Neverwinter Forest twenty seven dreams

Tagging @Sullivan! Referencing the news in this post in the MO forum :)

So Simmik was missing, apparently. Mal had been round to let he and Hotaru know, as well as collect any information they had on their MIA temporary caretaker, before telling them they were to stay inside the borders for now. This only incensed Haruki further, having already felt caged in enough as it was.

He stomped around the forest, his bad mood soured by the rapidly cooling weather. His breath came out in angry little puffs of vapour, and he paused every so often to pick a frozen twig out from between his toe pads. Anywhere had to better than this, he thought, and so with a decisive flick of his tail, headed towards the borders.

The news of Simmik's disappearance worried Sullivan. Doing what he could, he searched through all the forest's nooks and crannies. Maybe, she had just gotten stuck in a bush or something! He remained optimistic despite the scary news. 

He was bent over, peeking into a holly bush, when a flash of white caught his attention. His heart skipped a beat—it was Simmik! Quickly, he turned away from his investigation and begun power-walked in the direction that Haruki had gone.  Very little inspired Sullivan to break into a faster pace. "Simmik, wait!" he called, puffs of mist escaping from his mouth as he spoke. "The whole pack is so worried about you, but you're here!!" He could hardly believe it! For once, he was the hero!

A boyish voice distracted him from his determined path, calling out his guardian's name that caused Haruki to turn in surprise. Oh, they found her already? Then what had all the big fuss been about? She was an adult, right? She could look after herself out there, and it looks like she had made it back, anyway...

Oh. The boy's features crumpled in confusion as he spotted a single, dark grey youth marching towards him, no stark white adult in sight. "Are you blind?" Haruki huffed back, as if offended. "I'm not Simmik."

Tags for reference!

Haruki's retort caused Sullivan to still his motivated march. @Aibreann (or @Mal, IDK) had described Simmik as a white-furred wolf, just like the juvenile before him; he had been so certain that he had the right wolf. 

"Oh," Sullivan replied through a heavy-set frown, shuffling awkwardly from paw-to-paw. "I'm sorry! You just... look like her!" he tried to justify. "I... was just tryna to help..." He grabbed his forearm and looked away, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

He came to a stop with an uneasiness that reminded Haruki a little of his sister, only this boy was much less regal in bearing. He had a pattern that reminded him of Mal, which made him wonder if this stranger was one of the leader's own. He was, however, a little more...rotund than Mal's other kids, and definitely not as confident.

Latching onto the other's bumbling manner as a sign of weakness, Haruki drew himself upright and padded towards the other boy with contempt flaring in his gaze. "You need your eyes checked," he scoffed off-handedly, before canting his head to one side as he formulated a plan.

"If she was still here in the forest, then she wouldn't be missing." Duh. With his muzzle, he gestured in the direction he had been headed just moments before, towards the borders. "If you want to help, you should start by looking out there."

Haruki's words cut like knives. "Well, my Momma is a medic," he said, considering the advice as he lowered himself and flattened his ears. "I guess it wouldn't hurt asking her to look at them," "Maybe he was just trying to help?" Sullivan thought, not wanting to assume the worst. A little more brightly, he added, "Thanks for looking out for me!" 

When Haruki insulted him further, he felt his stomach grow queasy. Sullivan wasn't fond of how the other wolf was talking to him—it reminded him of Caerus. "I don't think that we're allowed out there..." he reminded the pallid juvenile. Still, it was tempting to go out there and save the day... 

Interested by the prospect, Sullivan drew a step closer to the borders. "Do you think my Momma and Papa will be proud if I find Simmik?" he asked. He didn't like it when others were upset, and he figured that finding the pack's Beta would help everybody out and make them happy.

To his surprise, the other youth acted as if Haruki had helped him in some way, mentioning something about this mother being a medic and that he would seek her advice. At his joyful thanks, the ex-prince stared back blankly for a moment, taken aback, before sneering. That's not what I meant, he thought, though did not mention it any further.

I don't think that we're allowed out there... Came the boy's nervous comment, but before Haruki could answer, he surprised him by suddenly taking the initiative. Maliciously, he wondered what would happen if he convinced the naive boy to go off into the Wilderness alone. Would he survive? Would Mal worry after him just as he did Simmik?

His desire to get out of the forest was greater than his curiousity, however, and so Haruki motioned forward with a snide smile. "Of course they would" he said, feigning reassurance. "She's like, super important to the pack, right?" He hadn't really noted her position within Neverwinter, but he assumed with all this fuss, Mal cared about her a great deal. "And I can help you look for her." A lie, but the other boy didn't have to know that.

Sullivan believed Haruki wholeheartedly, having no reason to doubt his packmate. "Yeah! She's, like, super important," he encouraged the other wolf. "You know, like... leader important!" Sullivan knew that Haruki had only joined Neverwinter Forest recently and wanted to make sure that he was in the loop. 

When the juvenile offered to help, his expression lightened ten-fold. "Oh! That would be great!" he exclaimed; he knew that this guy was one of the good ones! His heart fluttered as he thought of their potential adventure—it was just so exciting! 

"Maybe we can have a snack before we go?" he suggested, feeling an unexpected rumble in his belly. All of this excitement had caused him to work up quite the appetite!

The boy was trusting — overly so — but that just made Haruki's plan all the more easier. He did wonder, though, how this boy turned out this way with siblings like Liliana and Finín. He didn't seem to fit into Haruki's perception of the current pups of Neverwinter. He shrugged off the thought, not bothering to dwell too long on it. Whatever was wrong with the boy, he made for a useful pawn at the very least.

As the dark male confirmed his suspicions about Simmik's importance, Haruki faked a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, before it faltered as he went on to ask if he could have...a snack? "What?" the boy blurted out. Every second they wasted now was treacherous; an adult could stumble across them at any moment. Yet, at the same time, he did not want to lose his unwitting partner-in-crime's trust.

"Uh, sure," Haruki managed, feeling the agitation in his paws. His gaze hardened. "Just...be quick about it."

Sullivan was not deterred by Haruki's blurting. He nodded his head in response, confirming what had been asked.

"Oh no," he quickly reassured, "I won't take long at all! I got a snack pack just around the corner!" What was a snack pack? Sullivan had gotten into the habit of stealing from the pack's caches and burying whatever he took throughout the territory for easier access. His nearest "snack pack" was just around the corner, next to a crusty-looking oak tree. Without another word, Sullivan scurried (again, no faster than a power-walk) off in the direction of his nearest food store.

Once Sullivan had arrived, he hastily unearthed a cardinal and gobbled it down—feathers and all. After choking on it for a minute, he rushed to rejoin his friend.

"All done!" he panted once he had returned. His sides heaved, and his mouth hung open as he attempted to regain his breath.

A snack...pack? Haruki stared blankly after the boy as he insisted he wouldn't take long, before shambling off just out of sight. The ex-prince was left alone with his thoughts for a few moments, and he spent that time wondering just what a snack pack could be. Was it one of this forest pack's weird customs?

True to his word, the other returned quickly with the scent of blood and bird in the air. Haruki noted a small red feather that clung to the boy's rounded chest, and quirked an eyebrow. He had meant a literal snack? Just how many of these packs did he have?

Ignoring the boy's laboured breathing, Haruki strode past him and headed towards the borders. "C'mon then," he urged quietly, breaking into a hurried clip as he led the two out of the cover of the woodland and into the wilds beyond.