Never would he have thought that  time away from his family would have been so bennificial. He felt guilty for being away from them for what felt like ages, but at the same time he would never be able to feel like he did now without it. All this time had given him a chance to think and decide what he really wanted and how he truly felt about everything. Ulric had spent so much time worrying about others and repressing his feelings that he hadn’t given himself a chance to feel. Ulric’s oversized paws carried him closer to the lake as he followed a hint of his sister’s scent. He felt ready to join his family again with a new motivation to make a real impact on their lives. For so long he felt afraid to make too big of a splash. He was terrified to bring attention to his family and risk the same fate happening to one of them that happened to their father and to their pack. His thoughts took an unexpected turn when he noticed some unexpected scents mingling with Philomena’s. He paused for a moment as his nose grazed the ground and searched the trail he had been following. It seemed like it was just her scent, but there was something else there... He knew her scent so well that any change was so obvious. The possibilities seemed so unlikely to him that he couldn’t really consider them seriously. Pushing past his own curiosity and confusion, Ulric kept moving and picked up speed as a bit of excitement bubbled up in his stomach. The whole trip here he had been fairly calm and determined, but now that he was getting closer and closer to finding her he couldn’t help but get excited. "Philly?” he called out when her scent seemed the freshest and strongest. He lifted his head, looking around for his maned sister. "Philly? Are you there?” "Speech"

She had left the children under No Face’s care again so she could do some hunting. The children were continuing to grow and Philly felt her heart go out to the four of them. Two beautiful girls and two handsome boys… could she have asked for more? Sure she didn’t know which male their father was… but that didn’t matter anymore. They were perfect. They were her babies.

Philomena was working on carrying a small fawn back to the den when she heard a familiar voice. She almost couldn’t believe it. Ulric!! Her brother was still here in Boreas? Philomena forget herself, dropping the fawn as she turned and headed in the direction she heard her brother.

Sure enough there he was. Philomena felt her heart soar as she approached him. There were things to tell him… she had confessed to him once her desire to create a pack like their father once held… but now…

“Ulric!! Philly barked happily. “It’s been too long… I… I’m sorry I left but I…” She couldn’t find her words just yet, tail wagging a mile a minute behind her as she closed the distance between them to nuzzle her brother’s cheek.

“I missed you.”

""

An unexpectedly dramatic wave of relief came over him when his head turned and his silvery eyes landing on Philly. He smiled from ear to ear and trotted forward to meet her half way with his tail wagging a mile a minute. With everything they had been through it felt like Philomena was the only one he could go to and know that she would understand. Being with her again made him feel at peace and excited all at the same time. He leaned in as they came together so he could return the nuzzle to her cheek. "No, don’t be sorry. I’m sorry,” he responded. "I meant to come find you so long ago, but I... I guess I just needed to take some time to figure myself out.” That was the best way he knew to describe it. The inner turmoil in his head had quieted to barely a whisper and that was all he could really ask for at this point. "I missed you too, Philly. I’m so glad I found you.” He grinned as he tried to narrow down the flurry of questions that he had for her to keep from overwhelming her with his need to know everything she had been up to in his absence. "How have you been? What have you been up to?” He still hadn’t put the pieces together with the various scents that mingled with hers on her fur, still blindly oblivious to all the obvious signs. He just looked at her patiently while he tail kept up a slow wag and he waited for her answer. "Speech"

Philomena shifted a little, nuzzling her brother again. So he had meant to come find her too… “I get it, Ulric. I was… I was doing the same.” The female’s blue eyes were shining with delight. Just being with Ulric again, after all this time… It was great seeing someone from her childhood. Someone she had always been able to lean on. “I’m glad you did too. I was worried… I might have walked away from the family I had and wasn’t going to see either of you again.” The female closed her eyes, breathing in calmly before she looked at her brother once more.

“Well… I left Boreas for a time. I knew I wanted to form a pack… and to fight those that hurt others… specifically the Abraxas but…” She trailed off, looking at the ground as heat rushed to her cheeks at the memories. “I spent some time in the company of others. One thing lead to another and…” She looked back to Ulric. “What would you say if I told you were an uncle, Ulric?” Her eyes were shining just a bit brighter. “There’s four of them Ulric… and by the Gods they’re gorgeous.” She spoke proudly… and she was. Her children were perfect and there was no saying otherwise to the woman.

""

Ulric listened as his sister began to explain what had taken place in the time that they had been separated, nodding with understanding when she mentioned her intentions to start a pack and his brows lifting with curiosity when she spoke of spending time with others. It wasn’t really until Philomena asked him what he would think of being an uncle that he finally put the pieces together. Even once he understood what she was saying he still couldn’t help but just stare in shock for a moment. An uncle?! It wasn’t even something that he thought could be possible, but he had to remind himself just how long he had been away. Even though in his mind it felt like she had seen her just yesterday, in reality it had been so much longer. Once the initial shock wore off a wide grin pulled across his face and he gave a giddy chuckle while his tail picked up a wag once again. This whole day was just full of beautiful surprises. "An uncle! I... I can’t believe it!” He finally responded after gathering his thoughts enough to form words. "Can I meet them? How little are they? How many boys and girls are there?” He was bursting with questions and it was hard to keep himself from spouting them all off at once. He wanted to stop everything immediately and go meet his nieces and nephews for the first time. All he could do is just be thankful that he came to find her sooner rather than later so that he could help her care for them and be a part of their lives. "Speech"