Maldore turned his gaze over his shoulder every few score of paces to keep watch on the stumbling Traveler. Between them were his two younger siblings, the small band now almost out of sight of the den. The fields of mist surrounded them in every direction, only distant mountain peaks and the occasional nearby hill visible above it.
He hated leaving his home abandoned, but at least the entrance was concealed by a few stone slabs that the Traveler assisted with. Maldore worried that his head injury would create problems, but as yet, only the strange Namican's infrequent limp seemed to show.
At their rapid pace, the meeting place was only a few hours away. Neither Maldore or his brother had been there in some time; it was only the Traveler's assurances that told them it was the correct route. But once they arrived, both Maldore and Palluck knew it was the place. A short rocky cliff rose from the planes before them, suddenly materializing through the fog. Offset from the center was a crevice about twice as wide as Maldore at the shoulder, and three times as high. Ahead, the entrance widened into a massive stone hollow.
"Careful," the Traveler motioned. "Whatever ran them off might have returned."
Maldore sent him a narrowed glance. "I thought you didn't see what happened."
"I didn't. But there's still the possibility. Plus, you might not want to disturb the pawtracks of everyone leaving."
Maldore hissed, stopping himself before he could step on a faint impression. Stumbling back, he dropped their supplies as he bent down to inspect.
"Palluck... it looks small, a female. But not one of our aunts."
His younger brother, guiding their sister, stooped next to him. He ran a paw alongside.
"Could be a cousin we don't know about."
The Traveler looked over their shoulders. "Too recent. Look, the other impressions are already faded, probably from the wind."
Palluck motioned with a nod to the set of tracks. "So whoever she was is probably following her parents too?"
Their sister suddenly issued a low whine. She huddled close to Palluck, her eyes wide.
Maldore grimaced. "She's hungry."
The Traveler shook his head. "This is taking too long."
Maldore nodded, raising his eyebrows. "Yes--"
"No, I mean, I've been letting you both look for clues, but you're not seeing them. The tracks go that way."
They followed his rigid paw off to a crevice in the back area of the stone hollow. Maldore and Palluck exchanged glances. The elder shook his head to the Traveler.
"Are we missing anything else?"
The Traveler nodded, twitching his eyes beyond them. Turning, they saw a pair of eyes watching them from an overhead crevice. The figure suddenly turned, darting.
