How long was he in search of her? She was never the one to say goodbye and he was never the one who could tie her to any one place. It was years and yet, even now, some part of him clings to the idea of Caligula rising from the plains. But this is now - present time, present place - and he breathes in deep to ground himself, his paws flexing in the wilting grass as the figure begins to approach. He feels there is a wrongness, a deeply unsettling unknown that settles into the bottom of his stomach. There are words he does not wish to hear and though he sees pride in her at first, something that makes his lips twitch into a brief smile of pride himself, she seems to quickly crumble.

He is unsure what to say or do as she stumbles forward. He is unused to such displays - he has been, after all, alone for so long and yet he was never the one for such things even in his youth. He was always poised, composed, well practiced in his interactions and yet now he is taken aback for a moment. Her voice wavers and though his lip twitches in uncertainty, he finds himself taking a step forward as she lunges into him. He is apprehensive at first but soon, he finds his eyes sliding shut as he embraces her too, seeking out the smell of Praetor and their shared blood within her fur. He is there somewhere, a genetic link, but he is not there in the now. It is the whisper of his son that exists, the idea of him and he pauses for a moment to watch over her shoulder.

"There's nothing left is there, Aster?" His voice is quiet, cautious, for he knows it: if his son was here, would he have not come too? Would he have not known? Aster would have called for him surely. But there is only stillness across the plains and a pit that begins to form in his gut. Glorall was gone, Iromar was gone, and though he waits with bated breath, he almost reconsiders: does he truly want to know just what is missing? It is that unspoken fear that ensures he does not leave their closeness in those moments. He seeks comfort if only because he has never felt it and now, he thinks, might be the one time he truly needs it.