdened when the older male had come to fetch him from his mother's den. In fact, he had eagerly scrambled after him as he begun to lead the child towards the shoreline. It ached with each awkward step, his leg still not quite adjusted to the burden that was its twisted and gnarled paw. At times, it was comfortable but more often than not it posed as hinderance, a painful reminder of some heinous crime he must have committed in the womb. Abel knew they looked at it. He could feel eyes on it even when no eyes could be seen. Though he did not know it, he could still feel the teeth of his older sister around him, desperate to purge him. Yet, Eden had come for him! It had to be a good thing.

Eden, on the other hand, had little interest in the child save for saving face. After all, it could not be denied the boy was a blight; he was not particularly unsightly, though. Abel had been born with the family's typical strong looks and yet, he had been cursed with anything but the perfect body. It had been obvious the moment he had born. Eden had been in two minds about the boy's fate; at his birth, he had contemplated allowing Ayal to do as she wished and yet, he had seen the use in the boy. His mother needed to learn a lesson: weakness bred weakness. Did she truly think she could breed something better than he and his siblings? It had been a foolish venture and now, she had a constant reminder in the form of two faulty, hindered children. Still, he had to do something about it. It was unsightly and, in time, it would prove itself to be a burden. Each time he looked over his shoulder, he could see the boy struggle with his stride. Perhaps he had never stopped being in two minds.

Nonetheless, the pair continued through the pack's mainland and towards the shores to the east. Eden had even slowed his pace to allow the boy to keep up, though he detested lowering himself to such weakness. Eventually, though, they reached the sandy expanse; the sun sat low enough in the sky that the heat had levelled out and the sand was cool between their toes. They had entered the beach's expanse via a flat path, worn down by the residents and fauna of Glorall. Yet, beyond it, the dunes rose up, coated in stiff, hardy vegetation and whipped by the wind.

"Sequitur," was uttered by Eden as he broke out onto the sand once more with Abel at his heels. The boy looked fascinated, though confused indeed about the circumstances of their arrival. For a moment, he had grown nervous as Eden lead him onwards towards the higher dunes. Their sandy height seemed to tower above Abel as he stared up at them, having now stopped beside Eden as the older male came to a pause. With that, Eden reached down and snapped his teeth towards the boy, a metallic clack echoing out as Abel jumped back, landing awkwardly on his paw once more with a surprised yelp of shock and pain. Such a sound made Eden turn away for a moment, his ears back and clearly unimpressed with the display of weakness. It made Abel cringe. He hated to disappoint and so, he came back with as much pride as he could.

"Ascenditur," the word came from seemingly nowhere as Eden turned back towards him, his eyes hard with a commanding presence. Abel could not refuse and so, he hobbled forward uncertainly. Slowly, he tested the dune's stability, plunging his paws into the soft sand before he began to haul himself up its height. Each step forced his muscles into exertion - he had never done such a thing! He could feel the pain build in his twisted leg and yet, the sand was soft enough that it merely remained teetering on the edge rather than bursting at the seams. And so, he was able to continue. Up and up until he reached the top.

When he looked down, he was met by Eden's eyes once more. He grinned down with a waving tail, clearly impressed by his efforts. "Do not stop. Not until you stop being weak." Eden had spoken with the same commanding tone as before and yet, Abel did not feel the same fear. Instead, he charged downwards, prepared to once more make his way up. The pain didn't seem so bad - not if he could become strong! Not if he could keep the eyes off of him!