Dawnlark Plains where in the world is carmen sandiego?
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Ooc — Kat
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#1
All Welcome 
Having had no luck so far in finding Kiwi, Wildfire left her mate in good hands and set out to renew her search. Today, she took Bat along, despite some misgivings. She was young, yet she'd showed some interest in exploring with her sister. And she'd been there when Kiwi had gone missing, so perhaps there was some clue Bat could pick up that Wildfire couldn't.

But they spent the better part of the morning scouring further and further south without a single sign of Kiwi. Bat eventually complained, "Mama, my peets hurt." But her mother only pursed her lips, shook her head and motioned for her daughter to keep moving. Bat sighed but trundled along after her, knowing she was partly responsible for her sibling's disappearance and genuinely wanting to find her safe and sound.

When they found themselves approaching a claimed territory, the weary Wildfire decided to put on her ambassador robes and make an approach. Perhaps they had found Kiwi and taken her in? She could only hope as she sent up a howl, with Bat flopping, exhausted, beside her.
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the russet shape at the border was wholly unfamiliar to him, as was the big-eared bundle of dark fur beside it. a mother and a child, he realized upon closer inspection. his face was soft as he padded toward them; there had been some urgency in her cry, and he knew from wrangling river and kitten that pups were no easy matter. a runaway? very likely.

"hello, there," adi said, beaming down at the child. his eyes met the mother's, then, open and warm. salt and sea laced her scent; he thought it must be the pack on the coastal cliffs, for she did not carry the odor he associated with the unfriendly presence of grimnismal. grayday and easy had dealt with them, and now both were gone--he felt a pang, especially, thinking of the latter and her brief reappearance. "what can i help you with?"
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A wolf similarly colored to Wildfire, albeit big, burly and masculine, came to greet them. Bat's huge ears pricked, though she remained in her weary slump. She wanted to help her mother and she definitely wanted to find Kiwi. And, at first, she had even been interested in exploring, despite how much energy it required. But now all Bat wanted was to go home and go to bed.

"Hello," her mother replied to the stranger's greeting, "I'm Wildfire and this is my daughter, Bat. We're from Drageda on the coast." She paused, glancing at the Goufa. "Say hello, Bat." "Hello, Bat." Wildfire's gaze redirected to the male. "We're actually searching for my other daughter, Kiwi. She's brown with greenish eyes. Have you seen her, by any chance...?"
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drageda. the name confirmed it--these two were from the band grayday had visited. he nodded, committing both of their names to memory and smiling as bat tried--and technically succeeded--at following her mother's instructions. the girl was a cutie, perhaps just a bit younger than catori's children. it was that realization that dimmed his smile when wildfire explained why they were here.

"i'm sorry to hear she's missing," adi responded, shaking his head as he continued. "unfortunately, i haven't seen a pup around here lately that looks like that. . .nor any pup, really, that doesn't belong." his mouth twisted in thought, trying to draw a map in his head of the surrounding territories. "do you know which way she headed? was anyone with her when she got away?"

pups were slippery, but they were also careless. they left behind a trail that was usually fairly easy to follow. with some sleuthing, aditya knew they could find the girl soon. hopefully, she hadn't gotten herself into too much trouble along the way.
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Wildfire's crestfallen expression echoed Bat's inner feelings when the kindly stranger informed them he wasn't harboring any wayward pups, nor had he seen any lately. The Goufa swallowed when he followed up with a couple of questions of his own. A burden of guilt settled solidly on Bat's already slumped shoulders.

"She and Bat were exploring near our borders and she wandered away," Wildfire said, trying to keep her voice steady. She paused to take a breath. "We're not sure which direction she went," she admitted. She looked at Bat, who could only return her gaze for half a second before looking down at her paws. Her big ears splayed, though they twitched faintly when Wildfire offered a reassuring nudge.

It was time to resume the search, though apparently Bat's mother hadn't forgotten her manners despite the crisis situation. "I used to be an ambassador and a ranger, though I don't leave home much these days. What is the name of this pack? And what's your name...?"
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he kept his gaze soft as he realized, upon hearing the story and seeing the girl shrink slightly, that bat must feel some level of guilt at her sister's disappearance. it could happen to any pup, though; his intention was not to make her feel bad. finding kiwi was paramount, here. should her parents give them both a stern talking-to later was not his concern nor his duty.

"this is morningside," adi answered, smiling. "we sent a couple of wolves to speak with your leader several moons ago, when we moved here from the south. my name is aditya." the pair from drageda looked as if they were itching to go; he understood all too well what that was like. he thought of river, his smile growing rueful.

"best of luck with your search," he said softly. "i'm sure you'll find her soon. if i can be of any more service to you, please let me know." he gave bat a luminous grin. "very nice to meet you and your mother, bachchi." she shouldn't be left out of the conversation--adi knew that pups often felt slighted by adults when their thoughts and concerns were shoved aside for the greater good.
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When he mentioned the pack's name, Wildfire nodded in recognition. She did not speak, allowing him to finish. When he politely dismissed them to resume their search, the former Bandrona dipped her smudged snout and moved to go. She nudged Bat to get the youngster to follow.

But the Goufa didn't budge. She peered at Aditya. "No, it's Bat," she told him, enunciating the single syllable of her name emphatically, curious to how he could bungle such a short name. But even as she spoke, a thought occurred to her. "What is a—what you just said?" she prompted. She knew of the common language, of course, and Trigedasleng. Was this term simply an unfamiliar one or was there a third language out there?
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he laughed, the sound deep and rich. "bachchi--it is my mother's tongue. it means 'child,'" aditya explained, charmed by the girl's forthrightness. she reminded him of easy--blackbear--and the ever-familiar twisting of his gut seized him as he made the connection. god, blackbear. he hoped she was safe, wherever she was.

"bat," he repeated, giving her a lopsided grin. he looked up at wildfire, after examining the girl's plus-sized ears. "a good name for her." he wondered if she stayed up late and hung from trees, too. somehow, he didn't have a problem imagining the sight.
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She didn't say anything right away when Aditya laughingly translated. It fascinated her that there were still words—perhaps an entire language, maybe even more than one?—that she didn't know. With nearly all things, however, Bat's interest was rather limited. She took a moment to marvel, only for her intrigue to wane into her overwhelming tiredness in the next heartbeat.

"I'm a Goufa too," she announced, if only to toss another interesting word into the heap. "And my real name," Bat suddenly remembered, "is Rorqual!" Now she had too many names and titles and she couldn't be bothered to keep track of any of them.

"That's right," Wildfire added with a careworn smile. She dipped her smudged snout to Aditya and said, "We'd better return to our search. Come on, Bat. Thank you again, Aditya." She nudged her child and swiveled, trotting swiftly away from Morningside's borders to resume the hunt for the wayward Kiwi.

"Goodbye," Bat said to Aditya, unwittingly slipping into her nomi's native tongue, as if unconsciously echoing his earlier example. With a gusty sigh of resignation, she then slowly turned and much more slowly plodded after Wildfire.
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goufa. the name had no meaning to him, but he supposed it was a word in her family's language. she lobbed another moniker at him before wildfire cut it short with a polite nod of her head. "absolutely," he responded. "please reach out if you are in need of more help." it would be a boon to them, to have the seawolves as their allies. grayday had never had a bad word against them.

the sentinel watched them depart, hoping that their search would be fruitful. there was nothing worse than frantically looking for a youngster who should be somewhere and wasn't.

speaking of that. . . with a roll of his eyes, aditya headed back toward the dens, intending to do a head count. then, a patrol around the borders. make sure everyone was on the plains. better safe than sorry, right?