Sanguine Cove The Death of Peace of Mind

Galen makes his return after some unintentional solitude to do some 'soul searching'. He's lost some weight and looks a little rough for wear due to being alone but for the most part, is okay.
Open to anyone in the pack to discover his return but special note to @Oksana and @Nash

A strange sense of familiarity and awkwardness settled over the swarthy Vuesain once his paws now no longer too big for his body halted at the edge of his home, nails kneading the soil underfoot in hesitation. Why did he feel the need to stop here? Why hesitate at the doorstep of his own home instead of barging inside? There was no logical reason Galen could come up with other than the guilt that gnawed at his insides for having disappeared in the first place. He hadn't meant to become a ghost in all honesty, but there was a heaviness that clung to the Cove ever since the passing of his father and the weight of it suffocated Galen more and more with each passing day. He didn't know how to handle it, express what he was feeling or how to breathe under such applied pressure. He was weak...

No, there was no more room in this world for him to be weak. The intrusive thoughts had Galen emitting a low rumbling growl that echoed in his chest while his head was given a swift shake to rid such negativity before settling his citrine-tinted gaze upon the border of his home. He was ready to be strong, to be the kind of wolf his father was in his stead and the kind his family needed. After taking a deep breath Galen tilted his head back to call out to his family, informing them of his return.

Magg hated this, not knowing where either Matos nor Galen were or when they were coming back. Was this leading to what had happened to Aleister, or just a small speedbump in their lives? The uncertainty gnawed at her almost as much as the hole their absences had left. Rather than play, she now helped the adults with their searches. Today, she hadn't found anyone promptly enough, and decided to try heading out on her own.

When she first caught his scent on the breeze, Magg thought she might be imagining it. Then his howl grabbed her attention and in the next moment she was flying over the powder snow toward Galen. She crashed into his form, lacking tenderness but filled to the brim with joy.

"Where have you been?!" she crowed, leathery nose snuffling all about his dark fur to check for injury and scents alike.

Ebony ears pivoted forward to stand alert as the final notes of his call began to fade into the snowy landscape, both eagerly and anxiously awaiting the first signs of whoever heard his call. For now, only silence rang supreme and the suspense had Galen nearly pacing in place. His mind pondered over how the others in the pack were holding up, more specifically how his mother and siblings were doing. It was during his momentary pondering that the sound of approaching paws crunching rapidly against the powdery snow began to grow louder with each passing second.

Galen had only a moment, if that even, to capture a glimpse of the approaching tawny blur from within the Cove before suddenly an unexpected weight was slammed into him unceremoniously. All Galen could muster was a swiftly expelled oomf as his frame collapsed into the snow, a leathery nose searching every inch of his body. "Magg.." He spoke after a couple of minutes of catching his breath, adjusting himself to slowly rise back to all fours and shake the bits of snow that adorned his coat. Where had he been? Honestly, he had no inkling as to where exactly he had managed to go, but it definitely wasn't home.

Once his gaze managed to find the face of his age-mate his ears pinned back in guilt once his brain registered the worry that laced the question she posed. "Dunno. I got lost and couldn't find my way back..."

All she could really gather from her inspection was a lack of wounds and the smell of ice and frigid air. She huffed, and took a step back to give him room to right himself again and answer her question both.

Dunno, came his lackluster response. She couldn't help but be disappointed, and might have expressed it if Galen hadn't appeared so... worn. Concern tilted her wolfish brows instead, the smile fading away and her wagging tail stilling. Back from... her brown eyes lifted, following his prints and then rising higher to the heights of the valley's walls. They began to widen again, now with a sense of awe.

"Did you... go outside? Way up there?" she asked, focusing on his thinned face again. That would be something. Of course, the gravity of it all was not utterly out of her grasp. She also thought to tack on, "Did... Matos and your sisters go with you?"

(This post was last modified: Jan 07, 2023, 10:22 PM by Magg.)

Apparently, his answer was anything but what the tawny child was expecting or wanting to hear and it was the shift in her facial features that conveyed such without so much as a word being uttered. Alas, that was the best response Galen could conjure up at that moment to explain his disappearance as well as all he wanted to say. The thought of saying aloud he left to deal with the choking heaviness of his emotions because he was too weak to deal with them properly felt kinda lame and the last person he'd want to go around thinking he was lame was Magg after their lakeside heart-to-heart.

She posed a question and much like the brown hue of her gaze, the citrine hue of his own followed suit with a slow turn of his head toward the heights of the valley at his rear. "Yeah.." He admitted in such a tone that seemed as weary as his muscles, the memory of traversing such difficult terrain causing said muscles to quiver beneath his thinned pelt to the point Galen had to lower his rump into the snow. His attention then shifted back to the face of his age-mate that now adorned some new decor he made a note to ask about later with a look of pure confusion when she posed another question, brows furrowed deeply. Matos, Di, Star, and Feyre weren't here?

"Wha..what do you mean go with me? They aren't here either?!" A sickening sensation began to churn in the young boy's stomach at the various thoughts that began to swirl within his mind. Did..did they leave to try and find him when he left and now ended up going missing themselves?

