Dragoncrest Cliffs chase the wind of a prism ship

As so often was the case, it was a constant state of some shade of flux here, and Dio soldiered through--trying, for all he was worth, to help support Blixen while she adjusted, and now Helix as well with the lead, while keeping his family tended and together too. After Dalia's leave and the Heda's departure (and all that went with her) just before, he had not had a chance to slow down, take it in, and settle comfortably with all these new notions. Bat's disappearance with no good leads to track, now too, weighed heavily.. and really, all he wanted seemed so simple.

He sighed mightily and since his shoulder was feeling poorly today, he was determined not to overdo it--and the morning's patrol had been kept accordingly brief. The recent drop of temperatures hadn't seemed too go very gently on him, much to his frustration--so while he was compensating for that, he was hopeful his trio of goufas might entertain his afternoon in the meantime. He wanted to keep them close so long as he possibly could.

Only ambling along at a slow walk, he thought he could catch wind of a fresh trail on @Dacio. Hints on the sisters, @Sequoia especially, were a tad fainter, but present nonetheless. He would take what he could get for now and continued on in vague pursuit.

While he had mostly eased into routine with all the changes among Drageda's hierarchy, Dacio still missed his big sister. The anger he initially felt had dissipated, leaving a raw sorrow that he still didn't quite know how to communicate and so the ashen Goufa continued his internal, silent struggle. 

He mostly stayed close to Portia, reaching out to his remaining siblings here and there in an effort to show them that he cared. Opalia and Sequoia were often off doing their own thing, and Dacio did likewise from time to time. Still not brave enough to venture too far, the boy rarely stepped beyond the boundaries his mother set for them. In light of recent events, the last thing he wanted to do was let his parents down.

Dio had been busy among the pack following Heda's departure, and as such the cubs had seen less of him. It was not a worry he deemed necessary to tack on to his growing list of anxieties, but Dacio had noticed. This lack of attention was to be expected and was understandable, and he tried not to concern himself that the Wocha would take his leave too.

Driven by a need to release pent-up energy from resting alongside his mother all morning, he ventured beyond Hougeda in no particular direction. He sniffed at tree roots and stones, pausing here and there to dig at loose earth in search of objects worth collecting. Dacio found nothing of note and, as he shifted to swipe his muzzle across a lower limb to rid the dirt on his nose, caught sight of his sire's approach.

Pastel eyes lingered for a moment on Dio with pleasant surprise, and his tail swung to life at his charcoal hocks. Turning, Dacio loped toward his father to close the distance between them, and reached up to flick his tongue in the direction of the adult's pale chin. "Hei," he said softly, unsure if his sire had followed him to reprimand him for something or if he'd caught up to him by chance.

While he never hurried himself along, pace-wise, his efforts were rewarded and he found Dacio already to his relief. The sisters.. well, he still only had a vague lead on them, and hoped they were minding--and not off sniffing out trouble someplace where they shouldn't be. For the time being, he would have to give them the benefit of the doubt; if they weren't here, he would give his son all of his attentions. He knew how hard that was to come by these days.. but he wanted badly to do better by him than he had by Sirio, evidently.

"Hei," he returned with a fond rumble as he moved in to nudge his snout against the boy's cheek. As the accompanying tail wags slowed gradually, he leaned back and looked him over. "Busy? Want to go on a walk, maybe watch the waves too?" he offered, since he supposed that was a good start for the two of them together when for once, he wasn't looking to be busy, necessarily.

Sequoia had been getting a drink from the freshwater lake that was at the heart of Drageda. The water was crisp and cool, just as it always was. There were others mingling around, and although she chatted with them briefly, she found herself eager to stretch her legs and get a taste of adventure today. As luck would have it, she picked up the scent trail of her father and Dacio. To her, they appeared as a mixture of green and lavender milky trails on the ground, easily guiding her to the two family members.

Pine needles beneath her feet made for excellent stealth walking, though Seq wasn't particularly good at that just yet. If they were listening, the two would certainly hear her before too long as she trotted toward them.

Much to the boy's relief, Dio did not scold him for any reason. A smile tugged the corners of his mouth upward, and young Dacio leaned into his father's affectionate nudge while his tail swished contently at his hocks. The golden Wocha suggested that he walk with him, which brightened his expression - it was rare that the got to spend any quality time with their sire in recent weeks.

"Yeah," the sterling youngster chirped enthusiastically, beaming fondly up at the bi-eyed adult with the expectation that he take the lead. Dacio prepared to follow, but the sound of approaching paws caught his attention. Grey-green eyes settled on his sister as she closed the distance between them, and he resisted the urge to huff his disappointment at having lost this golden opportunity to be alone with Dio as soon as it was within reach.

His proposition went over well, which lightened his own mood already too. He just wanted peaceful time with his youngest ones, and felt so quietly determined to have it. "It's a little bit of a distance, but I think the view is worth it," he explained as he began to pivot towards his intended destination. In this small of a pause, he noticed Sequoia coming along too, and seconds later her tell-tale markings caught his eye so his tail started up a brand new wag.

"Hei," he rumbled this time to her. While it was always hard for him to tell--he was never all that skilled at reading young wolves--she had seemed to cope alright enough with Dalia's absence. Less mournful than her brother, as well as he could guess, and because of this, he had worried less about her. Opalia was another unknown to him, but that was a consideration for another time. He had to focus on two out of the three for now. Well, hopefully she was interested enough to come too, but he wasn't in the mood for forcing anything. "You're just in time. We were heading for a walk, you coming too?" he offered with an exaggerated tail wave, and step forward on towards his directive.

Dacio was welcoming enough, but he seemed deflated when she appeared, and she wondered if perhaps she had intruded upon a parent-teacher child bonding moment she wasn't meant to be a part of. It was just one of the many reasons she did not quite get along one hundred percent with her litter mates. They were just too different.

Their father was quick to include Sequoia, but she figured it was just a finality formality. Oh, that's ok. I think I'll go find @Kiwi and see what she's up to. She gave Dacio a friendly nod and smile to acknowledge him, but she wouldn't rain on his parade. Besides, Kiwi was cool!

Sequoia declined, and though the wocha's tail-wave slowed considerably, he nodded understandingly enough for all outwards accounts. She cited going to find Kiwi, though, so at least he did not worry about her having something to keep busy with.. but it was a little disappointing that she would rather go do that than go with them.

Although, to each their own. He wasn't going to be bothered by it. What he did wonder about thanks to this was the siblings, and their relations among the litter. Was that at play here? Or was it something else, something he should consider at greater length? He left a long look on the departing Sequoia, then glanced back to Dacio with splay to his ears and more questions on his tongue than he cared to have.

Now wasn't the time for it, he decided. Chuffing his acceptance to it all, he nodded and swung his head back towards his initial heading--motioning for his son to join him, too. They could have some time between them, and instead of dwelling, he would busy himself with that.

just an endcap for my sake <3