Takis followed the scent of his sister – her frustrations were easily shared by the Argyris boy though no one had spoke up to voice any of this. Borlla’s disappearance remained hushed amongst pack members, and as her scent faded from the family den to absolutely nothing, somehow.. the ivory woman he had adored more than anything else had suddenly ceased to exist.


But his heart knew better. Her voice and scent were gone from Magnolia Glen, but she remained in his heart.. and as frustrated and angry as he was at her for whatever purpose she had chosen to leave them all behind, he also felt the loss at the very core of his heart.


His lope was soft – Evy was not in the vicinity yet, and as the pale youth seen the even paler form of his sister strewn across the edges of the creek, he moved toward her with no hesitance. His usual greeting would have been to pounce on her – perhaps ruffle her fur in sheer bliss of denying the princess she truly was, but today he would not – today, he needed his sister, not a playmate.. and he hoped she felt the same.


Sidling up beside her, the youth stretched his own thin frame across the ground, both paws dangling haphazardly to the waters’ edge as his eyes stare din to the rushing waters. With a flick of his ear in quiet contemplation, his eyes shifted to her, the quiet question brimming within them: what now?

Celandine seemed to study him – his sister was many things, but she was not usually so quiet.. that was Evy. It would seem the silence had descended on them all the moment it had become apparent that Borlla’s ventures outside of home would lead her away from them all – Takis was unsure if the heartache would ever truly go away.


Her question was just as illusive to the nature of her true feelings, and even at such a young age, the boy could note that it was a deflection of her feelings and insecurities. Or so, he felt it was. A gentle sigh escaped him – but one that seemed so heavy as it expanded his chest and released in to the air.. deflating him. “I’m not sure,” he finally uttered, his eyes shifting from his pale littermate and to study the waters of the creek once more. Evy could be anywhere – with their father, or older sister.. crying in the den.. seeking solitude elsewhere. Hell, maybe she even got it in her head to try to look for their mother.. though the youthful Argyris could only hope that was not the case.


“Are you holding up okay?” It was as if they teetered on the edge of a breakdown, and while the ivory youth was not eager to totter his sister from the edge with words that would only stir her troubles more… he also felt a swelling desire to do anything he could to protect her. And that included being the shoulder to cry on, should she ever need it.

If Celandine was not so well poised, Takis imagined she would have winced at the rather raw question. It was a doozy, and her answer offered little insight to how she might truly feel -- but he understood why she said it. The question was deflected to him, and he paused for a moment, a scowl flitting over his growing features as he studied the ground now, trying to decide exactly how he did feel about Borlla's disappearance. Worried? Scared? Sad? Angry? Was there an emotion for all of the above?


There was.. there had to be. He felt it. But there was no way to describe it.


"I can't decide if I'm sad or angry," he finally admitted, his tail sweeping the ground behind him as his shoulders lifted in a shrug -- as if this took away the importance of the subject and shielded him from revealing too much of his now raw heart. "So instead I try not to think about it," he finally finished flatly. His eyes had been carefully trained upon their father, and while Phineas kept a stoical mask in place most of the time, even Takis could not help but notice the subtle grimace that traced itself within the corners of his lips and the disappointment that plagued his eyes.


He missed her, all too dearly, above all. He missed curling up against the warmth of her fur.. the gentle embrace she would offer when planting a loving kiss to the top of his head. He missed her smell.. he missed her voice. And with each passing day, it was becoming harder to remember her and these traits.