Chanting Chase Underneath the Big Top Trees

For @Reyes — Backdated to January 14th — Light snow — 31 ° F, -1 ° C

JERAN, MAR 15 — MAR 31
This is a time when you will have to open many doors. However, surprises will not be pleasant always. Do not leave everything on destiny. Your actions will determine your destiny.

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While they walked, Cottongrass had taken it upon himself as his personal duty to tell Reyes everything he knew about Victoria. And Cotton took the word everything very seriously, sparing the older wolf no details for no reason other than 'just in case.' He couldn't help himself. It seemed like forever since he had last saw Vic, and he liked the girl. They were traveling buddies! They had traveled together for a whole entire month, and that meant a lot to him when he usually saw people once and then never again with entire days spent in solitude. And he really wanted to share his excitement with Reyes. Because after Lorcan and especially after Cas, he was determined to get his life in some semblance of order.

So far he had told Reyes about how he met Victoria in the first place, because it was funny and he hoped the older wolf would find it funny too. He didn't know how well it worked. And after that he talked about how he had met Avery, which involved a lot of rambling about monsters and underground caverns on Cotton's part. Then there was the little details about the two siblings. Like how they had two moms, and he didn't even know that was possible! The siblings were also looking for someone called Rook Lyall, or he was pretty sure they were. All he could remember was that it involved their moms, a forest, and a pack with a name he had forgotten. Except all three of them never found any of those things, and after that everything got blurry. Victoria was worried about Avery who was worried about everything, Cottongrass didn't want to go any further north, and then they all split up. Which lead to Cotton getting lost, but then Reyes found him. And that was, more or less, a detailed recount of what his life had been in the past few months.

Now he was going to find Victoria, because she had taken her brother back home but he was pretty sure she would be back by now. He also wasn't too sure if Reyes even wanted to come with him on his adventure to find the she-wolf, but well, Cottongrass never exactly asked the older wolf about that. But he was sure it would only take them a little bit of searching, even if they had been walking up and down foothills all day. And even if he did find Vic, he didn't know what he was going to do. He was hoping everything would work itself out.

But now he was quiet, panting away while he focused on where he was stepping. The rocky foothills were hard to navigate. Especially when he was favouring one paw and the fact that the warm weather hard more or less turned the ground into a Cotton deathtrap. Every step seemed to turn the snow into slush and, well, he had lost his footing more times than he could count. If he slid into a tree, it wouldn't be the first time in the past hour. But his tail kept wagging and he had a smile on his face. Because they couldn't be far now from where he had last seen Vic and Avery, forever ago. The ground was dipping down into something flat and manageable, and the trees were no longer so tightly clumped together.

It was luck itself when he somehow managed to stumble upon the exact place. He threw a look over his shoulder, making sure Reyes was behind him, before he trudged his way forward. This was it, the big moment of truth. "Victoria!" He called for what must have been the umpteenth time. And with his head whipping left to right, he expected the she-wolf in question to just step out from behind one of the many trees. She had to be back by now, right? He didn't know how long he was gone for, but her trip there and back to wherever she lived couldn't have taken forever. They were traveling buddies.

He didn't realize that the forest was seemingly abandoned, that there were no traces of anyone passing through it recently. He didn't even think about what if she wasn't there, or if she had moved on without him. He placed so much blind hope on her just being there.

(This post was last modified: Feb 27, 2017, 10:08 PM by Cottongrass.)

The warmer weather suited Reyes just fine. And maybe that was why he was content to allow the pale yearling to lead the show, escort them a little further south and out of the particular Reyes deathtrap that was drifting snow and tall grasses. If he never saw one of those frozen coffins again, it would be too soon.

So east, and south, these were both good things, and the whispering winds slithering around the stand of trees, that was pretty welcome, too. It meant the grasses couldn’t reach up for the sun and die in mid-stretch, and while Cottongrass might have to watch his step, the older loner felt much more secure in their current location. He might have been content to bed down for a few days and regain their energy, but the youth was determined to find his former travelling companions.

The kid’s general presence wasn’t really all that bad, but he supposed it wasn’t his place to stop the guy from rejoining his group, either. The least he could do was make sure Cotton actually got there in one piece…and he’d make his game plan from there. Or that was what he told himself, anyways, until the kid went barreling off and yelling for that damn girl again.

“Hey. Hey! Kid!” he barked, loping after the other wolf. “Cool it, huh!? There ain’t anyone else here! You yellin’ like that’s gonna attract the wrong kinda attention.”

