Drooping Willows Wake up older. Not older or wiser, but probably safe.

@Lorcan

Cannon had told Lana he was stepping out for a bit with the assumption that she'd spread the news to anyone who asked, or noticed for that matter. With everything happening as of recently, it really wouldn't shock him to learn that they were all too busy stumbling around looking for his mom and Suka to even notice he'd taken a small leave. Though at the same time it could end up being the exact opposite as well. Hey, he could be in some pretty serious trouble when he comes home. But that's then and this is now, and that same chaos is the same reason why he needed to take a breather. Explore some territories outside of his own. It'd only be a couple more months until he was free to make this decision whenever he wanted to anyways, so perhaps they'd just have to deal this time around.

He was at the edge of the mountain, in fact he'd followed it all the way down the whole time to ensure he'd be able to make it back home. Yup, just turn around, find the grove, home safe from there. He could do it anytime. No danger here. Perhaps he'd even run into those who'd gone missing. Then they'd all thank him for leaving! Ha, wouldn't that be funny? He snickered at the thought, soon followed by a frown. Unfortunately things would never work out that way, even he knew that.  

Although Lorcan had a rough idea of where he was going, he still felt lost. The agouti male had traversed the mountains three times before, but each time he had never stopped to explore along the way. Everything therefore seemed new and unfamiliar to him, now that he was paying more attention to his surroundings, and the thick layer of snow that covered the terrain only made him all the more disorientated.

Lorcan’s pace had slowed over the last few days, which seriously frustrated him considering how close he thought he was to tracking down both Morganna and Piety. It seemed that hunger and fatigue had finally gotten the better of him and his body demanded rest more often than it had before. It was for that reason that he had meandered his way towards the western edge of the mountain slopes, having spotted some trees which he could use to shelter beneath for a while. 

Moving tentatively, the agouti male gazed up at the strange vine-like branches of the willows as he moved beneath them, suddenly contemplating how much protection from the wind and snow their sparse and flimsy canopies would actually provide. 

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Cannon continued his little adventure, but before long he was able to catch the scent of a foreign wolf seemingly just outside of his view. They were nearby, no question about that. But.. Where? Oh! Maybe they've seen Suka! Or his mom! "H-Hello?" He cautiously stepped forward, trying to detect their location with scent alone. Sure, they could be dangerous. But the pup was practically huge now! There's no way he wouldn't be able to take one measly wolf by himself if they gave him any trouble. "Excuse me, I have a question for you if that's okay.." He spoke again, hoping they'd just make it easy on him and reveal where they were hiding on their own.

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2017, 10:16 AM by Cannon.)

Lorcan hadn’t really been paying much attention to his wider surroundings. He had been too focused on staring up at the strange trees and wondering what they were. He’d never seen anything like them before. Cautiously he craned his head up to brush his muzzle through their long vine like branches – a stupid idea considering how windy it was – and gave a high-pitched yelp when one of the vines whipped him in the face. 

Blinking in pain, for his face was already littered with fresh scars following his scuffle with Askan, he cowered down awkwardly in an attempt to avoid another lashing whilst he continued to gaze up at the willow trees in confusion. 

Russet ears pricked up when a young voice suddenly echoed through the willow vines. Frowning, the agouti male tentatively crept his way towards the voice, curious as to who else would be wondering through the area. Nostrils flared as he moved, catching on to a scent of a wolf he did not recognise. Again the young voice reached his ears, this time sounding much closer. Brushing the willow vines aside, Lorcan’s golden eyes finally found the dark figure of the boy. 

“So do I.” He said, a little disgruntled as he continued to approach. “What kind of trees are these?” He asked immediately, golden eyes glancing up to the willows again, his ears flattened uneasily against his head. 

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2017, 10:20 AM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

The stranger seemingly slithered his way into view from out of nowhere, stating that he too had a question. Though what came from his muzzle next was, well, a little shocking to say the least. It definitely caught the Tainn off guard. "Tree's..? Uh, oh.. Uhm.. These tree's right here? Like in front of us now?" Well, he wasn't too good for that sort of information. In fact he wasn't really sure he'd ever even met anyone good with that sort of information. "Er.. Well sir, I'd say that they're.. big trees!" He smiled, proud of the answer given. Though wasn't it obvious by just looking at them? "Yep. Pretty great tree's too if you ask me." But why was that important?

The boy only had to say a few words before Lorcan realised that he would be no help at all. The agouti male nodded slowly, his brows raising up to form an awkward quizzical expression on his scarred face. “Yes, these trees that are all around us.” He said, trying to hide his frustration and remain polite as he brushed the vine like branches nearest him with his nose.

