Jade Fern Grove off the edge

@Vex ^^

Taktuq had been gone for a while now. Ikiaq had not been able to go looking for her yet - he had had a cold, and had been a bit out of commission for a couple of weeks. Which was for the best, honestly - he wouldn't have been any good for his sister if he had gone with a fever and sniffles. 

But he was well now, and he was determined to find his sister.

After all, Taktuq wouldn't just leave for no reason. There had to be a cause behind her disappearance, and he was going to find out what happened. 

It was just... well, he didn't want to go alone.

Normally, he'd ask Rosewood to go with him, but... he didn't think that the older boy would necessarily approve of his decision, and he hadn't wanted to get in trouble for leaving. And there was really only one other wolf he could think of right now that might go with him. 

Vex had been mean and rude and stuff, but Ikiaq figured he was pretty brave. You had to be brave to go off on your own like he had, right? So maybe he'd be up for the journey. 

All he could think of was to go to their original meeting place. With any luck, the other boy would be around. Maybe bigger than the last time they'd met - Ikiaq's growing had stuttered to a near stop, and he wasn't all that big.

too busy with his rebellious schemes and how many times he had to sneak out until he'd be able to venture far enough to find kaertok, vex fails to realize that he's mostly grown into his adult body. at a few days shy of six months, he's still gangly but in a ghost of the grandfather he takes after physically, he is tall and large despite that. though childish in many other aspects and still a bit physically in the softness of his features that had yet to harden into firm muscle, he could easily be mistaken for an adult from a far away enough distance.

not willing to test his luck and sneak out too far from the bypass while he was still in arbiter's crosshairs for his and haunt's last (failed) attempt; he ventures into the jade fern grove. his steps slow to a halt as a familiar scent tickles his nose and precedes the familiar shape of the boy vex had bullied months ago now. deja vu, vex remarks out loud, hoping to draw the other boy's attention. huh, the snort left vex as he stopped a few feet away, studying the other boy. you're still small.

Vex had no trouble catching the chocolate-furred boy's attention. Ikiaq's first thought was wow, he's big now. His second thought came out of his mouth instead, a bit indignant, "I'm not that small!" He was still mean, apparently, which Ikiaq was expecting, but at least it wasn't as mean as last time. Yet. "Maybe you're just big." Or maybe both. Ikiaq seemed to have inherited more his mother's size, which was not ideal. His father was big, after all. 

"I was looking for you, actually," he informed the other boy, ears angling toward him. "But I didn't think I'd just run into you like this."

vex is barely able to contain the snicker that plays across his lips at ikiaq's attempt to ...well, whatever exactly the other boy'd been trying to do with his come back. the cruel prince gives a snort and a lazy twitch of his ear. that's ..., vex gives a small pause not even sure it was worth pointing out but does so anyway continuing with, basically saying the same thing. regardless, it's obvious to vex that ikiaq had no practice with verbally sparring or insults during the time that has passed between their first meet and now.

it doesn't occur to vex that just because he lived for cruelty did not mean anyone else did.

you were looking for me? vex repeats; surprised. there was no sense in trying to hide it when he can feel it written all over his visage in bold print as if he were a child's book. why? it wasn't as if vex wasn't aware he was unpleasant to be around — and his knowledge of it was evident enough in his inability to puzzle out why ikiaq would want to seek him out and thus intentionally place himself in vex's presence.

He truly did not have any experience with verbal sparring. This was... a new thing for him, and he was doing his best, okay? So he just let that one slide with a soft huff - it was dumb, anyway, and it wasn't why he was here. 

"My sister is missing," he explained, brows drawing together. "I was looking for you because I thought you were really brave and stuff and Iwaswonderingifyouwantedtogowithme." It wasn't hard to ask if he crammed all of the words together at the end, spewing it out in one whoosh of air. 

"I want to look for her," he said afterward, brown eyes darting to the side sheepishly. It almost sounded stupid, now that he was voicing it aloud.

vex is confused, initially, as to what ikiaq's missing sister has to do with him only for it to be spelled out for him as the other boy goes on about how he thought he was really brave and then got to the point of why he was actually looking for her with words rushed together in a single breath. for a moment, vex blinks trying to decipher that rapid spew of words as if ikiaq didn't get it out right then and there he wouldn't. for a moment, vex almost laughs.

he wasn't so sure he was brave; he was just arrogant and spoiled and that hardly equated to brave — but of course he wasn't going to say that out loud. vex's feelings switch again then to pity as he wonders that out of everyone ikiaq could come to for help and he came to a bully.

do you have any leads? any idea where she might've gone? vex asks. he hadn't agreed to it yet but figures it was best to get as much information as he could before he gave any sort of solid answer. from experience, he knew how hard it was to look for someone without any trail when they, presumably, didn't want to be found.