Willow Ridge Bad Moon on the Rise

not looking for some fairytale bliss

A week had passed since she'd last seen her daughter and Leotie was beside herself with worry. She'd looked everywhere she could think to look and even places she doubted Avella would ever go. She didn't know what had happened or how she'd gotten out of the ridge.

Each time she thought about just going out after her she remembered that she had another child at home that needed her. It was him she'd returned to the ridge for, to make sure he was okay and she needed to know if in her absence Avella had returned.

When she crossed the border into the territory she was on a mission to get to the den. She would check there first and hope that she would find her masked daughter sound asleep. That however wasn't the reality when she finally did reach the den. Avella wasn't there, her scent had faded and Leotie knew her daughter hadn't come back.

The Agouti woman stepped slowly outside as tears fell down her face, would she ever see get daughter again?

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Of course this would happen; Sven had wanted to believe it wouldn't, but history had proved over and over that it would. Shitty as it was, he'd hoped it would have been one of Ravenna's, but Avella had proven several times that she was too adventurous for her own good. He was pretty certain he knew how it had started, she'd simply wandered too far, but what had kept her from coming back? Was it simply her own choice to not come home, or was she lost? Was she hurt, whisked away by another wolf?

Sven had already on his way to the pack's den, but he could not bring himself to hurry even though he could hear Leotie's grief. His own was choking him. First Scully's outburst, and now this? The evidence was irrefutable; he had failed as a father.

When he reached her, Sven reclined close to Leotie's side, and rested his muzzle atop her crown, silently sharing her despair.

not looking for some fairytale bliss

She hadn't wanted to face the truth but after a week of looking and not finding Avella she had to choice. Her daughter was really gone and it was suffocating. She'd barely slept afraid that every time she closed her eyes she would see something terrible happen to her daughter. She didn't know why Avella hadn't come back but wished she did, then maybe she could know how to find her and bring her back.

She sat defeated outside the den crying for her lost child and for her child that remained within the ridge would Scully have to grow up without his sister who he loved and protected? She didn't want that for him hut she didn't know what else to do. She couldn't leave him like Enoki had left Romanov, she'd seen what that had done and she couldn't do that to her son.

She'd been so caught up in her grief that she hadn't realized that Sven had come to sit beside her. The way he placed his muzzle on her crown but she knew, this time wasn't to comfort her, this time he felt the same grief she did. She buried her face into the fur of his chest, “I'm so sorry Sven,” she whispered her voice cracking.

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She greeted him with an apology, and his voice was strong with conviction as it answered her.

"It's not your fault," Sven insisted. As hard as it was to face, this wasn't either of their fault. It was a lesson he had learned with Attica; no matter how dutiful you were, how many bases you covered, you couldn't control the very thing you wanted to protect. They had done their job informing Avella of the dangers, of setting restrictions without being overbearing and driving her out. Yet as clear as this truth was, it was still impossible for him to accept. He buried himself with guilt and blame, but he'd be damned if Leotie did the same. She was a good mother.

"She knew better she's just... too adventurous for her own good. Gonna be a scout probably, like her mom."

Hope was hard to keep when you knew the harsh reality of the world, but he would still continue to speak as though it were certain Avella would come back to them. For his own sanity, he had to.

He'd been hidden away at the back of the den, wallowing in his own misery and guilt. When Leotie had come to check in, the boy pretended to be asleep, unwilling to see the disappointment on her face when it was only him she found. Still, part of him wished she would settle in next to him, wrap around him and share her warmth and comfort. He needed it so badly, but his needs weren't all that existed. Scully heard her leave, heard her begin to cry, and he curled up more tightly into himself, desperate to block it out.

He'd always thought Avella told him everything, that there wouldn't ever be anything he didn't know about his sister. It was the same with Ragnar and Freyja, it was just natural, or at least had always felt like it. Now, he was questioning his relationship with her, because as much as that hurt to do, it was better than the alternative; something had forced her to do this. Death, injury, captivity...

Shakily, he rose to his paws. As much as he didn't want to face his parents' grief, he knew he had to be a part of it. Scully sulked out of the den and huddled against his mother's flank, closing his eyes and leaning his head against her plush side. His only contribution to the conversation was a heartbroken whimper.

not looking for some fairytale bliss

In the week she'd been looking for Avella she'd been alone in it all. She hadn't said anything about going to look for her daughter so hadn't even known if anyone else had taken notice. Having Sven with her in that moment helped to calm her. She was if course still worried about her daughter but she at least felt like she could stop and take a moment to think more clearly.

Her apology was met with him telling her it wasn't her fault but Leotie didn't believe that. “If I had only kept a better eye on her Sven.” The truth was she thought the Avella understood where she was and wasn't allowed to go. The rules that she was to follow but maybe her free spirited daughter just wasn't the type to follow rules. What he said next didn't fall on deaf ears and at the last she did smile a little, “A scout would fit her well,” Leotie agreed especially with the part about her being too adventurous. “Do you think we'll ever see her again? That we'll ever find her.” The last thing that Leotie wanted to do was give up looking for Avella.

Her reason to stay in the ridge exited the den and pressed his dark body against her flank. Scully, her son needed her and she didn't want to leave him without his mother after he'd lost his sister. “Mommy's not going anywhere,” she told Scully before licking his crown and pulling him closer against her with her muzzle. His whine nearly broke her heart, “We're not giving up either.” She was determined in that.

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