Lost Lake You Took My Halo

for @Staryn and whoever else might want to join

Eventually, he had to stop moving. He'd tried to find @Caelia 's trail, but had lost it the second she'd been taken out of sight. He was angry at her, if only she'd listened, she might not be dead. Laurel's anger quickly turned inward — it hadn't been her fault, it was his. He should have acted better, he shouldn't have snapped at her the second she'd asked his stupid name. Maybe if he could have made it a game, maybe if he'd started out friendlier. A thousand what ifs buzzed through his mind, a thousand things he could have done. Each new solution only made him angrier at himself, because it only made the things that he had done stupid. And her poor parents, not knowing where their kid was.

Laurel could have mourned over the small pup for ages, but instead he shoved the feelings down. It made him feel hollow, but hollow was better than sad. When he'd lost her trail, he decided to make his way up the mountains again. He wanted to see the lake, he wanted to lay in the cool water and forget about everything.

When he finally saw the water, he wanted to sprint. But he was tired, and just dragged himself. With coyotes at every corner of the world, there was little time for rest or sleep. But when he reached the water, he lowered himself into the shallow water and sighed of relief. Minnows swam around him and blood seeped from some of his wounds. For a few moments, things could be peaceful. His snout dipped under the water and he blew bubbles to drown out the noise of anything else.

(This post was last modified: Jun 30, 2018, 10:53 PM by Lauraceae.)

The little reddish wolf had gotten into the nasty habit of tottering too far off from the den. Today she was farther than she had ever been before, and Staryn was having an absolute blast. No rules or parents to tell her what to do. She was, for all intents and purposes, a free puppy.

Puppy blue eyes scanned the sky as she padded purposefully across the stony surface of the mountain. At over a month old, she was getting to be quite the pawful - even the most rigid and watchful parents would not be able to keep her tethered for very long. So her mother and father were certainly not to blame for this veritable disaster.

Star scampered to the big water and gasped as she examined its shiny surface. It was very pretty - she liked it already, but she was a smart girl and knew that you couldn’t walk on it. After all, it looked like a big puddle, and puddles couldn’t be walked on.

Ears perked up at a weird sound and she glanced down the shoreline, eyes widening at the sight of a brand-new wolf that she had never seen before, ever!

A new opportunity for a friend.

”’Lo!” she chirruped, tail waving excitedly as she pranced over to the boy. ”What doin’?”

Lo!

He lifted his head to see his new company, and upon seeing it was another pup, could only stare at @Staryn in horror. "No," he felt his heart squeeze. Could he do it again? He could hear Seejay's screaming as she was hauled off by coyotes. What was wrong with the parents around here? Was it that hard to keep track of their own children?! Laurel had no idea how wanderlust-y some pups were, and as such, could only imagine that another child being on his own meant there were bad parents around.

Part of him wanted to leave. He couldn't deal with the heartache all over again. The coyotes would, inevitably, show up. Could he take down another one? If it were just one, maybe, but what if it was two, or maybe three? He was already panicking, staring at the little girl and wishing he had someone to help him, someone to tell him what to do. Why couldn't coyotes have taken and eaten him when he'd been a pup? If they had, he wouldn't have been able to fight back. But now that he was big enough to, he felt like it was all that he could do.

The air felt thin and he was running out of time. He still ached, but couldn't stand by and do nothing. He had to try, even if it meant that the coyotes came again. "Please," he glanced around. No sign of the coyotes yet. Why were they after him? Was he cursed in more ways than one? "Please tell me you know where your parents are. Just... just point in the direction, and we'll head that way."

No.

No?

Why no?

"Yes!" she argued, tail flicking behind her and stubby little legs stamping on the ground. Yes, she was there, and yes she was going to talk to this big wolf that wasn't someone she knew yet. "Yes!" She gestured to herself and wagged her tail, figuring that he should know her name. "I Star!"

Her parents? Of course she knew where they were. In all likelihood, @Tagg and @Moonshadow were probably not far behind her. "Yes," she repeated, turning back and pointing with her nose and raising one forepaw in the direction she had come. "Mama and Daddy that way." Her speech was clipped and to the point - even at her young age, Star wasn't one to drag things on. "Go with Star," the pup invited, tail waving as she turned puppy blue eyes back to her companion. Then she set off in the way of her pack, figuring he was following her.

"What name?" she asked of him, angling her ears back.

It had killed him, being so immobile. It normally would have bothered him plenty had everything been normal and sane in his world, but now there was also a very real, visceral threat to his home, his family, and it slept right next to them every night, curled against his mother. And so now that the eldest Eastfall child was healed and well at last, he was perhaps overbearing in how protective he was over his young siblings.

