Grimshaw didn't know what he was feeling. Maybe leaving early without telling Malachai was a bad thing. But did he really want to know? He'd asked if they could talk about something first, and although he knew the man just wanted to go to sleep he felt that they needed to talk. Grimshaw was going to be leaving early in the morning and didn't want to explain everything then... If Malachai had maybe listened, he'd see this as some kind of get away. A vacation of sorts, though it sounded silly. Why would he want to go somewhere with him just so Grim could sleep at night? It wasn't Malachai's responsibility to make sure Grim got a good nights sleep.

Although his time spent traveling south to Boreas hadn't taken him exactly a long time without sleeping, he wondered if he'd noticed that he was gone by now. Of course Grim didn't spend every night with him but he did wonder if Malachai had noticed. It was a silly thought and something he tried to ignore as he entered the familiar grove near by the old castle he struggled to call his home for so long. There was something refreshing about being back in Auster that he hadn't expected and decided to take a break. It would be somewhat rude to come knocking on the castle doors so late at night, anyway.

Picking one of the many trees, Grimshaw would settle beneath one and retrieve a small snack from the satchel he borrowed for his journey as he would wait out the night avoiding sleep until a more appropriate hour for arriving at the Hallows by surprise.

"Speech."

The heat had become too much. Bowen couldn't look at another wolf without lecherous thoughts racing through her mind. The heightened state of arousal stacked on top of her... disorder... made life in the castle unbearable. And so, the caramel cream lady stole away in the night, leaving Hallowed land and striking out into the wilderness. That constant thrumming pulse of need was still there, but the intense need to act upon them dissipated.

Night began to take hold of the land and Bo decided to find a place to bed down until morning, not that she imagined she would get much sleep. Though she was alone, there was still that need for release and she could definitely do that on her own. She simply needed to find a safe place in the grove where she wouldn't be disturbed by the local wildlife.

Padding through the darkened bit of forest and meadow, a strange scent caught the woman's pink nares. Russet ears perked and a look of slight confusion passed over her features. Quietly, Bowen made her way through the grove, following the scent until a familiar, yet entirely unfamiliar sight met emerald eyes. "Grim?" she whispered softly. Disbelief was evident on her features. She hadn't seen her brother since before she'd been taken. He seemed like a ghost. Like a dream. She couldn't make herself go to him, but she would never run away either.

"Bowen Carpathius"

Usually the scent of someone's heat didn't bother him, but as his peaked his second birthday he noticed how more obvious to him they were. He was hardly phased by the pheromones, though had little understanding behind it all anyway. This heat however, smelled vaguely familiar but honestly he couldn't place it. He was fine ignoring it however and was quick to retrieve a snack from his back and began tearing free pieces of jerky from the source.

He hadn't noticed much else besides the scent for some time, completely oblivious to his sisters approach until he heard his name. Massive head turned towards the sound, silver eyes searching for it's source before seeing the familiar speckling and swirling of his dearest sisters coat. He rose to his paws, realizing then that the scent had been familiar because it was her, but caring little about it beyond the fact.

"Bowen! How have you been?" He smiled, closing some of the distance between them but standing back to give her space. He hadn't been around to believe that she had died or even known that she was really gone, but instead he assumed that they were just good at missing each other.

"Speech."

Grimshaw rose and approached a bit, but didn't move any closer. Russet ears tucked back against the woman's skull for a moment. Was it the scent of her heat? She was so used to it that she didn't really notice it anymore, but she had noticed how it affected others. Namely Artorias and Haiku. Grim didn't shirk away. Maybe he was just shy after all this time? Well, Bowen wasn't. "Come here, you big lug," the small fae laughed before closing the distance and pulling her significantly larger sibling into a hug. Bo stood on hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around Grim's thick neck, pulling him in and giving him a light hearted jostle. Pulling back, Bowen settled on her haunches, small, sable paws still on her brother's wide chest. "You've grown a bit, haven't you?" Emerald eyes sparkled with mirth as she placed her paws back on the grassy earth.

As Grim asked how she'd been, Bowen gave her head a little tilt, her eyes narrowing a bit, though the corner of her mouth lifted in amusement. Had no one told him about where she'd been? "Better now that I'm back home." Lifting a paw, she lightly gave his muscled shoulder a punch. "Better still now that you're here." Bowen wasn't aware of all that had gone on in her absence just like Grimshaw didn't know what had happened during his. She simply knew that there had been a rift and that was all.

"What have you been up to? Coming home to visit?" Home. The castle would always be their home, no matter where life took them. Their mother had worked hard to create a place of safety for them and it didn't matter in the slightest to Bowen whether or not she and Grimshaw shared blood. He was family and The Hallows would always be a home for him. For all of them.

"Bowen Carpathius"

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"Speak!"

