With Zane missing, the only place you all thought of checking was the cave.

Hence this situation now.

You all followed the footsteps that were scattered throughout the cave in many different directions.

But your mother found herself stopping at...box on wheels?

"What's this?" "Uhm..Its a box on wheels. Right?" You hummed, giving the contraption a push.

The sudden shove made a rock from above fall with a crash. You leapt back to Aarons side as Kim shouted in fear.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, Kim!" "Tha..That wasn't me!"

Wait...What?

You looked around for some other person, who might've have the proper vocal cords to make thay noise. But you felt a snicker rise in the back of your throat when you saw Garroth with a slightly embarrassed but still fearful expression.

"Do-Don't worry Garroth. It'll he okay! Uhhh...Uhm, I mean like. Look at this place! It's a very complex cave system!"

"Hahaha! Garroth screams like a girl!" You giggled, pointing to Garroth with a grin.

"Sh-Shut up, Y/n!" "How is this system so complex," Lucinda butted in, "It's just a long tunnel."

"Yeah, a cool long tunnel! I've never been inside a cave before!" You were attempting to lighten your own mood.

But even that was proving to be a difficult task.

" I mean, it's geographically impressive. A cave shouldn't exist here. Whoever dug this cave really planned this out. I mean this place is just a-" Kim and yourself stop being an awe when Aphmaus small whines could be heard.

And your ears instantly fell again at your mothers pained cries.

"Kim, Y/n. I get you two are excited about...this cave...But don't forget the real reason why we're here."

"Oh...Oh! I'm so sorry! I was just trying to lighten the mood! Nice going Kim..."

"Stay here for a moment, Y/n. I'm going to talk to your mother." "Oh..okay." You watched as Aaron walked up to Aphmau and placed a hand on her shoulder, making Lucinda chuckle a little.

"What?" "Not going to listen in?" "You can tell when I do that!?" "Yeah. Your ears get all stiff and wide."

"Whoa...That's so cool. Even I didn't know that happens. And they're on my own body!"

Lucinda laughed and gave you a small pat on the head as Aphmau and Aaron watched the two of you.

"Look at her. She's a little kid. If you and I panic, she will too. So try to keep your head. We'll find Zane." "Ri-Right."

"There are also footprints we can follow! We're bound to find him!"

"Ugh...And we better find him soon."

"Why's that?"

You looked down on the ground curiously before growing shocked to see the footprints Lucinda made appear fade away into nothingness.

"Hey...HeyHey! Where are the feet going!?" "Quick! Follow them!" You quickly sped off after the footprints, being the fastest out of you all with your werewolf strength and speed.

But even then, you couldn't catch them.

"Nononono!" You whined, coming to a stop after realizing your attempts were fruitless.

"Wa-Wait! Lucinda, what's going on?" "Why are the footprints disappearing!" "My spell must be wearing off..." "The footprints behind us left too!" You whined.

"Darnet..."

"Lucinda, cast the spell again!"

Lucinda tried to do just that before Garroth could say anything but...nothing was happening!

"I..I can't..!" "Why not!?" "Witchcraft doesn't work like that! I have to recharge--I have limitations..I just..Can't recast!"

"Lucinda, please!"

"Aphmau, I understand how you and Garroth feel about Zane but...I just..can't."

"ZANE!" Garroth yelled, running off further into the cave.

"I-I'm sorry."

With the spell no longer working, Garroth figured called and running for her brother would work.

"Dad..?" You mumbled, looking up at Aaron.

"It'll..It'll be fine. We'll find Zane! Lucinda, you did a good job." "I could've done better." The witch growled, obviously displeased with herself.

She walked in the direction Garroth went before you could comfort her as did everyone else.

The footprints were gone now.

No trace of Zane anywhere.

There was only one thing you could think of.

But its not like it was going to be easy.

Not easy at all...

...Garroth managed to get further in the cave coming across a fork in the road.

Two different paths.

You sniffed the air, sneezing when a speck of dust hit your nose instead of Zanes smell. But you did manage to catch something.

And although your nose may lead you to someplace else, the path you were smelling seemed like the best place to go.

"I think we should go this way." Aaron pointed. "I was just about to say that! This way seems best!"

"Why?" "I smell something." "Right! Your snooter!" "Y-Yeah, Y/ns nose. And I just have a feeling." "A feeling..? You're basing Zanes location on a feeling!? And a child whos senses are clearly not as strong as a grown wolves. No offense to you at all sweets." Lucinda snapped slightly.

That took you by surprise.

You've never heard Lucinda take that tone before.

"Its a...just a hunch. But it seems like he was taken down this way." "I-I just don't know...I have a feeling he was taken this way." "Which way then?" "This one! I can smell!"

