Silver Creek Here without you now

after @Casmir takes the girls back after the thread with Reek, so probably backdated a bit -- @Laika @Indra also welcome, and anyone who would be here. :) This will also be my last SC thread since Laurel is going to run away somewhere in the days following when she can. I'll miss you guys, and Laurel will too even if she is a brat about it now <3 (if any of the assumptions in this post are off, please shoot a pm :) )

After being dragged away by Casmir, Laurel had given in eventually, calmed by the instinctive calmth the holding of her scruff offered, if only for a moment. Eventually they arrived back at the Creek, with a still objecting Laurel, albeit in grumpy silence.

It was only when put down and released once more that Laurel would complain to Casmir, Laika, Indra and whoever else would hear, "I'm my own person and I can do what I want!" she'd figure out what she wanted, exactly, later on, but she just wanted to make her own choices no matter her age.

eventually Cas set Laurel down and turned to talk to Shreya, explaining briefly what had happened. his hard golden gaze settled on the girl. "those things you said were untrue and very cruel, Laurel," he intoned, skipping right over what she had said to address the subject of her complete disrespect. "no matter what you think, Spring is your leader, and you are never to speak to her like that."

despite his youth, this was Cas' attempt at using the deeper reaches of his ability to summon his Dad Voice. was it gonna work? it remained to be seen, as he pinned Laurel with his eyes and waited for her to respond.

she had followed dutifully behind casmir, though her gaze often sought laurel's own as the tawny girl sulked. what happened? she asked laurel inwardly, knowing well their intimacy as siblings would correlate her expression easily. before she had a chance to see laurel's reaction casmir had stopped and placed the mulish cub in the dirt. silently indra stopped, hunching behind casmir as if she too were being berated for her sister's impetuous tantrum.

"Spring said the same to Reek!" Laurel said, ignoring Indra for the time being. She didn't like that Casmir was making her scared, but she put it aside from now, addressing the things that needed to be said first. She had calmed down somewhat from being carried here as natural response, but now that she was put down the heat was beginning to return to her cheeks. Her face was a mixture of a pout and a defiant frown while she stared at Casmir.

What frustrated her more was that what she said wasn't being responded to at all, so she semi-repeated: "I wanna make my own decisions!"

"i don't care what Spring said to Reek," Cas growled, trying to control his anger at Laurel and her stupid outburst. "you are too young to decide you're just going to up and leave, and with a stranger, no less. Reek is your dad, sure, but we don't know him. i'm not gonna keep you from him, i just wanted us all to talk first. and then you popped off at the mouth ...!"

he fell into a grim silence, looking to Shreya, then to Indra. "Reek is here. he wants the girls. i told him we need to talk first. do you mind watching them while i go back?" surely she wouldn't. "sorry, Indra," Cas told the quiet, watchful girl.

as subdued as she was, indra was curious to learn more of what had triggered laurel's outburst. thus far she had been able to fit the pieces -- that the bad man was reek, and reek had come. spring's story to them that early summer night had been a catalyst -- perhaps if she had never told the girls of reek, nor unwittingly let slip the parallels of their life, perhaps laurel would not have been so adamant to go with her father. perhaps this day never would have happened at all.

but indra was too sweet and stupid to know that, too young and naive to possibly rearrange the shattered pieces into formulative sense. instead, she was only filled with a sense of  nosiness. "what happened?" she piped as casmir tried to slip away. "where going?" she rejoined after the sweep of his tail as he exited.

"It's not fair!" Laurel cried out when Casmir said that it didn't matter what Spring had said to Reek. If Spring was allowed to do it, then Laurel was pretty sure she could! But he then said he would go back to talk to them, and with tears brewing in her eyes Laurel said, "You're not fair! You're not my father, I hate you!" Tears started to spill from her cheeks, though not so much because she was genuinely sad but because she was a child who was not getting her way — she wanted to be treated like an adult more than anything else.

Yet Shreya nosed Laurel to calmth and made sure she would stay there, with her sister, while murmuring, " 's not fair, stupid Cas," into Shreya's fur as Casmir presumably started making his way back to the rest.

exit cas <3

Laurel needed her ass beat, Cas decided, turning to sweep his muzzle over Indra's ears before jetting back to the borders. he couldn't explain now, not when they needed him there, but his heart thrummed with frustration and a hint of fear.

i'll archive! thank you <33

indra eyed her sibling carefully, taking great measure to avoid the wrath of casmir's gaze. yet, as she trailed the dark male she saw as the closest thing to a father-figure, she was hard pressed to keep up with him -- he grazed the tip of her ears and left.

indra, still confused by what had just happened, turned back to shreya. she would wait a little while, maybe when she and laurel were alone, and she would get the whole story -- she was certain of it.