Sota made the long, tricky climb up to the tower room. If he was being completely honest he hadn't intended to come this way, but it had been awhile since he'd climbed the highest reaches of the castle and today he was feeling particularly spry. The weather had been favorable lately and he couldn't remember the last time his once-broken leg had bothered him, and recently he'd begun climbing again. The vast forests of his homeland were nothing at all like the trees here, which often proved too sparse for climbing - especially about the castle - but he'd taken to climbing the lesser-explored sections of castle, avoiding everyone's personal rooms and focusing on the sections that were crumbling and too dilapidated to be used. One section near the tower seemed like it'd sported a good view, and so after some deliberation the small man began his ascent.

One stretch of crumbling wall led to another, each section carefully tested with his paws before moving on to the next. Ensuring he was climbing something sturdy was important; a fall from this height would be certain death, and Sota had never been much of a risk-taker. At least compared to his family - he was sure most wolves would see him teetering on the edge of a crumbling wall near the edge of the tower and think he'd lost his mind, but he felt steady on his paws. After taking another few steps out, a few feet out from the tower room itself, he took in the view. It was breathtaking, and certainly worth the trip, even if it was a bit dangerous. He grinned as he looked out across all of Auster, from the flat Starlit Plains to the forests and rivers far beyond.

Boogie was missing. Bowen had looked everywhere for him. The little opossum had stayed behind in the Hallows while she was out paying her flesh price to the pirates and slavers that had stolen her. Bishop had gone along with her, but her opossum friend couldn't keep up. It was a good thing. The pirates probably would have tried to eat him. Now that she was back though, the girl hoped that she could find him again.

Up and up and up she went, following an old scent. Bowen couldn't really tell how old the scent trail was. She'd been out in the salt for so long, her land nose didn't seem to work as well as it once had. Her nose took her to the crumbled edge of castle where bits and pieces had begun to fall away. Bowen frowned, looking over towards the other side. She wasn't the largest wolf, but she was too large to skirt her way from one side to the other. "How am I going to find him if he's over there?" The caramel cream girl asked her raven companion. The avian purred and gave a few hops to the edge of the stone. His head curled, one intelligent eye looking skyward. The bird then released a caw and Bowen looked up to see a wolf sitting up on a higher level. How did he get up there? She would use the wolf's skill to her benefit.

"Hello up there! Would you be able to look around for a bit fat opossum while you're up there! He's gone missing! His name is Boogie!" Boogie spoke wolf tongue, so he would be able to understand the man. Perhaps he was hibernating and just couldn't hear her calling for him? "I'd be very grateful!" The girl called up to the man, her viridian gaze hopeful.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

The stone of the broken stone wall was smooth beneath his paws, the exposed stone long since weathered by the elements. It made climbing a little bit tricky because he lacked much to grip on to, but he was confident in his stability as he stood here for now and looked out across the vast expanse of land before him. Sota was focused on the scenery, so intensely that he barely noticed when someone entered his field of vision. He was mostly looking up though, not toward the ground, but the sound of a voice arrested his attention and he tipped his head low toward the ground. "Hello there!" He called back with a friendly grin.

It took him awhile to recognize her from this height. He squinted his eyes hard as he tried to get a better look at her, adjusting his position ever so slightly to get a better look at her. "You're Bowen, aren't you?" It'd been awhile since he'd seen her last - truthfully he hadn't come across neither her nor her scent for awhile now, now that he thought about it, and she was more grown than he remembered her. It wasn't his place to press her on the matter though, because she was asking for help finding her opossum friend, and who was he to deny her? "I can look for him! What's he look like?" Sota asked, already beginning to scan the territory around the castle.

The man seemed to recognize her, asking after her name and Bowen squinted, trying to remember his as well. So much had changed since she'd been stolen from the pack. A lot of her childhood memories were gone, replaced with more useful knowledge of cutthroat survival. As such, she couldn't remember the small brute's name, but she did remember his face and his kind eyes. The young woman smiled in return. "Yes, I'm Bowen!" It was nice to be remembered. It seemed that she hadn't been forgotten as she'd feared so many times while she was away. "I'm sorry," she spoke a little bashfully, "I don't remember your name."

When the man asked what Boogie looked like, a bit of tinkling laughter left the russet streaked fae. "He looks just like any opossum would look. White, black gloves, long pink tail. He's fairly large though." Concern etched her brow for a moment. "Or at least he was." Again she turned her emerald gaze upwards. "I haven't seen him since I was... Since I left." Bowen didn't really want it to be common knowledge as to where she'd been or what she'd done to get back. She would skirt around the issue unless asked directly.

