Neverwinter Forest they're good dogs, brent

This time, when the sun rises within the forest, Mallaidh is up at the same time. She’d fallen asleep earlier in the night as a full stomach while bigger and older wolves kelp their camp safe. It is a surprise her mind allowed her to relax enough to sleep through the night and not feel so weary the next day. Tiredness has seeped too far into her bones to give her a free pass but she stands with relative ease and yawns big and long before she smacks her lips a few times with a draw tongue to boot.
 
The other wolves allowed her her distance and she’s able to wake without drawing too much attention. She watches them idly for a few moment before she eventually backs away and sneaks off through the south side of the forest. She remembers a small stream from the day before and the time alone will give her a chance to sort through the last twenty four hours.
 
Mallaidh takes a deep breath as she finds what she is looking for, dropping down to her elbows and laps several long moments of water until her dry mouth is quenched.

One last time.

Grayday was done looking for her. He'd been done for a while, now, but the kids - he couldn't just not look for her. But all his searching had turned up no signs of Khoe, and the male wanted to be back with his family at his new home. Heartha would be whelping, soon, and the kids were about ready to begin learning to hunt, and they just couldn't put their lives on hold any longer.

Today would be the last day of this fruitless search. He travelled to a place once off-limits to him, in the shadow of Silvertip where another pack had resided, back when he'd called the mountain home. Everytime he looks at it, he sees the proud height of it, the Moonsong glacier sparkling like a precious stone on the neck of a queen. Everytime he looks at it, he sees Adeline with bright laughter in her eyes, her head tossed back with that proud, self-assured set to her jaw.

He tore his head away, turning his body physically from the proud peak. There would be time later to stare and wish, but for now, he needed to focus on other things. Things like the scent of wolf in the area, despite the forest being long-empty, by now.

Grayday let out a hopeful woof, heading in the direction of the scent's origin.

When her stomach has taken all it can, with one warning grumble, Mallaidh lifts her head and licks her lips free of water. At first she does not move, looking down at the water as it flows slowly in one direction. She begins to weigh the pros and cons of following the band of wolves, what little she knows, while she has a few minutes to herself. It would be easy to tag along and let them hunt for her, keep her safe, whereas the last month or so alone has been one danger after the other, losing more and more energy and strength each day. If Eske had not come along, she’d have likely died within the next several days.
 
Mallaidh jumps when she hears the chuff, shuffling quickly to her feet to spin around. She expects to see one of the wolves from the group, following her to the river so she flattens her ears and lowers her head. Instead, she sees the unfamiliar shape of a stranger and she stiffens. Her thin form does not move from the bank of the stream, watching as he gets closer. She is not so far she cannot call for help should she need it—something she quickly adds to the pro list—but she waits to do anything else until the intention of the male is clearer.

Their scouting trip is going smoothly enough. Eske is a dependable leader and the man appreciates the company of his packmates. He appreciates the gravity of their mission. It is valuable hands-on training for him, the would-be scout - as he's decided to aim for that primary trade. 

Of course there is the matter of the child.

Étoille does not feel a particular way about her. He'd understood Eske's motivations - she is a scrawny, desperate looking thing. If her protection is a part of his new objective, the beast accepts it easily and without question. He's good like that.

So naturally when he notices the girl has snuck off, he feels it is necessary to keep an eye on her. The man does not necessarily intend to disrupt her solitude so much as keep track of where she is, lest tragedy befall without an adult to interfere. Étoille is not trying to sneak, perhaps, but it is easy enough for the titan to stay hidden. 

Of course there is the matter of the other male presence now.

He hears that woof and immediately steps out into sight, offering a chuff to the girl as greeting before answering the stranger with his own boof, not threatening but alerting, in case any interlopers wondered, that he is (one of) the guardian of this child, at least for the moment.

The gunmetal male emerged from the trees with his tail wagging. His dull eyes darted from one wolf to the other, quickly taking stock of the situation. Nothing seemed amiss; it was just two packwolves, far from their own territory. Perhaps they were moving, like Morningside had, or perhaps they were merely on a trip. Although Grayday was curious about which one it might be, there was a reason he was out there.

"Hello," he said to the adult, coming to stand across the stream from them. "I'm looking for my wife. I wonder if you've seen an unnaturally small, black-coated shewolf around anywhere?" His voice was tired and wry; it was a struggle to stay polite, and Grayday had long since passed cheerfulness.

