Saucy had never been to a canyon before, and it was really blowing her mind. The colors, she felt like she was walking through a sunset. Not on the ground watching it from below, but walking on it, as if the sunset sky had eroded into sand and become the earth. The path she walked was a rich fiery orange, but as the walls snaked towards the morning sky they became a strange purple. It was beautiful to behold, and Saucy was in a rare state of contentment and serenity (her usual state being hyperactive and eccentric).
She was nearing a slope that would lead upwards, and take her out of the pathway she walked. She was excited to see more of the canyon from above, she could only imagine that it looked like a sliced up anthill, with passages snaking and intercepting all over the place. She let out a long howl, just to hear her low voice echo.
The Redleaf girl was fired up. She couldn't really believe that Tadec was trailing after her, and just to spite him and her nosy aunt, she had run as fast as she could to try and lose the dark crow of a wolf. When her legs couldn't carry her any further, she slowed to a panting trot and turned to gaze over her shoulder in search of him. There was nothing but the silent whisk of wind through the rocky canyon walls.
Piper felt a creeping dread as she turned to face front once more. If something happened, and she had actually lost the watchful guardian who had promised to keep an eye on her, she would likely never see her family again. There was a moment in which she considered turning around and returning the way she had come. Then, the thought of Lucas gripped her and pushed her forward.
The further into the canyon she went, the more she was able to discover. She's climbed up and down little rises and up along paths that she hadn't imagined would exist there. It wasn't long before she happened across a pale figure. With a false expression of toughness, Piper puffed herself up and trotted forward with as much confidence that she could muster.
tytyty again <3
Saucy turned when she heard footsteps nearby, and on the path she was walking there was also a young red female with her chest puffed and a look of toughness on her face. Somehow the sight was almost amusing to Saucy, and a smile cracked her lips. Whoa whoa dude, what’s up?
she said in her chill dudebro tone, turning fully to face the younger female. A soft breeze blew by and rustled her white coat, her pale striped tail swung easily at her broad hips.
The other wolf caught sight of her and turned around with a few words that Piper didn't fully understand. The young firebrand peered at the stranger with a slightly gaping mouth and a befuddled expression. It took only a moment for her to regain her composure. She seemed to snap out of it with a quick shake of her head. I'm looking for my brother... He's been gone for a while and everyone is worried sick about him,
she told the peculiar stranger. To Piper, it seemed wise to get the word out about Lucas. The more people that knew, the higher her chances of finding him.
Saucy didn’t know what she’d said, but something had confused the girl. She stared back at her in a moment of, ‘yo you good?’, then the red girl broke from her befuddlement and stated her concerns. Her brother was missing? Everybody was worried sick about him? This sounded familiar, Saucy remembered the solemn faced woman she’d come across back in the valley. Indra. Who, Lucas?
she asked, trying to figure out if they were on the same page. She certainly hoped not, because that would mean he still hadn’t come home yet.
The minute that her brother's name left the stranger's mouth, the young Redleaf almost fell to pieces. Her jaw dropped and she stood, gaping, unable to understand how on earth this individual had come to that conclusion based on the little pieces of information that had been given. For a moment, Piper's hopes had been lifted. She thought that she had found someone who knew where her brother was, and that was unbelievable to her. Of course, that was her first mistake. Having her hopes climb so high only meant that it would be far more crushing when they came crashing back down.
“Y-you've seen him?” she asked, still baffled by this stranger and their surprising knowledge. Surely, this was the best thing that could have happened to the firecracker of a girl. She imagined that she would have barely left her home back and she'd be back with Lucas close on her heels in no time at all. Boy, was she wrong as fuck.
Perhaps Saucy had stated that wrong, because she could see the hope building in the younger woman’s eyes. She would surely extinguish that hope with her next words, and that knowledge jabbed in her heart like a pin in its cushion. Well no, I...
she said solemnly, I met his aunt Indra, she told me about him and I said I’d keep an eye out. I haven’t found him though.
She felt really bad now, she hated playing the bearer of bad news.
“Oh,” was her crestfallen response. The firecracker of a child turned her sights away from the stranger and settled into the sinking feeling that had consumed her chest. She had let herself get her hopes up, and she knew just how cruel disappointment was when she was stupid enough to do that. The thought of it burned inside of her like a shameful and gasoline-doused fire.
With a quick inhale and a sharp glance toward the other wolf, Piper bobbed her head. “I guess it was too good to think that someone this close to home had found him,” she tried to laugh it off with a small shrug, but the tight clenching of her jaw was enough to give away her poker face.
Saucy didn’t have to see the girl to know the pain that her gaze held. She glanced away as well, dragging a black padded paw across the sun scorched sand. The younger girl attempted to laugh off her disappointment, but her poker face wasn’t fooling anyone. Saucy wanted to bring some sort of hope to her, but like it’d been with Indra she had nothing to offer. At least in this game, Saucy’s hand was a fold.
Is there anything I can do to help you?
she offered though she wasn’t sure how much more she could do short of following the girl around on a quest to find him; which as hopeful as she was that he’d be found, even Saucy wouldn’t partake in.
The pale woman asked if there was anything more that could be done to assist. Piper looked at her with wildfire in her eyes and frowned. What more could be done? Really, the young Redleaf girl thought that she was doing everything she possibly could in order to figure out where her brother had gone. It took everything she had to fight away the thought that he had died.
“Just keep an eye out for him, I guess. He looks a lot like me, but his fur is tan instead of red and he’s got… these really nice blue eyes,” she offered the description with a small shrug of her shoulder. That was that, she supposed. It was going to be a much longer journey than she would have wanted, but she hoped that she would not return with empty arms.
The description the red girl gave sparked the memory in Saucy’s mind; Indra had sounded just as fond of him when she’d described him. The girl really wished she could’ve been more help, but there was truly no more she could do. She just made an attempted smile of encouragement and replied, I will for sure. I really hope you guys find him, or I do, or something.
She had the feeling that the younger wolf wouldn’t want to venture into any small talk now, so she decided perhaps this was a good time to depart.
Well, I should probably get going,
she started, then remembered, Oh I’m Saucy by the way.
Hopes and wishes were all good and fine, but they weren’t going to do anything to bring Lucas home and Piper knew it. Everyone was always so kind with their words when she mentioned what she was doing. Everyone always hoped that he would make it home safely, but really they were just saying, ‘good luck kid! I’ll cross my fingers that he didn’t get swiped by a cougar.’ She got that, really, but she wished that everyone would stop offering her good wishes. It was a lot of hot air and nothing to show for it.
The woman introduced herself as Saucy, and the Redleaf girl turned around with a small nod. “I’m Piper,” she returned in a somber tone. With that, the firefly departed from the red stone and unique canyons. She left behind the kind words of Saucy and continued along her trek in search of the missing boy, doing what she could to push all thoughts of hope from her mind.