[Puffin [RP]]

There was something interesting in the way things had happened. Mercury had been missing since before Puffin had joined Nardir nearly four years ago, Aylie had been in the wind since Alchemilla fell, and Julek's mission in the neutrals had...been extended. Alana had hid it well, but Puffin had known she was worried. Quietly, then distractedly, then fervently. Her decision to take Anika and lead search parties into the neutrals had been a last ditch attempt to find those lost, in a way made Puffin think of a certain hurricane. He'd watched over things while she was gone, hoping for the best.

And then Auklet had shown up, a blast from his past, and it was the beginning of a series of events he had had no way of predicting. Julek returned on his own, Anika found Aylie and Mercury, and just as they returned to Nardir, the earth moved in terrifying ways. The beginning of something indeed. The "what" of it scared him, to tell the truth, but there was nothing for it but to wait and watch. Wait, watch and...talk.

The tricolor dog trotted happily towards the royal den, hoping he might catch Alana before she left for the day. They were both busy people, but sooner or later they needed to slow down and catch up. "Alana!" he called out, poking his nose into her den and looking for her golden pelt. Nope. He turned around, and then jumped when he saw her walking up behind him. "There you are! You got a minute?"

This was...unscheduled. He hoped he wasn't interrupting anything. But he didn't see Julek, so probably not? "If now's a good time, I mean! I just thought we could talk, for a bit. Catch up. I, uh, saw that Mercury and Aylie are back! So your trip went well, I take it?"