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

@Reyes

He didn't pay much attention to the racket Reyes was making behind him, but he also didn't completely ignore it. His pace came to a halt, big paws stumbling in the snow while he let the older wolf catch up. It was the least he could do while paying half a mind to the forest around them, still waiting on Victoria to show herself. One of his ears rolled back to wherever Reyes was, the other trained and straining somewhere ahead of him. And finally, he risked a look over his shoulder to the approaching male.

It was a mistake. One great big, huge mistake and he regretted every second of it.

And he didn't want to say he balked, but he definitely balked at the sight of the older wolf's loping form coming right at him. He gave a hobbling step forward, fully expecting to be barreled into again for no reason other than because of blind panic. But at least it wouldn't be the first time someone felt the need to run him down while yelling. He just wished his brain didn't make the comparison between snappy Reyes and his angry father, because he didn't need that mental image in his life. Ever.

His ears rolled back against his skull and he wagged his tail as hard as possible, scrunching up his shoulders while he gave up the idea of just running away from the man. And with the most petulant whine he ever managed, stumbled to complete halt. "But this is the last place I saw her!" He risked one last look at the forest around them, silently pleading for her to show up or else he would have to accept whatever fate he was sure Reyes had in store. The seconds ticked on and it seemed he had no choice.

"We just gotta look some more." He reasoned, half-assedly trying at a last ditch attempt at changing Reyes' mind. If it worked, he would probably keel over from whatever stress was biting at his heart.

Reyes loped over with no real urgency, none other than hushing his companion before they attracted someone other than Victoria (and her friend, whoever he was) – and was greeted by quite the queer sight. Perhaps he should be getting used to the fact that Cotton rarely behaved in the way he’d expect a wolf to, but as the youth came to a stuttering stop, the older loner too slowed to a steady jog, stopping easily a length away from his traveling companion. Ramming him had never been a risk – nor an intention.

Ears pricked forward as he tipped his head, brows knotted together as the yearling all but wagged his entire body. Sure, Reyes was a pretty dominant figure, but such submissive behavior was not something he usually demanded.

“Yeah, sure, we can look,” he rumbled, quirking one brow. He shook his head. That wasn’t what was bothering him in the first place. “But we gotta not yell like that, comprende? Victoria might be nice, but they ain’t all nice. ‘sides. Might be bears ‘er some shit, I don’t know this place.” And like hell were they taking on bears, fuck that shit. He was brave, not stupid. “Use your nose. And your ears. Got it?”

@Reyes

Oh, hummed his brain when it became apparent that he pulled out all of his theatrical displays for nothing. That while Reyes was gruff and annoyed it wasn't because of the reckless search Cottongrass was putting them through, but rather, how the boy was going about it. He relaxed his earlier posture, offering the older wolf a sheepish smile with his tail wagging softly behind him. Because he didn't think of that, did he?

He was just so focused on finding Victoria that he didn't think twice about his own hide. And briefly he thought about the night before he had first met Reyes, in the forest that was all cloudy. The wolf he had met there was decidedly on the list of not nice, and a shudder made its way down his spine. He'd happily do whatever the older wolf said if it meant stuff like that never happened again. Even if he couldn't help but wonder if bears would even be a problem. Didn't they sleep? If he had the option of sleeping all winter and it didn't mean death, he'd do it—

The rambling of his mind was cut off at the tone of Reyes' words.

"Got it." He chirped, tail giving a merry wag before he set off like the older wolf had instructed. Which meant being quiet with his head down and ears flicking every which way. And while he did all of that right into the base of a tree, he just told himself that meant he was very good at listening to orders. If only his parents could see him now! With an awkward, crab-like waddle he moved around the tree he had more or less just headbutted and continued his way. His tail gave a diligent wag in the air behind him like none of that just happened.

If he didn't acknowledge something he did, it automatically meant it never happened. It was a good superpower for him to have, and totally not made up in that moment.

(This post was last modified: Feb 01, 2017, 05:57 AM by Cottongrass.)

You know, somehow Reyes expected the kid to say a lot more than that. Maybe give an excuse or try to argue his point, or something. In the time they’d been traveling together, he’d come to know Cotton to be some sort of chatterbox. Even when there wasn’t much to talk about, the kid still found a way to fill the silence with incessant chatter. For a moment, he simply raised a bow and watched the kid, waiting, and waiting, and—

Nope.

