Wolf RPG

Fig had been in the Wilds for nearly a month with a perfectly clear goal in mind, though not so clear of a direction. He'd wandered the Hinterlands for a few weeks, visiting the places of his childhood before heading North and traveling along the Coast to circumvent the barrier mountains. He was headed South now, but was feeling very uncertain about whether or not he was actually headed in the right direction. Navigation had never been a strength of his, but considering what he'd found, perhaps he'd been wrong to doubt himself...

He thought his nose must be deceiving him. Perhaps it was just the strength of his desire to see his parents, but he felt quite certain the faintest whisper of his father's scent was on the bark of the discarded stick at his feet. He had stood sniffing eagerly at it for a few minutes now, his confidence in the assertion wavering back and forth. If he actually was going in the right direction, then it would make sense for these plains to perhaps be their hunting grounds. That was assuming they hadn't left the canyon he last knew them to be living in, and who knew whether that was the case or not.

Doubts aside, Fig saw no real reason to be such a pessimist about it. Maybe his nose was tricking him, maybe it wasn't. He would carry on regardless.

But first...

Fig tilted his head back and sent a howl into the air. Just in case his family actually was nearby to hear him. Even if they weren't, perhaps he could get the attention of someone who could steer him in the right direction.

The plains were a frequent haunt of Phox, who found the bumbling beasts that inhabited the flatlands rather intriguing. They lumbered along, and Phox lumbered after them in his own uneven gait. As of yet, he hadn’t organized a hunt for the creatures, being mostly a hindrance to himself… but he had been studying their movement patterns and behaviors so that he might report the information back to Arsenio and Tamar. He supposed they could figure out who to send out in a hunting party.

When an all-too-familiar voice rang out, Phox thought he might be going as deaf as his beloved sister. It couldn’t be, could it? But of course it could. His tail whipped behind him as he ambled along as quickly as his three legs could carry him toward the sound, spotting the dark figure of his firstborn son long before he breathlessly yelled, FIG!

Fig had not expected to receive an answer so soon. He also hadn’t expected the answer to come from the exact wolf he sought. But, fate had a way of constantly surprising him, and he had no complaints to make about it. He spun in place, his ears perked and eyes wide as he searched the horizon until he spotted him—his father galloping across the plains to meet him.

”Dad!” Fig barked gleefully as he took off running to meet him. It didn’t take too long to close the distance, at which point he fell right into puppy mode. He bowed happily, ears tucked back, eagerly nudging and sniffing and nipping at his father’s chin. After a moment of this he stepped back and stood up straight, noting with sudden shock that he was actually taller than his father. When had that happened?

”Dad! It’s—” he began, only to stop suddenly when he noticed his father’s impairment. His jaw dropped and his eyes clouded with concern as a sick feeling swept through his veins and settled in the pit of his stomach. He looked back at Phox’s face then, unable to fully utter the question other than the very start, ”Dad..?”

While Fig went into puppy mode, Phox remained totally stoic.

...

PSYCHE! He carried on just as puppy-mode as his kiddo, squirming and worming his way through the reunion without a care in the world, happy little licks everywhere as he showered Figment with all the love and attention to make up for lost time. Then, there was a sudden stillness, followed by a question unspoken. Phox hardly thought about his lack of leg anymore, except when it was pointed out.

Oh fuck, yeah. About that. I'm one leg down, but getting around okay. How are you?! How has the traveling been?! What's new?! The questions came flying, deflecting the attention off his impairment and onto his firstborn boy.

Fig stared in horror at the space where his father's leg used to be. His eyes slowly drifted up to Phox's face as he replied with good-natured joy, providing just about no explanation and turning the subject quickly to him.

"It was good, I wasn't irreparably maimed or anything," Fig commented slowly, not willing to let this go, "Dad? What happened?"

Phox plays deflection!

Figment counters with more questions!

