Time passed and the winds changed. Across an endless sea of golden waves, the boy was discovered half-dead in the sand by a coeurl. A coeurl with his eyes. Through a telepathic bond created by the beast-child’s ability to sense an animal’s thoughts and feelings, he discovered that the majestic beastkin was in fact ‘’Skycat.’’ This seemed insignificant, until he made it clear that he had remembered who the boy was and what he had meant to him long ago. Weakened and exhausted, but very much relieved, he let Raziel take him somewhere "safe" and was returned to the gypsy caravan to recuperate. Days drifted by slowly, while a feverish beast-child was dutifully tended by a brother returned. His recovery was slow, steady, and still quite tense for the nameless beast knew he was in a vulnerable state and thus was instinctively on edge.
This was Chip now.
Raziel, unfortunately, knew only of a brother that was forever in the past. During the times together, the painful differences of Chip and the beast-child became quite clear. Soup and water were devoured with desperate need and a collection of wary growls and snarls served as his voice. The unexpected sight of Niko sent the monster in a downward spiral, for he had never forgotten his sweet taste and wanted nothing more than to dine upon him again. Raziel was there to hastily and forcibly subdue the beast, while demanding whether or not his brother was still truly inside. His reply was simply, but painfully clear. " We’re what’s left of Chip now.”
Though dreaded were his words, instead of being vehemently denied, Raziel vowed to catch up with what forgotten memories he could recall. An effort was made, then, to heal the monster through aetherical means. Pure aether flooded a body tainted, and the beast-child was overcome by pain. In was in this moment that Raziel learned just how much the boy had suffered and once his wounds were healed, the damaged boy was carefully gathered into his arms and comforted. "What did they do to you, Chip…"
The next morning, Nym visited the brothers with breakfast soup. It was then that Raziel’s curse is realized, for he was turned back into a coeurl overnight. The gypsies, however, were all already well-acquainted with his affliction and the sight of the coeurl didn’t bother Nym one bit. In fact, they eventually broke into a playful game of tag while the beast-child watched with curious eyes. This was a common interaction of a family, something he had never truly had, and was therefore confused by this. He’s soon pulled into their game instead and taken outside into a sunlit backyard of dunes. His involvement is short-lived, however, for the beast had forgotten how to enjoy himself and how to laugh. Such emotions had been unused for far too long, and he eventually settled into a quiet state of pained abashment. But Raziel still sought to comfort his brother with but a single verse of reassurance. "I know… you're still… there."
The sudden arrival of the Coeurl Tribe happened then, and the sight of their hasty approach with a cage in tow sent the unnamed beast spiraling dangerously out of control. He saw them as members of his own Tribe that wanted to take him back so he could be their tool again, and was upon them with a furios roar--despite the resistance Raziel tried to offer. Before the beast-child could confront them, however, an even larger beast appeared. Another coeurl with achingly familiar eyes. His father. A great battle ensued, between coeurls of similar appearance. The other Tribe members sought to ensnare Raziel with chains to further hamper him and force him into submission, but his brother would have none of it. Haunted by visions of a past, where cages and chains had been aplenty, he attacked them in a violent frenzy. Raziel was ultimately freed and able to withstand the battle against his father, but it came nearly at the cost of his life. After the remaining Tribe members were driven off by a fierce hazel-eyed and voiceless child, Raziel and his brother were rescued and tended to.
The gypsies were by no means ready to accept the dangerous child who had almost killed their beloved Niko and destroyed the camp. However, they saw the beast-child in a different light upon realizing he had saved one of their own from a fate worse than death. The Madam was first to confront him with this knowledge while he was recuperating in a cabin separate of his brother's. Gratitude stemmed from a woman's changed heart, and while enveloped in a tender embrace, the beast-child felt a mother's sincere love for the first time in his entire life. In this moment, the Madam essentially provided the nameless beast with the title “Azrael” once more. The meaning, however, was much different than his time with Rose, and so the beast accepted both this and a place in the arms of a genuine family for the first time in his life.
Raziel came unexpectedly then, covered in bandages and barely able to stand. This sight of him did little to comfort Azrael, who still felt guilty for having started the battle in the first place. He also felt like he deserved the great agony that his brother was in, and therefore begged to take Raziel’s pain away, in any way possible, if only to provide him with even the tiniest bit of respite. With great hesitancy, such an offer was cautiously fulfilled. Azrael learned of the agony his brother kept deep within and the fear of becoming a mindless beast like his father.
Later on, Raziel makes it known that he is to go on a sort of pilgrimage to rewrite a forgotten legacy after receiving a carefully preserved letter devotedly kept by the Madam until the opportune moment. This of course resulted in sorrowful farewells from his gypsy family and the quiet understanding of a mournful brother. However, all hope was not lost because this time Azrael knew that his brother would return.
Now Azrael must discover himself again and adapt to the changes within himself and his life. Basically... he's an animal trying to become human again.