The beach was quiet that day. No other pups existed on the sands, playing tag or hide and seek. Parents weren't around, making sure the future generations were learning anything about life. Seagulls had gone home, probably migrating because of the cold season that had officially made itself known in Ala. The peaceful serenity belonged only to Odette and it was the only comfort she had. She missed her littermates, not to mention the brother and sisters she had from her parents' first batch. Her heart ached as she thought of the morning she went out to the beach with Papa and her brother and sister for the first time. Odette was a pup, alone in the world and not able to tell anyone how she really felt. There were no ears willing to listen, hearts willing to open up for her, and she felt like she was missing out on a life she could have had. Self-pity and sadness swept over the six-month-old and she lowered her head to her chest, eyes closed. Tears leaked from beneath their lids and made tracks in her dark fur before falling to the ground. It didn't take long for her to lower herself to her stomach and her paws covered her weeping face. Her body began to shake from the sobs that soon sounded from her open mouth. She was alone, and there wasn't anything anyone could do. Talk like this

He had been alone for so long now. His parents had disappeared, though he had gotten lucky. He had made it to Glaciem, and Isardis had taken him in, Irin had done well in raising him, and recently he had found one of his own siblings. Though he had had his share of pain, life was oddly good for him now. He was happy. As he grew he had spent more and more of his time exploring the territories surrounding the pack lands of Glaciem, getting to know each land, and slowly working out which parts of the territory he liked, and which he didn?t. Exploring when one was half-blind, seeing only one side of the world was interesting, and not as easy as one would imagine. His white front paws sank lightly in the sand, as the freezing winter wind bit into his fur. Strolling along the cove, he looked around for anything that might have been interesting, anything that might make this land more appealing to him, and he almost missed the small figure lying in the ground. His head would swing back his good eye catching the shape of the form and he moved towards it. As he got closer, he could hear sobs, and realized that they were coming from a wolf, a wolf younger than he. Sympathy and pity washed over him, as he moved forward, coming close to the young pup. ?Hey there, are you okay?? He murmured gently, his head leaning down to sniff the small pup, and bump her gently with his muzzle. Speech,

From all of the sobbing and thinking negatively about her family, Odette was in despair. At such a young age, she shouldn't have had to even think about things like what she was dealing with. Her heart craved for a loving nuzzle, a playful touch -- the simple joy of knowing she had someone to call 'home'. It was all too much for her, and what was worse was that she didn't know how to handle the mixed feelings and decisions she had to make. Stress clung to her like a parasite and the sadness only made it worse. Her sobs deepened and longer as all of her worries and fears came out in the form of her tears. She hoped they would permanently leave after that, but she wasn't sure of it at all. At that point, she wasn't sure of anything. Because of her lack of confidence in knowing, it took her a minute or two to realize someone was nudging her. The touch was unfamiliar to her, especially since the last person to make physical contact with her was long gone from the cove. It was the words that made her come out of her sobbing coma. A simple question, meant for her, snapped her out of it. Odette's closed red eye opened and looked up from beneath her paws. A concerned face stared back at her, a face that had nudged her out of curiosity. She sharply inhaled, tears still leaking from her eyes as she raised her head a few inches. A couple of sobs still threatened to get her going again, but it wasn't them that caused it. Her words broke the silence that had temporarily covered the beach as she said, "My p-p-parents...and m-my si-siblings...they are...they are...GONE!" She didn't mean to wail, but in her case, it was understandable. Odette's thoughts of Ava and Leo, of Oracle and Gala not being there made her even more upset. Tears ran fresh down her face, causing more paths to be made in her fur. "Everyone is gone, the family I love is gone, and I don't know where they went." She lowered her head back into her paws and cried in a muffled voice, "I don't know what to DOOOO!" Talk like this

Her words, as she spoke them in broken sobs broke his heart, and he settled the the ground beside her, curling himself around her, and resting his head against her. He hoped his warm coat would not only provide him with warmth, but also with comfort. Gently he would attempt to lick her soothingly, soft words crooning from his jaws, trying to ease her discomfort.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. It's okay, it's going to be okay."

The words were soft, soothing, and he hoped to stop her heart wrenching sobs, God, they tore at his heart. "What's your name? Who were your parents? Your family? Let me help you." His worlds were gentle.

It was the first time she had ever let her defenses down to someone. She was used to guarding what emotions she could, knowing that sometimes her emotions could be looked at as weaknesses. Odette didn't want to be weak. She wanted to be like her father and be strong, defensive, and proud. Darn her mother! Ocena's gentle nature stood out more at this moment, explaining the overflowing tears and tender heart that rested in her chest. The older boy curled up around Odette, explaining the rapid growth of warmth that surrounded her smaller form. She accepted it and sniffled, trying to calm down from the cries that were still threatening to surface. His tender actions made her calm down and she took in a few deep breaths to regain her composure. "O-Odette. My name is Odette..." A soft sob escaped her and she continued. "Gargoyle and Ocena are my parents. They're still alive, just...not around. My brothers and sisters...I don't know where they are, either." She softly sighed and looked down at her paws. "I wish I knew where they were. I miss them so much." Talk like this

His heart was breaking for the small pup that he had so carefully curled himself around. The poor little thing was terrified, and rightfully so. Odette, she introduced herself as, Odette was her name. What a beautiful name! She went on and told him her parents name, and he felt a wave of pity wash over him for the little fea. What had happened to her parents? How could they abandon someone like her. The poor thing.

"Odette, that's a pretty name." He spoke with a warm smile. "My name is Seth." He introduced himself, with a small smile. "Do you have anywhere to stay, little one?" He asked with a slight smile. He couldn't just leave her alone here, it wasn't in him.

