Dead-Drop Escarpment The Road Not Taken

 @Tagg & @Moonshadow This thread is backdated to 3/23. Let me know if any changes need to be made.

Returning home to find both Moonshadow and Lunette missing was not what Kajika had in mind for the ideal homecoming.  As soon as he has discovered their absence from the cove he had immediately started looking.  Unfortunately they had both been gone too long for any traces of the direction they were traveling to be left.  He'd looked every place he could think of inside and outside the coves borders.  He had not found them anywhere and his worry for them had increased dramatically.  It was time to expand the search for them to further away from the cove, he needed to find them.

Moonshadow he was sure could take care of herself but what if she'd been injured like Des and didn't have anyone to help her.  He worried that if this was the case they might be too late but he pushed that thought from his mind.  Lunette on the other hand, he didn't know what had possessed her to leave the cove unless it had something to do with their last conversation.  He would have to have a long talk with her once he found her.  He didn't even allow thoughts of something happening to her enter his mind.

It was early morning a few days after he'd returned to the cove when he and Tagg had set out.  Kajika knew he couldn't go looking without the tawny man as his mate was the one that was lost. The beta was determined that they weren't coming home without one or both of the missing females.  The dark man led the way across the border stopping only once to make sure Tagg was with him, “I'm not coming back without them,” he said over his shoulder, “I hope we are on the same page.”

(This post was last modified: Apr 16, 2017, 09:56 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: open b tag )

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OOC! @Moonshadow  

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Word Count: 252

Every day that passed made Tagg more and more uneasy.  He’d been out to look for Moon before; of course he had.  But there had been no sign of her.  The arrival of snow had made things even harder, and then with the disappearance of the princess as well… things were not looking good.  He couldn’t help but feel haunted, like his pack was under attack.  He’d be damned if this happened again. He couldn’t bear to lose her… not his Moonshadow.

After a brief coze, Tagg and Kajika had decided to go out together.  With the two of them, their chances would be better.  They could stay out longer, find better prey, and with any luck, find at least one of the missing ladies.

“I’m not coming back without them.” Kajika’s warning fell on the russet man’s ears, sounding almost stony. Tagg knew it was nothing against him, but his worry.

“Don’t worry.” Tagg growled, trusting his friend to know the sound was not one of hostility – not towards him, at least. “I’m not either.” This was his mate they were talking about.  He would gladly throw himself into the jaws of death to make sure she was safe.  And now that she was bearing his children… he wasn’t about to let anything – anything – get in his way.  Not even his own packmates if it came to it, though he was certain it wouldn’t. Not with the beta at his side, anyway.

“If anybody’s hurt her,” He snarled at no one in particular, “I’ll rip them apart.”

"Speech"  Thought

l

The question had passed through his mind many times as he'd searched for the two females.  Why hadn't anyone gone looking for them further from the cove? If they had them maybe they would already be safe at home going about their lives as they should. Each time the question entered he pushed it to the back of his mind.  It was best or he might have to question the characters of his pack mates and he didn't want to do that.  Instead it was best to keep busy looking for them until he found them and brought them home.  Part of him hoped that they were together, he and Tagg could find them both and bring them home, happy ending.

Still he knew he had to be realistic about the situation, they hadn't left together.  Kajika was sure Lunette didn't trust Moonshadow enough to go off with her.  Which only meant they were both out there alone injured or lost or both, it was the only explanation for why they hadn't returned.

Kajika didn't want to waste any time looking for them and unfortunately with nothing to go on they had to pick a direction and go.  He hated the idea of it, an unplanned search.  It didn't help to give him the confidence he needed to find the females. One thing he did do was make sure Tagg knew exactly how he felt.

The tawny man told him not to worry which it was a little late for that.  However, he hoped that with his friend along he might have better luck in his search. “Good, we will bring them home one way or another." Something else Kajika refused to acknowledge was she guilt that he hadn’t been there and in someway his fault for leaving.  He couldn't let that thought have a grip on him or this search would not go well.  “You won't be doing that alone.  If someone's hurt either of them there won't be anything left after we’re done.” Kajika wasn't going to let Tagg have all of the fun.

(This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2017, 05:26 AM by Kajika.)

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OOC!  

