Redtail Rise Witch Doctor

Masquerade could not find @Redd. They had finally tracked down @Relic near the outskirts and he said he hadn’t seen their sister for several days. The Caru spent the whole of a sweltering August day scouring the rise and the neighboring territories, calling out for Redd. But there came no reply.

They were tempted to broaden their net and search for her, like they had done for Avicus. Yet that endeavor had been a waste of time. Considering the sheer scope of the wilderness, how could even the truest tracker hope to find anyone who went missing without a trace? Besides, the pups needed them now more than ever.

Or did they? As Masque climbed to the highest point of the rise, they remembered just how independent the pups had become lately. Avicus’s foursome was nearly indistinguishable from the adults in the pack these days. According to Maleah’s wisdom, they still needed supervision for a few months. The Caru clung to that thought and the memory of Mulherin begging them to stay.

But they felt hollow as they walked the ridge line. Avicus and Redd were in the wind. Relic was scarce. Masque had never felt so lonely in their life. They sounded a melancholy note, in the hopes that others on the rise would raise their voices to remind them that they weren’t as alone as they believed.

The sound of the Caru compelled New Snow immediately to join them; New Snow then nipped at the cubs and set off to find their fellow. She was hunter, protector, but also mother. And Blood Spot had lost mother. New Snow had also noted during their hunts the absence of another Rise wolf, a sibling to the Caru. Perhaps they searched for Avicus. 

New Snow paused to call again to the skies, for those lost but also for those still remaining.

When New Snow’s voice rose up in reply, Masquerade felt a momentary reassurance. It was always good to hear the Bitan’s voice. But that thought made their heart sink in their chest as the Caru realized that part of their current discomfiture and loneliness was because they had no one they could talk to, especially if Redd was really gone.

The Caru swallowed and fell silent, still pacing along the crest of the rise. They’d found something of a confidant in Mulherin, though he was so young, as were the other pups. They didn’t have that close kinship with either Ancelin or Lilia and Relic had grown distant. And, of course, New Snow and her mate did not actually speak.

A great sigh gusted out of them as they flopped on the ground, setting up a cloud of dust where the summer sun had torched the grass into desiccation. Masquerade sneezed several times, then settled with a second, smaller sigh. Their head drifted to rest on their outstretched forepaws, marigold eyes staring disconsolately into the distance.