Lost Creek Hollow If you're lost out where the lights are blinding

no rush on this at all I just wanted to get it up!  <3

Finally, FINALLY she'd made it!  Being on the familiar edge of the Hollow gave her a pang, and she wondered if Coelho was here.  It had been fun to scout this place with her, and she was one of a few that Maia missed when she left.  

Other visits could wait though!! She was here to see @Terance and that's who she called for.  She had no clue that @Sarah was here as well, but her voice rang out with an unmistakably eager excitement.  She reallllly wanted to just run through and find him to give him a big old hug, but that probably wouldn't go over great anymore.

Coelho was long gone from here and little did Maia know that the proud and self-important masked guardian, who came to meet her on the borders first, was the one, who had desecrated her dear former friend's grave. Knowledge of which had only Indra, who had probably got her first white hairs that evening, and the god himself. Nunataq measured the bulky, grayscale she-wolf with a glance, feeling slightly less sure about, where would they stand, if combat was to arise. In her limited fighting experience the wolves that were built as solid concrete bricks had the nasty habit of sitting on the light and slender ones.

With this knowledge tucked in her pocket and with the confidence of an inhabitant, who meets a prowler in their apple garden, she announced her presence to the other with a huff and a dark stare that was meant to be intimidating, but did not come as such, because the teenager was still growing in her shoes. Curiousity was a more prominent feature of that gaze than hostility.

the call was more than welcomed -- and terance could hardly believe his ears!! so much had happened this week... in fact, it was a little insane, he could hardly keep up (let alone me, jfc). ibis and okeanos, rannoch's return to power, treason's heat, and so on and so forth. so much was happening and it all seemed to be good things. for once in his life, terance felt a little settled. 

he made it to the borders in quick time, his tail swinging and face lit up as he approached his sister. "maia!" he chuffed happily. he passed by nuna quickly, pulling his little sister into a broad, wolfish hug, probably smothering her. "this is such a nice surprise," he added as he parted. his scent was still probably heavily mixed with treason's -- among other things -- but... ah, well. maybe she wouldn't ask. wishful thinking.

Well, someone sure showed up!  But not someone she recognized.  Maia looked at the girl a moment, then realized she should probably be polite and say something.  Oh, uh, hi! My name's Maia, I'm here to.... TERANCE!!!

She closed the distance when her brother came up, yelling his name as soon as she saw him.  He seemed equally happy which was GREAT because a part of her had worried he would secretly hate her forever for leaving.  Ugh.

I told you I'd visit you, silly! So here I am!!  And Wraen says hi!  She stayed back.  Maia gave him a big old kiss on the cheek, then pulled away a bit to look at him. You smell good! What's goin on?

The Big Black guy appeared, who Nunataq had not had much to do with, but, who she knew to hold a very respectable position in the pack (no tail thinning and ankle nipping here, unfortunately). What was more - he seemed to know the stranger and the mutual joy of seeing each other and complete ignorance of the guardian-to-be - assured her that her work here was done and she was not necessary anymore.

After one last curious, once-all-over glance in the grayscale boulder's direction, Nunataq slinked off and had forgotten all about them by the time she found a hare's ear to munch on along her way. Someone had been careless about their securing the lid of their lunchbox.

Nunataq exits.

suddenly, a wave of dread washed over him. not to maia's questions, which might've made terance feel a bit uncomfortable had he actually truly processed her words. no, terance just remembered heartache, again, and realized he would have to tell maia. who would have to tell wren. and he desperately wished he didn't have to. but now that he'd remembered... he had to say it."treason went into heat," he told her, and then couldn't take it anymore. 

"maia -- sarah's here," he said suddenly, ears pulled back to his head, "and she brought news." he looked at maia with a stoney expression, despite the good news he'd just delivered. he now frowned, rather deeply, and looked upon her with sorrow. "it's about mom and dad." and everyone else.

Oooooh, wait.  Who was Treason again?  She'd been here a while, but hadn't actually met quite a few of the pack.  She thought she remembered who that might be, but the entire implication slipped her mind as Terance went on to the next point.

Her face lit up and her ears pricked forward when he said that Sarah was here.  Omg.  That was super awesome!!!  She'd come to visit then, and maybe Maia could say hi!  Except... Terance didn't look like it was super awesome.  At all.  A curling hesitancy gripped her and her expression faltered, and she dropped most of her smile, though her voice stayed even.  Curious.  What news?

maia asked what happened, just as she should've, and terance held his breath for a second. "there was a fire back home and mom and dad got separated from everyone. sarah went to go search for them and..." he fell quiet for a second, trying to find the right words. nothing felt right. "they didn't make it," he said finally, voice unwavering but soft, "sarah couldn't find your siblings when she came back, either." 

he reached a forelimb out to hook maia closer, if she wanted it, but he wouldn't force closeness upon her if she didn't want to be touched. "i'm sorry to ruin out reunion with bad news," he murmured gently to her, green eyes downcast.

