Bramble Falls she's the girl all the bad guys want

@Vaken (also @Kino if you wanna jump in too idunno what your schedule is like). This on the same day as this maybe a few hours after they leave.

Sahalie was pacing back and forth along the edge of the pool that lay collecting the mist of the waterfall with great agitation. She was taking huge, gulping breaths of air, trying not to panic. Trying to be cool but also unable to keep down the loud internal monologue in her head that she had lost her daughter! Her approach with Arcus from the start had been very laissez-faire (a bold move in particular for a pair of loners squatting in pack territory during a summer of coyote infestation) in the hopes that her daughter would develop some precocious self-sufficiency, that their daughter would love and appreciate her parents for her independence, that it meant that they could leave Charred Ash Draw sooner. In reality, though, the result was that she was often on the edge of freaking out almost all the time and regularly stalking or tracking down her daughter to make sure she was doing okay. She wasn't sure how much Alastor approved of this method of raising because she did not ask him. She didn't want him to freak out because she was freaking out enough right now.

Sahalie had no idea that Arcus would be able to walk this far, and she had not expected to find a WATERFALL of all things. Her scent was gone, scrubbed away by the heavy dampness in the air. There was no real saying which way she went. And if Arcus had gone into the water at some point Sahalie honestly would have no way of knowing which direction she went next. This was literally the worst possible scenario she could have encountered, and one of the worst things about it was that the idea that her daughter could lose her scent somehow had never occurred to her as she had weighed the pros and cons of her parenting style.

Forlornly she stared at the waterfall. Her gaze twitched and moved up to the outcrop from which the water fell, then left and right. She tried to think about what she knew: Arcus had come this way and Treyah's son had followed her. Which was just great because it made it look like she had lost her half-sister's kid, too, on top of everything. Like she had just said, "oh yeah kids go play wherever the hell you want it will be FINE there are only wild coyotes lurking on the other side of every tree!" How stupid could she have been?

(This post was last modified: Jul 12, 2018, 07:02 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: fixing italic goof lol )

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

“She is around here somewhere,” Vaken comforted, taking in a heavy inhale through his nose. Her scent was on the breeze. He felt a drop in his stomach when he smelt the coyotes too, but hid it. He wanted to comfort Sahalie, and to do that he had to put his own nerves aside. He did not smell blood. That was reassuring, but it didn’t mean everything. Stepping closer to the lady, he pressed his nose against her flank in both submission and consolation. 


He felt guilty. He had been so close, and he hadn’t noticed the pup disappearing. He was scared. How could one pup get in so much trouble? Giving a soft whimper, Vaken flattened his ears and looked around. Where was she? He timidly stepped towards the falls and glanced around the water. He didn’t want to scare Sahalie, but he was looking for Archie’s small body along the waterline. When he didn’t see any fur, he stepped back. He wanted to let out a small sigh of relief, but just because he didn’t see a dead body didn’t mean that Arcus was alive.  She could have easily drowned.

“She is around here somewhere,” he repeated, more forcefully this time. He was trying to reassure Sahalie and himself this time, shaking those thoughts from his brain.

I guess I must be having fun

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

@Vaken tag and @Kino mentions abound, of course

Of course since she felt like she was the one that lost her daughter she didn't want to go to Alastor. It would be better if he didn't know at all. Sahalie didn't think he would freak out directly at her, per se, but she definitely did not want.... anything negative directed at her at all. He'd be disappointed or something or, even more likely, Sahalie would just get upset by something meaningless that he'd say and then they'd end up fighting instead of looking for their daughter. Which was, again, her fault. More than anything she wished she was young again, when crisis just rolled off her like water off a duck's back. She didn't get it back then—the stakes, the risks—so it was easy to feel sure, to put her confident face forward, to feel that things would end up okay. Now she definitely got it.

Vaken barely had any idea who she was, so it was safer to just freak out at him.

