Golden Glade look what's left of my bled heart

He had wandered a messy path that tangled across the this side of the Tuktu and eventually.. he did turn back to the Glade. Early on, maybe just a few times, he considered not looking back at all when he couldn't find true sign of Tambourine anywhere. But, he had nowhere else to be and no leads to run on. With a few days worth of panicked searching and not eating under his belt, fatigue had set in quickly so going further than he had just wasn't happening right now.

The Ostrega went back with a heavy, defeated heart, not knowing what would even await for him there at the Glade. He had left without a single word to anyone so he hoped that despite having nothing to show for it, that it could be understood why he'd tried. 

Silas crept back to the forest's edge late in the night and slumped in a tired heap near the boundaries. He dozed fitfully for who-knows-how-long, anxious and exhausted at the same time. He felt like he could sleep for months and still not feel better, anyway, but at least resting his legs felt better. 

In his fleeting moments of awareness, he peered into the woods with a somber, blank look about him — too tired and sad to do any better.

Dagfinn hadn't known Silas well. They hadn't interacted much, and he'd not partaken in the cuddle puddle that'd cemented Dagfinn's bond to Reek and Jhala. But that did not mean that he wasn't pack, or that Dagfinn didn't feel a sense of duty toward him.

When he scented him on the borders after so long, he did not think much of it, really. Wolves had always come and gone in his natal pack - sometimes leaving for months before returning with news from the World Beyond. But there was a sickly, tired aura about the boy's scent that Dagfinn soon found himself investigating. He grabbed a rabbit from one of the caches and trotted out to find his pack mate.

"Are you okay?" Dagfinn asked when he came upon the other male, a bit puzzle and a little worried. He nudged the rabbit toward the younger male, glad now that he'd thought to bring something. He'd heard of bad scouting trips, but wasn't this excessive? And why did Silas smell so... sad?

Dagfinn wagged his tail at the other, not really knowing what to do aside from stand there and feel very sorry.

He felt pitiful, and very much looked the part. Noticing Dagfinn's approach didn't seem to happen soon enough and when it did, Silas gave him an unintentionally wary look with his ears folded back. A little more upset at himself for that, and feeling all around bad in general still, Silas tried to straighten himself to at least something almost sphinx-like.

Are you okay? Which, immediately, had the dark Ostrega frowning more. Not really. He wouldn't outright say this, though.

He hadn't felt overly okay in a pretty long time. Some cozy, quaint moments between him and Tambourine had been the closest thing to it, but there was always that looming feeling of something bad breathing down his neck. Which lo and behold, here it was, making him feel like absolute shit all over again after it ripped the last single thing he'd been able to actually care about away from him. "I didn't find Tambourine," he grated out, and coughed once to clear his throat. Like this was meant to explain everything and why he was so torn up about it. But Dagfinn probably wouldn't get the lengths of it all. Silas barely knew him beyond his name, scent, and face — not that he had been generous with the friendship on his end either.

"Is it.. still, um, all okay here?" he asked hollowly and looked away to grimace more. Could Dagfinn understand either of these issues, he wondered blearily in his tired head. Tambourine could, but Tambourine had been a different matter entirely.

Dagfinn knew Tambourine by name as well, and had even a little more insight on him than he had on Silas. He thought of his conversation with Reek and what the man had said about their younger packmate, and then wondered if this was something that Silas was also familiar with.

"Reek said he was upset by the way we took this land," Dagfinn admitted, sitting down and shooting the other wolf a querying look. He was still not quite sure he was welcome here, but neither was he sure he wanted to leave Silas all alone. "Everything is fine - but I'm sure Reek and Jhala will be relieved to know you're back."

Reek had been relieved, after all, by Dagfinn's return.

With his ears still tilted all the way back, he watched Dagfinn sit from the corner of his eye at best. "Yeah.." he said, not intending to elaborate. Tambourine had been upset with the way things had gone down and the tracker felt like he was the one who knew this better than any other. "But he didn't say he'd go like that." Not without me. Even when the sterling boy had left to go scout about, Silas had usually known about it. If it was discontent that drove them to leave the Glade entirely and not look back, he had pictured it being the two of them together, or at the very minimum after some sort of discussion. Missing all of this, and his friend included, evidently left him quite heartbroken.

Even with the assurances from his packmate that it was fine, Silas couldn't make himself get rid of the uneasiness pooling weightily all around him. Thinking about Reek and Jhala didn't do much to soothe him any, either. Instead he nervously shifted because none of it still made sense; he didn't actually contribute to them anything except a warm body with some potential for better, and without Tambourine here, Silas doubted himself before the alphas more than ever before. He wasn't finding himself much like either of them, and neither did he feel overly compelled to get to know them.. which he felt bad about it, and of course painfully out of place. "I don't know about it.." he exhaled with a great, tired sigh. These ugly thoughts were too heavy.

"I did smell, uh.. Moonbrook? Somewhere random out there — then lost her trail by the river. Has.. she been back at all?" he asked, although cared far less whether or not she returned. Silas was suspicious with these disappearances coinciding so neatly and this seemed a worthwhile topic to segue into while it was on his worried mind.

Sorry for the long wait on this. You can tack on an ending if you want, or we can keep going. It's up to you!

Dagfinn turned his head away while Silas spoke. He didn't know what to make of all this except that it was just like when Duskvale disbanded. Everyone went away, one-by-one. Even Saena had left him. And he'd tried to follow Tryphon for a time, but after that storm... all scents had been lost to him. He'd been so overjoyed to see Jhala, another wolf even if she was only a stranger - but the relief was wearing off.

"I haven't seen her, either," he admited, his voice solemn.

Would this pack go the same way that Duskvale had?

<3

Silas swallowed thickly, and felt his frown get even heavier. "Oh," the Ostrega sighed. Dagfinn's words did not bode well. He didn't like any of it, and neither did he have anything particularly useful to say to that. Maybe he would try to track her down if he ever caught wind of her. Mostly, he did still intend to check here and there out in the wilds for Tambourine, but he would not be able to stray far comfortably so he knew it was better to not bring it up. Inevitably, he just knew he would feel bad about it, some way, some how.

Lacking further commentary, he let silence fall between them and was content to leave it there. With frightening ideas looming, he was afraid to look any deeper. Whether Dagfinn stayed to zone out with him or not, he didn't seem to care. There would be no motivating him right now, so he'd wallow until that changed.

Dagfinn remained a while longer, hovering awkwardly by the almost-stranger. He felt as though he ought to do something or call someone, but it didn't seem like Silas wanted help any more than he wanted company.

Muttering a farewell under his breath, the dark male padded past his packmate and out into the wilds, intent on getting away from the territory for a while.