Phoenix Maplewood All that was once so beautiful is dead

@Aditya @Dawn maybe? Any other MOS member welcome. OR throw me a random loner.

Perhaps it had just been burned into his nose, or maybe Trauma made it still seem like he could, but he still smelled smoke and burning flesh. He had laid down to take a rest and had been immediately been woken up by nightmares of flame and screaming. With a groan he pushed himself up off the ground and headed out to wander the area. He was worried. He hadn't seen Aliac or Shale and it would seem more then that was missing from those gathered. He couldn't recall seeing Dawn either, which really scared the crap out of him more then anything else. Deciding he needed to talk to someone he sent a call up for Aditya and added one for Dawn just in case.

Kasatka was looking for Aditya. The newcomer, Chaiyya, had filled her head with fanciful stories of Moonspearian lore - mostly murder and intrigue. She had some questions about how other packs worked, and what exactly a thrall was. And since Sunny had called for him, she decided to head in that direction. Besides, she hadn't seen her brother at all since returning, and she'd missed him just as terribly as the others.

"Sunny!" she chirped, bounding right up to him. Things were sad, yeah, but Kasatka felt as though she had a lot more to be grateful for than sad for. She'd been very lucky, she understood. "How are you feeling? Why do you need Adi? What's a thrall?"

The one who answered was far from Aditya but Sunny found himself much happier when Kasatka ran toward him. He gave a wag of his tail and a warm smile as she immediately bombarded him with questions. He lowered his muzzle and affectionately nuzzled her upon the head, closing his eyes and sending a silent thank you to whatever higher power there was that Kitten was alright. "Hey Kitten. I'm okay, in some pain but I'm better. I needed to speak to Aditya about trying to find the others." he answered her questions as honestly as he could. Honestly he wanted to ask Aditya if he had any idea where Shale was and what to do if everyone didn't eventually turn up. He didn't want to hint at the possibility that some of their members could have been lost in the fire, at least not to Kitten. The last question gave him a pause and he tilted his head before slowly shaking it "A thrall...I have no idea. Did you hear it in a story?" he asked curiously .

he had worried about sunny. the boy seemed to have kept much to himself since the fire. the last time adi had seen him had been directly following the blaze, fur singed down to the skin and a haunted look in his eyes. the howl that rang out was not much less disturbing, and aditya hastened to answer it--though it seemed that others were even hastier, today.

the sentinel nuzzled the top of kitten's head affectionately, taking in her scent (should he lose her yet again) before staring up at his former brother-in-law. it appeared that he had gotten some treatment for his injuries. . .the external ones, at least. he still looked quite lost, and adi blinked at him with more than a little concern.

"how are you, sunny?" he asked gently. he noticed that the young man had called for dawn as well, and his ears swiveled, listening for her arrival.

"You should go see Chaiyya," she replied, looking at her brother's wounds. "I told her my feet hurt and she put sap on them and it stung at first but now they don't crack," she explained, hopping around as she tried to show her brother the bottoms of her paws. "But she also said that rats will probably gnaw my paws off at night if I'm not careful." Let them try. Kasatka would just gnaw them right back.

She turned a bright smile on Aditya when he arrived, but it fell away when he seemed more concerned about Sunny. Had she missed something? Was Sunny more hurt than she'd thought? Upset by the idea, the girl pressed closer to her brother and offered a soothing kiss to the chin.

Just after having answered Kasatka, Aditya appeared and Sunny smiled at him. He was glad that his friend was okay and seemed to have come out of the fire relatively unharmed. He noticed the concern and flashed Adi a broad smile, not exactly quite reaching his eyes but even so showing he was gonna be alright. "In pain but still kickin' Adi." he said warmly and then looked down at Kitten as she spoke of the newcomer who had in fact already helped him out. His warm expression turned to one of shock when Kasatka let slip the part about rats. He cleared his throat trying not to laugh "She's actually the one who made it so I'm able to get around so well. An odd one though. You just give those rats a good bite if they try to get your paws, okay Kitten?" he said with a grin and felt a warm surge of affection as his little sister gave him a concerned kiss. He used his chin to tuck her close for a few moments and then released her with a playful nip to the ear.

aditya and sunny were cut from the same cloth, at least when it concerned putting a happy face on during even the worst of times. he couldn't resist a smile at the effort made, dipping his head to accept the answer (for now). it wouldn't do to dig into sunny's psyche while they had company; they could always talk later.

he'd came around just in time for kitten to mention chaiyya, and his mouth twisted in a smirk at the name, which apparently had taken on a more official role in the maplewood than the jest he had intended. adi watched the siblings exchange playful words and cuddle, a silent observer to the familial love.

