Lavender Ethos My heart will always know your name

attn. @Chan @Isla and the rest of PF.
The events of the following two posts take place between the 3rd and 7th of October.

This will be Flair's last thread.

(below are just some thoughts/feelings, feel free to skip, they have no bearing on ic)
(Probably not a surprise to anyone, given how inactive she's been. Still this was super hard for me, hence why it's taken me so long. Flair has always been special to me and it's real tough to let her go. I wanted to do right by her as well as everyone else, and I hope this does that - I considered simply having her pass alone, but I couldn't bear it, she deserves a chance to say goodbye. Tears were definitely shed in writing this.)

She should have expected the snow, it was that time of year after all, and maybe she would have been alright if it had stopped at the light flurry. But the freezing winds blowing across the lowlands turned even the lightest flakes into an ice storm, biting at her muzzle and leaving tiny pricks of blood. By the time she reached the edge of Kingsfall, she was breathing ragged and shivering all over. Then the snow turned to rain, equally cold, drenching her in minutes.   It was only meant to be a short trip, a few days at the most, tracking the herds to prepare for a potential hunt. She’d been feeling better lately, stronger, ready to take on more responsibility again – and this had been a test run of sorts, to prove to herself that she was ready to step back up; Guess that didn’t work out so well… At least no one else would ever know of her hubris.   She’d need to rest for a few hours though, warm up and wait out the rain. Shivering and exhausted as she were, she didn’t have the energy to search long for a suitable place, simply huddling under the exposed roots of a particular old sequoia, unaware of what else rested there, under the damp soil. ”Speech" Thoughts

dawnthieves.de & Malleni-Stock

This would have Micaden reaching PF on the morning of the 7th - lmk if that doesn't work <3
Also if you would prefer to split off the part at the borders, we can do that. This just seemed the easiest for me rn.

He couldn’t say what in particular spurred him to follow in his mother’s tracks that day - wandering had simply become a favorite pass time, and lazily trailing someone else was the easiest way to do so. At first, he had no intentions on actually catching up, content to use the blazed trail as a springboard for his own exploration, but as the day wore on, and he drifted further and further from the shelter of Kingsfall, worry started to creep up on even his carefree heart. And then the snow started.   Still an unexperienced tracker, the flurry almost made Micaden lose the trail several times, having to double back and take the right turns through the brush of the lowlands. As snow turned to rain, he was in half a heart to give up all together; Surely Ma’s made it home by now… She was far too sensible to stay out in this kind of weather. Only, the scent spoke differently, meandering here and there, almost like she was lost; That definitely can’t be right! And yet, it kept him at it, despite the cold.   The sun had set a while ago when he finally passed between the first sequoia trees, yet the scent markers he was following were worryingly strong. Despite the darkness, it was easy to find his mother, pressed into the hollow between two tree roots, looking eerily still. “Ma?” he called quietly, walking closer on stiff legs, a deep dread settling in the pit of his stomach; “Ma, are you okay?”   She didn’t answer, and the boy was gripped by a sudden urge to turn away, as if running fast and far enough would mean this never happened. But he forced himself forwards, picturing his dad in his mind and how he would have handled it. Taking a deep breath, he reached down to touch his nose against a silvered muzzle, heart pounding in his chest.   She was trembling. Almost imperceptibly, but now that he’d felt it he could tell, her whole body was shivering and she was ice cold. “Ma…?” he asked again, voice fragile like a young pup’s. Her only answer was a faint chittering of her teeth. “It’s okay Ma, I’m here, It’s… Gonna be okay.” He whispered, hunkering down next to her, in an effort to share his warmth; She’ll be better by morning…. He told himself fiercely; if he only wished it hard enough, it would be true.   Curling around his mother’s body, he realized for the first time how much smaller than him she was. ---  Morning dawned grey and damp, and Micaden, having hardly slept all night, was encouraged to find his mom no longer shivering, but sleeping soundly at his side, chest rising and falling steadily. For most of that day, he would stay glued to her side, scared that she might freeze again without his warmth. As she remained fast asleep, he would talk quietly in her ear, telling her about all his little adventures which he’d otherwise kept secret, and tenderly wash her fur much as she had his so many times before.   The shadows were growing long when she stirred briefly, mumbling unintelligibly. Micaden tried to rouse her further, but to no avail. And she soon drifted off again, leaving her son helpless at her side, torn between the urge to run for help, and the fear of what might happen if he did. In the end, all he could do was send up a desperate howl, carried off uselessly on the wind, to far away to reach the Falls. Then he settled in for another restless night. ---    The next day the rain returned, hard and cold against the ground, offered little protection by the giant trees spaced so far apart. Micaden did his best to make a shelter, digging out the hollow under the roots and lining it with leaf litter to cover the mud, it wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing.   Exhausted by the work, he could barely even think of moving, but as the day wore on, he started to feel the hunger gnaw at his stomach. Lapping at the pools of gathered rainwater helped by filling him up a little, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get Flair to drink. She remained completely unresponsive. ---  One more day, he told himself, then he would have to leave her to get help. And it wasn’t looking good. That morning, she started shivering again, and despite his best efforts he couldn’t get her to stop. By mid-day she was twitching and mumbling again, most of the words impossible to make out, but as darkness began to settle, Micaden thought he was hearing names; Chan, Mar, Addy, Mica…   Whining hopefully, the boy huddled even closer, hoping his mom was finally waking up. He was terrified to leave her, afraid that his warmth was the only thing keeping her alive; If she’ll just wake up…! They could get back home; Da’ll know how to help her! Pressing his nose to hers, Mica was shocked at how paradoxically warm she felt, despite her continued shivers.   “Ma?” he whispered. And finally, her eyes opened, looking up at him through a glassy sheen. He couldn’t have possibly imagined her waking up making things worse, but seeing that fevered gaze made his heart sink. Parting her lips, she spoke in a hoarse whisper, just three words, but more than enough; ‘Get yer Da’ ---  So he ran, as fast as his legs could manage, exhausted as he was and fumbling in the dark. It would be dawn before he came within earshot of Paradise Falls, at which point he would send up the loudest howl he could muster, without slowing his run. And he would continue those desperate calls, as he drew nearer and nearer to the borders, until somebody answered. Thoughts ”Speech”

