When it moved into April, Brooklyn could tell that the snow was somewhat melting but the lakes and rivers were still pretty covered in ice. He was still living with Viktor and trying his best to heal his mind but still was homesick for his family, hoping soon to move along.

He one night sat down with Viktor who asked Brooklyn about how he was going to get home. "Are you really going to glide across the Pacific Ocean to get back to the US? That seems like too far, and it may take even longer to get all the way to the ocean as well," He stated since Viktor knew that someone like Brooklyn probably couldn't get a plane ticket.

The red male rubbed his arms. "I don't really know what will be next for me on my travels, but something was nagging me on the back of my mind about when Goliath had once gone on a world tour. He met with a clan in Japan called the Ishimura Clan."

Viktor was somewhat stunned at the idea of a clan in Japan. He had always thought that there were only Gargoyles in New York. "There are more of you gargoyles?" Brook nodded. "Yeah, I thought me and my family were the only ones left too but obviously not. I hope to find the Ishimura Clan to seek their help to get me home, if they accept me."

That made Viktor smile slightly. "I'm sure they will if they hear your story. But if you want to make it over to Japan you'll have to cross over the Eastern sea into that country, which fortunately is much shorter than the Pacific, for sure." Brooklyn himself felt terribly nervous about being around other gargoyles who were complete strangers to him but was willing to do anything to get back to his rightful home.

....

Upon his last two weeks of staying with this strange but nice climatologist, Brooklyn had his chance to be able to venture outdoors again when the rage of the cold weather lessened, even if the snow wasn't all gone. Brooklyn began to go exploring in the woods to get his sense of surroundings but made sure not to get himself lost as Viktor told him too.

While gliding through the woods Brooklyn's ears suddenly caught the sound of a crying animal that sounded quite young. Brooklyn at first couldn't quite figure out what it was, smelling the air that had the tangy scent of what could be a fox. Narrowing his eyes Brooklyn followed the sound of the cries until coming to the lake he nearly drowned in.

His eyes rounded when seeing something very odd and concerning; a baby looking fox cub wandering out on the ice that didn't look so thick, whining and shaking, its ribs showing. Brooklyn landed on the shoreline, watching the fox and waiting to see if its mother was going to come. But nothing happened.

"What's a fox kit doing out here?" Brooklyn asked quietly to himself, before suddenly hearing the rumbling of the thin ice. The cub could fall through if he didn't do something. Swallowing, he was at first afraid to step foot out there considering his last experience falling in. Viktor wasn't here to save him at the moment, but Brooklyn knew he had to go past his fear to save an innocent life. It was in his gargoyle nature.

Taking a breath, shaking, Brooklyn began to crawl on hands and knees on the ice, gulping when feeling it cracking but tried his best not to stand up or press down too hard. The fox cub was pretty much out on the middle part of the ice. "E-easy, I'm gonna help you," Brook said in a shaky voice, the rumbling of the ice making him all the more nervous but he kept on going.

He eventually got close enough to the cub where the cub looked scared at first at the sight of him but Brooklyn managed to gently take up the fox in his arms, kneeling on the ice. The cub whined and wiggled but Brooklyn spoke softly to it to calm it down over his own nerves, trying to walk back.

Viktor had been waiting for Brooklyn to return but it had been quite a while since he left, and decided to go out to look for his friend. To his shock he spotted the red gargoyle out on the ice once again, but got the wrong idea of why he was out there.

"Brooklyn, no! Get back from out there! I told you you don't need to do this!" He shouted out in earnest. Brooklyn jumped, looking at him, which caused the ice to crack. "It's not what you think! I-!" He yelped when the ice broke beneath him again, still holding the fox pup in his arms. Since the ice was not as super thick, Brooklyn winced when struggling to break through the ice surface to reach the shore, the fox wailing.

Viktor heard that wailing that wasn't from Brooklyn and was more than confused but will soon see why, watching Brooklyn bravely hack his way across the icy waters, gritting his teeth in agony from the pain of it and the cold water biting his skin, not wanting to lose the baby fox in the treacherous liquid.

It took him quite some time but at last; Brooklyn made it to the shore, shaking and panting in exhaustion, legs halfway in the water, putting the fox pup onto the shore. Viktor now saw why Brooklyn had been out on the ice, and stared in disbelief at the baby fox, who was quivering and whining.

