Dawnlark Plains 'cause they will run you down, down til the dark

hope this is alright! please let me know if not <3

 

---

her mind was heavy, tense still, yet she did not move to do what she'd decided until the pale wolves did not seem to be seeking immediate retribution, their borders quiet and the tension that stiffened her spine fading ever so gradually. the idea had been nagging at her mind in those times when it had not been consumed by grief or guilt or responsibility, and the events of the past hour had only served to bolster the budding thought. 

she sought him out shortly after she'd moved along the border once, twice, ensuring they did not become vindictive and seek to truly challenge their claim. she howled then for @Aditya, the notes bitter as they left her throat, sticking as if they wished not to break her avoidance of him, his unwillingness to meet his eye. there was only so long this unstable stalemate could last, not when Pema's pups meant that they were responsible for Morningside's wellbeing alone.

you're good!

with the situation in the maplewood more or less squared away, aditya felt slightly more at ease, but tension still prickled at his spine with every step he took. dawn's howl in the distance did not alleviate it in the slightest; it grew even more, 'til he was taut as a rope stretched to its limits. a hangman's noose, around his neck. he was strangled, suddenly, and swallowed the bile that threatened to choke him as he trotted over the rise, dawn coming into view.

"well, that was, uhm. . ." he trailed off, unable to find adequate words. "not good," he concluded lamely, winning the prize of the week for understatement. he shifted awkwardly on his large paws, shifting his gaze between dawn and the border, the border and dawn--but never definitively resting on either. his mind was in a million places at once, his focus scattered to the wind.

"i've not scented them before," adi murmured, looking toward the maplewood. "their faces are unfamiliar. they're new. and that male has a mind that doesn't forget," he added, mouth quirking worriedly as he finally met dawn's eyes, or at least tried to, face grave.

vague post is vague

despite herself, the tension that stretched tight her spine and bore down like a steel trap around her thoughts, the smallest snort escaped her at Aditya's summary of the events, before stiffening. he shifted his gaze from her to the border, back and forth, yet never quite resting on either long enough to count. 

"but will they be vindicitve?" empty musing, unless Aditya had picked up on some sign that signified the trait without her knowing. it was jarring for him to meet her gaze after so long of avoiding it, and she blinked before holding it a few moments, eventually taking a cue from him and shifting her gaze toward the border.  "I think we should claim the Maplewood. there's more prey, and no real reason to stay in the plains, anymore."  her father's blindness had warranted a place like this, but now his bones lay still and sun-bleached. they ought to move again come fall, somewhere they could all weather the winter in relative comfort, but summer beneath the maplewood's canopy appealed to the huntress.

"perhaps not all of them, but that male. . ." he trailed off, mouth quirking in a frown as he thought of the brute's tone. aditya, prone to snap judgments himself, was hypocritically disgruntled by others judging him similarly, and to be labeled as callous, heartless, insensitive was a slight he could barely bear. he let out a frustrated breath in a snort, shaking his head.

"i think you're right. we've always been fond of the place." his heart lifted somewhat at the thought of spending the hottest part of the summer in the shade of the maplewood, a forest he'd come to love. it would solidify their rights to the hunting there, and the plains were much bigger--they'd have less territory to worry about protecting, and dawnlark was more easily shared between packs.

leaving that be for now, he moved on to the more pressing matter at hand. "we need to find the boy," he said shortly, stomach clenching in worry. "i'll go, unless you want me to stay and look after things at home, like we planned with pema."

---

few more words were exchanged until the more pressing matter at hand arose; in her pacing, she had been searching too for a scent trail which would mean the boy hadn't been a total idiot and ran off; her hopes, it seemed, were in vain. her tail twitched in barely contained frustration, auds flickering toward the borderline.  "Sunny did the same - ran off, and joined Easthollow. D- Grayday was devastated, but too injured to chase after him."  He would surely have felt the same now; she wondered, had he been here, would River run off in the first place. 

gaze flickered back to him, settling on his then drifting away like a nervous bird. "you go. you're better with them than me."  she did not understand them; of her father's first litter she'd grown closest to Easy. she doubted that she would be able to do the same with the boy that reminded her sharply of Sunny, who'd been insufferable until he'd become a yearling. her maturity, had she had it then, may have had things turn out differently. "I'm capable of leading alone for a while - he can't have gone far." he seemed too small to leave the general area, and Aditya was a good tracker.

he pursed his lips, silently amused by the parallels between sunny and river. both sweet, but with a reckless streak--a bolt of lightning in a sweet summer rainstorm. perhaps he wondered the same--would this have happened, had grayday been here? for a moment, aditya felt wholly incompetent, a sham of a father. he was no substitute for the late leader, and it showed. he couldn't even keep his children in line.

but he brushed the bad feelings aside, trying to focus strictly on the task at hand. "right, then, i'll go and search for him," adi agreed, looking out toward the border. his face was set in an anxious frown. "i just worry about him running into the pale wolves. i don't think they'd hurt a child, but. . ."

but the dark look over the burly male's face was reason enough not to trust them. maybe when tensions had settled, and bad blood had cooled, they would be able to curry favor with the pack whenever they settled in their permanent home. for now, though, they were enemies, no matter how innocent the intentions were on either side.

her expression twisted and darkened when he spoke, thoughts echoing her own. the whole situation left her stiff and unnerved; the male's final words echoing still. she knew she was not in the wrong, knew they claimed the Maplewood as theirs, needed it as their numbers fell. 

she did not dare give thought and voice to the what ifs, knowing only that they had to deal with the present situation, the enemies they'd made.  "go quickly, then. if there's any sign that they touched him, call the rest of us." she'd sink her fangs into their perfect white coats (unlikely, seeing as her fighting skills hoovered around outright depressing). "I'll check on the others."

she moved a step back, preparing to make her way to the den-site, and paused. one second, two - "I'm sorry. I never said it. I'm - sorry." it sounded weak and pale on her tongue, and something flickered on her face a moment before she spun off and moved, adopting a quick walk and hoping very much it didn't appear that she was running away.

he nodded, ready to spring off right away, only to pause at her apology. it was. . .hollow-sounding and succinct, but part of him knew it was sincere. aditya swallowed, taking a breath, and was about to say something in acceptance when she turned and began to walk off at a fast clip. the words in his throat died, unsaid.

adi watched her go, a muddle of emotions warring for dominance at the forefront of his mind. finally, they were all dashed to pieces at the remembrance of river's disappearance, and he crossed the border, nose lifted for any signs of the boy. hopefully, this would not take more than a day or two. he just hoped the story ended better for river than it had for. . .

a shudder ran through him as he remembered the tale of burr, and he broke into a lope, panic swelling in his chest.