He was hurting. Hurting in a much different way than just the pain that whatever sickness clung to his body. She had hurt him. Grief clung to her heart and grew the lump that lodged itself in her throat now, threatening to choke the very air from her lungs. Of all people, she had never meant to hurt him. Or their son for that matter. They were her only reason for this life. At least, the only reason she saw fit to stay in one place for. Before she met Mugen, she had been okay with being a wanderer, traveling through this world with no focus or path, living on mere instinct alone. Fate had brought him into her life, or so she liked to think. It sounded much better than she simply caught his eye and through dumb luck and a quick wit their stories became interwoven.

He had been a proud creature then, carefree and wild just as she herself was. He hide his emotions behind a barrier of sarcasm and harsh banter, but she had seen beyond it. She saw the dragga who went out of his way to protect his brother's mate... she saw the loyal wolf who followed faithfully at his brother's side, determined to keep family safe. His family. He thought himself worthless and carried that weight easily upon his shoulders, but she saw him for so much more. He wasnt the worthless creature he imagined himself to be, but he kept up the persona anyway. She saw past that, saw the wolf he was and yet it was her disappearance that returned the worthlessness she thought she had finally banished.

Grief flickered in her brilliant eyes of teal and sapphire but she does her best to hide it. He was fighting her... and it was her fault. His words, though normally harsh and something she is used to, hit deep and hard, piercing her heart. He didnt want her help. Could she blame him? Were the shoe on the other foot would she be so welcoming to his return? No, she would probably have spent the last ounce of fight she had left in her body tearing a new hole in his ass to be completely honest. In that instance, she would need action, retribution and a reminder to him to never do it again. His defense just happened to be words... and this time they stung.

Teeth clench together behind charcoal lips as the red huntress fights down an angry growl. He was sick... and what was worse on a mission no matter how futile. Ivory hackles rise along her spine as the drappa watches him, listening as he all but screamed of his own weakness and Tora's absence being his fault. No. She would never blame him. Aster and Halcyon might have gotten an earful... but not him. She knew Mugen... knew him better perhaps than he knew himself.

He turns from her after this outburst and falls into a coughing fit that knocks him off his feet with its ferocity. She manages to take a step towards him before stopping herself, fighting against the will of her heart. She would save him... even if it meant saving him from himself. "Stop it Mugen." she begins, doing her best to keep her emotions hidden from her voice. Her gaze is steady as she meets his own, dropping her head to nuzzle his cheek once before continuing, her words soft as she licks his tattered ear, "You will NOT fall apart now. There is too much to do and you are NOT weak. Get up... or do I need to carry you?" she finishes, the last words hanging like a command, teasing and taunting him in the same moment. He might be hurt, hurting, defeated... but she knew that proud wolf was still there.. even if she could not see him right now. She re positions her lithe frame next to his to help support his sickly form should he need the aid. She was not ready to give up on him... and she would not let him sink into defeat, not when he had already done so much to avoid death's door.

After a moment, he seem to finally hear the sense in her words and with a huff agrees to seek a healer. A single ear flickers as he mentions angels in Diveen but for the moment she pushes the questions in the back of her mind... no doubt she would find her answers soon enough and quite frankly she was more than willing to go to the farthest reaches of Moladion if it meant getting Mugen the medicine he needed to heal. She nods her head once in resolve, "If Diveen can help you then that is where we need to go, then we will get Tora back... and rip whatever wolf is dumb enough to still remain in Asteraia to shreds in the process." she finishes with a deep throated, vicious growl. Already the bloodlust lingered on her tongue, ready to renew the metallic flavor's tang on her tongue. But first, she would see to her mate for whether he liked it or not that is how she would forever see him. "I am going to forever be your frustration... you should be used to that by now so... Get up." she barks, her red and white tail wagging as she bows her to grab at the scruff of his neck and help haul him back to his feet. Carefully she positions herself at his side, ready to support his slight frame should the sickness throw him back into another coughing spasm.

The trek to Diveen took forever, or so that is how she felt. Mugen's sickness caused the journey to be a slow process filled with short stops to catch his breath and an equally slow pace. She wanted to whine in frustration but bites it back behind her tongue and instead remains ever watchful and constant at his side, stopping when he stops and waiting as patiently as a flighty plains wolf can be. She knew this was hard on him too, he was even more a wolf of the plains than she was herself, running was in their blood and now he could barely manage a walk for more than a few hundred yards without coughing his lungs out. But soon Diveen comes into view and Faol'an tenses with unease as they approach the borders of the desert pack. Unease settles into her as she listens, letting her ears act as sonars, flexing back and forth atop her skull, listening for any sign of one of the pack members approach. She does not wait for Mugen to announce their arrival, with his voice the song would surely be cut off and could potentially alert the wrong wolves to his condition. Instead she turns her head up and lifts her voice loud and strong, calling out for the pack. They had visitors... and time was short.