Her life was again thrown for a loop, Myriad had fallen, she had been separated from Max, and now she had grown completely lost. She was fending for herself, but rather poorly. Max had never really given her training in hunting so getting decent meals was rather difficult. Being lost and alone made a large mix of emotions constantly stirring within her mind and leaving her fairly depressed. The hot weather made things much worse, especially with her chocolate pelt. One good thing had been that she did meet up with a new friendly face. A male that was a year older then her and willing to help her. He spoke of traveling and of learning to better his healing skills, something she had wanted to take on since her mother had died. For now she was staying close to him, but she still wished that Max was here. She was worried that something had happened to him and didn't want to loose her only family she had. Since he had taken her in she has grown to see him as her father and would see it no other way. She was worried, not knowing if something happened to him and unable to remember how she traveled from the old pack territory. Sighing she laid down by the lake watching the fireflies glow and sitting under the cool moonlight. She couldn't sleep and knew that Qualm was asleep by now so she decided to just keep to herself until she could sleep. "Talk" "Think"

Max had nearly driven himself insane trying to find his daughter. He wasn't sure how they had managed to get separated, maybe it was just because he was old and slower than her. That's what he hoped had happed anyway. If anyone where to lay a paw on her in anyway Calli had had to deal with he would kill them. Old or not he would find a way to get the job done. He would have no part of being shoved out of her life the way Callisto had shoved him away. The voices that had taunted him during that time period had already begun whispering ways to murder a wolf that couldn't keep his...or her, paws off his daughter.

It was only when he saw her that complete silence and relief would fill his mind, clearing away the destruction his thoughts had been brewing up. The moon and fireflies helped him to find her in the dark and for that he was grateful one of his old homes could provide some kind of help. He had always loved his tree next to the lake, his only bad memory of the den beneath the giant tree was of Callisto leaving him, running from him in fact. He hoped Delaney wouldn't run, he pleaded to what ever higher power that was out there that who ever she had found had been good to her. If they hadn't he would surely hunt them down, make them pay for it and then punish himself for not teaching her how to at least catch a rabbit. He had taken her to Myraid in hopes of finding a better hunter than himself. Turned out if he wanted something done he should have just done it himself. It seemed the wolves that made up that pack had been more concerned with ruining their home than making it stronger.

Once he was close enough to keep from shouting a small smile would creep into the corners of his maw just before opening it to say relived words "Delaney! I'm so glad I found you, I was beginning to drive myself insane with worry." he hoped she would be just as happy to see him as he was to see her. "First thing I'm going to do tomorrow is teach you how to catch a rabbit because I'll be damned if I ever trust anyone else to help you learn how to feed yourself again. I took you to that place so you could be a better hunter than me, so you would be safe...never again." then he would slow down and his eyes would scan her for any cuts, bruises or sores of any kind only to stop and take in every feature of the girls face. He had loved once, but that was nothing like the love and fondness he held for the girl he had adopted as his own. She wasn't blood but she was all he had in this world and she was his reason for crawling out of what ever hole he crawled into every morning. He accepted the fact that it was unlikely he would ever have children when he found her and he would be damned if anything or anyone would take her from him without a fight.

She hadn't noticed his approach and had been to occupied watching the fireflies over the water. It was really pretty to see their little butts light up and it was really pretty under the crystal clear water. It was rather relaxing to her to watch them, she didn't know why but it just eased her mind. She prayed that her father was okay and until she knew what happened to him she wouldn't sleep well. She was worried and had never been separated from him for this long. With no sign of him she feared the worse and it drove her nuts. Qualm is took her to a newly formed pack and for now she joined. She hoped that if she did find Max he would join her, because so far this pack seemed much better then the last. Plus with the teachings of Qualm she was learning the art of healing, but in all honesty she would rather learn from her father. His voice took her by surprise and for a second she had thought she was hearing things. She turned her head as her bright green eyes landed on his dark form. Immediately her tail went wild before she was on her feet and ran over to him pressing her face into his neck. She was so happy to see him and so relieved that he was alive and well. No smell of blood told her that he had no wounds and that he was doing fine. His words drew her to pull back and look at his face, ears gently pressed back against her skull. She smiled at his words finding them slightly amusing. It made her excited for tomorrow ready to begin hunting with him and to learn what knowledge he shared with her. Although thinking about his words she felt as though they had a tone like he was slightly blaming himself, she didn't feel he should. "We never could have known that, don't let them give you a bad taste towards packs papa," she said with a smile. Though she was shy around new faces she liked to try and give others a chance. This is what drew her to the question of how to update him with what all happened and that she was currently in another pack. Although she felt as long as she was safe and cared for that he would be happy. "I'm so happy that your alright, I tried to look for you, but I grew lost and wasn't sure how to backtrack back to the old pack lands. I feared the worse had happened to you" she said before pressing her face into his neck again, her tail still happily wagging. "Talk" "Think"

The moment her face pressed into his neck, Max would bend so that he could nuzzle her just before she told him they never could have known Myraid would turn out the way they did. He couldn't help but smile at her positive attitude towards packs. "My dear girl I don't feel badly about packs, I'm just frustrated with the trouble makers that ruin the good things for everyone else." He was glad that she had tried to look for him, more so that she was alright and happy. He was old but he wasn't a loss yet though his features would soften with love at her concern for him.

