Sometimes it was tough to be a loner but often? Well, he made it easy because he was a bit of a sneak, to be honest. Sometimes, he slept close enough to Spirane to be left alone by loners and predators alike and other times, he'd loiter in the channel between Diveen and Glorall, close enough to both to fly under the radar and close enough to Samia to feel like a cloud. The hardest part of it all, reallt, wasn't the food or the comfort but the lack of connection. With Liquid Amber and her band now gone and his parents safe up in the mountain, he had few connections to cling to - even Jackdaw had become a giant scaredy cat in Israfel's eyes. He'd taken off to join Iromar! It made Israfel sick with...sadness! No, anger! In any case, he hadn't even visited out of spite. But it wasn't spite that had him lingering on the Spirane borders unsuer as to whether or not to approach but rather, a little bit of guilt. So much had happened and he had left his parents and siblings out of it all just because he had been wrapped up in his own magical world instead of accepting that sometimes, reality was small talk instead of adventures.

It is why he felt elated at the sound of his father's voice calling for him! Not just for anybody or even a call from Spirane but from here, the free lands! Of course, Israfel had been some distance away, at least a half hour's run and though some lazy part of him told him to jog, he had taken off at a sprint immediately. After all, he didn't want to miss his father - what if he was simply out here on pack duty? Or on a hunt? Boar be damned, he'd finish the damn hunt if it meant dragging his dad away from it all. He had so much to talk about and like, a million questions to. It was hard to not just start blurting them out the moment his eyes rested on his father's silver figure.

Instead, he tried to compose himself. He went from rushing child to stoic man in a blink of an eye; he slowed to a jog, head up and shoulders square yet his face gave away his excitement as he tried to be passive. "Father!" He called out, subduing his tail from waving around like a tornado-ridden branch, "I'm so glad you're out here! I thought maybe you were hunting or with some pack wolves but you're not! So, it's just you? That's good! - I know lots of places around here! Want to see?" Although he tried, he couldn't resist, his mouth moving more on instinct than with purpose. He pranced about his father almost, all confidence and excitement. Seems like he could turn even small talk into an adventure.