Once invited, Grimshaw carried himself forward towards his sister as she approached with a loose grin plastered on his face. She stood to wrap her arms around his thick neck and he followed in suit as he leaned back to sit up on his rear and wrapped his forelegs around Bowen's much smaller frame and held her close. It had been far too long since they'd last seen each other, easily pups. It was almost like she stopped growing while they were still young, meanwhile he grew like a weed. He laughed at her comment after she pulled away and he relaxed back down into a casual sit as well.

"Really? I thought you shrunk!" He teased with a gentle laugh, silver eyes looking her over and making sure she was otherwise healthy. She seemed fine, but mentioning her state being better since she had been back, a questioning look creased his face. Where had she gone? He assumed that she had always been here, just hanging out on the island. When he had left, he never expected Bowen to have disappeared as well. "Back home?" He questioned, wondering what she had spent her time doing away from the Hallows. His time wasn't that exciting, but wouldn't be shy to tell if she asked.

When she asked if he was coming to visit, it brought back the pained memories from the night before. His non-stop traveling had allowed him to make it to Auster quicker than he could've ever imagined, but that didn't allow him to forget anything along the way. Bowen had been a temporary reprieve, but as expected, the memories and thoughts returned. "To visit, yeah. I saw Art in the Armada while he was training there, figured I'd make a trip home to visit now that he's Aegis and it's our birthdays." He added a light smile, even if a flash of pain struck through his eyes there for a moment.

Grimshaw pulled her into his embrace and Bowen wiggled into him, giving him a squeeze and pressing her cheek against his wide chest. It was so very nice to see him again. She'd been told that he was alive and well, but she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since her return. He was big and well muscled. He'd always been big, but he was a far from from the boy he'd been the last time they'd been together. The man's words brought a chuckle and a grin from the caramel cream fae. "Maybe the world just got bigger around me." Bowen would forever be a very dainty lady. She was slim and womanly, her tail was long and silken. Every bit of her was petite and feminine.

When she mentioned being back, Bowen noted the quizzical look on Grim's face. He questioned her immediately after and the woman's brows drew together, her expression darkening. Had no one told him? Suddenly she was angry at her Hallows siblings. Losing a sister... it was kind of important. Bowen's emerald gaze pulled away from Grim's face, looking off to the side instead. "I was stolen long ago. Sold to slavers." Copper ears shifted uneasily, unsure of how much to tell Grim. "I lived on a ship for quite some time and have only recently won my freedom and returned." The fae's right paw lifted and she absently rubbed at the leather bracer wrapped tightly around her left foreleg. "I...thought someone would have gotten word to you." She decided not to tell him about all of the bad things that had befallen her during her servitude.

Conversation shifted again and Grim told her that he was part of the Armada, but was coming home for their birthday. Bowen brightened and nodded. "I'm glad to have you home, brother." She noted the odd look in his eye and canted her head slightly. "Is something bothering you? You can tell me anything, you know." Just like when they were pups. Bowen would always be there for him.

"Bowen Carpathius"

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"Speak!"

When Bowen wiggled into him, Grim felt whole in a way that he hadn't since he was a child. It had been a long time since he'd seen his smallest sister last and even longer since she had held him until he fell asleep at night. He was much bigger than her then, but now felt so different. Whether she was tiny or he was massive, he couldn't tell. He laughed at her words then and motioned for her to join him over to the place he'd settled under the tree. Relaxing in his spot at the base of the tree trunk, he moved to dig around in his pack for a snack and a drink and sat them between them if she wanted as he listened to her tell him about being stolen to slavers and living on a ship. He certainly couldn't remember anyone telling him this, but he supposed that he had also been gone for so long, perhaps even around the time she had gone missing as well. Despite the familial urge to seek out these slavers and hurt them for hurting his sister, he supposed he could see why. Bowen was a beautiful girl.

"I left home and was away for a long time, running with some other young guys that liked getting into trouble." He laughed a bit as he spoke, shaking his head at the stupid memories. "I didn't return home until around the time Resin passed, though I had no clue.  Did you get to see her before she..?" He couldn't bring himself to repeat it again, partially hating himself for not being there before she had gotten sick and especially for not being there during. For everything Resin had done for him he couldn't have even been there when she left this world, but he supposed that was the punishment he was left to live with. "Once I got back, Sirius found me and took me to the Armada ." He shrugged then, wishing he had been told about Bowen but understanding how it might've slipped someones mind.

"I'm glad to be back, even if it's only for a visit." He smiled at her then, reaching for a piece of dried meat to snack on while she asked if something was bothering him. She knew him so well, even if they hadn't seen each other since they were young pups. Perhaps it was the pain and exhaustion in his eyes, though he'd never know. He wasn't really perfect at hiding his emotions yet. "It's nothing, really. I'm just tired." He wasn't too good at lying, either.