Hearthwood River research and destroy

Laike is looking for @Inna but she doesn't have to jump in if Kai wishes and anyone else is free to bump into him (although I can't guarantee he'll play super nice if you're not who he's looking for) || Late Morning, Cloudy, 56 ° F, 13 ° C

LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

He didn't exactly remember when his brother had gone missing first. When Laike had finally noticed he simply marked it up to the male being out to scout or something. Hadn't Inna told him that his baby brother was a healer? Perhaps he was just out there looking for plants. Of course, as the days dragged on the large Artemieva grew more thoughtful. It shouldn't take someone this long to pluck up some dumb plants or to even scout out some herds. The first wolf he had in mind to talk to about this was Inna. She had been under the care of his brother during her pregnancy and even after birth so perhaps she might have heard something from Lorcan.

Next on his mind would have been Lachesis or Kisla. As alphas, he would assume they had known if his brother's absence was a planned one or not. Laike had always been a bit cold to his brother but mentioning that he was family (and they were actually making progress on their rough relationship) he had some concern.

The stocky male made his way towards where Inna and her child should be. He had more often than not simply passed it by without a glance, uninterested in the child that might be nearby. Today he had every intention of going to see the single mother even if it meant possibly bumping into her child. It would be shown in both his movements and his posture that he was here on business and not simply a polite visit or some dilly dallying. Granted he did owe Inna a visit to make sure she was still fairing well.

He stopped a few yards away from the den when he let out a deep bark, not demanding or summoning the Raven Baranski but simply asking for her presence. If she wasn't here then he would set his next plan into motion.

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Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

The morning had seemed long, she been up early to get a start on her duties and make sure she ate something before bringing some today bits back to Oksana. It wasn't until mid morning that she'd finally made her way back to the den to check on her daughter. She was tired not used to the physical activity and wanted to curl up next to her daughter for a nap before the afternoon set in. She thought she and Oksana could go on a patrol or perhaps hunting later, it was time her daughter started learning all the skills she needed. There was so much for her to learn and Inna felt like there was so little time to teach her in.

Inna had only just closed her eyes and had not quite fallen asleep when the deep bark traveled into the den. She recognized the voice to belong to Lorcans brother leaving many thoughts going through her mind. She wasn't sure why the man was visiting her but she had a feeling it had to do with Lorcan. The Raven had noticed the healers absence, how could she not? The father of her child was not around for his daughter to get to know him. Inna had wanted to explain it away as he was off taking care of pack business, she knew how the tawny healer could he. However his absence had lasted much longer than it should have. At first she'd grown worried but that worry was slowly growing into something else with the passage of time.

Inna wasn't sure what she should do besides throw herself into her work and her daughter to keep her mind from it. That however was becoming harder as she noticed his scent disappearing from the territory and the empty place next to her den. When she looked at her daughter and thought of her growing up without a father tears trickled down her cheeks. What had happened to make him leave like he had? Inna also couldn't help but wonder if she would follow in her mother's footsteps.

Reluctantly the Raven left her daughter's side and pulled the fur over her as she usually did. With Oksana growing so rapidly the fur didn't cover her like it once had. That didn't matter as the child was not big enough she didn't really need the fur anymore. She kissed the pups crown before making her way out of the den. Outside she found Laike waiting for her, “What can I do for you?” She asked the Artemieva man cheerfully as she was pleased to see him stopping by.

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2017, 07:46 PM by Inna.)

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

He was pleased greatly when the dark female emerged from her den. Her voice was cheerful and had he been any other man he likely would have felt bad about possible changing her mood with his upcoming words. "It's about Lorcan." Laike said with a strong but neutral voice. He had not yet established emotions on this whole thing as it could very well be a misunderstanding on his end. "I remember you telling me he had been taking care of you." His brother's scent wasn't as strong as it once was in this area. "Figured you might know where he's gone off to." The stocky Artemieva made sure to not beat around the bush. It would be best to simply get things straightened out.

