❝ Long is the road that leads me home, and longer still when I walk alone. Bitter is the thought of all that time spent searching for something I'll never find. ❞

There was nothing in life that felt as it should. Days went by and yet the colors of the world yet dawning showed no beauty to him. Depression. Lack of desire. He felt as though there was nothing in the world that would yet satisfy his happiness. What measly flower could pollinate the world with smiles and cheer just as they sheer expansiveness of the world had brought him once before. What mighty mystery could bring back the dead - none. The flowers were blooming, and the trees yet regrowing their leaves that covered darkness upon the forest floor, but there was no one to share it with. Spring came birth. Birth was new life. No, all he wanted was the old life. Why should he feel happy for the innocent young that still blinked their first sights upon the world. They would inevitably see past the color one day - past the bright hope and shimmering wonders that hid the real world doused in the darkness of pain. Loss. Loneliness. These emotions were all he felt. They swarmed his mind, clogged his thoughts, and stabbed at his heart. Sometimes he felt as though he couldn't move. He frantically clawed and bit at the ice blocking his path, but it never budged. No, instead all he felt was the cold starting to nip at his paws, his mouth, his head. His heart. How could they? How could they continue on with their lives as if nothing had happened. How could the eyes that had once beamed for the Alphess Quinn now look upon another without even a second glance to what once was. Rose. She had been selected by his mother herself if she fell upon battle. He had no real qualms with the she-wolf, but he would have never looked upon her as he had his mother. Dead. Free before she even began. Sitka. Not even mated to the female but given ownership to the pack. The leadership stick was being tossed around for fun. No, perhaps he was just feeling bitter. For once all of his family lay dead he no longer believed that was his home. How could a place so cold of feeling and numb to the pain the ex-prince felt wash the bitter taste away from his mouth. Well, not all of his family dead. Fenris. Perhaps he could call him father. Withdrawn into himself the male hadn't bothered to be with the son he still had left. No, Achak was left to himself. When left to itself, the lonely heart begins to lash against what once was love. There was nothing left for him in Helidos.

His paws trekked tiredly and his limbs were sore. The apprentice had awoken to his first year, and yet there were no glories to be had. There were no congratulations and no smiles. So, the ex-prince had risen from his bed, washed his fur in the river, and crossed the borders as he had been so prone to doing lately; however, this time was different. This time he would not be returning. Still young, and rather small, Achak had no guess as to what he could do outside of the gate. Which way was Erenyx? Which way would lead him straight to the devil's mouth and let him end the bloodline he so desired gone. Which way would lead him so far away from the lands that no one ushered or even knew the name Teren or Quinn. No, he could not run from the pain. He would not let his blood run cold, and he would not let the memories of his family grow stale. Quinn. Paige. Chase. They crossed his mind each day. Julian, too, but not in the same way. That vile brute was most likely dead by his own tongue. So, the apprentice chose a direction by heart and walked a steady route. It felt as if he were getting no where quickly though. The terrain shifted and changed, and although so very lost Achak held his head low as he took in the new surroundings and watched both the skies and the ground for any danger. More than once he had to lower himself to the ground and hide - even staying still for as long as possible until the danger left. He had no skills. Perhaps the pup was intelligent, yes, but he had not honed any talents. Catching small game was simple, but anything larger left him in the dust. There was no interest in the art of war, either. It was a game of wit that he enjoyed, but perhaps that wasn't entirely what a wolf needed to survive - or get enlisted inside of a pack. What did he boast? If he were in show perhaps a bloodline, but that surely wouldn't catch a leader's eye. However, Achak could not dwell in thoughts as instead he had to first get somewhere alive before he considered what to say. This was proving quite a challenge.

Moons rose and up and down in the sky. Never had he walked so far or felt so sore. However, there was a familiar scent that made the male's ears prick with an idea. Agavos. Vaguely remembering the whiff he had smelt on Twist's fur she had told him was a pack called Agavos. Perhaps this land would welcome him to contribute something to their ranks. Or, at least, he would be able to meet with the she-wolf again. The ex-prince could not help but linger on the question in his mind, though. What would he say? Surely there was no danger back in Helidos that prompted his leave. There was a glimmer of feeling that the one who would answer his call would think him no more than a rebellious adolescent and send him away back to his home. Perhaps that's all he was. Still, there was no point holding onto the past back at his birthing land. Achak needed to escape himself or else lose himself.

