Wolf RPG

With Redtail Rise at her back, Saena loped at an even pace across the plains separating the north from the vast mountain range in the center of the wilds. The sky was tinged pink with morning light and early songbirds were barely beginning their songs. A grazing hare scrambled away from the approaching predator, but luck was on its side, for Saena wasn't interested in hunting it. She had somewhere to go.

In the throes of sleep, she'd briefly seen the simorgh that once haunted all of her dreams, and with it had been Tytonidae and Summer, the dark Sunspire wolf she'd met in Northstar Vale. Both wolves and simorgh portrayed urgency for some reason, but Saena saw the dream through a fog and could not fully understand the meaning. When she awoke, it was with the decision to visit the Sunspire and check up on Tytonidae already made despite her sister's hatred for her.

She wasn't spiritual, not really, but trusting her dreams in the past had yielded good results. To that effect, Saena rarely ignored them, so here she was. Even if she wanted to, she was armed with the knowledge that her mother had shared a special connection with spirits and that she likely did as well, however fleeting it seemed to be at times. She couldn't in good conscience let that dream not concern her.

The sun was already high enough for it to be mid to late morning by the time Saena reached the base of the Sunspire. There, at least twenty feet from the first definite scent markings, she lifted her muzzle and howled for Tytonidae.

Ty's extended absence had not gone unnoticed by the Ostrega.  How could it when they spent nearly every waking moment together?  He had counted the sunrises and the sunsets, waiting for about three of them to go by before he allowed his worry for her to kick it up a notch.  Three days had come and gone rather quickly, and now Summer wasn't even certain what count he was on.  All he knew was that his friend had been gone for far too long, and it was taking every shred of his self-control to not disobey her wishes by tearing off into the wilderness after her.


The warden and aspiring warrior spent his time hard at work in order to distract himself.  He really was never very successful, though, particularly because he spent the entire time stalking the borders with his eyes on the horizon, searching for her.  He had even taken to spending his nights in different spots nearer to the base of the mountain than at his own den, wanting to get up bright and early the next day to get right back to the search.

It seemed that day was not the one where he would find Tytonidae, yet it was a day that the plot would move forward for him as the call on the wind spoke of her name.  Recognizing the voice, Summer took off towards the sound.  It didn't take him too long to reach Saena.  He approached her with a neutral air.  He was perfectly happy to see her - in fact, rather intrigued her sudden appearance - but he was not exactly an expressive wolf to begin with and Ty's absence never stopped weighing heavily upon his mind.  "Saena," he said as he came to a stop, his eyes set upon her forehead.

In her younger days, the yearling would've made herself comfortable upon the other pack's borders. Now that she led her own, though, her understanding of and appreciation for proper etiquette had grown. Seeing a wolf lounging on her threshold wouldn't have pleased her, so she doubted the Sunspire wolves would be pleased to see her in the same state. Instead, she politely stood with her tail pressed against her hindquarters in as submissive a position as it possibly could be given its truncated length and her ears turned deferentially to the sides. For a long while, it seemed she was submitting to the might of the mountain itself.

But a wolf did appear, with a dark coat and long legs. It seemed Tytonidae didn't hate her so much after all. She let her tail wiggle hopefully behind her, but it dropped when the scent that reached her nose was not Tytonidae's. Summer wasn't unwelcome, though. He was the next best thing, so she gave him a grateful smile and warmly said, "Summer of the Sunspire. It's nice to see you again."

"Is Tytonidae out?" she followed up, glancing past his shoulder for just a moment in hopes that she would catch sight of her sibling. "I... figured it was time to make amends. She might not want to see me, but I wanted to come see her, see if we could put things behind us. A lot has changed, I wanted her to know." Of course, Saena had no intention of asking Tytonidae to leave the Sunspire to live at Redtail Rise for many reasons, the foremost being the male wolf standing in front of her. She believed the two were a couple, and that neither would be willing to leave for her. Jealousy played a part as well, ironically, though she knew nothing of Tytonidae's recent envy nor how Junior's visit with her had gone.

Saena was quick to recognize him, which Summer found himself pleased by.  He dipped his muzzle slightly and found himself sharing the briefest of smiles as he raised his head again, in spite of the conflict he felt twisting his insides.  Almost immediately, she turned the conversation in the direction of Ty - not surprising considering it was the charcoal painted girl she'd called for in the first place, but nonetheless distressing upon the wolf that was already so highly aware of lack of presence.  Summer regarded his friend's sister with a melancholy half smile as her comments came to a close, loathe to share the situation with her (at least, his overly protective, perhaps misguided version of it) after she'd said such uplifting things.


"I'm afraid Ty is not here right now," Summer answered her, his expression shifting from soft gratitude to hard concern, "She left a few days ago and has not yet returned."  He paused then, knowing he ought to go on to promise he'd share with Ty that Saena had been there to see her upon her return, but unable to bring the words to his tongue.  He was far too logical a wolf to put trust in such things as fate or the like, but some nagging feeling would not let him think of his friend's absence peaceably - a truth that was likely evidence in the slight narrow of his eyes or the tightness of his lips.

