Golden Glade it's your life, it's your call

Everything felt so strange these days and while he knew why, he didn't know how it was he had ended up here so far away from what was familiar -- all over again, no less. They now had the forest, which was pretty nice from what little of it he had bothered to explore yet. There were even a few caches leftover from the last pack, although not very much. For many days, or what really felt like it, the worst of it all was the brutal weather. He'd never known a cold like that. From ice to blizzard, they were almost buried and he was miserable here relatively cooped up in this bizarre turn of events that brought him here. It had finally given him time to miss everyone he'd lost, think about the circumstances of it all, and the mood was hard to pick up from there.

Silas still wasn't feeling it, but he drug himself out into the bright afternoon anyway to move around the Glade a bit. To make the trek a little easier, he followed a trail through the snow someone else had laid down already. He didn't have the energy for any noteworthy endeavors, so anything he could save would be helpful in his long run.

Eventually, he'd probably wander to a cache. Until then, glancing all around with a thoughtful frown, he tried to shake off the sensation of being so misplaced.

He was back in the glade, which didn't feel anything like home to him yet. If there was any sense of that, it was in four-legged form: Silas. He sought out his fellow youth today after having wandered away to explore the contours of this forested territory and maybe find something to eat. Silas's scent led him along a furrow worn in the deep drifts of snow piled on the ground. Tambourine left a trail of oddly-shaped footprints in his wake.

When he caught up to his companion, Tambourine shouted, "Silas, hey!" and sped up to stand abreast of him. His pale eyes tracked over Silas's face, noting the thoughtful frown. "I miss it too," he said in a low voice, thinking of the Keep and breathing through a deep pang in his chest. "And them," he added, thinking of Stark, Banner and the rest of the wolves who had vanished. He definitely hadn't come across any promising leads, either.

Tambourine peered around for a moment, then glanced back to his friend's face. "Do you think it'll ever feel like, y'know, home?"

He passed over the landscape and felt so little towards it that, which bothered him somewhat -- partially because he'd felt it before. This wasn't his first time being uprooted but he was far more cognizant of the world's bigger picture now. That made it far worse, he reckoned.

When he realized it was Tambourine hollering for him, he slowed up and wiggled his tail for perhaps his most enthusiastic display of anything all day. "Hey Tamb," he replied in a soft chuff, clearly relieved that it was him versus one of the stranger faces. While he was at least acquainted with them all and had howled alongside them as a victorious packmate, he still felt.. kind of odd about it. "Yeah.." he sighed, feeling sullen about all the missing faces of his family even after they'd all left them behind. He wasn't very  happy about the truthful answer hanging on the tip of his tongue, either. "With enough time it will probably start to feel like a home.. but never exactly the same, like the first home you know.." Silas' ears drooped, thinking about how his mom would have probably had something encouraging and knowledgeable to say to help ease their aches; he wished he could channel that right now. "I missed the Hollow for a really long time when we first came to the Keep.." he voiced quietly. He'd not had the chance to really get to know his birthplace like Tambourine had, though.

"It is a nice forest. But I dunno," he huffed and couldn't hide the glance he stole down towards Tambourine's feet. Getting here had been hell. The whole trek still felt like it had only been a blur, but the proof of it stood stark before and around them both. Silas knew it. Here they were.. for whatever it was worth.

To be perfectly honest, Tambourine had forgotten about Silas's previously departed family members in the wake of the Keep's dissolution. He saw the way his friend's ears and expression drooped when he mentioned his first home, Lost Creek Hollow. That reminded Tambourine of Harlyn and what had happened to Larkspur. Silad had suffered through this scenario twice. The younger wolf felt his heart throb for his pal.

"Do you know where your mom and sister went?" he wondered. Tambourine had reconsidered searching for Stark and Banner—truly uprooting and searching for them, however long it took to find answers—but now his mind spun in a different direction. "Maybe we should go find them? That way, you'll at least be with some family," Tambourine said with a lopsided smile.

"Not exactly," the hunter shook his head softly, and having recently uprooted like this did have his sense of direction a little shaken up. He only knew the general way they'd gone, not how far out into the wilds it would have to be.. "Mom planned to take Larkspur back to someplace she knew with good healers.. and I don't know where that is or if they'd still be there." Even the names had always been vague, and he'd thought they'd come back one day soon when everything was better.

