The Tangle he was hiding in the chill of a mountain

AW! indra's first exploratory thread :>

indra had not entertained the notion of running away again; not since reek and laurel both had apprehended her and made her feel shameful for her selfishness. she had toed the line of the borders each day since, and while her unruly will to go home had abated, she still missed her family fiercely.

today was the day she defied her normal routine, which was to turn back towards the grotto as the markers grew sparse. today, she was going past them, as any child was apt to do when borders or barriers were placed to contain them. she played it safe, trotting along the well-worn path that other packmates and prey had used -- and she was most careful to bend a twig here and there so she could keep her bearings and return home without being lost.

the tangle was the furthest she'd ever gone away from the grotto, and as she came upon its enormously shadowed density she paused with a gasp, jaw slack as she pierced into the inpenetrable weave of briar and leaf. "whoa!" she whispered, her voice hushed despite no one for miles to hear.

Casmir and Laika had been gone for some time from the Creek, searching in all directions for any sign of Reek's scent, any trail that might lead them to the girls. they'd had several false starts and wandered into dead ends, and the young pair was becoming disheartened. nightfall allowed them to fell several pika, which they carried into the higher scrub to eat before resting, and dawn found them on the move again.

at midafternoon they separated, to search in their own directions within earshot. Cas traveled aimlessly, searching only for the tracks of his daughters, but a sense of futility frustrated him, and he veered along another path. this one led him into a thick, choking morass of brambles, and he sniffed at the tines, a growl of anger rising in his throat.

I couldn't resist :P

Even if only for a brief period, his daughter's absence around the grotto was keenly felt. Hiram patrolled the border, knowing Indra enjoyed spending time on the fringes and hoping he could catch up to her for some proper bonding time. However, when the trail of her scent deviated from the usual path, leading away from the territory, Hiram felt his stomach lurch. She was much too young to wander alone. And so, like any good father -- Hiram followed.

Her trail led him far and toward the coast, but eventually when he came upon his daughter at the fringe of the tangle, Hiram breathed a sigh of relief. "Watcha doing Indy?" The Cardinal asked. "You gave me quite a fright." He smiled, the fear he felt faded fast now that he knew she was safe.

The lingering scent of the Creek however, remained unnoticed for now.

for a moment, indra thought she smelled something. something like home - the creek. her long, batlike ears piped backwards and she frowned -- the second she had noticed it, it faded away like smoke at the mercy of the wind. indra was left baffled and quiet.

she clambered over a stone and stopped, trying to examine the air with a glistening snout. the evasiveness of the scent perplexed her, but it was forgotten as she saw reek approach her. her visage brightened and she waved her tail in a slow lag: "hi!" she chirped, none of the surliness from her last escapade evident. she hadn't meant to scare him, and it showed in her contrite expression. "i didn't mean to. sorry." she hung her head for a moment.  "i was just exploring. what's that!" she motioned with a little paw at the long reach of bramble and briar, mossed over by darkness and lichen. she had never seen something like the tanglewood before, and it both excited and terrified her.

i made a ref of where cas is!

he had begun to despair of ever seeing Indra or Laurel again, and when the gentle scent of a child rose upon the wind, cloaked in a fragrance he did not recognize, Casmir felt grief rose in his throat, to choke him with the threat of tears. why had so much been taken from him? was he meant to be alone? on a whim,  the boy snapped madly at the thorns in front of him.

the sudden stabs of pain along his jaws brought forth blood to mingle with his tears, and he snarled in pain and in rage. is this what you want? Casmir shouted madly in his head -- to whom, he did not know. when the agony of his torn lips grew too great, the Mayfair threw back his head and gave a wild cry to the heavens, one rife with grief and the anger that would not depart him, no matter how hard he tried to let it go.

There had once been a time when Hiram had been guided by an innate, exploratory drive. However, as he aged, he became more and more of a home body -- straying only from his flock when necessity dictated so. He was no old man, not by any means, but his days of wanton adventure were long behind him. Especially now, now that he had gathered his family together in the grotto there was no reason to leave. This drive was a thing of youth that had held on for perhaps a bit too long.

Indra's youthful need for information tickled her father pink. He would show her the world if he could to sate her curiosity, and Raas willing, he would someday. For he loved his daughters beyond earthly comprehension. 