Even before Summer revealed it, Saena could feel something off about him. Their last meeting had been one of mixed emotions, but in the end, each had accepted the other's point of view. It was a comfortable discussion and a comfortable parting. Now, there was something troubling about it. She didn't feel in any sort of danger, but could tell there was something not quite right.

When Summer spoke, it became clearer. By his own admission, Tytonidae had lounged around the Sunspire for months, loathe to even leave her domain, let alone the territory. It was highly unusual for Tytonidae to wander away at all; even in the plateau, she'd been a bit of a homebody, very much unlike her Outrider siblings. Saena never would've expected her to leave her pack for more than a day at a time, but that seemed to be the problem. Summer's concern wasn't missed.

"Do you know where she might've gone?" Saena asked, unable to keep her own concern from lacing her tone. Maybe Tytonidae had gone to visit Peregrine at Redhawk Caldera. That was about a day's walk away, she thought... but then wouldn't she be back by now, if she'd left a few days ago?

Upon hearing his confession, Saena quickly adopted the same look of concern that was upon Summer's face.  Somehow, seeing her worry made him worry even more.  It was as though her anxiety vindicated what coursed against his own nerves.  He sucked in a deep breath to steady himself.  It had been a long time since he'd suffered the uncontrollable anxiety of his youth, but each day that passed without Tytonidae reminded him of it more and more.


"I don't," he admitted, guilt burning in the pit of his stomach, "She wanted to search for herds just beyond our borders.  She was only supposed to be gone for a day or two and she asked that I stay behind.  She wanted to do it on her own."  Not for the first time, Summer regretted the fact that he'd agreed to letting her go alone.  He at least should have followed after her at a distance so that she wasn't aware that he was there.  It was foolish, but hindsight was 20/20 after all.

It was weird to see Summer in the same state of nervousness as herself. Hell, Saena found it strange to feel nervous at all. The last time was a long time ago, and the last thing she'd expected was to be upset to know Tytonidae was potentially missing. Perhaps her absence had erased all of Saena's bad memories of her sister and replaced them with nostalgia.

"Oh," Saena said contemplatively, then added, "well, you couldn't have known this would happen if she went alone. I'm sure she'll be back soon." She wasn't so sure of this at all but felt it was prudent to remain hopeful, lest the man before her crumple in despair (not that he gave indication of doing so). "I just wanted to tell her about the pack I founded, but... I'll catch her another time."

She would never get the opportunity, for when Tytonidae did eventually find her way back to the Sunspire, she and Summer would set off for Sedona and likely never return. Still, Saena thought Ty would be here when next she visited, and she intended to tell her sister all about what had transpired since the day she left the plateau.

Saena's response came slowly and seemed to be calculated.  He lifted his gaze to her to study her face, particularly when she began to explain that she'd come there to tell Ty about the pack she had founded.  He was surprised to hear of her accomplishment, but he did realize that it was just that - an accomplishment.  He would have been proud to do the same himself, and there was still some large part of him that felt compelled to challenge Jace and even Ame for what he felt was his rightful place - as Alpha of the Sunspire.  But all of that paled in comparison to his need to find Tytonidae.  She was what was most important to him.  Once she was back, then maybe...


"You have a pack now?" he implored, dropping down onto his haunches, "Where?  Ty will return, and perhaps she and I can come see for ourselves."  His confidence was incomplete at best, but he did not wish to dwell on it.

Ty will return, said Summer, and Saena dearly wished that would be so. She hadn't seen Tytonidae in forever, and although she didn't really consider the dark-haired female family any longer, she still wanted to reconnect and try to put the past behind them. It was a theme lately.

"It's actually due north of here a ways," Saena told him, "keep going 'til you find a prairie, and then a little past that, a short little ridge. That's where we live." The journey was undoubtedly long, but not that hard to make. If a wolf just kept following the north star, they would easily find her pack. "It'd be cool if you guys did come to visit. Junior, our other sister, is there too."

Summer dutifully committed Saena's instructions to memory as she shared them.  She had claimed a territory to the North upon what she described to be a "small ridge".  He wondered at this briefly, curious to know how many she had beneath her and how large exactly their territory was.  He had little recollection of how large his birth pack's territory had been, but he had grown quite accustomed now to living upon an expansive mountainside.  To think of holding any less was strange to him, but he was not so young and naive as to think there was anything wrong with it.


"I will tell her as soon as she comes home," Summer assured her with a nod of his head.  Setting his gaze upon her once again, he decided to take his leave - there was still much of the borders to be patrolled and this conversation had set him again to hoping that today would be the day that Ty returned to him.  He didn't say a word to excuse himself, merely gave her a significant and respectful tilt of his head before setting off.

As quickly as they came together to speak, they went their separate ways. Summer's promise to inform Tytonidae about Redtail Rise, and hopefully to propose a visit, would remain on Saena's mind for only a week before shit hit the fan and she forgot all about her wayward sister, but she would always vaguely hope to see them, maybe even convince them to leave their current home for hers... if things went well, that is.

She turned from the borders as Summer retreated and began the relatively long walk back home. She hadn't got what she'd come for, but Saena left knowing that there was a chance things would work out between her and Ty, if ever her sister reappeared at the Sunspire.