The trees were held together by a webbing of mist which muted the autumnal colors that surrounded her as she paced the rendezvous. Every breath she took did not feel like enough; too short, too quick, too frequent. @Lilitu wasn't here; she wasn't anywhere that Ibis could think to look and she had been looking all night. It did not feel right to return to where @Akavir and @Arielle slept without her daughter in tow. This was a moment that Ibis had dreaded; it was her deepest fear realized.
She had to keep on looking. So she made a decision right there - that instant - not to return to the den where her husband slept and guarded their remaining daughter: Ibis would leave the empire and track down the missing piece of their family. Akavir could protect the little girl sleeping there in the den and Ibis would employ everything she knew of the terrain and the surrounding territories in order to hunt down their missing girl.
As she choked down the erratic feeling of dread which caught at the back of her throat, Ibis tried to steel herself against a myriad of negative thoughts as they swarmed through her mind. Images of Lilitu's body pressed in to the wet mud of the nearby mire; the black silhouette of a bear with a limp shape hanging from its teeth; circling carrion birds descending along any of the nearby ridges where they tuck in to an easy meal; or worst of all the mental image of Takeshi holding the girl captive somewhere. The various possibilities would spin on for hours but they would fuel Ibis, keep her focused.
Away she would go - following the most likely path of her tiny daughter, winding her way deftly along corridors between the trees or along the mountainous paths. Sniffing at every spot small enough to hide her, then moving on to the next, and the next. 'You are a terrible mother,' she could not help but think to herself as she went, 'How could you let this happen? This is your fault.'
When she got to the top of the ridge Ibis could look down upon the vale, but she didn't. Instead she took a nervous breath and began the arduous task of climbing down the other side, set on her quest.
She had to keep on looking. So she made a decision right there - that instant - not to return to the den where her husband slept and guarded their remaining daughter: Ibis would leave the empire and track down the missing piece of their family. Akavir could protect the little girl sleeping there in the den and Ibis would employ everything she knew of the terrain and the surrounding territories in order to hunt down their missing girl.
As she choked down the erratic feeling of dread which caught at the back of her throat, Ibis tried to steel herself against a myriad of negative thoughts as they swarmed through her mind. Images of Lilitu's body pressed in to the wet mud of the nearby mire; the black silhouette of a bear with a limp shape hanging from its teeth; circling carrion birds descending along any of the nearby ridges where they tuck in to an easy meal; or worst of all the mental image of Takeshi holding the girl captive somewhere. The various possibilities would spin on for hours but they would fuel Ibis, keep her focused.
Away she would go - following the most likely path of her tiny daughter, winding her way deftly along corridors between the trees or along the mountainous paths. Sniffing at every spot small enough to hide her, then moving on to the next, and the next. 'You are a terrible mother,' she could not help but think to herself as she went, 'How could you let this happen? This is your fault.'
When she got to the top of the ridge Ibis could look down upon the vale, but she didn't. Instead she took a nervous breath and began the arduous task of climbing down the other side, set on her quest.
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