Bearclaw Valley got off a plane to the countryside,

just to get this in my thread log. it's a titch backdated to the day avicus went inactive (12/11?) family members and those who hear her, feel free to pop in a single reply if you'd like. i'll archive in a week. <3

it was not like her daughter to be difficult to find. @Avicus' absence was as conspicuous as her glaring red coat -- astara roamed ursus in increasingly alarmed steps.

when avicus was not with @Aventus nor @Merrick, astara began to walk down the throat of bearclaw's funneled entry with howls sent up into the sky.

and when her calls went unanswered, astara began to truly panic.

along the boulders that marked bearclaw's borders, astara caught the faintest whiff of her daughter's scent. trailing this until it became wispy and cold in the open plains of wapun, astara trawled wapun in gradually rising alarm.

her daughter, gone. astara turned her sights dully to the west, hatred for the unknown brimming in her gaze. she would continue until well past sundown, but not a trace of avicus remained nor could be found.

merrick stalked after his raven.
avicus, gone; and he too looked west with his scarletcream hackles climbing into a series of trembling railway spikes.
donovan — had his treachery with the tiger led to this?
had he come in the night to steal away their redcub?
merrick seethed, throat parched for the blood beating powerfully in the grandmaster's musculature.
reckoning; he and the night queen would bring their justice.