Jendai was a tiny scrap of a wolf on a good day, but next to these enormous oak trees she felt like an ant. Usually that might irk her, but it had turned out to be a blessing. One of the fallen oak trees had been hollowed out by time and weather and she had been able to slip inside to use it as a den. For once she was grateful for her small frame since this make-shift tree home had kept her out of the elements for a few days now. It was just one of dozens of places that she has called "home" in the last couple of years. She wondered sometimes what her life might have been like if she had made herself stay at home with her siblings, live in a pack, have a normal life. Sometimes, like when she's licking her wounds and stumbling her way through some basic healing techniques, she actually wishes she had done that. But, all the same, she knew her wandering had forced her to grow and learn so much. She slipped out of her "den" as the sun began to light up the sky with a yawn. She stretched with a groan, being careful not to bother the newest of her wounds. They weren't nearly the worst wounds she had ever gotten, but the small lacerations that dotted her shoulder were still healing and she knew better than to aggravate even the smallest of cuts. "Speak"

Finally, after their long journey, she felt some kind closure - though she'd cried against Novel that night, and many nights after, over the loss of her parents. Still, she wasn't ready to go home yet. Not until Steel told her if he'd decided he was staying with Faria, rather than going with them. Ara wouldn't blame him one bit - she just didn't want to leave if he wished to join them. It was worth lingering in these unfamiliar lands for a week or two longer, if it meant the possibility of Steel joining them back to Fiori. One thing that pleased her about being so far from home was that the plants and flowers that grew here were different than the ones she was used to at home. It wasn't necessarily the best time for collecting herbs, with the temperatures rapidly dropped and many plants turning brown and beginning to die as winter approached, but she didn't mind observing them nonetheless. Today she'd wandered far enough away to find a patch of oak trees. The day was still young, and the sky was dappled with a lovely display of warm colors. It was a stark contrast to the chill that seemed to hang in the air. She found herself shivering slightly as a gentle breeze rustled through her fur, her sapphire gaze lingering on the dense foliage above. The trees were bright as though they were on fire, a palette of orange and red and yellow that truly was a sight to behold. Her heart felt light as she moved aimlessly through the tall oaks, nose twitching as the tasted the wind. A familiar scent hit her suddenly. Initially, she expected it to be Steel, or Faria, the woman he'd been traveling with. But it tugged painfully at her heart - a rush of fond nostalgia washing over her. Jendai, her sister, was near. It'd been ages since she'd seen her, or Faolan, and the possibility of Jendai actually being near was exhilarating. Feeling sudden adrenaline rushing through her veins, her pace would increase drastically, pulling her frantically through the forest. When she finally caught a glimpse of her.. it could've been an hour from when she caught her scent to when she found her, or just a few minutes, she couldn't tell through her sudden anxious excitement. "Jendai!" Ara would exclaim, relatively loudly for her normally reserved self, a wide smile pulling at her lips as she rushed forward to greet her with a gentle nuzzle to her neck. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Just as Jendai was pulling herself back up into a normal standing position when suddenly she heard someone yelling her name. She jerked back a little in shock and all at once a scent that was so familiar from her past hit her right before a blur of gold and black rushed toward her. It wasn't till she felt her sister nuzzling her neck that her brain finally caught up and she put all the puzzle pieces together. "Ara?" she asked quizzically, still not quite believing it herself. Out of all the places she had been, this is where she ran into her sister? But, after leaning back just enough to see Ara's face and confirm that it was actually her, a huge grin broke out across her face. "Ara! It is you!" She laughed and leaned back in to happily return her sister's gentle nuzzle. "I can't believe you're here! It's been so long! What are you doing here?" Never in a million years would she have imagined that she would run into one of her siblings here. She thought for sure she was as far away as she could get from anyone that would know her, but it looked like life had different ideas for her.   "Speak"

Initially, Jendai looked stunned.. which was a perfectly reasonable reaction. She'd been away from her family for so long, she probably didn't expect to see any of them so randomly. It'd taken Ara a full season of wandering, if not more, to successfully find Steel.. and even that had been partially because of luck alone. She was glad that Jendai grew excited when she realized who had approached her so suddenly, and her grin widened as her tail flicked contentedly behind her.  "It is," she'd answer with a soft laugh. Slowly, after taking in her sister's scent as they embraced, she pulled away to get a better look at her. Wherever Jendai had been, she had been through a lot. Her face was lined with scars, but her demeanor as so bright that she assumed whatever had happened, hadn't been too traumatic. In a way, she looked just like their father right then, and she found the slightly concerned look that had briefly appeared slipping away again. The scars were not fresh, and did not need tending to, so for now she would push those thoughts from her mind. "I came south with Novel, to look for Mom and Dad, and Steel," she explained carefully. "We're living in the same lands we used to, but it's run by someone different now. We're not prisoners," she explained. That was why her parents had left with Steel.. to help him avoid a life of being enslaved. If only they had known how short Jupiter's reign would be here, and how good the rest of their lives could have been, if they had not left. But it was not worth dwelling on what could have been. "What about you? You look like you've been through a lot," she explained as she squinted, eyeing Jendai's scarred face. She'd always been the more fiery of her siblings, so it was no surprise if she had taken a liking to fighting like their father had.

