Totoka River Mama, I need you

@Hemlock @Reed @Droman

Tapat hadn't gotten far yet. He was still by the river he had met the coywolf. Not that Tapat could remember much of the meeting. The young wolf didn't know where he had gone before. So he couldn't decide which direction he should go. Maybe he had already been there, you know? So Tapat had been going away from the river and then returned back to it. Then he would go upstream and decide that he had to go downstream.

Tapat wasn't very good at this. Now he was back at the part where the hard ground turned to sand. There was lots of sand. What reminded him of sand again? Tapat quenched his thirst in the river before plopping down on his butt. "River... Where do you think I should go?," he muttered towards the river. He didn't really expect a response but he hoped that the river might help him.

tags for reference <3

 

Hemlock let out a choked out breath, shivering as she realized the enormity of what she'd done. She had left @Droman and @Reed curled up with Ceallach while she scouted the area. She wasn't going to say that it was a good idea in the slightest that they'd left the island and what was familiar to her children but she knew if they'd stayed any longer then things would only have gotten worse. There was nothing for them anymore and she had to make a choice for what was the most important for her children. She could no longer hold on to the ghosts of her past - not to Palisander in the forest, nor to Lotte in the Strath - nor even to Arturo, wherever along the way she had lost him. 

The red wolf took a deep breath as she scented the area and felt her heart pound. She knew that scent. She would know him anywhere no matter what the circumstances and took off on the trail as quickly as she could until she see the pale form of Tapat. She let out a low chuff, approaching him and immediately burrowing her snout in his neck. "My boy," She said softly, drawing in a deep breath. He didn't smell like blood, and it hadn't been that long but so much could still have gone wrong in such a short amount of time.

Hadn't she learned that lesson the hard way?

Tapat didn't expect an answer from the river, but he was still disappointed when he didn't get a reply. The young man let out a sigh. He was about to walk another way when he heard someone approach. He instantly whined in excitement. "Mama!!,' he let before realizing that he called her mama. Only because she also had called him her boy. As Hemlock was more prominent in his life as a mother figure. He nuzzled her right back.

"You are here! Where are the babies? Is something wrong?," he asked worriedly. He would remember his siblings of course. Tapat hadn't gotten far with his journey. He realized how close he was to his previous home. It felt like he failed. He frowned lightly and nuzzled more against Hemlock because he had missed her.

 

Hemlock near smothered him in kisses, nuzzling against him tenderly. He didn't upset her calling her Mama though it still made her heart lurch. How many babies had she loved that were not even her own? It didn't matter - the list was long and she had given what she could to every one of them. "Tapat," She cooed out, tucking herself against him. "Ceallach is watching them, they were sleeping when I left." Hemlock assured him. She appreciated that his first thought was to Reed and Droman, proving her thoughts were correct when it came to the way he tended to children and felt about them. 

"Undersea has disbanded. Everyone else is gone, so we crossed the sea to make sure that we could find a safe place to stay. Are you okay?" She asked as she looked him over - hoping that nothing bad had passed while he had been on his own. He didn't seem hurt, she couldn't smell anything bad on him, and so she relaxed minimally. All she knew about where he wanted to go was that it was back away from the shore - she'd never gone to the Caldera herself but maybe they should have headed that direction, at least temporarily. 

Tapat let out happy squeaks and whines when he was smothered in kisses by Hemlock. He loved it. He gave her all the kisses right back, his tail submissively wagging between his legs. Tapat had always been more submissive, even to younger pups. He was glad to hear that his siblings were okay. He was shocked to hear about everyone leaving. Tapat looked confused. "Why does everyone leave us?," he asked with a whine. His real mama, his papa, his brother, Lagan, other pack members. There were so many.

He nodded slowly. "Yes. I am just hungry," he admitted, his ears falling back. His stomach growled to emphasize the fact. He hadn't eaten since leaving Undersea. He snuggled against Hemlock. "I wasn't so good at finding Lagan. I don't know where to go," he admitted. "I shouldn't have left, Mama," he sniffled then. He nuzzled his face against her chest. Though even though he was sad his tail couldn't stop wagging as he was still glad to have Hemlock back.