Lost Lake Things can't get worse, can they?

All Welcome!

Archer

He'd searched everywhere. Everywhere he could think of, except here. He really hadn't wanted to climb the mountain in the snow, had really hoped his daughter hadn't done so, but maybe she'd suddenly decided to try finding her mother here? Could she even remember the way? How could she, having only been here once, so young? The Lost Lake wasn't the easiest thing to find - hence its name and why the Cove wolves had first found fit to make a home here.

But he needed to see if she'd come here seeking sanctuary. He didn't know why she'd gone but he was so incredibly scared. Archer needed to find her. He couldn't return back to the Backwater without her. He couldn't admit defeat, couldn't go home a complete and utter failure. He couldn't give up on his daughter.

He reached the borders and howled, hoping that perhaps he might soon see her bounding through the snowy brush toward him.

[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Would they be sort of brothers in law? lol

The worry wrapped around his young body as his large dark paws walked the well known path of their border. His sister and older brother had yet to return from their scouting trip. Sure, he knew how long the trip was to their uncle's pack but to take this long? Logically he also knew that the fact that it was winter could be aiding in their delay. Yet the worry continued to gnaw on...

An unfamiliar howl rang through the chill mountain air, pulling him out of his spiraling thoughts. Immediately he changed course, directing himself towards the stranger. Soon enough Matos' two tone gaze sought out an equally dark male standing a respectful distance from their border. "Hello" the yearling called out as he closed the distance. "How may we help ya?" The boy asked taking in the sight of the other male as his dark banner waved easily at his hocks.

Archer

Archer waited, expecting @Aquene to answer, like she had last time. Especially since now she knew Kateri was missing and she had a granddaughter. Maybe her lack of urgency was due to having found Ally, and she knew Archer had lost her and she was sending someone else to kick him out.

Instead it was one of the yearlings to arrived to greet him, his voice friendly as he approached. Archer recognized him as one of Nash and Aquene's first litter, but he couldn't remember his name. Archer's ears flicked in surprise, that they let someone so young answer border calls on his own. Then again, he'd done some silly things as a yearling and it wasn't necessarily because his parents had let him.

"Hi," he said. "I'm looking for my daughter; she got lost and may have come here."

(This post was last modified: Feb 17, 2024, 06:32 PM by Archer.)

[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Aquene had heard his call and moved towards the borders, only to discover her son beating her there and greeting Archer… she arrived on the tailwind of his final words, her eyes softening. There was a frown on her features when she heard it as well… a worry burrowing deep in her gut. She recalled the pain she had felt when she had discovered Kateri was missing… and now Ally? Ally who was not even a year old yet?

It reminded her much of when Kateri had gone missing during her first year, and the panic she had felt as she searched endlessly for her.

“Ally is missing?” The worry was undeniable in her voice. Despite all that had happened, and the role she’d played in the fate of Archer’s sister… she cared endlessly for the wolves she came across… especially family.

Aquene Slayer

There was surprise in the stranger's expression when he saw that Matos answered his call. The fact that he was only a yearling and that not every call comes from someone kind never even crossed the boy's mind. He was helping wasnt he? The swarthy man responded in a kind greeting explaining why he had come. His tone kind but laced with worry. Inky brows furrowed as the Eastfall searched his brain. Had someone new come to the cove recently?

Before he could find an answer and formulate a response his mother arrived. Matos' fluffy banner picked up speed at her arrival. Though she got right to business so the boy took a step or two back to allow her to take the lead. "Ally's missing?" her concern was undeniable. Amber and emerald gaze looked back between the two adults. Obviously Aquene knew who this man was and who his daughter was. Unbeknownst to him, he was an uncle and it was his niece that they were speaking of.

Archer

It wasn't long before the dark form he'd been looking for - well, after his daughter - came toward them. The yearling stepped back to allow Aquene to address Archer. He glanced between them; her son, perhaps? Kat had left her birthplace because her mother had become pregnant with another litter.

Archer's attention quickly refocused on the shaman, heart sinking into his stomach. "I take it she's not here, then," he said, voice falling. His shoulders slummed, the weight of his failure crushing down on him again. "I don't know what happened... she just ran off we think, and her scent disappeared, and I haven't been able to find her." He wondered just how disappointed his da must be, that Archer had not only failed to keep his son alive but had now lost his daughter. He should have stayed with her, remained by her side even in the territory, should have-

All the should-haves in the world wouldn't change the fact that Ally was gone.

[size=x-small]Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Matos took a step back, and Aquene would take the opportunity to explain to him later the complicated nature of the relationship they had to the man at the border. “We? Did you find Kateri?” She couldn’t deny the thin vein of hope that her daughter had returned to her family and had not abandoned them fully. Either way, that wasn’t the fact of the matter.

“Take a deep breath… pups get excited and they wander. We’ll help you look for her. Kateri wandered off like this when she was her age, lost in a storm and we found her. We’ll find Ally too.” She might not be an acting alpha, but she also knew that if Nash had a problem with it, she would fight to the ends of the earth. She was family. And she never turned her back on her family, even when they wanted nothing to do with her.

“Where were you when her scent disappeared? We can canvas the areas. She’s a good kid, chances are she’s bunkered herself down somewhere or is trying to find her way to some place where you’d know to look for her.” It might just take time of course.

Aquene Slayer