When he had been younger - and that is to say, not so long ago - he had often wandered from the Throat, searching in vain for answers that were not yet his. His little hooves had tapped a familiar rhythm as he wandered, as far and as wide as his strength could allow, but always, always he had returned home empty handed and demoralised. Each trip had taken a teardrop from his soul, and finally he had come to his last care - his last hope, the last little hopeful tear kept safely within the confines of his archaic mind, not to spent. He wasn't searching for anything (anyone) tonight, merely allowing his feet to take him wherever they pleased - for he had other things on his mind. Someone that smelt like spring and freshness, someone that looked upon the world with wonder in her eyes. In his abandonment of hope and his search for knowledge, Jude had forgotten to guard what was left of his despondent heart and in turn, had realised he had more to hope for than he had thought.

A small, unremarkable smile coiled on his lips as he walked, the soft strawberry waves of his hair brushing against his skin familiarly. He had not realised exactly how far he had gotten until the glow of the ever-burning heart cast an orange glow upon his broad nose. Jude studied the heart with interest, though he had been there many times before, multi-coloured eyes struggling in the dimness. His candles were lit, providing a small glow of their own, but he still found the darkness to be tricky. Not for the first time he wished his eyes worked as normal, better than normal even, but he had long come to accept his sight would be faded at night. Instead, the philosophising young colt paid more attention to the loose sand beneath his feet, and to the bright points of light that he knew to be stars -- and perhaps he found himself to be more loyal to those stars than to anyone else in his frightened heart.

The glow and the warmth of the heart beckoned him, but in truth it was the other light that drew the son of Tilney forward into the caves. There was a mysterious orange glow that was cast in the caves, not by the heart nor any wild flame that Jude knew... and so he entered with his curiosity in hand and in heart - never expecting to find the man he had unknowingly missed since the day of his birth. There was no mistaking the man... and even if Tilney had had brown skin and black hair, or any other manner of appearance, Jude felt that he would have known. This was his father. This unassuming man laying comfortably upon his soft cloak, with looks so similar to his own... only older. This was Tilney, of the Worlds Edge. A sense of misery filled his heart until he felt sick, staring down at the mirror image of himself and his brother. What was Tilney doing here? Jude stared down at his father in silence, wishing for the first time that his candles would extinguish in shadow so that he could back away into darkness. Should he say something? Wake the man?

Jude felt the strength of the ancient caverns around them and found his resolve hardening - all he'd wanted for as long as he'd known was for Tilney to come and claim him and Byron, and now he had. That hole in his chest still loomed, though, and too late Jude realised that Tilney was not alone - for a little fruit bat stared up at him with large, silent eyes. There was nothing to do but acknowledge him, so Jude gave a slow, meaningful nod of his handsome head. No longer was Tilney a ghost, a vanished sire, for here he was. He was here.


@Tilney @Byron !!! sorry for gloomy Jude haha