Nomads Pass tonight i want to paint my face with colour

@Erebos
Dated 6 Jun.

On her return south, Zeta found herself drifting from her usual path back towards Broken Timber Pines. Instead of dog-legging it back like she typically did, her pathway leaned towards the great Mountain of Dire to the right. She had stopped there a couple of times, though she had never completed the northwest corner. The sky was clear, and as she descended into the valley with her prize in tow, she could not help but gawk at the sheer size of the giant mountain that towered over the rest of Relic Lore. It dwarfed the tiny mountain north of it; and even then, the sniglet mountain without a name was still an impressive one itself. "C'est magnifique," she said incomprehensibly to the marmot that dangled between her teeth, and trotted happily onwards towards her picturesque home.

She followed the base of the mountain south, surprised when she came to an opening between the two. She paused her steps to look down between the cleanly cut chasm. The large cliffs that rose on both sides made it seem all the more impressive, almost inviting to passersby. Far into the distance, she thought she saw a white line that resembled a river. She longed to explore. If it had been six months earlier, and Zane had been by her side, there would have been no hesitation for the inviting adventure. She would have skipped down the path, calling playfully over her shoulder to him. Zeta's ears drooped at the thought, "I miss him," she told the marmot sadly. She was sure it understood her, though aloud her words were jumbled due to its base obstructing her enunciation. It was the only thing bringing the solemn moment a sliver of lightheartedness.

(This post was last modified: Jun 22, 2016, 10:00 PM by Zeta.)

Something inside of the sockdolager elder was bothered by Zane's disappearance. It felt odd, worrying about the children he had twice before turned his back on without issue. Especially the one that so clearly disliked him. Yet as much as he'd like to convince himself that the boy had simply gotten sick of Erebos' presence and marched on home without his mother and sister in tow, he knew from both women's reactions and his own minimal time spent with the young adult that this simply wasn't in Zane's nature.

Now the man knew that once someone disappeared into the unknown, it was exceptionally difficult to get them back without their cooperation. Sometimes, even with. It was something this pack in particular seemed to know a lot about. For Zeta and @Delia's sakes, however, he put in effort regardless to track the errant youngster down. More than this, however, he was preoccupied with ensuring that his look-alike child did not follow in her twin's pawsteps. To lose them both... well, Erebos wasn't sure how many failures he could sustain before the earth itself gave up on him and swallowed his pitiful self up.

Thus, he liked to try and shadow his daughter when she traveled outside of the pack. He certainly didn't manage the feat every time she left, but when he could he proved that despite his aging joints, he still had some sharp skills stored between his ears. Most often he liked to avoid crossing paths with her at any point, not wanting her to catch on to what he was doing and feel mistrusted. Times here and there however did not hurt; it helped her see that she still had support in finding her brother despite the learned indifference of their packmates.

Stepping into her sensory range, he made no secret of his presence as he trotted toward her. His eyes were alit as though he'd just run into her by chance. If the words hadn't been muffled, perhaps he would've understood them, but as it was he merely dismissed the sounds as what they were; thoughts aloud that weren't his business to pry into.

"Zeta," he greeted as he came to her side, passing his muzzle briefly alongside her cheek. "All the way out here for a hunt?"

Had she been given the opportunity, the gray-scaled female would have likely let the memory of her brother tug at her heart for many moments more; but, as luck would have it, another travelling family member drifted into her bubble. Her features lit up with joy as she realized who had joined her. The irony was thick here. Zane and Zeta had spent so much time searching for their father, that once they had finally found him, she thought their journey had finally come to an end. Now, Zane was gone and here their father stood. Was this the price that she had to pay for his presence in her life? Was there no universe where the four of them (five, when @Maeve willed herself to participate) could all be together? Her darker thoughts had come to fruition more frequently now, though they did not make her as sad as they did when they first had arrived. The whole debacle had sent the girl's emotions in waves, and she had a new air of maturity to her -- at least, that was how it felt. The naive disposition that others saw in her was still undebatable. These lessons were the invisible sort. 

Her tail wagged immediately at Erebos' approach, her ears flattened in greeting as she lowered her head. She happily joined cheeks with him, doing her best to keep the marmot from bumping his face. She nodded at his question initially, eyes bright with his interest in her activities, then realized that perhaps she had answered incorrectly. She paused, 'hmm'-ing a tone as she reconsidered, then began to explain when she remembered it would be impossible with her catch still in her mouth. She cleared her throat and set the marmot down gingerly at her feet. "What I mean to say is no, I didn't come out here just for a hunt. He just happened to be around when my stomach growled," she explained, speaking of her catch. Her father was likely beginning to get used to her light-hearted way of acting, though she still paused before giving an explanation that she was searching for her brother. It was no mystery; she was sure the entire Pine vox populi was privy to the knowledge. Her refrained expression may give him an inclination, though she would be more than okay if he chose not to bring up the already depressing topic that she lived everyday. 

the rabbit

Adopt my twin!