What Tambourine suggested made his chest feel tight, down to it being a 'we' sort of hypothetical. He had to wonder what he felt towards Stark after all of this, considering that had been his best, most alive, parent as far as Silas had always known. After a heavy pause, he spoke on softly. "How could we find them, though? The weather's so bad right now to wander, right? I mean even just leaving the Keep..." Tambourine would live with the reminder of it forever. The underlying implication being that bad things just always happened. In some way, shape, or form, they never ceased to outdo themselves, which scared him more than anything else. He had so little else to lose.

Silas said he didn't know his mother's and sister's exact location, then reminded Tambourine of the weather conditions. The younger male sighed and nodded. It would probably be a very bad idea to go anywhere right now. His brief forays might even be considered foolhardy. But it was like he couldn't sit still ever since leaving Marauder's Keep. He felt restless down to the very marrow of his bones and he still desperately wanted answers. Tambourine was old enough now to undertand that he might be chasing after something he might never find. Somehow, it didn't dampen his urges any.

Flopping suddenly to the snowy ground, Tambourine bit back a second sigh. He stared ponderously at the sky for a long time, then gently rolled his head sideways to peer up at Silas. He looked at him for a moment before saying, "If it still doesn't feel like home by the time the weather gets warmer, I might..." For some reason, his voice failed him at the crucial word: leave. "But I don't want to go anywhere without you," Tambourine added quickly, sitting upright, weight supported on his elbow as he looked imploringly at his companion.

He was ponderous in the silence too, watching the warmth of his steadied breaths on the cold air as he considered on. Somehow, what Tambourine said didn't surprise him much because maybe, secretly, he may have entertained a similar notion if it didn't work out for him here. Although never, ever enough to put it into words so easily. "Yeah, I.." he fumbled gently. I know. I agree. I could.. too.. maybe.

Silas could find no harm in that type of thinking yet. He scarcely believed he was here at all -- this seemed so out of his normal. Truly, it was, because he had nothing else left that had once been normal besides Tambourine. All of his siblings, his parents, and every other trusted adult he'd ever known. Gone, gone, gone and now here he was in a foreign place with a menagerie of wolves he barely knew. It was all alright enough as a whole. His needs were met and no one had been downright offensive. Maybe he'd find a niche here that would make it easier to move on, without. Silas couldn't know yet. "It wouldn't have to be without me," he said as he carefully shifted and curled his toes into the snow. Could he even just stay and watch him go if nothing else held him back?

"I mean.. yeah, especially if this doesn't feel right.. I still don't even know entirely why Reek and Jhala came and took us in or why the Keep just vanished out from under us or any of it," Silas amended and detailed, beginning slightly to pick at a some topics semi-related to his discontent. "None of it even feels real yet."

He felt a rush of relief at Silas's words. He was glad he hadn't upset his companion and happy to hear Silas would consider going with him if it ever came to that. Tambourine couldn't resist sitting upright and offering his pal's cheek a friendly bump with his nose. They hadn't been particularly close up until left alone as the last two standing in the Keep. Now, after all they'd been through together, Tambourine honestly felt quite inseparable from the Ostrega.

"Yeah," the younger of the two agreed a little lamely, understanding exactly what Silas meant. He didn't know the word surreal or he would have used it just now. "I still can't believe they just disappeared like that," he continued thoughtfully in the next breath, brow furrowing. "They didn't say anything." That was the hardest part for Tambourine to grasp and accept.

Shaking his head as if trying to scatter his thoughts, he looked Silas in the eye and said, "Do you want to make a—what's it called?—a, uh..." He blinked a few times, scouring his brain for the right term. "A pact!" he realized with a shout. "A promise to stick together," he continued without missing a beat, still holding the other boy's gaze, "whether we stay here or decide to leave."

The dark Ostrega chuffed softly, as it seemed he was alright in assuming they could go together. He felt a little better with that in mind. Tambourine, evidently, did too so he gave a few small-but-earnest wriggles of his tail.

But it stilled soon and he shook his head. "I wonder if we'll ever know why," his brow furrowed, imagining Stark and Banner as he'd known them, all alright in the Keep. He did not know why they'd leave a territory and a life like that.. Silas sighed, although the notion of seeing Stark again kind of made him sour by now. Perhaps some sort of coping in progress, he didn't like to think about it at all.

