his heart ached for the young boy. while they were alike in many of ways, zudios couldn’t bare to see the boy in trouble. the other pup was belly up like a dead fish, seemingly a sign of surrender. that was odd. no one had ever treated him like he was scary. he wasn’t. that was exactly the issue. the young child’s eyes popped open one at a time to study him, as if he were a creature he’d never seen. the same way the zudios had initially taken in the sight of this guy. immediately, guilt flooded his system. he hadn’t meant to make him feel like an outcast. as far as he was concerned, zudios himself was the outcast. a sickly boy with no desire to be alive.

the young boy cautiously rolled back over to face zudios, before speaking once again. it was the same voice he had heard echoing through the woods, calling out to anyone who could hear him. "i... yes. i was the one calling out. i... i am okay but i'm not okay. i woke up one day and neither of my mommies did. they were alive just... sleeping. and no matter what i did they wouldn't wake up and all my siblings were gone already so i was all alone and..." the other child sniffled, as if a tear was about to roll down his fluffy cheek. the words tugged at zudios's heart strings. what did he mean by they wouldn't wake up? they were breathing? but not... awake? another sniffle as the other pawed at his nares. "i'm all alone and i'm hungry and yea. my name is Dragan... do you have any food?" sadly, he didn't. he wished he did. but.. maybe they could find some vegetarian options? if it wasn't too much of a hassle. that's all zudios had been eating for god knows how long.

“i’m sorry, i don't have-“ he began, before he was cut off by the child's words. "can i... can i stay with you at your home?" home? he didn't have one. at least, not yet. it would be nice to have another face around, however. in fact, it might work better. they would have one another to cuddle up too on cold nights and help one another out when things got rough. "dragan..” he began, lifting his head off the dirt floor. the sun was beginning to disappear out of the sky. darkness was approaching which meant cold and.. darkness. zudios didn't like the dark. at night, he would always pretend that the moon was the sun, and that it was simply a cloudy day. that way it wouldn't seem so scary. but he knew what hunted in the dark. he knew what lurked and what monsters would be crawling around. he didn't want to take that chance, especially with another life near him. dragan didn't deserve that. he deserved peace and safety, nothing that zudios himself could provide, but maybe a place to sleep could.

”dragan.." he began again, clearing his throat cautiously. "i don't have any food with me.. um.. nor have i.. been able to hunt.. but.." he sighed, inching closer to the other pup. "i know where berries are, i think, and i know where some little fish are that we can eat. but for now, i think we should stick with berries.” he explained. "i'd rather not be in the dark fishing. we can find someplace to take cover for the night.. i don't like the dark..” his voice ended in a whisper as the said the last part, closing his eyes for a minute. then, he struggled up from his spot and nudged the other kid with the tip of his nose. "c'mon dragan.. we'll stick together ok?" he murmured gently. "let's go find something to eat."

assuming the other puppy would follow him, zudios began walking off towards the path again, eyes scanning the dim forest for any signs of movement. even a deer could pose great threat to the young duo. up ahead, he vaguely spotted a bush that looked to be a berry bush. he trotted ahead, grinning. "berries!” he squealed in delight, nosing up to the bush. they smelled sweet- one's he'd deftly tasted before. he nosed off a few of the berries, letting them fall to the ground. "dragan, come taste these!” he called over, letting his haunches once again fly to the dirt floor of the forest.

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