Thalia was home. She'd been home for awhile now, actually, but she'd been largely keeping to herself. Grappling with the emotions that had slowly been unearthed since Theory had all but banished her had proved difficult so far, since they were plentiful and complex, but when the shifting weather and the sun making a reappearance she felt her spirits lift marginally. Though she was far from cheerful, she felt herself rising out of the dark rut she'd dug herself into - though the heartache was shifting into something no doubt more dangerous: anger. Perhaps she could find some purpose for it though, some way to redirect it that didn't involve sinking her teeth into flesh, which was sounding all the more appealing as of late. A sigh fell from her lips as she navigated down to the bottom of the ravine, a journey familiar to her despite her time away. This was her home, after all, and it always would be.

While the physical symptoms of the sickness had abated with the return of the sun, the mental and emotional scars would take much longer to recover from. Eligos no longer dealt with the liquid oozing from his wyes and ears, or the sores on his forelegs and face though the scars from those sores were still fading. What he couldn't forget, though, was coming to with his niece's throat between his fangs, or carrying her body home to her parents. Next to that, it had been difficult for him to focus on anything else, on the pack and those still alive in it. He knew he needed to - Fallen God knew they needed someone to lead them - but it had been one of the hardest emotional pits to pick himself up out of that he had ever experienced. There was none of the rage that had buoyed him after his father and Aureus had died, just a soul deep despair.

Lifting his head from his paws at a movement approaching, he saw Thalia returned from Abaven. He felt... both grateful for her return, and wary of it after her revelations. "Thalia," he greeted gravely.

She'd known her cousin had been ill, quite seriously, but she'd heard he was recovering. For that she was glad - the Fallen God had no doubt seen him through the whole ordeal and she was sure wolves with less faith hadn't fared so well. Thalia found herself often if Theory was recovering too, all the way back east, but perhaps the best answer of all was not knowing. Hearing pawsteps nearby she tilted her head, already guessing who it was by his gait before she even saw him. She forced a half-smile, half-grimace toward him as he drew closer. She was glad to be home, among family. The darkness had shown her that this was where she belonged permanently - she'd always known it, but it had only solidified that truth. :"Eligos," she started gruffly. "How are you faring? You look well - thank God," Thalia breathed, bowing her head in silent prayer and letting her eyes drift shut for a moment, knowing what she could have lost, what they all could have lost. Despite her tumultuous emotions, she felt thankful above all else.

Eligos' throat tightened at his cousin's words, and for a moment he couldn't speak. How was he? Far healthier than he had any right to be, when he'd had to lay his niece in front of her parents. Far healthier than he had any right to be, when his brother and his brother's mate mourned the loss of their only daughter. By any rights he should have been in the ground already. "I have recovered from the sickness," he rasped finally, then changed the subject. "I am glad to see you returned to us, cousin. Have you been settling back in well?" He didn't yet mention that her brother had been missing for some time now - if she hadn't noticed his absence yet he need not add to the griefs the past season had brought them all already. There would be time enough to discuss Saren later. After all, he - like Eligos' own sister - had likely simply abandoned the family once again, after all the assurances otherwise. He felt more and more like the pack, the family, and everything else in his life was slipping away like sand through his paws and the common denominator was him. His failures.

Though she geared for her cousin's well-being she knew better than to think too closely about what might be lying behind his words. He had recovered, and he was well enough, all things considered. They could all be grateful for that if nothing else. They had survived the worst of the worst and still they persevered - and in time they would thrive, she knew much to be true. Thalia gave a slow nod of understanding before the conversation swiftly refocused back to her, and her return. "I'm glad I returned as well. I regret spending so long away when I know now my place is here - and will always be here," she breathed a thoughtful sigh as she reclined to her hindquarters and steadied herself. "I fear I've let you down," she started after the briefest of pauses, certain she wouldn't muster the courage to speak so candidly if she hesitated to speak even a moment longer. "Tell me what I need to do to prove to you that letting me have free reign wasn't a mistake. You know I'm devoted to you, to Aerie, and above all else to Abraxas - let me prove it, if I must." .

Eligos didn't show his surprise, though he was a bit. Surprised, but gratified. He hadn't been sure whether she would have come to that conclusion, whether she'd have been too attached to the world she'd found herself in while in Abaven. He stepped forward to gently rest a paw on his cousin's shoulder. "I do not doubt your loyalty, cousin, or you. You are an Abraxas, a child of the Fallen God, and His power runs deep in you." He sat back, studied Thalia a moment, then nodded slowly. "I have no need for you to prove yourself, Thalia. You proved yourself in coming back to us despite everything."

All at once her worries were assuaged, and her cousin's touch immediately brought her great comfort. Even if she had strayed, she had returned, and she would always return in the end. Even if it took her longer than was ideal she had always stayed true to Abraxas and her family, which was more than could be said about... well, most of her kin. Imagining how Eligos had felt about her abandonment made her feel worse, but she wouldn't linger in her own feelings of inadequacy now. "Thank you," she breathed quietly, with an air of finality. Now that that matter was settled she felt free to return to what she'd left behind - vowing such a transgression would never happen again. "Are you hungry, cousin? Perhaps we could go for a hunt," Thalia suggested, feeling the tension between them begin to loosen. Now that she was home it was time to rebuild her mental fortitude, and with that came her physical strength.