Jade Fern Grove crimson moss

Quick pack meeting/gathering to dish out search parties for the missing JFG members!
@Kaskara @Kieran @Tryphon @Morgana Ambrose @Ayana @Whittier @Pasha @Jorunn

It hadn’t occurred to the male to seek out his mate a day after he had last seen her. Scimitar believed her absence to be a simple reason – she hated him, and so she avoided him. It was the missing presence of Swift and Allure that really nagged at him, but he considered that perhaps they were keeping their mother company.
 
When a day turned in to longer, the cinnamon wolf thought only to satisfy his curiosity on where she was potentially hiding. His paws carried him to her areas of haunting, if even only briefly, given that they had not spent much time in the Grove for Bazi to claim favored areas.
 
Coming upon a shallow creek, the man’s hedging worry became tenfold when the scent of blood came upon him – and even worse – the mixed scents of Bazi, Allure and Swift. His pace quickened, and it pulled him to an area where a rather impressive amount of blood remained.. stained upon his kingdom floor.
 
Panic arose swiftly, and tilting his muzzle up, Scimitar demanded the presence of Jade Fern Grove and for them to come to him – something was wrong.

Between her quest to learn more about this area and her desire to be a good mate to Kieran, Kaskara hadn't noticed the absence of her sister-in-law until earlier that morning. She went to visit her and the pups, but they were strangely absent. Pasha and Whittier were there, tumbling about with each other, but Allure and Swift were no where to be found. Neither was their mother or father, but that wasn't too unusual these days. Kaskara had never seen them so angry with each other for no reason. But perhaps they did have a reason and she was just not privy to it.

In any event, Kaskara was scouting the area for a scent trail of any kind when Scimitar's howl went up. She paused mid-stride to listen tot he note of desperation in his voice. She sent up a quick howl of her own and broke into a run, heading in his direction. When she finally reached him a few moments later, her nostrils took in the scent of blood, the crimson moss beneath her brother's paws sending panic through her. Her eyes flashed, her hackles raised, and she lowered her head, sense on high alert. "When?" she asked, which was her only concession to her brother's presence. Her entire body felt out of sorts, but she couldn't panic now.

Perhaps unlike his father, Pasha had wondered after his mother and siblings.  Up until then, the fundamental shift in the relationship of his parents had not dawned on him.  The grove had kept him distracted and busy, engaging him with all that it had to offer.  At night, he merely succumbed to sleep before giving pause to what was going on around him.  But one particular moment brought him a brief introspection that made him consider that things were terribly askew.

For a bit, whether it was one day or more he didn't notice, but he found the absence of his siblings to be interesting.  No Swift being glum in some corner moaning about what he hated.  No Allure to have to tag along for some misguided adventure in all things boyish gross.  Whittier was still Whittier in his eyes, forever chunky and whiny.  But there was silence lingering in the woods that day as he tried to seek out the remainder of his family.  Somewhere along the way he had spied and subsequently lost track of his father, and was plodding along in his tracks when his howl rose up through the dense wood.  That particular note he heard was one that Pasha would perhaps not forget for a while.  It was pained beneath its summons and that evidence was enough to spur him forward.

By the time he arrived on a grim scene, his aunt was there with a single question left in the air.  Curiously, he came forward only to stop short of the adults.  There was blood and plenty of it with no carcass left to be found.  Confused crossed him, as about the only time Pasha recalled seeing blood was whenever he had happened across another hunting, or perhaps in the moments when others shared delicious pieces of game they had brought around.  But this was more than he had ever seen before in one place, and the resulting trail left in its wake left him with mixed emotions.

"What's going on?" he asked, though his voice came out small and lost.

He hadn't quite put two and two together to get the four.

Unlike his father, Whit was always aware of the fact that his mother was not around him. He doesn't always necessarily worry about this though. As long as she returned to his side for snuggles and cuddles within a reasonable timeframe, he was content. The fun of living in the Grove had lengthened the amount of time he was willing to spend away from her (or maybe it was his ever-increasing age, who really knows) - but when she wasn't there at night to kiss his forehead and lay her tail on him like a blanket, Whit was very aware.

Whit had been tailing his father that day in hopes that he would lead him to Bazi. It hadn't exactly worked out for what they'd found of her (and the siblings he hadn't noticed were gone oops) was a sight and a scent that confused and upset him. He waddled up to Pasha's side and turned his gaze to Scimitar and Kaskara with round, watery eyes. He said nothing, just waited for someone to explain.

There was something off in Scimitar's call as it rose into the air, beckoning him ...and the others of their Grove pack to him. It was a slightly heightened noise, an urgency that had Jorunn's perked ears to swivel back to rest at half mast atop his skull as he turned to briefly observe what he could make out detail wise of his surroundings upon their borders. For a small second he hesitated, wondering if he should mark where he stopped so he could return to it before he lurched forward, legs growing longer each day as he neared his (impressive) adult height carrying him towards his adopted father. The urgency in the Grove King's call had been enough to cause Jorunn to abandon his patrol. There would be time for that later. His patrol could wait ...but he got the sinking feeling that whatever Scimitar had to say couldn't wait.

