"Carina..." Regulus's voice shook as he searched with her. "Carina, come here to your Papa right now! Carina!"
He waited as the plump woman approached them, anticipating that she would tell him that his daughter had gotten turned around, that she was crying somewhere and waiting on him but fine. What he heard, however, was not that. A chill ran through him and everything turned to the side, forcing him to swiftly grip onto a nearby bench to keep from falling over. "No...there is no other menagerie..." he had to be strong now, he told himself, had to ensure that he didn't fall apart, not before Carina was found.
"And the man..." he said, focusing on the other part that this woman had offered in her explanation. "What did he look like, which way did they go? Did you happen to catch his name?" His voice sounded desperate even to him. He needed something, anything to focus on, his little girl couldn't have just vanished into nothing with some strange man while he wasn't looking. He had turned away. His back had been to his only child and she was gone now, taken as a punishment of sorts for his own neglectfulness. Gods...