The days had passed. On and on that slipped by like grains of sand in a seemingly endless hourglass, and still the young Ostrega stood vigilant in his watch for his dear friend to emerge from the wilderness and return to his side. Summer sat silently upon the landscape, a mile or two outside of the borders of the Sunspire. His face was solemn and his powerful frame aligned sturdily upon the grass that swept about his haunches and spread wide and far across the plains. He had long ago determined that this was the path Tytonidae had first taken when she'd disappeared those many days ago, and it was also the same place to which he kept returning to wait in solitude for her return.
This day was one that seemed much like any other as the black wolf sat still like a shadow upon the land. His ears twitched when the sound of pawsteps interrupted the quiet, and he turned his head eagerly to peer out across the horizon to settle finally upon a pale, skinny frame that he instantly knew bore no resemblance to the wolf he so desperately sought. Summer looked away, disappointed, but returned his eyes to the stranger when many minutes later, she was approaching him with an air of curiosity and neutrality.
"Hi, I'm Karveila," she said with a smile, leaving Summer unable to do anything less than offer her a polite nod of his head. Unperturbed, the female continued, "Do you happen to know where the Sunspire is? I'm supposed to find someone there. A someone... Well actually, a someone who looks rather much like you."
The female gaped at him in excited wonder, meanwhile Summer felt his heart freeze. He frowned at her, mistrust evident in the furrow of his brow and slight curl of his lip. The female - Karveila - shrunk back, her ears splaying across her neck innocently as she gave him a sheepish smile.
"I swear I mean no harm," she insisted, "I just was sent by my pack searching for a wolf - the son of one of our packmembers. He said that he left him at a mountain called the Sunspire." When Summer regarded her with nothing more than a silent stare, she felt emboldened to continue. "I'm looking for Leviathan Ostrega - his nickname is Summer," she continued, causing Summer's blood to quite suddenly run cold and the hair upon his spine to prickle, "My packmate's name is Dhani. He came to us many months ago so weak that we thought he would not survive, but our healers took care of him as he's quite well now."
Summer stared in silence as the female shared her story, all at once his world beginning to reel as he took in her words and the one fact behind them that could easily have made him faint upon the ground were he not such a strong-willed and calm-natured young adult - Dhani Ostrega was still alive. The yearling felt his heart begin to hammer within his ribcage at the thought. "Where..." he began, only to stop and shake his head to gather his thoughts, "Dhani is alive? Where is he now?"
Quickly, the female came to the realization that she was indeed finally talking to the wolf she'd been searching for and so eagerly, she spilled all that she knew. "He came to us in a place quite far from here called Sedona," she let the young wolf know, "His grandparents had grown up there and his parents went there as well when he was young. He said he wanted to visit it just once before he died, so he came to us only... Well, we didn't let him die. He's been there ever since and he's not completely up for long journeys or anything, he's there and he wanted so badly for one of us to go and find his son and.. well... here I am!"
Karveila beamed with pride, obviously anticipating that her new acquiaintance would fall to gushing about how wonderful it was for her to volunteer for such a task. Alas, Summer was too dazed to do anything of the sort, instead remaining completely silent for a while before finally responding to her. "Where do I find Sedona?" he asked, studying her face with his usual quiet determination.
"Oh uh..." the female responded, looking about her, "It's South of here... Far, far south. Like.. It took me a full turn of the moon to get here. But, if you know where you're going and travel directly there, I bet you could make it a little bit quicker than that."
Summer was quiet as he pondered her words, rolling them over and over again in his mind while she looked on, wondering awkwardly if she was supposed to say something else at this point. Finally, he broke the quiet between them. "I am Leviathan," he announced firmly, "Dhani's son. I appreciate you bringing me this information, but to be honest... I don't yet know what to do with it. But... if you might give me a few days. I would like to speak with you again, after I've had some time.. to process this."
Though his answer was likely not everything the female had hoped for, she was no less pleased to received at least some sort of response from the male she'd suspected was the one she'd been searching for. Eagerly, she nodded. "I will remain in the area for as long as you need," she assured him, "Just come find me and let me know what you want to do - if you want to stay here, then I'll head back with whatever message you want me to take. If you want to come to Sedona, then I would be more than happy to lead the way."
