Sun Mote Copse Leave a light on.

When they went a full twenty-four hours without a drop of rain, Towhee left the glade, heading east and following the edge of Cedar Sweep as it gently curved north. She wanted to see how the copse looked. More importantly, though, she wondered if Alyx might be there.

As she tentatively ventured into the territory, Towhee could see that everything was still sopping wet. As she made her way across the copse's breadth, she saw plenty of flotsam and jetsam. Some caches were destroyed. There were still puddles everywhere. But when she reached the far side, the river had receded. It ran swiftly still, though the sight gave her hope.

Turning, she picked her way to the rendezvous site. It appeared untouched. There was still no sign of her wayward chibling. And there were no scent traces anywhere. Once the pack came back, they would have a lot of work to do. They would need to clean up and spend a lot of time marking the borders again, not to mention reestablish all the stockpiles that had washed away.

It was close to midday by the time she found her way back to the western border overlooking the bog. She let out a long sigh, her mind with Alyx and even Savaktuk. Towhee then tipped her head skyward and howled to those back at the glade, letting them know it was safe to come home.

@Phox @Niamh @Eljay @Weejay @Figment @Vasa @Fennec @Chanel @Jocasta @Alyx @Quetzal

Likely a one-post cameo

While the Glade had offered shelter and a place to rest while they were left to assume their home territory flooded calmly and quietly over the course of the week, Niamh had scarcely been present. She roved the territories around the bog and surrounding the glade, searching incessantly for her missing daughter. Like a lonely siren singing to an empty sea, she howled, hoping someone might at least be able to reply with good news, or a sighting. But little came back to her- and it was as if Alyx had simply disappeared off the map. 

She wasn't far from the Glade, and was just about to set out on another search when she heard Towhee's voice. She still harboured spite knowing that her daughter had somehow gone missing when there were several adults who she'd expected to keep an eye on her. Niamh's job had been to lead them to safety- and she'd done that. She'd only been able to do that without having to babysit as well; so she'd left that task to her comrades, and they disappointed her. 

She flung her head back and despite the fact that she knew Towhee couldn't hear her, her other packmates would, and she trusted one of them to deliver the message. She informed them that she would continue scouting the Glade and surrounding areas, and would not be returning to the Copse for at least another few days, as she searched for her missing daughter. Then, after a moment of consideration, she tacked on a (noticeably passive-aggressive) note that she wanted Phox and the others to take special care of making sure at least her two remaining children made it back to the Copse safely, before she silenced herself, and began to slog through the mud in hopes of finding tracks now that the rains had subsided. She knew that Phox intended to remain in the Glade a bit longer, and she hoped she kept Quetzal and Primrose close to him for as long as he remained there, and also on their way back to the Copse.

The stay at the Glade was brief and hectic. There'd been a lot of searching for Alyx, though honestly, Eljay wasn't too sure if they would find anything. He very much reflected his own experience with Elfie on this, where he had searched a lot, asked a lot of wolves to keep an eye out, but his baby boy had never been returned to his side. It was a hard time because besides the fruitless search for Alyx, it reminded Eljay so much of when Elfie was missing, and it hurt.

Maia and Wraen had been on his mind a lot. Even though Weejay had suggested he go with them Eljay had stayed with the group. He didn't feel there was much here for him, but somehow leaving the Copse -- or the Glade, he supposed, in absence of his beloved Copse -- was like leaving a part of himself, of his parents, of his Wildfire. He didn't want to leave those pieces of his soul behind. He wasn't sure he would do well travelling, either. It might've been different if they'd settled elsewhere, or moved to settle elsewhere, with a clear plan. But the prospect of travel scared him and though his heart yearned for something more, somewhere different, he stayed in the end.

When Towhee went to check out if the Copse was ready for inhabiting, Eljay felt giddy but also nervous. What if it wasn't? What if everything was too ruined to return to? He spent this time hanging out with @Weejay until the call finally came, talking about the garden and his hopes for the Copse to be good enough to return to. When the call finally came he immediately jumped up, even before the news fully came that they were ready to go. He smiled at Weejay and nosed her shoulder before setting off towards the Copse, glad to be going home.

Just one from me; please skip in future rounds. <3

Phox had intended to stay in Golden Glade and keep an eye out in case Alyx returned, but if Niamh was going to stick close, he felt it better to get @Primrose Redhawk and @Quetzal back home. The less spread out they were, the better. He didn't appreciate the passive-aggressive tone Niamh had taken, but this was like having an in-depth argument over text messaging, and Phox didn't want any part of that. They all had the responsibility to keep track of the children. No one wolf was at fault.

He would track Niamh down first (in a separate thread, because I don't wanna take over this one), then make his way to the copse with the rest of the gang. On his way toward Niamh, he passed Eljay and Weejay, and Phox let them know he'd be following right behind. Just gotta catch up with Niamh before I head back with the kids.

one post cameo!

When the rain slowed, Chanel had woken earlier to stand outdoors. There among wet grasses she found a place to sit and watch the sky for some short while, but never did any more rain come. The last of the deluge was below her paws, seeping into the earth. And so when the Firebirds were invited home, Chanel was in a good mood for multiple reasons, glad to be home and glad about friendlier weather. As they took the little trip back, she would keep a close eye on the children wherever she could, but beyond that she was mostly quiet, content to bask in the sunlight she had missed so.

also onemeo!

 

Q had become strangely quiet since the mysterious disappearance of her sister. 

Now and then, when something would rustle strangely, Q would come to attention to sprint and determine what it was. ALYX? She'd whisper-hiss (shout), though for the most part it was some stupid toad or else the weight of old rainfall becoming too much of an issue for the leaves. Both cases earned her vexation, but she could never bring herself to swipe at a toad (even despite her hunters instinct, being cruel to be cruel just wasn't in her). She would merrily do so to the mud, but then guiltily remember that Alyx wasn't hear to scream, squint judgmentally, or even just outright ignore her about it. She would take any and all of those things in comparison to this. 

Going back home was exciting for Q in that she thought that if her sister was anywhere, it had to be there. That was where they all were together last, and that was what made the most sense to Q. Where else could she be? But when she wasn't there, Q frowned and looked at her dad. What the shet, she asked without any real inflection, having learned the unsavory word somewhere down the line. I'ma keep lookin', Quetzal informed, springing ahead.

The cameos worked perfectly! I'ma wrap.

If anyone out there answered, Towhee didn't know about it. She just hoped they'd heard her and were maybe howling among themselves as they readied to come home. As for her, she wasn't going to stand here and wait for them like the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. No, the Sovereign immediately began trotting along the outskirts of the copse, scent marking every few yards. At least there was plenty of water to go around; nobody was going to run out of the pee needed to refortify their claim.