He returned to the family's old stomping grounds. It still felt a little weird to not be calling this place home, but the beach was nice too. It had its charms, much like the Buffalo Knolls and The Range with Valentine's tractor in all its rusty glory. He wondered if the old man was still hiding away under, probably the spot where he'd die to be honest. He wasn't here for much other than potentially trying to sneak a calf away from the familiar herds that roamed here, though he figured he'd have a hard time of it on his own. Those beasties were a handful when it came to protecting their young ones...so for now, he perched on the top of a hill and watched a herd standing around down below, ears twitching as he listened to the world around him. Settling on his belly, he decided he'd pass the time and simply...watch and let the nostalgia take over.

"Speech"

Home. Or was it? She gazed upon the knolls with a mixture of emotions - sadness, bittersweet, contentment, curiosity, nostalgia. All of it swirled within her, along with glimpses of memories. Ghosts of the past flashed before her eyes; romping in the grass, cautiously greeting her grandfather, torturing her father. As an adult, she left. A lot. She knew her family understood; she never once felt animosity from them for her absences.... though she did wish she had returned sooner. The days slipped on by, seasons came and went, and a part of her held regret. She needed to confirm her father's whereabouts, whether that be six feet under or somewhere here in the lands. She was pretty sure it was the former, unless he too managed to live extra long like Valentine.

With a sigh, she bounded up one of the knolls, figuring it would be best to get a good vantage point. She wasn't sure why she came here, entirely, only that she felt drawn to come back. It wasn't surprising. She did every single time she returned to Boreas. She always came back here. It was one of her favourite places, and in particular she loved to just lounge on one of the taller knolls, sunbathing and watching the herds down below. Oftentimes, if she hung out in the same place long enough, the herds would become comfortable with her presence and would meander back in the general direction.

As she crested the top of the knoll, she paused, eyes sweeping over the knolls in front of her and between them. Her eyes settled on a shape at the top of another knoll not too far away, and she squinted at it. A wolf? Who? Curiously, she started down the other side of the knoll and cut through in betweens, careful not to pass directly under the other wolf. It was when she got a little closer that she froze, eyes widening as scents drifted on the light wind. Was that - could it - what? There's no way. Absolutely no freaking way. Once again, emotions roared within her and she found herself rocketing up the knoll to the side of the wolf. As she reached the top of the knoll, and could see the wolf clearly, her breath caught. "Ares?" she breathed, staring at her brother.

"Speech" "You"

art by rainbowglaze123

The world was...peaceful here. A far cry from what the atmosphere used to be like when Fireside was here. He could already imagine all the voices and rowdiness of the pack, the score of pups and family that ran amok here. He breathed a sigh as he thought about the past. Sure, the Pirates was as close as he'd get to Fireside, but sometimes he missed what had been left in the past. Ah, but that was a part of moving on, wasn't it? At some point, anyway. Maybe that's why he drank so much...but he had slowed down a bit since he found that he had kids. But they weren't yet with him in the pack.

He lay his head on his forepaws as he watched the buffalo herd go about their grazing business and doing buffalo things. Suddenly, he didn't feel so hungry...he was content for once in his life to just watch. Maybe that was part of getting older. However, when he felt like he was about to drift off into a nap, his ear twitched at the sound of someone approaching, and then his name. He whipped his head around in surprise, blinking as if he were seeing something strange for the first time. When it registered, a grin slowly began to appear and his tail thumped on the ground. "Long time, no see, stranger!" How long had it been since he'd seen his littermate? He had no frickin' clue! But it seemed she had made her way back again.

"Speech"

A grin had started to form on her face before her brother even whipped his head around. As his own tail thumped on the ground, so hers began to wag behind her in wide circles, her joy evident in that movement. There was no restraint there - just happiness, cheer, and warmth. Then she was bounding forward, Ares' words only just processing with her as she ducked her head down, headbutted his shoulder lightly, and turned that headbutt into an unceremonious flop on the ground. She continued to rotate her body so she was upside down, all four legs relaxed and head tilted back to stare up at her brother, tongue lolling out of her mouth. It was an absolutely ridiculous position, one of play (look, she liked bitey face), trust, and affection.

She laughed freely then, letting go of the thoughts of the past and future for the time being, and focusing on the present. Focusing on her brother, and the warmth and joy she was feeling. "Long time no see indeed," she agreed. "I mildly suck at sticking around, don't I?" It was a rhetorical question because they both knew the answer to that. She had always been a wanderer, curious and seeking adventures wherever she could find them. Sometimes it left her a bit lonely, but honestly, she didn't mind being alone. And she found plenty of company of all kinds in her travels; she wasn't an unlikable wolf. It worked out rather well. Life was a journey. Life was to be enjoyed as much as possible.

....and with that latter thought, she eyeballed her brother's paw so near to her face. Should she...? Ah, fuck it. Twisting her head - while still upside down, mind you - she went to nom her brother's forearm. It wouldn't be a very effective nom from her angle. Incredibly half-assed and lazy, in fact, as she knew that only the middle part of her jaws would even be able to really grab at him. It was purely an initiation, an invitation of goofiness and play.

ooc. This might be confusing... honestly I'm pretty sure I have a video somewhere that I can show you the exact movement she made. I absolutely modelled it after the Caucasian Shepherds playing.. it's just really hard to describe.

"Speech" "You"

art by rainbowglaze123