Horror struck the young mother when she returned to her den to find only one puppy was waiting for her. Lucia sat whimpering in the den and Kohaku was nowhere in sight. It was Kiara's worst nightmare realizing itself once again. Her heart stopped in her chest and she howled for her son. However, unlike the last time, he had gone off by himself as opposed to another taking him away from her. Desperation took hold of the new mother and she immediately set out to find him. No longer trusting her luck and the woods to keep Lucia safe, Kiara had brought her daughter along on the frantic search for Kohaku.
The pair had followed Kohaku's scent deep into the woods, only to have it end among a strange aroma. Kiara had spent nearly twenty minutes examining the sickly stench, but she could not tell who or what had left the scent behind. When she tried to follow the scent, it too faded and she lost the trail entirely. The young mother and her daughter raised their maws to the sky and tried to call for Kohaku. Unfortunately, the world remained quiet. There was no one left to answer their desperate cries.
Kiara looked down at her two month old daughter. Sad, but trusting eyes stared back at the female and Kiara was forced to make the decision of every mother's nightmare. To protect her only remaining puppy, she would have to leave Kohaku behind. He was lost too her, but that didn't soften the blow of her choice. Kiara turned around and moved as quickly as she could back to her den. There she slithered into the den's main chamber and looked around. Kiara had only a few belongings: a single deer hide, three necklaces that had been broken, a rag doll that Lucia adored, and a beautiful blue scarf.
First, the arctic female wrapped her broken necklaces in the blue scarf; a difficult feat for the uninfected female. Then, she ripped the deer hid so that she could wrap the blue scar into the deer hide to make it easier for transportation. Lucia grabbed onto her rag doll and the two females began their journey to New Dawn. Just before the fall of Ichika, Zalen had promised Kiara protection for herself and her puppies. In her sorrow, she found herself wishing that she had gone with them. Perhaps then Kohaku wouldn't have been taken from her.
Night had fallen and the moon was high in the sky by the time Kaira and Lucia arrived at the boarders. The young puppy, although old enough to have been moved, was exhausted by their trip. She sank down to the ground and whined a little. Her toy hung loosely in her mouth and she chewed on it halfheartedly. Worried sapphire eyes watched the puppy carefully. Kiara placed her bundle on the ground and gently nudged her daughter. Lucia dropped her doll and licked her mother lightly on the cheek before she placed her head on her paws and closed her eyes.
Fear and paranoia filled the white mother's mind, but she had no choice. Lucia needed the protection of a pack. Kiara lifted her muzzle to the air and called out to those of New Dawn. The tiny female also let out a small howl, but it was overpowered by her mother's call. Kiara gave Lucia an encouraging nudge while she waited for someone to respond to their call.
Table by: Cait
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