TIME MARCHES ONWARD, CRUEL AS CAN BE
STUCK IN THE REAL WORLD, NOTHING COMES FREE

If anyone were to ask Ruven how the afterlife was, he'd simply say empty. He didn't know if he had actually made it to the afterlife or not, but he had assumed that was what it was. The empty void clear of any land or creature, he simply saw various souls floating around. Vaguely animal shaped things that glowed various different colors depending on who they were, what they were doing, where they were from. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to leave it, but he certainly didn't like it. You were stuck there with only your thoughts and memories, and the ones that Ruven had found to be the most prominent had been the most traumatic. He didn't know how long he had been in that limbo of a place, but he certainly knew it had felt like an eternity. What he felt like months living his death over and over in his head however had simply been an hour in the land of the living.

He had felt as though he had been pushed forcefully back onto the earth, shoved back inside a lion body that had been close enough to his age to feel like nothing had changed. By the time he had gotten back to the Coalition, his appearance had already changed enough to make it seem as though he had never left. The main thing being that he was bigger. This body's growth hadn't been stunted from months of being unable to eat proper food, and it showed. It was the proper size for a lion cub of that age, mane already growing in more than Ruven's had been in the beginning.

Walking into the camp of the Coalition now, Ruven didn't know what would await him. He didn't see the deaths in the raid let by the Typhoon, for all he knew he was the only one dead. Oh how wrong he'd be.

Tired paws drug an equally tired body along the path of wherever it was going. Bluefish grey orbs were glued to the ground, a blank look to them as a wall rebuilt itself on the inside. Thoughts and memories clawed their way through Solsken’s mind, his demons slowly creeping up from the dark depths they hAd been hiding in. His mind seemed to be on the brink of collapse, the pain and agony of the last few hours, what felt like days, having finally caught up to the pup. Dark red claw marks ached where they sat on his face, leaving a deadly remind of what had happened not so long ago.

A familiar scent crossed Solsken’s path, drawing his head upwards to peer at the direct of the scent. His orbs locked onto the form of a lion cub standing before him, confusion sweeping across his features. “R-Ruven?” He stuttered out, stepping backwards away from the cub as hurt crossed his gaze.