Sebastian had done it, he had chosen for himself and even though he still felt a bit bad, he knew that he would learn from this. He saw the caldera as his family and he would always love them with this whole heart. The young male just wanted his bachelor life. He hadn't ran too far from the caldera yet. He had to stay goodbye to Wildfire. He was between the Caldera and Lake Rodney. The big male knew his howl would travel far, and hopefully far enough for Wildfire to hear him. The male threw his head back and then howled with all his might to his dear little sister.
He let out another shorter howl just in case. Then he just had to wait for her to respond to him. He would wait for it all day if needed. He couldn't leave her without saying goodbye, maybe he should have thought of saying goodbye to her first. Though, even Sebastian knew that if he would see Wildfire upset or angry he might not be able to leave. His ears hung a bit to the side. Soon he would feel better. At least he hoped so.
After talking to Elwood, Wildfire set out directly to scour the nearby wilderness of any sign of her Aunt Finley. Upon reaching the borders, she hovered indecisively for a few beats before heading toward Lake Rodney. She would start at the far southwestern corner of the Teekon Wilds, then canvass back in the opposite direction, eliminating possibilities as she went. Surely she would pick up some clue, if not find her wayward aunt herself.
She had barely even begun her trip when a voice called out to her, startling her. Although she desperately wanted to find her godmother, Wildfire decided to heed the call. Unlike her father, she wasn't angry with Sebastian for leaving. She was simply sad, especially because he had never even hinted at the possibility. She would miss her bigger brother, though she was glad he was howling for her now. She knew Peregrine had ushered him out swiftly but now they would get their chance to say goodbye.
"Seb!" she cried when he came into view. She galloped toward him, throwing herself at him in a clinging embrace. "I'm going to miss you," Wildfire said, fighting an urge to cry even as she pushed away to look into his face. She couldn't say she understood his reasons perfectly, though as a wanderer herself, she would be the last one to hold it against him. "Where do you think you'll go?"
Sebastian didn't need to wait long for the little girl to come towards him, apparently she had been close to the borders. Sebastian wasn't complaining but it only made it so much harder to see her. She didn't look mad at him so that was a relief. He instantly embraced her too as a wolf could do that. The big grey male let out a soft puff. "I am going to miss you terribly too," he admitted, looking at her with great sadness in her eyes. "I almost wanted to leave before. I never told you but you mother stopped me, and now, you have been an amazing family member. I want to return but your dad couldn't promise me a spot, which I understand," he spoke to her and licked over the top of her head.
The large male sat down for a moment, watching her. "Please, don't cry okay? You will make me cry probably," he let out. He was such a softy in certain moment. He just had a lot of feelings. The male looked over his shoulder to the West. "Well I can't go east or north, so I will probably go west, see what is there, go over the mountains to that valley you wanted to explore? If I am gone maybe my father will stop too, and maybe, I don't know... I kinda want to get a girlfriend too," he admitted and looked at the young female before him. He wasn't sure if she had any experience with that.
The fact that he'd wanted to leave before took her by surprise. Wildfire felt a hitch in her chest. Had Sebastian been unhappy this entire time? Despite his request, she felt her eyes beginning to mist. She wanted him to be happy. She just wished it was somehow compatible with staying in the caldera. For reasons she could not explain, she felt like a failure. She—they—hadn't been enough for him.
The mention of his father made her shudder inwardly. Was getting rid of him worth seeing Sebastian go? Right now, it definitely didn't feel like it. Wildfire's lips parted, though she didn't say anything. It wasn't her place to ask Sebastian to stay. He needed to do whatever made him happy, go wherever his heart led him. Trying to get him to stay would be selfish.
"When you find one," she said, her voice thick and tears wobbling on her lower lids, "will you come home? I'll convince dad to let you back." She wasn't sure she could actually do that but Wildfire would damn well try if it made a difference to Sebastian. "I'm sure you'll find a girlfriend," she added, finally blinking and causing tears to drip silently down her red cheeks. "You're a catch, Seb." She sniffed.
Sebastian let out a soft whine when Wildfire's eyes started to grow wet and then licked over her cheek to make her feel better. But a lick wouldn't solve the fact that he was leaving. The young male frowned softly but he had to go. When she started to cry more Sebastian felt his heart sink. He nudged her and tried to cheer her up. "Even if I don't find a girlfriend then I would come back too," he spoke. There could be a chance that he didn't find a female that suited him or any female that liked him.
"Maybe I will even drop by and then we can have a few day travel-adventure-party. How does that sound? When I come back from the West I will pick you up and we will go to the mountains or something!" He wouldn't mind doing that and he was pretty sure Peregrine and Fox wouldn't mind that either. He licks over her cheeks again. "I promise to came back for you. I am still your big brother always. And I will howl when I am in the neighborhood. How does that sound?" He felt a bit flustered when she said he was a catch. "I don't know. I am kinda fluffy inside. What if they want a tough guy? I am more a cuddly one," he admitted.
Wildfire was reassured by Sebastian's words. Just because he wasn't part of the pack didn't mean they couldn't continue their friendship. She wasn't like her parents. Just because he was leaving didn't mean they had to severe ties. She would be happy to meet up with him occasionally, though she would still look forward to the day when he made a permanent comeback.
"You'll find someone," she assured him, still sniffling, when she started as if shocked. "Speaking of finding someone, I'm out here looking for Finley. She's been missing a couple of weeks." She hated to part ways so quickly, yet Finley needed her, like, yesterday. "You can help me look, if you want. If not, I'm sorry but I have to go. She might be hurt."
