Cold Water Creek Without a paddle

@Darrah first, @Reiko then Eek :D Set a few days before this thread.
Set at the edge of Spectral Woods and Red Fern Forest, starting out in OTB.
M for Language

Oh shit. He was fucked.

What the fuck had be been thinking? "I can look after the little guy! Really, nothin' to it!" He had assured Naira. The hard, judging look she had given him before finally conceding with a toothy smile was burned into the back of his brain, his own fear inflating the size difference between his father's woman and himself a hundred fold. She was going to sit on him and crush him to death, and he deserved it. The little guy was his brother, how the fuck could he have thought to look away, even for a minute? He should own up now and face his fate, but really how far could one pup go? It hadn't been that long yet.

Nose to the ground the white boy weaved this way and that, stopping with a jolt as Darrah's scent crossed his path. He took after the older Tainn like an arrow, frantic bark loosed to try and summon the dark wolf faster, there was no time to wait. "Darrah! Dar!" Finally there he was, just up ahead. "Dar, you gotta help me, I lost Reiko. I only looked away for a second I swear! What am I gonna do? Dad'll be so mad..." Worry was painted clearly on the boys pale face, he hadn't even been back a week and already he was fucking up.

I should'a stayed gone.

@Reiko Go for it, champ!

For better or for worse, Darrah had finally given up on his lifelong dream of becoming Oak Tree Bend's alpha male. With a clear head, it was easy to see why Serach deserved the spot of all wolves, however that didn't make the Tainn feel any less bitter about it all. Still needing something to fill the void, the inky male decided that perhaps he'd once more try out for the Guardian role, thus bringing him to his second 'patrolling shift' today. Honestly, what else was he going to do with all this spare time?

He'd just about finished up his rounds when all of a sudden Drift caught his attention, and boy was the guy frantic. Though listening to what the off-white yearling had to say, Darrah was definitely able to see why. "You what?!" The Tainn hissed, adrenaline coursing through his core. "Dad's gonna be mad? No offense bro but I'm pretty sure it's not dad you have to worry about right now!" looking around frantically, the former-prince attempted to pick up any scent trails their younger kin might have left behind. "How long ago?? A couple of minutes or like.. Is he all the way across the mountain by now? Oh boy.. Fuck!" He'd always wished to spend more time with his younger brother, however not quite like this. 'Be careful what you wish for.'

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

Tawny paws landed inches from the victim, it's terrified shrieks only serving to excite the boy more. A chase ensued, but his hunting skills weren't quite up to par, and thus the mouse was able to escape into it's burrow without even a scratch to remember him by. "Dang it, I almost had him." Bright eyes turned to find Drift, hoping that his elder brother would have some precious bit of knowledge to instill, but there was nobody there. Curious, Reiko scanned the trees, his nose scenting the air for any sign of the pale man. "Drift?" When no answer came, the boy considered his options. He could call out to his babysitter and ruin the opportunity he'd been so graciously granted or he could cease the day. Of course if he chose the latter then Mum would be pissed. Punishment would undoubtedly ensue.

He mulled over the options, taking each detail into account before making a decision. In the end he found that the consequences would be a decent trade off, and so his day of debauchery began. He didn't try to sneak away, as that would be too difficult to explain. Instead, Reiko meandered, taking each careless step as though he was supposed to be there. Certainly nobody would assume that he was somewhere he wasn't technically allowed to be!

His aimless path brought him unknowingly closer to the borders, the musk of marked trees being much stronger than he'd ever scented. What was beyond said borders though? Well, he was certainly going to find out.

(This post was last modified: Sep 01, 2016, 08:03 AM by Reiko.)

The dark wolf had been on the prowl further south again, refusing to keep all of her eggs in one basket. She had every intention of making sure she found somewhere else suitable should everything suddenly go to shit in the Pines, after all, when it came to the silver eyed Lieris, history had a habit of repeating itself.

Something about the red forest was unnerving and she had no intention of stopping her long - the deeper woods to the south held far more appeal. It was with this destination in mind that she almost walked clear over the small brown pup, freezing in her tracks as silver eyes darted this way and that. Her nose worked overtime, searching for the hidden guardian, a parent perhaps - but no other scents came to her nose. Her heart began to thunder in her chest, a sly smile working its way onto her face.

She got down low, so as not to scare the poor lad, her sweetest smile thrown his way as she pawed the ground enticing the boy to come a little closer. He was younger than she would expect of children born early in the spring, younger or smaller, she couldn't quite decide just yet. "Why hello there," she cooed, snaking closer to the boy on her belly. "What's your name?"

@Darrah

He didn't even bother to flinch at Darrah's hiss, far too concerned about all that had gone wrong in such a short span of time. How long ago? The fuck was he supposed to know that? Eyes rapidly turned towards the sun, jaws left slightly agape as he realised just how much time had passed. "I dunno, an hour-ish? He's only got short legs, he couldn'ta gone far..." It was more wishful thinking than a statement of fact. He had been gone for long enough to be picked off by a coyote or a fox, or heaven forbid, another wolf. "We were north o' here, I hoped that maybe he'd gotten tired and started to head back to the den..." but if Drift had headed south and not found the boy then chances were he had gone the other way.

"C'mon I'll take you to where I saw him last." he offered, setting a hasty pace as they rounded on the felled log that housed all manner of strange colourful fungi that he hoped would be enough to amuse the lad. What he hadn't counted on was the sheer number of rodents that had chosen to make said log their home. They scurried underfoot as the two wolves arrived on the scene. How hadn't he noticed them before? "Aww fuck."