"glad she was able to help out," adi remarked. he hadn't expected her to pull all her weight while injured, but he was pleased to hear she was actively contributing--even if she was telling the children strange stories.

"I will," Kasatka said solemnly, still looking between the two males. There was a weird undercurrent that she was interested in finding out more about, but it didn't feel right to just come out and ask. If they'd wanted her to know, they would've said something. She'd have to be sneaky about it.

"She asks a lot of questions about us," she offered, hoping to remain part of the conversation. "What's a thrall? And an urchin?" All Kasatka knew was that Chaiyya was a thrall, and she was, apparently, an urchin.

Sunny couldn't help the fond amusement that caused him to beam a smile at Kasatka when she so seriously agreed to kill any rats that went for her paws. "Me too. Whatever she did for these burns really soothed them" he said in response to Aditya's comment. When Kitten asked about the Thrall again but this time added another term he hadn't heard of he gave her a puzzled look and then turned to Aditya, genuinely curious himself now as to what exactly Chaiyya had been talking about. He tilted his head in silent question, allowing Adi to handle this one since he had absolutely no clue.

what sort of dark stuff was the moonspear girl filling kitten's head with? he was familiar with one of the terms, but not the other. evidently sunny was just as taken aback; their eyes met, his own sparkling with wry humor, a tinge of confusion added. he looked back at kasatka with a resigned sigh, thinking to himself that he ought to speak with chaiyya later.

"an urchin is a child, usually a--" his words died in his mouth as he considered the word further. an urchin was an orphan. abandoned to the wilds. he had once been an urchin; he had been called so, before. his mouth twisted into a frown, clearly uncomfortable, before continuing on. "a child, merbani. usually a playful one, who likes to get into trouble."

he nipped gently at the tuft of hair behind her ear. "fits you well," adi teased, thinking of her knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. "and your brothers, too." he shook his head, shrugging. "i don't know what a thrall is." he really hoped it wasn't something grossly inappropriate to be telling a child.

Kasatka looked up at Sunny and remember Chaiyya saying he was lucky she hadn't poisoned him. Accidentally, of course. The girl decided that she could keep quiet for the sake of others just as well as Sunny and Aditya could. Besides, she was sure Chaiyya had been joking. Her sense of humor was odd that way.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," she offered, before looking back to Aditya as he explained the meaning of one of the words. She had guessed as much via context clues, but Aditya's definition was at odds with the way Chaiyya's tongue had curled so disdainfully around the word. Kasatka thought she would still rather be an urchin than a thrall.

"What were you calling Adi for, Sunny?" she asked then, hoping to get them back on track. Maybe she could eavesdrop, somehow.

Sunny gave Aditya a quick questioning look when be frowned and changed up his words. There was obviously something wrong with the word, but Sunny wouldn't ask about it. Instead he turned back to Kitten when she said she was happy he was better and flashed a grin "Me too. I hate lying around like a useless pile of fur" her next question however was met with silence. Could he be truthful here? Surely she'd noticed that some wolves were missing. She wasn't exactly damage free, she had witnessed everyone falling apart and her mom's depression after Dad died. He took in a breath  "I was coming to ask if something more could be done to find the others. I haven't seen Dawn or Shale, Pema, And I haven't" his voice broke for a moment as a surge of panic went through him "I haven't seen or smelled Aliac since I sent her to safety during the fire." he fell silent for a moment fastening his gaze on Aditya. "I know it's a lot to ask to send out a search party at the moment but I can go alone, so you have wolves here?" he suggested.

kitten, ever-so-forthright. this conversation apparently could not wait for later, and he flashed sunny a pained smile as the young man began to speak, trying to encourage him. he nodded mournfully along with the sentiments, a sigh escaping him as sunny finished. adi pressed his muzzle briefly against the top of kasatka's head before continuing, trying to find strength in her continued vitality.

like a phoenix from the ashes. . .