"Y/n, I know you want to help. But I'm on this. You too, Aaron." An irritated look formed on your face.

Your senses may have been out of wack recently, but you knew what you were talking about!

And Aaron did too.

"I started a chase and now I'm going to finish it. He went this way."

"Lucinda, please! I am almost certain it's this way!"

"Well..why don't we just split up and take both ways."

"That's not a good idea. Splitting up is not a thing we should do right now!"

"Arguing isn't going to help either, though.." You commented meekly, earning a look from both Aaron and Lucinda.

That made you take a place behind Aphmau.

"Well then how about you cast a spell and find a trail of-" "Guys'! Y/n is right, now is not the time to argue. Please, lets just focus on getting Zane back!" "I agree. So we go this way."

"Ugh..." Aaron groaned, going to way he wanted.

"Dad, wait up!" You looked at Lucinda for a moment before following Aaron threw the tunnel you both chose despite Aphmau and Garroths calls.

"Dad, you got mad back there." You panted, finally being able to catch up to Aaron.

In such a short time, he sure managed to get a couple feet away from you all.

Aaron turned back to you for a moment, his eyes going soft. But they hardened up again as he continued his stride forward.

"I wasn't mad." "You sounded mad." "Watch it." "I know, sorry...But, are you really basing this off a feeling? I mean, I agree with you entirly because it feels like his scent came from here. But going on a feeling seems ir..iri..uhm..."

Aaron stopped walking with a sigh, but turned his head to you. He smiled at the way you fumbled with words you didn't know.

"Irrational?"

"Ye-Yeah! Irrational!" Aaron chuckled before placing a hand on your head, "It is a little irrational, I know. But..something in my guy is telling me Zane went down this way. Like your nose did."

"Hm...Alright. I trust you." You grabbed onto Aarons hand with a grin making him smile.

It wasn't long before Aphmau caught up with the two you slightly out of breath.

"What was that about?" "I wasn't going to wait around and argue. There was no point." "Dad said he had a feeling in his gut about it, you kinda missed the whole pep-talk thing. I had that covered this time~" You chuckled smugly.

"Did I now? Well, while I agree that there was no point in arguing, Lucinda was just on edge because of the failed spell. Trust me, when that happens, she's not the most rational person to talk to."

"Its okay. Neither is Aaron when he's mad!" "I wasn't mad." "Was too! We literally just discussed that you were being irrational!"

Aaron made a small noise of disagreement making you laugh, "See? You growled!"

"I've just always had an issue."

"...Hey, Y/n, go see what's ahead for us, hm?" "Oh! Yeah, okay!" "What? No she shouldn't-" You ignored Aarons calls as he sighed a little, "Go off on her own."

"She'll be okay. Honestly, I'm having a bit of a hard time right now. Keeping her in check and with Zane. So you and Lucinda leading the search...It really helps a lot. I'm just shocked with Zane being missing and i'm struggling to keep a level head with Y/n around."

"And that's why i'm here. I don't like seeing you this way, it's not you."

"Thanks. I'm..sorry. I'm-"

"I FOUND FIRE ON THE WALL!"

"What!? Get away from that right now!" Aaron yelled, causing you to sqeak a tad and scamper off. He ran after you making Aphmau facepalm.

"It's probably a lantern Aaron. Jeez..." She approached the two of you to see Aaron putting you on his back with an exhasperated sort if expression crossing his face.

That made a question pop in her mind, "So. What did make you want to go this way?" "Huh?" "Well, I know Y/ns nose was a partial cause. But I know that's not all."

"I already told you Mom! The feeling in his tums!" You rolled your eyes.

I mean, seriously, had she not been paying attention this entire time.

But then, Aaron said something you weren't expecting.

"Your..jacket." "Huh?" "I could smell the same scent coming from this direction." "What!?" "...Now that you mention it..its faint. But fresh!"

"Wait...How the heck can you two smell that? I thought only I could..Hey! What'd you lie to me for..." You pouted, resting your head on Aarons as he began to walk again.

"I didn't tell anyone because I didn't think they'd believe me."

"I would've believed you!"

"You're right. Sorry, Y/n."

"Hmph...You better be..." You stopped your complaining however when you all came across an entire cave of the same jewels in your hoodue pocket.

They were all glimmering shining which brought life to the dimmed cave.

But there was also sets of bunkbeds near medical supplies. Like it was used to house someone. You leaped off Aarons back, making him stumble back a little as you went to sniff the green stones.

"This place..." Aaron breathed out.

"It's a mine! And..what are these?"

"Emeralds." You answered simply.

"Whoa! How'd you know that? Getting more smart in school?"