Tambourine did well to derail his darkening thoughts, although Silas kind of started at his shout. Afterward, the cogs were turning and he contemplated. A promise to stick together. "Oh.. yeah. A pact," he parroted. He had already intended to stay with him. That just gave it a name and somehow, made it that much more tangible. It was something. "We can." This he was able to answer easily with a nod. "I would like to," he said, and peered back intently.

Silas returned his unwavering gaze. Tambourine felt something, something important, pass between them as they made their verbal pact. He smiled at his companion, then reached out to touch his nose to the other boy's shoulder. It was strange and sad that they should become close due to these tragic circumstances but Tambourine was just glad to have made a true, loyal friend in the process.

Speaking of which, something prompted him to ask outright, "Silas? Will you be my best friend?" Perhaps it was unconventional to ask like that yet Tambourine didn't know any better. He felt a rush of genuine affection for his comrade and they had just agreed to stick together, no matter what. Why not slap an official label on it while they were at it? It would make Tambourine feel even better about this bittersweet situation.

Somehow, somewhere along the route he was headed down in life, it had all come down to just him and Tambourine. Silas, not accustomed to feeling a whole lot except various shades of sorrow and worry these days, felt half relieved at something that was different, oddly enough. Uprooting, changing, adapting.. it was far too bizarre for his tastes and the silvery almost-yearling remained the only constant left.

At first, he did not quite understand what Tambourine was asking, exactly, and his ears shifted in a curious flutter. ~Friends~ was monumental enough considering he had so few of them, and even fewer once the Keep dissolved. It was an awfully short list, so best and only were.. sort of currently the same. But, that didn't mean it always would be the case... Silas nodded. "Well, yeah.." he breathed quietly, having nothing to lose and his confidence gathered up a small bit with time. "Especially if it makes you my best friend, too?" he asked gently just to be absolutely clear, so he could know where exactly he stood in this.

Silas replied as if it was some kind of foregone conclusion, which made Tambourine grin. "Best buds," he concurred, sitting up a little straighter and holding out a mangled forepaw (remaining toes tightly curled) to fist-bump his pal in lieu of a handshake. Best friendship formally declared, he then flopped back to the ground with a more contented sigh.

He sprawled there for a few moments in the companionable silence, which was then interrupted by a rumbling from his belly. "Wanna grab some grub with me?" Tambourine invited, slowly making his way back to his feet and shaking the dusting of snow off his silvery pelt. He knew Silas loved a good hunt and would've offered to join him on one but Tambourine had been a miserable hunter before his feet had been jacked up and now he knew he just wouldn't be very effective in that department.

"I found this cache near the edge of the glade," he said, beginning his slow, ambling walk but waiting for his buddy to catch up and walk beside him. "There's a whole deer in it," Tambourine added conspiratorially. "I haven't told anyone else about it... uh, yet." He nibbled at his lower lip, exchanging a conspiratorial glance with his companion that betrayed the truth: he wasn't really interested in letting anyone else in on his discovery.

He peered at the odd-looking paw when it was raised before him then briefly up to Tambourine's face before he caught the drift and lifted his own complete set of toes to nudge his with. "Best buds," the dark Ostrega affirmed with a nod to hear it from himself in his own voice. Just to make sure it was real, and absolutely confirmed to the fullest extent he could imagine.

His ears perked at the stomach noises and he furrowed his brow while he considered his own hunger's status right now instead of the subtlest of warm fuzzies at the notion of having a freshly minted best friend. "Hm.. I guess I could eat," he answered. His appetite had been hit and miss lately, to which he would blame on stress despite knowing that he had to eat if he intended to keep existing. It all didn't sound so bad right now -- a deal sweetened by prospect of a whole deer. "Whaat, really?" he gaped, catching on this time and keeping his voice low as he stepped forward after Tambourine. "Lucky find," he drawled with all of his body language suggesting lead the way once he matched up beside his friend.

I thought I'd fade; hope that's cool? Tam's lookin' for Silas here if you want to drop him in there (no obligation!). :)

"Yeah," he whispered back, hoping that Silas's conspiratorial tone meant that the other boy was in agreement that, maybe just maybe, they should keep the discovery to themselves. "It's not very fresh but it's still edible, I'm pretty sure. I'll let you decide." Because, out of the two of them, Silas was the expert on game. "It's this way. C'mon," he added, smiling at his friend—his best friend, now—and giving the area a covert sweep with his pale eyes before crouching and creeping away toward the far side of the woods.