Turtleback Lake I'll fly away, oh glory

Backdated to 7/25. Enera has come looking for @Chan but open to 1 or 2 others who might be around to hear her.

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

Enera's journey had taken her longer than it usual; she blamed the weight in her heart dragging her down. She took her own small comfort in knowing it hadn't been Chan's own brother or mother to pass, but she knew he and this Al had been close. Al was the father of the friends she'd made up on the mountain.

She didn't want to deliver this news.

Here she was never the less, looking over the now-familiar blue of the shrinking lake. She didn't even know if Chan and his friends were still here, but it was the last place she'd seen them and she'd promised to try. If it was her, she'd want to know. So, despite the dread in her soul, Enera tilted back her head and called for him, telling him she'd be by the shore waiting.

If he didn't arrive by dusk, she'd set off around the lake to keep looking. She couldn't be away from home long, but she didn't want to leave without trying.

Chan should have expected to run into Enera again, but truth be told he hadn't thought all that much about the Chasm and its wolves, not since...

His pace was unrushed and his stare vacantly held upon the ground at his paws as he approached the lake. The wolf was lost to the noise in his head, and pulled almost completely from the world outside of his thoughts. When he began to feel sand mixed with the earth under his toes, his body's sense of self-preservation finally kicked in and ushered him toward the water's edge with just a little bit more focus.

The Eastfall didn't mean to ignore the young girl's somber presence; he truly was not yet aware of it.

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

As patient as Enera liked to think she was, especially these days, she still hated waiting. She was just considering tipping her head back to call again when she heard pawsteps. Ears twitching she turned to look and saw the agouti form of the man she was seeking approaching the lake. Her head tilted. Why had he not called out?

His head was down, clearly focused on something, and there was that familiar weight to his shoulders. Had someone already informed him of his friend's death? Even so, Enera set off towards him. "Chan," she called again as she approached. Maybe he was just ignoring her. Maybe she hadn't howled all that loudly; she was speaking quieter as of late without meaning to. It was possible.

Chan heard his name, but it felt mirage-like. Unreal. It wasn't until he heard her accompanying footfalls that he lifted his head to look up. It was the Chasm yearling, easily recognizable and still he did not smile nor wag his tail as he likely would have before. There was not enough energy left in him at the moment to put on airs for someone who was ultimately still a stranger.

Still, his curiosity was piqued as she seemed to be approaching with a measure of purpose.

"Hi," he greeted her, voice sandpapery from disuse.

had a dream so big and loud

JUMPED SO HIGH I TOUCHED THE CLOUDS

Maybe it was the drought, she reasoned as she approached the man. Once upon a time he had been friendly, greeting her with a smile the times they'd run into each other. He'd helped her, given polite conversation, but here he seemed disinterested and even oblivious. At least this time he responded to his name. Perhaps he already knew of Aleister's passing. She hoped that was it, that there was any other reason for the vacancy in his eyes that she knew too well to be grief.

"Hi," she parroted, stopping short of him and just staring at him. Now she was here, she didn't know what to say. Probably best to get it out with, even if she wasn't the most tactful. "Oksana came to the Chasm a few days ago," she started. "She had some news... her mate, Aleister, has died." She tried to be gentle with her tone, but knew it still came out flatter than she would have liked. There was so little energy left in her to care. Most of it had been spent on bringing herself here, to find the former Cove man and tell him what he should know.

"I offered to come and tell you," she said after a long pause, "since I knew you were here. I thought you might want to know. I'm sorry."

The apology felt hollow even to her. She was sorry; sorry that a friend had been lost, sorry for the grief she knew Chan had to feel at the news, sorry she had to be the one to deliver it. It was just that apologies for this always felt wrong. She'd hated receiving them. They did nothing to make her feel better. Still, propriety dictated she share it, and it was all she could do for him now.

Aleister has died.

Chan blinked at her, dueling reactions occurring within. There was a part of him that whispered of course he has, cynically convinced that this would simply be the trajectory of things from here on out. He knew better, but still it was hard not to let bitterness rise in conjunction with grief.

Questions began to bubbled up in the back of his throat, but he hesitated to toss any of them Enera's way. He couldn't be sure what she would and would not know, and certainly didn't want to overwhelm the girl. It was difficult enough, he was sure, being the one to break this news.

"... thank you for thinking of me. Do, you know how it happened?" he finally settled on, hoping to be able to glean enough from her answer. He couldn't help but hope that the incident had been isolated and not something that had harmed others in the pack as well.