Hideaway Strath My heart keeps bleeding, I need you now.

maybe @Dorea?

In the days since his arrival to Asterism Grove, Sundance barely surfaced. He would sleep long into the afternoon, rising only to feed or relieve himself, before returning to rest. In those fleeting moments of an unoccupied mind, family was swift to swarm his thoughts: @Olive and @Seabreeze, @Reif and @Atwood.

While Towhee and her wolves had been nothing but kind to him, Sundance's heart yearned for home. He missed his mothers and brothers, longed to be safe and snug among them on these bitter Autumn nights. The young Shakti lay alone in his little hollow that chill evening, curled away from its entrance as he willed the heartache in his chest away.

"Hello?" 

Rue moved toward the scent of her packmate, her progress through the underbrush hindered by the gathering darkness. The earth was blessedly still at the moment. Quakes throughout the day had caused several dens to cave in, and so now the newly-appointed Fusor was going around knocking on doors so to speak, warning her den-dwelling packmates about the danger. 

"Is someone out there? It's Ruenna."

She had been nearby when she heard the Fusor calling out to someone, so her interest had been raised. Hey. She called out gently. Who are you looking for? Her head tilted slightly as she padded closer to the woman. Perhaps she could help her with her search. Although she was entirely unaware of someone else just being a stretch away, hidden in the depths of a den.

He maintained his silence, certain that no one could be calling out for him when they barely knew he existed. Sundance, too tired and lost in the throes of his grief over his heavy loss to care, simply curled closer to himself and tucked his muzzle to his silver flank.

The boy hoped she'd just pass his lonely little hollow by, leave him well enough alone. He squeezed his eyes shut and pretended to doze, his back to the den's entrance, and willed her away.

A young voice piped up, but not from the direction of the packmate Rue had scented. The Fusor turned over her shoulder, and her honey gaze landed on the youngster. With a warm smile, the woman turned to face the newcomer. Rue did not know much about the child, other than that Asterism Grove was caring for her until some family of hers could be located. That was kind of Phox and Towhee-- hopefully someone was out there doing the same for their own missing child. 

"Hi, Dorea," Rue greeted the child kindly. It couldn't have been easy, having to be the new girl when Fennec was missing. No doubt her presence reminded many of the child they had lost. "I'm not sure," Rue answered truthfully. She swept her gaze over her shoulder momentarily before facing Dorea once more. "I thought I smelled a packmate out there.. Not you I'm afraid, someone different. I just wanted to check and make sure he was okay. We had some dens cave in today..." Rue fell quiet, brow knit with worry. What if the packmate was trapped or injured, and he couldn't call out?

Part of her wondered why Rue didn't just waltz into the den and see who was likely putting themselves at risk. Granted the Fearghal child figured the woman was probably just kinder in her approaches than Dorea was. Well...I'll check for you. It was a small hollow but surely if someone was hiding in there she could weasel her way in. She didn't wait to hear what Ruenna might think of the whole barging in approach. Her front was already belly crawling into the den as she awkwardly moved to still try and let light in.

Huh. Those colors looked really familiar even if she couldn't see their face. The platinum, silvery hues and powdery look of it all. The thought of it all brought back memories but surely this stranger was in no way a part of those memories. Not so far from Elysium. She steadied herself before forging on with her plan. Hey...Rue says it's not safe in here. She hadn't really said that but if dens were caving in surely that meant this wasn't safe either.

Soon, there was movement at his back, but Sundance didnt turn toward the girl who infiltrated his safe place. The muscles in his shoulders tightened, tensed in anticipation of another reaching out to touch him, but nothing came.

Only a voice, painfully familiar.

The young Shakti exhaled in a soft whine. Hnow could life be so cruel, to take everything from him only to torment him with the memory of a time when he felt such unbridled joy?

Eyelids fluttered open and he shifted, rolling just enough to tilt his head back and look upon the upside-down face of Dorea Fearghal. Powder blue eyes blinked once, twice, three times, and his heart rose up to take residence in his esophagus. "Y-you...?" Sundance flopped, hosted himself up onto his elbows, and fixed the bi-coloured cub with a disbelieving stare. "Dorea!?"

Cue rapid, hopeful tail wag here.

"Thanks Dorea, but.." Aaaand yep, kid was already gone. 

