She was still incredibly restless, her itching hips would drive her from the den and out into Covari's main territory. She wished to again find Garth out in the Fern Gully, but really that walk was too much for her right now. Still she would let the memories of that special night flood back, any thoughts of family far from her mind. She'd been enjoying her vacation more than she should have, but she needed to get away. Needed to have some time where she just thought about herself and what she wanted. Too much of her life had been taken up by proving herself to everyone else. She was strong, she just had to remind herself of that truth. Slender limbs would carry her on, a slow determined walk as she rid herself of excess energy. Speech,

She'd followed the direction of the violet woman she'd met, but her mother had yet to appear to her. The lass was now wandering just beyond the borders, seeking a snatch of scent, or a flash of ivory fur. Mismatched forepaws were silent beneath her, tiara lowered between petite shoulders as she looked around for her mother. Surely if someone caught her here she'd be effectively screwed, but she wasn't going to rest until she had seen Song with her own eyes, and that her mother was alright. Ivory plume swung at her hocks, a silken furred pendulum that swept across her tall heels. Tall, monochromatic audits flickered back and forth in search of a trace of her mom's voice, or the snap of a twig under someone's foot.
She was coming across a strange territory now, there were odd plants growing everywhere. Long, slender snout would reach out to give a cautious sniff to a corn plant. It was strange, but maybe it was edible? Never know until you try, right? Jaws would stretch open, and take hold of the bud, and promptly spitting it out when the taste of the husk touched her tongue. Definitely not edible. She kept walking, examining the other plants that were growing there. Things like pumpkins were just flowers on vines, and the same was to be said for tomatoes. Nothing interesting, or even remotely tasty was in sight. However, everything smelled wonderful. She would breathe in the heady aroma, and an out of place odor would waft to her nostrils upon the tide of flower scents. Dual toned optics would snap to attention, locking onto the direction of the origin point.
With a deep breath, caution was thrown to the wind. The pallid giantess stepped past the borders with a shocking thrill in her blood, following the familiar musk. Trespassing was not her most common offense, and the lass was feeling rather giddy with the inherent naughtiness of it all. She crested a small hill, more of a grassy knoll really, and at the bottom of the slope was a real sight for sore eyes. With a grin, the girl bounded onward, charging toward her mother like there was hell on her heels. Mom! She yipped as she skittered to a halt, chest bumping against her mother's shoulder as she lifted her forelimbs off of the ground to wrap them around her mom's neck in glee. An odd, lupine hug was given, with no attention given to her mother's injuries. TO be honest, the princess hadn't even noticed them yet. What're you doing here? I thought you were just taking a trip closer to home! She exclaimed, dropping back onto all four paws. A happy nuzzle would be pressed into the downy fur of her mother's neck.

Steps would continue to be taken before the sound of quickened feet would alert her and the sound of her title coming from her baby's jaws. Song would of course stop where she was surprised to see the form of her lengthy daughter. Ears would fall in excitement as her tail would wag back and forth excitedly, mirroring the affection shown. She would let herself be surrounded by the embrace, leaning into the larger form. Her eldest were almost two, full grown adults.. She could hardly believe so much time had passed. "Hello, love!" She would giggle amusedly as all of Lakota's limbs would touch the ground once again, a question rolling off her tongue. "That had been the plan." She'd turn, motioning to the still healing wounds upon her flank, "A bear had other ideas. I was saved by a giant golden cat, and a man called Garth. I"ve been spending much of my time in his presence." She'd nuzzle ehr daughter again, "What are you doing here, dearest?" Speech,

Her mother's voice was like music to her ears, and she was slightly surprised by how much she'd missed her mother. Well, after being gone for about a year, she probably would want to see her family a lot for the next little while. Her mother leaned into her embrace, and all the lass could do was inhale her mother's scent. It was familiar, it smelled like safety, just as it had from the day she was born. Her mother seemed very upbeat, it was wonderful to see her like this after... She rid herself of those thoughts, they had no place in their reunion. Her mother was quick to explain, and when the mention of a bear came up, the she wolf's mismatched audits would flatten against her skull momentarily. Bears, such a pain in the ass. However, the mention of saviours was good, since she hadn't been there to do it herself. A giant golden cat? Like a mountain lion? Or something else? Curiosity would have to wait, because then there came the name of a male. Dual toned orbs would scan over her mother's features, trying to determine her mother's opinions of the man. It wasn't really any of her business, but the pallid giantess wanted to be sure that her mother would not be hurt again. It was bad enough her own father had broken Song's heart, but no stranger would be getting to do that anytime soon.
Her mind was derailed from a particularly vengeful train of thought by her mother's query, and the girl would chuckle. You know me, can't stay in one place very long anymore. Melodies would murmur with an amused twinkle in her eyes. I was out and about, and I caught your scent. Thought it was kinda weird you were this far south, since you had planned to be fairly close to home. Just wanted to make sure nothing'd happened. She explained, and her rump would slowly fall onto the terra. Glad I did. She added quietly, relief obvious. Her mom had been hurt, and she hadn't even noticed. Mentally, she was smacking herself quite a bit, for not even noticing. Long, slender muzzle would reach out to nuzzle her mom's cheek, a thoughtless gesture to reassure herself that Song was intact, and she wasn't a ghost trying to make her feel even worse or something.
Then a smirk would build, one brow quirking as she shot her mom a thoughtful, devious look. So this Garth, am I gonna have to start calling him dad? She asked in a tone that was only slightly mocking, her mood suddenly turning playful. However, the back of her mind was still running over the drill for if this guy broke her mom's heart. Most of the scenarios involved special places being removed, things like that. She'd had a little while to think, over the course of her time back home, in the aftermath of her father's disappearance. Now, she was discovering that Song had a knack for finding men under rocks and shit. Trust her mom of all people to have that talent. Maybe she'd inherited that skill? Hopefully. The maturing part of her already knew that it would come in handy, and of course promptly shooed that thought away. That was a train of thought for another time, when she wasn't talking to her mom.

