Sacred Grove if there was a right way

Hoping the hum of the grove might help, he sought its familiarity. But, despite the inner calmness on his dark face, nothing could be further from the truth. Inside he ached. Nothing would kill this pain. The ripping void that was growing.

Fiery gaze upon the mountain. He was debating if it was worth seeing Fallen Tree Cove or if he was better off just staying away. After all the mountain had taken things from him. What was to say it wouldn't take him this time? But, he couldn't remain idle. He couldn't let dark thoughts pull him further down. Numb, he drifted along the trees, still searching for a familiar scent.

Time was meaningless, passing on in a blurry mess of questions, and searches, and awful feelings that made Lana uncomfortable. At first, she'd been certain they would find him. Treyah found Lacey, after all, but as the hours continued on, and days turned to nights, she felt her heart faltering. They had no leads, he hadn't given them a reason, he just disappeared in a mess of blood. The odds were not in their favor.

Lana spent most of her time since Suka's disappearance alone, wallowing in her own guilt. It wasn't even until she found herself in need of something to eat that she stepped away from the trio's usual sleeping spot, which no longer smelled like him. She came across her father's path - a usual occurrence, but something clicked this time. She wasn't the only one hurting.

Changing her course to match Triell's, the girl followed after her father, trailing through the snow he'd already packed down. Her heart ached as her vivid gaze washed over him. "Dad?" Her voice was small, and timid, as if speaking too loud would shatter the Earth beneath their paws, and swallow them whole.

It was clear to the boy that his dad was absolutely one-hundred percent dedicated to the task of finding their two missing family members. Every time Triell was in his sights, without fail, it was plain as day that he was still desperately looking for them, smelling for them, brain storming on different places to check. It was comforting in a way, but Cannon also felt really bad for the man. "Dad.. You look like you haven't slept in a long long while. Have you even eaten yet today? Make sure you're taking care of yourself, too. If you get sick, well...A-And you too, Lana." He stated in the most calm, collected voice he could manage as he approached his fathers side, nudging him ever so slightly with the crown of his head. He had to stay strong for these two, because God's knew nobody else was going to.

There were trails of prey he could have followed instead. An old trail of a lone wolf that could have pulled his intest. Looking for something, made everything else fade into the background. Even the river couldn't lul him to its side, and help drown it out. It shouldn't be a shock Lana sneaked up on him in this state.

The hush of her voice, though little, caught him. The Tainn froze, trying to steel himself with a tight thread of air. Turning, soft, worn gaze shifted upon her. Just in time to see Cannon. There was a smile, however faint, that tugged at his lips. "Yes, sir," he rumbled, tail beating, pressing back into Cannon's nudge. Though this was hell it was nice to see his consideration, and care rise out of all of it. The Tainn then stepped to brush his nose to Lana's crown. They were not so little. But, even now he didn't see them entirely grown. He wished he could promise them he wasn't about to go any where. But, it didn't seem safe to use those words. If speaking them might only make them a lie.

"You two up for finding food, or would you rather take a walk?"

Lana's dark ear flickered at Cannon's approach, but she made no other motion to signal that she acknowledged his approach. Instead her bright gaze flickered over their father's worn face, and then back down to the ground below. Had he always looked so.. tired? Biting back a whine, she pressed her crown up into his muzzle.

To be honest, the thought of hunting made Lana feel.. guilty. Like that time would be better spent searching for the ones that they had lost, but the broad wave of her tail betrayed her. Maybe she could be selfish just this once.

Nodding, the inky girl felt her features brighten ever so slightly. "I'm always game for food." The words came out a little more melancholy than she expected, but she figured it was to be expected given their circumstance.

Agh. Hunting. Cannon had just came to cheer up his family, so why would fate blatantly attack him like this? He wasn't even doing anything wrong! The pup hated hunting, he wasn't good at it the first time around and that completely shattered his confidence. However before he could find a way out, his sister was already agreeing to it. 'Well, you're stuck now.' He groaned to himself. Well, in the long run it was probably for the better. He'd be an adult soon, which meant he'd feel more obligation to help fill the caches when they began to run low, and he'd need to learn to get good at feeding himself if he ever planned on doing any traveling in the future. Can't just starve then expect the first pack you find to lend you a helping paw. "Yeah, let's do it!" He replied, regretfully, but with a tone that'd make you think otherwise. 'It'll help them get their minds off of everything, too. This'll be good for us.'

They were obviously worried about him, and he wanted to tell them it wouldn't do any good. They should save it all for their mom, and Suka. But, those weren't words he wanted to say either. Those were hard things that got stuck in his throat, and seemed to make way to his fragile heart. Making everything feel worse, relived over and over.

Fiery eyes remained close on his dark coated daughter. The idea of a hunt at the time was perhaps a little unusual. Lana seemed to weighing her options. If she was permitted to do something so routine in sight of things. He knew the feeling. It was a hard one to fight. How do you keep going without knowing where a love one was? If they were even okay.

"We still gotta take care of ourselves, right?" he gently repeated Cannon's own instruction. In the end the idea to be doing something else won out. The Tainn wagged his tail, happy for Cannon's upbeat tone. "How about we spread out a little? Deer love this place." Pushing through the snow, he set his nose to work. Even if they failed to take something down, it was a step forward in their training.

Lana knew that her father was right, but his wise words weren't enough to ease the pain in her stomach. We're Suka, and Naira taking care of themselves? We're they eating? We're they safe? There were too many unknowns to make the slight pang of hunger in Lana's stomach seem at all important. But she wanted Triell to take care of himself. They needed their father, and letting him waste away wasn't an option. So rather than refute his claim, she simply nodded. "I'll swing left then." Turning away, the dark girl readied herself for the possibility of a hunt.

Cannon smiled at his fathers words. At the very least it would seem that all his worrying had been getting through to the man. That thought alone was enough to boost him into more of a hunting mindset. His ears perked as Lana spoke. If she were going left then, should he go right? Then Triell would take the middle, something like that? Man, hunting was so confusing! "I'm gonna..Go..Right." The Tainn spoke with obvious unease, though somehow still managing to maintain his smile. 'You'll do fine Cannon. Gotta get good at it someway or another.' letting out a light sigh, the male trotted in the opposite direction of his kin.