The Tangle Lies are simple, truth complex

Tags for reference. PP’ing Stingray a bit (hope that's ok! If not, I can change). Open to anyone, can be a short thread.

Njord and @Meerkat eagerly awaited the return of @Swordfish from his first mountain excursion with @Quennell. The parents hoped the duo had a good time adventuring as they puzzled over their boys becoming big brothers in the Spring. Yet, day by day, time passed and the explorers became overdue.

The weather did not cooperate either. Fresh snow fell night after night. The sky was dark and overcast. “@Stingray and I will check tha Tangle,” he told Meerkat. It was the last place Njord had tracked the boys, their pawprints headed North Easterly. “We’ll see if there’s any sign of ‘em.”

With Stingray in tow, the pair set off. The deep drifts made travel difficult, but Njord did his best to cut a path through the snow for his son. Occasionally, a thick windblown crust offered relief from the arduous work. It was on one of these spots that Njord spied a pile of fresh scat.

Bear.

His jaw clenched as his hackles prickled reflexively. Immediately his head swiveled around and looked for danger -- a sinking feeling in his gut.