He had done everything that they told him to do. They had said that he had the potential for something great. He didn't know what they had meant by that. His parents didn't really pay attention to him anyway so he thought that he might as well go somewhere else with a family member. The child didn't know what he was in for, as he had been trained for multiple weeks on end with other children around his age. Again, they were all told that they were special and had this special connection. Part of him didn't even know what that meant, but it was at least something to do. That's what he kept telling himself. While he was there for a good amount of time, he started to actually enjoy himself a little bit and started to make friends despite his demeanor. The young boy then started to hear a voice in his head. He thought that it was part of the training and that he had gone further along than anyone else and didn't tell anyone. Zephyr had no idea what was really inside of his head, and he should have told his teacher about it. His teacher was also a relative of his parents and it sounded like he was extremely skilled. But at the same time, he was all hooked on the idea of tradition that didn't work in this day and age. Regardless he listened to what his relative had to say, for the most part anyway. It was still common for him to be smug or get himself into trouble.

It was only during the middle of the night when he was sleeping in his own bedding that noise woke him up. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was a fire above him. And directly above him was his teacher, who looked down at him with disgust. The voice in his head told him that he needed to run, and he was barely quick enough to dodge out of the way. When he ran out of his shelter, he noticed that the entire area was in flames. The voice in his head told him that he had done all of this. Which was impossible for him to be able to do as he had been awake the entire time and had yet to unlock such an ability like his teacher. An explosion rang off in the distance and terrified he ran away from the scene, his paws carrying as far as he could go. The caracal didn't bother to look back, and the voice in his head became somewhat of a comfort in his troubled time. Zephyr didn't know where he was going. He had no way of contacting his family, and there was a chance that everyone else in the camp had died as well. What if his teacher tracked him down? The thought made the young apprentice shiver. He traveled an entire day on his own, confused, and lost on where to go. He jumped at nearly every sound. A snapping twig. The song of a bird. In his mind, everything was a threat that could potentially kill him. He was young, but he wasn't necessarily defenseless at his size as he was almost the size of an adult cat at his age. His build was mostly for speed rather than strength in itself.

Finally, the young boy stopped himself near the edge of a mountain. It wasn't the smartest move thanks to the changing seasons. It was cold, colder than what his species could almost handle comfortably. He sat underneath a tree, having long passed the border in his panic. As he sat there, Zephyr was allowed to catch his breath. When he did, memories of the events prior flooded his head, and tears quickly brimmed his vivid blue eyes. The caracal was horrified and scared of what had just happened and now he was alone. The boy crumpled to the ground, placing his paws on the top of his head as he whimpered, cries occasionally escaping his mouth as he did so. The voice didn't give him any sort of comfort and instead remained silent the entire time that he laid there. His dark black coat made it easy to see him against the green vegetation, or at least whatever was green considering that it was turning into fall. His thoughts went back to what he had done wrong to earn his family member's wrath.

Where was he supposed to go now? The only thought that could come to his mind was to survive and feed himself for the rest of his life. He didn't dare go back to his family. If anything the voice had convinced him that his family was nothing to him. He would never consider them to be family that much was for certain. The young male had learned a lot from his relative, but the voice in his head was almost a better teacher than he was. Zephyr thought that he was far too young to go through such a tragedy. Were his other classmates even alive anymore? He had simply ran from the fire, and so he could only assume those that he studied with were all dead. The voice in his head told him not to worry about them. The caracal had other pressing matters to think about. He needed to get stronger, to be able to take care of ones that were like his relative that said that he was safe there. He was a liar. A LIAR. Zephyr may be young at this point in time, but he was forced to mature fairly quickly once he was sent away by his own parents that didn't want to deal with the potential that he had. It was hard enough to even get his father to look him in the eye and treat him like a son. He guessed that's what he got for having a criminal as a father. The thought made anger boil up inside of his body. His claws unsheathed to sink into the ground as he started to open his eyes. At first his eyes were filled with determination, until he realized that he was no longer alone.

He hadn't heard the jaguar land on the ground, or even noticed him in his distress. His thoughts made him seem deaf to his surroundings, and almost immediately the determatnion that was in his eyes immediately went away as they were filled with fear. The small caracal backed himself up against the tree that he was up against, his back arching and his fur fluffing up as he prepared to defend himself against the larger predator. It was rare that he had interacted with large predators such as a jaguar, so it was certainly a scare. His parents were much bigger than him, his mother being the same species as him while his father was a shifter from what he knew. Zephyr looked like a animal that was frightened and pushed into a corner, but as soon as the jaguar spoke that he smelled like smoke, the memories came flooding back. The young male flinched so fiercely that it almost looked like that he had been struck. The fighting attitude that he had once held immediately dissipated, and his body started to curl in himself as he started to shake. Tears started to prick his eyes at the horrible deal that he was dealt. Zephry couldn't even look at the larger wildcat as he was questioned, as he felt a lump in his throat. "I... don't know." Zephyr spoke softly, his voice barely a whisper. The melanistic caracal spoke the truth as he didn't know what injuries he had accumulated during his escape from his family. There were small patches of burned black fur across his form, and there were burns underneath his paw pads that he didn't feel just yet.

As the jaguar spoke, he realized he was in someone else's territory. He was lucky to have not been killed on sight for trespassing. Zephyr's short tail flicked behind him as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat, one tear dripping down his cheek and absorbing into the cold ground below. "What... is Elysium?" Zephyr spoke, his voice clearing up as he started to put up a wall that he didn't know he had. He finally raised his head to look up at the jaguar in front of him, keeping a submissive body language in the presence of something that could kill him in one bite. He had never heard of this place, and needed to know if it was far enough away from where he had just ran from where his own family had tried to kill him for no reason. Now that he thought about it, his relative looked somewhat scared as they stood over his sleeping form about to slice him in half, for what reason Zephyr did not know. The melanistic caracal's form continued to shiver due to the cold temperatures that this area seem to experience. The apprentice tried his best not to show any weakness, but his walls were shattered, broken, and littered with holes. He just wanted to feel safe.

Hani and Alani often tried to be everywhere at once, eyes up on the entire group. They had sworn to protect those under their power and now was no acception. They'd seen Hebi head downwards and headed for the area, interest peaked. As the dual-headed feline approached, Zephyr's words reached their ears. "Elysium is a group, though small, we're dedicated to justice. We also can, as my friend said, offer you a sanctuary." said Hani, a rare moment of gentleness as they approached. Keen eyes noticed the young one's thin shivering frame and their cloak was shoved of, orange paw holding it out to the young boy.

"Wear this, looks like ya need it more than us." Alani would glance over the small boy, tsking his tongue softly. They'd need to look over those wounds once they got the boy more into the mountains, if he agreed to follow. "Can you tell us your name? I'm Alani, and my other half is Hani." Green eyes would move from the carcal to the jaguar for a moment, before returning. "Our big friend over there is Hebi."