Ouroboros Spine cool jerk

Her reasons for darkening Moonglow’s doorstep were twofold, now: first and foremost, she was here to keep her word to @Arrluk. She wanted to meet his and @Ajei’s girls (@Ahna and Chinook). But there was a second, terrible reason lurking behind that one. Treepie wanted to find out if anyone in Moonglow might’ve seen or heard about her missing baby relative.

She blinked and rolled her tricolored shoulders. Pie had thought about asking either @Kindle or @Kira Lazore to come along with her, though she hadn’t been able to make up her mind in the end. So she stood alone as she tipped her black snout skyward and summoned her own “cousin” with a low, wavering howl.

Though the call had been for Arrluk, Valiant was in the area. He turned and headed for the source, curious about the stranger at their borders. True to his assumptions, the small, willowy calico was entirely unfamiliar to him. He could not even remember seeing her at past hunts. But, drawing closer, he found her wreathed in the scent of Dawnspear.

A friend, then.

"Let's see if we can find him," he said as he came within conversational distance, failing entirely to stand on ceremony. He waited with his body turned obliquely away from her, inviting her to come along. "I'm Valiant," he told her. "I don't believe we've met."

The howl was with a voice which was familiar to Arrluk. Woofing in order to grasp the attention of his daughters, the waterman makes swift steps into the outskirts of Moonglow territory for which the location of the summons was given. 

Here he meets the back-ends of Treepie and Valiant walking the trails of the innermost foothills. Tiuttuk, welcome to you! He calls out as he is trotting nearer to the pair. Behind him he can hear the pitter-patter of one of his daughters, Chinook, catching up. 

Ill pop Chinook in after a bit.

She did not recognize the wolf who came forward to receive her. Treepie’s muscles stiffened a little as she lowered herself in deference. Although she quickly lowered her yellow eyes, she caught sight of a brawny male with a pale pelt. He greeted her and offered a name, which struck her as familiar, though Pie couldn’t quite place it.

I don’t think so either, she replied. I’m Tiuttuk, though most know me as Treepie or Pie. Picking up on his cue, she fell into step with him as he turned. I’ve come to meet Arrluk and Ajei’s twins, though there’s something else…

Before she could provide further detail on that, the man of the hour appeared. Despite the shadow on her spirit, Pie managed a genuine smile for Arrluk. They had that sort of easy friendship that picked up right where it had left off, even if months spanned between visits. She was quietly glad it hadn’t been that long.

Arrluk, it’s good to see your face, she said warmly, though something in her expression stilled as she prepared to bear the bad news. I can’t wait to meet your girls, though before we go to them, I have to tell you some deeply unfortunate news.

She supposed she could ask them if they’d plucked any tiny pups from the wilderness, though Tiuttuk sensed no such thing had happened. It was far too improbable. They would’ve delivered him home post-haste and, by now, simply too much time had passed for little Peregrine to have survived.

Valiant out

She knew Arrluk personally, it seemed, and she had the sort of name he associated with Vaïre's family. Perhaps he recognized it as a name that had been spoken to him before — but as they'd not met before now, he didn't think she'd be interested in any erstwhile relation they had. That tie, he thought, must now only matter to Arrluk.

Still.

"It was nice to meet you, Tiuttuk," he said sincerely, a wan smile on his face.

Valiant greeted Arrluk and Chinook before politely excusing himself. He still had newborns and a wife to feed, after all.

The pibald woman's smile was an honest one, so he didnt know something was wrong until she spoke of it. A single ear turned back on Arrluk, a frown pressing a tight line to his lips. What is it? 

Valiant's polite dismissal was noted, bringing Arrluk to give a curt nod at his leave, yet otherwise his attention remained upon his niece.

She acknowledged Valiant’s departure with a dip of her head, though quickly turned her attention back to Arrluk. Pie hated being the bearer of bad news. She supposed everyone did.

My great grandmother, Towhee, gave birth to a litter several weeks ago. More recently, one of her babies has gone missing from the caldera. She paused for a beat before proceeding. He’s so little, I don’t see how there’s any way he… but I wanted to pass the word along, just in case you see or hear anything about a wayward pup.

She couldn’t help but heave a heavy sigh after relaying the information. Judging from the look on Arrluk’s face, he had not serendipitously rescued a little boy from the wilderness recently. Tiuttuk had not expected any news as such.