The child slithered into the undergrowth with much more dexterity than the larger Rue would have managed, and the Fusor had to admit that Dorea was pretty useful for this kind of thing. The girl had spoken with enough confidence to reassure Rue that she already knew what she was looking for. Rue hadn't even known there was a den out here to begin with, let alone how to find it, so it seemed that Dorea would be her unlikely hero this evening.

Rue waited for Dorea to reappear, perhaps with one of their packmates in tow.

When a whine met her words, Dorea had been ready to roll up her sleeves and tell the kid the business once more. Except she didn't have time to. She was met with a painfully familiar face that trudged up all the feelings she had just stuffed down a minute ago. Sundance? The name was blurted with disbelief. She was thrilled to see him but...what the hell was he doing all the way over here? They were nowhere close to Elysium and she doubted he had the same excuse she did. His mom seemed nice despite her only knowledge was really seeing the woman in the garden when she pestered Sundance.

It's not safe in here. Her voice was a bit softer this time as concern painted her face. She couldn't be all big and burly now faced with the gentleness of Sundance. Come with me? Awkwardly she scooted backwards out of the hollow he had decided to hold up in. Once free of the confines her head turned around to call out to Rue. He's okay, Rue!

She stared right back at him, surprise glimmering in her bright eyes, and sent his heart aflutter as she said his name out loud. Sundance beamed up at her, feeling as though life had been breathed into him for the first time in weeks, and practically trembled with his building excitement.

Dorea repeated her previous statement before backing away and Sundance was swift to follow. He squinted when he stepped into the daylight, but his focus remained entirely on the friend he thought he'd lost - the only one he had left.

"I cant believe you're here!" Sundance chirped, wiggling and waggling with the force of his swinging tail, and reached out to "boop" her two-toned cheek with his nose.

Their packmate was safe; that was a relief to Rue.

"Thanks, Dorea. Would you bring him here?" Rue called back to the helpful girl. The packmate that Rue had originally scented was unfamiliar to her, and this was not the time for any of them to be strangers to one another. Rue had been put in charge of completing a head count in Asterism Grove, after all. 

Rue watched the edge of the undergrowth and waited. The mystery packmate must be on the small side, if he had been able to squeeze into the brush the way Dorea had. Likely he was a child as well.

Me either. She admitted, offering a gentle touch of her own back to his shoulder. He didn't even smell like Elysium anymore. Just...here. There were a million questions she wanted to ask but Rue's voice rang out.

Come on. You gotta meet someone. Perhaps he had been held up to be antisocial but here Dorea was, ripping him away from all of that. Which seemed so very much unlike the Dorea who had lived back in Elysium but things had changed. Far too much. She would stick close to him but ultimately lead them to Rue, hoping she wouldn't be too upset with her barging in approach.

She reached out to him, delivered a touch that spread warmth throughout his body. It had been so long since Sundance had felt the affection of someone familiar that he practically melted beneath the gesture.

Dorea brought him back to reality, however, and the young Shakti suddenly became aware of another wolf who lingered nearby. He was quickly overcome by shyness and his silvery tail swished in a nervous little greeting at his pallid hocks. This was the one who'd been calling out, the she-wolf he had chosen to ignore. 

He followed his friend toward the adult and offered her a smile to accompany the small "hello," that he managed.

Rue smiled warmly at the shy youngster, her tail swishing in large, friendly movements. "Hello," she returned, amicable tone betraying none of her inner concern. Where were all of these stray children coming from? An influx of orphan pups felt ominous, and when combined with these intermittant, sinister earthquakes... Rue suppressed a shiver, uneasy about what this could mean for the wolves of the Teekons. 

"Do you two already know each other?" Rue's head tilted curiously. She was a perceptive wolf, and she had easily picked up on the shy child's preference of Dorea over herself. Rue's honey eyes shifted to Dorea, figuring that since she was the more outgoing of the pair, she would be the one to pipe up and answer the question. Rue's eyes shone with approval as she regarded the girl. Dorea had done well tracking down this hidden young man.

Funnily enough, Dorea had not always been the more outspoken of the duo. Gone were her days of short sentences with their chopped up pattern. She spoke for herself and apparently now for others too.

We were in the same place before here. My mother moved us to where he's from before she...well, She would trail of with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. The ending seemed rather clear. Didn't it? However grateful she was to be here, she knew she would not have found this place had her mother not gone rogue.

Resentful of the thought she would instead opt to think of better things. Like how she would offer a gentle bump to Sundance with the hopes he might find it in himself to properly introduce himself.