Mount Everfall clenched fist

they were gone.

the fucking rat bastard had stolen them, right from beneath the nose of Silver Creek.

Cas had flown into a rage; he had railed, shrieked, shouted. he had threatened Reek with all manner of death, and eventually he had run from the borders in a futile attempt at tracking the trio. it was to no avail, however -- they were long gone.

the boy stood alone at the base of the mountain, weeping as he had not since the death of his father. 

gone. 

there were many things arunik'ra expected to discover during her jaunt -- but a weeping male was not one of them. with great care the slender priestess slowed her steps, placing each delicate forelimb one after the other with deliberation. he would hear her, of that she was certain -- she made no attempt to mask her approach.

"seems futile, crying." the red woman intoned softily. she canted her sharp muzzle sideways, inspecting the dark wolf carefully. "what is the matter?"

As soon as Laika heard the news, she broke into fits of anger and guilt. She weeped for a few hours, then stormed around the territory, wondering how she had been so stupid to trust the dick with the pups. Their pups, not his pups. He had given up that right long ago when he fucked up Tavi. 

She saw Casmir race from the territory, and she followed him, staying out of sight. She knew how he dealt with these things, and for the most part he dealt with them alone. But when he broke down into tears, she couldn't help but dart over, but a red woman beat her to it. She eyed her carefully as she walked over to Cas, sitting beside him to nudge his shoulders.

Cas stiffened, his sob dying in his throat, as the scent of a stranger floated into his senses, accompanied by a curious, accented voice. his eyes found and held the slim red face of a woman who scrutinized him with a directness the boy immediately felt uncomfortable beneath. "n-nothing," he stammered.

to his rescue came Laika, and though he didn't want her to see him like this, he leant into her all the same. "they're gone. h-he took them," Cas gritted out in a thick voice, before his gaze fell on the stranger again. "what do you want?"

arunik'ra had not devised malignant plans for her interaction with the boy, all the same her posture somewhat stiffened as another approach. she was disappointed by the second arrival, but did her best to hide it. three had always been a crowd, and as the pale wolfess flanked the dark male it was clear they were comrades.

what did she want? arunik'ra's features spread in a bare smile. "everything." the answer was truthful, the tone contorted; a strange paradox of shaded legitimacy and distorted humor. "who is gone?"

Casmir shot her a pained look and uttered his words. "I know," she breathed, on the brink of tears. "I know."

she turned to the stranger who blurted very odd answers into the air. First, she didn't answer who she was, then she stated she wanted everything. Her words had a hint of humor in them and a low growl escaped her throat. Laika was very good at keeping calm, as she was naturally a level-headed character. However, everyone can blow their top, and today was her day. Right after the stranger inquired about who was missing, Laika stood. 

"You want to know who is missing?" She said, her voice strained and very close to a shout. "Two innocent pups are missing. Our pups!" Fat tears were streaming down her snowy cheeks now, white banner lashing behind her. "And they were stolen by a sick son of a bitch who isn't their father. He is!" She pointed to Cas with her tail. "Casmir was more of a father that he every could be!" She screeched, sides heaving.

She stared at her paws and sat down again. "We gotta get them back.." she whispered.

Cas didn't really wanna share what was going on with a perfect stranger, but Laika began to speak angrily, and he felt a lump constrict his throat. she was right. the Creek had raised Indra and Laurel like their own, and all it took was a day for that fucker Reek to spirit them away, like a crueler version of a Miyazaki film.

he nodded grimly at the woman when his mate had finished. "they're four months old. little girls, both of them. one is a pretty brown and the other has red fur. could ... could you keep a look out for them?" he asked of the ruddy stranger, his eyes searching her own pleadingly.

as cold as the priestess was, even molech's mercy touched her heart from time to time. the outburst of the white woman left her guard-hairs on end, but the soft plead of the male succeased any rising anger from the priestess.

"of course, may molech protect them." she canted her snipey muzzle to her chest and eyed them. "why not simply take them back? does one not know where he lives?"

feel free to reply any time, @Laika! just posting to wrap this up <3

Cas didn't know who Mole-ekk was, but he figured it was one of the many gods worshipped by the wolves around here. "no, not really," he answered in a clipped tone. "we will have to go back to where we started and ... move from there." the boy spoke vaguely, not really wanting to give anything away. he jerked his muzzle back in the direction of Silver Creek. "if ... if you see them, please tell the leader of our pack, Spring. We may be gone to look for the kids ourselves by then."