Blackfeather Woods And all the roads we have to walk are winding

@Rowan if you have time <3

Except for when she was sleeping, Taktuq mostly kept to herself, and Taki didn't push her to talk or spend time with her. She stayed within the borders and worked on her hunting skills, and so she felt like her niece deserved to spend her time how she wanted. 

But that meant she was often alone with her thoughts. She missed Taikon even more than she had anticipated; she was most reminded of this in the moments where she had no one to distract her. Nothing distracted her from the worry, though. Every second of the day, she wondered if Taikon was still okay. She knew he was more than capable and had wandered on his own long before they met, but none of that soothed her fear that she might not ever see him again. There were many things against him: winter, the mountains, a cougar, Sagtannet—they were all things that popped into her mind and caused it to terrorize her with all the bad things that could happen, or might have already happened. 

So she often found herself patrolling the borders; she told herself it was to keep busy, and that really had been her intention. But as more time went by, her patrols became more of an obsession; she walked the edges of the territory hoping that maybe he would return early and she would see his form approaching. She stopped often to scan the horizon anyway, but now it was not only to look for things that shouldn't be there. 

Today had been the same as the days before, though—there was no sign of Taikon. With a lump in her chest, she pushed through her patrol anyway, at least making sure he had a safe place to rest when he did get home.

Rowan had new members to look after.
He was...distant. He had forgotten how to socialise. How to make sure his packmates were safe and well. It just shows how easily he could slip into a primal state, one which kept him from functioning properly as the alpha.

He had no one to miss. Not intimately, anyway. He missed Tundra - and missed Maegi less and less. After she snapped. He didn't know what to think...but he didn't want her back, just for her to be safe. and not alone.

He meandered along the border. Nose fixed to the ground. testing to see who had stayed. Or who foolishly left before winter.
He lifted his head at last and spotted a wolf. He must've been moving quicker than he thought. Or Takiyok was moving rather slowly. 
He chuffed, trotting up, noting the worry in her featured as be came alongside.
"What's up?"

She wasn't alone for long: soon one of the leaders was coming up beside her, asking her what was up. She nodded once in greeting, quiet for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts; she had been a little lost in them as she worried over the things she could not control. 

I am patrolling, she told Rowan. Then she paused and released a soft sigh. And waiting for Taikon to return. He went to Easthollow to talk to my brother—let him know his daughter is with us and safe. She stopped to rub against a tree, placing her scent there so it would mark the borders and tell anyone close enough the territory was very much claimed. I am growing more worried every day he does not return, she admitted after another short pause. Maybe it would help to talk to someone about it rather than internally stew over it and drive herself crazy with worry.

Ahh so sorry!!

He gave the northern woman a look. It would be a soft nudge if a look could have such a form.
Patrolling wasn't much of an answer. No, he could smell her worry, see it pressing on her body, weighing her shoulders.
He was about to push when she spoke, so he shut his trap and let her explain.
Easthollow...Minnow! It was her family who'd lived there!
But...he didn't want her to leave. And she said they'd all gone anyway, so he saw no point in telling her, taking her.
Minnow would stay here.

"And you didn't go with him?" Perhaps to assure him and Zeph that they weren't up and leaving all of a sudden. Maybe something else. She seemed well enough.
"I'm sure he will return safely. The Daedra will bring him back," he didn't know if she believed, or if Taikon did at all. Though Rowan did, and he'd leave an offering to Sithis in return for Taikon. He might need something more than a rabbit for that.

He drifted closer, letting their fur touch, but not enough for a larger nudge. He didn't know what she'd make of it. But he offered her a warm smile. 

Taki shook her head. My niece, Taktuq, is here with us; she was chased from her home and is very traumatized. I could not leave her here with wolves she does not yet know. She would have gone with Taikon otherwise; of course, without Taktuq, there would be no reason to leave in the first place. We decided it was best for him to go and for me to stay. And so she waited and worried, everyday, without fail.

She looked at the man curiously. The Daedra? she asked. She wasn't sure she had heard of this Daedra, and she wondered what it had to do with Taikon returning. 

She might have bristled at the contact, but she was feeling quite on edge lately, and the comfort was nice. Normally, she would go to Taikon for that, but the leader was a decent alternative.