Memories raced in his mind, dancing even, some tantalizing thoughts of simpler days before things had gotten complicated again. It had been ironic to him that this felt complicated. Not the grief he was still sometimes choked by, the loss of his parents and his siblings and the haven he'd known as his natal land. It was the grief that he'd felt for being taken from the Glade, too, the only thing he'd left behind was the basalm branch he'd dropped in his shock. He continued to pace, tail lashing behind him in an uneven pace as his mind bided the time by bringing to surface the things he'd missed the most. His closest friend in the lands without a question had been Fable - they'd shared a great deal, and he'd felt immediately comfortable with her. It didn't mean that his feelings hadn't been a bit complicated - but, mild flirtation and a little crush never really hurt anyone, after all.

When he'd last laid eyes upon her they'd both ended up coated in the earth from digging and plotting their herb garden. They'd had bright dreams of this moment - months in the future, their hard work cultivating a resource for their pack that would benefit them in the years ahead. This was a vast contrast to how it felt, however, when he'd met her sage eyes again. She'd run to him, and he didn't know if she had anything else she was attending to at the time, but she held a bundle of herbs and a pang went through his heart. Was that from their garden? He could smell blood on her - but another scent too, and he realized so much in that instant. Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit. She smelled amazing at that moment and he made the mistake of opening his mouth and it went from bad to worse. Fox gulped and then the scent was in his lungs and down his throat and burned into him.

Get a fucking grip. He chastised himself mentally, and he could do this he could. He was a professional. He was an adult. He'd get it together and he'd stop his wandering thoughts and he'd be fine. I got sent to the otherside of the fuckin' world. Fox grit out and his voice sounded much gruffer than he'd intended it to, so he cleared his throat. I was here one second, elsewhere the next. It took months to find my way back, I started in the desert and it wasn't until I found that damn farm again that I knew how to get home. And that's without the earthquakes and fires everywhere, too. He tacked on quickly, and it was like he'd become uncorked. One second there had been silence and the next he'd recounted the simple tale.

After he'd caught his breath from the avalanche of his words, he took another breath. And then he couldn't ignore things anymore. Fable....you....you shouldn't be at the borders now. He said, the protective urge to keep her safe and guide her further from the borders almost enough to make him cross into the lands without explicit permission.