Burtn, FurLined & AFireSmothered

(This post was last modified: Oct 11, 2024, 02:25 AM by Micaden.)

T_T this will Hurt.
technically, death threads shouldn't be backdated unless given prior approval by staff due to extenuating circumstances. definitely feel free to shoot SoW a pm if you feel this qualifies, otherwise we can call it the 10th?

Chan had been sleeping. His muscles would twitch, and every now and then a kind of murmuring would start up in his throat, but at least he'd been down for more than an hour solid. That was something, these days. Still, his slumber was light. When Micaden's voice reached his ears, he awoke immediately.

In a way, he'd heard this before. His mind, desperate and sleep-deprived, would conjure the sound of Flair and his son. Howls, speaking his name, crying out for help. Chan still didn't waste any time trying to confirm whether this instance was the real deal or not. He was on his paws and racing toward the source of those frantic calls without any hesitation at all.

It was him this time, it had to be. The aged father howled back, the sound jostling through the air as he refused to let the action hamper his speed. All he could think about was getting to Micaden as quickly as possible, and... why he wasn't hearing Flair's voice too...

He could still smell her on him, though, when Chan finally caught the yearling in his sights and all but tackled him, much thinner body colliding gratefully with Mica's leggy frame.

"What's wrong, what happened?!"

(This post was last modified: Oct 29, 2024, 10:43 PM by Addison.)

They had been curled against their father's side, in a much deeper sleep that remained no less troubled. Their dreams had been dark since they'd seen their mother's shadow pass over the moon, nearly discouraging them from rest altogether. They needed it, though, and Dad was far more likely to rest his own, old bones when they and Mar accompanied him in the venture.

The sudden absence of that comforting presence pulled them from the depths of deep pit and back into reality. Their green eyes blinked groggily awake, turning to look after Chan's vanishing form. Their legs scrambled to heft the rest of their body up off the ground and chase after him, even before the calls register.

'Mica!'

They were fully awake now as they raced behind their father. When he threw himself at their brother, so did they, eager to bury their strawberry face into his fur. At least he was alive.

Marigold had been the only one awake. She'd fallen into slumber around the time her sibling and father had, but she'd had a harder time staying that way. Still, they were nearly just as quick as her in reacting. She almost couldn't believe her ears the first howl, but the second she was on her paws. Then Chan was up and running almost all in one scrambling movement, and Addy tore after. Mar's brows set with determination and she flew after them.

While the other two aimed to immediately connect with Micaden, Marigold gave him room to both breathe and speak. Her nose set to work, desperately trying to piece the puzzle together as quickly as was possible. Flair wasn't with him, but she could smell her and... something else... Whatever had happened, she felt certain they would need to act swiftly if they wanted to still have a chance to fix it.

Riven was not the first to arrive at the borders. As winter approached, the cold had his old injury acting up, and he was slower than he'd have liked, but he did arrive eventually. It was the missing boy - the one who had left alongside Flair - and Riven felt a sick twisting in his stomach when he realized the elderly woman wasn't there with him.

To be so old, out on her own... who knew what had happened?

He didn't get too close, instead hanging back, just in case he was needed. At surface level, things seemed relatively fine, but he knew well enough to not make that assumption.