It was wonderful to feel the press of Lakota at her side, it had really been too long since they'd spent quality time together. With her disappearance and the events that had recently unfolded she'd not had much time for her babies. She needed a break from responsibility and Ludicael, from those faces she needed the most. She had no intentions of staying here forever, already she felt herself missing the rest of her family. Once she was fit to travel she would be back home. Lakota would easily answer her question, not giving many details but her explanation made sense. She wondered if she'd ever get her daughter to settle down in the pack and take a duty. She didn't mind whatever she chose, she just wanted her children to have happiness. She would return the nuzzle, hoping to assure the girl that she really was alright, she just needed to heal now and she'd be back on her feet. As Lakota pulled away though Song would see the mischievous grin on her face, and would become almost stunned at her question. Still, she'd smile shyly unsure how to answer. She'd given herself to Garthinaw, now did she have any plans to act on those motions? Did she wish to spend the rest of her days with him? "I really don't know." She'd giggle slightly, "He's got a special place in my heart, but I haven't thought about bringing him back to meet the family." Little did she know the possibility of life growing within her. Speech,

Her mother's response was careful, and unsure. Her smile would brighten, and the larger lass bumped her mother's shoulder with her slender snout. Hey, that's fine. I mean, you're the mom here, you get to make all the big decisions at your own pace. She chuckled, ivory plume thumping against the ground a few times. She just wanted her mom to be happy, that was all. After the year she'd had, the pearl wolfess deserved a live with fucking unicorns in a rainbow palace. It was just her luck that all this crap had gone down while she was trying to get back home, and she wouldn't get to see her dad ever again, probably. Too bad, too, she had wanted to see her dad again. Though, she did have her brother and sisters, as well as her new siblings back home. There was always a silver lining, right? Okay, maybe not always, but like, somewhere in the range of eighty percent of the time. Song should be happy, if that meant she'd have a step father at some point, so be it. All there was to hope for was that he was a genuinely good guy even though there was a strong possibility that she'd harbour less than friendly emotions for him deep down.

It was only natural for her face to slowly fall, the gleeful expression faltering. She couldn't help herself anymore, couldn't keep her mouth shut for some stupid reason. Is he a good guy? Someone I, and my brothers and sisters, can trust? She would ask suddenly, her voice lowering. She wasn't going to cry, but she was definitely poking at a grey area in her head, and probably a big red stain in her mother's. Sorry mom. Then, of course, her big dumb self had to go and add insult to injury. I just don't want what happened with dad to happen again, you deserve better. She murmured, burying her face in her mother's thick neck fur as she spoke. It was a full facial nuzzle, a quiet apology in advance for bringing it up. However, the subject couldn't be avoided, she needed to know if she could trust this guy, and any and every guy Song ever thought about bringing home. Nothing bad would ever happen to her family again, not while she was breathing.

It seemed appropriate that Lakota would be the one comforting her, it was odd, but Song would accept it with open arms. She was all smiles as she was blessed enough to be in the presence of her wayward daughter again. There was no denying the enjoyment on her features as she took in the girl's words, but concern would replace them as Lakota's features fell. The next words were a bit concerning, and she could feel the scars on her heart beginning to rip open. Involuntarily she would look away from her daughter's face, her ears would fall as she thought about Cherokee and what she had lost. Though Laokta's comfort was still there. The girl would nuzzle into Song's alabaster neck and she'd feel herself calming slightly. She'd written Cherokee off for dead. Even if he planned to return she had no intentions of letting him back in her life. "I don't know Lakota. I truly thought your own father would never leave us." She didn't quite have another answer for her, sometimes you just had to put yourself out there, and really hope that things worked out. "i'll be making a return home soon, will you stay a while and walk back with me?" She wanted to change the subject, and she really wanted to know if her daughter would be returning home. Speech,

Her mother looked quite saddened by the mention of Cherokee, especially his absence, which made the lass flinch ever so slightly. Her mother's crown turned away, features obscured by thick pearly fur around her cheeks now. When Song did manage a reply, her words were softly spoken, unsure. Of course, no one expected those they loved to leave them, which only made her feel worse for leaving in the first place, for taking so long to return, and for bringing up this topic. The pallid princess hummed quietly in a mute manner of consoling her mother, edging closer to rest her head atop her mom's comfortingly. She would absently, and gently, nibble her mother's ear, trying to lighten the mood in the only- albeit goofy, way that she knew how. Blowing air out through her nose, the gentle disturbance ruffled her mother's coat in the slightest. Hey, everything will end up okay. At least you have some new kids to look after, who I haven't met yet. She would chuckle quietly, the gentle mirth rumbling through her slender ribs.
Her mom would pose a gentle query, and a plush alabaster banner would thump against the terra happily. She pulled her tiara away from her mother's, dual toned optics fixating upon the delicate, porcelain doll features of her mother. the change of subject was a good one, and though her mother still looked sad, the lass felt assured that Song would recover. She chuckled again, nodding her head. Yeah, of course. She replied, smiling softly. Mismatched audits would twitch when the sound of birdsong arose overhead, before fading away again. When we get back you should introduce me to my new siblings, they're gonna need someone to teach them navigation. She joked, banner beating against the terra once more. She was actually quite excited that she had younger siblings, little ones who she could teach all the secrets of the mangrove, and how to do things that mom couldn't teach them.