Blacktail Deer Plateau Terrors in my head

His leg was rather stiff after last night's rainfall, so Peregrine spent the day relaxing at the rendezvous site. His family members came and went throughout the day. The fact that Osprey alone never made an appearance didn't concern him in the least. Hawkeye had told him of their offspring's recent field trip and he wasn't stupid enough to think a rebuke would stop her. The pups were three months old now and it was time to start loosening the reigns, much as he hated to do it.

Only when Junior didn't show up for supper, especially when called directly, did Peregrine feel a cold stone of dread form in his stomach. Without a word, he swept from the clearing on his three good legs, locating his daughter's trail and tracking it. It led to the plateau's borders (no surprises there). For the first time in a long time, Peregrine risked the sloping towpath down into neutral territory. Osprey's trail led him to the riverbank and his heartbeat sped up at first, then sank when her trail disappeared... right into the water.

His eyes scanned the river and Peregrine felt bile rising in his throat. The water was moving very rapidly, the result of the rainfall overnight. He knew Osprey loved swimming and he and the other adults had cautioned her about the risks, telling her never to go near water alone. But this was Osprey; she never listened! Horror began to dawn on him when he realized the fate she'd most likely met.

But before he could accept that she might have drowned, Peregrine would send out a search party. Lifting his muzzle toward the evening sky, he howled imperiously, begging any free wolf to come to him. The Alpha male could unfortunately not participate in the search (he cursed himself wildly in his head) but he would send out others in his stead. They would scour every inch of Teekon Wilds before giving up on Osprey Jr.

As reluctant as she was to speak to Peregrine, Hawkeye searched frantically for him. Kisu had said that the girl was not with him or the other pups, which meant that she was with Peregrine.

Except he had moved from the site with a leg that was still healing. Wide-eyed, the mother looked around, noting nothing with her eyes. It was only after hearing Peregrine's faint howl that her stomach dropped and she bolted to him.

And when she came upon the edge of the plateau, her fears were confirmed; he stood near the river.

Her world crashed around her as she ran as hard as she could to the water. Her breath was quick and her eyes rapid as she looked into the water and down the river. Wide eyes finally set upon Peregrine's face, pure panic shown on her own.

Blue Willow heard the panicked howl and scrabbling to her feet; she left her unfinished meal sitting and ran towards it. What on earth was going on and why did Peregrine sound so terrible? She hoped on all that was holy, that it was not one of the pups it would crush her own soul as well as everyone else’s. As she bolted towards the sound she slowed and her heart gave a painful squeeze as she looked at the river and both the panic stricken expressions of the parents. oh heavens preserve us. She mumbled under her breath and she continued forward with her tail lowered and her eyes half mast.

Peregrine Hawkeye what is going on? And what do you want me to do? IN this case the parents would have the upmost attention, they could give the orders, it was their child. Blue would do everything in her power she could to find one of the children, though she was certain only one child would ever not heed direction completely and that was Junior. She stood waiting for orders, if there were none forthcoming she would just began to search on her own, she would go pack to pack if she had to.

You guys can skip me in subsequent rounds, I know I've been slow with Saena and she won't go down unless beckoned down.

Osprey Jr. had been oddly absent of late, though it was just because the girl was always out adventuring. Although Saēna, being one of the biggest divas going, hadn't really cared if she never saw her bi-eyed former bully again, she began to feel the faintest stirrings of concern when Junior hadn't come home for dinner. No matter what she said and no matter how she denied it, she looked up to Junior. Peregrine instantly left to go look for his wayward daughter, while Saēna took the opportunity to eat with Tytonidae and Pura. Only when Peregrine didn't immediately return did the aspiring young Outrider go in search of him.

She tracked him almost flawlessly through the plateau's forest, losing his trail only once and relocating it in record time. She emerged on the edge of the plateau in time to see Hawkeye and Blue Willow frantically running to Peregrine's summoning howl. Biology made her lurch forward, eager to respond, but she made herself stop on the very precipice of the plateau. Straining forward, Saēna tried to deduce what had happened.

But she was young, and the adults gathered around the river didn't connect with Junior's disappearance in her head.

by this time, lasher had become accustomed to peregrine's summons — they had a pleasing effect upon him. but ears swept forward at the desperate note in the panther's voice, his call ranging out over the trees. peregrine was quiet, discrete in his seeking out of taltos; this was something different, changed, and dread raked cold fingers down his spine.

he was swift, and arrived at the lash of the river. the woman who was mother to osprey junior stood near, and the willow, the dark wolves caught up in a palpable aura of fear. making his way past the child called saēna, lasher let himself down the steep path and stepped among them. peregrine, he murmured softly, though his eyes were for the snarl of the high waters. his heart was a stone thudding to its bed, and he fervently prayed, for the devil's sake, that his daughter had not been taken to her fate by the cold ribbon.

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Wolves began to disappear from the dinner table. Pura barely noticed until it was his sister's turn to leave, and he still finished his mouthful and grabbed another for the road before following her. The siblings shared a keen sense of smell, but Pura was markedly slower than the sprightly little imp, and very easily distracted.

