Moonspear here without you

After he had dropped Ran off somewhere in the middle of freaking nowhere, Charon just kept running. He didn't want her to ever find them again, even though it was an unrealistic thought that a three-legged freak of nature'd find her way back so easily anyway. He panted by the time he reached the borders of Moonspear. It was weird. He felt something strange, something he hadn't before. Was it... Guilt? He hadn't felt guilty when he had killed for the pack's sake before, but somehow, now that he had left his own daughter to die, too cowardly even to do the deed himself, Charon felt guilty and terrible about it.

He trembled his way back to the den, where he chuffed in hopes to find @Amekaze and @Galaxy, @Vela and @Jarilo, his remaining — healthy — children who needed the resources so much more than little stubby-toed Ran, who was tiny and would've likely died before reaching adulthood anyway. Yet still, telling them about what had happened to Ran felt like the toughest task he'd ever had.

also important for @Hydra @Lyra @Alya and @Korei Julia if y'all want to join

Something had given her what Scion's brothers would've laughingly called "the squirts." Currently tapped out after emptying her bowels for the umpteenth time, Galaxy stretched out in the den's mouth and groaned every once in a while, particularly if anything made a noise or touched her. Hopefully the worst of it was over but she hardly dared move lest she disturb her grumbling guts and cause her poor rear end to explode again.

Her eyes—now with bursts of green and purple fanning out from the irises—hardly lifted when a breathless Charon arrived at the den. Galaxy just groaned loudly again and muttered (a bit inanely), "M'butt huwts."

Hydra was with her sisters, as ever. The three had been stalking a herd nearby, watching it and preparing to report back to their father. They wanted to be in the next pack hunt—at last they were old enough to participate in one, and Hydra felt the three of them would more than carry their weight in it. They were now headed to their father with intel in tow, Hydra at the groups center. But she walked ear-to-ear with her sisters; in the news they would deliver, they were one. 

Upon arriving to the den, she noted her fathers altered disposition. At once Hydra was alert, and Hydra shuffled nearer to the den. Three children were there and, awfully, Hydra had all but forgotten the third. Since noting the deformity Ran had, Hydra had disowned the girl as a sibling. And so Hydra saw nothing amiss here. Hydra, like her father, had believed it was only a matter of time before the weak pup perished—not for lack of her parents efforts, but due to the way it was.

The den had been compromised by the offensive smell that oozed from Galaxy's rear end. She was far too preoccupied with warding off this sensation to realize that both Charon and Ran had vanished from the den and it was only as Charon chuffed that Vela realized that Charon was missing. She had never been a fan of Ran, as she felt that there was something unappealing about her disabled sibling, and even with her father's call failed to realize that Ran was not with them.

Heeding his call eagerly, as she was happy to see him and pleased to have a valid excuse to leave the den, Vela scrambled ungracefully to her paws and rushed past Galaxy to greet Charon. "Papa," she greeted, coming to a halt a good distance from her disgruntled sibling as she ignored what Galaxy had to say.

Absolutely unaware of the struggles of his siblings, he had napped them away curled into a little donut at the back corner of the den. Mama had made him run and squeal a lot before sending him back to the den, so he'd been worn out plenty to sleep through Galaxy's diarrhea butt and Ran's fresh absence both--blissfully ignorant, except for maybe some funny (read: stinky) dreams he wouldn't recall. He finally stirred when the paternal half of his parental unit came looking for them. That was good enough motivation to get him up and going again.

He went stumbling out of the den in a bigger rush than his sleepy body was ready for with tail whipping and eyes alight as he got caught back up here in this world of awareness. A glance was managed for the ailing Galaxy, which threatened a furrowed look of concern.. but their dad was ranking as far more interesting to the cub right this instant, who smelled of places he didn't know! "Pap pap pap," he sang with matching bounces towards his pale-coated father. "Papa!" he concluded excitedly, parking himself in front of Charon too, all ready to soak up his attentions.

Charon decided it was time to take the action, and had gone with Ran in tow to seal her fate. As decided. As necessary. This left her to the other three in the meantime, though her thoughts were miles away--with her mate and crippled daughter, wondering if it was done, how it had gone.. for starters. It didn't feel quite right around the densite, not with her headcounts freshly skewed and the absence very noticeable. But hours passed and life continued on with or without. She busied the boy pup until he'd started to get cranky, sent him away, then tried to console Galaxy through her bout of the runs brought on by who-knew-what--all good distractions, foul odors included, because puppies could be a pain in the ass. Although there was only so much she could do for the matter besides make sure she was getting plenty to drink, and ensuring that it would pass.

And it was because of this that during a relative lull in the activity, she had slipped away from the den's doorstep to eat the rest of her rabbit from earlier alone. Galaxy wasn't getting any food until her stomach settled down and worked past whatever it was that had irritated it; Ame didn't want to tempt or rile any of them, honestly, so took her time picking apart the carcass and savoring her choice pieces.

Smelling Charon's return on the breeze made her leave the meager bones behind without a second thought. She slid back over through the brush towards the den, finding the pups mostly greeting him, Galaxy still looking glum, and no sign of Ran--which left her oddly relieved, despite the accompanying sting. Mixed messages, for sure, which seeing Hydra here too helped alleviate.. and led her to fleetingly wonder if she knew.

She had the urge to go right to her mate's side, but withheld, and took up a spot next to Hydra to let his pups have at him first. Amekaze hung back to observe and gauge this for now, only offering a few small tail waves. She said nothing, all ears and quivering nose instead.

