Slowly, slowly... With a wince and a wobble, balancing admirably on a walking stick, the crimson-haired teen crashed through the woods, not caring who or what heard him coming. His pack was filled with his few tiny belongings, along with a host of medications the hospital had prescribed that MIGHT treat all the things they said MIGHT be wrong with him.

He stumbled and almost fell numerous times, but always managed to catch himself on his stick, which was the reason he'd picked it up in the first place. Finally, panting with exhaustion, he made his way out of the woods and up onto the porch of the house, barely managing to remove his pack before he collapsed in a heap. He sat there in a ball on the porch, cursing silently to himself. It had been six months since he'd been home to the Farm. Aralyn and the others were probably worried sick, and he couldn't even make it as far as the door to go inside. Nor could he shout for them...

After several moments, he drifted into sleep, dreams silent and black as they had been for some time.

When he awoke the next morning, still alone on the porch, his brain began to function, making him wonder why no one had come out of the house yet. With a supreme effort, he got to his feet, and opened the door, staggering inside. A sense of alarm filled him as he realized... there were no sounds. Aralyn was not singing, Ra wasn't whining for attention, Raimi wasn't cooing or crying, Freya wasn't fiddling with her dagger. He quickly gazed into each room, his alarm growing as he found nothing.

His worry pumped adrenaline into his veins that kept him upright as he stumbled back down the porch steps and up to the barn, looking inside and finding no one before stumbling out back to find the paddocks empty save for one horse he'd never seen before.

Ra, Freya, Shantii, Sanuye, Inferno, Psyche, Raimi, Ammit, Aralyn... they were gone! Without realizing what he was doing, the red-headed teen staggered back to the house, grabbed up Aralyn's rifle, and headed out, leaning heavily on the gun shaft. There was only one person who might help him get them back... if he didn't shoot Conan first.