Sebastian was pleased to see that Wildfire didn't look displeased about the fact that they could meet up at times, so he was definitely going to do that. He was too attached to the company of the little girl. He remembered how scared she was when they first met, or well, not scared but more like shy. It was adorable.
"If you think so then I will believe those words," he smiled and then his face fell into a slight frown. "We did have a wild hunt, but.. after that I haven't seen her," he admitted. "I can walk and look with you as long as you are going West. I don't feel like going East to be honest." Sebastian wanted to keep away from Black Feather.
He mentioned that he didn't want to go east but west. Since that fell in line with her plans, Wildfire nodded. She smiled a bit too. Although the situation was rather dire, she would be glad for his company, at least for a leg of this important journey. She motioned for him to walk with her, then began moving. Normally she would go at a leisurely pace but since she was out here for a very specific reason, she moved quickly.
"I last saw her at Nocturne Summit, so if we don't find any clues to the west, I'll head to the northwest and scope out the mountains," she commented, glancing sideways at her tank-like companion. "Thanks for helping me... especially since you don't really owe it to us anymore." Although she smiled, there was a sadness in her amber eyes, which she eventually pulled away from his face to look ahead.
Sebastian agreed that they would go look for Finley. He knew the importance since Elwood Jr was pretty attached to his mother. He would probably not be a happy puppy right now. Sebastian remembered how horrible he felt when the pup kept crying. "Of course I do. I still feel a deep connection with the Caldera. You guys are family, always will be," he spoke to the teenager. Hopefully that word would travel to Peregrine and it would give him some extra credit to return. If not, then so be it. But he was still loyal even though he was leaving to find himself.
He trotted along with the quick red furred girl. "Don't be sad. I will return. I will just be on a long exploring mission," he smiled. He climbed up with her, his shoulder proving to be stable. It would also give a nice over view of the land. Once Wildfire traveled the other way he would keep going west.
Sebastian insisted he was still family and Wildfire would always consider him as such. She knew her parents didn't necessarily feel the same way, though. At the very least, Sebastian was now an outsider and wouldn't be a priority to them like their loyaler pack mates. It hurt her to think of him that way and Wildfire reminded herself that she didn't have to share her parents' views.
"Let's check out the fen first," she suggested as they bustled along. She stopped and turned to face due south, peering over the marshland. She saw no sign of her aunt but she nevertheless squeezed her eyes shut and raised her smudged muzzle into the air, calling her godmother's name: "Finely! Are you out there somewhere?"
Sebastian trotted next to her, and was keenly looking around and trying to get the beta's scent in his nose. But he didn't really smell or see anything. The young male let out a sigh in frustration. Now he would be worried! Why wasn't she there! Sebastian looked over the fen and then looked too, but he didn't saw anything. He turned to look in the other direction but with the woods he couldn't see her either. He felt a bit stupid. But if there was one wolf who would try to walk over the tree tops it would be Finley.
Sebastian called out too after Wildfire, his voice had a bit more range and was louder compared to that of Wildfire. She had that thing with her voice. Sebastian called out again but he didn't see or hear nothing. "Are you sure she is in this area?," he asked softly.
Her voice didn't carry far, so Sebastian lent his. It boomed out over the lands. Never before had Wildfire cared much about her lost voice, though suddenly she found herself cursing Junior for damaging her vocal chords. If she could howl like Sebastian, it might make this task a whole lot easier. With that said, no reply came one way or the other. Finley either wasn't within earshot or she was unable to reply (she didn't want to think about that).
"No," she replied honestly, looking up at her companion's face. "She could be anywhere. But I don't think she's here. Let's move toward that," she added, motioning toward Cassiopeia's View several miles northwest.
Sebastian didn't want to make Wifi feel bad about herself but if they wanted to find Finley then it was important that they would need to have the vocal range. She didn't seem to be around here. Sebastian frowned slightly. She didn't even respond. "What if she went to the other mountains! She would never hear us," he pointed out. But without protest he followed her to the new location.
As he walked up to the overview point he howled several times but there wasn't any response. So the male was slowly thinking that Finley had gone in another direction. "I think you can better start looking by Greatwater Lake and the plains around there," he suggested. Maybe she was in that area.
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As much as she loved Sebastian and as little as she wanted to part ways with him, knowing he wouldn't be at the caldera when she got home, his anxious comments only made Wildfire feel even worse about this situation. She would not be able to rely on howls to root out her aunt; she would have to physically check every designated location. It was a daunting task but she was up to it. She just didn't need any extra negativity or stress.
"How about we split up? We can cover more ground. If you find her, tell her we're all looking for her and to get back to the caldera as soon as she can." Wildfire moved closer to the tank of a wolf, rising onto her tiptoes to give his cheek a kiss.
"Thanks for your help, Seb. I'll see you soon, right? Goodbye... bro." It sounded so weird coming from her mouth but she smiled, her amber eyes crinkling.
Her face then fell slack as she turned and loped in the opposite direction, determined to find Finley or, at the very least, some clue about her whereabouts.
Sebastian looked at the young female at her suggestion, even though it pained his heart now it was time to say goodbye to her. He nodded slowly.
"Yes, that is what we should do," he agreed and then leaned a bit down so she could kiss his cheek better. Maybe if she was older he could have dated her. It was weird to think but it was a possibility. Maybe if he wouldn't find a female ever then there might be hope for him with Wildfire if she could look past the brother part.
"I will see you soon," he promised and licked behind her ear. He moved in the opposite direction towards the west. He howled in goodbye and then followed with another one to summon Finley. There was still no response. It felt weird to leave his pack, or his former pack, while they were looking for their Beta Female. Hopefully they would find her.
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