Finally it seemed like there came a part of the land that seemed almost like a barrier between his world and another reality. The scent was overpowering now. There was no denying that this was an official pack. Achak shifted the weight between both of his front paws deciding on any last thoughts that might stray him from this idea. He could still go back home. No, this was what he was doing. Throwing back his head with full force, the adolescent let out a call as much as his voice allowed him. It was no call to be proud of, sure, but perhaps it was loud enough to spark an interest from someone. Resting his haunches the male swiftly thought about manners and who he was. Oh yes, who he could be now - anything he wanted. Naughty. Still, he could not abandon his own personality. While becoming someone else was what he had longer for his entire life, the weight of the burden it would crush him with would be too much. No. Honesty was what he spoke, and honesty he would give. The early morning fog was highlighted by the sun's glare peeping from behind the horizon. It was the start of a new day.

He does. He thinks. He speaks.
OOC I have no muse for Achak so i'm trying to play around with him. I hope it is okay.

❝ Long is the road that leads me home, and longer still when I walk alone. Bitter is the thought of all that time spent searching for something I'll never find. ❞

Sides softly and calmly inhaling and exhaling the crisp air of the land, Achak flicked his ears awaiting any sounds of an approaching soul. No, none yet stirred. The determination that flooded his body stayed strong, though, and his body cried with glee in the pleasure of rest. Tired. For moons the ex-prince had put his head down to sleep but could welcome no such kindness. Adventuring far beyond what he should've been capable of had proven a strain on his physical body, but not that of his mind. Alert and alive, Achak felt almost like a matured wolf although not much had changed.

Noise.

Ears standing forward, the male let his amber globes flick towards the direction. A large wolf broke the trees eyeing him from where he stood. While big wolves were very common back in Helidos, the sheer physicality still surprised the small adolescent. No, he had not been passed the gene of height. Barely passing as average, and possibly passing as a she-wolf at first glance from his frame, Achak wasn't anywhere near this answer to his call. Feeling tiny and almost like prey under a wolf's grasp, the runaway patiently waited for the other to speak or act. The other's eyes looked, and as his mouth parted the apprentice did not let his face waver. Instead, he dipped his head. "Sir." Politely he waited before bringing his head back up. "My mother is dead, sir - murdered by the devil. My father has withdrawn so far into himself from grief that he sees only the corpse of his love and nothing else." Perhaps he had managed to feel so much emotion that he was all wiped out now for he spoke with such grace it almost felt as if another had spoken for him. "The others of Helidos moved on with their lives for it was not their family that was lost, but I cannot. No, not when her scent lingers on every path and rock that I cross. I cannot sleep, and I cannot clear my head to face the reality of being alone. I am the last of my bloodline. I.. I just can't stay there any longer when nothing is the same.. nothing there is what I love.." His voice crackled at the end, but Achak tried to shove the wedge in his throat down. Perhaps all of this seemed like dramatic adolescence to the male, but he could take it as he liked. What the ex-prince felt was true, and staying where no happiness could blossom any longer seemed like a weight to the heart. No, he doubted it was what mother would have wanted. After all, Helidos was her pack and she had loved the wolves within. It wasn't her pack any longer, though. Nor would it be his.

He does. He thinks. He speaks.
OOC -

❝ Long is the road that leads me home, and longer still when I walk alone. Bitter is the thought of all that time spent searching for something I'll never find. ❞

Drawing in a breath Achak felt his body grow tense as the wolf spoke. Arising to his paws without realization, the apprentice couldn't help but gape. Just who was this wolf? How could this stranger know just who his family was? Of course word must have gotten out about the war between Erenyx and Helidos, but to be able to pin point just who a murderer was by a single word.. There was no doubt in his mind that Teren was a horrible beast, but it seemed that the devil crossed all borders and let none go unpunished. This wolf wasn't a spy for Teren, was he? Achak flicked his eyes and ears downward. The only family he had vaguely known of aside from siblings and his parents was Lark. Her death, however, had been the very pinnacle that started the war in the first place though. Did mother have another sister, or was this wolf yet toying with him? No. Although his mind was bitter with paranoid doubts there was no sense of fear that struck him from brute. It seemed that he was indeed telling the honest truth. Embarrassed, Achak looked back up and gave the best attempt at a smile he could at Desmond. "Thank you, Desmond. It is my promise to you that I will learn how to succeed." He paused, before continuing. "And yes, you are correct, my mother was the former Alphess Quinn of Helidos. It was her that gave me my name - Achak. I had no idea about any living kin, though. It makes me happy to hear that one of my mother's sisters is here. Perhaps.. perhaps I could meet her?" Curious and a little bit embarrassed, Achak stayed where he was. Socially inadequate the adolescent felt concerned about each word. Was it ok? How should he react to a higher rank he wasn't familiar with? So many things left untouched during training in Helidos alongside personal fear.

He does. He thinks. He speaks.
OOC -