☀ — and till the end you're my very best friend

//tldr; pierce's kid wandered off when he left to get some work done for the day and he came back to find her gone, so now he's freaking out in camp about it :^) it'd be best if we didnt do any search parties or anything since she's actually just lost but if any character wants to go with him to look around or smth that'd be chill

[i]"You stay in camp and play, okay?" Pierce had instructed Clementine when he was preparing to leave for the day, just to check the border and catch up with any work that the high positions may need help with, a warm smile decorating freckled features. "You can get some hot cocoa, or something- maybe you'll even make some new friends. If you want to leave, though, I want you to go with Uncle Rid." He would have taken the little girl with him, but what he had planned for the day would likely involve a lot of hiking, and he didn't want to put too much stress on her little lungs, especially after her long journey to Snowbound just a week or so ago. A quick kiss upon the top of her head and an, "I love you," and he set off, intending to check back in in only two or so hours and trusting his daughter to follow his instructions.  [/i]

Of course, kids would be kids, and considering Clem was somewhere new and had never really gotten much of a chance to explore on her own her whole life, what happened next  should have been something Pierce expected. Upon his return to the little village, however, he was greeted by no smiling, or even wildly bored, little girl. He'd checked his home to see if she was there, or if Riddler was gone as well, though he found his friend alone in the cabin. He'd stopped by neighbors, all of whom said they hadn't seen her. Fuck, fuck, fuck, how could he let this happen? His breathing was becoming more ragged now, heart hammering in his chest as he tried to force himself to calm down and think rationally. It wasn't like Clem had never wandered off before, but neither of them really knew this territory, and therefore, he had no idea what sorts of dangers she may be facing. What had she been thinking? Pierce was normally a rather calm person, who knew how to keep a level head, but when it came to his daughter, things were different. He'd only just gotten her back after months of being apart, not to mention all his reasons for worry before he'd even had to leave.

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, though his legs still shook, the slightly effeminate serval would call into the camp, "Hey, uh, have- have any of you seen my daughter, Clementine? She was just here this morning, she's a-a little white serval, she has green eyes; she was, um, wearing her green bow this morning, too." God, he was a mess - this whole thing was a mess - but what else was he supposed to do? He was already in a state of panic, and he didn't think there was going to be a way to track her with so many different scents and trails leading out of camp. Maybe someone else had seen here, or brought her somewhere? At least, then, he'd have some sort of idea as to where to look next.

"speech"