When Zane said they could camp under an outcrop cave in the middle of the forest for the night, he didn't expect it to start raining. The forsaken storm came out of almost nowhere, and he had begun to curse his luck.

He had eyes peering down at the rushing river he currently had his feet.... his paws, submerged in. His tail barely touched the water behind him as it lashed back and forth. The last thing he needed was to be fishing in the middle of a storm, but if he didn't get something back to his brother fairly soon, he was sure he wouldn't get better.

Just a few days ago, Vylad had fallen ill with a raging fever. Zane was doing everything he could to calm the sickness, but with the fact that they go weeks without food or shelter made the task even more daunting than it already was.

He had been about to give up, no Fish in their right mind would be rushing through this rapid moving river during a storm like the one he currently stood in. Zane was only risking his own health at the rate it was going. Just as he begun to wade back to the bank, a trout raced past his feet and Zane immediately launched forward to sink his claws into it.

After a full minute of fighting the fish, he had begun to make his way back to the outcrop. Trying to be quick about it, he had fallen into an all four sprint, the fish hanging limply from his jaws, as much as the ground below hurt his unprotected hands. He left Vylad alone for long enough, leaving for any amount of time caused Zane to get paranoid and a little bit of pain wasn't going to slow him down.

Shaking his fears when he spotted the smooth overhang ahead, he sprinted to get under it. The rain roared behind him as his eyes landed on a shivering figure pressed against a rock. A black cloak, his black cloak, draped over their shoulders. The figure looked at him with warm eyes, even while sick Vylad had that soft gaze. It made Zane wonder if he would still smile even in death.

"Vylad, why weren't near the fire- Any warmth is better than none in this damn rain and I know from experience that cloak isn't doing justice." He dropped the fish near the makeshift fire pit he had put together and begun to re-kindle it.

"I don't... like the fire" Zane's ears pressed down against his head, tail fluffing up. He had forgotten about his brother's fear for flames. "At least... not while you're gone-" Vylad attempted to crawl forward, the feathers on his brothers back ruffling when a crack of thunder boomed.

Quickly as he had arrived, he had the fire rekindled and the fish roasting to the best of Zane's cooking ability. After turning it, he settled down next to Vylad, draping a mix-matched wing around him as the smaller nestled into his side. It had been quiet for awhile afterwards, nothing but the crackling of the fire and the occasional thunder with the rain backing it up.

"I miss him..." Zane perked his ears at the weak voice and felt his eyes water as memories resurfaced. Pulling Vylad closer, he wrapped his tail around them both and muttered a soft "Me Too"

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The brothers jolted awake, Zane with his teeth bared and Vylad clinging to his leg with a fluffed up tail. What woke them? A rather close sounding trap going off and the noises of what sounds like a struggling animal.

Calming down, the eldest brother soothed the youngers nerves, while urging him to get on his back. If there were traps nearby, that meant humans weren't far behind. Last thing they needed was some hunter finding two half-breeds taking shelter under an outcrop overhang.

Vylad was still to weak to really travel, but they don't have a choice unless they want to risk being shot. After putting out the still somewhat going fire and collecting his cloak, Zane took off, keeping his wings tucked closely to his body as he raced through the forest. Flying would be a death wish as he would be spotted immediately, running makes the chance of being found and shot slim.

He hoped to get far enough away so he can take flight, but with Vylad getting sicker by the minute and no safe shelter, Zane was getting desperate to find a place quickly. Thus he opened his wings sooner than he really should of, and took flight. For a moment he flew just above the tress, before aiming to get above the clouds. However, as an arrow whizzed past his head Zane soon realized his mistake.

Taking a glance below him, he spotted a group of humans, all aiming at him. Not wanting to die right there, Zane attempted to dive back down into the trees, hoping to outrun them, but as he was descending, an arrow pierced his shoulder. Vylad was now making scared noises, burying his face Zane's back. He needed to get out of there and fast.

Despite the pain soaring through his shoulder, Zane found himself dodging trees as he glides close to the ground, thankful that this forest wasn't as dense as it appeared. Though he could clearly hear the shouts of the hunters as they shouted commands, followed suit by rather loud barking that echoed.

Zane cursed his luck. The damn humans had dogs, hunting dogs that would probably track them to the ends and back, and his bleeding was only making their job easier. Immediately dropping to the ground, Zane broke into a full four legged sprint, hissing at every jab to his hands and the pain that only seemed to get worse.

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Just keep running. Keep running. Zane wasn't sure how long he had been running for, but he could still hear the dogs in the distance, unsure of how far or how long it would take for them to find him. Slowing to two legged walk, he figured letting his aching muscles rest for just a few moments wouldn't hurt.

Oh how wrong he was, because the moment his body took a chance it gave up. Zane collapsed to the ground, and as much as he willed himself to get up he just couldn't. Eventually the sounds of barking grew quiet, and at first he thought maybe he was lucky enough to mislead their scent, but as Vylads weak pleas to get up grew quieter as well, Zane found himself blacking out.

The last thing he saw was a pair of blood hounds nearing and the tear-filled terrified eyes of his brother.