Lost Creek Hollow What in Sam hell is a puma?

Warlock's assignment at the moment had been to track his mother's path back through the territory to find what she'd buried -- honestly he wasn't even sure what it was, but this little scavenger hunt was to test their tracking skills.  He was the last of the trio to be sent off on this trip, so he wasn't really expecting to cross paths with his siblings unless they went out of their way to find him.

However, the path had gone by where Ashlar (and Mona, of course) lived but now as Spook appeared on the scene, he found it was empty.  Yes, that family had left not too long ago, but Arbiter hadn't thought to mention it to her own children -- she hadn't thought they'd known each other more than in passing, but Warlock had probably been quite a bit more attached than the others.  Because Ashlar was nice to him.  Okay, it was entirely possible she mentioned it but he hadn't been paying attention at the time.  It happens.  Especially when a brother tries to chomp you a lot.

But now Spook stood here in the clearing, ears folded back on his head and looking particularly out of sorts.  What did you do when someone was just gone?  He wasn't sure how to process it yet.  Why were they gone?

OH this thread is from July, my bad. Can we bring it up to present maybe?

Mink kept himself busy day in and day out, finding himself very comfortable within the hollow so long as he was left to his own devices. He didn't dislike the other people; on the contrary, he was positively exuberant when they showed him any interest. But it wasn't in his nature to seek these people out on his own - he'd spent so long doing things for himself, by himself, with only his thoughts and his voice as the constant companion.

So today, as he busied himself with foraging for whatever remained of the summer growths throughout the territory (namely raspberries, as they were his favorite summer snack - tart and sweet! How perfect!) he had discovered that many of the low shrubberies that grew these tiny fruits had either been eaten up, or had rotted due to moisture. The few tasty bits Mink had unearthed didn't taste right, so he'd buried them with hopes that the next summer would be more fruitful. He knew that it was not the time to be picky - the summer had ended after all and the cold was descending - but he was still invested in the hunt for the perfect berries.

He had spent the morning foraging, and then doubled back to where his hunt had begun by the afternoon; his path took him back to the empty den site, and he wasn't about to investigate the hole in the dirt again (it had been empty the first time, and a few hours likely wouldn't change it), and yet, he was surprised to find a slim young wolf puttering around in the dirt. They looked utterly defeated and Mink's heart fluttered with uncertainty, wondering if something had happened to cause such a crestfallen expression on the young creature. It wasn't his first instinct to intercept them - but then he found himself lingering near, creeping along, and soon letting himself be seen.

Hello there, he crooned softly, as if testing the air, for he did not wish to disturb the child if they were looking for peace and quiet - there were other jobs to be done, after all. Are you alright? You look -- hm, he didn't know what to say really, and tacked on a different line after a slight pause: Has something happened?

Yeah! I think I can make it workable! XD

Now what was he gonna do?  Probably go back and do what he'd been assigned.  Which did sound kind of lame, he'd been hoping for a distraction.  He'd been nice. And they were gone.  Sigh.  

But in the midst of his short bit of moping, someone else showed up. Huh.  Who the heck was that?  Spook squinted at the brown guy a moment, but was zapped back mentally to where he was a few moments ago at the word. He turned slightly downcast again. There was another kid here. Hadn't seen him in a while. I thought we were all busy but--- they're gone.  Spook's ears tilted back again.  Maybe Mom or Dad said something and I forgot.  Which was likely what had happened in this case.  It was easy to miss something if it wasn't repeated -- so many things changed in such a short period that it had probably gotten lost in the confusion.

Pause. Wait.  Who're you?  He was a bit suspicious again.  Gee.  It wasn't hostile, but just confused because this dude totally wasn't someone he was familiar with so of course he was confused.  Spook didn't exactly have a ton of interaction with those beyond his family but they definitely should be at the point now where that became more common of a thing.

Ah, so the boy had been looking for a friend, and the friend was gone. Mink did not know how that felt; he had never been particularly close to anyone growing up—well, aside from his grandmother, and upon remembering her the man felt a strong sense of loss, and could finally commiserate with the boy. It wasn't the same thing really. Losing a friend hurt, but there was always the chance for reconnecting, while losing a member of one's family (especially someone so near and dear, like the old woman who raised him) was comparatively more poignant.

Mink opened his mouth with the hopes that something clever and appropriate would tumble out of it, but that did not happen. Instead the boy fixed him with a sharp look and flaunted his suspicious nature, asking after him. Mink's mouth closed and became its characteristic smile, softened with memories of loss this time and less dominant across his narrow snout. My name is Mink. I was accepted a bit ago by Terance—who I presume is your father..? That was how wolf packs worked, right?

It occurred to Mink then, that he had no real understanding about the inner workings of pack life; his presumption could've been totally wrong. Eager to forge ahead with making a new friend (even if it was a young boy), Mink went on to say, What was your friend like? Maybe I've seen them. The man was a gatherer of stories, and was more than happy to use such skills to help this boy through a loss.

The youth nodded.  Yeah, he didn't smell like a total stranger, but that didn't mean he knew anything about this Mink dude.  I'm uh.  Spook. Which was kind of a grating name at this point, sure, but he hadn't proved himself worthy of another title (or at least his mom certainly wasn't letting on that he was anywhere close).

Could this guy have run into him?  Maybe?  It was a big world out there, but maybe it wasn't so big... Ummm.  He was dark brown?  And we played and another time we tried to go catch fish with his mom.  His name was Ashlar.  I dunno. It was a while ago.  I wish he'd come back.  There really wasn't much to it... They'd all been very small at the time and the memories were a little blurry around the edges.  Sure, some people left.  Even Spook was starting to understand that, but the question was if they'd come back at some point.