afternoon, light snow fall
His siblings were still MIA, which only made the peppered yearling even more anxious. He scoured the forest at the base of the mountain, his muzzle constantly pointed down as he searched for the scents. The snow sort of helped, as it was easier to track prints, but it masked most of the scents. His muddy gaze swept the towering cedars, his tail twitching nervously. The scent of pack was heavy here, so Seven kept his distance from the heart of the territory and where the markers were the strongest. He was not stupid enough to cross borders. Even if he was positive this was where his uncle lived.
He flopped down beside a large tree, his muzzle pointed toward the sky. Maybe his siblings had returned home, to the north… or maybe they were looking for him in all the wrong spots. They had chosen to stay north, too meet up in a few weeks… but the weeks had passed and there was no word on where they had gone. His chest grew heavy, his brows furrowed together. They had to be here somewhere… they couldn’t have left him behind. They wouldn’t. Sure, they argued every now and then, but what siblings didn’t?! It was never anything severe and they almost always forgave each other within a day or so. They must have found out some more information. Gotten turned around. Something. There was no way they would have left him.