It had been a few days since Gaige had set off on his journey to find his father. It wasn't that he was unhappy living with his mother and brother, there was just this empty void in his heart where his father should have been. Atlantis, his mother, had told Gaige and Yholun about their father all through their puphood. Atlantis described their father as noble and kind hearted. This, however, confused Gaige. If his father was such a kind and noble wolf, why would he leave his mother to fend with pups alone? Atlantis assured Gaige that if he had known, Quinlan, the wolf in question, would have stayed.
Now that Gaige had grown into a strong young adolesent he was ready to make the journey he had dreamed of as a pup. His heart was full of hope and determination. He would not stop until he found the wearabouts of his father, Quinlan.
The air was cool and the sky was covered by skattered clouds. It was close to high noon and Gaige was growing tired. He had been traveling nonstop since sunup and it was starting to wear him out. The young wolf reached the end of a tree line. There was a larger meadow cutting through the forest. After a moment of consideration he decided to rest at the tree line to stay hidden from harms way. With a sigh the male fell to the forest floor. He rested his muzzle on his paws and began to fall into a deep sleep.

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Hours had gone by, more than he had planned for. The sun had began to set in the west and he was nowhere near as far as he had hoped.
Gaige stood from his resting place and stretched. It was time to keep moving, this time he would be traveling through the night.
It wasn't long before he picked up his pace and started catching back up with his initial plan. He moved with elegance under the moonlight. His white fur glistened and his eyes stayed focused looking for anything out of the ordinary.
It was times like this that Gaige wished his brother was with him. He loved his brother dearly, and enjoyed his company. It wasn't that Gaige was afraid of traveling alone, he knew he could handle himself, but it would be nice to have a companion at his side to make things a little less lonely.
With a huff Gaige shook the thoughts of his brother from his mind and with that he lowered his head and quickened his pace as he left the large meadow and entered the tree line on the other side.

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A few days had passed, Gaige had been making excellent time, until recently. He had found himself caught up at a stream, where he attempted to catch himself a meal. But that had turned out horribly and he found him self drenched and empty handed. To top it all off the sky had turned to a horrid gray and began to crack and flash above him. "Great... Rain... just what I need." Before long the sky opened and unleashed the heaviest rain he had ever seen before. This excited Gaige. He must be closer to the sea, he thought.
Quickly the young wolf found shelter, if you could call it that, under a small tree. "Of course it would start raining when I'm on an empty plain." He chuckled, "Thank the heavens for this little tree I suppose." He smiled as he looked out at the plain around him.
He sat there for a little over an hour before he caught sight of a female wolf moving swiftly across the plain. A small gasp emitted from Gaige's maw. She was stunning. They way she moved was breath taking, and her pelt popped against the gray backdrop of the sky.
Gaige shook himself from his daze and stood to call to the female, "Hey" he shouted in her direction. She stopped and starred at Gaige. "If you are looking to get out of the rain, I'll gladly share my tree with you." He smiled reassuringly. The female hesitated and looked off to the west and then back again before coming towards Gaige and the tree.
Gaige made room for her to sit, and then took a seat next to her. It was a tight squeeze for both of them to be covered by the tree but they managed to make it work.
"Thank you" the female said peering out into the rain. Gaige starred at her, studying her eyes and the movement of her ears. She had only said two words, but she had him hooked. The whole mystery around her had him mesmerized.
"Where are you headed?" He asked, breaking the silence between them. The female glanced at Gaige and then back out into the rain. Gaige looked down at his soaking paws, it was obvious she didn't want to talk.
"The sea." She finally responded, her eyes still fixed on the rain.
His ears perked up. "The sea, really?" He was headed for the sea, for last anyone had heard that was where Quinlan had settled down.
The female nodded. Gaige smiled, he almost glowed with excitement. The female looked at Gaige and gave a slight smile. Her smile hit Gaige like a buffalo running full speed. It was wonderful. His eyes glistened as he starred at her.
"My name is Gaige." He said finally, trying to break the awkward stare between the two. "Nice to meet you Gaige." She looked back out into the rain.
He shifted his weight uneasily before finally asking, "Would you care if I joined you?" The female looked back at Gaige confused. "Join me?"
Gaige shook his head, "Sorry, I mean, join you on your journey to the sea."
"Oh" She looked back out at the rain, after a moment she returned her gaze to Gaige and eyed him up and down. She then turned her attention back to the steady rain fall.
After what seemed like an eternity the female responded, "I won't wait for you."
"That's alright, I'm fast." He smiled.
"I won't hunt for you either."
"That's okay, I'll hunt for both of us." He smiled once more as the female glared and then smiled.
"Well that sounds fine to me then." The two smiled at each other and then turned out to face the falling rain, not saying another word.

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