Mountain of Dire It just gets wronger and wronger

Nash didn't know where he was or how he got there or where he was going. One day he'd been nice and cozy and safe with Daddy and Momma and @Staryn and the next he was falling and he didn't know what to do.

It hadn't really been a fall; more like a tumble that confused and hurt. He'd cried to himself for a while, flashes of memory of eating dirt on his first voyage out of the den haunting him. He'd been so embarrassed and now he did it again.

He wasn't even sure how long he'd been wandering, trying to find his way back up the hill. He didn't know where he was going, and he ended up doing a lot of zig-zagging. He was scared and hungry and didn't think he was ever going to get back. He was going to spend his life eating old rotten carcasses and hiding under bushes.

He hadn't even been able to find anything for two days, and the emptiness of his stomach was becoming unbearable. More hopeless than ever, the boy sat down and started crying yet again.

Star was nigh on convinced that she was never going to find Nash ever again. That he had left and didn’t want to be found - that there was nothing she could do to bring him back. It hurt, and the pup was more depressed than ever, tail hanging low between her hocks as she padded aimlessly across the mountain. There was no real point anymore - she didn’t know where else to look. The world was such a big place, after all, and...

Someone was crying.

Russet ears angled forward and her fur stood on end at the sound. Was someone hurt? Did she have to help?

The girl ran forward on lithe legs and surefooted paws toward the sound, and she froze at the sight. There, sitting and crying amongst the rocks, was the wolf she had been looking for for so many months.

”Nash!” she cried, tail beginning to swish back and forth as she leapt toward her littermate.

He was so ready to give up. Just lay down and die right here in this spot and never move. He was never going to see momma or papa or his sister ever aga-

Wait. What was that sound?

Nash swiveled his ears, heart pumping as he listened for was sounded like footsteps.

He saw her the same moment he heard her.

"Star!" He leapt to his feet and dashed towards her, barely managing to stop on time to avoid bowling her over. He nuzzled her, breathing in his littermate's scent for the first time in months. He hadnt realized just how much they'd grown, but seeing her made him realize just how different they were from theast time they were together. It didnt matter now though; she was here now.

He bolted over to her in return and both of them stopped just short of tackling the other. Pressing her nose into his fur, she quickly marked him with Fallen Tree Cove scent, needing to mask the musty loneliness that clung to him so strongly.

Blinking back tears, the reddish girl cleared her throat and stepped back to look him over. He was bigger than her - albeit far too skinny, but they could fix that. Both of them looked very nearly like adult wolves, which kind of blew her mind. Nash had been a pudgy butterball the last time she had seen him - and in all fairness, so had she.

”I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” she gasped out, tail wagging furiously behind her and a smile on her maw.”I thought I would never see you again! Where were you? Are you okay??”

You smell the remains of an elk nearby. Enjoy your feast! +10 Health

As soon as they finished nuzzling each other Star began peppering him with questions. They made his head spin, but he thought he caught them all. He took a step back, head dipping in shame. "I fell," he admitted sheepishly. "I fell and then I got lost."

He looked up at her and his tail swayed behind him. "You were looking for me?" Of course she had been; she was his sister. He should have known she would be searching for him. His parents had probably been on the lookout too. Guilt wracked through him. "I'm sorry I caused so much trouble." He said glumly. "But I'm back now."

He rubbed his head into Staryn again, drinking in the fact that she was there right in front of him. This wasn't a dream; he was almost home. He slumped into her. Before he could ask if they could go home, his mouth started watering. What was that smell? He turned and followed his twitching nose - without checking to see if his sister was following - to an elk that had to have died recently. "Food!" He squealed, immediately digging into it. Warmth spread through him as he was finally able to devour something far more savory than a few tree rodents.