Wait.  What?

She listened mutely as he told her the news, though she didn't comprehend it the first time through.  Fire.  Separated.  They didn't make it.  Didn't make what?  And her siblings.

Her face blanked as she slowly understood what he'd said, and she shook her head, but her body began to tremble as well.  There was no way dad and mom were gone.  They couldn't be.  

She didnt move away as he went to pull her in, but she didn't move towards it either, mainly because she at first didn't realize it was happening.  Umm.  Ok.  She felt a yawning hole open up beneath her paws, and as she began falling down it, she felt the tears come.  Nope, not okay.

S....Sarah's okay?  She asked, stuttering a bit as a few sobs began forming in her chest.  She tried to hold them in, as hard as she could, but all she could think about was dad and mom, looking the way they'd looked as she left them behind a year ago.  Wishing her luck, but both with a sadness they tried to hide, and the last hugs.  Her dad's strong neck enfolding hers.

With that she lost it, and the sobs she'd been trying to hold back were loosed straight into Terence's fur.

terance wished he was better at consoling. it was something rannoch and seabreeze had always been so good at... and he could never really compare. a warm embrace was all he could really offer, since he often tripped over his own words, but at least terance was good company in that sense... if anything. he was good at listening and being a tissue. maia used him as the latter. 

"sarah's okay," he murmured in a hushed voice, licking at the crown of her head, holding himself together far too well. he'd done the same for sarah when  she arrived, only letting out the tears when he was alone later in the evening. he couldn't fall apart when his sister was doing the same, he needed to be strong for her. but terance didn't have much else to say, so he just licked and held.

She didn't back away as he answered, so the watery good was muffled.  His hug was definitely what she needed right now, and while she was still too shocked to go full on breakdown mode, she was close.  

His licks were soothing though, and after a while she quieted down.  She would continue this pattern across a bunch of new threads (bc apparently starr loves writing pain ouch) but a part of her didn't want to completely lose it in front of Terance.  She hadnt seen him in forever.  She couldn't let this be how she left it.

It felt super out of place, after the news he shared, but she needed to say something else - anything else.  Wraen and I joined a pack.  Our cousin runs it.  It's called the Firebirds.  She sniffed, then looked up at him.  It's kinda far but not super, and they are really nice.  Positive.  Focus on the positives.

they were quiet for a moment, trying to calm down. and when maia finally did, terance felt a little easier. of course, he still felt pretty terrible. maia, bless her heart, tried to perk up a little bit. terance wished she didn't even have to perk up, but he couldn't keep this a secret from her. that just wasn't fair... anyway. 

his ears pricked at her comment, surprised and a little hurt. they'd left to travel... hadn't they? why were they settling down again? why hadn't they come back to the hollow to settle? he kept the thought to himself, maybe he'd just misunderstood their reason for leaving in the first place. he and wraen bickered a lot, anyway, maybe it was just for the best... but still...

"which cousin?" asked terance with a flick of his dark ears, looking down upon her, "maybe i'll come visit." with the kids! 

If Maia could have read her own guilt and insecurity so clearly echoed in Terance's thoughts, she would have felt about a thousand times worse about everything.  Luckily he gave no sign, and if his face shifted, she was too busy trying not to be a baby to notice.

Wildfire,  she replied.  She's nice.  You definitely should.  Finally, a note of real hope entered her tone on that.  As with Sarah right after this, it would be so great to have that to look forward to.  She'd come back here, or course, but then she could introduce them and show them around and it would be amazing.

"maybe i'll bring sarah with me," he said with a flick of his ear, pondering for a few seconds what his best move would be word wise. 

he gave a gentle smile. "i might have some good news, if you want to hear it," he said with a flick of his ears. 

HHFDGKSJH SHORT.

short is always perfect! <33 XD

The prospect of seeing Sarah again was an exciting one! And she was about to open her mouth to ask where their sister was when Terance continued.  Later.

She wasn't sure she was going to be able to respond exactly right to good news after the bombshells he'd dropped here.  Everything felt a little unreal, and her smile was wan, a little unfocused.  But she still gave it and nodded.  Yeah, Okay.  If he wanted to tell it, then she wanted to hear it, for sure!

When he told her about Treason and him and the kids, she gushed over it just as one would expect.  Enthusiastically, she promised to visit soon! She couldn't wait to meet them and solidify her further designation of best aunt ever.