Tuktu Weir Into storms that rip the night

He was still lost, though the fact bothered him less now than it had months, or even weeks, ago.  

When the blizzard hit, and the world suddenly went white, Gannet had had the misfortune of being too far from home to make it back.  He'd tried, but the snow and ice had made it impossible to see, and before he knew it he was falling. 

He wasn't sure how long he spent trapped, but when he finally managed to climb out, it was to a completely foreign landscape, and all trace of his trail in getting there was buried beneath the snow.  

Likely those left of his family had accepted his disappearance by now, just like last time.  Still, he'd tried to get back at first.  A small family had let him run with them for a time, thankfully, or he might not have made it.  But the male chased him off in time, not eager for a young competitor once spring fever hit.

Unbothered overly much, he simply continued on, and currently found himself near a pretty little lake with trees all around.  His eyes lit up at the sight and he jogged forward, thirst lending quite a bit of enthusiasm to the pale boy.

the glade was falling fast, she knew that all too well. one by one their member's disappeared and sooner or later it would just be her, reek, and her two boys. she was worried, mostly that they wouldn't find anywhere to go, so she patrolled surrounding territories in search of somewhere new to go. so far she hadn't found anything useful-- maybe they were just bound to be loners. she pushed the thought aside-- especially when she saw a boy not too far off.

her ears pricked as she moved nearer to him, scarred crowd tilting to the side. hoping to catch another polite conversation (as she had with desi), jhala let out a light chuff and waved her tail-- curious what the stranger would do.

As soon as his thirst was slaked, Gannet lifted his head, then frowned as a rumble vibrated through his abdomen.  His bony frame showed that, despite some luck, the winter had been a rough one on him.  Now that he was no longer thirsty, hunger had come to call with a gusto.

He paused as he heard the sound of another, some stranger who made a sound that indicated she might be interested in speaking with him.  He cocked his head, then turned to glance her way.  For a minute he appraised her... and then set off without a word past where she stood.  He didn't feel much like an idle chat when he could be looking for a meal, especially now that he was getting back to areas where it seemed prey was more available.

he did exactly the opposite of what she wanted him to do, and so stood discouraged with her eyebrows tightly knit. wondering why he would avoid a conversation with someone as pleasant as herself, jhala eyed him as he walked away. he looked sort of hungry, maybe a bit lost, certainly not too pleasant. she pursed her lips, reminded vaguely of little tapat and astik. feeling a little guilty, how she'd want her babies fed if they looked so alone and starved, jhala debated bringing him to their cache-- or hunting for him right now. in addition, she'd noticed tapat's absence lately, and was growing more and more concerned that he'd gotten lost-- maybe he knew something.

she chuffed again, a bit louder. "are you hungry?" she asked him with a quirk of her brow and a goofy-looking perk of her flopped ear.

Generally Gannet was an unsuspicious and outgoing youth, even despite happenings in his youth that should have drilled stranger danger rather rigidly into his head.  But when one is hungry, there are very few conversations worth having.

Luckily for both of them, she hit on just the one - food.  Immediately Gannet's ears perked up, and he gave her a longer look as he stopped.  She didn't look familiar, or smell it (best he could tell), so why she would help was unknown.  He was hungry enough not to mind that too much, though. "You have food?"

She hadn't outright said it, but  he was making that leap anyway.

that got his attention. she wasn't sure how long she'd have it-- or how hungry he really was. the glade was a short travel, but a hike nonetheless. if anything, she could offer herself as a hunting partner. "in my territory we have full caches," she told him, tail swaying, "but it's easier to hunt in pairs, if you're hungry now." maybe that was enough to keep his attention. maybe he'd be more willing to share information-- if he had any.

He considered both offers, but not for too long.  One came with strings he didn't really want to be tangled in.  "Hunt," he said decisively, then smiled and came forward to greet her with a friendly snuff and a wag of his tail.  She wasn't recognizable but now that the prospect of food was on the table he gained a considerably more friendly air.  Habit made him wait for her to take the lead; even after so long alone, he slipped easily into the place of subordinate.