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

As always, she was ahead of herself in some way or another. A single brow quirked skyward as Zeta attempted to speak through her kill, nothing but muffled sound reaching his ears. Where any other wolf who would have attempted such a simple mistake would of immediately earned his ire, an uncharacteristically patient smile remained on his lips instead. It was annoying that his past couldn't be simple or dead, that she had hunted him down with her mother and brother in tow and that now he would have to maintain the responsibility of fatherhood until death. Yet even when it irked him the most, this green eyed girl was still somehow worth it. While he didn't always show it, and would never be able to right the wrong he had done to her, Erebos loved his daughter; perhaps more than he had ever loved another wolf.

"Lucky him," he replied with a brief sway of his tail, eyes bouncing down toward the dead animal before locking onto Zeta's dial. His voice faded then, exiting the air completely as he did not rush to continue with his part in the conversation. Of course she hadn't been out here just for food, and it was evident to both of them what the other knew about the venture. Yet they had never done more than gloss over the topic, affirming the facts without discussing the depth of the situation. That was more of her mother's station in the family dynamics, but perhaps it was time Erebos had a heart to heart with his daughter. It was one of the many things he felt that he owed to her.

"I don't think he's in the Lore anymore, Zeta."

Sorry for the novel. Trying to make her angsty. xD

Zeta laughed lightly at her father’s joke at the marmot’s expense. She appreciated his humour, even if she gave him more credit than she would have anyone else. The grey-pelted girl felt like she had to give him the benefit of the doubt in everything, so that he could feel comfortable around her. He had been doing his best thus far in stepping up the fatherly role that was so strange to him, and while he wasn’t exactly the most warm or doting father, at least he wasn’t running. Running like.. someone she knew.

She scolded herself for thinking lowly of her brother. Her sadness had been moulding into other feelings more frequently: resentment and depression were the two biggest ones – the uncertainty of the situation making it difficult to settle on one or the other. If he had left, it may have been easier to be angry. It he was hurt, then she would feel forever guilty for trying to fault him for it. Granted, even as naïve as the young Argyris was, the picture was being painted clearer and clearer every time she set out for a search.
 
She smiled awkwardly at the silence between them, eyes shifting down towards the ground. It was the elephant in the room for the discussion, as her brother and father had never found any love for each other in their brief time together, despite Zeta and Delia’s best efforts. Her brother had never missed Erebos, and she imagined he did not harbour to much sadness for Zane’s disappearance either. A fact that she tried not to think about when she herself was so in love with them both.
 
Her face shot up at her father’s words. Her thoughts had been likely as clear as if she’d be speaking them on her face, and she paused as she looked at her father after his stark statement. There was so much in her head that she didn’t know what to blurt out first: agreeance or denial. He had really just said that, though? Was he so quick to give up on her brother? “You know, just because you don’t miss him doesn’t mean I’m going to give up on him,” she said sharply, regretting it before she even finished the words. It was uncharacteristic of her, but her emotions were sharper than they’d ever been before, and she had no one to throw them at. Her ears flattened and she lowered her head shamefully, yet bitterly, as she spoke, hunching her shoulders. She shouldn’t speak to him like that.. for all intensive purposes, he was right, she knew that. But she hadn’t been ready for someone to say it out loud.. because then she would be expected to stop looking.. and that meant accepting a much sadder defeat than just a missing brother.

the rabbit

Adopt my twin!

Her response caught him off guard, if only for how accusing it was. Despite how vagarious his daughter could be, there were several sides of her that he had never seen and perhaps assumed had not existed. This right now was one of those facets, and his ember eyes regarded it upon her face with little inflection of his own. Calmly, he gathered his legs under him and reclined his haunches upon the ground. Were anyone else to throw such acidic words at him, he would've been antagonized into matching their venom until the conversation dissolved completely and separate ways were taken. Zeta had earned his patience, however.

"Tha's not what I said," he levelled, ever watchful of her reaction. Yes, it would have been far better if Delia were here to smooth this over, but it was time he fixed something on his own. A breath was taken, and he reverted to the best he thought himself capable of; honesty.

"I don't miss Zane. It's hard ta bond with someone who wants nothin' t'do with ya, and yer brother made it clear he didn' want me ta father him. That doesn' mean I don't wan'im back, if only fer you. But I won't... I jus' wanna make sure yer gonna be okay. It's been a while, Zeta, and I know ya know that, but I'm... I dunno. I'm jus' here fer ya, okay?"