As he approached the den Charon instantly noticed something was off, a foul stench drifting towards him and he wrinkled his nose. The culprit soon admitted to her crimes, or so he assumed when Galaxy said that her butt hurt. "Hey sweeties," he greeted his daughters, nuzzling Galaxy's face and staying far away from her butt and then turning to Vela and fondly nuzzling her cheek, then licking her forehead.

Jarilo soon followed and Charon gave his dark son a nuzzle to the neck. Seeing the three of them there and happy made him feel much better very quickly. When he looked back at Ame he saw Hydra there too as well as her sisters. Charon wanted to deliver the news but then, looking at his children, they looked so happy and like the news would only make them feel worse. "Papa's home," he said instead, though the look that he had shared with Ame and with his daughters said enough about Ran's whereabouts — she was in a better place now, and she would no longer take anything from Ame or the mountain that their healthy children could use. She was no longer a stain on their lives.

The other two ran up to Charon with cries of, "Papa!" Galaxy, of course, didn't join them. She stayed put, muttering a quiet, "Pops," when her father reached out to nuzzle her face. "M'butt huwts," she repeated, just in case he hadn't heard the first time.

Nobody seemed particularly concerned about her poor bum, she noted. They were all staying far away from her. She supposed she couldn't exactly blame them. The smell was rather putrid. Speaking of which, she felt another wave of cramps pass through her lower abdomen and grimaced, preparing to push to her feet to avoid messing herself. But all that escaped her was a very loud, long and whiny fart, punctuated with a sigh of relief.

Hydra flicked her ears at Galaxy's words. The stench the other produced caused Hydra to wrinkle her narrids and her ears to prick; farts were always a surprise, and never a good one. Welcome back, Hydra said in earnest. She looked at her siblings, who were eager to see Charon—that was no surprise, given he was one of the best things about the world. She looked to both her mother and her father as she spoke next: we found a herd nearby. One of them seems injured; the way they carry themselves is as though they aren't, as they do, but one of their scents was off. If we got near to them again we could tell you which, her eyes were alight, wondering if her father might call to order a hunt in a couple days time. She also wondered if their mother could participate, but was not sure how long she must keep with their (younger) siblings. Her mirror-images punctuated her words with eager nods.

While watching the young ones greet him, her nerves were still twisted up from the anxiousness of dwelling on Ran all day while Galaxy's guts ailed. Although he said nothing about it, her mate could still speak his volumes. She took the silence in stride, offered a somber, knowing nod that most would easily overlook, and would hunt for finer details later if it suited her. All she would need to know now is that it was done and they could all look forward and move on..

The change in subject that Hydra brought them was very welcome so she was more than willing to let it become the conversation centerpiece while she finally moved over to Charon to press her snout against his cheek after the pups had ample time to greet him too. On her step back, she returned a look to Hydra with a nod, pleased to know this and interested in them following through--especially if one was injured. "We could use the hunt," she said, not that their stocks suffered dramatically, but it was for morale more than anything. Even if she did not participate herself in favor of watching the pups, it could do them a lot of good as a whole pack.

wrap up soon? :D

Charon listened to Hydra and nodded at Amekaze's words. He was beginning to feel better already. He was distracted by Galaxy though and watched her with a 'yuck' face when the fart rippled through. "Oh, come on..." he murmured, then sighed, gathered himself and said, "It'll be fine, Galaxy. It's just temporary." She probably didn't know what that word meant, he realised, but it didn't matter.

He glanced at Amekaze and said, "You can go hunt — I'll stay with the pups." The dismayal on his face showed he wasn't too happy with the decision to look after butt-hurting Galaxy... But someone had to do it.

That felt a lot better, though Galaxy still didn't dare move. She did playfully stick her tongue at at Charon, then blew a loud raspberry before letting her chin fall to her paws. Still oblivious to Ran's absence, she yawned lightly and rested her eyes, eventually drifting off. When she woke later, she would feel good as new. In the meantime, she pooted in her sleep roughly every two minutes.

To Vela, everything seemed normal. The thought of Ran never crossed her mind, nor would it going forward. She would go about her life knowing that she had grown up with one sister and one brother; as if Ran had never been at in the picture, to begin with. 

Much like Galaxy, Vela started to feel tired as the adults began to converse. With the combination of putrid gas and boredom assisting her fatigue, Vela curled up near her father to settle down to rest her eyes briefly.

Hydra waved her tail, pleased her mother agreed with her. At her fathers invitation to her mother to join her, Hydra grinned to him. Next time, pops, she encouraged. Hydra always enjoyed hunting with her father—they made a good team. Hydra worked well with her mother, too. Being a healthy mix of the both of them made everything quite easy in the things they did together, be it with mother, father, or both of them combined. See ya later, she spoke to the rest of her family that remained. She was glad to get away from the putrid smelling Galaxy, and grimaced to her father with an expression that echoed his thoughts: oh, man. Then Hydra pivoted on her heel. She moved back to her position among her sisters, who payed their respects to their father and excitedly took up alongside her as they began to move. She looked back to her mother, tail waving and waiting for her to take the lead here.

She put up no resistance when an opportunity to move to fresher air away from Galaxy came up without her having to create it. Fluidly, she was in motion and getting ready--already. Charon got a grateful nudge and soft (by her standards) kiss on the cheek to serve as a thanks and farewell all at once before she glanced once more over the little ones to hope that they minded themselves well for their father. After, she turned her attentions towards the dark trio who took form, then towards upcoming hunt prospect. They were on their way not long after.