Summer felt even more strange as she offered to lead the way to Sedona. He casted his gaze briefly back beyond his shoulder at the Spire that towered over them in the distance. He gave one last look to the female, bowed his head in a nod, and turned back towards his home. There was apparently a great deal of thinking that he needed to do - none of which he had barely even scratched the surface of in this coincidental and brief encounter.
This day was one that seemed much like any other as the black wolf sat still like a shadow upon the land. His ears twitched when the sound of pawsteps interrupted the quiet, and he turned his head eagerly to peer out across the horizon to settle finally upon a pale, skinny frame that he instantly knew bore no resemblance to the wolf he so desperately sought. Summer looked away, disappointed, but returned his eyes to the stranger when many minutes later, she was approaching him with an air of curiosity and neutrality.
"Hi, I'm Karveila," she said with a smile, leaving Summer unable to do anything less than offer her a polite nod of his head. Unperturbed, the female continued, "Do you happen to know where the Sunspire is? I'm supposed to find someone there. A someone... Well actually, a someone who looks rather much like you."
The female gaped at him in excited wonder, meanwhile Summer felt his heart freeze. He frowned at her, mistrust evident in the furrow of his brow and slight curl of his lip. The female - Karveila - shrunk back, her ears splaying across her neck innocently as she gave him a sheepish smile.
"I swear I mean no harm," she insisted, "I just was sent by my pack searching for a wolf - the son of one of our packmembers. He said that he left him at a mountain called the Sunspire." When Summer regarded her with nothing more than a silent stare, she felt emboldened to continue. "I'm looking for Leviathan Ostrega - his nickname is Summer," she continued, causing Summer's blood to quite suddenly run cold and the hair upon his spine to prickle, "My packmate's name is Dhani. He came to us many months ago so weak that we thought he would not survive, but our healers took care of him as he's quite well now."
Summer stared in silence as the female shared her story, all at once his world beginning to reel as he took in her words and the one fact behind them that could easily have made him faint upon the ground were he not such a strong-willed and calm-natured young adult - Dhani Ostrega was still alive. The yearling felt his heart begin to hammer within his ribcage at the thought. "Where..." he began, only to stop and shake his head to gather his thoughts, "Dhani is alive? Where is he now?"
Quickly, the female came to the realization that she was indeed finally talking to the wolf she'd been searching for and so eagerly, she spilled all that she knew. "He came to us in a place quite far from here called Sedona," she let the young wolf know, "His grandparents had grown up there and his parents went there as well when he was young. He said he wanted to visit it just once before he died, so he came to us only... Well, we didn't let him die. He's been there ever since and he's not completely up for long journeys or anything, he's there and he wanted so badly for one of us to go and find his son and.. well... here I am!"
Karveila beamed with pride, obviously anticipating that her new acquiaintance would fall to gushing about how wonderful it was for her to volunteer for such a task. Alas, Summer was too dazed to do anything of the sort, instead remaining completely silent for a while before finally responding to her. "Where do I find Sedona?" he asked, studying her face with his usual quiet determination.
"Oh uh..." the female responded, looking about her, "It's South of here... Far, far south. Like.. It took me a full turn of the moon to get here. But, if you know where you're going and travel directly there, I bet you could make it a little bit quicker than that."
Summer was quiet as he pondered her words, rolling them over and over again in his mind while she looked on, wondering awkwardly if she was supposed to say something else at this point. Finally, he broke the quiet between them. "I am Leviathan," he announced firmly, "Dhani's son. I appreciate you bringing me this information, but to be honest... I don't yet know what to do with it. But... if you might give me a few days. I would like to speak with you again, after I've had some time.. to process this."
Though his answer was likely not everything the female had hoped for, she was no less pleased to received at least some sort of response from the male she'd suspected was the one she'd been searching for. Eagerly, she nodded. "I will remain in the area for as long as you need," she assured him, "Just come find me and let me know what you want to do - if you want to stay here, then I'll head back with whatever message you want me to take. If you want to come to Sedona, then I would be more than happy to lead the way."
Summer felt even more strange as she offered to lead the way to Sedona. He casted his gaze briefly back beyond his shoulder at the Spire that towered over them in the distance. He gave one last look to the female, bowed his head in a nod, and turned back towards his home. There was apparently a great deal of thinking that he needed to do - none of which he had barely even scratched the surface of in this coincidental and brief encounter.
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