Hideaway Strath looking for you

had some time, so i figured i'd post this! @Aria first, then anyone is welcome! :)

They managed to scale the mountains before the worst of the cold and snow fell upon them, but by the time they had come down all the way, a strong, cold wind was raging, blowing in their faces and blowing snow at them at full speed. Charon felt a very 'I told you so'-ish moment, for he'd looked at the sky and he had known that it was likely they'd get in trouble here, but he decided to be the bigger wolf. He had agreed to come, after all. But he should've listened to his gut, perhaps.

Still, if there was any sign left of Flóki, they'd be best off finding it soon, before the snow entirely erased all mark of him, and before all wolves would be vanished into their homes, holed up somewhere and not coming out until the bad weather was over. He hoped that Ame was doing well back at the mountain.

The forest they found made it a bit easier to navigate than the freezing cold the mountainside offered, and Charon was glad when the occasional tree turned into a full-blown forest. "Oof," he said, looking at Aria as they went in, "It feels good to have some relief from that constant damn wind blowing in my face." He looked to see if Aria shared the sentiment. He didn't want to look like a wuss, but he also didn't particularly enjoy having the icy winds of doom blowing his whiskers off. "Maybe we should howl to see if anyone else is out that might've seen Flóks."

yikes, charon was right. this was no ordinary storm, and it sucked major butt that the two of them were going to get stuck right in the middle of it. but they took shelter for now, and the pale delta shook out her fur. it was cold and snowy and icy and she was literally coated in a whole layer of it, and even when she shook most of it clung to her pelt like some sort of frozen jacket. it did little, however, at keeping her warm.

"do you think anyone will come?" she asked him, her head cocking to the right. she would be surprised if a stranger just waltzed up to them when they howled-- if it were her she would've interpreted it as a ticket to death. then again, charon probably knew a bit more about things than she did. he did manage to keep a pack alive without having a yearling steal it from beneath his paws... unlike herself.

"No," he said, bluntly honest as always, in response to her question. Charon looked at the terror going on above them and he wondered when they'd be able to get home. Hopefully the weather would subside soon and hopefully it wouldn't get too strong to penetrate the forest entirely. Maybe they should find a shallow den or a cave, he thought, but even if they were luckily enough to find something, there was the risk of being snowed in. Still, it was probably better than dying in the cold.

He tipped his nose and howled for anyone nearby who might know the whereabouts of Flóki Ostrega. After the call he waited a minute or so, in silence, almost as if he hoped that someone would respond right away and come to meet him.

Then he looked back at Aria and he said, his voice making it clear he wasn't intending to accept 'no' for an answer: "We should huddle close together if we're going to rest for a bit to share our body heat." He wasn't a pro medic, but Charon knew from earlier winters that it was an effective way all the same. They should've stayed at the mountain but now that they were out here, they were dependant on each other for a great many things, including heat.

aria was an experienced medic, and while she was by no means pro, she knew he was right. she waiting a few heartbeats for someone to pop through the bushes and tell them they knew exactly where floki was, being nodding and moving beside him. she pressed her shoulder and backleg to his as she sat, shuffling her feet until she was placed tightly where she sat.

he had said no to her previous question, and so she didn't know how else to respond. after a few moments of silence, she let out a breath, the air circling in a foggy cloud and disappearing into the air. "how did you meet floki?" she decided to ask. she knew that they were close friends, but she wasn't sure exactly how long they'd known one another. floki was his beta, and maybe even his bestest friend... but how? she wondered.

While he waited for things to settle in Golden Glade, Tambourine couldn't stop thinking about Stark and Marauder's Keep. He desperately wanted answers. Although he refused to abandon Silas—not to mention the poor condition of his feet and the terrible weather lately—the youth could not resist the urge to do something. Informing his companion of his intentions, Tambourine very slowly and carefully braved the cold and headed east, the direction of everything he had ever known.

He didn't get very far before he heard voices. Tambourine moved toward them, the trees thinning around him. Suddenly he found himself standing beside a frozen creek. He licked his lips and looked down at the ice, then lifted his pale eyes to squint into the forest on the other side. The voices were coming from there, so the juvenile gingerly placed one giant paw on the icy surface, then another. It wasn't too slippery, though between the ice, his missing toes (and compromised balance) and a sudden gust of frigid wind, Tambourine began to teeter like a capsizing ship.

