Paradise Falls Lost & Found

OOC: Indigo's trying to find her way home after wandering off, for @Hazelnut & @Ryder but ofc other pack members helping to look are welcome as well.

Wandering off to get lost in the woods had not been Indigo's plan. It was a butterfly that caught the girl's attention. She sniffed the little black and orange bug curiously and it crawled from the flower onto her nose for a brief moment before flitting away. It seemed to her an obvious invitation to play. She bounded after the butterfly as it floated from flower to flower, wholly unnoticing her surroundings growing unfamiliar.

She wasn't quite sure just how far she had gone from her den. When the butterfly finally gave up their little game and flew up into the sky, Indigo paused and sat down to breathe. Only then did she realize that she didn't know where she was. The sky was darkening overhead and she looked around, confused.

Indigo tried to trace her steps back to the den, following faint hints of her own scent, but everything became muddled when you were sniffing your own paws.

When that failed, she sat down and let out a high-pitched howl, calling for her mom and dad. Her voice was still young but she put as much force behind it at possible. Hopefully she wasn't so far that no one would hear her.

As a reminder for myself and others, Indigo has been missing since 8/15. I can definitely change this if needed, but wanted ya to have a response before too long. <3

Ryder had been searched relentlessly, but things were starting to feel hopeless. Just like that, he'd lost his daughter. Literally the most important thing he could have been tasked with and he'd failed horrifically. It was getting difficult not to fall apart into total apathy, to just give up and waste away in solitude somewhere discreet. Indigo had come back from death once before, though. What if one more day was all it took to find her? What if she was still out there needing her dad?

He forced himself to rouse from a fitful few hours of sleep and head out once more, exhausted limbs carrying him swiftly over the ground while his nose worked the air. He'd gotten nearly to the edge of the territory when he heard her, all at once bringing life back to his being.

"Indigo!" he barked out, taking off in the direction the pup's voice had come from. Grey eyes searched ahead frantically while dirty paws ate up the ground.

"Indi! I'm here! Where are you?!"

Indigo's paws felt like lead, dragging in the dirt as she walked trying to find her home. Days and nights of circling around trying to find a familiar path back to her family had drained her to exhaustion. The girl's bouncy personality went quiet as she wandered. She'd barked herself hoarse that first night alone.

Indi had sat down to rest for a moment in her endless search and she stood now to raise her voice to the sky once more. She just wanted to be home now. She wanted to be home with her mother and father and she regretted ever wandering off. If only she had paid attention.

"Dad!" Her voice was a strained squeak as she tried to answer his call. "I'm here!" She took a few steps forward before stopping and laying down once more, tail wagging weakly at the thought of returning home.