Hideaway Strath Knight of the seven kingdoms

The earth shook, and now, several days later, Fennec hadn't been accounted for. Phox had always considered himself a decent tracker, but she was nowhere to be seen. Clenching his jaw, he headed to the rendezvous site, empty-handed yet again. His blind daughter, still shy of half a year, was gone. There was no denying it, and he slumped down on the ground, looking as dejected as he felt. How could he be so stupid? How could he ever expect her to be able to be on her own? Why hadn't he been there for her? Phox had tried so hard to be a good father, and look where it had gotten him.

The Kilonova remained there, feeling sorry for himself and feeling as though he had lost her forever. Maybe Ruenna had been right. Maybe he should have tried harder to fix Fennec's sight. Maybe he should have sought out more medics than just Raven. Maybe, maybe, maybe...

hope you don’t mind dorea jumping in

She had been poking around in hopes of catching Towhee, maybe seeing if there was anything that specifically needed to be done around here. There she found someone else though. They almost looked brooding looming around the rendezvous site. She debated slinking away from them while she could and seeking out the deaf Kilnova somewhere else. Her stomach clenched before it churned uncomfortably. She had promised to be helpful during her stay here. How would she be helpful if she slipped away without even making sure they were okay?

The Quark shifted her weight awkwardly before she strode a bit closer, letting out a soft rumble to give away her presence — assuming she had not already been spotted. You okay? She asked warily as her ears pulled back slightly.

He knew Dorea by name and sight, as he did with all the wolves of the grove, but not much else. She was a relatively new addition to their group, but that didn’t make him like her any less. Each wolf that was here was his responsibility in a way, and he was glad that each of them still here had stuck around. Not that he harbored any ill will toward those that had left. He had left his home once, too.

Fennec is nowhere to be found, he said, not even bothering with signing this time. It was unlikely that Dorea had picked up on that just yet. I don’t think we’re going to find her. Even if they did, he was scared of what they might find after so much time had passed since they’d last seen her. Could she even survive on her own? Likely not.

It was worrying news. Even if she hadn't been terrible close to Fennec, Dorea still worried for her. Not long ago she had been out there on her own. It had been rough as is but well...Fennec was blind and the Quark could not imagine what slew of other challenges that would bring forth. She couldn't say that though. Something about stay positive and hoping for the best...

I could help. She softly offered. I'm still kinda small I could maybe wiggle into some places the adults can't go. Maybe Fennec was just hiding out in some small burrow waiting to be found. She didn't think about the larger picture at hand, the core of survival for the rogue child.

Phox give the girl a halfhearted smile. She meant well, he knew, but it was hard for him to think optimistically considering the circumstances. It had barely registered to him that Dorea wasn’t fully grown. He couldn’t remember what her backstory had been, but that was likely because he hadn’t asked. I appreciate that, he replied, but I don’t want you to get yourself into trouble on account of Fennec. He paused then, wondering if Dorea might help him in another way.

How hard was it for you when you were on your own? He knew it would be harder for Fennec, but she had always adapted so well.