It wasn't until he emerged at the plateu's border that the idea that something might be wrong occurred to Pura - but like Saēna, he didn't connect the feeling with Junior's absence (had she been absent?). He brushed up against his sister, and the two stood like two miniature sentries above the sly, secretive river.

Skip me too! I just wanted Pura to react.

The two of them shared the rigors of parenthood equally and treated each other with a distant civility, yet barely spoke directly to one another these days. But when Hawkeye raced up to him, Peregrine gazed at his former mate with pure, raw emotion etched into the dark planes of his face. "Hawkeye," he began in a wrenching half-sob, "it's Junior. Her trail disappears into the water." As he looked at her, he saw the panic on her face and, without thinking, reached out to touch the side of her neck with his nose, comforting and drawing comfort at the same time. Only Hawkeye could understand and empathize with the depth of his terror and grief.

Others came: Blue Willow and Lasher ran up to the two stricken parents while Saēna and Pura appeared overhead, keeping vigil. As he looked up at his foster children, Peregrine felt as if some terrible force was knifing right through his heart. Seeing them made him ache horribly for Osprey Jr. He wanted to grasp those two and Tytonidae and never, ever let them out of his sight again. None of them would be allowed near water into the foreseeable future.

"We have to search for her. We can't give up hope. There's the possibility she just washed downstream..." Peregrine heard himself saying, though he felt like he was drifting somewhere far away. Looking into Lasher's eyes gave him something of an anchor and he clung to it desperately. His voice strengthened as he added, "I can't go, so I'll stay here in case she comes home. I'll ask Atticus to help me keep the borders fortified and we'll watch the kids with Amelie's help." His voice wavered, broke. "Every other warm body will be sent out to look for her in shifts. You three go. I'll find Dante, Kisu, Kaskara and Fireblaze and they'll relieve you in the morning."

I hope it's okay if I join. Kas likes Junior. <3

Kaskara had been lounging in the last hours of warmth when the panicked howl of her alpha rose in the air. Terror tore through her heart at the thought of something gone terribly wrong with Osprey Junior, the first member of the pack to greet her after her alpha, and she immediately set her paws running toward their den site. She saw that others were there, but had eyes only for her dark alpha.

She bowed low to him and briefly to Blue Willow before crouching in the clearing, using her nose to gather Junior's scent to her, wondering where on earth the child could have got to. His last words died as she arrived, but she was here nonetheless. She would do as she was bid. She did not need to say it aloud, for her eyes told Peregrine all he needed to know, I am here.

Junior's absence didn't go by unnoticed when supper was served, her usual screams and loud chomping noises were replaced by an eerie silence that made Peregrine retire early from the dinner table. At first the young pup-sitter didn't think much of it, perhaps Junior had been sent to bed early for bad behaviour, although deep in her heart Amelie knew Peregrine wouldn't do such a thing to his little darling. He had a oft spot for her.

Suddenly Hawkeye left too, and before the teen could whisper a faint 'whats going on?' in her foster mother's ear she was running after them. Amelie's ears swiveled and her expression turned sour when she hear Peregrine's howl pierce the tranquility of the clearing. She debated on whether she should go to or not, perhaps it was an adult thing and she'd be better off staying with the pups. But her decision quickly changed when she saw Saēna take off after the adults,later followed by Pura.

Inmidiately she lunged after them, the best she could do in a situation of panic was keep the pups secure, "Pura! Saēna!" she called after them as the three of them arrived to the scene. And what a morbid scene. The once intimidating and confident leader she had met was just a shadow of what Perry had now become. His eyes betrayed the panic and anxiety in his heart.

Amelie didn't yet understand what was happening for she had arrived when Peregrine's last words had faded, but whatever it was that was happening, was bad and Osprey's name was involved. Without bothering to ask the ebony teenager stepped protectively over the pups, pressing her nose against their cheeks to confort them --or comfort herself. She liked the tiny bully to bits.

How the heck did I miss all this? 0.0 just wanted Dante to be here for support, don't mind him lol

Dante had come as soon as he heard Peregrine's howl, the quality of the call bringing him as fast as his legs would carry him. Breathless, he heard Peregrine talking of finding someone.... was someone missing?

Knowing he'd probably missed that important explanation of who, his ears laid back momentarily. Lately he'd done a pretty horrid job of keeping up with everyone in the pack. There was just so much. But he'd made it here, at least, and whatever Peregrine wanted him to do, he would. If someone was missing (and Dante could only assume that someone was likely one of the pups), then to start looking immediately was the obvious course of action.

Peregrine's obvious distress made his stomach drop, however. Whatever the situation, it couldn't look good. Thinking of the four exuberant pups he was so used to seeing terrorizing the Plateau, he sent a silent prayer up that whoever it was would be found without harm.

I'm going to post again as Pura's actions have no bearing on what's going on, so I figure posting order isn't that important?