You blushed and turned away from Aphmau, "Ha! nO! I foun-" You paused midsentence.

Riiight...Aaron.

"Asher, told me about them. And these look like emeralds alright!" "Well i'm glad you're learning something." "This place...it looks like a bunch of people were staying here."

"Huh?" You and Aphmau glanced at eachother briefly before going to follow Aaron and see what he was referring to. It was the beds and medical supplies, obviously.

"What the-" "Whoa! Toolbox!" You marvled, sniffing at all the wonder before sneezing at a speck of dust that flew into your mouth and nose.

Though, it sounded more like a babys cough then a sneeze.

And that's what made Aphmau laugh, "Doesn't this stuff seem too dusty for someone to have been there recently?"

"Aph, we're in a cave. Everything here is dusty."

"Well they could stand to clean up a little! Sheesh..."

"Only to bring more dust back in? That sounds dumb."

"You say the same thing when I tell you to clean your room."

"Hush...Mm..No sign of Zane anywhere." "Why are there so many first aid kits?" "Uhm...Maybe someone scratched their knee!"

"Maybe Zane..?"

"That's not what I meant Mom-" You grumbled when your words fell on deaf ears as Aphmau only walked away and continued to call out to Zane.

"Why won't she listen, I don't smell Zane. So he's not here anymore!" "She's just stressed, kiddo. Don't get irritated on her yet."

"Well I am! I'm tired and hungry..."

"Well get you some sleep and food when we find Zane."

"Mkay!" Your ear twitched, "This would be a great place to makeout if I wasn't so distraught about Zane..!"

"WHAT!? EW, MOM THAT'S DISGUSTING! HOW COULD YOU THINK OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT RIGHT NOW!? YOU'RE SUCH A PERVERT!"

"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!"

"Well our little spy here heard you say something." Aaron smirked, taking your hand and walking over to Aphmau.
"Noididn'tsayanythingi'mjustmessedupaboutzane, ehehe!" "Liar." "Y/N!" "Uh-huh, heh. Lets keep looking." "Right."

The three of you split up to look around with you gazing at the emeralds with a curious stare.

If Asher was here he could tell you all about this stuff.

And Logan would probably tell you to not be scared by doing stupid things.

Your ears fell.

You really did miss everybody...

But it won't be long until you see them again!

Or maybe...You made sure Aphmau and Aaron were watching before pulling and tugging at a sharded gem and pulling it out entirly.

Your eyes sparkled with wonder.

It was a lot different than the one you took from Aaron. It was smaller, and more broken.

It also had less of a glow. To someone close enough, it looks to be nothing more than a green rock.

But close up, its just like the emerald Aaron had.

Maybe it'll come in handy.

You put it in your pocket but winced slight after realizing how heavy all of this had become.

It would be a great time to have your backpack right about now.

You decided to take put Scrouchy to lessen the load.

...Minutes felt like hours with how long the three of you had been searching.

You found comfort in a small corner of one Of the dusty beds, your tail wrapped around your body to keep you warm.

Even if it hurt a little bit when you overestimated your tails strength.

You had began nodding off while holding Scrouchy when you heard Aphmaus voice ring about the cave again.

"Come on, Y/n. Lets go." You shot up with a nod and quickly ran over to your parents who were waiting for you.

You leaped onto Aarons back - just as he had anticipated - and rested your head on his shoulder.

Your feet hurt.

"Its been awhile. We should've run into someone by now." You sniffed the air and shuddered just a little, "Someone's up ahead." You and Aaron both confirmed simultaneously.

"Zane!?" "Aphmau, wait!" "Whoa-!" You jolted awake a little when Aaron sped off after Aphmau.

Wow, he was fast!

And for someone with stubby legs, Aphmau could book it too. However, when you looked up ahead the people you smelt were fimilar.

It was Garroth, Kim, and Lucinda!

But for some reason, Garroth brought Aphmau into a rather passionate hug.

"OHHH, ZANE! BROTHER! I AM SO GLAD I FOUND YOU! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE MISSED YOU SO! I WAS SO WORRIED!"

"Garroth that's not-"

"Huh..You've gotten squisher."

"G-G-Garroth-" Aphmau wheezed out.

He was practically crushing the life out of her.

"Garroth, that's Aphmau! Silly billy." You laughed. "Huh? Aphmau? But you look like.." Garroth trailed off after gently setting Aphmau on the ground.

You could see his face slowly falling and it hurt you a little..

"I'm wearing Zanes extra jacket. Remember?" "But then that means..Where is Zane!?" "We..didn't have any luck."

"Same. We weren't able to find any sight of him...Other than a rapper of a candy bar."

Huh.

Even when getting kidnapped, Zane was still snacking.