Laike stood still and strong, not wavering his stance once. Surely Inna would understand his more rigid behavior. Especially if she and her child had been under the younger Artemieva's care. Perhaps this would hit the ebony single mother harder than it would ever hit Laike. Part of him wondered if this was another stunt from his brother. Mentioning that the healer had fled from home once the large male wouldn't ever put it past him to do it again. One could assume that Laike was jumping to conclusions but he was simply trusting his gut. His instincts had very rarely done him wrong. He had made it this far already, hadn't he? No point to stop listening to them now.

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Inna had not been expecting any visitors let alone Laike so she was rather surprised to hear his deep tones calling for her. Still she hadn't kept him waiting long and when he told her why he'd come after she'd asked she wasn't surprised. The tawny healer seemed to have disappeared leaving Inna disappointed that he could just leave his daughter like that. It was one thing for Lorcan to leave the older Baranski but his own daughter. Inna had never thought he had it in him but she supposed she was was wrong and now she would have to deal with the mess behind.

The Raven nodded as Laike stated the reason for his visit, “I did tell you that he was caring for me and then after Oksana's birth the both of us,” she confirmed for the man before her. She had no reason not to and then she waited for she was sure where this conversation was going. She shook her head as he spoke about her knowing where Lorcan had gotten of too. “I am sorry Laike, I do not know where Lorcan is. He hasn't been to check on me and Oksana in a while.” Inna had looked around the territory but other than that she wasn't sure. It wouldn't matter if he had just left one day and trail he left it would probably be assumed he went scouting or hunting.

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2017, 09:51 PM by Inna.)

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That morning Oksana had woken up to her mother absent from the den which might have sent her into a panic before she'd gotten used to. Inna seemed to be gone more and more in the mornings, Oksana wasn't sure what she was doing. So she'd busied herself with the dirt outside the den and by the time her mother had returned she'd managed a good size hole which of course her mother hadn't been too pleased with. It was after that they had curled up to take a nap together, Oksana liked when they took naps together. She liked the quiet and comfortableness of it and those times made her feel most safe with her mother curled around her.

When the deep voice had come into the den Oksana had only flicked an ear and cracked an eye. She felt her mother leave her but the dark girl was sure Inna would be back, she always came back. There was no reason to worry, right? But as the moments ticked by she wondered if her mother was coming back. They had not finished their nap, they always napped for what seemed to the pup to be a long time. Panic finally did seep into the young Baranski's mind and she had to find out what had happened to her mom.

As she came towards the entrance of the tunnel she could hear her mother talking with a man about Lorcan. Oksana was very familiar with Lorcan though the child had noticed he hadn't been around as much and then not at all. She had also noticed how upset this had made her mother. The pup would try to comfort Inna the best she could but often she didn't think it worked. While Inna and the man talked Oksana squeezed her way between her mother's paws. “Where Lorc?” She asked interrupting the two adults. She missed the man that had seemed to always be outside the den and now he wasn't.

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

He was glad she confirmed his words. Laike knew he hadn't simply dreamed that up. He also figured that his brother had to be close to the ebony female unlike himself. Shouldn't a healer and the patient be kind of close? Trust and all that bullshit. Yet her next words caused a heavy sigh to fall from him and he shook his head. "God dammit." The beefy male groaned before he saw the dark child appear between Inna's paws. Instantly he was mentally whipping himself. He had enough manners to not curse in front of a child. In his defense, she had seemed to weasel herself onto the scene. "Sorry." Laike whispered softly to the mother while his gaze traveled down to the child who seemed to have also noticed the absence of the tawny male. The Artemieva figured she might be starting to get old enough to start picking things apart.

Orange eyes looked at Inna wondering if she wanted to handle this, mentioning it was her child. Laike was also unsure what he would say if he opened his mouth to answer the small child. So before anything could be said to the young Baranski on the matter he lowered his neck and head to get close enough to offer an awkward smile. "Hello Oksana." Once he got that out of the way he raised his head back up. Laike may not have enjoyed the children as much as others seemed to but he could at least hold respect for them. Perhaps once they got an answer for her she'd be content to go back to her den. He could only hope.