(This post was last modified: Sep 02, 2016, 12:43 AM by Drift.)

A complete fucking hour had passed and Drift was just now able to tell someone about it?! Unacceptable. The yearling had only came back into Bend residency like, what, a couple of weeks ago? Tops. How could he have screwed up this bad already?! Darrah was livid, however he tried best not to let it show. The pair hadn't ever been given the chance to form a close bond and screaming would likely just scare the brute off again, not a smart move. "Yes, take me there." He sighed, pushing to keep the aggression safely bottled up.

"I think we can convince the lil' dude to keep this a secret. Dad would probably let it slide after a while, the wench however.." Naira seemed rather protective of her little litter, which honestly surprised the man considering how rocky her relationship seemed with Aponi. Darrah liked seeing his kin with two eyes, persuading the pup definitely wouldn't hurt. "He's a kid of simple pleasures, kinda like you were. Give 'em a chewing stick and we're basically set fo- What the actual living hell." Mice. Everywhere. Nice. Because they had the time for this right now. "For fuck's sake this is repulsing!" Cool log though.

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

Her perfume was unmasked, heavy in the air so he knew she was there. Instinct told him to turn his head and so he did. Bright eyes found her in the same way that they would have should he have heard a noise. Thus, her 'sudden' presence did not surprise him in the least. Without fear he felt no adrenaline, and without adrenaline the boy felt no need to go on the defensive. He hadn't met this particular wolf before, but there was still no cause for alarm. She wouldn't be somewhere that she wasn't supposed to be right? Not to mention the fact that wolves didn't just casually come so close to the borders without being noticed. Or at least that's what Reiko assumed with such little knowledge of how these things actually worked yet.

"Hi!" She was on her belly, scooting closer and closer. Had be been older he might have realized that she moved much like a cat towards it's prey, or a snake to a mouse, but stranger danger had been little more than a myth to the boy. It wasn't tangible, he hadn't seen it, hadn't experienced it yet. "My name's Reiko. What's yours?" His head fell slightly to one side, as his tawny ears swung forward so as to catch her words a little better.

It might have been the first genuine smile she had smiled in a long long time, he was eager and willing to speak to her. Her stump of a tail picked up in its wave and she dared to rise, just a little - slowly, slowly so as not to startle the boy. Reiko, well it wasn't a horrible name. "My name is Eek. What are you doing all the way out here Reiko?" she questioned the child gently, a smirk working its way into the edge of her smile. "Are you meant to be all the way out here?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper and so she drew in closer. 

Had the boy been smaller, she would have just grabbed him by the scruff and carried him home, but his parents must be large indeed for it would certainly be more of a dragging motion if she dared to try and she was painfully aware that any sudden moves might make the boy scream, raining down reinforcements on her ass no doubt. No. She would have to convince him to come of his own free will. "Don't worry though, I won't tell on you." she finally offered warmly. "Say, have you seen the waterfalls yet? They're really cool! We could go check them out, since you're already out here and all... Unless you need a nap or something? But you don't look like a baby to me..." Oh but he did, and wasn't that all that was ringing in the back of her mind right now? He had to be hers.

@Darrah - you're up! Sorry for the wait :/

A grimace pulled at his lips, maybe they should call @Serach? Get a proper search party organised? Oh but they were here now, he couldn't have wandered far, could he? "They weren't here before! Maybe the little guy stirred them up?" His tone was more hopeful than certain, with the stench of rodents now overpowering the scent of rotting log, Drift moved back towards the Oak Tree with his nose to the ground, sniffing this way and that in hopes of tracking the young lad down.

Of course it was a long way around to get to where Reiko had actually scurried off, out towards the Red Fern Forest. Dread was clearly painted on the young lad's face. How long had he been lost out there himself? Breath came is short sharp pants, barely managing a bark to get Darrah's attention before he tore off with his nose to the ground, like a bloodhound on the trail of a prison escapee. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. He kept chanting over and over in his head, they were getting closer now, and another scent had joined the trail. The lad retched as he continued, certain Darrah would have picked the strangers scent up too. When they finally came into sight, the yearling didn't stop to think. Much like when @"Aponi had called for support, he closed his eyes and braced for impact. At least this one seemed a bit smaller. Blindly, teeth gnashed as the boy growled his warnings. She needed to back the fuck off, they didn't want her explainations. She smelled of a foreign pack and she needed to get gone.

To him the woman seemed warm, and safe. The words fell from her tongue in such a comforting way, as if she really were just another pack member eager to take on the babysitting duties. A smile formed around the corners of his maw, already going over the details of his “escape” within the confines of the boys growing mind. ”I was chasin’ a mouse and then drift was jus’ gone.” That part was true. ”I looked for him, but I don’t know where he went.” So he really didn’t know where his brother went, but Reiko might have stretched the truth a little bit when he said he had looked for the older boy.

She offered to keep his secret, causing his tail to sway from side to side. He decided that he liked this woman even more. The casual mention of waterfalls caught his attention. An adventure, really? His still-thickening tail flung faster behind him as she challenged his age. “I’m all grown up, don’t worry!” As if to reinforce the notion, Reiko stood a little taller. ”I can go, don’t worry!”

Then all of a sudden Drift was there barreling into the woman. Confusion clouded his gaze, unable to process what exactly was going on. "Hey! Stop! What're you doin'?"