Once he crossed over the bifrost and into Auster he was actually able to pick up on a scent that he had been looking for for quite some time. It was just hints of it here and there as he passed through a grove of wild berry bushes and skirted his way between two neighboring packs, but once he reached what looked like a huge, overgrown garden he finally found a real trail for his brother and a grin pulled at his lips as he walked through the various hedges and plants to find him. It was late in the afternoon, but there was still plenty of light to see by, the day cool and pleasant. Luckily there wasn't much wind so with any luck maybe he'd end up being able to give his slightly older brother a good scare in return for staying gone without any kind of word from him for so long.

Sure enough, he rounded a corner past the edge of a long hedge and there he was—the slate blue coloring and markings they shared unmistakable. A wicked grin crossed his lips and he hunkered down so he could sneak from one large plant and bush to another, using them as cover as he worked his way closer. With the lack of wind and the fairly strong smell of the fragrant flowers and herbs around them he was pretty sure his scent would be at least mostly hidden and hopefully his healing minded brother would be too distracted by whatever he was collecting to notice him. As soon as he was close enough he jumped up from his hiding place, leaping forward with a laugh, tackling his brother and throwing his forelegs around his neck as he went to knock him to the ground. "Gotcha!" he called out with a smirk, laughing as he wrestled with Romulus like only brothers would.

"Remus Armada"

The Hallows' medicine stocks had been hit pretty hard with all the illness that occurred during the Long Night. Many of their most commonly used herbs had been reduced to minuscule reserves, and with the sun back in the sky, no doubt the pack would begin to see weary travelers and those looking for medical aid before long. Romulus took the initiative to begin resupplying the pharmacy with as many plants as he could gather, utilizing the blooming gardens once more as his own personal grocery store of sorts. Today's hot item was lamb's ear. Fortunately, the plant was pretty distinctive with its soft fuzzy pale green leaves, and finding the stalks was easy for the keen-eyed brute. Romulus had a satchel from the castle around his neck and was busy stuffing as many leaves as he could harvest into the bag. These would make excellent bandages!

With the lack of a breeze and his focus entirely on the task at hand, Roman didn't notice the other strikingly similar wolf sneaking up on him until it was far too late. Romulus had just finished picking a stalk of lamb's ear clean of all its leaves and lifted his head to begin looking around for more when he spotted the familial silver and slate fur a mere second before it came barreling at him like a runaway boulder. With a grunt, the Armada wolf was knocked off his paws by a hefty weight and a set of paws looping around his neck in a grapple. His fight reflex kicked in immediately, fangs bared and a snarl starting in his throat—until he heard the familiar voice, then smelled the familiar scent. No fucking way...

"Remus?! What the fuck?" exclaimed the started and stunned Romulus, quite pleased with the emphasis he placed on the last word. "What are you doing all the way out here?!" From his position on the ground, Roman swung a paw up to try and clock his bigger brother in the jaw whilst simultaneously kicking his strong hind legs at his belly to try and kick him off of him, not looking to hurt his brother, but definitely not holding any punches in their wrestling.

"Romulus Armada"

Remus grinned and cackled with amusement at his brother's shock at his sudden appearance, glad that his plan to sneak up on his brother worked out the way he wanted. As expected Roman immediately started fighting him off with swings at his jaw and kicks at his belly and he would have honestly been disappointed if he hadn't. "Looking for you off course! Why else?!" he replied between chuckles, swinging his larger paws back at Romulus' muzzle and kicking his brother's legs away to keep him from landing any solid punches at his gut, wrestling with him for a bit longer until he finally hopped off of Roman with a quick shake, tousling the longer fur down the back of his neck. "What, aren't you happy to see me, brother?" he teased once Romulus was back on his feet, tossing him a wide grin and bumping his shoulder with his head. "You think you can just run off on some crazy adventure, not send any word that you're alright, and just expect me to stay home? Not a chance!"

Now that he had successfully made his crash-landing back into Romulus' life he took a look around them at the large garden-looking area and looked over Romulus to make sure his brother was still in good shape. It had been a few seasons since they had seen each other last so both of them had filled out and finished growing up in that time. He had already been taller than Romulus when he left and that certainly hadn't changed, but he could tell that whatever Romulus had been up to or wherever he had been living had done him well so far and he was in good shape. That's when he noticed the pack scent on his brother's pelt... and was that... a girl he smelled? A grin pulled across his lips and he teased, "Well well well, is my nose deceiving me or has my brother gone and settled down? Go on, tell me everything. What's this pack like? Who's your girl?"

