Lachesis was out and about doing his own ‘search and rescue’ mission for Karina. Part of him felt as though he was responsible for her sudden absence; as her mentor, he should have backed her up at the last meeting. Or at least, sympathized with her. She was a delicate flower fuelled by raw emotion; she acted on impulse, rarely stopping to think of the consequences until after she had made her decision. XIX believed that some of her actions were the result of how much time she was spending with the dragon. He was worried that Kjors was impacting the naive, impressionable youth in a negative way. The dragon’s entire presence felt toxic — despite the time he had spent with the River wolves, Lachesis did not trust the one-eyed wolf. He had both Kisla and Karina wrapped around his paws… It didn’t sit well with the alabaster medic. His nephew had agreed with him, and had gone to seek out the opinions of both their king and their scout. Now, the one wolf who was on his side had temporarily left Heartwood — the Slayer heir was in search of his sister. Once again, XIX was feeling abandoned and it was a difficult thing to swallow.

The snow was a welcome sight but troubling. It made it even more difficult to track the young Baranski, as her footsteps had been completely covered by the substance. Her trail was still there — faint, but there was enough for him to sort of follow. However, it seemed as though the snow had covered his own footsteps… Blinking, the healer glanced around nervously. The landscape was filled with rolling hills and endless white meadows — XIX was no longer sure where he was or where he was going. Home was somewhere but… where? Dammit Lachesis! He cursed at himself mentally for his stupidity. How was he supposed to find the princess if he couldn’t even figure out where he was? He knew he was the furthest north one could go in Relic Lore — but what direction would lead him back to the river? Definitely south… but east or west? He grunted in annoyance at the realization, his long legs ceasing their movement as he stomped around with his nose raised high in hopes of catching wind of the river wolves. Perhaps if he just kept heading south it would take him back to familiar territory… Ugh.

The pale healer was incredibly annoyed with himself for not knowing where he was. There was so much white it made it difficult to tell which direction would lead him back to the river. He cursed under his breath, pale eyes scouring his surroundings as his claws dug into the cold earth. Wherever Karina was, it certainly was not here — her trail had gone stale and seemed to head south instead of east. Was she heading back to their previous home in Cut Rock River? If so, why? The hollow wolves had made their home dangerously close to the river they had previously inhabited; surely the Baranski princess would not risk trespassing. Despite being as naive as she was, Karina wasn’t stupid and would not be heading back to their former home. But then where was she going?!

He partially blamed himself for her absence. XIX should have been more diligent with her and stressed the importance of their lessons. Perhaps if he had been a more prominent presence in her life she would not have wandered into he clutch of the one-eyed dragon, who filled her head with his delusions.

The scent of home slapped his nostrils suddenly, causing his head to spin around so fast he thought it might fall off. Although he was disappointed to discover it was not Karina, he was pleased to see a familiar face. “Lekalta,” he greeted with a lazy smile, his chartreuse gaze fixated on the Baranski princess. “What brings you so far from home?” He asked with a raised brow, his gaze hardened with a mischievous glare. He hoped she had been paying attention to where she was going and they could return back to Hearthwood together. Otherwise it was going to be a very long night for the pair as they attempted to find their way back home.

Her explanation did not come as a surprise. While his initial response was to scold the river princess, the healer bit his tongue. He kept forgetting that she — and her siblings — were getting close to joining the adult ranks. They were no longer little fuzz balls that XIX would unleash his inner child with. The girl before him was no longer the plump little songbird he had teased many moons ago. The green-eyed Baranski was the perfect mix of both her mother and father and was beginning to grow into the slender physique she would possess as an adult. If she had been born alongside his former apprentice things may have been different this spring…

Blinking sharply at the thought he quickly dismissed it with a quick wag of his tail, his velvet ears pinned forward as she spoke once more. Her coy tone did not go unnoticed as she stepped forward.

She returned the question to him, curiosity dripping off her words as they hung in the air between them. He gave a soft roll of his shoulders as an initial response before offering his voice, chartreuse gaze fixated on the young Baranski. “Exploring,” he repeated with a soft curl of his lips. “Seeing what kind of plants I can use from this area — and trying to find your sister’s trail again.” His expression darkened momentarily but he gave another shrug. “But just between us, I’m a little lost too.” He hoped that Lekalta would keep that last explanation to herself — he didn’t want Maksim and Kisla to think he was incompetent when it came to surveying the nearby territories. 

He could not help but feel partially guilty for Karina’s absence. The Baranski princess had been his apprentice after all — perhaps if he had been more diligent with her she would have not been so intrigued by the dragon. The one-eyed wolf had arrived to Hearthwood when Karina was still in her impressionable stage, and she drank the koolaid he had given her in the form of bizarre stories. He frowned at the thought. Now the girl was so entwined in the dragon’s stories that Lachesis was not sure if she would ever break free. Did Maksim or Kisla know of the strange path she was pursuing? Or why she had left behind the life of a healer? While Kjors did not know anything about her absence the healer was positive that he had something to do with it.

The girl’s gesture took him by surprise, but he welcomed it with a soft smile, his ears falling back slightly. While he was curious as to ow the younger Baranski was handling her sister’s absence, the healer kept his thoughts to himself. Instead, he nodded gently at her words, his chartreuse gaze fixated on the agouti princess. “Lead the way,” he responded with a flick of his snout, his tail swaying behind him as he took a step forward, bumping his shoulder against hers in a playful gesture. Perhaps being lost wasn't going to be as bad as he had thought. And hopefully the undesirable situation they had found themselves in would stay between them; he did not want her parents to think poorly of him for getting turned around in the expanse. 

Perhaps the ghostly male had been out of the arctic circle for too long — he had nearly forgotten how to navigate himself around the snow. XIX blamed it on the recent stress he had been dealing with, as there was no way that with his pure arctic lineage, he could possibly get lost in the snow. His mother would be so disappointed in him if she could see him now; a wolf of the Canadian tundra lost in a wee bit of snow? How embarrassing.

Mimicking the grin that had unfolded across Lekalta’s maw, the healer fell into step beside her, his shoulder in line with hers. He watched, with quiet curiosity, as the girl dipped her head to the ground in an attempt to catch scent of their previous trail. Reluctantly he pulled his gaze away from the green-eyed girl, his own chartreuse gaze scanning their surroundings in search of something familiar — anything that would lead them in the right direction. Just as he was about to change direction, the girl’s voice called out once more.

‘This way?’

Without waiting for a response, the river princess lurched forward, her tail swinging behind her. It was not the right way, but it was not the wrong way; it was a longer route, but it would get them home… eventually. He did not mind; despite the fact that they were temporarily lost, he was enjoying the presence of the sparrow. She almost reminded him of Anastasia, but just barely; the girl before him was much different than the blue-eyed dove he had travelled with several years ago. They were both carefree and genuine, qualities that had always transfixed the pale healer.

“I think you’re getting us more lost,” he responded as he nipped affectionately at her shoulder, an eyebrow raised as a mischievous glint appeared in his pear-coloured eyes. Not that he minded — Nineteen was not completely against the idea of spending more time with the river princess.