Lost Creek Hollow i don't stay unhappy for long.
783 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#1
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Liffey and Rannoch parted not long after breaking the news to the kids, he to find Terance and she to locate @Gannet. Had she thought about it, she would've realized that this was just how it had begun before at Moonspear. They had made their decision to leave together, and then the next step had been to seek their closest friends to break the news to them. They had even gone to see the same closest friends--Rannoch to Terance and Liffey to Gannet.

Had she realized the connection, she might've been a little more apprehensive about what was about to happen. As it was, Liffey simply couldn't imagine anyone finding fault in the decision they'd made. Her family did need her. And if it wasn't clear before, it ought to be by now--the only real loyalty she'd ever felt was towards her family, not pack, and family was translated quite strictly in her head.

Liffey was torn over exactly what it was she would say to her friend. She wanted to ask him to come with them, truth be told. But she knew it would be a selfish request, for he had a family here now. It wasn't a family she approved of, but it made him happy, and Liffey had no intention of trying to separate him from them, much as she might've liked to. And then, of course, there was the other bit of news...

"Gannet?" Liffey called as she neared the place she thought he would be (how d'you like that for vague?) Her tail wagged a bit in spite of knowing what the conversation ahead would entail. She had missed her friend.
if I knew where I was going, I'd lose my way.
~•~
813 Posts
Ooc — Starrlight
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#2
Gannet was, indeed, in a place. That place was a clearing where he was watching @Ashlar play, chasing a butterfly across the field. His eyes were tracking the boy while his mind wandered, but he turned when he heard Liffey call.

Liffey! he called back a little louder, happy to see his friend returned safely! His face broke into a smile and he stood, tail waving, to go forward and greet her properly with a hug.
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
783 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#3
Liffey turned just as Gannet called, her eyes landing on her friend with a smile, then shifting to Ashlar who I apparently am doomed to call Ashley because I can't control my fingers. She gave the boy a smile in spite of her disdain, reminding herself once again that it wasn't his fault that he was a lowborn bastard. Her attention went quickly back to Gannet, though, whom she embraced with a wag of her tail.

"Hey! Wanted to come say thanks for keeping my kids alive," she said as she stepped back, "I hope they didn't cause too much trouble." Given Sionnach's commentary, she assumed not.
if I knew where I was going, I'd lose my way.
~•~
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Ooc — Starrlight
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#4
Gannet shook his head and laughed his usual, quiet way. No! We had fun. he'd enjoyed watching them and, even more, he knew Ashlar had enjoyed playing with them. The pups, even Terence's, seemed to be becoming fast friends, despite some tormenting (lookin at you, Sionnach and Aengus).

How was the trip? How were they? he asked, curious of how she'd met the family and what things were like there. Last he knew they'd moved, though he didn't know exactly where to.
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
783 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#5
Liffey smiled, glad that to hear that her kids hadn't been too much trouble for him. She never suspected that they would, but she did kind of worry that Breccan and Deshyr might run into some issues being left with a grumpy Sionnach on their own. That girl was too ornery and clever at acting out for her own good. But, she and Rannoch had already discerned that everyone was healthy and whole, if somewhat... disgruntled.

Liffey wilted a bit when the talk abruptly turned to how the Redhawks were. She frowned sadly at him and took a breath. "Not well, actually," she admitted, watching him with concern as she continued, "Gannet... Your sister, Wildfire. She passed away suddenly the day before we arrived. Some illness took her, I'm sorry." She felt the tears welling in her own eyes as she watched her friend's face for a reaction.
if I knew where I was going, I'd lose my way.
~•~
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Ooc — Starrlight
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#6
She seemed to wilt as he asked, which made him wonder if he should have. Apparently the news wasn't good, but as she shared it, Gannet had to think a moment. Wildfire.... he didn't....

Ah. The sister from the mountain. His ears went back, but there wasn't a lot of sorrow to him. He hadn't known her well enough to truly mourn her leaving, and as with his parents, he knew death happened. Oh. His expression fell, but it was more over her reaction than his own. Are you okay?
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
783 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#7
Liffey hadn’t been certain how well Gannet had known his older sister. She didn’t think any of the younger generations had been particularly close to her considering she’d spent most of her life with the dragon wolves. Still, she had worried that he would take the news as hard as she had and was somewhat glad he didn’t seem too affected. She didn’t want him to be upset after all.

