Joss was relieved to see his twin sister, Jessie there waiting patiently. He was then very confused to see the bright smile on her face.
She ran up to them with excitement and pointed to the large chest they had dug up so far. "Look guys - Jyriah and I found some sort of magical chest - did he tell you guys? Where's everyone else?"
"What do you mean? Neither of you came back for dinner, and the moon is starting to rest. Where is Jyriah?" Joss asked with more panic than before.
"He said he went to find you guys to help dig this thing up," Jessie argued and looked at all three of the grim faces that looked at her.
"He's missing, isn't he?" she asked as though she expected it.
Lara nodded, "We should cover this up and then go meet with the others. Something isn't right here."
"Clearly. I swear all the powers that be are against us. Can't we all just stay together for more than two days or so?" Jessie stated with sarcastic lamentation as she let out a deep sigh.
"Come on, let's go check up with the others..." Lara said in attempt to comfort them, but everyone was on the same page of being in a bad mood - so it did no good for anyone.
They lazily covered the hole that had been dug with leaves and other dirt. It was far more than just frustrating to see all of her hard work covered up, but Jessie helped all the same.
It wasn't far away to get back to their campsite, and they had all planned on going past it, but they saw Metas, Myranda, and Veltar sitting as their mortal forms and having a heated discussion.
The fire was dying by now, and the sun was starting to come up. They would need to get hidden before the day began, otherwise they were easy targets should anyone be out looking for them. That didn't stop the argument from being hotter than the remnants of flames past.
"I can't just sleep - my brother is missing! I knew I should have gone with him. Damn it." Myranda argued against both Veltar and Metas who had sympathetic looks mixed with frustration.
"Mandy..." Metas started, but stopped when he saw her face sour into a foul glare.
"Don't. I can't lose Jyriah. I can't. Please, let's just go back out there and look for him a little longer. Or at least let me sleep out in the space that smells like him the most..." she replied with heat in her voice.
"Luna, please. It's not a good idea - we can look tomorrow, and I am sure Jyriah is fine. He's the most capable wolf I know," Veltar tried to comfort the wet-eyed female as she crumpled into tears.
Metas reached out and pulled her towards him in protection, and he expected her to push him away in her anger. She surprised him however, and wrapped her arms around him so that she could cry into his chest where it would muffle.
It was hard to deny how good he felt when she didn't deny his affection.
"I am sure there will be scouts, and we still need to put this out, cover it, walk back down the river bank, and then walk back up the river to get home... It's going to take a lot of time," Veltar argued gently.
"You didn't find Jyriah either?" Joss interrupted with a broken expression of sadness.
Metas just shook his head and ran his fingers through her hair as if to not rub in the answer more. His soon-to-be wife was distraught, and all he could think of as of now was to comfort the female he loved, and who was now missing two siblings, one of which no one was sure was dead or alive.
What could have happened to him?
*****
Jyriah had yelled as loud as he could, and he had even dropped leaves and other debris onto the heads of his sister, his Alpha, and Veltar -- but it was like he was invisible.
He was so thirsty now, and as the sun rose, he got far more tired - but who could sleep suspended in the air in a net?
'I bet even Myranda couldn't sleep in this,' he thought with a little bit of fondness to shake the isolation away. 'Actually...no, she could.'
This was probably what it felt to be one of those caged birds that used to be apart of the mines a long long time ago when the humans tore apart the mountain for ore. It was bad enough that the humans destroyed the earth - but they caged animals and left them to die, too? What was wrong with them?
'What does it matter - they're dead now...and I resent them further,' Jyriah continued to talk to himself as he looked around the evergreens and pines that grew all around them.
It was actually beautiful. He couldn't see much, but he could see the icy tops of the mountain, the colorful birds that flew by, and the sweetness of the air that lacked all the mixtures of dirt, grime, and other animals.
Still, if this was what flying was like - count him out forever.
The fiery-haired male with streaks of black (and gold if the light shined on his tresses the right way), leaned his head back and tried to stick it out of the square openings but it didn't work.
"This sucks!" he grunted as he kicked around the net to try to get some kind of leverage to shift his weight around to get comfortable.
Nothing worked. Nothing helped. He was stuck being uncomfortable, and he was a prisoner of the air.
He closed his eyes over and over again in hope he could sleep, but each time he opened his eyes, the sun was still out, and he was still stuck in a net.
Eventually, after hours of trying, he was able to nod off, and just as he was about to start a dream, he felt a cold poke in his face.
"Hey - heeeeey! Wolfyman - are you alive?" he heard the voice of what sounded like a child talk to him from just above his face.
As Jyriah opened his eyes in aggravation, as soon as he saw the face attached to the sound, his eyes widened the rest of the way in shock.
"V-vampire child!" he shouted and tried to scramble away, but his footing was no good. He just looked like a little squirrel caught in a trap trying to flail around to get out.
"Hehehe - you're funny. I was hoping to catch some big food- but you're better. What's your name? Wolf-man?" the young boy asked as he floated around in the air like a little fairy -- a devious, mischievous little tooth fairy.
"Why should I tell you - and let me down!" Jyriah replied with venom in his words.
"But why would I do that? I've always wanted one of you guys as a pet, but my mom always says no. Now that I caught one, I'm not just going to let you go! No way!" the child argued and then once more reached his finger in to poke Jyriah, who snapped at the little brat's appendage.
"Bad! No bite!" the child scolded and shook the net a little, which caused the poor wolf to let out a yelp.
"Stop - please stop that!" Jyriah pleaded.
"Then you be good, you naughty dog!" the child spat back and stuck a tongue out at Jyriah.
"I have no words for this predicament..." the red head said to himself with disbelief.
"Now, tell me your name or I'm going to give you one myself," the boy insisted and put both of his closed fists on his hips as he 'stood' in the air.
"Come on, kid - just let me down, please. This is the worst time ever to kidnap me. My sister-" Jyriah was cut off as the kid shook the net again.
"Booooring! I'm giving you a name. I'm going to call you.... Pawsie! Yeah. You're Pawsie now, and you're my pet!" the child decided for the two of them, which left Jyriah's face in a twisted expression of shock and dread.
"No...oh please no.... I need to get out of here..." Jyriah pleaded and started to grit his teeth in anger.
"You can go...when I let you go..." the little one grinned with a wide, devilish smile.