Dragoncrest Cliffs the bottom of the deep blue sea

He successfully hoisted the strange lost girl onto his back and moved towards Drageda.  As he moved uphill he had to be careful not to let her slide off where he has rested her, behind his broad shoulders.  He hoped that his howl reached the ears of someone, preferably nomi, for she was heda and she was the one who had the most authority to advise him in this situation.  

As he moves into the territory, he slouches gently to slide the girl off his back, then stands next to her, paws wide in stance as he tips his head back and lets out a summoning howl.  He needs food, he might need a medic, but most of all he needs nomi.

she hears the call from a distance, making the tone of the call a little foggy, but antumbra moves anyway. at first she doesn’t know what to make of it, nor understands the urgency, and her feet move at a decent pace once she’s out of hougeda and into the forest.

something tickles the back of her mind as if the realization that it is tux that has called, that it has come from beyond the reaches of drageda’s claim, and antumbra moves faster toward the call, slowing only once to call back that she on her way. her brisk trot turns into full on run and by the time she reaches the borders, standing on the other side of the tree line, she isn’t sure where to go. a quick look to her left and she sees tux in the distance and a body on the ground to boot.

she suddenly sees white fur instead of black, smeared with red all over and a dark body on the ground. what if, now, it’s the other way around? antumbra holds her breath as she turns, moving toward them, and the closer she gets she notes finer details and it is not artaax on the ground but an incredibly small (albeit breathing) wolf. a child. antumbra shoots her questions with a dark gaze, looking over to tux for answers.

He doesn't take his eyes off of @Ibis until Antumbra arrives, and it's clear from her demanding stare that she is acting before him as heda and not nomi. He isn't surprised, but he is still a little unsure of how to handle it; nomi is far more likely to be forgiving towards his missteps than heda. 

Heda, he says, straightening his posture as he steps away from the frail, bone-lined frame of the little girl.  Her name is Ibis.  She says she's lost.  I found her in the forest just south of Drageda.  I was trying to help, and she passed out.  If she were older he might have left her, but he couldn't help but think — what if it had been Bat, who was probably dead now anyway? What if she needed help and nobody was there, or worse, they left her to die?

Dacio was lapping at the lake's crisp surface when he heard Tux' call from beyond Drageda's claim, and swung his speckled snout in the direction from which it cake. His dark ears pressed forward to listen carefully, and with a flick of his tongue toward the stray water droplet that clung to his chin, the young Gona began his trip swiftly toward the territory outskirts to await his arrival.


He knew he would be of little use in whatever situation his cousin might bring to their borders, yet it was the fierce hope that @Portia might be there in response to such an urgent request for aid. It had been several days since he saw her, as the piebald medic seemed to have secluded herself entirely. The rejection pained young Dacio, who yearned for nothing more than the comfort of his mother, but he continued to remind himself that he had survived abandonment by a sister once before - he could do it again.

Heda arrived before him, and he eased to a halt just in time to catch the tail-end of Tux' explanation. Dacio's pale eyes lingered almost fearfully on the crumbled form of a pale girl at his paws, and chose to keep his distance. Holding his breath, he blinked up at the sable leader in wait of instruction to follow.

Tux does not take long to start explaining but her eyes end up moving from him to the girl while she listens. She focuses on the slow and shallow rise and fall of her chest. Her scent is unfamiliar but if she is lost, she likely has long since washed out her home. The only other pack she can think of is Morningside, someone she’d like to stay on good terms with. She’ll send a scout.

Antumbra turns her head back to him then glances back as Dacio steps up to the little group. Her nose tips up in acknowledgement. She lifts her nose and calls for @Rose (@Portia’s absence has not gone unnoticed) before she does anything else.

“Did she say where she was from?” she asked, hopeful she’s given Tux a little more information.

It felt like she had closed her eyes, and when she opened them the world had changed. If the girl had dreamt while she slept, she did not recall anything upon waking. There were sounds all around her - shadows, bodies, strangers - but she wasn't afraid of them, waking in a daze that left her hazy and slow.

Ibis' eyes opened and she glimpsed Tux, but did not know him. She stirred a little and shifted her weight, twitched her ears to the sounds of the voices — strange voices that used words she didn't know, and quietly she sighed, mummy..?

His eyes flicker to the attentive form of Dacio, though they do not linger there long.  Heda continues to ask him questions, and this time he does not have the answers for her.  No, he says, and just as the words fall from his mouth the girl is waking up, and the fur along his spine is raising as his tail straightens.  There is still something within him that sees her as outsider, and he is fiercely protective of the cliffs.  But even if this wisp of a thing wanted to be a threat, she couldn't be — he'd dragged her here unconscious, and it was likely she wouldn't be able to find her way, well, anywhere.

Ibis, he says as his fur flattens back down, this is heda.  His eyes move to Antumbra's, unsure of where to go from here.  Um...

The attention of both Heda and Tux fell to him, but only briefly, and all three Drageda wolves' focus collectively turned to the pale figure of a young stranger. Another call rose to summon a healer - @Rose, more specifically, which caused the boy's stomach to flop nervously. Portia's absence had been noted by more than her immediate family, it seemed.

When the little wolfess started to regain consciousness, Dacio's muscles tensed and hid guard hairs rose briefly, having not expected to see her rouse so soon. A deep intake of breath eased his frayed nerves; this tiny creature could do no real harm to them, surely.

Tux spoke the common tongue for her, and Dacio maintained his silence as he kept careful watch over her so Heda could decide the next course of action.