Down below, Peregrine barked frantic orders. Pura acknowledged Amelie's presence with a backward flick of the ear, but didn't take his eye off the gathering of wolves by the river. Even though he heard and understood the words that were being exchanged, they had no gravity. Were they sad? Angry? He sensed discord, but there were endless variations of emotion that fit that description. It was 'not good' when Junior let a deuce drop in the bedroom, just as Peregrine's near miss accident had been 'not good' - their relative position on the scale was harder to work out.

Amelie's nose found the boy's cheek. He allowed it, having added the dark teen to his short list of individuals that were permitted to touch him. Every day, it became harder to append another name.

Ditto Karm.

Amelie arrived behind the pair of pups, and Saēna swung back her head to briefly acknowledge the babysitter. She hadn't noticed Pura approach, but some sort of faux telepathic bond had suggested he had arrived (or so she would claim). She was somewhat less acquainted with the swarthy girl, and therefore shuffled away when the other touched her. Her attention returned to the gathering below and raptly she absorbed what they were doing.

Peregrine was acting as commander, while other unfamiliar wolves assembled. Lasher, Kaskara, and Dante all arrived on the scene, but Saēna had met none of them, so she didn't really care about them. The frantic tone of her father's voice was worrisome, but like Pura, she couldn't imagine the weight of the situation. Surely she would soon understand, but presently, it was just like Osprey Jr. was playing hide-and-seek and the adults needed to find her before sundown.

Fireblaze raced out after her leaders call. Racing frantically towards his scent, she called out "Perry!" Sniffing, she also scented Osprey. She saw the raging waters, and realized that the scents led there. Osprey wouldn't swim downstream, would she? Did she get swept away?

Sniffing, she caught a faint trace of the scent of Osprey. "Perry", she called, facing him, then scenting downstream. "I smell her scent. Osprey's. Come smell here, and walk downstream." Sniffing the trail downstream, she caught another wolves scent.

"Perry," she called uncertainly, unable to determine the scent. "I smell two wolves. Osprey, and an unknown scent. I think something went down here. I'll be back soon." She raced off down stream, every once in a while catching a scent of Osprey and the other wolf. Pausing for a moment, she wondered, where does the water go?


(OOC:Sorry I am sooooooo late. Hope this helps.)

This will be my only post in this thread.

Atticus wasn't far from where Peregrine's howl went up, doing a few last quick patrols of their boundaries before night fell in full. His brother's howl was wrenching, for the emotion and terror that rang loudly in its tones. He made his way quickly toward the others; by the time he arrived, he'd missed much of what was said, but he was intuitive enough and could read his brother well enough to know that something had happened to Junior. He pieced it together himself, and the fact that they were all standing here at the river told him all he needed to know. He caught Peregrine's eye, gave him a reassuring nod as if to say I'll find her, then took off downstream. Lasher, Blue Willow, and Hawkeye would be searching the rivershore, so that was taken care of. Atticus planned to scout the fringes of their packlands near where they met the rivershore, and fan out from there in a pattern that would cover a great deal of territory. He wouldn't sleep until she was found and safely brought back home again.

Blue willow did not wait for anymore than that, she just took off down the stream line, her nose to the ground. She would do her best to find the little pup, her insides froze at the thought of losing her. And if they did not immediately start to search her scent would become stale. She threw her whole self into the search determined to find the little girl if she could before the day was through.

She was afraid and she was worried, but she pushed all her thoughts to the back of her mind, determined to focus only on finding her best friends daughter and Atticus's neice and poor hawkeye she had enough going on, she didn't need to lose her daughter too.

Blues last post

last post for me also

he gave a single nod as peregrine spoke, and dashed into action as the others did; he spotted blue's form streamlining itself, atticus' muscular frame lashing into action some ways away. lasher himself followed the willow's example, and elongated his stride until he was running, heart pounding within his chest, praying to whatever god would listen for osprey's life.

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As if speaking their names had summoned them, Kaskara, Dante and Fireblaze appeared one after the other. Peregrine looked at them, a stricken look on his face, and said simply, "You may start searching now or relieve the others when they return to rest." He had originally intended for them to take shifts, yet suddenly that idea seemed ludicrous. They needed as much manpower as possible during these crucial first hours.

Fireblaze's calls distracted him. Heart lurching into his throat, he jogged to sniff the ground where she stood. She took off before he could say anything to her, yet Peregrine ignored her for the moment as he combed the shore. Yet he smelled nothing, neither Osprey nor the scent of any other wolf. He ran back and forth, then in his frustration looked in the direction Fireblaze had gone. Yet she'd already disappeared downriver.

She's fucking crazy, thought to himself with dismay. Turning back to the others who remained, Peregrine repeated, "I will stay here in case she wanders home or someone else brings her back here." Watching them all disappearing in various directions and leaving him standing there was quite possibly the worst feeling in the world. Peregrine felt helpless and useless. Yet he had his part to play.

After poring over the shore one last time and finding nothing, the Alpha male slowly retreated up the slope and joined Amelie, Saēna and Pura on the ledge. "Where's Ty? Amelie, can you go find her?" he said distractedly even as he motioned for the two pups to come closer as he seated himself. Here he would keep vigil as the search parties spread out into the wilderness. Never before a spiritual man, Peregrine found himself hoping and praying for his little girl's safe return.