Bearclaw Valley ishkabibble

@Tadec first and then @Indra. Also tagging @Laurel for reference.

She was tired of waiting. Piper had searched around their home more than one hundred times – or so it felt like it – for her missing brother. Lucas had disappeared from sight and she wasn't about to simply sit by and wait it out to see if he would come back. She had a bad feeling that someone might have taken him. After spending a week in the mindset she was in, the Redleaf girl had decided that she was going to go out and find him on her own.

It took a lot to gather the courage to tell her aunt and her mother. The more that she thought about Laurel's face, the more her bravery seemed to fade away. She couldn't tell her... she couldn't stand to disappoint her, or worry her. Piper needed to do this and she figured that the best way to make that happen would be for Indra to know and to convey the message. Piper would be back, after all; she just needed to find Lucas first.

Approaching her aunt's den, the girl released a quiet bark to summon whoever was inside.

There was a noise outside the den, like the sound of an anxious animal seeking shelter. The crow drew his crown upward and cupped his ears, knowing that the voice was familiar. He had spent a great deal of time in the family den to prepare for colder weather. Something in him feared that the valley would turn far more frigid than the rest of the wilds, but his duties were to Indra – always – and Merrick. Still, the moonlighter fretted daily about whether or not he was truly meant to be there with them. Laurel's words had managed to creep into his mind on a regular basis, reminding him that he was not trusted. It did little to dampen his affections for the fire-furred Redleaf sister.

Stretching his spindly limbs outward, Tadec rose to meet the young woman who waited outside. His lips curled upward in a shriveled smile as he stepped into the sunlight. The air was frigid; winter was fast approaching on the tail of looming clouds in the distance. The crow peered at Piper with a concerned expression. “Is Piper okay?” he asked softly, unsure if she had wished to speak with him or with Indra.

indra knew the author of her summons well before she saw her; lifting her tired gaze, she set both piper and tadec's features in her vision. grimly, indra noticed the air of purpose around piper -- yet it seemed electric, and tentative at the same time.

it did not bode well, and settled ominously in the den like the dark scowl of a storm.

indra shared a silent look with tadec, but otherwise gave the girl her full attention. whatever design piper had in that hellfire brain of hers, indra was sure she would hear of it -- the girl certainly held nothing back when it came to her thoughts and opinions.

Tadec was the first to arrive where she stood. He inquired if she was alright and she almost crumbled beneath the kindness of his voice. Instead, she forced herself to become stiffer than she had been; hardening against the ease of her crumble. I'm fine, Tadec.. I'm fine... she reminded herself repeatedly.

It was not until Indra came into view that the girl felt true fear creep up from within her. She saw the look on her aunt's face and felt all of her courage fly out the mouth of the den and into the chilling air. All that she had hoped to say was suddenly lost on her. For a moment, the Redleaf girl stood with her mouth gaping and her eyes trained on the red woman before her. All she could think about was the last time they'd argued.

“I... I'm going to leave. I'm going to look for Lucas, or see if someone else has seen him,” she finally sputtered, finding some semblance of her grounding again.

When Indra pulled up beside him, the crow offered her an expression of warmth. His eyes glowed as he peered at her features, admiring the shape of them and the warmth of her colors. There was not a moment in his time there that the coywolf hadn't realized how fortunate he was. Even more so with the life that had been brought to them in the form of Merrick. He was just as fiery as Piper, it seemed. When the girl spoke, the crow could not help but to pull his attention from the features of Indra and lock them on the younger Redleaf girl.

There was an intensity in his gaze as he realized just what the child was saying. She wished to travel on her own and search for the missing boy. The dropping of his stomach was an immediate thing, but he knew that this was something where he was likely not invited to offer his opinion. Instead, the thief turned to Indra with a puzzled expression and waited to see what she might have to say.

she was going to leave.

indra could not hide the snort of incredulity that broke her composure, nor the flinty hardiness of her gaze. in indra's eyes piper was a whelp - a child -- she was not ready for the harshness of the world, and would likely suffer whatever fate lucas had suffered.

