It was raining and every drop of water was washing their last traces from the borders. Iopah felt them strike her gray-saddled back and seep close to her skin. She hurried along, wanting to catch whatever hint -whatever fleeting clue- might be found. Inkheart and now Camio were still missing. None of the women had said anything to each other. The absences were still unmentioned, but far from unknown to the others. Following their own hours and habits all three had begun their own searches. The proof of it was on the border itself; the scents and footsteps of the other were as frequent as hers. They were searching, too.

The ground was sodden underfoot, tracks washing apart before the woman's very eyes. Her sensitive nose picked up a great many things - the musk of the remaining Pines wolves, prey animals, and the clean scent of rain. Under that cacophony of smells there was nothing left of the two missing males. Even before the rain there would have been precious little to find, now there was nothing. Iopah lifted her dark nose from the carpet of red-cedar needles. "Damn it." She whispered softly.

There would always be wolves that left, either against or of their will. Her reaction now was no different than it had ever been. She wanted to find them, just as she had Hollow and Danica, Aideen and Pacem. The two males deserved the same from her now. But, even as an ivory paw moved over the border, her pale ears swept back. She was no longer a huntress-turned-scout that could look far and wide for them. Koda would worry, her daughters would be frantic. With a soft sigh she reclined to her haunches, right on the borders, and parted charcoal lips to send a mournful query into the darkening forest.

She wasn't expecting a voice to come back out of the forest. It was all dark and damp and emptiness, but something stirred. Iopah rose from her haunches, her first thought was that someone had found their way back. Footsteps echoed in the forest and she started forward on eager feet to meet them. She overlooked the differences -the silence that a slender body made and the lightness of the steps- till it was glaringly obvious. This was someone else, her wolves were still lost. Pale legs slowed, but did not stop. She had summoned this wolf and whatever they wanted she would meet head on.

Pale toes pressed over the wet earth and a dark nose lifted to the scant breeze. The scent was familiar, reassuringly so. Her breath was rapidly exhaled in a snort, then drawn cleanly back in to be sure. Yes, the memory came much quicker this time. This was Jessie. Her pace slowed again, coming to an at-ease stop. This was not danger coming head one. Jessie was a blunt speaker and violently loyal to her family; Jessie was much like her. The footsteps continued, approaching from the depths of the forest, and the Pines' alpha waited as Jessie appeared.

Her gaze moved with the scout's, searching the same patches of dark with raised brow. Whatever was Jessie looking for? Was the Bend missing wolves as well? "We've been looking for two wolves." She admitted quietly. Gold eyes flicked over the scenery again. It was dark now, but she knew every inch of the dripping forest. The Pines' scent was strong here, even with the rain. Iopah turned back to Jessie, letting a sigh slip loose. "They have been missing for almost a week." And I don't think we're going to find them. Even now the forest was ominously quiet, the Reinier woman flicked her ear sideways. "I hope the Bend has been better." Suddenly curiousity made her gaze sharper on the other woman, an urgent question rising in her mind. "Did you ever kill those wolves from the spring?"

It was good to hear that the rogue wolves had been dealt with, but that was clearly not where the conversation was going to stay. Iopah watched the scout's face for a moment, nodding at the brief statement and noting the wry expression she found there. A moment's wait passed in silence and she turned to watch the rain-dampened forest. This Oak Tree Bend woman had earned her respect with her blunt honesty and Iopah was not going to pull the words out of her.

She watched the rain drip and pulled away from it briefly to gently correct the other woman, "Just Iopah." They were equals to each other; Iopah could not, would not, hold that title over a wolf that was not of her pack. The golden gaze went back to the forest for only a passing moment before going back to the smaller woman askance. There was no question that what she said was true and it was not annoyance that made her stare before gathering her words. "I am used to it, she stated firmly, but quietly. "I know exactly what it feels like." From both sides of the situation, but very few had ever asked the pale-coated woman about her earlier history.

"If they abandoned me, I want to find and punish them. If they are hurt somewhere, I should be the one to find and bring them home." Ultimately, it was not grief that drove her to find them, but responsibility. They had sworn allegiance to her and Iopah was going to be damned if that didn't mean anything to her. "I care more about my wolves than to simply not care when when someone vanishes."

This was not a gambol. This was not a mere game of a discussion. When Jessie's smile fell away she waited with the patience the conversation, and the other woman, deserved. Opinions were such intangible and intrinsic things, she would never take offense with another for having a different opinion. There were very few wolves that saw eye-to-eye with her anyways.

The assumption that every disappearance was an abandonment did not rest easy with her. Iopah did what she could to stifle her disagreement - a quiet sigh left her lips to mix in with the hush of the falling rain. It seemed like such an inadequate solution to the problem and she listened with equal parts disappointment and frustration. She was never going to be able to rationalize vanished wolves that way, even despite the overwhelming proof in Jessie's favor, there were flaws in that theory. But that was Jessie's opinion and, while she did not share it, she would not insult the other woman for it.

"How do you deal with never knowing?" How many wolves from Jessie's past had a large question mark over them? The idea still worried at her, but Iopah couldn't deny the reasoning behind it. Once -many years ago- she had been the one to leave, and her home had been destroyed without her. "I don't care about justice or revenge." Intangible goals were pointless anyways. "But doesn't it... doesn't it bother you to not know what happens to family?"