Sex: MaleDated 10/3 - Clear skies & sunny, mid-day.
Sub-territory discovery! Devil's Whisper is a natural, land based blowhole found within a hidden inlet at the northern tip of the Iridescent Lagoon. It is sourced from a closed, underground system that was long ago separated from the renowned Caverns. The dark, long tunnel is a foot wide in diameter, and from it, when the differences in pressure becomes too much between the connected cave and the outside air, a gust of wind escapes at speeds of up to 30 mph. This rush of air also pushes out minerals and debris that have gathered within the tunnel, coloring the gust a shimmering silver as it escapes over the water and into the curtained limbs of the willow trees that hide this firth out of view from the rest of the Lagoon.
No longer, the boy had decided. No longer could he stand to live not knowing, no longer could he wait for the answers to come to him, whether directly or through scuttlebutt. No longer could he allow this to rest solely within the hands of the adults around him, nor wait for the day when Piety would return to him herself. Today was the day that Sven Archer took matters into his own paws.
Having lived most of his life on the fringe of the Archer domain, he was familiar with crossing those strongly-marked borders, but never had he done so with a mission before. It made sense to him, to choose any given cardinal direction and pursue it at length. A day's worth of travel would have to give him some sort of clue, wouldn't it? After all, the boy still remained convinced that his mother had not stayed so long away from her family of her own accord. Something had happened to her, and that something was continuing to keep her from him. It was the only acceptable truth he could foresee, and the smallest Archer heir clung to it with all of his faith and hope.
He had been gone from the Ridge since the earliest morning hours, determined strides steadily eating up the western lands. The terrain shifted numerable times under paw, from meadow to forest to meadow again. He discovered the remains of the Whisper Caverns pack, a curious thing but nothing that could capture his attention for too long amidst the gravitation of his true goal. Had the boy discovered any entrance to the Caverns, he perhaps would have spent the remainder of his afternoon within the tunnels, certain that his mother had gotten lost within them. As it was, he unknowingly passed over them, never to stop again until he hit the shores of the Iridescent Lagoon.
There was enough soul within him to note the quiet beauty of this place, the sun achieving its prime vantage point so as to cast a shimmering glow across the water's surface. Mesmerized, he followed the coast, white paws swiftly dyed a dull brown by the muddy bank. Occasionally, the boy would drift into the silent ebb, scaring away small schools of tiny fish and causing fat green bullfrogs to leap for cover. Momentarily, he thought not of his mother, but when speculations once more pressed to the front of his skull, they sent shivers down his spine. If she had come this way, he began, trying his best at detective work, as though he could solve the puzzle by thoughts alone. She could have drowned here, he considered, perhaps the worst of them all to originate. A soft growl pushed forward from his throat at the thought, and his eyes became more diligent in scanning ahead, searching for the kinds of crooks and inlets that a body might become tangled within.
Upon reaching the northern end of the small lake, the boy was surprised to witness a gathering of willow trees. Immediately he was taken with them, and his pace picked up as he aimed to snake between their yellowing leaves. They reminded him of home, a place so dear to him despite its turmoil that even these hours away had him missing the land. Yet as he approached, his heart began to hammer within his chest. Had Piety felt the same way? Had she been drawn to this cluster of willows only to meet her demise behind their barricade? Suddenly the sheets of leaves, billowing gently within the slight breeze, appeared menacing, but he did not slow his strides, for he had to know what lay beyond their barricade.
As his stained snout parted the veil, his pale eyes lay upon an peaceful inlet. The sun was mottled by the sentinels' canopy, casting the area in a softer light. It seemed almost sacrilegious to step paw in such a place, yet the boy did so anyhow. The fleeting thought passed through his head that if his mother had somehow passed, this would be almost an acceptable place, for it was impossible for his mind to to envision any sort of violence occurring here. The thick silence refused to be disturbed, his breath held as he could hear not even his own paw steps. There was no decay upon the air, no disturbances upon the ground, so suspiciously white lumps caught upon the shoreline, and still he remained, drinking it all in.
Nose twitching, he considered turning back at last, an angled paw lifted to transition. Before the step could be completed, however, a low hissing became noticeable within the air, before suddenly a gust stronger than any he had before experienced burst forth from the ground, slamming into his side. A startled yelp bounced out of his mouth as the boy crashed to the ground, overtaken by the sheer shock of the occurrence. He rolled swiftly onto his opposing side, paws angled hesitantly in the air as his white-rimmed eyes stared horrified up at the plume of mineral dust tornadoing through the air. His mind sung to him of seven-headed dragons and demons, the less kind stories of her religion that Piety had shared with him as a child, and fear overtook him, freezing him to the spot even long after the whirring of expelled air had ceased and the glimmering dust floated lazily down around him.
He sat in awe of it, the terror ebbing as he realized that this, too, was beautiful. Yet beauty could be deadly, he was beginning to suspect, and still he remained glued to the ground, waiting for the beast that had howled at him to break through the earth and consume him. His body shivered, a whimper attempting to climb up his throat but unable to complete the ascent. More than ever, he wanted his mother to appear, to protect him from whatever lurked beneath and earth, yet the silence pressed on and he was forced to accept that she was not here.
