Northstar Vale no peace of mind

@Arsenio, @Tamar, @Towhee
hiiii aw!

Mereo was gone. He had gotten close enough to the borders of the canyon to pick up scents he didn't know. He knew the canyon and these mountains well, so he had taken a familiar path that brought him to a lookout over the territory that he once called home; where his family had grown. But there was no one he had known. In his absence, something had happened. 

Now he found himself on the borders of Epoch, relieved to find it was still in the valley. He didn't pick up the imperator's scent anywhere, and he worried about what might have happened to the former leader of Mereo. What of his children? Were they here now or dispersed? Whatever the case, this was a good place to get some answers. 

Kallik called out over the valley, to his old friends, to whoever might be patrolling, to anyone with answers.

Towhee only came home for short visits between legs of her search. So far, she hadn’t found a single clue pointing to her mate’s whereabouts. She couldn’t even find a scent trail, which was as mysterious as it was troubling.

After checking in with the pups, Towhee left them in capable hands and headed out again to keep looking. She knew it was futile but she couldn’t quite stop herself, at least not yet, and so she plodded stalwartly toward the edge of the vale.

When she looked up from her own forepaws and saw a familiar face at the borders, her heart did a funny flip in her chest. What was Kallik doing here? Did he know something about Maxim? Towhee rushed toward him.

-“Kallik? What are you doing here? Have you seen Maxim?”-

Towhee was the one who greeted him, though he knew she wouldn't have heard his call. So she must have been patrolling. He watched as she signed her question. Maxim? No, he answered and shook his head. 

Is his disappearance related to whatever happened in Mereo? I was at the canyon and another pack claims it. Where is the imperator? It was a lot of questions thrown at her, but he was worried. He thought Mereo would be there forever, but he should know better than anyone that nothing is forever.

He shook his head and Towhee grappled with the feeling of dismay that speared through her. Before she could quite get a grip, Kallik asked her if Maxim’s disappearance had anything to do with the pack residing in the canyon. Of course, that thought had crossed her mind many times. Her jaw suddenly clenched tightly and her toes grasped at the earth like claws.

-“They’re called Tikal. They moved in like a bunch of fuckin’ ninjas not long after Mereo cleared out,”- Towhee seethed, her angst about this issue exacerbated by her distress over her mate. -“I have no idea where Germanicus went. He married and dumped my daughter, then fucked off into the sunset. The pack didn’t survive long after that.”-

Thoughts whipped and whirled around her head, though Towhee slowly realized she still didn’t know what Kallik was doing here. Where had he been? Where was Aquene? And what about their sons?

-“Where’s Aquene and the boys?”- she asked, trying to remember the last time she’d seen or heard from any of them.

He deserted Mereo? That didn't sound like the imperator at all. After everything he had taught Kallik and his stance on deserters, he had left Mereo? But then, so had Kallik, so who was he to judge? The longer he lived, the more he realized life was never as black and white as he liked to think it was. He had also left Towhee's daughter, which Kallik could tell did not go over well with Towhee, but then he understood that. If someone hurt one of his sons, he would be just as angry. 

I cannot believe he deserted Mereo...it doesn't sound like the imperator. Not that he didn't believe her, just that he was stunned by the news.

As for his own family: I do not know where Aquene is. I have been looking for her... It was all he really wanted to say on the matter because it was too painful. No one understood him like Aquene, and now she was gone. He wanted to bury that hurt deep inside him where he wouldn't have to think about it very often. But his sons—were they gone too? Nanuq is not here? he asked. His heart stuttered in his chest. When I was here last, Nanuq was living here...and he is not anymore? Then what about Siku? Kallik would need to go check as soon as he was able.

-“Yeah,”- Towhee could only concur, -“I think he went to be with Rue but I don’t know all the details,”- and, at the moment, she didn’t give a rat’s ass about Germanicus.

But she certainly felt empathetic when Kallik reported he didn’t know his wife’s whereabouts. Fuck, she thought. Towhee hated that she knew exactly how that felt now.

-“Neither Nanuq or Siku is here,”- she relayed the bad news. -“I’m sorry, Kallik, I wish I had better news. Maxim went missing very recently and we just lost Leo not long ago. It’s… fuck…”-

Towhee could only shake her head and grimace. She went still a moment later, when a thought struck her. Do as I say, not as I do, she thought wryly before opening her mouth.

-“I’ve been searching for him, even though I’ve always said it’s a waste of time looking for those who’re lost. If I was smarter, I’d just stay put and wait for him to show up. I’m not, though maybe you are? Maybe you could stay here and see if your family comes back.”-

He supposed it was easier to understand and easier to swallow if he left to be with Rue. Their relationship had been strong. They had children together. This he could live with, even if it did still hurt to imagine being a part of a pack where the imperator was not his leader. 

So Nanuq was definitely gone. He would look for him too, and he would look for Siku if he wasn't where Kallik had last seen him. He would look for his entire family as long as he lived. And it seemed Towhee knew exactly how he felt. Kallik nodded. It is...difficult to continue on without the ones who were meant to be with you forever, he offered. 

Towhee asked him to stay here. She said it was smarter than to wander around and have no home base where others could come to him if they found their way back. He couldn't deny the soundness of the logic, nor could he ignore the relief he felt to know that Towhee hadn't gone anywhere. It seemed they could both use a friend. He hadn't planned on staying; he had planned to wander and search. But when she laid it out like she had, it was hard not to want to stay. Kallik sighed and nodded. You are right...I should stay here while I search for them in case they make their way here like I did.

Her lips pulled into a grim line of acknowledgement at his understatement. The only reason she hadn’t lost her mind, she supposed, was because some small part of her was always prepared for her loved ones to leave. Even with Maxim, who she loved deeply, she had always kept this eventuality in mind. They had even spoken of it!

-“Good,”- she said simply when he agreed to stay. -“You should go speak with Arsenio and Tamar. You can find their den in Saffron Grove, in the heart of the vale. As for me, I have to go off and be a dumbass now.”-

She inhaled and looked past Kallik’s pale shoulder to the borders. Maxim was out there somewhere. Towhee was swiftly losing hope of finding any trace of him, yet she didn’t know what else to do but channel all her anguish into searching. She let out her breath on a sigh, nodded to Kallik, and proceeded out of Epoch.

She mentioned that he go find Arsenio and Tamar, and the idea sparked something like hope inside him. Whatever warped version of hope he knew. They were still here and they might know what happened to Nanuq. It was also comforting to know that in all of this uncertainty, their presence would be something steady and familiar. 

Kallik nodded. I will go find them. Thank you, Towhee. She said she needed to go be a dumbass, which he interpreted to mean that she was going to search for Maxim. He understood. I hope you find him. 

He watched her go and then set off into the territory to find his old friends.