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Word Count: 298

Though he was aching for a fight – something to distract him from his guilt – Tagg’s nerves were on end.  He hadn’t been sleeping, hadn’t been able to each much.  When she first disappeared he figured she’d just needed some space.  That had happened several times, after all, and she had to be stressed about becoming a mother.  He was certainly having a minor panic attack about having children, but he was also very excited.

He should have gone to look for her sooner, or taken longer trips. But he knew if he died out trying to find her, it would do nobody any good. He needed to find her well and alive, and he wasn’t going to do that if he got himself killed in the process.

The veteran couldn’t help but feel guilty about this.  What if she left because she changed her mind? She had seemed so certain about this, but that might have been her heat. What if she got cold feet and decided to leave? He had to shake that thought; even if that was the case, she would have told somebody, right?

No, she had to have gone hunting or something like that. He had to believe that.

Kajika’s response to his comment caused a savage glee to rise within him. Kajika was his friend, yes, but it had been a while since he’d had a comrade. The idea of wreaking revenge on a faceless assailant with the beta at his side returned Tagg to his time fighting. It was a place he’d never wanted to go again, but if it helped him find Moon, if it helped him keep her safe, he was more than willing to unbury it.

The question was if he would be able to come back from it.

"Speech"  Thought

l

He'd already wasted too much time searching for clues around the cove that would lead him to Moonshadow or Lunette.  He was done, if they were close by he would have found them, he hadn't.  Expanding the search was now what he was focused on as he led the way from the cove.  He didn't have a specific direction since there were no clued but that didn't matter.  He would search until he found at least one of them.

In their own ways they had each helped him get through last months, he owed it to them both to do whatever it took to find them and he wouldn't rest until he had.  He'd missed them both very much while he'd been gone and hadn't even been able to see them when he'd come back.  It tore at his heart, especially Lunette who he worried would think he'd abandon her.  His movements were made in urgency as his large paws carried him over the land.

His thoughts did drift to Anaia and the fact he'd left her in the cove to fend for herself, he felt bad for it.  He hoped she would be okay until he returned, he would make it up to her once he had returned sure that Lunette and Moonshadow were home safe and sound. He hoped she would take the time to learn the cove and get a little more comfortable.

He had expressed to Tagg as they covered the land south of the cove he would fight with them if they needed to make someone pay for hurting either female.  Kajika wasn't one to be violent, the main reason he'd left his birth pack but for someone he cared about. There wouldn't be a choice to make in the matter. “We will start south and work our way North.  Since I came home from the north and didn’t run into their scent,” he explained to Tagg, “Unless you have something you would like to add?” He added looking to the tawny man.

 

(This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2017, 04:15 PM by Kajika.)

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OOC! Maybe one or two more posts each, and then @Moonshadow can jump in?

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Word Count: 213

Tagg had spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where his beloved mate had gone, and he was pleased his friend had done the same.  What good was a guardian if they couldn’t keep their pack members safe? It didn’t matter that Moon and Lunette were outside the borders; they were still family and he should still be able to protect them.

“We will start south and work our way north.” Kajika told him before going on to explain why.  It didn’t matter; Tagg would have agreed anyway.

“It sounds like a good plan.” He said, voice still gruff. His ears were already straining to catch a sound, head swinging so his one eye could pick up more of their surroundings.  Each inhale was analyzed, searching for any trace of their friends. He would sooner lose his other eye than return without them, though he knew that would be impractical.

How could he help them if he was blind, after all?

“Do you think they’re together?” Tagg asked after a few moments. “Maybe we should try calling for them every so often? If they hear us, they might be able to help us find them.” He suggested, not wanting to simply be a follower on their quest to find his love.

"Speech"  Thought

l

Despite everything seeming to be against them when it came to finding Lunette and Moonshadow Kajika refused to give up.  Moonshadow had never given up on him so he couldn't give up on her. Lunette, sweet Lunette, he'd felt bad leaving her and part of him felt her disappearance was his fault.  Had he not said what he had she might not have felt she needed to go out on her own.  His pace was fast as he traveled across the land taking in everything, searching for some sign of either of them.

He'd decided on a plan, one that he felt would work we in searching the land in bigger areas around Fallen Tree Cove. It was the only option they had and what made it worse, the beta didn't know if it would turn them up or not.  He had to try and he voiced the plan to Tagg who agreed with the plan, good, they were on the same page.

“I'm glad we are in agreement about this,” said Kajika setting the tawny man with a pleased look.  With their agreement about the plan things could move much faster. Which would increase their chances of finding them, they wouldn't have too much time to move from where they were.