He couldn't help but to sit and let his own tail thump against the ground beneath him as Delaney pressed her face into his neck once more. For a moment he would stay that way, happy that she was here with him and healthy. The question that kept nagging at him though was, who had taken care of her for him? Again he would turn his head to that he could nudge her with his nose just before opening his maw to ask her. "So tell me Delaney, who do I have to thank for making sure you were taken care of while we were separated. He or she deserves one of the rabbits we catch tomorrow don't you think?" he would ask with a grin.

She agreed with him it was rather frustrating that trouble makers had to ruin everything for the rest of the pack. In fact word from the grapevine was the women's pack was no longer so why did she have to challenge Riv in the first place. The past was the past and right now she was hopeful for her future, she just hoped that Max would join her in the new pack. She would almost be two and knew that Max was also getting older and she didn't want any harm to come to him. For a few moments silence went through the two of them as they embraced each other, both happy and healthy right now. She knew she needed to tell Max about Qualm and about Ivory Ridge, but right now she was just so happy to be reunited with him that she didn't feel the need to speak of it at this moment. The light nudge brought her gaze to his face before he began to speak. He asked who he needed to thank and mentioned that a few rabbits would need to be caught for who was taking care of her. She smiled at him. "His name is Qualm, he's a young healer that I met on his travels. He fed me, gave me a free lesson on three different herbs he brought for me, and offered for me to be his apprentice in healing," she started. "He also took me to a new pack his friend started called Ivory Ridge and so far everyone seems vary nice, most are older but I think four of us are younger in age." "Talk" "Think"

He found he lived for that smile and would do anything to keep it on her face where it belonged. Every time her sweet smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, Max felt like he had accomplished something grand. Taking her in was the best thing he had done with his life and he wouldn't let anyone tell him any differently. Sadly, being her parent and not her friend sometimes he didn't get to put that smile there but in the end her well being was his top concern. Being happy was just a plus so long as she was healthy and for that he would give much more than a couple of rabbits...his daughter's life was worth so much more to him than a couple of messily rabbits.

When she told him of the young healer Maximous would commit the boy's name to memory along with the pack name. Though he had wanted to teach her his trade himself he knew, by all rights, that he was still technically a novice himself so he would not argue. To the fact that Ivory Ridge was full of mostly older wolves, he wondered if there would even be a place for an old man such as himself but when she finished he would give a small nod. "Well then, I suppose we had better catch the alpha a rabbit too. They took care of you when I couldn't and as far as I'm concerned I can never repay them enough for that. And if you think this pack is acceptable then I suppose ill give it a shot too."

His words made her even more excited for tomorrow especially since he said he would be giving the pack a try. She hoped that he would like the pack and hoped that they would have a place for him in the pack. With how well Karabela treated her she was sure that Max would be accepted with no problem. She wagged her tail thinking about both of them being settled into Ivory Ridge and for Max to see the den she created herself. Tomorrow for sure would be a great day and Delaney was wishing that it was already here. She was hoping now that he was here she could finally get a good night's sleep. "Tomorrow is going to be a big day then! We best find a place to bed down and get some sleep so we have the energy to get all of those rabbits" she said with another bright smile. "Talk" "Think"

Her eagerness to be ready for the lesson in the morning brought a smile to his face. He had only ever known one other young wolf, side from himself, so eager to learn. But he refused to think of her as that would only dampen the moment for him. Instead he would start walking towards his old hollowed out tree. "I know the perfect place. It was my den once, I just hope its still empty. He hadn't been here since he left Ebony, but he was curious about his old home.

Quietly he would lower his nose to the ground at the entrance to see if he could pick up any fresh scents going in or out of the den but there were none to be found. He would then stick his head just inside before letting out a sharp bark to get the attention of anything that might have been inside for a while but there was no answer. Another smile would draw across his features as he turned to his daughter "It's still vacant. Come on, lets get some rest and in the morning well see about catching all of those rabbits for our alpha and Qualm