"What was I thinking," she fumed out loud, "I just wanted her to learn about things in her own way and now she's learned how to be lost!" Perfect. Anxiously she watched as the dark-faced boy scanned the water, her stomach sinking when she realized what his preoccupation was.

"I ...I mean she knows how to swim..." But who was to say how good her swimming was or if she got tired and couldn't get out. She didn't appear to be visible anywhere. That was good. She took a deep breath. "I think it might be better if we...sweep the forest and see if we can find any signs of her. Broken twigs or disturbed leaves. Maybe there's a ...trail somewhere. I'll go this way you go that way. We meet on the backside of the waterfall?"

Already she was walking away, going south around the pool of the falls and getting up against the tree line.

Several coyote abandoned a half-eaten deer. But before you can take a bite they reappear.

OOC: I kinda ignored the coyotes in this post- but feel free to acknowledge them when you're ready

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

Keeping his tail tucked between his legs, the yearling felt an unusual sickness in his stomach. It was heavy, like a stone weighing his gut down. He was uncertain on what to do, so when the female gave him orders he was quick to follow. “Good idea,” he praised, jerking his head in a half-nod agreement.

He wasn’t sure how to offer comfort. He fumbled with the right words in his mind, but couldn’t get them out. He didn’t think Sahalie was a bad mom, but what proof did he have to prove her differently? How could he make her believe that, if she was so set on blaming herself? He huffed, but kept his focus on his surroundings. He wasn’t going to make a fool of himself by rambling.

He just wanted to find Archie. He wanted to see little paw prints more than anything. His eyes were glued to the dirt, so hard that Vaken almost didn’t blink. Arcus was surprisingly important to the loner- so much that the idea of her in trouble made him shutter. He took small steps, sniffing the ground and leaves in desperation. He wanted to pick up on her scent. He wanted to be able to call over Sahalie and tell her that he had found a clue- but there was nothing.  


He kept his ears pinned to his head and head low to the ground, rustling through the leaves and shrubbery to catch every scent he could. There was so much coyote. The smell was so strong, overwhelming. He felt bile raise in the back of his throat, but continued moving. 


I guess I must be having fun

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

@Vaken terrible quick post as I try to make the ac :x

Ten minutes had passed since they split ways...

"Forget what I said about splitting up!" she shouted, coming up on him at a full gallop. Beyond her there were the yips and cries of the excited plague that had infested the forest. Unknowingly she had, head down and nose desperately hard at work, walked right up to a kill-site of some carcass or another that they'd been savoring. Vaguely she had wondered if Arcus would have gone toward the scent of food looking for a meal. There was definitely no Arcus there. "Run!"

She hadn't verified if they were following her but she felt sure that they would be, since the coyotes were little awful assholes that couldn't be content just to remain with their half-eaten dinner. But if they were it was bad, because then how would they search for Arcus' trail? What if Arcus had gone that way and now they were basically blocking her path.

I feel numb, born with a weak heart

When the yearling heard the female cry out, he jolted in surprise. His body went rigid and he spun around like a bullet. He hadn’t smelt anything suspicious, but the panic in her voice sent his heart racing. Sure, he knew coyotes were around- but that close? He gulped, hesitating for a second when the brown furred female sprinted into sight. He looked her over closely, darting his eyes quickly over her fur. No injuries, no blood. He nodded, content that she was in good condition. There was only two things he could do: run, or attack.

He wasn’t too interested in either of those ideas. Instead, he let out a loud aggressive howl. He knew it was useless, but still it was instinct to try and scare the coyotes away. He just wanted them to fall back and leave Sahalie alone. He hoped that if they saw him there, that they would slow their pace.

As expected, they didn’t. He made eye contact with one of the two vermin coming forward, but didn’t see any fear in their depthless glare. There was only hunger and anger. They weren’t going to stop chasing. “Disgusting swine,” he growled. Accepting the failure, the yearling darted in the direction Sahalie was running. 


If he could just get them to run off without a fight, they could finish their search around the falls- but that seemed impossible. He felt his heart drop once more.

I guess I must be having fun

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)