"the fuck you're not," indra growled, feeling a bitter wave of protective measure overcome her. she looked to tadec - surely he saw how asinine this mission was, right? indra already had felt the sting of loss and departure too often, and now piper was just going to up and walk out of her life, too?

and what about her mom? indra could not imagine how laurel would handle the news. no, she could imagine. laurel would handle it poorly. and xan... well.. xan would just keep on living life, being xan - oblivious to the lives of the wolves in his domain; uncaring, absent.

it was unintentional, but in that moment piper was vying against the bulwark of indra's hatred with the world: she did not mean to take it out on the girl, yet all the same her scorn was measured clearly in her words. "i won't allow it. your mother would be besides herself. do you want to cause her more grief?"

The response that was given was exactly what was to be expected from her aunt. The snort that had met her first few words was enough to send the young Redleaf into a fit of rage. She gritted her teeth together and swallowed her anger instead, focusing on the idea that she was up against a woman who thought this was a battle instead of an informative chat. When Indra did realize what was happening, it was likely to get worse.

Once her aunt had finished her wild rant and attempted guilt-trip, Piper breathed deep through her nostrils and fixed her family with a fiery stare. Her jaw clenched tightly and she found that it was much easier to ground herself than it had been before. For a moment, she darted her gaze to Tadec and then returned it to Indra with a small shrug of her shoulders.

“Okay, that was a fun guilt-trip and all, but you seem to think that this is a debate,” she began with a thoughtful frown that creased her youthful features. For a moment, Piper appeared years older than she was. It was the weight of losing someone close that had forced her to mature.

“It's not.”

Piper was firm, and her voice was level. There was nothing that would change her mind in this. “I'm not here asking your permission. I'm here to inform you of a decision that I have made and will follow through with, whether you like it or not,” she added on. The tone of her voice was matter-of-fact, and she made sure that she had enough space between herself and Indra to flee if things turned as sour as they had before.

“I will come back, but I'm tired of waiting for one of you to find something. I'm going to look for myself.” And that seemed to be the end of her explanation. The young Redleaf finally was able to exhale, and she felt the weight on her shoulders leave her frame. This was right; this was what she needed to do.

It didn't take very long for things to escalate. Once they did, the moonlighter openly recoiled. It was known that tensions were high between the two girls, but he willed them to find some common ground. In all of the hype, Tadec knew that he did not have a place to speak. The whiskers on his dark muzzle seemed to twitch against the quick flutter of anger that erupted from both of them. He was watching fire consume and he did not know how he could assist in putting it out. Instead, the dark crow lowered his skull and flattened his ears to his head. The burning lantern color of his gaze rested on young Piper...

She had grown so much.

It was challenging to not see her as the child she had been for so long. She was a child still, he reminded himself, but she knew better than to accept things for what they were. While he knew that it was something that would infuriate Indra, Tadec wished that he was capable of speaking with the same authority as the younger girl. There was something inside of her that he had never seen before. It was something that he would never be able to create for himself.

“Please, do not... do not snap at Indra.”

The crow fixed Piper with a solemn stare and shook his head. There was no place for that, not after all that she had been through.

as much as indra wanted to hotly fire off in response to piper's words, she knew it would be of little use. too much of laurel -- hell, too much of indra -- had been passed onto the young firebrand, and quelling her would be as easy a task as stopping a storm from falling. one might as well shake their fist and scream obscenities at that storm for all the good it did them -- and little good it would do, all things considered.

she sighed; it was a long, drawn out exhale -- but an exhale that piper would recognize as a sign her aunt was giving in. it was not piper's logic, or her pure intentions, that won indra over. it was that indra knew that even if she attempted to stop the girl, it would only breed resentment; it would have as much value as transporting water through a sieve.