He was not the first to arrive, but neither was he the last and with a soft, inaudible sigh of relief he slowed his pace as he approached those that had already gathered, stopping when he was near Pasha and Whittier. Jorunn could not visibly discern the blood from the grass, except for the slightly darkened gray against a slightly lighter gray, but he could smell it well enough. It was rancid, a sharp, metallic smell that was not anything he could ever mistaken for anything else. Bazi, Allure and Swift's lack of presence hadn't gone unknown by the young Lodbrok but he hadn't questioned it. He hadn't thought on it any more than Bazi had taken the two out on a field trip. It didn't occur to him — until now — that perhaps their absence had not been intentional. Suddenly, the scent of blood heavy in the air caused a quicken in his heart beat and the coarse tendrils of his winter coat to bristle with unease at the nape.

Silently, his eyes searched for and found Scimitar, brow furrowing slightly as he waited to hear what the patriarch had to tell them.

To wrap this up quicker, we thought we'd respond to the 'finding Bazi' thread with the bear as playing out the thread in one reply each.. So to give the puppies something to play with, you can either have these three venture off in a thread Karm started with Morran here, or if you want to play a little rebel, I'm not opposed to them having snuck behind Scimitar and Kaskara but being vague on details.. as we hope to wrap that thread up very quickly and have their missing pack mates home asap! :)

Kaskara was first to answer him – and the male cast her a hesitant look as she came upon the scene with him, watching her as she took in what lay before them. Pasha and Whittier were next – both with questions and uncertainty.. and finally, Jorunn  answered their call.
 
Annoyance grated through him tenfold, spurred by the panic he felt at his missing children and mate that no others had shown up, and with a shake of his head, Scimitar knew they would not wait for the others to finally determine whether or not they would aide them.
 
Leaning his muzzle down to bump each child gently and corral them together, the male nudged them in a direction he felt was relatively safe – the opposite direction from the smattering of blood. “We need to find your mom and siblings,” he murmured to the three of them, including Jorunn in to this as family. “You three will be a search party and look for them that way – but if you see anything that smells threatening, you go straight back to the den or find an adult, okay?”
 
With that, his eyes glanced up at his sister. “Aunt Kaskara and I will go this way,” he murmured, carefully using his form to block the path of the blood and the children.

They corralled the children away from the blood, away from the crimson moss that threatened to overtake her resolve. Kas's heart squeezed at the thought of Kieran not being there, but she had to push that away. Bazi and the children were the most important aspect right that moment, especially since she was pretty certain that was Bazi's blood - or perhaps Swift's - on the ground behind them.

The warrior smiled down at her nephews and kissed each on their heads, looking toward Pasha and Jorunn to care for Whittier. "Pasha, you're in charge of this group. Give your brother and Jorunn a task to do, and expect them to fulfill it. Scout well now." Again she kissed their heads and turned toward Scimitar, fear and uncertainty clear in her eyes, and readied to follow.

Even in light of them being corralled away from the bloody scene, Pasha still saw it. And even if he were unable to, that metallic scent lingered in the air around them. Something bad had happened. He swallowed, and that sensation rode down the length of its course to sit in his gut and continue to sink. But he mustered a brave face all the same, much like in the expressions he saw in his father and aunt.

He listened to their words and offered a resolute nod. Sure, he could take charge of things. If it had been perhaps any other situation, there may have been a momentary surge of pride within him to bolster his resolve; it remained absent. Looking to Jorunn first and then to Whitter, he waited for some signifying note that they would come along and crossed in front of them like a growing wall between them all. "C'mon," he said in hush tones.

sorry guys didn't know this was here

Kieran as if late, was again late to the party. It wasn't unpurpise he had just gone more into survival mode hunting and filling caches. So it wasn't often hard to imagine him not around constantly as he roamed for hunting small game. It w was with heart wrenching guilt that he showed up last and saw and heard what to do. Staying to the back to keep from angering anyone further as he imagined both Kaskara and Scimitar weren't happy he was late. He put his nose to the ground and followed.

Last Scim post.. thought we could wrap this up, sort of

Scimitar watched as Pasha rounded up his siblings, and began to trod off in a direction that was opposite of the blood. A rush of air expelled in relief from his nostrils, and casting his eyes on Kaskara, he gave her cheek a nudge before his own paws began to make way to trace the steps of his mate and cubs.
 
Kieran arrived -- instantly, the brown wolf knew what was expected  of him, and with his two comrades that had stood by him through everything -- they went to find Bazi.. and the cinnamon wolf made every attempt to not assume the worst, despite the trail of blood that would haunt him for months.

Kaskara watched her nephew follow her advice and lead his siblings away. She glance at Scimitar, who was looking back at her, too, and sighed. He nudged her cheek and she returned it as they pivoted toward the bloody trail. Kieran appeared no sooner than they set out and Kaskara nearly cried from relief. She kissed his cheek, too, and took comfort in the fact that she was with her favorite men, her steadfast companions, and in that moment she knew they would find Bazi and the kids. No matter what, they would find them.

Last post for me too!

Whittier listened nervously as his father spoke. It was the first time anyone had openly admitted to Bazi and the others being truly missing. It had always been they'll be home soon and they're just out exploring. Now it was we need to find them, and it made the little wolf's blood run cold. He sniffled deeply and forced a brave face, though his lip still trembled, betraying his nerves.

There was no time for his uncertainty or worry. His Aunt was assigning Pasha as the leader of their search party and his brother was stepping up to urge them to start. Whit's anxiety seemed to slip away as he turned to follow, instead focusing on the task that had been set - to bring his family home.