As such, it was a marvel that Starynn had gotten as far as she did before the boy caught up. When the scent of blood hit him before he could see her, Chan broke out into a sprint. He barrelled into the middle of their conversation, all but knocking his little sister over as he stood protectively over her. His brown-saddled muzzle worked furiously through her fur with deep snuffs, seeking even one small clump of fur to be out of place. In short time, he became satisfied that she was alright, and it was only then that his eyes lifted to take in the most ragged wolf he'd ever seen.

Almost, he almost mistook the malnourished and mangy youth as one of them, the coyotes that had plagued Chan himself when he'd been on his ill-timed 'adventure.' He could see the wolf still in this fellow teen, however, and relaxed considerably. He'd been the source of the blood, and it clearly wasn't his first time being sliced open.

"I can take you to our healer," he told him with an attempt at a friendly, but abated, smile. There was no use in chit chatting first, not when the guy was bleeding freely. All the questions running through Chan's mind could wait until all three of them were safe and comfortable.

Thankfully, @Staryn wasn't as bull headed as Ceejay had been, which meant her odds were much better. Laurel looked in the direction that she pointed to and nodded. "Yeah, let's go," he glanced around and, still seeing no sight of coyotes, followed close behind the little pup. She seemed to know what she was doing and where she was going. He didn't have much of a choice but to put his trust in her. Laurel was about to introduce himself, but another wolf jumped into the scene. He almost grabbed the girl, but in a split decision to save himself first, he jumped away.

Laurel's fur was bristling, his face scrunching, but he couldn't hear any screams or ripping. Plus, the two smelled similar. Regardless, he did not relax. The boy stood a little bit straighter, anxiously licking his maw as he considered the stranger's offer. He had never been offered a healer before, usually it was more like get away from my food or your presence is annoying I'm going to murder you.

He shouldn't have taken so long to even figure a decent answer, but finally did. "Lead the way."

It took every ounce of puppy grace in her tiny body to keep from getting bowled over by her overprotective older brother. The little ginger girl looked up and waved her tail at him, nipping at Chan's muzzle and growling to show her displeasure at the rude snuffling over. Because she was fine - thank you very much! Perfectly fine and capable and not hurt.

Did the bigger guy have boo boos?

She hadn't thought to check. Was that a bad thing?

"Tan!" she chirruped, tail waving and clumsy paws scampering around his forelegs before skittering to her new friend. Were they taking him with them? She sure hoped so. Maybe she would be able to keep this friend. "Ee has boo boos?" she asked, tipping her head to one side.

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

Couldnt help myself :D

The twins were growing up so fast Moon couldnt stand it. It was bittersweet actually. She loved watching them grow but the more they did the less she could protect them...just like she had failed to with Chan. She knew though that this time around she would do everything in her power to protect them. That's why today she needed to reinforce the borders of her home. One of the ways she could protect them was to keep the scent of their home strong to keep intruders out. So leaving the twins playing by the den the ebony woman moved to make a pass as quickly as she could.

Large dark paws moved easily over the mountainous terrain stopping every so often to make it clear whose lands these were. All was well until the too familiar scent of Staryn flooded her nose. A wave of panic hit the mother for her scent was not only too close to the border but over it even. She broke out into a sprint following the scent of her daughter to near the lake that wasnt marked as theirs. Another familiar scent hit her nose but wasnt as quick to register. It wasnt until the sight of her children did Moon realize Chan was there. Slowing to a trot the large woman let out a bark as she approached the trio. The ebony woman went straight for the small girl giving her a frantic look over as the scent of blood hit her. "Are yall alright?" she asked hurriedly as she checked the girl. Seeing that Staryn was fine Moon turned her attention to Chan making sure it wasnt him. When the scent wasnt coming from her eldest the large woman turned to the third wolf that was following her children.

The boy was around Chan's age. His coat was that of tans, greys and creams with - those eyes. His eyes were a brilliant orange that were strangely familiar. Where had she seen them before? She couldnt dwell on that though for the poor child was covered in wounds. Silver dusted ears flicked back in worry as she approached him. "Oh hun, what happened?" She asked her motherly instincts coming out. It wasnt just her children she was worried for. Maybe it was the guilt of losing her two eldest that made her so protective over other children. especially ones that are injured. That's how she had found Roland and come to gain him as another child. And Tulip, while she wasnt injured the girl had needed help and had become like a daughter to Moonshadow. So once again here she was worrying over another child that wasnt hers.

Word Count: 000