[Chr24] Ancient Ruins and Lost Children

When Maisiel had heard about an old castle from the times of Alphas, she knew she needed to see it for herself.  Whether it was curiosity or a deeper sense of needing to know more about where she had maybe come from, she insisted on finding her way there.  She began to pack, much to her mate's worry.  Maki sat there and watched as she paced, grabbing things as she muttered to herself what she needed.  He soon shook his head and stood up, walking over and looking inside of the bag.  Maisiel stepped past him before he could really look, setting down a book inside on top of the smaller bags she had packed already.  He shook his head, "What are you doing this for?"  She grabbed the bag "I just need to do this." She said before she walked over to him, nuzzled him, and left.  This left Maki completely stunned.  He felt like something was wrong; no, he knew something was wrong.  He just wished he knew what it was.

He had begun to search their den, looking for any clues as to where she had gone.  He finally noticed a piece of paper that had been near the books she had grabbed before she left.  He began to look over it.  On the paper held notes about a castle, a castle tied to the old alphas.  He thought over it for a minute before sitting down and thinking it over.  She had kept it from him, and that hurt him.  But he also knew he needed to go after her.  He looked at the Glacial Twiwa, curled up in its little cubby they had made for it.  "Let's go" He called for it, walking over and nudging it gently awake.  It opened its eyes to look at him before resting once more.  He let out a soft sigh before simply turning and going to leave.  He still had to go and get Yvena and Klasp.  He went to see Klasp first.  Before he could even finish explaining, she turned and grabbed something before stepping out.  She didn't need all the information, she just needed to know that they needed to make sure Maisiel was safe.  The two of them went to tell Yvena, being greeted by the snowracer and her polar bavee.

"We're going to find Maisiel." Klasp explained, knowing there wasn't much more that needed to be said.  "Is she okay?" Yvena asked and the two looked toward Maki, who shrugged, "I'll explain more on the way."  The three of them wasted no more time to go and find Maisiel.  Luckily, she had left a pretty obvious trail and the three of them were able to find her relatively easy as she stood outside of the castle.  In the middle of the clearing lay the castle, trees almost seeming to grow around it, curving in before continuing up.  Beaten stones lined the way up to it, its walls reaching towards the sky, reaching a peak that pointed straight up.  The outside was almost nearly covered in moss, completely covering up the stone that had once been able to show.  The large mosaic created by the stained glass glinted in the sun, causing its desired effect.  Maki stepped closer to the still Maisiel.  "This is it," She didn't even question how they found her, or why they were there.

"Let's go in together."

The two of them took the first steps up the stones, walking up until they reached the tall, wooden doors.  As Maki walked up to open them, they seemed to creak open on their own.  He looked back at Maisiel before she walked past him and into the castle.  Yvena and Klasp waited outside, just a feeling they should give her the space, but also close enough that they can jump in and help.  Maisiel and Maki walk through the entrance, looking around at the surprisingly well-kept interior.  While there had been furniture thrown about, the actual structure was surprising to see nearly perfect.  They soon heard a small whimper, and looked to find a small pup.  It seems to hear the two approach and looks towards them, giving another small whine before it pushes itself up and runs into Maisiel.  She stumbles but ensures the young pup is safe before an unfamiliar sound comes from outside.  Maki walks towards the window and looks out to see large scales as something slithers past outside.  He turned to look for Yvena and Klasp before realizing they had never followed him in.  "Wait here." He said as he began to run back towards the door.  Just as he was coming, Klasp, Yvena, and the polar bavee, Mariposa, came running in.  He rushed over to check and see if they were okay as they turned back around.  Maisiel began to walk towards the rest of the group with the pup beneath her.  "What was that thing?  Did you guys get a good look at it?" She asked before there was a small thunk on the door.  They all waited for a moment before they looked at each other.  It wasn't much longer until there were even more.  Maki went over and opened up the door ever so slightly before seeing that it was Maisiel's Twiwa.  He quickly let it in, and it quickly flew over toward Maisiel and landed in her fur.

"What are we going to do about that.. thing?" Klasp asked.  The group was silent for a while, there wasn't much they could do.  "Wait it out.  Not much else we can do right now," Yvena began to look around the castle.  She was likely right about that, though there was also that chance that whatever it was wouldn't let them leave.  As they waited in silence they couldn't help but wonder about the pup, though.  Where did it come from?  Why was it here?  Where was its parents?  The more they thought about it, the sadder it got.  Either way, the pup was here, and so were they.  They weren't just going to leave it behind.  When the time would come to leave, they would leave the castle with it and protect it until they could figure out what the best course of action was for the little pup.