"This was why you were out there again?" Brooklyn nodded weakly, but could seriously use some hot tea and a fire, feeling Viktor pull him out, and he kneeled on the slushy ground, gasping. "A baby... fox... needed my help... didn't want to let it... die..."

Viktor smiled, holding out his hand to the fox pup who sniffed him nervously, ears flat. "It was very noble of you Brooklyn but now you'll need another few days to warm up before I let you go out to the Eastern sea," He said in a teasing tone that made Brooklyn crack a smile, which he felt he needed to do in days since Sasha died.

The two brought the fox cub inside to warm both him (they learned it was a boy) up and Brooklyn before deciding what to do with it. Viktor said to Brooklyn that the mother would probably be looking for her lost baby, and the two decided to find a spot to leave the cub in a sheltered log opening with some food and water, and waited in some bushes.

"You think the mother will come? What if he was alone?" Brook asked, watching the cub curled up, crying. Viktor stared at the baby, unsure what to say, as the hours droned by, but with no signs of anyone. The cub's crying grew louder too before soon the friends came to the conclusion that the poor thing was an orphan.

Brooklyn stepped out, running to calm him down, Viktor following. He began to say soothing words to the fox, petting him. The fox kit eventually calmed down from Brooklyn's gentle hand touches, licking his hand. Viktor gathered up the cub in his arms, definitely not wanting this poor thing to die alone out here.

Viktor wrapped up the cub in his shirt, petting its head and suddenly felt not so alone anymore, and probably wouldn't be when his Gargoyle friend eventually leaves to return home, which felt fine with him. Brooklyn sat down on the couch and had his turn with petting the baby fox and even feeding it, which gave him a strange feeling of wanting to do it with his own kids, should he ever get that blessing one day.

"What will you name him?" Brooklyn asked. Viktor thought for a good long while before then a name came to him. "I want to name the fox Dimitri, after one of my old dogs. I see him in this little fox, and I will love him as much as I loved that dog," He stated after Brooklyn handed the fox back to him. It made Brook feel a surge of pangs in his heart, knowing he would miss Viktor when he left.

"I-if it isn't too much to ask; can I stay one more day here? Until I'm ready to leave?" He asked in a shaky voice. Viktor nodded with a smile, before presenting him with a new sturdier looking back that was another shoulder strapped one somewhat similar to Sasha's bag he lost. "Of course, and here's a gift from me, to ensure you have plenty of water and food for your flight across the Japan sea."

Brooklyn took the bag with tears in his eyes, and he smiled gratefully. "Thanks, besides Sasha you've become another true friend for me," He said in a tearful voice. Viktor himself felt tears too and nodded, as the sun soon rose into the sky again and turned Brooklyn to stone while he held the bag, though the bag didn't change.

"Have a good day's sleep," Viktor murmured, petting Brooklyn's stone shoulder before eventually going to make a bed for his new fox friend, knowing soon the next night will be the last day he will be able to talk to a gargoyle, which caused him to feel watery eyed slightly.

....

When Brooklyn woke the next evening he stretched and did his classic roar/yawning sound, causing the baby fox to yelp a little but he smiled after scratching his back, still feeling happy to have any reason to smile for anything again. "Just me little guy," He chuckled. Brooklyn still had dreams about the girl he loved but this time he didn't let them plague his thoughts, knowing he needed the mental strength to glide all the way to the clan in Japan.

Viktor saw his friend awake, having been preparing food. "I see you're up, been making sure you had the supplies for the journey," He said, showing the bottles of water in the bag, a few sandwiches, crackers, grapes, etc. Brooklyn smiled shyly at him in thanks. "Thank you. Last time when Sasha d-died, I had to get the food myself."

"Anything for a friend," Viktor stated, after putting the last of the supplies and a first aid kit into the bag, certain it would come in handy if Brooklyn got hurt. He handed Brooklyn the bag who knew now that this was it; and would soon be alone again on his travels.

The man led Brooklyn to the door after Brook said one last goodbye to Dimitri the little fox, and Brooklyn stepped outside, swallowing, nervous about facing more gargoyles, ears flat. He felt Viktor's hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine. And... I'll never forget you Brooklyn," He said gently. Brooklyn turned around, wiping his eyes. "Me either," He mumbled thickly, holding out his taloned hand. Viktor took it, the two shaking hands.

After giving Viktor one last sad smile from his beak Brooklyn straddled his bag on his shoulders before taking off on all fours east, having received directions from the man that was where the Eastern Japan sea was, knowing he had a long mile of gliding and walking ahead.