He dropped his body low and began to explain. "That," he spoke, "is a nasty tangle of thrush, brambles, briars, and branches. It's neat to look at, but difficult to navigate. I wouldn't advise going on an expedition alone... But, if you're fine with your dad leading the way, then maybe you can get a good idea of what it is." Having lived in Ankyra Sound for a brief period, Hiram had navigated the tangle many times. It was a difficult beast, but it was not beyond him.

It was then that a strangled cry whispered though the wind. He did not recognize the voice, but he did recognize the anguish. The tell-tale signs of sorrow. "Or..." He shrugged. "We can go help a stranger in need. Your call." He had been called by Raas to sew the seeds of good in the world. This value, though it went unpressed, was to be instilled in both of his daughters if he had his way.

she watched her father, rapt and wide-eyed -- as he lowered down to her level she wriggled right up to him, her innocent gaze seeking his own. she had no inclination, whatsoever, to crawl through the briars. it looked dark and deep, and not the inviting kind.

she shook as a cry rendered the sky, causing the hair along her spine to stir involuntarily. she did not recognize the voice, but she recognized well the anguish -- a look of panicked worry overcame her as she turned to reek. "who is that?" she exclaimed in a hushed whisper, feeling dread chill her heart. "will he be okay? is he stuck in there?" she craned her neck, a deep frown gouging her bright features. "he needs our help, papa!" she whined, feeling a strange sense of helplessness and anxiety seep in.

Cas didn't really expect his howl to garner attention; he hadn't meant it that way. when the breath left him, the boy snapped at the bristles a second time, without any true fight behind it. "gone," he gritted to himself, and tasted the salt of blood on his lips. the boy found the strength gone out of his body and slumped down against the grass, sighing heavily as he rolled onto his back and faced heavenward.

there was a failure here; he had failed to honor the memory of Saena and of Milo. he had let the one man his cousin had feared find and take her children; he had not persuaded Laurel that the Creek was better than her father. he was so fucking weak. self-hatred boiled within Casmir, and he bit the edge of his lip savagely.

Indra's kind heart was a beautiful thing in Hiram's eyes. She was truly one chosen by the Lord, set to fill this cold, tainted world with goodness and light. In a way, Hiram envied her soul's purity, especially after sowing so much discord throughout his own life. He wished to go back -- to be good, yet he knew he could only start now, and he would start by saving the life of a perfect stranger.

At his daugter's inquirey on the stranger's identity, Hiram simply shrugged. He did not recognize the voice of the howl. The location however, was much easier to pinpoint, and it came from the other side of the tangle. "He may very well be stuck," answered Hiram. "We may not find him, but we need to look."

"Stay close to me," he said, hoping to keep his daughter safe as he moved into the cover of the tangle.

as a howl erupted powerful and raw into the skies indra fell back, taken by the visceral nature of it. it seeped the heavens like a dark oilspill, intense and poignant -- she felt the hackles along her nape rise in slow succession.

the howl seemed vaguely familiar, but she was not sure how. she looked to her father, doubt in her amber gaze -- his instruction to stay close was heeded to the letter as she velcroed herself to his flank in sheepish quiet. he was her protector, her father -- she trusted him implicitly to both lead the way and guard her.

last post from me! i figured it was best to wrap up since we all have another thread together. haha.

gone. 

as the last echoes of his cry died away, Cas sighed and licked the edges of his rent mouth, standing to his paws and glaring down at the tangle of thorns and briars. there was nothing to see ther -- nowhere to go, and thus with a broken heart did the boy turn away and move deeper into the forest, intending to search for Laika and find solace in her embrace.

As the pair traversed the tangle, Indra stayed close behind and never gave her father any reason to worry. The waining light of the sun however made Hiram slightly fearful. Their search continued until Hiram could see the sun touch the horizon through the thick tangle of thicket. In the end, they came up empty pawed and could not reach the stranger.

Hiram sighed with resignation and turned to his daughter who had stuck close behind him.

"It's not safe to be here at night," he said, concerned for his daughter's safety. "We can come back in the morning if you want to keep searching." But for now, Hiram was intent on finding a path back to the grotto.

for a moment indra stayed, her glistening nose twitching in the cold air. around her the dark was settling, and a quiet had overtaken the forest.

her father was right; she cast one look carefully to the horizon, where the sky simmered and sharp palisades of pines rose black against the light. whoever had cried - whatever had made that noise -- was gone. she turned then, and the duo walked solemnly home.