Whitebark Stream the world you left, and forgot your name

Taikon had returned from checking the northern regions of Aphrodite. There was no trail to follow, and no person he'd run into had seen her. He was beginning to fear the worst, although he knew that if she had been taken captive by the Saints or even killed, they would likely have heard about it by then. Messengers did take a while to move, so the thought was still lingering when he woke that day.
Like every day since her disappearance, Taikon ventured toward the den to check for the healer's return. It had been long enough that his heart knew she wouldn't be there, but that didn't stop his stomach from feeling heavy with anxiety as he approached.
When he saw movement, he gasped, but the scent didn't match. He saw Juniper's small form as he poked his head in. Juniper, he said, breathing out an exasperated sigh. I thought you were her for a minute, scrub, he put on a small smile for her. The white male imagined that the little apprentice was probably taking this as hard as everyone else.