Being the eldest boy it was an unspoken expectation that Emris would be responsible for looking after his mother and the rest of his siblings after his father left. It had never been a matter of<i>if</i>so much as when, so the day that the man disappeared it came as no surprise to any of them. The man had been quiet with a melancholy disposition. The only times Emris could recall his father ever truly smiling was on one of their many hunting trips, it was the only time when he seemed to truly come alive. His mother always said the man had a wandering soul and as a child Emris hadn't understood what that meant. Even now he still wasn't sure he knew what it meant and honestly he didn't care. To make matters worse she'd started to refer to him as having the same wildness as that man and there were moments when she'd watch him as if she were afraid he'd disappear if she looked away. It didn't help that he resembled the man who had sired him, with the same chestnut brown hair that on most days had a mind of it's own, the same stolid expression and lean muscular build. Although his eyes were different, with the right being the same storm grey as his mother's and the left so dark that most mistook it for black at first glance.<br/><br/>He made a habit staying away from the house whenever she had that look in her eyes that said it was only a matter of time before he too would leave her. Because even after he'd promised that he wouldn't abandon them like his father had, he still felt guilty for something he hadn't done.<br/><br/>But so far he'd kept his promise.<br/><br/>The hour or two before sunrise was always the most peaceful and Emris couldn't remember a time when he hadn't woken up before the sun and this time was no different. Sliding out from beneath the heavy body of the blue-grey deerhound he padded across the room, keeping his footsteps light so as not to rouse the others, especially his niece and nephew who woke at slightest sounds. He was in the middle of lacing up his boots when the knock came. His first thought was Cylus, the man sometimes accompanied Emris when he went out hunting...except Cylus wasn't due back from his trip for another week at best.<br/><br/>Stepping over the large hound that had trailed after him only to lay herself out in the middle of the floor he opened the door, blinking in surprise at the man that stood on the other side. After the bandit incident, Emris didn't expect to see the man again, so the fact that he was now standing on his doorstep looking slightly worse for wear left him with a dark feeling of foreboding, "Oh...it's you." Emris gave the blonde what he hoped was a genuine smile as he pushed hair out of his eyes, absently thinking that he needed to have his hair cut again. It was just long enough that the edges had started to curl and fall into his eyes, hiding the scar that ran diagonally through his left brow, "More bandit trouble?"