Magg was hoping he'd say yes, that they weren't all that far behind him. That she would see her brother at any moment, just fine like Galen appeared to be. While he had indeed gone somewhere exciting, it was clear he'd done so alone by how caught off guard he was by her secondary query. Her tawny ears leaned back and a low whine issued from her chest. She'd never much interacted with the girls, but she was very close to Matos. She didn't want to consider the what-ifs...

"Di's still around, but... its just us, Mona and the new kids. We all woke up and they were just, gone."

She didn't blame Galen in any way, but was still saddened that not only was she missing her favorite sibling but that she'd been the one to break it to her friend that he was missing family too.

(This post was last modified: Jan 13, 2023, 04:18 AM by Magg.)

So, that's how it was and with it, only the smallest amount of relief washed over the swarthy child upon hearing word that at least Di had managed to keep herself contained within the Cove, but that small relief was vastly outweighed by the knowledge he had acquired of his siblings and hers being lost somewhere out there in the frigid cold. Dark ears pinned themselves back and his head dropped as he took a moment to utter his next nagging question.

"How's my mother been holding up?" Galen could only imagine the toll his absence alone had on her, but to essentially triple that with that of his siblings who had gone missing as well... She'd have his hide for sure once she saw him. He just knew it.

"What about you?" He then asked, his golden gaze honing in specifically on the new additions to her face he clearly didn't remember being there prior to his disappearance. What had she gotten herself into to earn such a marring?

Magg's brown eyes watched him with empathy as he processed her answer, waiting patiently for his next question to come. She'd come to learn that where some preferred enthusiasm and energy, Galen seemed to be a wolf who didn't mind calm and a little silence. Just as she found others' joy infectious, this relative stillness was catching, lulling her into a similar state.

He asked about Oksana, and she felt even worse. Magg hadn't paid nearly as much attention to the woman as she should have, but at least she knew enough to have an answer for him. Her lips parted to give it, but he ushered in a second query before she made a sound.

Her? Something fluttered in her chest. All of that and he wanted to know about her? She blinked, and the scarring marks pulled at her healthy skin, reminding her of their presence. She lifted a leg, the crook of her wolfish wrist gingerly touching those that extended beneath her eye. Oh. Right.

"... she's been worried, y'know," she answered in order, recalling @Oksana's presence in all the efforts undertaken by the pack to locate their missing.

"Like all of us. We've just, kept looking. What else is there to do? You took the party with you!" she joked, attempting to lighten the situation briefly before moving onto... herself.

"Really, we're all okay though. We've just been missing you. I've missed you."

(This post was last modified: Jan 14, 2023, 09:32 PM by Magg.)

Much as the young lad expected the answer he received from his friend boiled down to the fact his mother had, has been worried about those that have gone missing alongside the others that called this place home. That much he expected, but what he didn't expect was to actually hear it from the one standing right in front of himself.

The implemented joke had Galen ushering a soft chuckle and the corner of his inky lips tugging back to form a small smirk, perking up his guilt-ridden demeanor just slight enough to allow his tail to begin thumping at his side upon the snow-laden ground. "Well, the party is back." He jested in return, offering Magg a toothy grin before rising to his paws and taking a couple of steps forward toward the young girl as she confessed she too had missed the swarthy pup.

Once the distance was closed Galen offered to rest his head upon her tawny shoulder in the form of a wolfish hug, sighing heavily out a breath he felt he had been holding forever now. "Sorry, Magg. I didn't mean to cause worry, but I'm back now." He muttered into her fur, slowly pulling away to lock his golden gaze on her earthy brown while gingerly lifting a paw of his own to tenderly bump the crook of his wrist against the scarring tissue along her left eye.

"Bet the other guy looks ten times worse." He didn't know how she got them, yet, but now it was his turn to joke in an attempt to lighten the situation.

Nash had spent a fair bit of his time beyond the borders, searching for his son and the other missing children. The presence of the caribou was both a blessing and a curse, providing plentiful food while the adults searched, but offering a grisly reminder that the cold could just as easily snatch a litter of pups from them.

He was headed back in from another trip out when he heard the call. His ears pricked, hoping for a moment it was Matos, but the boy's voice was not his son's. Even so, the leader bounded across the territory. Any child's return was a blessing. He was not the only worried parent, and Diantha and Oksana were so very worried.

He arrived in time to see Magg touching her face, with Galen reaching out to do the same and commenting on her opponent. He grimaced. He still felt guilty about it; once more, a feline had almost taken something from them. They were growing to be the bane of the pack, stealing away food and the very life and soul of the pack. He should have been there, but he was proud to be part of a pack that had so many members leap to her defense.

"Galen," he said warmly, brushing his nose against the boy's forehead. "I'm glad you've returned safely to us. Let's get you back to the den and let Aquene and your mother have a look at you. You look like you could use a good meal." He turned to his daughter. "Magg, would you go get some food for Galen? Then you can sit and catch up all you'd like." Magg, at least, got along with her agemates well, even if Mona didn't. If only Matos would return, maybe he could help her. He seemed good at that.

"Welcome home," he murmured, tucking his chin over Galen in a hug before turning to lead the way back to the den.

Nash's exit