The North was still bitterly cold, ash still covered the sky for the most part, but every so often the sun would break through. It was rare and brief, but the pup who clung to shadows made every attempt to soak up the sun when it did peak through the clouds. The feel of the sun on her cold fur was a welcome relief for the large youth, even if it was fleeting. However, even the sun couldn’t cheer her up as of late, she still basked in its warmth but there was no happiness in the act. In fact, it was rare for Orca to appear happy at all since her mother and sibling left. She was still rather confused on where they went…or even what happened to them and she hadn’t mustered the courage yet to ask her father. She would…at some point.

Sighing rather heavily the pup plopped down in a speck of sunlight, the warm spot resting on her head as she closed her eyes. Black tipped ears fell back as she lay there, relaxed but sad.

Days had passed since Heloise had gone to search for their missing son. He had hoped they'd be back by now...after all, how far could a young pup go on his own? He shook his head at the dumb thought, knowing full well there was a chance someone could have taken him, or worse...he closed his eyes and sighed, trying to steel himself against making those kinds of thoughts. They would be fine. They would come home soon. In the meantime, he just needed to distract himself and hope for the best. He still had three girls and a pack to take care of, and perhaps that was all the distraction he needed. The titan king made his way onto the ship, checking each room that held their stock of supplies. He would have to go hunting soon now that Spring was here and perhaps he could enlist the help of some of the pack members or even take his kids out for hunting lessons. As he approached a part of the ship that let sunlight through, he spotted Orca sunning herself. He watched her for a moment, smiling before he approached her. No doubt she was saddened and confused about her mother and brothers...after all, Lumi was the only one that knew, so far. He didn't want them to worry, so he'd do his best to help them stay strong. "You chose a nice spot for sunbathing," He commented with a chuckle as he moved to sit beside her. "How are you doing, sweetheart?" "Speech"

The arrival of her father would warrant a wagging tail and a faint smile on her lips as she rolled so her belly was exposed to look up at him. Long lanky legs would stretch towards him as he sat down, aiming to lightly place her paws on his legs as she stretched.  “Alright I guess…” She trailed, sighing heavily as ears fell back again. Brows furrowed as she debated asking him where her sibling and mother had gone, they’d been gone for days and it was unlike them to be gone for so long…in fact…it was unlike Whittaker to go anywhere…he was the cautious pup. The one that didn’t want to get in trouble. Why would they just…leave? 
 
Huffing softly she finally spoke again. Deciding she would ask. “Why did Whit and Mommy leave?” She asked, head tilting to the side as she gazed up at her father. She was young, but she was not an idiot nor was she naïve. Wolves did not just leave and not send word…especially those aligned with Acere. He loved them too much. “Can we go look for them?” She’d ask innocently, although she was certain she knew the answer to such a question. 

"Alright I guess..." He glanced down as she stretched her paws out to touch him and the alabaster male knelt down until he was on his belly. He could hear the tone of her voice, knew that they missed their mother and their brother. He didn't know what else to say to them anymore...knew he couldn't keep making up excuses. Heloise had been gone for some time...it was possible she had already found Whittaker. And if she had, perhaps she had a reason she didn't want to come back. Maybe there was something keeping her from coming back...or maybe she ultimately decided that she didn't want a life with him. After all, she was much, much younger compared to him...and he had feared that their age difference would be something of a problem. Though she had insisted it wasn't, he wasn't sure he quite believed it.

"Why did Whit and mommy leave? Can we go look for them?" He sighed as he scooped her closer to him and placed a gentle kiss on her head. "I...don't know, sweetie..." It hurt to say that. But what else was he supposed to say at this point? "We...can't. I...I don't know where they are..." He closed his eyes and swallowed. The world was huge. He had no idea which direction they had gone, where they were, if they even wanted to be found...His duty was to his pack. And to the family that was here. He didn't want to be one of those parents that up and left to find one missing family member when the rest of them needed him here. "I'm sorry, Orca..." He laid his head beside hers, unsure what to do or say about the situation anymore.

Orca was far too young to understand the complexity of a romantic relationship and what it meant…All she knew was that her mom and dad loved each other and they stayed together…well…until Whittaker and Heloise left them. Was that the problem? They didn’t love them anymore? The confused thoughts continued to flow in her mind as Acere lowered himself to his belly so he could lay next to her. She smiled slightly, almost hopeful for good words to come from his mouth, but it was short lived as he scooped her closer, dragging her slightly on the deck til she was pressed close to him. Her eyes closed briefly as he licked her brow, tail thumping behind her at the display of affection.

Mismatched gaze went from happy to sad as he spoke. The slight smile fading on her façade as it sank in. Her brow furrowed, ears falling back, she could see the pain it caused him to say that he didn’t know where they were and that they couldn’t search… her eyes watered, tears spilling over. His head lay next to hers and she scooted closer, attempting to bump her snout to his. “Do…they not love us anymore? Did we do something wrong?” She whimpered, trying to understand. How could they just leave and not come back?