I’m going to be vague with Rose stuff!

Tux doesn’t have any more answers for her but soon the girl starts to rouse. Confused, disoriented. She says something—mummy? she thinks—and her head turns to look at her. Tux introduces her but she doesn’t know much she’ll understand but Antumbra appreciates the gesture anyway.

“Your mom isn’t here,” she says, gently. At least, she doesn’t think so. She has just returned but given her age, she doesn’t think they’ve taken anyone in that has had any children. “Where are you from?” she asks, adjusting her posture for something softer. Nothing really makes her feel like something is off so she doesn’t feel the need to rush and get her out of here.

Rose shows up a beat later and Antumbra offers her a few words, a brief explanation, and she works in between the others to investigate any wounds before she disappears again, likely to grab the things she needs now that it’s not such a dire situation.

Bobby had heard the howl, and curious as to what was going on, changed his course to head towards where it came from. A few wolves had gathered, including one he didn't recognize. A small pup. His dipped his head in respect to Heda, and his gaze moved towards the stranger. Where had she come from? Why was she here? While the questions filtered through his head, his muzzle remained closed. He left it to Heda to ask what questions she saw fit.

He remained a neutral player in the group, but he did offer a small wag of his tail to the pup. She was frightened, of course, but Bobby didn't think she was at risk here. After all, it wasn't like she could harm them.

The girl blinked slowly, with bits of ice caught in her lashes like motes of dust; she heard the voice of Tux and looked towards him first as he introduced her. It seemed strange to the girl that he would do that - strange, because she did not realize she had an audience until she could focus a little bit better. Then, she saw the rest of them. They were gathered together and watching her. They reminded her of the willows and the way the trees loomed; none more so than a swarthy figure whose voice was low but not frightening. That voice asked where she was from and Ibis blinked a few more times, tried to focus on that big dark shape — and she pouted as she said, Where the big, sad trees are. Mummy... Mummy moved us, and while Ibis had thought it was a great adventure at the time, she loathed the place now. She thought of her daddy and how badly she wished she could visit him, but didn't say anything in regard to that thought as it faded from her mind. The girl swallows a lump in her throat and tried to explain, I got lost. Can you help?

Jumping order to keep this moving, skipping Tux with permission. <3

Seconds tick by as the girl becomes more aware of her situation. She’s aware she’s lost and needs help. Antumbra doesn’t know any place with “sad” trees, at least that she’s aware of, so she’s quiet for a few seconds to figure out if she means something else.

“Do you know the name of your pack?” she asks, slowly lowering her rump to the ground, and then her front. She glances at Tux who does the same, and then toward Dacio. Bobby’s presence blends into the background for the time being. “Or your mom’s name?”

As the wolf asks her questions Ibis is shaking her head, ears flopping about, until there is mention of her mother - bringing about a small gasp and reviving her focus. Seebea! Um, I mean, mommy Seabreeze, and my other mommy Olive. Her face scrunched a little at the thought of them and for a moment Ibis fought the emotion that welled up inside of her; she felt new tears prickling at her vision but did her best to swallow the lump in her throat. I was looking for my daddy. His name is Terance but, he... he doesn't live with us.

At first, the name means nothing. There’s no telling how far this child has come. She’s old enough to survive, for the most part, but she can see how that is dwindling. And the more she talks, she can see an easily painted picture.

“Olive?” she questions, reeling back from just the other day. “Are you from Elysium?” she adds. Olive mentioned willows and with a stretch, she can see how they’d be considered sad. Antumbra flicks her gaze to Dacio, then Tux, before back down upon the child. Hopefully, they’ll have their answer and perhaps they can get her home soon.

When recognition stirred on the mighty woman's features, Ibis felt hope filling her chest. She nodded frantically (but didn't really register the name of the place); if she knew Olive then she must be talking about home! Ibis was simple, and she was desperate. If these wolves knew of her mom(s) and knew where to go, she'd soon be home, and that's all that mattered to her. Do you know where that is? She wished she did, and yet the question stirred a greedy homesickness in her that dwarfed the rest of her doubt. I just wanna go home, please, can you help me?

Bobby's arrival was regarded quietly, and the young Gona lifted his pastel eyes to observe the red-breasted yearling's approach. He looked around him at the others then: to Tux, then the tiny pale-furred youth who delved deeper into conversation with Drageda's leader. Dacio remained silent, for the names and place they shared meant nothing to him, and he felt entirely helpless as recognition lit in the girl's eyes when Heda spoke.

It would be simpler for him to just leave, he knew, but didn't want to excuse himself when Heda might make use of him. And so he remained in his place, silent and obedient, awaiting instruction from his commander - be it to aid in the stranger's recovery in some way, or to resume his duty elsewhere.

I don't really know what's happening here, the timeline is off and who knows where anyone is? I'm just going to wrap this up vaguely. Sorry. <3

Antumbra doesn’t know exactly where Elysium is but she knows about them, knows they are a land of willows, and she’s confident she’d recognize Olive’s scent if she went looking. However, instead, she considers who is a scout within Drageda (it is unfortunate Étoille is not around) but someone else possibly knows where it is. She glances back to Bobby, takes note of him, and then back to the child.

“Come, we’ll get you something to eat, some rest, and we’ll have you home in a few days,” she explains. By then, Rose has returned and she allows whatever the healer needs to do until she gets her settled within her den a bit later. Eventually, she finds someone that knows about the willows (or at least the general area), and they take Ibis home.