"Remus Armada"

Just as the two had done so often when they were pups, the Armada brothers found a rhythm to their wrestling with Romulus trying to throw Remus off of him, and his brother doing all he could to prevent Roman from fighting his way free. It was a simple and lighthearted game, but one that had a profound connection for the brothers. When Remus did eventually relent, Roman rolled to his paws and sprung back up, shaking out his silver and slate fur to free it of loose grass. Despite the initial aggravation of his childish younger sibling, he couldn't help but smile back, his wagging tail betraying his happiness to see the familiar face of a family member once more. "Hard to be happy when about a hundred pounds of spiky idiot comes flying at you from out of nowhere," he jabbed back in jest. "You're lucky I didn't mistake you for lunch! Antelope are a common delicacy around here, y'know. But you... I'm betting you'd just be tough and gamey." Ah, the relationship of brothers...

Taking the opportunity to actually get a look at his brother now, Romulus saw that Remus had also finished maturing into a fully grown male wolf. Both the brothers had a good bit of bulk and muscle, demonstrating the Armadan physique made infamous by their womanizer forefather. Remus came up to him then, nose twitching as he sniffed about, and Roman knew he was picking up on the smells of the other wolves he lived with now. Sure enough, his brother began a slow grin, then asked if his nose was accurate when he smelled a girl on him. Roman's slate-tipped ears slicked back to his head as warmth touched his cheeks, a devilish grin pulling across his own lips from ear to ear. "No, looks like it might be working too well if anything." Gods, tell him everything?! "Well, I got here almost a year ago, you know that bit. I started roaming around, checking out the sights, y'know the tourist-y shit. Then I met this girl, Lillith, right in this garden. Saved her life from a giant cat. Never seen one like it before in my life. Huge fucker, with great big saber teeth!"

Roman turned and pointed a paw back the way he came, in the direction of the Hallows. "She brought me back to her pack called the Hallows. It's over there, just down the hills. Very friendly wolves. They're all about helping and protecting others. Her father is—er, was—the alpha of the pack. He invited me to stay with them for saving her life. So that's where I've been crashing ever since. Really cushy place, you should come check it out!" The warmth returned to Romulus face once more as he addressed his brother's second question. "The, uh, the girl you smell on me is Lillith. She and I have sort of been romantic with one another for a couple of seasons now. Didn't plan it to happen that way, it just sort of... did." That was all Roman could think to say at the moment. How else did one go about summarizing the torrid relationship and love he'd found in Lillith?

"Romulus Armada"

Remus grinned and gave a bark of laughter at his brother's snark filled comments, his tail wagging behind him as well. He had missed his brother and their own kind of brotherly love dearly and finally finding him made him feel like he had finally made it back home even though the exact opposite had happened. Where they had been born and raised just hadn't felt the same without Romulus and now that the brothers were back together again he felt like he was checking off some big achievement for his trip to Boreas and Auster. As he questioned Roman about the girl and pack he smelled on his brother he saw Roman's ears fall back and he knew he had hit the nail on the head with his guesses even before Roman said anything. "Ha! I knew it!" he exclaimed with a chuckle when Romulus accused his nose of working too well. He sat back on his haunches with a wave of his paw for Roman to continue. He wasn't going to go anywhere until he got the full story from his brother, even if he had to pry it out of him!

Luckily he didn't have to resort to that and Roman started giving him the rundown of what his last year or so without him had been like. Found a girl named Lillith, saved the damsel in distress, ended up going back to her pack, daughter of the former alpha no less. He glanced off in the direction that Roman pointed to where the pack was apparently located with a grin at the invitation he was given to come check it out. "Maybe I will! I wouldn't mind a comfy place to spend the night after all this traveling at least." He still had some stuff he wanted to explore around Boreas, especially now that his whole attention wasn't taken up with trying to find Roman, but it was nice to know that there was somewhere he could go for a bed and a meal if he needed it and that his brother would be pretty easy to find again.

As Roman went on, saying how this Lillith girl and him and been romantic for a couple of seasons now, Remus turned his curious ruby and emerald gaze back toward his brother with raised brows. "Romantic, huh? This Lillith girl going to turn you into a family man, Rom?" he teased with a grin. He got back to his paws and crossed the small space between them, lowering his head to head butt Roman's shoulder. "You know I'm just messing with you. I'm glad you found someone and somewhere that makes you happy," he said with a moment of sincerity before giving his brother another crooked grin. "I am gonna have to give her my seal of approval though! Gotta make sure this Lillith is good enough for my litt- I mean big brother."

