Dawnlark Plains I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands

Stark was feeling unsettled and while he didn't feel right leaving the packlands it was clear that something had to happen. He could take a few days, maybe a week at maximum, and hope that things wouldn't completely fall apart. There was a nagging sensation that he might return to find Octavia had taken Tambourine off to who-knew-where and that might have been the biggest betrayal of all to him. It burned him up to think of them gone, but, it wasn't enough of a fear to make him abandon his duties to the pack. 

He needed to get the word out about Pippin and see if they could track him down - aside from that, he was woefully ignorant of the other packs natures and their locations. He'd started out with the first light of dawn, saying a quick goodbye to a few of his wolves and headed out on a similar path as he'd crossed before with Nova Rose. This time there was no annoying elder to bother him, no wolf to put their pride before their pack. 

He'd stopped a midday, the plains settled before him a stark (hah!) contrast to the landscape he'd grown used to in the Keep. It was near barren, evidence of herds that had crossed through the plains but otherwise life seemed as devoid as it had been during the famine. It wasn't exactly comforting. 

— hi it me again

A heady scent had driven her out onto the plains. It was the smell of a herd that had crossed through during the night, the trampled path they tore through a mostly barren landscape more evident to her here than it was further back within the taiga. The distant mountains that bordered the valley were not so distant now, and through the haze of the day Mojave could pinpoint which of the peaks were snowcovered versus not.

She moved along, quite happily at that, trailing in the wake of the herd that was so very long gone. She didn't claim to be much of a hunter, but then again she wasn't out there hunting after prey. It probably would have been a nice to thing to go back and tell Thuringwethil that hey, guess what, there's herds down there... but Mojave was pretty fixed on taking in the sights for the time being.

Pushing her way through a bunch of rather bare looking bushes, she emerged on the other side unscathed and with something else to catch her eye. Another dark figure, one that for a moment she almost mistook as the heda herself. "Hey!" She called out to them, squinting her eyes as she started forward to get a better look at them. Or him, really. It was definitely male. "If you're following after that herd, they're long gone," she continued, though this time a lot quieter than her call for attention.

Stark had been watching for any slight flash of gold, any bit of movement that might have been the missing puppy. Octavia's trail had sent him this way but he couldn't find her either. She was an adult. He had to focus on the child who would need more help than anything. Stark turned abruptly when he was called out to, his blue eyes narrowing on the source of the call. He shook his head, crossing over the brush carefully until they were a few yards away. "Not hunting," He admitted. "A puppy got separated from our pack." So - really, yes he was hunting but it wasn't a herd he was trying to track. 

"I'm Stark." He offered after a moment, choosing to just trust in people's kindness. To others they might have been cautious, might have tried to evade the normal questions and answers but really Stark considered it more important to try and get whatever information he could out of the other wolf. He'd start by offering things, and then, they could see where they went. 

As the distance between them closed, the dark wolf imparted a bit of information that piqued Mojave's curiosity. But it was not the sort of curiosity should have associated with being a good thing. A missing pup, was, well, awful. She couldn't have fathomed how anyone would have dealt with that, let alone someone who was out looking for it.

"That's awful," she said, if only to reiterate her thoughts. "You think it might be out here, somewhere?" And she assumed it was a small child at that, one that could have been so easily plucked off the floor of the plain by a soaring hawk, eagle, or some other avian predator. Her ears flattened against her skull with sympathy; she hadn't come across such a thing at all.

"I mean, I haven't seen a puppy out here, not in the while I've been walking. I'm Mojave, by the way," she went on to add, her name as much of an after thought to the cogs that were turning in her head.

Stark frowned for a moment, shrugging. He had no idea where Pippin might have been, and when he returned to the pack for another break he'd find out that Mordecai and Larkspur were gone too. He breathed out slowly, trying to figure what to do. "His father's been going as far as he could, but the other children and their mother are still needy." He said with a sigh. What had happened here? He'd expected a pack - not to be leading so quickly, not to be taking everything on his shoulders because no one else was capable of doing so. 

Stark sighed softly, his gaze falling to his feet again. "I appreciate the help, if you do spot a puppy. He's mostly golden, about half a year old, name Pippin."[/b] Stark said as he looked up at her again. "Where are you from?" He asked, trying to garner some information about where she might have been going and what she might have been seeing. 

Oh, so it wasn't just some small little babe that had wandered too far out into the weeds. Still young though, that she knew. She hadn't been well-equipped went she had gone out into the world either, though she had been older. At least now she was much better at fending for herself than she had been. But Mojave could not fathom what it was like to be that young and out in the open. The wandering without a destination in mind was familiar, sure, but hers had come out of necessity. She had been forced to charge into it head first and certainly no one had come looking for her.

Still, her ears couldn't help but stay back, resting against her skull with a note of sympathy so evident on her features. They stayed that way until she had inquired about where she came from; her features relaxed smoothly to answer. "Right now I'm staying with this pack that lives up by the glacier," she said, gesturing over her shoulder roughly in its direction. "I guess I oughta be back there and doing whatever I'm supposed to, but... I like to wander. This seemed like a nice little path to take and I kind of got... carried away." She laughed, but it was short and awkward. A shell of a chuckle, even.

