Noctisardor Bypass a is for amy who fell down the stairs

Concurrent with the tail end of this thread or immediately following it by the time Gideon arrives at the rendezvous, depending how quick it goes, and also concurrent with this one.

Gideon's pace didn't slow one bit between the garden and the clearing beneath the giant tree where the pack spent the majority of its time. He was gasping for breath and favoring his right side, where the pain of a stitch lanced through his ribcage with each inhale. His frantic golden eyes circled the clearing, searching for the one wolf who could make sense of what he had seen.

She was not there.

Mama?! he called at the top of his lungs, hindquarters sinking without his permission to the ground. He did not have the energy to run further afield in search of her. Heda was always here — where could she have gone in his moment of desperate need? MAMA! MAMA WHERE ARE YOU?! MAAAMAAAAAA! His screams would surely summon anyone in the vicinity, whether it was Heda or someone else.

He could not get the look of the man advancing upon Anselm out of his head, the black energy sparking between them, only his imagination was already running wild and inventing future scenarios. Now it was Ezra standing where Anselm stood. Now it was Heda. Now it was Heda advancing on Anselm. Whines leaked from his muzzle as he looked around once again for his mother. She would know what to do.