Redhawk Caldera within our shrine

His tongue is lolling from his mouth as he returns to the Caldera, the sun is hot and his mind is still racing. Shutting his mouth momentarily he soon finds himself calling for @Alivia.

Cinar does not have her answers, rather finding an answer of his own in the lowlands. He won't speak much of what happened, he doesn't have the right words; but he will attempt to help the medic learn about the strange herbs even if he has to consume it himself.

He's disappointed, maybe a bit angry, but he won't bring that into the caldera. His problems will be shoved to the back of his mind for the time being, topics for later contemplation.

The search for Killdeer had been underway for a week and counting, which wasn't optimistic for the fledgling pack. Everyone who knew him said Killdeer wasn't the type to bail out, making his extended absence more foreboding with each passing day. Alivia felt bad for Amalia especially, who hadn't signed up to do the single mom thing.  

A howl from @Cinar perked Alivia right up, and she hurried to respond. When he came into view, she closed the distance between them at a gentle lope, pulling up beside him with a bump to his shoulder and a friendly nudge. 

"Cinar! I missed you. How was the uh.. the mission?" When he had left the Caldera, he had seemed quite confident that he could ferret out more information about Green if he visited the lowland pack.

He was happy to see Alivia, smiling at her friendly gesture. I bumped into a bit of an obstacle on the way. He admitted, tail waving low at his hocks. It was hard not to feel a bit guilty, he had put her behind in her research by insisting she wait. I thought I would have found something, I'm sorry Alivia.

Glancing to the quiet caldera behind her, he wondered if anything had changed. Has Killdeer turned back up? He couldn't imagine him still having been gone, not without a good reason. Cinar thought the idea of a man abandoning his pack and his mate to be rather unlikely; what else could you want?

An obstacle? What happened? Alivia was dying to know, but Cinar didn't elaborate. He was growing ever more mysterious in her eyes. 

"Oh, well.. thanks for trying. I'm glad you're back safe and sound." Especially in light of current events. 

Speaking of which, Cinar seemed to already know all about Killdeer's disappearance. 

"No," she answered his question, ears flattening. The singular word stretched out between them, heavy with Alivia's unspoken worry. Of course she couldn't voice the concern aloud, but everyone must have been thinking the same thing: what if the responsibility of pack leadership and fatherhood had been to much for Killdeer? What if he had just cut and run? It was not a generous interpretation of his absence, but it was better than the alternative-- that he was seriously injured or worse. What else would keep a man from his family?

The answer spread a frown across his muzzle. It was hard to smile through this sort of thing.

If he's a good man, he'll turn up. Cinar responded, and he had no reason to believe Killdeer was not a good man. Things would turn out alright, and Caldera life would resume as normal. What about everyone else, and you? Are you alright?

He wondered about the children. They were so young, would they even notice Killdeer was gone?

Alivia wanted to think Killdeer was a good man, but she just didn't know. She'd known some truly great wolves to just vanish into thin air. It was one of the reasons she liked to keep her relationships light and casual. She didn't want to be disappointed when someone inevitably bailed. Or when she had to bail herself. She had definitely been the bailer a time or ten. 

"Me? I'm fine. I may be the only one is is though." Thank the stars that Cinar was back, because now she had  someone else to interact with who wasn't so close to the Killdeer thing. The Redhawks were all kind of bummers right now. 

"Amalia's a great mom- she has to have a brave face for the kids, you know?" Alivia knew from speaking with Amalia previously how much she feared abandonment. "And Towhee.. I don't really know. These past couple of days, she hasn't really left her densite. I think she may have given up on the search." 

Alivia was torn between wanting to check on Towhee and allowing her privacy to grieve. She really missed her mother right now. Ruenna would have known exactly what to do.

Well, at least someone was alright then.

Towhee isn't exactly young, that grief would be hard on her. He imagined so, anyways. Things will turn around.

A yawn escaping his throat, he knew it must be time to rest. I should lay down, but I do want to keep helping you with the green. He decided. Don't be afraid to call for me.

Offering a friendly nudge to Alivia, he then took his exit.

Something inside Alivia protested Cinar's assessment of Towhee's age. She's not THAT old..!  

She didn't like it at all, the thought she may have to let go of Towhee so soon after having met her. Towhee was her last link to her own late mother, given the unknown whereabouts of her father and littermates. 

She nodded. She appreciated that Cinar was trying to be optimistic. "Thanks," she said, glad to hear he was still game for learning more about the green. "Of course, I hope you get some rest."

Not for the first time, Alivia found herself surprised at how quickly Cinar managed to disappear.