"Who knows, I mean, maybe I'll find some food out here or something. Give my wandering a reason."

Stark hated to think the way that he did, but if it was Silas, he probably wouldn't have worried as much. First, he didn't think the boy would stay gone for so long, second, if he was out there at least he could trust the boy would be able to get something to eat. That made him feel better. But Pippin? He didn't know Pippin at all and he didn't know what he knew and what he didn't. Maybe he was resourceful in ways that Stark couldn't even imagine. Maybe he was getting on the way back home. 

"I get the wandering bug every once in awhile." Stark said evenly, agreeing with the notion of wandering, of that itch to his feet that sometimes he was just compelled to obey. "Hey, just mapping out land is still a good reason - you're still learning stuff." He hummed out, offering that other angle. "There's still a lot of the land I haven't mapped out but it's harder trying to juggle the home life and my need to know things. It was definitely easier as a loner." He said with a little laugh. 

sorry for the delay!

While she had always doubted that she was the only one who got the urge to wander, it was still good to know that she wasn't alone. The ranging felt natural to do, an ever constant call that pulled her away. Mojave just wasn't made for staying in one place for too long, unless the circumstances recommended it. And even better, in spite of all the misfortune that seemed to be cast on her darker counterpart of the moment, he could offer her a genuine laugh however small. At least his spirits hadn't been dampened entirely.

"There really is a lot to see," she couldn't help but agree. "I wonder if we'll see it all. I know that won't happen in a day." It was that home life that would always interfere, though she hadn't much of one of those. Outside of a couple of wolves within the pack, Mojave hadn't sought out the others. Nor had she been sought out by them, but that seemed par for course if nothing else.

you're fine dear!

Stark shook his head at the notion of seeing it all in one day - it was impossible. A month, two, three, Stark would probably still be out learning things and finding new little details. He'd consider it a reprieve and the glutton in him would just continue to get as much information as he possibly could. "Probably not. But that's the beauty of it." Stark said with a little grin. "It's gonna constantly change and I think that's kinda amazing."

It had been a really long time since he had encountered anyone who gave him something to think about that wasn't just superficial. Stepping outside of the task that he'd given himself was healthy. It was good even if later Stark would probably feel guilty about it. "So what's the job you're working on?" He asked conversationally, hoping she wouldn't mind opening up a little bit. 

It would always be there on the horizon, that clot of doubt. Like a storm ever churning and darkening that visible line, it would remind her that she couldn't see everything there was to see. She ignored its existence of course, still too naive to believe that she could go through life without seeing everything there was. Or at least, if not everything, then the majority that was feasible to find. But she was already aware of how frequently things changed—seasons were a fair example of this.

"Just some scouting, really," she said with a roll of her shoulders. "Where I'm staying, everyone has to have a task of some sort. I mean, that's how you get to stay. I guess some folks are the best at hunting so that's what they do. Or taking care of others. I'm good at wandering so... scouting it is." She smiled awkwardly. There was no problem in opening up about things she knew she could get away with sharing. It was far easier than trying to explain how she fully had ended up there, and the story was much shorter.

Stark listened and nodded; the system of everyone working was good. They had scouts, they had guardians, they had hunters. "We've got a fair share of workers, but, I'd love to find a healer for the pack." He admitted. For Stark he didn't want to force people into their tasks but if he could have asked for anything specific, it'd be a healer. 

"Scouting is a natural desire of yours?" He confirmed. He couldn't remember when he'd stumbled into scouting - truthfully, it had been natural to him from the start. He'd wanted knowledge and exploring was the best way for him to acquire the knowledge he craved. "I've always wanted more knowledge. It's hard to keep seeking when you're so tethered though." 

"I bet," she said as Stark's words tapered off. It must have been difficult, finding time to do what you wanted to when there were so many things that you had to do. She didn't like that concept at all, and it had been a long time conflict of hers internally. To either adhere to what was expected or simply to do what she felt was best for herself... it was a dichotomy that Mojave did not enjoy having to choose between at times. And with winter on the horizon once again, she couldn't help but imagine things were just going to increase towards the direction of having to do what was expected.

"So do you know a lot about this area? Y'know, places to avoid, things I should go check out?" She didn't hide her attempt to glean some information out of him, it seemed fair after he was interested in having her keep an eye out for their missing youngster. In fact, when that thought occurred to her—thankfully only moments after her questions—she added to it: "Anywhere you think your puppy went?"

It was worth a shot, anyway.

It seemed it was a dead end and no amount of speculation would bring the child home. In the coming months Stark would find it to be a useless venture. When the boy wouldn't be found, he'd know it was because he chose not to be. There would be no avenue not checked. After discussing the Taiga some and the lands beyond it Stark departed, returning empty handed to the Keep.