Apparently, that was really all the yearling had to say. For a moment, the older loner could only blink, gaze following the pale youth as he went. The wolf turned, was about to break into an easy jog to follow after the kid when he… Did… What was that? Reyes stopped dead in his tracks, pale eyes ringed with white as he watched the circus unfold. Eventually, he did break back into an easy lope, coming up behind the kid’s rump. “The hell was that?” he asked, perhaps actually more confused than anything else. His ears flickered forward and back, giving the pale fuzz ball a brief once over to make sure there was no blood. “So – what’s the plan, kid? If we find her – then what?”

Was that a rhetorical question? He was bad at figuring out questions he was supposed to answer and questions he wasn't supposed to answer, and this time it was proving no different. There wasn't much to answer, though, was there? And maybe if he just shrugged, that would be enough of an answer/not an answer for Reyes.

The older wolf caught up and with it came another question. This time one he knew he needed to answer! Which just really meant his superpower worked, and that by not acknowledging he had just walked into a tree, Reyes didn't acknowledge it either. Well, they did, sorta, but he was putting it down as a win for himself. With a swish of his tail he side-eyed the man, this time taking care to make sure his path didn't lead directly into a tree trunk. Even if his tracks just immediately came to a halt when he realized he didn't know what the hell he was going to say. And so he stood, mind whirring away because Reyes always asked good questions and he only had the answers half the time.

"I don't know." He admitted, the words coming easy as his tail gave a swish. "But I know we'll find her." They had to, or else Reyes would have one very confused and dejected Cottongrass on his paws. Personally, the boy didn't want that. But he didn't know what Reyes might want when it came down to stuff like that. He shuffled forward, nosing at a clump of snow while he thought about what else he could add. Something so he didn't sound completely hopeless, maybe. He perked back up and straightened his posture when he found something to say.

"Vic wanted to find this one place, or uh, pack. Something about where her moms met, or something? I dunno, we went all over trying to find it before she had to take Avery home." That's what he would probably do once he found his friend again. And that was also the last clue he had about where Vic might have been. But he was pretty sure there was no way Vic would have went to the place without him. Where was the fun in finishing the adventure by herself? He thought about what he was doing before the two siblings had more or less crashed into his life.

There had been Neha, the mountains, her pack, and the promise to show him it all. But he wanted to make sure Victoria was okay, and he wanted her to find the place she was looking for before he worried about himself. For a little longer, at least.

(This post was last modified: Feb 03, 2017, 03:57 AM by Cottongrass.)

Well, okay. At least they were getting somewhere – Cotton remembered something that might help them along. It occurred to the man that the little white yearling might want to join whatever pack Victoria had been looking for alongside her; if that was the truth, so be it. The kid would probably be better off in a group where he could grow, if he had friends, anyways.

Reyes gave a soft hum, content to trail after his partner in crime as the boy did some sniffing. “She tell you the name of the pack? Or anything else about it?” he pressed, ears pricked forward. Even if Cottongrass didn’t have the pack’s title, a general direction would be helpful. So would descriptors. By the water, lots of tall trees, on a mountain. Anything they could go on. At the very least, it was probably in this forest, so that was something, but their current situation seemed a bit like trying to find a shiny rock on the bottom of a river bed.

Finally, the older wolf broke away, putting his own nose to work as he scented the air, searching for anything that seemed even remotely canine. “Or this Avery fellow – she tell you anything about him, either?”

"Grizzly Hollow." He nodded to himself as he said it. The pack's name was Grizzly Hollow, it involved a wolf called Rook Lyall, and it felt like he and the siblings spent forever looking for both of those things. His ears twisted atop his head when a thought struck him, and he risked a glance back at Reyes.

Maybe he did know more than he thought he did.

"I don't think it's, uh, this far north?" Victoria didn't seem like the type to let any of them just give in if they were close, especially Avery. But he found that he wasn't too sure anymore. She seemed like she knew what she was doing, all loud and determined when her brother wasn't. He couldn't help but frown the more he thought about it. Ah well, buzzed his brain, and he shuffled his way forward.

His nose twitched and sniffed in the snow. While he still couldn't smell any traces of her, he knew she had to be nearby. He thought it would be way easier to just yell her name and hope for the best. But Reyes was right there so he piped down, scooping up a mouthful of snow as he went. And as the older wolf asked about Avery, he gave a thoughtful crunch. Didn't he already tell Reyes about Avery? Maybe he didn't.

"He's her brother." He answer easily enough, fluffy tail wagging away behind him. "He went with us all over. But I don't think he liked traveling too much..." It's why Victoria decided to take him home, leaving Cottongrass behind for what was supposed to just be a few days. And well, a few days turned into a lot of days and it's how he ended up with Reyes.

(This post was last modified: Feb 08, 2017, 12:39 AM by Cottongrass.)