Hot Springs All of this Insomnia

@Chan 

Spring was the absolute worst.  

Tagg paced along the borders, tail flicking with irritation as he listened to the cocophony of sound that bombarded him. It seemed that every creature felt the need to scream for mates - even though it was the middle of the night.  The guardian couldn't sleep, though it seemed his pregnant wife was exhausted enough to manage.  After making sure she was okay, the russet man had slipped from the den to take a walk.  Maybe when he got back he could block the noise out and finally rest.

Then again, the longer he was out, the more awake he felt.  He was angry and frustrated, and his tiredness only proved to make him more irritated.

The veteran found himself on his normal path, checking and rechecking that the pack lands were secure.  This evening, however, he decided to make a detour for a reason unknown.  He came to stop beside the hot springs.  The night creatures seemed to be quieter here, for which he was grateful.  This had always been a place of peace and happiness for him.  He settled down beside the warm water, resting his head on his paws while his ears twitched in the night's song.

l

"Dad?"

Chan was thin and worn, but his spirit had never been quelled even as his body took the toll of his reckless travels. It shown still in his mismatched eyes, defying the showing of his ribs and still-healing bites along his front left leg and right flank. He'd been trying to make it back for what felt like months now, but he'd chosen the wrong place to ascend the mountain. He could've sworn the lake would've been right there, but it hadn't; just melting ice and sheer faces. So he'd walked along the ridge, clueless to the infestation of coyotes that swarmed the lands below. Clueless even as to what a coyote was, until a few had been brave enough to scale the mountain and found him, alone and defenseless.

None of that matter though. If father was here, then he'd finally found home.

As Tagg lay unable to sleep, a voice reached his ears. It was faint, as of either weak or far away. The screaming night creatures prevented him from being sure, but he thought it had said "dad".

The russet man's head lifted and his ears strained forward, listening for another hint. Had he imagined it? Was the night and his tired, stressed brain playing a cruel trick on him?

He had to be sure. Tagg rose to his feet and swiveled his head. "Chan?" he called out, taking a hesitant step. He wasn't even certain he'd actually heard anything, let alone what direction it might have come from. Still, if his son was out there, the veteran was determined to find him.

l

omg so did not realize you had posted, sorry!

Chan pushed through the shadows, all the more eager after his father spoke, sounding so off in ways that the yearling couldn't put his paw on. Perhaps he should have felt trepidation, but this was his family, and despite the long absence being his choice, the youth had missed them all profoundly. Coming into the moon's light, he cantered the rest of the distance to Tagg, the open wounds causing him to limp in a curious fashion.

"I'm here!"

He all but rammed his father, butting his head against the man's chest and shoulder to greet him affectionately and soak up his presence.

"What are you doing here? Is... is the lake nearby?"

Had he finally found it?

Ooc: I've been offline for a bit anyway so you're good!

It was definitely Chan's voice that replied, and Tagg began searching for it's source, ears straining so far forward they ached and single eye triple scanning the darkness. Soon his son - how he'd grown! - came dashing through the trees. 

The first thing the father noticed, apart from the growth spurt, was the injuries. He could smell them, see them in the way he walked. He nuzzled his boy, relieved that he had returned at last, but felt a growl swelling in his chest. "Who did this to you?" he licked at the gashes, trying to clean them enough to see just how much damage had been done. 

l

His questions were ignored as his father posed his own, rightfully angered by the state of his son. Chan blinked down at his bloodied leg, fur matted and sticky despite his having cleaned it hours ago. Travel had worked the wounds loose again, and he hadn't the luxury to stop and wait for them to heal up.

"I... think they were wolves but they were really scrawny, smaller than anyone I've ever seen and I really couldn't understand them. I don't... I don't know why they were so angry. They didn't even give me a chance to walk away."

It had been confusing as heck, and had really hurt his feelings more than anything. It was the first time he'd ever been taught by a real-life experience not to trust so easily.

(This post was last modified: Jul 31, 2018, 05:43 PM by Chan.)

Anger filled Tagg as his son spoke, fear throwing in it's say as his fur prickled. He nuzzled Chan again, careful not to hurt him further but greatful he had survived. "Those weren't wolves, son. " He said, stepping back again to look over his boy. "They're called Coyotes. They are like us... Yet nothing like us. They have no honor, so sense of right or wrong. They kill without reason and they don't. like. us."


He sighed. He hoped Chan would be able to grow older before having to meet the little monsters, or at least get some training first. But Tagg had been right; he hadn't prepared his son properly. 

"You didn't do anything wrong."

l

Those weren't wolves, was Tagg's next statement, and Chan's ears swept back as he stared owlishly at his father. Not wolves? That was confusing enough to wrap his head around, but the rest of what his father had to say just continued to blow him away. They kill without reason, and they don't... like wolves? Did they target wolves? Was that the only reason why they had gone after him, would they really have killed him? It was crazy and made him sick to think about, that creatures so cruel and wholly evil could exist. His tail hugged his stomach and his mismatched eyes fell to the ground as tried to wrap his head around it all.

You didn't do anything wrong, his father assured him, but it barely touched the big ball of wrong the boy felt knotting up inside of him.

"I... I wanna go home."