"i know you're worried, sunny," he murmured, looking back up. "i am, too. but i saw dawn after the fire had gone down; she made it out safe. it's more likely that she is out looking for them, herself." he said a silent prayer that his former mate had made it out--alive, if not unscathed. "as for pema and shale. . .i don't know, bhaiyya. you could go through the ashes, look for--"

aditya swallowed, clearly thinking the worst. he tried to steer away from that line of conversation, instead shrugging. "if you think it is necessary, you can look," he said, his tone almost helpless. "i would rather have you here, hunting with us, making sure the borders are secure. but i know they're family to you."

and to me, too. but blood ran thicker than water, and adi knew it well.

Oh - she didn't need to eavesdrop at all. Kasatka sat very still between the two beloved men, fighting grief and feeling very grown up to have been included in the conversation. Despite the way they danced around the issues, never quite naming what was in their hearts, Kasatka understood that her uncle and aunt were probably dead. Dead was - it was not good, but it was something she understood. Something that seemed less unsurmountable than missing, somehow. You always had to wonder when people were just missing.

She thought most about her brother's mate. Kasatka hadn't known Aliac well or anything, but she was young, right? Everyone knew that Adults had to die. But kids didn't, did they? She and River and 'Tide hadn't. They'd just been lost.

"Aliac is probably just lost like River and Timber were," she said to her brother, and felt at once that the words were childish and unhelpful. But maybe that was part of being a kid - someone had to say these things, right? Someone had to keep the faith. "And we all came back when it was time, right?" she pressed on, looking between the two. "Maybe it's just not time, and we have to... we have to..." 

But there was nothing for it. Missing was definitely worse.

The good news about Dawn brought his internal panic down slightly but the follow up made his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. It was clear by the way Aditya trailed off what was assumed and his breath hitched eyes stinging before he turned away and stared off into the distance. He sucked in a few breaths before the urge to scream and let the tears flow faded to a more tolerable pressure in his throat and behind the eyes. "There's no need....if they're alive they'll find us eventually." he was shocked at how empty his voice came out and directed his gaze toward the floor. If at least one of them didn't return, they would have a orphaned pups to care for, to explain the deaths to.

It was Kasatka's voice that brought him out of his broken staring. The words were a small ray of sunshine, a small beam of innocent optimistic hope in this terrible darkness. The lump grew and he once again lowered his muzzle to his little sister's head, nuzzling her "Kitten....You're right. All will come into place in time. She'll be back" he whispered softly and lifted his head. He had to think like this, had to force himself to latch onto that small bit of childish hope otherwise he would break and he refused to lose it in the face of grief and loss while everyone else worked to survive again.

he flashed a grateful smile at kitten, glad she was helping him out, even when she really didn't have to. sunny took the sentiments somewhat better than he expected, especially after kasatka chimed in. the trio stood, glowing with silent optimism for a moment, before aditya cleared his throat, his eyes soft.

"you can go if you want to, sunny," he said quietly, looking at the young man--and perhaps beyond, as well. "but the ones here need you, too." he thought of the pack, pulling themselves together piece by piece. they had survived--other packs were not so fortunate. they could have all died among the flames, and yet--yet!--

god had allowed them to live. and because they lived, they needed care. he would not rest until they were settled once again.

These things were clearly weighing on the two men. Kasatka was worried, too, but it wasn't something that was riding on her shoulders. She understood, a little, that things must be worse for her elders. The girl wished that there was something she could do, but aside from going out and searching for their lost relations, what were they supposed to do?

All she knew was that she didn't want Sunny back out there. There was something sad and brittle in her brother's eyes that she didn't like the looks of.

Kasatka curved a thin foreleg around one of Sunny's. "Stay? Please?" she begged, making her best sad puppy eyes at him.