Emma and Daniel drove Tom and Shannon to border letting Maddy run with Bryn and Rhydian.
"This is where we part." Rhydian said as he looked at her and sighed. "It's not goodbye. Just see you later." He said smiling at them.
"Why does it feel like goodbye then?" Shannon asked as she looked at him holding her coat around herself.
"We're making it a bigger deal than it needs to be." Maddy said as she looked at them. "He'll only be gone for a little while hopefully. If he's longer we can go visit him maybe." She said as the other's nodded.
Shannon chuckled as did Tom. "Alright, alright." He said as he held his hand out to Rhydian. "We'll be seeing you. If Maddy visits expect her to come baring gifts."
Rhydian chuckled as he shook his hand and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
Shannon let out a breath as she hugged him. "Don't worry about us we'll be fine." She said as he hugged her back.
"You keep saying that I think you're trying to convince yourself more than me." He said chuckling. "Don't worry. You'll still be my pack when I come back."
Maddy smiled at them and chuckled shaking her head. "If you don't let me know you're alright by the time school starts I'm going to come looking for you." She said as he stood in front of him.
He chuckled as he looked at her. "I wouldn't expect any less." He said as the other's moved a little ways back to give them a moment.
"You'll take care of yourself, right?" She asked as she had her arms wrapped around herself.
"Of course." He said smiling. "I've been living in the wild my entire life."
"I know." She said running a hand through her hair. "I can't help but worry about my pack." She said as she looked at Bryn. "That goes for you too."
He looked at her and nodded as he stayed close to Rhydian. "He's still rather shy." He said as he looked at his brother.
"It's alright." She said as she looked at Rhydian. "Take care alright?"
He smiled and nodded pulling her into a hug rubbing her back as he held her for a moment. "I'll be alright, and I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I can."
She nodded as she hugged him tightly before pulling back tears in her eyes.
He smiled softly and wiped her eyes. "Don't cry. You're tough. It's only a couple of weeks."
She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Shut it." She said chuckling as she stepped back. "Just promise me if you need help you'll let me know."
He nodded as Bryn tugged on his sleeve. Rhydian looked down at him and raised an eyebrow as the boy looked up at him. "I know, we'll leave in a little bit."
"You should go before it gets too much later." She said as she looked up at him. "You'll want to be able to get as far as you can."
He nodded as he held her hand and took a deep breath. "We'll see each other again soon."
He squeezed her hand gently before putting a hand on his brother's head. "Come on." He said as he started walking away.
Tom and Shannon walked up next to her wrapping their arms around her. "Come on Mads lets head back." Shannon said as she turned her around.
They headed back towards the car, and she sighed looking to her parents. "Does losing pack always feel like this? Even if he's going for a short time?"
Her mom sighed and rested a hand on her shoulder. "The first time one leaves it can hurt. Especially in such a small pack. The four of you have created a strong bond."
"You must keep that bond strong." Her said looking at them. "All of you. It will be tough with him so far away for so long. Though you three can manage."
They looked at each other before looking at their parents and nodded as they all climbed into the jeep.
The three friends leaned on each other as taking comfort in the closeness of their pack. They had already made plans to hang out together to take their mind off everything.
They made their way back to Maddy's house in silence hoping Rhydian and Bryn would be okay.
Rhydian and Bryn traveled for a few hours before the took a small breath to get some food and rest. They were eating a rabbit that Rhydian had caught sitting in a small clearing.
"You really like her, don't you?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
Rhydian looked up at him and raised an eyebrow tilting his head. "What are you talking about?"
"That girl. Maddy? The one you were supposed to marry." He said as he wiped his mouth.
"I mean. Yeah, she's my friend of course I like her." He responded as he watched him.
"No. I mean like her like her. You know like you'd actually go through with it."
"Is that why you're here? To figure out whether or not it's working between us?"
"No. That's just a perk. Mum and the other's are sick. We think it might be the water or the food. Since they've gotten sick we've been very careful."
"That's good." He said nodding as he thought about it. "It's possible that someone could be dumping stuff into the river." He mused.
"None of the animal's smell sick when the other's are out hunting." Bryn said as he looked down at his hands. "I'm scared."
"Bryn, it's going to be alright. We'll figure it out one way or another." He said softly as he looked at him. "If we have too, we'll find a new place to settle."
Bryn looked at him and nodded a little before he yawned. "You should try and get some sleep. We'll hang out here for an hour or so if you want to take a nap."
The boy nodded as he laid down and nuzzled into his brother as he closed his eyes slowly drifting off to sleep.