There was a silence between them as they settled, Charon sitting down beside her and moving in close. He felt slightly awkward, since he didn't know Aria very well yet, but she was friends with Floki so he figured she was okay.

At her question, he was surprised that she wasn't aware. Hadn't Floki mentioned they were brothers? "Didn't Floki say? We're brothers. I practically raised him after our -- my adoptive father died. And best buds, of course. But we met on the day he was born." Charon grinned as he explained, not recalling the day very well; he'd been pretty young himself at the time, so it felt like Floki had been there for, well, forever. That was why he knew he hadn't just up and left. He'd never.

Charon looked through the frosty trees, yet unaware of someone nearby, and returned the question: "How about you? How'd you meet Floks?"

her ears perked, unaware... or she was pretty sure she didn't know that, at least. she gave a small smile, her tail waving. "that's a neat story," she said earnestly, glancing up at him. she missed floki, sure, but she felt awful now that she knew the true extend of floki and charon's relationship. charon must've really taken this to heart-- worse probably than she felt about constantine.

then, aria frowned, remembering the incident to be bittersweet. "i lost a friend-- a close friend. i was looking for him, but i met floki instead," she explained, her lips curving up instead, "we were sort of just close after that-- we went on a scouting mission together once." that had been a wild ride. she almost wished she hadn't returned to donnelaith, it would've been so much easier if she'd just left... maybe floki would've come with her, or maybe she'd have just returned to moonspear with him. things would've been much different.

she too failed to notice another's presence, but she followed her alpha's gaze curiously as it lingered in the distance.

By some stroke of luck, Tambourine managed to lock his limbs and stay upright. Moving even more carefully now and resisting the impulse to dash to safety, he managed to reach the opposite bank without further slippage. A relieved breath blew from between his lips as he ventured into the woods on the far side, following the sound of voices. At first, he could barely discern details but by the time he closed in on them, he knew there were two speakers, a male and female.

He found them huddled close together. The burlier of the two wolves was snowy white with a dusting of gray on his face. His face looked a bit like Tambourine's feet: a little messed up. His companion matched him, although her face and coat were sleek and flawless. Her eyes were a cold silver but she looked warm and cuddly, especially the way she was pressed up to her mate(?).

"Hello," the youth said, hoping he wasn't rudely interrupting anything. "I'm on a scouting mission," Tambourine declared a little randomly, having caught the last handful of words from the female's mouth. It was too cold out here to beat around the bush. "I'm looking for someone named Stark. He's a black wolf with blue eyes and a scar on his chest. Have you seen him, by any chance...?"

"Yeah, sounds like Flóki alright," Charon said with a sigh that was bittersweet at the memories of his brother. "Always looking out for others." He was a great friend, always wanted to help one another, but he was always ready to help his pack, family and friends, too. Charon loved his brother above anyone else; well, until the day his daughters were born, anyway. Flóki was special, and he would never leave. Unfortunately, it looked like the snow was erasing whatever tracks or scents he might've left behind right now.

From the frozen trees he saw another wolf emerge, and his ears perked up to inspect. His hackles prickled defensively, but he soon realised that it was a young wolf and he didn't carry himself dominantly, which soothed him a bit.

Charon didn't remember ever meeting anyone named Stark so he was quick to say, his tone not unkind but neither warm, "I don't know anyone by that name or appearance." Well, he knew plenty of black wolves with blue eyes — three of 'em, as a matter of fact — but none of them called Stark.

Then he tacked on, "Have you seen a gray wolf with sand-coloured legs called Flóki, Beta of the Moonspear pack? He was out scouting this way but —" Charon's eyes fell on the wolf's feet and his gaze lingered there for a while. He didn't even want to look, but it was like his eyes were glued; he just couldn't look away.

she smiled a bit at charon response, but didn't know what to say. he did always seem to be looking out for others, and he'd always looked out for her especially. he'd done so much, despite their  short relationship... she valued him as a friend, and his disappearance was no easier on her than it was charon-- she felt, anyway.

a child approached. he looked young, probably deirdre's age, and her gaze softened. charon seemed to remain neutral to his presence, but aria loved kids. "i haven't," she responded softly, looking at the boy with a curious gaze. "is that your father?" she then asked, almost immediately. it sounded right, for some reason, that he would be looking for his father in this weather. it bothered her that a father would leave their child, but she wondered if it was the same situation as floki. maybe it wasn't on purpose.

