All these lives

^^ Raindrops pelted the girl's face, and she squinted her face in opposition. When had it started raining? She tried to open her eyes, only to close them again against the water falling from above. She couldn't remember falling asleep outside, but that didn't mean much. Pups fell asleep in lots of places outside the den. She righted herself and opened her eyes once more to take a look around. 

 She expected to see her mother, or her siblings, but she saw no one. She wasn't accustomed to being alone and instantly disliked it. She whined, hoping someone would hear it over the rain. When no one immediately appeared, Sage whined louder, opening her jaws so that the sound carried. 

^^

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Scabiosa left the mountain days ago. She wanted nothing to do with it when it came to the wolves that lived up there - she'd been to the temperate lands for only a short time before leaving that one. She was hoping she'd find her brother in this place somehow. Lost, like she was. Maybe with his baby mama too - only that wasn't the case. As far as she was aware, her sibling was not here. And even then, none of the others either. Not Oleander, not Witchhazel or Kneph, not the youngest pup, not Oleander's girl. None of the wolves she knew. She was hurting, and it did hurt, not being able to go back to them. She couldn't bring herself to stick to one place, or go looking for the other packs to see what was up with them. Perhaps it was her natural aversion to packs in the first place, or maybe it was the fact that she was starting to miss the tribe. Because there wasn't a single chance for her to see them again. She still wouldn't have gone back if there was. Not to them, maybe to the sanctuary, but not to them. 

Instead, Scabiosa was wandering. To where? The girl had no idea. There was no way for her to know. Not without either knowing the lands herself or finding someone for directions. Most she came across... Well they seemed as lost as she was. Except for the mountain pack. Scabiosa didn't want to think about the mountain pack anymore. She hardly noticed when it started raining, the drops soaking into her fur and reminding her of times she'd rather not remember. But it also reminded her of the time she homed on the beach with her brother before they moved into the forest so he could be around his kids when they were born. Good times.

Her head turned when a whine was captured in the wind. It sounded like a pup, too young to be alone. Scabiosa knew what an upset baby sounded like, so she moved. It was hard to tell where the sound came from exactly with the rain, but eventually Scabiosa saw the bundle of fluff against the trees. The kid was alone. Had she been left by her guardians? Or was it that she woke up here?

"Are you okay?" She moved closer - it didn't smell like the kid was injured, but just in case.

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^^ She was getting irritated by the rain, but it was put on the backburned to the feeling of being alone and not seeing her mother anywhere. As the moments lingered on, her voice got louder. She had no idea that those who heard her might not have the best intentions towards her. She just wanted her momma!

 A voice silenced her instantly, and her heart jumped, expecting it to be her mother. The disappointment was evident on her face when it was a stranger instead. I want my Momma, she declared, the distress clear in her voice. Do you know where she is? the pup asked. 

^^

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Scabiosa instantly felt bad for the child. Waking without her parents... She must be terrified. Of course, Scabiosa started to wonder if the parent did wake here and left the child behind. It wouldn't be that weird would it? A mother wakes with her kid, finds they're in a strange place and wanders off. Then again, with the kid being so worried about the woman it was unlikely, unless her mother was waiting until she could eat solid meats to leave her behind. Scabiosa knew some would pull shit like that. She'd not seen many on the way out here, but Scabiosa figured if she saw the woman she would know.

"What does your mother look like?"

If not... then well... Scabiosa didn't know what she would do. Her brother always had better ideas when it came to stuff like this. Then again, she was sure he might have wanted to take the kid with them. Or at least look for her mother. Scabiosa could do both, sure, but she at least wanted to know what the woman looked like just in case they passed by while she was walking. She nudged the kid.

"Let's get out of the rain, yea?" Didn't want the kid to get sick even if she knew herbs that could help.

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I'm so sorry for the wait on this <3

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When the voice came, Sage's brain automatically thought it was her mother. She jumped up and turned to face the direction from which it came, tail wagging instantly. But the face that she was greeted with belonged to a stranger. Her body stilled as the words they spoke finally registered. She's uh, brown mostly, and tan, Sage spoke hesitantly. Her name is Basil, she offered. She paused, hoping the other wolf might have seen her momma.

When the rain was mentioned, she looked around, as if she was just now seeing it. She had woken up in such a panic that it hadn't even registered to her that was getting wet. Not that it mattered much to her. She eyed the stranger, internally debating on whether or not she should trust them. It was a short-lived debate, seeing as how she didn't have much experience either way. She nodded, and took a few steps forward, implying she would follow the stranger.
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Brown and tan, a lot like the kid then. Still, Scabiosa did not recall anyone like that - not with the name Basil either. It almost sounded like the kind of name the sanctuary would give someone, all those plant names within their ranks. If that were the case, Scabiosa would know this kid already. So maybe putting names to locations wasn't all that a good idea. Not that it ever would be.

"I've never met someone with that name." She murmured with a frown.

At least the kid agreed to come with her out of the rain for now. A sick kid on top of a missing one was just asking for problems. Problems on top of problems on top of- Scabiosa got the point. She stilled her face back into a neutral stance, useless getting the kid worked up on top of her already shy body language. She lead the way - into the trees next to the lake. It didn't take long before Scabiosa was pushing into a rock formation offering cover from the rain - not for long, but just enough for her to figure out what to do about the kid.

"In here." A pause, and she moved out of the way. "Did she leave you here?" To Scabiosa it was... A rather obvious thing to worry about. What if the mother just left her kid here?

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She frowned when the stranger admitted that she had not seen her mother. Surely, she could not be very far. But, until they found each other, this wolf would have to do. She followed quietly, ready to be out of the rain and dry. It didn't take them long to reach a stopping point, and Sage paused a few meters away while she regarded the stranger. She seemed trustworthy enough, and Sage was smart enough to realize she had a better chance with her than without her. 

She entered slowly, but was quick to curl up and didn't take up much space. She shook her head side to side. No, we went to sleep together. Somewhere else. And then I woke up alone, in a strange place, she explained.
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Scabiosa waited for the pup to come into the safety of the rock structure. It made sense for her to not want to go right away - Scabiosa was a stranger to her. It must be scary. Things like this didn't scare Scabiosa anymore, at least not enough for her to panic about the missing mother. It was somewhat calming knowing the kid's mother wouldn't just leave her behind. It just meant they had to find her, then. Wherever she was...

"Do you want to look for her? I can help you."

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Her ears perked and a light of hope entered her eyes when Scabiosa asked to help look for her mother. Would you? she asked, the hope reflected in her voice. Surely, with the help of an adult, Sage would be reunited with her mother soon. Plus, ya know, someone to feed her. And, she was kind of hungry, but she wasn't going to voice that just now. She needed to know that they would be looking for her mother first.
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The kid perked up when Scabiosa mentioned finding her mother, so at least she wasn't completely giving up right away. Besides, it was safer if the girl came with her instead of wandering alone. A lot of things could happen to a pup who was by themselves, and without a good way to feed herself Sage was a disaster waiting to happen. If they found her mother, then sure, that was a plus to the whole thing. If not, and the girl didn't want to stick with her, maybe Scabiosa could help her out until she was at least a yearling and then let her go. Or drop her of with one of the local packs, but she wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not.

"Sure, i'll help you look for her."

That's the plan.

Sorry about such a late reply! We can fade here, and then you can go ahead and have Sage find her mother like you mentioned in Pm's!

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