Cold Water Creek We'll all float on

@Evy @Takis

Twenty-one. The number was small, insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but to Celandine these figures defined her entire life. She had been counting the days, each passing slower than the next. Every sunrise bringing bright rays of hope, with each sunset crashing her dreams into dust. Twenty one days ago her mother's scent began fading from the Glen. It was the youngest Argyris' own personal hell. How could she just leave? It seemed like only yesterday she wanted to be her mother, hoping to emulate her in every way, but now? No. She hated herself for begging the approval of the wolf who had pretended to care, and if that was how a queen should be, then the princess wanted anything but. When her rule began, she would be there for it.

Blowing past denial in a whirlwind of blurry days, Celandine dove headfirst into anger. It showed itself in every aspect of her daily life, flying off the handle over every little thing. Her sister's voice, the leaves blowing in the wind, and especially the flocks of birds that tore through the sky. Why were they allowed to keep their families together when she could not? Bargaining and depression set in the hardest, cementing a broken heart in place. If only she had been better, been worth her mother's approval... but it was no use. There was no one there to listen, not her sister, who was dealing with her own demons, nor her brother, or father who was trying his best to hold it all together. She had isolated herself so far away that she wasn't sure she could come back.

Laying against the river bank, she sighed, watching the ripples float on past.

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

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?

His familiar musk was on the wind before the light thudding of his paws became apparent. Celandine thought she might pull herself together before Takis found her, but in the end, she couldn't muster up the energy for it. Pale limbs felt too heavy to lift without the excess stress needed to lift a cream colored head. No, she wouldn't move. He could see her shame, her unkempt fur, because he knew. He knew what she was going through, and Celandine never felt the need to pretend with him.

Still-bright eyes watched Takis settle in along the river bank, almost surprised by his subtle entrance. The ghost of a smile crossed her lips, so faint it might not have been considered a smile at all. The silence was deafening, but still she let it trace the edges around them. There was something beautiful within it's broken confines, yet the need to break it was stifling.

<b>"Where's Vy?"</b> Not that she thought he knew, but they were words, and they were easy. It was enough to break the silence, to let her figure out where to begin. She had to approach the subject delicately, because they were both on the verge of shattering, or at least she was. One wrong word, and everything could come crashing down. Their relationship, her heart, her head. It might not have been that delicate, but she was young, and entitled to her feelings. She was a princess after all.

Sighing, Celandine found that not even her princess status could right all of the the wrongs.

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.

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

@Takis

Takis was able to entertain her pointless deflection by offering up an answer. Decidedly grateful for his presence, the youth felt herself relax, before throwing in her own voice. "She's probably around here somewhere." Celaninde knew Evy to be too logical to start some vigilante search for their mother, much less leave the safety of their borders. Worrying for the inky girl's safety would be as futile as wishing for Borlla's return. It wasn't going to happen.

“Are you holding up okay?” There it was, the topic she so carefully danced around. Strangely enough the princess found herself strangely unwilling to answer the question. They had yet to breech the subject, and so his feelings on the matter were foreign to her. Did he believe her reappearance was a possibility, and if so would he hate her for being so negative? She could see it turning south, yet his opinion really mattered. Celandine didn't have any fight left in her were he to flip it all around on her. Not that she knew him to be that way, but the heart was capable of anything when it felt jeopardized.

"Yeah, I mean, as well as I can be. You?" She needed to know how he was feeling, because that was important too. He had to be there for her, so she could be there for him. They needed each other, needed their father, Hypatia, and even Evy. It was a broken family, missing pieces here and there, but she hoped that if nothing else, it could be strong.

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.