"Remus Armada"

As he expected, Remus had a little snarky quip for everything he had to say. A laugh of smug triumph when he admitted that his brother's nose had been working well, a burst of Armada bravado when he invited him to come check out the Hallows and see where he'd been living, and a good ribbing from the permanent bachelor that was his sibling when he talked about his growing relationship with Lillith. Romulus gave a dramatic roll of his steel-toned eyes and gave his pest of a brother a strong push on his chest when he tried to come closer, deflecting his headbutt with total apathy. "Oh please, you're just jealous cause I was always able to get the girls while you were left walking yourself home every night," he quipped back, trying to hide the flush that was coming over his cheeks and ears. Yeah, he was in love with Lillith, and yeah she was his first real serious relationship, but he wasn't about to admit that to Remus. He wouldn't give his little brother the satisfaction. He did smirk when Remus said he'd have to grill Lillith and give her a seal of approval first though, already amused at the thought of Lillith being interrogated. Poor Remus had no idea what he was getting himself into.

"I'd expect nothing less. You always did like butting your nose in where it didn't belong,"he remarked with a snicker. Then he shot his brother a flash of a growl—not threatening, but definitely a "watch it" sort of message when he started to call him the little brother again. "You'd better watch it, bro. I missed you and I'm happy to see you, but don't think I won't put you face down in the dirt first chance I get like I always have." Roman flashed his teeth to Remus in a wicked grin, daring his brother to push his luck. It had been too long since he'd had a spar with his brother, and if Remus was looking for an ass-kicking, he'd be happy to welcome his sibling to Auster in true Armadan fashion. "So, you gonna come hang around the castle for a bit? Get your bearings?"Another question struck Romulus then. "Actually... what are your plans now, Rem?" Was he going to stick around with him, or was he planning on striking it out on his own like Romulus had?

"Romulus Armada"

Remus shot his brother a wide, amused grin at the warning growl he got at the quip he made about being the little brother, giving a bark of a laugh at him threatening to get him face down into the dirt for it. He put his paw on his chest in faux offense at the idea that his brother would do such a thing so soon after finding him again, gasping as he replied, "How could you threaten your dear brother like that! Why I never!" He couldn't keep the grin off of his face though, his tail wagging behind him. He had missed this so much and it made him wish that he had left with Romulus had. He didn't regret staying behind with their family for a while longer, but it did admittedly make him feel good to finally be with his brother again. No matter how much they ribbed each other and made fun of each other he was still the closest with Roman and now that they were back together it felt like no time at all had passed.

When Romulus asked if he was going to come back to the castle for a while and quickly followed it up with another question about what his plans were in general, Remus gave a little shrug. "I don't know yet. My whole plan was to come to Boreas and try to find you and now that I've done that..." he trailed off with another shrug. He had never really had the distinct drive or vision for his life that his brother did. All he really knew was to keep getting stronger and fine tuning his skills, but up to this point he still hadn't found a good outlet to put those toward. Romulus seemed to have a good thing going with this pack he had made a home with now that he had this girl he was smitten with. The easiest thing to do would be to fall in with Romulus and just stick around here, but there was a little part of him that didn't want to just mooch off of what Roman had built.

"Well at the very least I'll take you up on a place to stay for tonight and a meal," he finally decided after thinking for a moment. "I gotta meet Lillith, remember?" he teased, getting up and starting to walk in the direction of Roman's pack, hitting him on his shoulder as he passed with a grin. "After that... I don't know, maybe I'll go do some more exploring for a while. Go see all the places grandpa talked about in his stories and stuff, you know?" Maybe he'd find some purpose or direction of his own somewhere out there.

"Remus Armada"

Romulus wasn't really all that surprised to hear that Remus hadn't come to Auster with much of a plan. To be fair, he hadn't either. He'd set out from home with a fire in his heart, a gleam in his eye, and a desire to see the Armada family heritage. It seemed like that tended to run in the family, since here was his brother, doing exactly the same thing he had. "Well, at the very least, at least you know you've got your smarter, stronger, more handsome brother to bail your ass out of any fires you stumble across," he said, nudging his brother back with his shoulder. Armada family affection tended to be rather physical, and that showed in the fraternal display of love between the two brothers as well. "Hey, you've got all the time in the world now! At the very least, let's get your belly filled with meat and wine, let you take a load off, and then you can think about what you wanna do here."

When Remus rose, so too did Roman, leading the way back towards the Hallows. "Lillith's a sweet girl. A bit fragile, but that doesn't mean I want you to baby her. She's a bit of a spitfire when she wants to be, y'know?" He chuckled, then fixed his brother with a more serious look. "Oh, and don't try to fuck her. 'kay?" Throughout their lives, Romulus and Remus had made it a running gag of sorts to try to one up the other, even going so far as to occasionally poach a lady the other had been fancying. This time he wanted to make his intentions clear: Lillith was his. She was different from the other flings of the past. "Hey, if you ever want a partner to go visit some of those places, I still need to go see those places Grandpa talked about too. You and me, we're the only two Armadas still in Boreas. We gotta stick together." Bumping his shoulder into Remus' side again while they headed for the plains, he finished with a simple yet heartfelt response, "I'm glad you're here, brother."

"Romulus Armada"