‘All right then, so am I going to turn into a fairy now or something?’

Aindreas’ brows raised in amusement, his lips growing tight as he tried to stifle a laugh. But it would not be held, it would not be restrained - a rolling chuckle started softly, but then moved through his lungs, growing in volume until great deep bellowing laughter tumbled from his mouth. The ivoro lifted one of his front paws enough to wipe at his face, first by one eye and then the other, as his amusement had caused tears to start to swell over his orbs. “My friend, I do not believe fairies are real, at least not yet anyway. Most of the myths and stories we were told as pups still are only just that - stories. Only one stands true now, which is that of the vampires. But I’ll tell you what, if I start seeing any wings grow out of your back or if you start shitting out glitter and pixie dust, I will let you know.” Aindreas managed to cease his laughter, at first that slowed and then finally stopped. For Pompeii was now talking about something morbid and serious - his own land... His sister… Apparently everything that Pompeii had known and held dear was gone. Aindreas‘ mind slipped back to all those years ago, when two of the packs within Blossom Forest had taken to decimation and destruction. The members of one of those packs had sought refuge in his father‘s pack… the very land that now belong to him. Life was cruel, and rarely fair. And you could only seek to survive in such a place. Seeing as nature was unbending in its decisions, one could only accept what happened and move on… That was exactly what Pompeii had done. He had left his land, left the corpses of those he knew… And returned here. Aindreas briefly wondered why Blossom Forest was such a place… why wolves from all over were drawn here. But it was such an abstract thought that it quickly fled from his mind. Instead, he now focused upon finding a solution for his friend. For in truth, he still thought of Pompeii as such - as his friend. All of this while, his bright electric blue eyes had never fallen off of Pompeii‘s form. And they did not do so now. Instead, they began to glow as Aindreas focused, thinking of an answer, any answer that would do.

“What are you supposed to do now? You are supposed to survive. That is what we are, that is what we do. We are beasts of the wild, carnivores that survive based on the death of others. It is all we can do, it is what we must do. You know, surely you must know, that you of course are welcome in my pack, in my home. We have nearly become friends before not once, but twice. There is no reason now to hold us back from such an adventure. So if you need a place to call home - call my pack home. If you need a place to build a new family, build it there. If you need a place to call home base, a place to station yourself while you look for Saiorse, that is surely where it should be. Yes, these mountains here can make a lone wolf a decent den - they have caves without end, they have shelter and prey. You can even find streams for sustenance… But you would be alone. There will be no other wolf by your side, no one to have your back in the black of the night. Come home with me. Do not stay out here and torture yourself as you try to think of how to fix it all.”

A twinkle entered his eye as the serious moment left them - it was rare indeed for Aindreas to be able to joke with another. He had difficulty with sarcasm, and even more difficulty with jokes. He nearly always took everything at face value when it was said, took everything seriously. But just like before, Aindreas felt comfortable around this brute - and he had no idea why. But that did not matter. What mattered was that he was in fact comfortable. That the pair of them had a kinship between them that nothing could break, not time or distance.

“Plus, you know, Pompeii, if you stay with me, I can keep a watch out for those pesky fairy wings and pixie dust.”

Aindreas took a step back and pulled on his neck in order to gesture with his cranium toward the trail behind him. It was the path that he had taken to get here, and it would lead Aindreas home… And Pompeii as well if he would come.

“There’s nothing holding you here, nothing bonding you to these mountains comrade. I miss your sister as well, but if she was here, one of us would know it. I do not sit contently within my boundaries - I travel to the free lands, around the other packs on excursions… I would have come across her scent if she was here. That’s not to say that she may never come here… She might. After all, you have returned. But wouldn’t be it better to wait for her in a place of comfort and safety than to torture yourself, staying out here alone?”