"Well, I'm glad we found you guys." Aphmau sighed.

But her voice was very clearly laced with disappointment at the unimportant leads. You all sat in silence for a moment, as if waiting for something.

It clicked for you in a split second and you slapped Aarons arm.

"Ow! Hey-" "Heeey..." You glared.

Aaron stared at you, confused for a moment.

Was there a reason you just hit him?

Then he realized, "...Lucinda, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was just trying to help."

"Its not a problem. I'm sorry too. I was just upset I wasn't able to find Zane fron my spell." The way Lucinda was acting reminded you of Asher whenever he got a spell wrong or uncompleted.

He would always storm off with grumbles until his Mom made him float back down to her with her witchy powers.

She did that infront of you, Sophia, and Nico once. You laughed under you breath at the thought before Garroth began to shout, "Hey! You guys! I think I found the exit of the cave!"

"Really!?"

"Finally! These smells are messin' with my nose hairs." You breathed out running after Garroth with the rest of your family trailing behind you.

Garroth continued to lead you all until a rush of cold air hit your face and bodys.

A storm really was coming soon.

"Ahhh, coldcoldcold!" You whined, trying to run back into the cave but Kim grabbed your arm before you could.

"Was that it..?" "I'm afraid so..both ways lead here." "Then that means...Zane is still missing!"

Your body sunk at that.

Was Zane really gone..?

Its not like him to run off without a note or heads up.

Someone must've taken him or something.

Could it have been the people you've been smelling?

Ughh..All of this thinking was causing your head to hurt...

"Whats worse, this cave leads directly into the cabin. Which means, we must head back and ceal the entrance."

"I agree." Kim nodded.

She finally let go of your arm too.

Her and Lucinda turned back into the cave to head back in the way they came.

"Zane..Where could you be?" You could feel a whimpear rising in your throat.

Zane was your first friend, excluding Asher for a moment.

The anxiety and sadness rolling off others was getting to you too. But you quickly swallowed it.

Aphmau and Aaron are trying to be strong. So you should too.

"Garroth, I understand how you feel. But, I think getting back home and doing one more solid search through the cave might do us some good."

"You're right."

With that, the two turned back into the cave to look around a bit more for Zane.

Aaron and yourself were still outside.

"Hm..." "What?" "Its weird that Zane wasn't in there is all. How are you doing sweetpea?" "Uhh...Okay, I guess. I really want to find Zane." "I know so does everybody else." "Mhm...! Hey, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Aaron questioned softly, quickly going on his guard.

He was surprised to hear a babys wolfs whimpear instead of a persons voice.

Your tail wagged at the new sound.

"Puppy!" "Hold on, Y/n-" Aaron sighed when you ignored him and went to check out where the noise came from, only to find a wounded pup who was very clearly in pain.

It smelled of wet grass and wood.

As well as many other wolves.

And..a little bit of that girl from before.

"Aww...its so cute! Are you okay?" You beamed.

It stared at you for a moment(almost like studying you)before licking your hand with a wag of its tail. "It likes me..!"

"Y/n, you don't know where that's been don't touch it. Hey there, little guy.." Aaron coaxed gently, approaching with slow small steps.

Basically the opposite of what you did.

The wolf pup growled in response limping to hide behind you.

"Hey, its okay. I'm friendly. The same as my...daughter here."

Oh, there's that tail.

Wagging on its own again.

Dropping its guard, the wolfs eyes went soft as you lifted it up gently and held it out to Aaron. Just what was making him whimpear?

"That's more like it. Now, lemme take a look at that wound."

"Mm...How bad is it?"

"Not too bad. But he has to get patched up. Or else it can get worse." Aaron sat the first aid kit down next to the pup who flinched at the strange box.

It looked to you for an answer.

"Oh, its just a first aid kit. It contains all the stuff that'll make you better! Just..There's no food." The wolf whined making you sigh, "I know, right?" Aaron chuckled at you both and began patching the wolf up.

"That's not good enough..." "He's still bleeding! Now what?" "Uhh...Okay." You widened your eyes in slight surprise when Aaron ripped part off the fabric of his jacket sleeve away just to tie it around the wolf pups ankle.

And it worked perfectly!

Well...you assumed. I mean, the jackets red and so was the blood.

He could still be bleeding out, to be honest-

"There. That should do it." "You're all better bud! Stay safe!" The wolf stared at you and Aaron for a moment, a look almost similar to that of thanks in his eyes.

But he didn't react anymore than that before taking off down deeper into the forest surrounding the lodge.

Only the distant howls of his voice could be heard all around as you grinned.

"He said thank you!"

"Heh..yeah, I heard. Lets get back to the others."

"Okay!"