At Tagg's question about them being together Kajika shook his head, “No, I don't think they are together,” he stated keeping his tone even.  He didn't want to sound angry with his friend unnecessarily.  Kajika also nodded at The tawny man's suggestion, “Yes we could do that and it might draw them to us so it would definitely make the search a little easier."

(This post was last modified: Apr 16, 2017, 09:57 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: open b tag )

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OOC! Do you want to do the time zoom in your next post?

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Word Count: 267

Tagg hadn’t expected Kajika to answer optimistically; one of the things he liked best about his friend was that he was honest. He nodded once as the beta admitted he didn’t think they were together.  That made their job harder, but it was best to be realistic rather than plan for them to be together and be wrong. It would also help keep them from getting to despondent when they only found one of them.

He was glad his friend thought calling might help; it made Tagg feel more helpful.  Last time he had been part of something like this, it had gone horribly wrong.  He shuddered to think of it, and forced the memory from his mind.  He could draw on it to keep from preventing the same mistakes, but nothing more. He couldn’t be haunted by the past any longer.  He couldn’t afford to, not with his children coming into the world in the near future.  He needed to be here and with them, and if his mate’s disappearance took him back in time… well, he would just have to find a way to return.  He’d done it before, he could do it again.

“I’ll let you decide when.” He nodded to Kajika, referring to his superior rank.  Tagg had no desire to take that from him, and didn’t want to seem too over his position.  He was already able to share in the alphas’ privilege this season; the last thing he needed was for the rest of them to think he was getting ahead of himself.

Especially when he needed to focus on finding Moonshadow.

"Speech"  Thought

l

ooc: I jumped ahead in time with the start of this post.

Three days had passed since they had left Fallen Tree Cove in search of Lunette and Moonshadow. He and Tagg had covered a lot of ground during that and there was still no sign of them. Kajika was worried that maybe they hadn't come this way and it might be time to search in another direction.  It was a little discouraging but he wasn't ready to give up looking in their current direction just yet. He wanted to make sure they searched each direction thoroughly before moving on to the next.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder for the Tawny male that had been with him since the beginning. He imagined that this was taking just as much of a toll on him if not more.  They had both agreed that they weren't returning to the cove until they found them. The area they were entering into was one that Kajika had visited before. “We could try calling for them here.  If they don't answer maybe someone else might answer and we could ask if they've seen them,” he said to Tagg as he came to a stop to allow the man to catch up to him.

Dragonfly Fen was not the place he wanted to find Lunette or Moonshadow in, it had not been a place he had stayed on long when he'd visited.  Kajika started moving again along a deer path that he had noticed, “Moonshadow, Lunette,” he called as he made his way down the path. They had been calling for the two females without much luck, he hoped that would change but it was getting hard to have hope that it would.

(This post was last modified: Apr 04, 2017, 02:25 PM by Kajika.)

Please see OOC Profile for OOC Preferences, Thank you.

OOC! sorry you guys! If y'all could start tagging me when it's my turn (assuming Moon pops in soon) I would appreciate it.  I don't get alerts for some strange reason, and with finals coming up I'm not going to be able to check everything super fast.

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Word Count: 231

It had been a hard couple of days for the russet man.  It wasn’t the traveling, but the stress.  Travel he could handle; somehow, his body had never gotten used to being more sedentary.  He was afraid his frayed nerves were showing; though he usually considered himself a mensch, he’d been very snappy with Kajika lately. He always apologized; the beta was just as worried as he was.  Maybe more so, considering he was closer with Lunette than the veteran and both of them had gone missing.

He found that silence was the best way to keep from being to rude. He simply nodded at Kajika’s suggestion, struggling to keep his tail from dragging in the dirt.  He was both very tired and very worried, and it was beginning to take its toll on his health.

“Moon!” He bellowed, as loud as he could while they walked.  “Lunette!” He knew that the pup likely wasn’t with his mate, but he sincerely hoped for both their sakes they were together.  There was safety in numbers, and this didn’t seem to be a particularly pleasant place. Kajika certainly seemed ill at ease.

“MOON!” He cried again, hoping someone – anyone – would hear them and be able to help, even if his mate wasn’t here herself.  His head swung from side to side, single eye scanning the undergrowth for any sign that one of their family members had been there.  

"Speech"  Thought

l