Everything happens quickly and Mallaidh freezes for a long moment. One of the wolve from the scouting party chuffs in her direction and her ears fall back against her skull, turning to see him stand guard nearby. When she looks back to the original wolf, he doesn’t seem terribly put off by their appearance and she listens when he decides to break the ice with his purpose. She’s been able to gather that the wolves she has stuck with are also looking for wolves but there isn’t much else she knows beyond that and glances back to the large wolf behind her. Carefully, she steps away from the stream and backs up in his direction but with a wide girth to her steps for her own distance from her new travelling companion.

 He is relieved when the man offers no threat. Étoille finds himself momentarily intrigued by the fellow's eyes, though he does not meet them directly (and after a moment, reminds himself not to be rude). He glances at the child, notes her moving towards him, and looks back up to the other man to hear his question. 

An unnaturally small black she-wolf - he offers a slightly regretful shake of his head. Surely such a creature would have stuck out to him, as size-conscious as he is. "I am afraid not," Étoille murmurs, aware of the weariness the other man carried. "Though I will keep watch," the titan says, then adds carefully, "are you close by?" He can faintly smell pack on this man - and genuinely he would like to know where to go should he find this small wife of his, but also, it would behove the party to know of any other packs nearby, newly formed or otherwise. They are still some ways away from where Étoille remembers the Caldera being, but it never hurts to be careful.

Grayday gave a terse nod, his mind already wandering. It was getting so tiring, telling the kids every night that he still hadn't been able to bring their mother home. What was he doing out here?

"We live right over there," Grayday replied, sparing a distracted glance in the plateau's direction. "If you see her, just... just tell her the kids miss her. Tell her, if she wants to come back, I won't say a word. We don't have to talk about it."

He couldn't imagine the shame she must feel. Perhaps assuring amnesty would encourage her to return to her growing pups.

Éttoille disappoints the man with bad news and Mallaidh drops her gaze, uncertain where she should look. The ground makes the most sense in the moment and she listens to the sadness in the stranger’s voice. She hasn’t seen anyone in days until she’d come across Eske the day before and those she has come across don’t match that description. Using her peripheral vision, she glances up to the large brute nearest here as she stands awkwardly off to the side.

 The titan feels sympathy for the man, of course, but mostly he feels uncomfortable. He shifts his weight between massive paws, making note of where the grey-furred fellow points to as his home. There is obviously some deeper story here - kids, he said - but he is not a curious man by nature and has little desire to pry. "I will," he says graciously instead, and then pauses. He is not quite sure if it is .. appropriate, to mention their own search. On the one hand: if the male is going to be combing the area, an extra set of eyes wouldn't hurt. On the other: he is unsure if it is his place to disclose the purpose of their trip.

Ah, well. He makes a call. "We are searching for someone as well," Étoille hedges, "a small red-furred she-wolf." It is not a lot to go on but it is distinct enough, he wagers, and it is what he has been given. He doesn't actually know much about Wildfire beyond her name and appearance. But he does not really feel he needs more. Satisfied with his description, he gives the man an expectant look.

Grayday nodded in thanks, though he really didn't think it would do any good. She knows exactly where to find us, he thought, pushing down the despair that threatened to rise up in his chest. The only way she's coming home is if she chooses it herself.

He focused in on the male again when he began to speak, and as soon as he heard that word - red - his ears were pressed forward, his eyes suddenly bright. "With green eyes?" he asked. "Adeline?" But as soon as he said it, he realized that 'small' wasn't really a word he associated with Adeline. She was smaller than the stranger, of course, but perfectly regular for a wolf. And besides - only in his head was she truly red. Wolves who had the privilige to look upon her with clear eyes would probably call her tawny, with bits of ginger woven in.

He cleared his throat. "I'll keep my eyes open," he amended.

skipping mal with permission! <3 we can wrap up here or next round i think!

Oh dear. His description was perhaps not distinctive enough, and Étoille resisted the urge to take a step back from that bright expression. "Er," he says, "no, Wildfire." The beast's expression never wavers from one of polite neutrality, though he is desperate to avoid uncovering more of the man's story. Thankfully it seems the man is not eager to share more either. Gratefully he dips his head. "Thank you. We will be in the area for a little longer - I am Étoille, and you?" Normally he would not ask for the man's name - but it seemed important to collect what information he could for their purposes. 

Finally the titan turns his attention back to the wandering child. He realises he doesn't know her name - she's yet to speak at all, and Eske did not provide one for her. "All right, chou," he settles for a term of endearment his mother had used for him, and gestures back toward their camp. "Shall we?"

Thoroughly embarrassed by his outburst, the male answered with a subdued, "Grayday," and did not deign to say much else. It seemed like the conversation was over either way. Pondering the fate of the two wolves they searched for, Grayday watched until the pair was out of sight before turning to make his own way back home.

That's it, he thought to himself. I'm done, now.