She was still upset from not seeing her family in months, but having the company of this young boy gave her comfort. Odette knew that she would see them again...she just wasn't sure of when that would be. Her eyes left her paws, which were sitting by each other in the sand, to the soft stare of the boy whom was trying to make her feel better. He said that her name was pretty and a wet smile broke across her face. "Th-thank you," she softly sniffed, a hiccup hiding among her words. "I think it is, too." He went on to further introduce himself and she nodded in turn to it. "S-Seth? That name is n-nice. It's not too long." The boy then asked if she had a place to stay and she shrugged with her Ocena-like shoulders. "I do, but no one is there to stay with me anymore...It's my family's den." She whispered the latter words, for memories of her and her siblings waking up together flashed across her mind. "Actually, it's not too far from here." Talk like this

She was a pretty little thing, her colors were odd, markings strange, but beautiful. Her name was unique, much like her coat, and he gave her a warm smile at her words. She was right about his name, it was short, to the point, it wasn't necessary to note that the origins of the name were rather dark. She didn't need that kind of negative in her life. When she spoke of her family's den, he looked up across the beach, and a soft rumble sounded in his chest.

"Well, little Odette, I'll stay with you until we find your parents. Its not safe for you to be alone, Come on, let's get to this den and out of the weather."

In the north, the weather was harsh, and storms brewed nearly constantly throughout the winter. A pup such as herself needed to be in shelter during storms like that, and he couldn't in good faith leave her to fend for herself. Therefore, he'd just have to keep an eye on her until they could find her parents, after all, the young pup could definitely use a friend.

She could hear the storm that was slowly making its way towards the beach. From the north, it would be more threatening, as the atmosphere there was colder and definitely bitter. Wrapped in the warmth of Seth's body heat, she raised her maw to look at him and she nodded in agreement. Slowly, she stood and shook all over, freeing the sand that had clung to her underbelly and legs. With one more look at Seth, she turned and began to trot towards her den. The family den had been cramped, but it had seemed that way because of Gargoyle's large frame. Now, as she walked in and curled up in the middle of the floor, the emptiness made her feel small. She waited for Seth to enter and rest beside her until she lowered her head to her front paws. One crossed over the other and she wrapped her tail around her legs. She hoped that she wasn't putting much of a burden on the boy, but if he hadn't been concerned in any way, he wouldn't have stayed, right? The possibility of having a friend out of this meeting began to blossom and Odette welcomed it with greedy paws. She needed more friends in this world. Talk like this

The storm had been gathering, dark clouds rolling in from the north and the girl moved, standing to shake the sand and grit from her fur before heading off in a direction of what he could only assume was her families den. He followed a tail length or so behind her, casting a worried glance over his shoulder at the brewing storm, hoping that no one back home would notice his absence. He would find a way to balance his loyalties. He was determined. When he stepped into the den, he found that it was spacious, though he imagined with a large family it was cramped. Moving to lay beside the younger wolf, he gave her a warm smile, lying close enough that his fur was barely brushing against hers, so she could press into him for warmth if she needed. He would prompt a question gently, curiosity mingling in his tone. "Tell me about your family, Odette" Speech,

She looked at him with her bi-colored orbs, wondering what she had done to get a nice boy like him to cross her path. A smile slowly crept across her face, but it was interrupted with a yawn. Odette lowered her head on crossed paws, curling closer to Seth to keep from getting cold. An ear twitched in his direction as he asked of her family. Once she had snuggled into a comfortable position, she answered him. "I have two littermates, Oracle and Galahad. My brother and sister are very sweet and look like Mama. Oracle would play Kingdom with me, but Gala would stay beside Mama because he liked spending time with her." She took a deep breath in and continued to speak. "I have older sisters and an older brother, but I don't know them very well. Only Avalon and Leo. Ava disappeared after my parents did...Leo just travels, too. I don't know Orica at all..." Odette flicked her tail and wrapped it around her hind paws. "Papa and Mama were very loving and comfortable. I could snuggle up next to Papa every night and know I was safe..Mama was too small, but I loved her anyway." Her eyes closed and another sigh escaped her. "I really do miss them, Seth..." Talk like this

She was such a sweetheart, and it saddened him that she found herself so alone in life so soon. He had to protect her. Someone had too. A smile crossed his features as she snuggled into him and began telling him about her siblings. Oracle and Galahad, her direct siblings and then her older siblings, Avalod and leo, and her parents. She had a family, and he could bet that they loved her, as much as she loved them. She didn't deserve to lose them, no one deserved to lose that. Curling his tail around him, he let it rest around her as well, as the storm raged outside. "I'm sure your family misses you very much, Odette. They sound lovely. Perhaps when the storm passes we can go to some of the neighboring territories and search for them, yes? Someone somewhere has had to hear of what happened to your siblings." He mused allowed, he couldn't just sit idly by and watch the young she-wolf lose her family. He had to, and would do something. Speech,

Odette's hope for finding her family began to grow in size. She wondered where they were and why they had been gone for so long. Even though she wanted to find them with all of her heart, a part of her was beginning to say that maybe they wouldn't come if she continued to wait in their den. It had been months and she had been wrapped up in the one and only place she had ever called home. Maybe looking for them with Seth wasn't a bad idea. She looked at Seth from a semi-closed eye, red opt shimmering beneath the partially open lid. "That sounds like a good plan, Seth. I just hope we don't wind up getting in trouble by doing it." After all, in the short time Gargoyle had been around, he had told her to never venture too far into the unknown with someone she just met. However, he wasn't here, giving her full rein to make her own decisions. A slight flick of her tail was given, and she sighed softly before closing the only eye still open. "Tomorrow isn't too far away and I hope the storm will be by then." Talk like this