Cloudbusting

Danica's panicked yips scraped against his ears, tearing his heart in half. He knew that he should have went back for her. This was proving to be the second time that he'd done this to her. He felt awful once again, but why did he keep letting it happen? He had been too afraid of being left behind to tell them to wait while he grabbed her. Tacoma wanted desperately to prove that he could keep up with his younger brother, and if he was always waiting for Danica it might not ever happen. The cub was too young to be so torn over something as trivial as that, but still he was. A small sigh escaped from in between his lips, and he went silent.

His father's voice pulled him away from his inner battle, and he noted that it was drowning in apologies and anxiety. It worried the little cub, as up until now he had only heard pride booming deep within the large wolf's throat. Ashton's sore tone sounded next to him and he wondered if he was supposed to feel that way as well. The little prince graced himself with an air of feigned frustration as he ran after his much darker brother. Moving as fast as his limbs could carry him, he remained silent, unable to speak for fear of disappointing Ashton by sympathizing with Danica. Fortunately, he found he was able to keep up with his brother quite well, which allowed a slight arrogance to flow into his heart.

Jen : You can go ahead and have Danica pop out from behind a tree or whatever if you want to, just didn't want to rush you to post or hold up the thread

With two cubs in tow it took Koda longer than he would have liked to arrive back at the den. Brain already jumping to the worst of conclusions he glanced around for Danica, nostrils flaring as he tried to find her scent. She had just been crying a moment ago, but where in the world was she now? Frantically the father padded back and forth, clockwise and counterclockwise around the den, even poking his head inside the cave to check for the girl.

He held back the panicked whine that threatened to escape from his throat, and briefly considered howling for Nina, Hollow, anyone really before considering he would never hear the end of it from Nina for losing track of their daughter. And the guilt would simply eat him up from the inside out if something bad indeed did happen for leaving Danica alone. Looking to his sons, who he was now careful to not let them far out of his sight he gave them a proposition. "Alright boys, new game, see if we can find Danica. I promise I'll bring something tasty back from the next hunt for you two if we can find her." He kept it lighthearted, even managing to wag his tail although he was concealing chicken-with-its-head-cut-off levels of panic. Without really waiting to see if Ashton and Tacoma were up for it, Koda renewed his search, now poking around the brambles surrounding the den. He now wasn't sure if the protection they afforded were worth all the pup-sized hiding places they harbored. On top of that the den area was absolutely covered in the scent of the entire pack due to it being the hub, and so it made it even more difficult for Koda to pick out her scent so close. "@Danica!" he called off into the forest, hoping she hadn't gone away from the den on her own.

Arla and Emma are the ish and made my pretties!
Koda will most likely always be accompanied by Chiron unless otherwise stated, or requested.

**We posted at the same time, so I'll revise Danica's post in the morning as my brain is fried tonight!**

Her yips continued, with slight pauses as she caught her breath. How far had they gone? Could they hear her? Would they come back for her? Her cries finally died down to a dejected whimper and she hung her head, her miniscule tail tucked to her belly. She looked around, peering into the woods with her still-weak eyes trying to discern the shapes of her father and brothers, focusing mainly in the direction that her inexperienced nose told her that they'd gone. The direction that she was too scared to go on her own and tried to will them to appear.

Almost as if her will had indeed brought them to her, her father hurried out of the woods and made a beeline for her. She tucked her tiny ears to her head, licking the air with her delicate pink tongue, tail whipping to a blur between her stubby legs and whined joyfully at him. "Daddy!" They came back! Well, Daddy did. Her tail stilled as she realized that her brothers were not with him. Where were they? A new wave of panic overcame her as her head whipped around looking for them. "Where are Ashton and Tacoma, Daddy?" Her voice was laced with worry now as she peered into the slightly scary woods for her missing siblings. A whine escaped her lips once more as she waited, leaning on her father's leg for reassurance.

(This post was last modified: Aug 01, 2013, 02:17 AM by Danica.)

Image by Cool Text: Free Logos and Buttons - Create An Image Just Like This

Ashton ranged back and forth casting around trying for his sisters scent. Even though he was enjoying their previous game, when she had ruined it she was still his sister. Even though he felt as though Danica was more of an annoyance right now, he still would find her. The words had not yet developed in his young vocabulary he was still able to grumble his irritation. "Danica..... gets lost...... was havin' fun." Still he searched but also because if he found her first maybe father would show him some praise. Ashton liked praise from father and mother, it made him feel like he was the protector of Danica and Tacoma. The little Reinier liked that idea too, "Guardian" mother had once said "my little guardian". Though he did not know precisely what that meant, Ashton thought it must mean something great.

After a short while the little protector hadn't found Danica and was beginning to tire of the game when Danica cried out Father!. He turned towards the sound and ran as fast as his short legs would carry him. Weaving through brush with far more agility than he had before, yet still not enough to avoid a few trips and falls. "Danicaaa whyd you get lost?" Ashton asked exasperatedly, for all his irritation however, he was relieved that she wasn't hurt, though he wouldn't tell her that. Yet another trait that unknown to the little scrap was very characteristic of his uncle Ash. The one he was named for, it would seem part of his life was destined to be perfect irony.

(I'm PPing Koda and Tacoma so that we can wrap this one up. Ashton can post again, or we can let it fade to black if you want!)

Danica was so relieved that her father was here. She'd felt so alone, waking up to the boys being gone. They might all fight and bicker and the boys would tease her for her shyness, but they were her brothers and they did everything together. It had been the first time that they had left without her and it had worried her to no end. As if her question had made him appear, Tacoma showed up right behind their father and she wagged her little tail rapidly. It wasn't too long before Ashton found them and her tail was a little blur. She couldn't stop herself from going between the three of them licking them madly in her excitement to be reunited with them.

Ashton asked why she got lost and she stopped in surprise. She wasn't lost! They'd left her! Her tail stopped wagging for a moment and her brows knit together over her emerald eyes that looked so much like her mother's. "I'm not lost... Why'dya leave me? I was afwaid!" Her baby talk came out strongly because of her nerves and a tiny bit of irritation. They could have woken her up...

As quickly as he annoyance came, it was gone and she rubbed against Koda's legs, almost catlike then proceeded to lick and paw at them playfully, trying to entice them into a game. With an excited mock growl she tackled Ashton, trying to knock him over and wrestle a bit. She normally wasn't so assertive, but she wanted to prove to her brothers that she could keep up with them so they wouldn't leave her behind again.

Image by Cool Text: Free Logos and Buttons - Create An Image Just Like This

Look Out!

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +7 Health