Altar of Twilight evergreen

jasmine had gone missing.
while @Maia and @Eljay held down the search around brecheliant, teya set off to trail the outside of the mountains.
surely jasmine could not have traveled over them.
howling until her throat was hoarse, a sudden deluge forced the girl into a small valley, where she huddled in the lee of a boulder, exhausted and disconsolate.

The calls of a hoarse voice were not easy to miss, unless one intentionally blocked them out. The warrior had heard the sound in his scouting, had turned his russet ears to the sound of it and prowled in that direction until he had found the scent of another wolf was much too strong to have been left behind.

Foxfur chuffed out a greeting, hoping that he would not frighten the figure who was huddled beneath the protection of a large boulder. Are you injured? the warrior inquired carefully, his posture guarded.

teya was not long alone when a voice cut through toward her. the girl stiffened, reacting with plucked hackles and a bared tooth. peace did not come when she spotted the other, though the raven swung her ears forward all the same. "no. looking for child who run off."
teya scrambled to her paws, refusing to seem weak before a stranger. "you have pack?" he looked like a fox, and she wondered how he had come by his odd, striking coloration.

Another missing child. Foxfur’s expression shifted to that of worry. It struck him as being odd that he would happen upon two different women searching for pups. The warrior wondered if it might have been the same child.

Are you also searching for the child Alduin? I happened upon another who was seeking him, Foxfur began, hoping that he might be of some aid in eliminating terrain that had already been searched. The woman asked a question of him that he hadn’t anticipated.

Er- yes, well… I do. It is very far from here. I must not return to it until I have found someone myself. They shared that much, a search.

alduin. teya shook her head, unrecognizing that this was the son of her past lover. "girl name jasmine. small. dark. some red, like autumn. four months."
the raven let out her breath. strange that they were both looking for lost kids. "what alduin look like?" she inquired, meaning to be of help if she was going to ask it from a stranger.

A pang struck his chest. Another child was lost, a young girl named Jasmine. Foxfur took the details of her appearance and tucked them away in his mind, certain that he would put this knowledge to use as he traveled. If he could help any one of the wolves he had encountered find their missing pups, he would do all that he could.

Alduin was described as a dark boy with stripes and red eyes, he offered her with a small nod. It seemed a description that would be rather easy to spot, if Foxfur had been in the vicinity of the child.

Four months is quite young to be missing from home, the warrior remarked solemnly. He cast her a weary, sorry expression for the loss.

stripes and red eyes. she begin to nod her head, then ceased abruptly. "stripes?" whatever else the man said was processed in the background. teya focused only upon the face of the only brindled she had known.
"ah. yeah. her parents very worried."
another odd pause.
"what is your name?" this was complimented with a swish of her tail.

The question regarding stripes was unexpected. Foxfur balked for a moment before he tried to find a way to place descriptive words. A marking, like slash marks but made by a fur coat, usually in a consistent pattern, he offered wearily.

When the female went on to say that the child she sought was not hers, the warrior exhaled a weight from his frame. The fact that the child was still missing was dreadful, but at least he did not feel as though he had to tiptoe around a – rightfully – hysterical mother.

My name is Foxfur. Who are you?

she knew what stripes were! but she waited dumbly as the searching man explained. "he is from saints?" she asked, stupidly, watching his eyes for any sign of response. then, and only then, would she know that this lost boy was the son of her former lover.
"i teya, raven of brecheliant," the young wolf introduced belatedly. "if you willing to look for jasmine too, there is place for you, in pack."

I-

Foxfur paused, feeling a flush of foolishness course through his weathered frame. The warrior had not thought to ask which clan the boy had belonged to. He could assume that this was what the woman meant by the Saints.

I’m not sure. A pale wolf is searching for him. She said her name was Nyra. She has sharp yellow eyes and a warrior’s stature, Foxfur offered, hoping this would answer the question more adequately than he had before. I am searching for another… a boy named Crowfeather who has run from his home.

The search that had stretched far too long.

nyra. she thought of the pale woman who had looked at her with such cruelty and knowing. "nyra is leader of saints, with kynareth." she stumbled with near-longing over the name, blanching as she hoped this man would not see her misstep.
crowfeather. this brought a lighter look to teya, and she nodded swiftly. "i know crowfeather. he and his companion help brecheliant hunt, a month ago."
her brow furrowed. "why did he run?"

Rusty ears swiveled at the mention of another wolf – Kynareth – whose name carried a breath of emotion with it. Whether or not Teya had mentioned Crowfeather, it was unlikely that Foxfur would have made a remark on her shift in nature. The Saints and its numbers were of no concern to the warrior.

Yes, you’ve seen him? Do you know where he traveled? How long ago?

Teya wanted to know why it was that the princeling had run away. The warrior did not wish to answer this. It was a convoluted reasoning that even Foxfur could not entirely understand. All the reasons why made little difference, not when he was that close.

It was in this moment that her words played again. Did you say his companion?

Who had Crowfeather found?

the man did not answer her question, and asked two more of his own. "crowfeather is with man. older. good hunter. perhaps a leader." she did not remember much of germanicus outside their hunt. "a month ago," she repeated. "they go toward sunspire mountains."
a hesitation, and then she turned, gesturing toward the smudge of rock on the far horizon, quite distant from them now. "i not see them again."

Crowfeather had found an older man, a skilled hunter. It did not sound as though the princeling was in any immediate danger. Still, Foxfur could not help but wonder if the companion had discovered the dark boy’s gifts and sought to use them. The gifts of a seer were meant for their clan and only their clan. It burned within his belly to think of an outsider abusing such blessings.

Teya, I am sorry. I have traveled for a long time to find the boy.

Foxfur did not miss her hesitancy. His gaze followed her own toward the distant range of mountains. He knew well enough that the princeling was gone from tracking range. Even if he had been blessed by the stars themselves, Foxfur would not have found Crowfeather’s trail.

Do you remember if they said they would return?

foxfur's apology did much to soften teya again. 
she swayed her tail with understanding. the search for jasmine had tired them all, and so she knew some part of the exhaustion herself. "they sent to brecheliant by ruenna in redhawk caldera. maybe she know."
she was suddenly sorry she had no more to offer the man, and pointed again toward the distant fen and the lake between them. "it is long way. but i listen, and call for you if i hear more?" she wanted to make an ally of him, even if they were both far from home.

It ruffled Foxfur to think that Crowfeather seemed to be taking commands from an unknown wolf. He did not forget the name Ruenna or Redhawk Caldera, another clan in the area. The warrior knew that it would not do him any good to speculate on why the princeling was running errands. At the very least, Foxfur had somewhere to begin.

Thank you, the weary figure offered to Teya with a smooth bow of his head, one that jutted his shoulders. I will visit Ruenna in Redhawk Caldera and upon my return, I will bring your clan a gift. It was the least that he could do for the information that Teya had offered him.

"i happy i help," teya managed. he was handsome enough, but quite focused upon crowfeather. the girl had liked the boy well enough, but if he was fleeing something, perhaps this man should know. 
and after all, random dalliances did poor against the way reyes made her feel.
the promise of a gift lit her features. "i looking forward to it," teya smiled. 
it was time to continue her search for jasmine. she winked and turned back toward the mountainside.

The woman was kind, her gaze having softened considerably after Foxfur had recognized his own brash behavior. The gentle play of her gaze was comforting, in more ways than he understood. It had seemed that with each passing day the warrior remained in those foreign lands, there were more reminders of home.

Foxfur bowed his head to the woman and turned to set his path toward Moonglow. He would need to speak with the woman of the moon before he set off on a journey to another clan. The warrior did not wish to leave without a promise of return.