The sadness in her eyes was almost too much for him to bear and her words even more so. "Do…they not love us anymore? Did we do something wrong?” He shook his head, holding her in a tighter hug for a brief moment as he pressed his head to hers. "No, no you did nothing wrong. I'm sure they still love us, they're just...lost...I think." He really didn't know what else he could say. It was possible something bad had happened to them, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Hell, he didn't even want to believe something bad had happened either. So instead, he decided to conjure up a thought that was perhaps least likely to be upsetting. Or at least, less upsetting than everything else so far. "I think perhaps your mother returned to her homeland. Perhaps she was needed there, to save those she had previously left behind from bad people."

That was a better lie than anything, right? Could he make himself believe that? "Your mother and your brother still love us. They still love you and your siblings. Sometimes our paths take us in different directions, and that of your mother and brother just happened to take them away from us for a while." He offered a half smile, though sadness was still in his eyes at the thought. It hurt to lie to them, but telling them something he wasn't completely sure of would be worse. He didn't know why she didn't come back. He couldn't say how she felt without knowing the truth. He knew she loved him. Knew she wouldn't abandon her family without a good reason.

His hug would tighten, wrapping her up in a comforting embrace that she leaned into heavily pressing her head against his in a snuggling motion. He tried to comfort her, telling her that they did love them and that they were just lost….he thought. She frowned, what did that mean? What if they weren’t lost? What else could they be…Orca didn’t let death even cross her mind, not now. After a few moments, he would speak again, weaving a tale about her mother going to her homeland to help them from the bad people. She nodded slightly, brow furrowing, she wanted to believe it, she really did. It felt wrong though, something wasn’t right. Why would she leave without telling anyone? Why would she take Whittaker? He wasn’t special. He couldn’t help her.

He continued speaking, distracting her from her thoughts. Ears perked up as he finished talking though, “you mean they’ll come back?” Her voiced perked up, hopeful. She wanted them to come back, even if Whittaker was boring, she missed them. “I miss them.” She said as she sighed, settling in comfortable against her father.

He smiled softly as he did his best to contain his emotions. He didn't want to frighten her or make her feel any worse than she already did. "I miss them too, and I do believe someday they'll come back." And if they never did? Maybe by that time, the pups would just forget about them. It was possible right? They were still very young. Maybe they'd become nothing but a distant, foggy memory or even part of a dream. While he didn't totally wish for that to happen, perhaps it was for the best if it did.

He wanted to do something now to help ease the pain of their leaving. A distraction perhaps. Were they too young to start learning certain things? What would be a good distraction? He mulled it over and ultimately decided to leave it up to her. Leaning his head over hers to peer into her eyes, he asked "How would you like to do something with me today? I was going to check the borders but I'd rather do whatever you want to do today. How about it?"

Orca had little reason to believe her father would lie to her and so, when he said he believed they would be back the girl would nod, rubbing her eyes with her paws to get rid of the tears that had clung to her fur. If daddy said it was alright, then she would believe it…for now. It seemed best for them both to divert their thoughts from sadness to something else. When he mentioned going on a patrol her ears perked up, she hadn’t been on a patrol before! Acere seemed to want to do what she wanted to do, however, and she nodded as her brow furrowed as she thought of something to do.

Gaze focused on her dad’s face, she’d always wondered about his scars though she hadn’t really asked about them before. “Can you teach me to fight?” She asked, maybe one day when she was big and strong she could get scars like his and look just as fierce!

He waited patiently for her answer, and when she did, he was surprised but also...not. She wanted to learn how to fight, and of course he should've seen that coming. They were his kids, after all, and with the amount of scars he had, he was sure that someday, they'd get scars of their own. He couldn't protect them forever, he knew that much. "Of course I can, anything for my baby girl," He teased before attempting to rub his nose against hers before he started to stand. The best way to learn was by doing, but he'd give her some pointers before they officially got started. "Would you like to fight your old man?" He asked with a wink as he shook himself to loosen up his muscles. He squared his stance as if readying for attack, forcing his hackles to raise along his spine which made him look bigger and more imposing. "First things first. Since you're smaller, and I'm bigger, for now, what do you think your advantages are?" Although she was a pup, she was quicker than he was. Where he had greater weight and height, she had her speed to her advantage still. He was curious what her thoughts were when it came to thinking about who her opponent was, or if she'd rush in blindly. While he was often a man of action when it came to a fight, his mind had always been sharp as a tack and he'd often have to think, calculate, and anticipate what his opponent might do.

Acere Praetor vs Orca Praetor for Spar
Round: 0/2?
Age: Over 1yr
Size: Dire wolf
Build: Heavy
Skills: Master Fighter & Expert Intellectual
Specialty: Knight

ooc//He's going in nekkid x3