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The Raven recounted what she had told Lorcans brother when last they spoke which she supposed wasn't reason he'd sought her out. He too had noticed the absence of the tawny healer which meant that his scent had to be fading from all parts of Hearthwood and not just from the places she'd checked. This sent the new mother into a panic though she hid it from the man before her. If he knew just how upset she was about Lorcan's disappearance then he might also realize that his brother was her daughter's father, she couldn't risk it. Instead she kept calm as she told him she didn't know where Lorcan was and that he hadn't been around.

The brush of her daughter's fur along her dark legs brought her attention to the child her orange gaze drifting down to her. The words that came from Laike however caused her gaze to shoot up to his. Quickly they were followed by an apology to which Inna accepted, after all her daughter had appeared suddenly. It was Oksana's question that threatened to break the young mother's resolve in keeping her emotions to herself. It was Laike that seemed to save the day though as he greeted his niece allowing Inna a moment to collect herself. Then with a smile to the man she bent her head to her daughter, “We don't know right now. Let mommy talk to Laike to see if we can figure it out okay?” When said giving her daughter a kiss on her crown.

She then brought her gaze to meet that of Laike’s once more, “What made you say those words?” She asked referring to the ones she felt he shouldn't have said around her daughter. Inna had a feeling she knew but she wanted to hear it from his maw. Did he have the same fear as she did, that Lorcan would not be returning?

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Jul 10, 2017, 06:03 PM by Inna.)

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Once she had found her way between her mother's paws, her tiny ones resting on her mother's large ones Oksana looked between the two adults. She didn't know what all of their words meant but she understood that they were talking about Lorcan. She missed the tawny man, he'd always been nice to her and had worried about her like her mother did. She had wondered where he had gone and why her mother seemed so sad when it was just them. She had heard the man say some words that had caused her mother to give him a bad look. She wondered if that meant the man was sad about Lorc too.

She didn't find out for the man bent his head to say hi to the dark furred puppy. Oksana ducked her head behind her mother's leg peeking out from behind with one eye and a shy smile on her tiny maw. “Hi,” she whispered afraid to talk any louder with his attention directed solely on her. Only a heartbeat later her mother had also bent her head and talking quietly told her they didn't know where Lorcan was and asked to let them talk about it. Oksana nodded to her mother before closing her eyes as she felt the kiss placed upon her crown.

Again the dark furred pup found her eyes going between the adults as her mother talked asking a question. She waited for what the man would say, she hoped it would be something to make her mom happy again. She didn't like seeing her mom so sad all the time.

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

Laike had to admit that he was expecting a verbal warning from the mother due to his language but he was glad that she seemed to accept his apology. He watched as the child greeted him back in a rather shy way. So little Oksana wasn't as rambunctious and nosey as Risaela, well Laike would openly accept that. He didn't force the child to do any more socializing with him than she already had. A small greeting suited the large male.

He bit his tongue from saying something he'd likely regret. Something that would likely upset the mother and child. He couldn't simply figure it out. His brother hadn't told him squat and if Inna, the healer's patient, didn't know then he wasn't positive who would. Yet he reminded himself to wait it out. He still hadn't spoken with Lachesis and Kisla on the manner of his brother's disappearing act.

"What made you say those words?"

Well that was quite the question. He wasn't sure if he wanted to come out and say it. That his brother had run away from home and maybe was now running away from this home. That perhaps Laike's presence had startled his brother straight away from Hearthwood (it would stroke his ego a bit but undeniably he didn't want his presence completely startling someone away). "Just miffed." He settled on with a harsh shrug. "I really didn't think he wouldn't tell you. Especially if he was still taking care of you and the little one." His gaze momentarily traveled to Oksana before he looked back to Inna. Surely she would accept his answer. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if she was miffed too.

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