It had been a long while since the brute had set foot in Hollental Valley. About a half year almost. Sure, he'd run through it but he hadn't come to the location to simply just be there or something of the like. But he also remembered that he'd made a complete fool of himself in front of Fel and a now dead Caretaker he couldn't recall the name of. But now, in the driest of summers and in the cooler temperature of night, he found himself here. Pondering, wondering, thinking about how everything that had happened did happen. Leaving home to find Iris, not doing so but finding out she'd found some type of happiness, these lands and Erenyx, Agavos, ranks, Braelyn, family. It was almost as if it all had come so quickly and tirelessly, throwing him into turmoil that he couldn't stop. Now he was left to suffer the consequences and try to make do with what he has. All he knew was that he hated himself for leaving Erenyx so quickly. Had he stayed this all could have been avoided. Braelyn and.... Teren. Him being separated from his family, or perhaps they were here but would never trust him or consider him a father. Worst of all, he couldn't confide to anyone. If they knew... He shook his head. Not an option.

Lowering himself down between a three and a bush, he blended himself in with the darkness. Golden eyes stared up at the sky, wondering what is going on in the lands that seemed lifetimes away. How his family was doing, if Iris was still finding her happiness. What Braelyn was doing, if she ever planned on telling him she would take up on his offer and promise to take in their children. He wouldn't know until he saw her again, but the thing was, they never planned their meetings. And something kept him back here. Perhaps it was the fatherly protective nature he was developing. The two he supposed were his children were not the nicest or easiest to convince pups from what he had observed. Ragnaar just didn't seem to care, and Xymnesina was too stubborn. He knew not what he was going to do now. Only that he needed to confirm, needed answers. Needed to know if there were others he had yet to meet. If there was more to the story than meets the eye. But the stares weren't helping. He was feeling no pull to leave the territory, instead he felt an unfamiliar pull to stay. But the insomniac knew in this state of mind and previous sleepless nights, this one would be no different. So here he would lay, under the shade of the tree when the sun would rise, upon the cool ground and surrounded by bush on two side, a trunk on the other.

The night sky was the same as it always was- dark except for the stars and moon. He'd spent so many night staring at it he was sure to have memorized what it looks like in each season and stance. He knew how the black would change to a dark blue and then slowly lighten into the shade it was during the day. He knew the difference of the night skies when the moon was present or gone. There was no need for him to look up at it now, so instead he simply gazed forward, his golden eyes piercing the the darkness that began to fade ever slowly. Ears perked at the sound of pawsteps, but the still form of the elite never moved or twitched in response. He cared not if anyone saw him here, it would explain how his claimed den always smelt so faintly of him. Eyes shifted once the movement of another caught his attention. It was Azrael, a big dark wolf who shared a nature similar but not quite the same to his own. Desoto had only spoken with him once before, so to see how the other behaves now in the lands might be interesting. He was approaching the small bit of water that was left, obviously wondering why there was so little of it left. Looking around then, they silver eyes of the warrior found him and his own, at which the higher ranked would turn his head away. He sensed the other approaching quietly, laying himself down not too closely but not too far as well. Then the silence was broken, a single question. The wolf sighed, eyes closing for a few seconds before opening. "No. I don't sleep that much. A lot going on in this head of mine to be able too soundly. What about you? Early riser or another wolf who could not find solace in rest?