“What is ‘home’ to you?” The stranger at the dungeon entrance had asked Theon, now Thunderstepper, today. And the question lingers in the back of his head. There are a lot of places that he, as a surface-dweller, feels he can call home. Home is Ashenstar House’s grand castle with Roule and Leopold. Home is a little cabin on the edge of the city. Home is that little grave on the hill and the scent of his sister lingering in her room, the only room his father leaves untouched in his rage. The room he hides in if it gets too bad-

‘Stop.’ He thought. The gray Courser shook his head. Too morbid of a thing to think about, perhaps, but it helped. Home is the dungeon too- in a way. Home is the Earthen Furnace and the ever present scent of copper. Home is the quiet pool and the drip-drip of water in the Caverns. But those remind him of the guard barracks and the rain, so home would always be the surface to him.

“I don’t wish to bother anyone, I guess.” He said, looking down at the wolf padding along his side, who gave him a tired glance. “What about you, boy?” He asked his new friend. “What is home to you?”

The wolf looked at him like it felt he was being very, very stupid. That Thunderstepper or Theon already knew his answer. And he did. His black wolf followed him home after he nursed it back to health and never left after he fed it. At least his dad despises it, which meant peace for Theon. And the guard got a pet, which no one bothers to disapprove of. A caring thing to care about that is also good at fighting is exactly what they needed. And it helped them calm down- Thunderstepper could admit to himself that he was a bit reckless when it came to dungeon diving. Especially since it had only been a few months since he’d entered the diving scene. And it was a way to subtly fuck with his father. The wolf tempered him too, made him less reckless.

“I’m your home. You’re mine too, darling. I know I’m not good at saying it.” Thunderstepper continued after a short bark. “Look, I know my dad and me, we have our own issues to work through. Our own way of dealing with grief and all that. But being reminded of that while you’re adventuring through the Earthen Furnace is a bit much. Even for me, so let's try not to do that and keep going.”