I See Fire (Open)

[Deleted]

He was back. Back from his sudden disappearance, back from his journeying around the island on his own and back to the desert. He couldn't say that he was thrilled about being back here. The sand was loathsome and there was nothing to see or do here except for stare at rolling hills of nothingness. However, he was here with a purpose. He needed to find Thanatos, Nova and Kiara (if she was even still alive). He had been gone for several weeks and a lot could happen in that amount of time. He wasn't even one-hundred percent certain that Thanatos and Nova were still here. They could have packed up their things and left long ago. Though, that seemed unlikely. Thanatos was hardly the type to leave his comfort zone. He was the "safe" brother. Risks weren't really his thing. However, it were still possible.

Kuruk's large, heavy paws padded slowly across the feeble sand. It parted ways for his feet, leaving small craters in the ground. "If I were my brother, where would I be?" Kuruk tried to put himself into Thanatos' mindset in an attempt to find where he might be. There really wasn't very many places to be in a place like this. There was the river, the den site, the volcano and all of this endless sand. Kuruk prayed to the gods that Thanatos wasn't somewhere in this sand. It might take ages for him to find him if that were the case. It would probably take ages anyway but it would take even longer if they were both wandering around this wasteland. He still wasn't totally convinced that he was still here. Why anyone would stay here longer than they absolutely had to was beyond him. Kuruk's steely blue eyes scanned the area surrounding him, looking for any indication of life. He looked for some indication that someone had been here recently. He had to have something to go on. It was not unlike Kuruk to disappear for a few days and then return but this last "vacation" had been the longest that he had ever taken. He normally had more to go on when it came to re-finding his brother because he normally wasn't gone for as long.

He would find them eventually. He always eventually got what he needed done. He was a doer. He could do this. It might take longer than he'd like it to but that was his own fault. Perhaps he should have given some indication that he was even leaving. But then again, they figured it out eventually, didn't they? Or at least he hoped that his brother and Nova had enough brains between the two of them to figure it out.

He stopped in his tracks and pursed his lips for a few moments, further contemplating what he should do. Walking around aimlessly was going to get nothing accomplished except for getting himself lost and exhausted. It was winter so the temperatures weren't as god awful and the hunting around seemed to be pretty decent but that still didn't mean that he wanted to waste time. He decided that he would simply announce his presence. Perhaps Thanatos or Nova would hear it and respond or maybe if they were close, they would come to greet him. He wasn't overly worried about other ears hearing him. He was bigger and scarier than any wolf he'd met thus far. He threw back his head and let out a deafeningly loud howl. He had a lot of ground to cover and that sound needed to reach as far as it could. He held the note for as long as his breath would let him and then Kuruk listened for a few moments to the eerie quietness that fell over the surrounding area. Not one bird made a noise. Not one rodent scurried over the sand. It was completely and totally silent.

[Kiara]

In a matter of weeks, the pup’s world had been turned upside down on more than one occasion. It started with the night she lost her parents. She had gone off to explore like she had many times before, despite her parent’s stern words not to, but unlike all the past times, she was not able to find them again. In the search to find each other, they had gone one way and she the other, leading them farther and farther away. At first the young pup was extremely depressed and quite frankly terrified. However, as the days went by, her memories of her parents faded little by little until almost nothing remained but a quiet whisper in the wind. She no longer longed for them, and if she saw them again, she probably wouldn’t know off the top of her head that they were her parents. She wanted to feel bad for forgetting them but she really couldn’t.

Then, as she had all but given up and was ready to accept her fate, she was found by Kuruk and Than. At first, she was terrified of the large black wolf and welcoming of the second. But as the conversation went on between them, she found herself looking at the first wolf as more of an authoritative figure and the brown wolf as more of a comfort. It was after she had met them, that a new spark of hope had been ignited within her giving her another reason to want to push on and live, despite the loss of her family. She was promised that they would help find her parents and she knew that even if they couldn’t, Than would never let them leave her by herself. So no matter what would happen, she would be taken care of and looked after.