Well, shit. Apparently, he couldn't avoid the metaphorical elephant in the metaphorical room. Figment demanded an answer, which, unfortunately for him, wasn't going to be much of an answer at all.

You know, I still can't really say. Not because I don't want to, but I legit don't recall. I went to go hang out with Towma one day, and the next thing I knew, a lot of time had passed, and I was one leg down. Seems to have healed nicely enough, and now it's more of a curiosity than anything. Phox shrugged.

Fig listened in silent alarm as his father explained what had happened to the best of his ability. He couldn’t imagine what might have occurred to his father that would fill in the blanks. Surely if some sort of bear or mountain lion had attacked, it wouldn’t have taken a leg and just left Phox alive. There was a huge piece of the story missing, but Fig could tell it was not one they were likely to find.

He sighed. ”Well, that’s very unsettling,” Fig said a bit wryly, ”But I’m glad you’re alright. Well, that most of you is alright, anyway.”

Fig paused to take another look at his father and willed himself to forget his concern. ”Is Mom here too? And my brothers and sisters? Is Fenn..?” he asked to distract himself, faltering a bit at the end. What had happened with Fenn was still a bit of a sore spot, though he wished it wasn’t. He still was hopeful for news of her. News that wouldn’t involve dismemberment, with any luck.

Phox laughed a little at the "unsettling" comment. If that wasn't right on the nose, he wasn't sure what was. Yeah, Towma is in Epoch with me, right over that way, Phox said, gesturing in the general direction of the vale. Fennec actually lives on Moonspear now. The biggest one over that way, he said, another movement to show Fig the tallest mountain out that way.

Meerkat is over there as well. I don't... I don't know about Alyx and Quetzal. Or any of the kids that were raised by the sea. They drifted off pretty quickly. Phox wasn't surprised. Peregrine had been the most attached to him, and even he had dispersed. Vesper and Prevost had never seemed to like him at all.

Most of Towma's kids are scattered, but Caracal made himself a little home by the ocean. Little did Phox know, it was the very place Niamh had gone after she'd stormed off for the last time. Bronco lives with Brecheliant with Eljay, Maia, and the bunch. Leona—Phox willed himself not to choke up—she fell not too long ago and didn't make it. Her brother Jack is still with us, though.

Was that everyone?

Fig listened eagerly as Phox gave him the lowdown on his family. There were names he knew well, and some he didn't know at all. The latter made his heart feel heavier for how much he had missed, but there was light in the rest. Overall, everyone sounded well, except for the penultimate name. Fig didn't know a Leona, though he reasoned without much trouble that she must've belonged to either Phox or Towhee. He still felt the loss regardless of the fact that he hadn't known her. Now, he never would.

"I'm sorry to hear of her loss," Fig said softly, noting the sadness in his father's expression, "Glad to hear everyone else seems to be doing alright, though."

"Is Epoch that far from here?" he asked, his gaze trailing in the direction Phox had indicated, "I'd like to go see Mom, assuming visitors are welcome. I was actually trying to find my way back to the Canyon to see you guys. I'm glad you didn't relocate too far, otherwise I don't know how I would've found you."

Phox acknowledged the condolences by touching his nose to Fig's shoulder to thank him. Even Phox had barely known the girl, and he felt even worse about that than he did about her death. Let's just say there was a lot of unpacking there that he didn't want to dive into right now.

Nah, not really, he replied, C'mon, I'll lead the way. And as they walked, Phox could tell him about all the ladies he'd been chatting up recently. Would that weird him out? We'll never know! Because I'm going on vacation, and I need Stevie to wrap up this thread with her next post. <3

Fig smiled at his father, pleased to hear they were close to Epoch. He felt so lucky to have found him, and even luckier now that it wouldn't take him too long before he got to be reunited with Towhee. He followed happily at Phox's side, openly regaling him with tales of the complete lack of ladies he'd been chatting up and the utterly uninteresting time he'd spent traveling on his own.