When they both let him know, in no uncertain terms, that they didn't know of any Stark or his whereabouts, Tambourine offered a sad but unsurprised, "Oh, that's okay. Yeah, he's my dad." He listened, then shook his head sadly, his bent ear flapping a little. "No, I haven't. I'm sorry." How strange that they should both be out here searching for someone, although that explained the mention of a scouting mission.

He would have loved to stick around and chat a while but Tambourine wasn't feeling as sociable as usual, for likely obvious reasons, and he intuited that the pair probably wanted to be left alone to resume their own search. "I should get back—home," he said, stumbling a little over that word: home. Golden Glade didn't feel that way at all. "I hope you find him," he added, offering them a smile and shifting his toes when he noticed the male staring at them.

With a little dip of his head, the youth spun carefully and made his way back toward the river. He wasn't looking forward to crossing, yet he knew he needed to get back to the glade soon, else he might lose more toes or possibly something even more important.

Aria seemed to soften, but Charon felt little for the boy who was out here alone. He had softened considerably towards youngsters since the birth of his own girls, but his concern for his brother overshadowed any sympathy he might have felt. He didn't want to sit here and chat with the dude; he wanted to find Flóks. Besides, this kid was pretty much grown up. He'd been crowned Beta at that age, so the kid was pretty much an adult anyway.

Of course the answer was 'no'. It seemed unlikely, anyway. The boy then said he should head back home, but the way he said it, it sounded like he had no home to go to. "Hey, kid, wait up," he called after him; "You gonna make it back okay? You can come back with us. Our mountain pack isn't too far, there's warmth and food there." Quite far in this weather, was the truth, but he didn't want to discourage the youth too much. He wasn't sure they needed someone like him, unsure if he was able to contribute fully; but if he didn't have a dad anymore, he should at least have a home.

Well, maybe he'd softened a little bit.

like charon, aria had taken the beta title early on, a little after her first birthday. she shouldn't have felt too poorly for the guy, but she kept thinking of deirdre, and kept feeling worse.

her ears flattened as she listened, a bit upset to see that he would go. but it wasn't her place to ask him to stay, and she didn't want to step on any of charon's toes. she stared at him for a moment as he went, biting a lip. it was then that her alpha called to him, and her ears perked up. she watched the boy, hoping he would come and stay with them.

It genuinely took him by surprise when one of the strangers came after him. Tambourine stopped in his tracks, turning to face him. His eyebrows shot up at the unprecedented concern and subsequent offer. It sort of reminded him of Reek's own overture. It touched him that strangers were so willing to reach out to him, even if he didn't really understand why.

"Thanks," Tambourine began, "but I actually live in the glade. It's not far." He motioned in that general direction with one of his malformed paws. "Thanks," he repeated, offering a quick, grateful smile before turning and trekking back toward the stolen forest. He didn't really feel much attachment to the territory or even its inhabitants, save the one. No matter the kindness of strangers, he would never just abandon his friend. Silas had already been through enough of that.

Aria remained silent during the exchange of words. Charon glanced in the general direction of 'the glade' as it was mentioned, half because he was curious what sort of pack had settled there and half because he didn't want to look at the boy's paws. He wasn't sure what he felt when his offer was rejected. Anger because he had reached out only to find rejection, a thing he hated more than anything in the world; or relief, because they didn't really need any more useless wolves in the pack anyway and he wasn't sure they'd be able to take care of, well, whatever the fuck was wrong with his paw.

"Take care," he ended up saying as the boy vanished back into the snow and he turned back towards Aria, ready to settle in close again so that they could contain their warmth. "We'll rest a bit and then we can check the surroundings a bit more when the storms settle down before heading back." He really hoped they'd be able to find Flóki... But truthfully, Charon's hopes were beginning to dwindle more and more as he listened to the storms raging above and he could not help but wonder how Aria felt.

fade w my post?

the gray wolf left, and aria licked her nose quietly. she supposed it couldn't be helped, if he had somewhere to go then that was all fine and dandy. she glanced to charon as he muttered a goodbye, ears perking as he proposed another plan. she didn't feel very hopeful, floki was probably gone, and there was probably nothing they could do about it. she supposed she could just wait it out... but who knows what would happen. she nodded anyway though.

"sure," she replied with a light sniff, her eyes shutting softly. they would rest and then look, and maybe, just maybe, they would find something... but she doubted it.