But then her world was turned upside down once again. Somehow, the young pup had been separated from not one but both of the adult wolves and was on her own once more. Looking back, she still had no idea how it happened. It was as if she went to sleep one night with them there and woke up then next morning with them gone. She longed to find them before she forgot about yet another possible family. But instead, she ran into in adult female who she considered nothing less than a princess. She was pretty and confident and even let the young wolf finish her kill. Even though Kiara had turned down her offer of joining a pack, not willing to leave the two males behind, she did ask the other wolf how to be a princess like she was. She took her lessons to heart and tried to walk with her head higher and her eyes up.

It was after she departed from the female that Thanatos found her. To her amazement, it was after the pup completed her first solo hunt and desperately wished that she was with the males once more, that he appeared out of nowhere. She was extremely happy to be back with him and felt relaxed for the first time since she had first seen him. However, Kuruk wasn’t with him and her hopes fell yet again. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised or not at his absence but it still stung. She felt disappointed, abandoned, and betrayed. She tried to convince herself that he could be on a hunt or something else but it was near to impossible for her to push all the emotions she felt out of the way. After all, the first wolf who had found her since she lost her family and who promised to help her find her family had turned his back to her and had vanished. She wasn’t supposed to be happy, was she?

It was then that she heard it, loud and confident. He had returned and he was looking for them. She wasted no time running in the direction that she heard the call. Her small frame moved as fast as it could, determined to reach him before he could move on. It took what felt like hours to reach the source but once she saw him in the distance she slowed to a stop. It was then that her fears set in. What if the call was only for his brother? What if he didn’t want to see her again? Would he turn his back and walk away or would he embrace her with relief that she was still alive? Would he even remember her or would she be nothing more than a stranger? With those thoughts eating away at her mind, she crept closer to him. Her footsteps were quiet in the sand and without the wind blowing; her scent traveled no more than a few inches. She was glad too because his back was to her and she didn’t know if she was ready to face the harsh reality that she knew could be awaiting her. Once she was only a foot or so away, she spoke a simple “Hi,” but even in that one word, it was clear her voice was fragile and shaky as she tried hard to remain calm.

[Thanatos]

Thanatos's happiness was beaming from his eyes and smile--he had found Kiara alive and well, and she was not getting out of his sight again. The small pup was weak, malnourished, however, but Thanatos knew that would be fixed soon and that she was going to get back in shape with their care. He had plans on her diet already, and he knew that with much needed love and attention, she would grow up to be a beautiful girl. However, they had soon found themselves walking in the desert, again. Even if it was barren, it had a few signs of life--small critters, dry foliage and trees, and birds flying up in the high heavens gave the area sense of movement and life. Thanatos began to observe his surroundings, keeping an eye on Kiara while thinking about Kuruk. His brother had disappeared and he was getting increasingly worried. 


However, as they kept walking, the life that could be seen in the desert began to disappear, and an eerie silence began to unfold. The sun began to get hotter as the day progressed, making Thanatos squint his eyes, while at the same time trying to keep the sand and sunlight out of his eyes. Offering a little chit chat here and there with Kiara, they kept walking even if it was proving to be somewhat difficult--but his thoughts, body and heart seemed to halt to a sudden stop when he heard a howl. It was Kuruk. Widening his eyes in response, he howled back with a short response and ran behind Kiara, who had already taken off. "She's fast for such a small pup," he thought as he kept running. After some time, they arrived to Kuruk's location, and he was facing his back towards them. Thanatos heard Kiara's small, fragile voice say hi to him, and he could clearly hear that she was somewhat nervous. 


"Where were you hiding? Nova and I have been worried sick." he said worried, yet he softened the tone with a chuckle of relief. He walked towards him and smiled--he was just happy that he was okay, and for some reason he couldn't hide it. He knew that maybe Kuruk was going to tell him something about his smile or some other comment, but he was just relieved that he was alive. Even if he didn't want to admit it verbally, he missed his brother. Shifting his weight between his legs, he waited for his brother's response. He really wished he was in a good mood.


ooc: Kiara & Kuruk