When the young male finally got around to giving an answer, Lorcan could do little but roll his eyes. A half-amused smile tugged gently at the corners of his charcoal lips as he stared at the dark boy, who was obviously very proud of himself. The father couldn’t help but notice the pup was around the same age as his own daughter and inwardly he hoped that Oksana wasn’t the same way around strangers.

“I’m going to have to disagree with you there, but nevermind.” He replied with a sigh. He was too tired and hungry to try and question the boy anymore. He slumped down then, thin body colliding with the soft snow as he attempted to rest up against the trunk of one of the strange trees. “So, what was your question?” He asked with a casual shrug and narrowed gaze. The boy might not have been good for information but he could keep Lorcan entertained for a short while. 

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2017, 10:43 AM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

The pup frowned as his company disagreed with his statement on the wonderful large tree's that surrounded them. 'Pfff. Whatever man, they seem pretty cool to me. Like you've even seen a better tree before. Stop fronting.' he inwardly spat, completely and utterly disappointed and perhaps even a little disgusted that the man didn't at least pretend a little, if not for the sake of his feelings, that he was of some help with that one.

"Oh! Oh yeah! I'm not sure how long you've been in the area, but have you happened upon a timber-y gold-y wolf by chance? With yellow eyes? Smaller than me and thinks he knows a lot in like a really..really annoying way? Or maybe an older female wolf with a similar description? She might of seemed a bit.. Out of it?"

Here's hoping.

Lorcan did notice the frown the creased the young wolf’s features when he disagreed with him, which caused his eyes to roll off to one side and for his shoulders to shrug again. If Lorcan had been in a better mood and not had such a rough few weeks he might have cared about the boy’s feelings and answered differently. However, in his current fatigued state, he couldn’t care less what the boy thought of him.

Still, since the boy has asked Lorcan thought it only polite to try and answer his own question the best he could. Hopefully he could be of more help than the young male had been to him. Golden eyes glanced up to meet the bright amber eyes of the pup and his russet ears perked up to listen carefully to what he said. For a moment as the boy described someone, Lorcan’s eyes widened and his head began to nod slowly. 

Lorcan had met a girl like the one he’d described by the geyser recently. However, the pup then explained that he was looking for a male or an older woman and Lorcan’s hopeful expression suddenly shattered into a disappointed frown. “I’m afraid not. I’ve only come across a girl, about a year old, similar to your description by the geyser north-east of here.” He explained, before giving his tail a dismissive flick. 

“Why, are you lost or something?” The male asked suddenly, realising that a boy his age was probably being missed by somebody. 

(This post was last modified: Dec 13, 2017, 11:12 AM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

"Oh, I see.." Cannon responded, trying with all his might to contain the dismay he felt with the stranger's answer. A girl that fit the description, but only a year old? There was no way he'd get someone as young as that confused with Naira, was there? Gah, even so the boy hadn't the slightest idea what a geyser was, and by the time he got back to tell anyone the female in question would likely be long gone. 'Don't get too upset, you knew this would happen. Plus, they'll both come back when they're ready.'

"Ah, no no. Not lost. Just.. Recently both my mom and brother have gone missing and everyone's kinda losing their minds back home trying to find them. I think they're probably fine but.. I feel bad.. Being the only one not helping look for 'em. So thought I'd ask just in case. Hey by the way, why'd ya need to know what kind of tree's these are?"

“Sorry..” Lorcan said softly, noticing the boy’s disappointment. 

The father in him couldn’t help but notice how old the dark wolf was and, when he realised that the boy was around his own daughter’s age, he began to wonder where his parents were and why he was out in the wild all alone so close to the mountain. It would be foolish for a pup to try and scale the heights at this time of year. Lorcan himself was feeling the physical effects of their harsh conditions, he imagined the outcome for a pup not even a year old would be even more traumatic. 

The agouti male listened, his russet ears perking up in interest, as the boy explained about his missing mother and brother. Immediately Lorcan felt a pang of guilt, at the idea that @Oksana may have felt something similar about him. He pushed those thoughts to one side with a dismissive flick of his tail before he offered the young boy a sympathetic smile. 

“How about you give me their details, and yours, and if I see them I’ll tell them you were looking for them?” He offered. It was all that he could do really, but he would be happy to help. He then shrugged his shoulders when @Cannon asked about the trees. “I thought they might be medicinal or something because their branches are annoying and they seem pretty useless at everything else..” He half-joked with a tired grin.

(This post was last modified: Dec 14, 2017, 10:19 AM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together