Firefly Glen playing your final march

tags for reference! <3

kivaluk is unsettled. haunted. unable to sit still.

even teaching the younger boys how to track and follow their quarry is not enough.

thoughts of galana and the icy fear that grips him when he thinks about her, too young, to be out there in the wilds on her own missing are plaguing.

he knows @Chickadee goes between moonglow and brecheliant and just as she informed him of this, he too, tells her that he will stray from moonglow in the hopes of finding his cub sister.

it is on one of these ventures that kivaluk takes now, thinking that she couldn't have gotten too far ... but remembering with a morbidness that he cannot shake that he had once thought the same of sakhmet of whom had just recently given birth before her disappearance.

in the thick of the glen, kivaluk searches for any familiar scents.

The fireflies were just starting to appear when Towhee woke from a midday nap. She had slept too hard and long, now she felt completely disoriented. She blinked around at her surroundings, her fur totally disheveled, and tried to make sense of the little blinking lights.

What year is it? she asked them.

They made no reply but to continue winking. Smacking her lips—her mouth was inordinately dry—Towhee heaved onto all fours to go in search of water. She would get a drink and splash some on her face. Maybe that would wake her up.

She took about seven steps before abruptly noticing a gray figure coming through the underbrush. Towhee halted and stared rather groggily at the young stranger, waiting for him to notice her.

phone post ahoy.

it doesn’t take kivaluk too long to notice towhee — but that’s only because he’s visibly looking for someone. immediately though, whatever hope had begun to blossom in his chest, feathering up into his throat, that he had found galana … was immediately dashed.

kivaluk’s disappointment is visceral, until he can hide it, which is a few moments longer than he’d have liked.

it wasn’t the stranger’s fault she wasn’t the wolf he was looking for.

his steps halt, awkwardly staring for a moment too long before asking, you haven’t seen a young pup around here, have you? her fur is red, mostly. a cringingly vague description but he realizes he isn’t sure what the adult color of her eyes are. are. because he refuses to think of anything past tense.

she’s my little sister and she’s missing. he offers in explanation.

He noticed her pretty much right away, a certain hopefulness in his expression immediately dashed away when they locked eyes. Towhee knew she wasn’t the prettiest wolf around, though that was still a strangely strong reaction. Of course, she doubted it was personal and, in fact, the reason for it came to light a moment later when he asked her a question.

Her lips pulled into a frown as she shook her head. Towhee thought of all the pups gathered in this very spot not so long ago. Had she been among them? Several of the young ones matched the description this young stranger gave.

I haven’t. What’s her name? Towhee said, voice thicker than usual. Are you two from Moonglow?

further disappointment hangs heavy in kivaluk's chest at her words; fighting the gutted feeling that lingers somewhere near his heart.

he has to stop himself from sinking into the train wreck of his thoughts: that maybe if he'd paid more attention to her, maybe, maybe maybe —

maybe, he thinks, it wouldn't have changed anything.

her name is galana. and she is all i had left of my mother...; but those words he does not say. they hang unspoken like a spiders web weighed heavy by dew.

yeah, kivaluk answers to her next question. i'm kivaluk. she hadn't asked for his name, but he hopes that if she would happen to come across his sister she could pass along that he was looking for her, that he was worried about her. scared for her, even.

It was a tale as old as time, though Towhee didn’t tell Kivaluk that wolves going missing was an everyday occurrence around here. She knew how hard it could be, even if you were a seasoned veteran of such things, and he was too young for that.

Although she thought there was little hope, Towhee pressed, When and where did you last see her? My name’s Towhee and I’m a traveler, which was still a novel thing to say, and I can keep an eye out for her and send word back to Moonglow if I find out anything.

It probably wouldn’t happen… but it might. Galana and Kivaluk were both related to Kukutux, surely, and for that reason alone, Towhee could make at least that much effort.

too long ago, kivaluk wants to say, but doesn't.

in moonglow, kivaluk answers, ears fluttering back against his skull. i went on a trip for a while and when i came back... she was missing.

and he refused to feel guilty about escorting sorcha to brecheliant, trying to convince himself that galana hadn't left simply because he'd been gone for a few days.

thanks. that'd be super great. but he cannot help but feel that galana's dissapearance would be like his brother's, like his mother's and father's: they wouldn't be found.

i'm looking on my own, but i can't stay away for too long, kivaluk admits. i have duties to moonglow. and though he was proud of how far he'd come, he was glad to have someone not restrained by duty to help look for her.

or at the very least, keep an eye out.

She couldn’t help but think of Meerkat and frown, remembering the many months her daughter had spent wearing herself down in search of Niamh and the pups. Towhee had never held it against her for neglecting her other filial duties, mostly because she’d seen how much that time had nearly brought the young woman to ruin.

Yes, you should stay at home and focus on things there, Towhee encouraged. Meanwhile, I don’t answer to anyone and wander around a lot anyway, so it won’t be difficult for me to keep my feelers out, you know? She paused before saying, Are you and your little sister related to Kukutux? I’m a friend of hers.

truthfully, kivaluk begins, i'm not sure if i'm jealous of your freedom or not. he says with a soft chuckle; an unintentional small glimpse into one of the many things he seems to war with.

wandering was, apparently, in his genetics ... but he also can't imagine leaving behind kukutux or his siblings, or the sunking or ... and especially, chickadee.

yeah, she's our anaa. the term of endearment for her falls so effortlessly off of kivaluk's tongue; naturally. our mom. he supplies without guilt, because in all and every way kukutux was his ( and galana's ) mother, simply had not been the one to birth either of them.

He used a word she recognized vaguely, though luckily provided the more common term. Towhee nodded, suddenly remembering that Kukutux was in a rather unconventional marital arrangement. It was neither here nor there, though, so she said nothing, only gave him a sympathetic frown.

If she’s young, she might not be far. You should keep scouring the areas adjacent to Moonglow. Leave the rest of it to me, Towhee said, then added, I actually just woke up from a nap, so I’ll head out now and search overnight. Please give my regards to your anaa, Kivaluk. I’ll send word if I find out anything.