”Yeah, it’s just. She and Eljay had just become mates and they have two kids now, and they’re all just devastated over her loss,” she explained, trying to find the words, ”My parents are trying to be there for them but they have four newborns now and Raven... Oh, Raven is utterly heartbroken. I’ve never seen her so distraught before.”
if I knew where I was going, I'd lose my way.
~•~
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#8
He nodded silently as she explained, though none of it was about how she felt, and that threw him a bit. Eljay and her kids were sad... of course. It was sad to lose a parent, he knew. And Raven made sense, he remembered how Peter's loss had ached. But he wanted to know how Liffey felt.

Are you okay? he repeated, tilting his head and looking at her with some concern. It wasn't that he didn't care about his family... they just weren't here now. She was. He didn't need to know how they'd taken it just yet.... he'd find out if and when he visited.
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
783 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#9
Nothing she said seemed to effect Gannet the way she had thought that it would. She thought he would be more upset about what was happening to their family, but his only concern apparently was for her. She gazed quietly at him, an odd feeling rising in her heart that hadn't been there in a very, very long time. She shook her head, urging it away and answering her friend's question all at once.

"I'm not..." she admitted, trepidation filling her expression as she stood on the precipice of her real point in coming to him, "Gannet, I just can't stand being so far from them with all they're going through right now. So.. Rannoch and I have decided to move our family to the Redhawks and join Raven's pack, so we can be closer and to be there and support her and Eljay and everyone else. And I hope... I hope you won't hate me for asking this of you, but... Is there any chance you would come with us?"

That feeling had nearly stopped her from asking, but the more her emotions had risen during her explanation, the more powerless she had been against her will. Part of her wanted him to say no, so she could leave that weird feeling behind with him here and never have to look at it. But he was her family and her desire to have them all together again was more powerful than anything else.
if I knew where I was going, I'd lose my way.
~•~
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Ooc — Starrlight
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#10
No part of him understood why he would hate her for asking what she asked. How could he know he was welcome if she didn't? She was not forcing him to go by doing it, but he went quiet, thinking on it for a moment.

He would be leaving Sarah if he did, a friend who sometimes still needed him. But to him, leaving did not mean burning bridges, and a friendship could span territories. He did not need to be close to keep her, though they would not be able to talk as often.

There was really only one equation he would need to sort out, but he knew that he truly did want to follow when the offer was there. His family had held a complicated place in his mind for a while now, and if there was a chance to resolve it, he wished to try.

I need to ask, he said, looking at her. I can't leave them. It didn't cross his mind that her invitation might not have been an open one.
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)
783 Posts
Ooc — Stevie
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#11
He didn't outright say no, but only that he needed to ask. She didn't need clarification for who he meant, for Ashlar still lingered in her periphery and he was the only one she knew of that her friend would be unwilling to leave. She nodded, understanding in spite of that small voice that was irritated by it. It was oddly quieter than it usually was, perhaps simply because of the importance of everything else that was going on. Or maybe she was just getting over it. We'll see!

"Of course, I understand they're im--" Liffey was cut off then as a call echoed through the Hollow. It was Rannoch, and it was urgent, angry, with an underscore of hurt. His discussion with Terance had apparently not gone well. Liffey felt a jolt of fear stab through her heart as she thought of her kids. Were they in danger?

"I have to go," she stammered, realizing her utter stupidity in not having gotten her kids safely away before she let Rannoch break the news to his friend. "I have to get my kids out. Rannoch, he told Terance. I don't think it went well. He might..." Liffey swallowed hard, shouldering her fear as best as she could even as she backpedaled. "I have to go, but I'll watch for you. I'm sorry I can't stay but please, let me know somehow. One way or the other." The memory of the violence she'd experienced when she'd left Moonspear was screaming in her head now. She had never thought it would be the same, but now it seemed so glaringly obvious that it would be. She should've known better.

Liffey turned and bolted for home then, her eyes grazing Ashlar as she went. She nearly stopped to warn Gannet not to put his own family in danger by giving Terance and Treason the head's up, but her concern for her own was too rampant to allow her to pause for even a moment. She needed to get home. She would take her kids and she would go.
if I knew where I was going, I'd lose my way.
~•~
813 Posts
Ooc — Starrlight
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#12
She understood. He breathed a sigh of relief, but it was cut off when his ears pricked too at the call. Oh, they were going now.

Okay. I'll come see either way, he promised, knowing even if Mona said no his own plans hadn't changed. He wanted to see Raven, to see Eljay, and now to see them. He could deliver the news even if they did not move along with, but for now, he needed to ask. He'd find Mona now.

Be careful, he said after, worried because she was. He watched her disappear, then turned and called to Ashlar. It was time to go find his mother and talk.
Gannet's face and body are open books; you are more than welcome to distinctly notice any emotion written in his posts.
(Most thread titles come from Into the Fire from the Scarlet Pimpernel)