They hadn't chased him out. He was still a puppy after all, even if he was the child of their sworn enemy, and to cast him out would mean certain death. So, he did them a favor, he walked out on his own. Following the scent of that strange wolfess, Zephyr left the swamps behind him. Of course, he didn't know the first thing about tracking and had quickly lost the trail. But it didn't bother him. Picking a direction, he simply continued walking. Dusk turned to night, night turned to dawn, and still he walked. There was nothing telling him stop, no rules saying he had to do what the adults demanded. No Aakil to cuddle with in a warm den. He was alone, well and truly. Only when he noticed a pain in his paw did he pause to sniff it. Blood bubbled from a gash that had emerged on his pad. In the faint dawn light, he turned to see a trail of red following him in the snow.

It made him laugh.

The white pup would never know why this sight caused him to lose his mind, but he would always look back on this day as the first day of his life. His real life. No longer did he have to keep up a good appearance in front of the others. He could finally be his real self. Their whispers still filled his ears. 'Why does Pine let the son of Aranck stay?' 'He should have been killed, let that foul bloodline end.' 'Stay away from him, he's dangerous!' Another cackles escaped the child as he rolled over and twisted in the bloody snow. Did they fear his blood? Good! He would show them all. If they wanted to make him out to be the bad guy, he would be the bad guy!

Time passed by and at some point, Zephyr had fallen asleep in the snow. The sun was almost at its highest point when he woke. The sound of snow crunching had stirred him. Launching up on his paws, he let a growl ooze from his mouth as his hackles rose. Jade eyes gazed around at the frozen river bank. He knew he wasn't alone, and yet his eyes saw no one… yet.