"fine. but uncle tadec goes with you --" she looked at tadec in silent pleading, her imploring gaze trailing his solemn countenance. he might not find piper's presence enjoyable, or the journey fun -- but indra trusted the crow implicitly and could think of no better chaperone for their jaunt.

The firebrand gritted her teeth at Tadec's chiding voice. Don't snap, she thought while she forced her eyes to remain forward and not roll into the back of her head. God, she hated it when that spindly little twerp jumped to defend Indra like she was the fucking queen of man and country. Couldn't he just mind his own damn business and let family focus on family? She literally had to clench her ass to prevent an exasperated sigh from tumbling out of her mouth and into the open.

It wasn't until she was instructed to allow the broomstick crow to accompany her that she truly reacted. Her eyes were wide and she bristled at the neck and shoulders indignantly. “I am n-” she started to argue with a fiery tone that even seemed to take her by surprise. It wasn't until she saw the pleading expression on Indra's face that she bit down into her tongue and silenced herself.

Turning her attention to the spindly little coywolf, Piper exhaled and then nodded her head. “Fine, whatever, your boyfriend can follow me around to make sure I don't die,” she halfheartedly agreed. It wasn't the worst possible outcome, but it certainly wasn't her most ideal. If she could have had it her way, the young Redleaf would have been allowed to venture out into the world with nothing but her wills and her ways.

If Piper could have had it her way, Lucas never would have disappeared in the first place...

she was not what -- a child? she was a child -- indra's throat bobbed as she stared back at fire incarnate, marveling at the tempest concealed in piper's willful gaze. was she ever more like laurel and indra combined, in this moment?

sharing a silent glance with tadec -- and relieved he would oblige following after this willful child -- indra resigned herself to simply seeing off piper and co -- but it was not without her own private misgivings.

she hated the idea of piper away from them. she hated the idea of laurel finding out piper was gone. it was too soon after lucas -- what else needed to be upended in their lives before they gave up on it?

sighing for the millionth time, but accepting defeat, indra inched forward. "alright then. you two better go quick - laurel usually swings around the den in the afternoon after patrolling. i'll let her know -- but -- piper --" and for a moment indra's true vulnerable face was shown: worried, caring, loving, but drained -- "please be safe."

It was almost shocking that she had won that battle with her aunt. There was a point in which she actually questioned whether or not she had really succeeded. It was not until she'd heard the sigh and saw the flash of grief that stretched across Indra's face that she knew.

Selfishly, there was a part of the young girl that wished the answer had been negative. She wanted to be told that she wouldn't be going anywhere and she would have a twenty-four hour guard surrounding her. As the young Redleaf was learning herself, she realized that even that wouldn't have stopped her. She did not wish to continue to sit idly by while she waited for news of her brother. She wanted to feel as though she was taking part in something that would amount to his return, whenever that might happen. At least, she would be able to rest easier knowing that she had done what she could.

With a swift nod and a motion where she stretched herself out to press her nose against her aunt's cheek, the young girl turned toward Tadec with a soft huff. It didn't take long for them to depart, and once she had reached the outskirts of the pack, she felt that sinking sense of dread. It was not going to be easy, but she had every intention of returning to her mother and her other siblings. She just hoped that it would be with an additional person.

softly the redleaf leaned into piper's gesture, holding her embrace mentally. when she opened her eyes the firebrand had pulled away, and indra watched with a solemn but fond smile ghosting the corners of her lips.

to tadec the red she-wolf gave an affectionate butt of a head, exchanging a glance between him that confirmed he would keep piper safe. the young girl might not have known the crow was possibly the greatest ally to have nearby -- indra never for a moment forgot how much he meant to her. bemusedly, indra only hoped the charcoal-made male could endure the sting of piper's fiery personality -- but then again, if he could endure indra...

she knew she didn't need to worry, but she fretted all the same -- as she watched their figures slip into formless shadow, she bit her lower lip -- and stood there a long time unmoving.