he returned after a few minutes, his mouth full of precious bundles that he had prepared for the road. Holland had met back up with Sandor, the pup explaining what Torin wanted. the two had prepared best they could in the short amount of time they were given. in the end, it had taken all his meager supplies to create equal bundles for the children to hold. at least he wouldn't be leaving a lot behind. each bundle was wrapped in moss, so it would soak up the saliva of each wolf holding it to preserve the precious herbs below. placing his own bundle down along with the spare two he had carried as he neared the group, Sandor potentially as his heels, Holland noticed that the yearling he didn't know and Siobhan had left. Aryn had taken her place by their father, and the healer noticed the rest of Torin's children too. he nudged the two smaller herb bunches forward. "here" he voiced when nobody else was speaking. Sandor would be along with the other three soon enough. his eyes found the mass of pups and wondered who'd take the ones he had. "when... are we leaving?" he asked quietly to their alpha. he still hadn't seen Kairi and was saddened by this. usually her peppy attitude was enough to get her to a meeting on time. Holland wanted to ask Torin if he could remain behind and help the ones that hadn't shown up but hesitated. the cardinal colored woman was capable enough. he was just worried about her. "SPEECH"

Speech

Torin watched as Sandor ran off to complete his assignment. He cast his gaze around again, noticing how little the group was, his missing family still not here. He felt fear gnaw away at his stomach, where were they? He felt his daughter push up against his leg and place her paw on his, her little voice drifting up to him in an attempt to help soothe him and Torin looked down at Aryn and he felt his heart squeeze, he should be the one comforting his daughter not the other way around. He leaned down to gently nose her, closing his eyes for a moment.

Holland returned, Sandor on his heels and Torin saw a familiar searching in his eyes, he wasn't unaware of the way his sister had grown close to the young man, and he felt his heart lurch again, he was dreading having to ask the man what he was about to. Holland asked him the dreaded question and Torin met his gaze, allowing his worry to bleed through for a moment, a shared vulnerability before he slipped the strong face of an alpha on again. "Now." He responded quietly.

He gazed down at the remaining pups, making sure to get Sandor with his gaze as well. "All of you grab a bundle of herbs, make sure you don't drop them okay? These are very important for the pack." He wasn't harsh with his words, instead trying to impart the necessity of their jobs, hoping they'd feel the importance and try their best to hang onto their little packages. He lifted his head then to address the rest of the gathered wolves. "Let's not waste anymore time." He gave a nod and started to angle himself towards the route they'd take, he glanced at Holland again. "Once everyone is settled I promise we'll send out search parties." He said softly, feeling his stomach twist with fear and guilt. He had to do right by the majority of his pack... even if that meant leaving his family behind. Not that it made him feel any good, but then if there was anything he'd learned it was that making hard decisions was part of the job.

He waited for his daughter to grab a bundle of herbs before scooping Lili up and leading his pack towards what he hoped would be a temporary shelter.

-Exit Torin-

Art by Vhitany

now. Holland tried to ignore the bile rising in his throat, the words that he wanted to say to Torin weren't said but still, they burned inside of him. a good portion of the pack was still missing. people he had come to know. people he had come to care about. if he had it his way, he would stay. look for all the lost. but that was selfish. he knew Torin was thinking of everyone. he knew the alpha had family that weren't accounted for. hanging his head to collect the largest bundle, his bundle, he followed wordlessly after the group. he swallowed around the herbs, glancing behind him once more. nobody else had shown. he was Lirim's only healer. Holland had to leave with the group. he had to think of everyone. twisting back to walk at a slow pace, he couldn't help the dark thoughts crawling into his head. damn it, Kairi... where are you? was she hurt? was she unable to show up for a reason? had she been caught up in the eruption? Torin promised search parties, but the group was mostly made up of children and elders. they couldn't spare their healer and alpha going off to look. there were such limited options, and he didn't feel confident about any of them. / EXIT HOLLAND "SPEECH"