(Don't find the opossum. XD)

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

She didn't remember him, but Sota wouldn't take it personally in the slightest. She'd been young then and it didn't necessarily surprise him that she might not remember. He knew how childhood could be, often hazy once you reached adulthood. "That's okay. You were young then. I'm Sota!" He called out to her with a wide grin, hard to see from his high distance but definitely audible in his light tones. He was happy to help her anyway, even if she didn't remember him at all. She explained what he looked like, just as he expected, and he went back to searching. It wasn't an easy feat from up here but he did have a better look around than she did, though unfortunately he was coming up short.

Another few moments of searching passed. Sota re-positioned himself, finding a route around the edge of the tower to continue searching, but he couldn't find anything at all. No signs of life caught his eye. He was disappointed, but felt determined to keep helping her if she wanted him to. "I don't see him from up here. I'll gladly help you look for him though if you want. I just have to find a way down,"Sota said, already mapping out his descent, though he cast her a glance to make sure she really wanted the company and assistance.

The man gave his name and a little flash of lightning went off in Bowen's head. Sota! She remembered the name, and with the name came the memories of their time together when she was much younger. "I remember you now! Good to see that you're still here!" She remembered that he'd been brought in with an injury. There had been talk of him leaving after the wound was healed, but she was glad that he had stayed.

Bowen frowned as Sota came back, saying that he hadn't seen the opossum. "Thanks for looking. I'm sure I'll find him eventually." Her gaze shifted to look out over the landscape around the castle. "I hope," she muttered to herself. Sota offered to help her look for Boogie and the young woman brightened. "Would you? I'd be very grateful!" She continued to stand, watching Sota figure out a route to pick his way back down to the level that she was upon. She couldn't deny being terribly worried. What if he fell? The girl shook her head and tried not to think of it.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

All at once he could see the recognition suddenly appear out of thin air, visible to him even from this great distance. "And I'm glad to see you've returned," he admitted unabashedly. He knew little of why she'd left and wouldn't press her on it. He knew that sometimes wolves went different paths in life, and sometimes those paths circled back around - not always, but sometimes. Such wasn't his fate but he was glad to see a familiar face again, and he was determined to help her if he was at all able. Making his way down would prove tricky, but he was sure he remembered the exact way he'd come up.

Bowen said she'd be grateful for the help and he grinned enthusiastically. Nimbly he swung his body around and made a leap toward another stretch of crumbling stone. Eventually he made his way tot he tower itself, only after a few long pauses and moments of deliberation. It wasn't too long before he navigated down the corridors and down to the castle's main floor, taking a few shortcuts he particularly liked along the way. Eventually he stood before Bowen, noting she hadn't grown much larger than he remembered her, though she was definitely grown now compared to how she'd been. "Lead the way and I'll keep an eye out. Maybe I can find a few trees to climb to get a better look out for him," Sota explained with a serious nod.

Bowen watched anxiously as Sota painstakingly made his way to the ground. When his paws touched down on the stone where she stood, she released a breath that she hadn't been aware was being held. His climbing made her a little nervous. When you climbed the mast on a ship, you could fall into the sea. When you climbed on land, you fell onto land. Not the same result.

Sota was much smaller than she remembered. It made Bowen feel a little strange. She was so used to being smaller than everyone, yet here she was, a bulking beast in comparison to the tiny wolf. "Thank you for your help," she spoke in her soft tones. "I seem to remember you having helped me before." Bo shot the small brute a little grin and motioned for him to come with her. He mentioned climbing trees and Bo cast him a sidelong glance. "You sure do like climbing, don't you?" A soft laugh accompanied those words as they moved down and out of the castle. A gentle breeze played through the fae's copper and cream fur and she closed her emerald eyes momentarily as she inhaled deeply. Only then did she scan around for some suitable climbing trees.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

He noted the relief on her features when he finally touched the ground. He, too, had felt a similar sense of relief on more than one occasion - getting back into climbing had been particularly nerve-wracking at first after his last fall. Instead of acknowledging it he merely chuckled and decided to get to work finding her lost companion. What kind of packmate was he if he didn't at least offer to help? He hoped he might be successful and help reunite them, but he knew things weren't always as easy as he hoped they might be.

"Yes, you're right. Treasure, was it?" It seemed a lifetime ago now. So many things seemed too far in the past to really recall properly. Either way Sota was happy to trail after her, scouting out the lands around the castle. The trees here were sparse but he hoped he might find a decent vantage point as they got further out. "You're right, I do. It's a bit weird, I guess at least for most of the wolves here, huh?" He let out a little laugh as he hurried along, closing the distance between them and a tree close by. "What better to do with my size than to climb though?" His little legs carried him over to it and he stopped to pause, sizing it up. Without much hesitation he leapt up, struggling the first time to reach the lowest-hanging branch, but before long he was balancing carefully on it and trying to get a better look out around them.