Sun Mote Copse Ten thousand hours and ten thousand more.

The seasons had shifted and Sundance, too young to appreciate their purpose, remained entirely unaware of his guardian's participation. His thoughts lingered solemnly on Dorea's absence, something he'd hoped would be temporary, but the continued fading of her scent throughout the corpse was beginning to trouble him more and more.

Despite the chill that came with the morning's flurry of snow, he sought @Towhee. Maybe she knew something about the two-toned girl's disappearance that he did not. When he located a fresh trail belonging to his former Alpha, innocent young Sundance failed to register the potential proximity of her companion (@Pippin) and the very real danger he could easily find himself in.

Phox was vaguely aware that Sundance was here, a wolf they had taken in during Towhee's and his reign at the grove. Towhee had been mentoring him, teaching him how to fight. Phox was also vaguely aware that Sundance had made his way to the Firebirds, but Dorea was nowhere to be found. Let's chalk most of this vagueness up to him being depressed about Fennec leaving and then getting a massive concussion. It's such a good plot device!

He'd been out looking to rouse up some grub, but so far, he'd come up empty-handed (or empty-jaw'd, if you want to get technical). Huffing, Phox realized that was Sundance just up ahead and he should probably get to know him if they were going to be living in the same pack (again). Hey! he called out, jogging as best as he could with his still-banged-up leg. Sundance, right? Towhee's told me a little bit about you, but I keep meaning to track you down myself.

The sound of a voice from behind cane as a surprise to him, and Sundance halted abruptly to blink curiously over a scrawny grey shoulder. He quietly observed the awkward gait of an approaching adult, one who was obviously not who he was looking for, and felt himself deflate.

He gathered himself swiftly as not to appear too disappointed, turned and loped in Phox' direction to quicker close the distance between them. His former Alpha seemed to be hurting, considering the way he held his leg, but what was more curious was that he... barely seemed to know who he was.

Sundance tilted his velvet ears back a little, recalling how Towhee had took him home to the den she'd shared with her brother and his kids that fateful day following his appearance on the outskirts of their territory. While he hadn't made much of an effort to embrace them with the same warmth that he did Dorea, he felt that Phox was hardly a stranger to him. 

"Yeah," he chirped, opting to play along, "what's up?"

Towhee would be a big, fat liar if she said she hadn't gone to ground for the rest of her heat and maybe cried a little (read: a lot) over the idea of Phox and Niamh. She was happy for them, truly! But hearing about her brother's and friend's hopeful prospects while facing her own bleak outlook was tough. She gave herself a good few days to wallow in the name of self-care, then emerged afterward feeling more or less back to her normal, usual self.

She was headed out for an afternoon patrol when she crossed paths with Phox and Sundance. "Hey guys," Towhee greeted, the tip of her tail waving, "what's up?" She could take a few moments to catch up with them, particularly the latter, who she looked at directly as she queried, "How're you?" Little did Towhee know that her other charge had gone missing sometime while she was busy screwing around.

Sundance seemed to recognize Phox more than the other way around. Had that knock on the head really fuzzed his memories out that bad? Phox blinked, about to respond, when Towhee waltzed up, asking the exact same question. Making sure to face Towhee, he spoke his own quick reply. Just, uh, trying to get to know the locals. Did Dorea not make it here after the landslide? He already knew about Elfie from talking with Wraen, but Dorea hadn't been mentioned as far as he could recall. Then again, that memory of his wasn't the best, so maybe he'd just missed it somehow.

Towhee's arrival brought him some comfort, and to his guardian he offered a fond smile. It was one that didn't quite reach his eyes, though he was relieved to see her in the flesh. The absence of his young companion was what primarily plagued his thoughts, and perhaps it showed in his response: "I'm okay, I just..."

He stalled, unsure how to bring such concerns to light even as Phox spoke Dorea's name. Powder blue eyes flitted from one Redhawk to the other, before he lowered his gaze sadly down toward his Winter-white forepaws. "She did. I'm worried about her," Sundance announced, and the words caused his chest to tighten. "I haven't seen her in days, and... I can't even find a sniff of her."

Something seemed amiss with Sundance, making Towhee's gaze linger on him so that she missed Phox's remarks entirely. She waited for the youngster to complete his thoughts, meeting them with a little twitch of her head and a loud blink. Immediately, she tried to remember the last time she'd seen the girl. They'd sparred a few weeks back and she'd seen her in passing since then, surely, but Towhee couldn't quite pinpoint their most recent crossing.

"I haven't seen her recently either," Towhee admitted, frowning. "When and where did you last see her? Did she say anything?" She felt a flash of guilt. She had been so preoccupied lately. Then again, both pups were nearing adulthood, so Towhee hadn't exactly kept close tabs on them at all times. And she supposed Dorea could've simply left. Sugar had done it, although she'd given everyone plenty of notice.

She glanced at Phox, wondering if he knew anything about Dorea's whereabouts. Looking at him reminded her of their recent heart-to-heart and she felt that guilt thicken in her veins. Maybe it was a good thing she couldn't reproduce, if she couldn't even look after her orphans properly.

Towhee must not have seen him speak, and Sundance seemed too distracted to answer his question. Apparently she had made it here at one point, but had recently gone off the radar. A part of Phox felt a tiny bit responsible, but what could he have done? He had been busy recovering with the Frosthawks, and he wasn't much use as a scout these days with a bum leg. But perhaps they could at least alert the pack to Dorea's absence and keep an eye out for her.

-Is it possible she took a trip to the Firebirds? Or maybe just went on a scouting mission?- Phox spoke as well as signed so Towhee could more easily follow. He couldn't remember if Dorea had been interested in scouting previously. Surely she knew of the Firebirds, so maybe she'd wanted to dip out unnoticed and take some time to... who knows? Phox was just trying to think of all the good scenarios right now.

After a little bit of back-and-forth, they all came to the realization that Dorea really missing. Phox, being mostly useless to the conversation, came away from it feeling more downtrodden than he had anticipated.