Jendai hadn't missed the concern that had flashed across Ara's face when she stepped back to look at her more closely. Her scars had become so much a part of her in the last few seasons that she hardly thought about them any more. It hadn't really thought about what her family might think of them- mostly because she wasn't entirely sure she would ever see them again. Until now of course. Jen wasn't sure what Ara had thought of that made that concern be brushed away, but she was kind of glad. She had taken her lumps proudly, she didn't need her sister to be worried over her. She listened curiously as Ara explained what she had been up to as of late, mentioning Novel and Steel in her explanation as well. Steel! The last time she had seen him he had been a pup still. How much had she missed while she had been off trying to make herself stronger? She was happy to hear that they were no longer prisoners even though it did make her curious as to who was running the pack now and how it had changed. She tried not to think about their parents too much when Ara mentioned them. She didn't want to be sad during her reunion with her sister. Jendai nodded in agreement to Ara's observation, her tattered ear flicking. "I've been training," she replied with a slight, sad smile even though there was a pride in her voice. "I wanted to be a warrior so badly, but I wanted to do it on my own terms so I went and traveled and made wolves fight me. It didn't turn out well all the time, obviously-" she commented with a chuckle and another flick of her half-missing ear, "But I've learned a lot." "Speak"

Fighting was not her forté. That had always been obvious, but despite her disinterest in it, that didn't mean Jendai couldn't be interested in it. It didn't excite her, no - if anything, it made her feel a bit of concern, but in all truthfulness she would likely be concerned for her siblings no matter what path they chose for their lives. By nature, Ara was a caregiver, and the surge of empathy that washed over her was far from something new, as she gazed upon Jendai's face. She noted a bit of surprise, and concern, in Jendai's face at the mention of Steel and their parents. "I wish I knew where Faolan was,"  she admitted gently. "Though I've seen Mercury recently and he was doing well."  He reminded her so much of their father - quiet, and independent. She had never been terribly close to him, and it wasn't at all strange that he liked to keep to himself. She'd been training, she said. "Wow," she said with a soft laugh, as she could imagine just that - Jendai walking up to a stranger and demanding a fight. Sounded like her fiery sister. "I'm happy for you."  She really was, if Jendai was happy, and she hadn't seen her look quite so well in some time, minus her scarred face. But that was more of an afterthought, rather than a real problem. Despite this, there was one thing she figured she ought to tell Jendai. Slowly she would settle to her haunches, gaze shifting for a moment as she thought over how she might tell her this. "Jendai," she started quietly, lifting her gaze to meet her sister's again after a moment. "I don't really know how to say it, but.. when I met up with Steel, he told me-" briefly she felt her breath catch in her throats, the words struggling to leave her. "-mom and dad.. they passed away awhile ago. That's what Steel said." It hurt, and her pain was audible in her voice; though she watched Jendai to see how she might react to the news.

Jen was happy to hear that one of their brothers was doing well even though Ara didn't know where Folan might be. She frowned a little at that. She knew there was probably very little if anything she could have done to keep their family together, but she couldn't help but feel that she had been part of the problem by leaving. There were so many what ifs and maybes that she would never know the answer to. She had made her decision a long time ago and there was no changing it now. She smiled and her tail wagged slowly behind her when Ara mentioned that she was happy for her in response to the news that she had been training. The had wondered many times during her trip what her family might think of her now with her new scars. Now she could at least see that Ara approved of her chosen passion. She really hadn't expected any less though. Never in her imaginings of what it might be like to be reunited with her family did she see them criticizing her choice. Worried and concerned maybe, but never criticizing. Jendai's thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a change in Ara's expression and watched as her sister settled on her haunches. Jendai would follow her movements and would watch her sister with concern. Once Ara began to speak Jendai's expression fell and her ears flattened against her skull. It was a fear that she had for a while now, the fear that she may never see her parents again, but hearing it out loud and confirmed was heartbreaking. She struggled to keep her sadness from turning into blind anger, but having Ara there helped keep her emotions in check. "I had guessed that they might be... I had hoped other wise of course, but... I had been gone so long and they were already pretty old when I left..." A heavy sigh passed her lips and her gaze lowered to her paws. "I guess I had just hoped that Dad might be able to see me now... He's why I wanted to fight. I wanted to be like him." "Speak"

Ara had never had the choice to be anything but a healer. It simply was her calling.. she'd been interested in the art nearly since birth, and she'd never had the urge to go any other way. It felt good to know what her purpose was in life, and she was happy that Jendai seemed to be finding hers. Ara was a mother, a wife, and a devoted healer. She could only hope that someday Jendai might find someone to share her life with - that is, if she wanted that.  That was one of the things their parents had always taught them - to be free, to be who they wanted to be, as long as that person was inherently good. Not even in an overly altruistic, giving sort of way, just.. good, deep down. Jendai looked upset at her admission, but not necessarily surprised. They'd known their mom and dad were older than most parents from a young age. "I know..."  she sighed, her own words trailing over, touched with a heavy air of sadness. "At least they were with Steel, and not alone."   She knew their younger brother would've cared for him, despite being relatively young when they'd left the pack so long ago. They couldn't have been in better paws. "I know they both would be proud of you. You look just like dad now,"   she said, her voice cracking slightly as she tried not to cry - but she laughed too at the fond thought and her eyes, which had filled slightly with tears, also brimmed with laughter. That's what they would want them to be doing now, right? Laughing, definitely not crying.